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V: 


Junius  Parker  Fishburn 
Memorial  Library 

Hollins  College,  Virginia 


Los  Angeles 


From  the  collection  of  the 

7   n 
z_    m 

o  Prelinger 
v    iJibrary 


San  Francisco,  California 
2006 


Sanjt 


\   FORESTED  AREA 
m    NATIONAL  FOREST 
***    SHELTERBELT  ZONE 
_    U.  S.  HIGHWAY 


THE    YEARBOOK 
OF    AGRICULTURE 


1949 


For  sale  by  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  U.S.  Government  Printing  Office 
Washington,  D.C.  20402  -  Price  $4 


TREES 


1949 


UNITED   STATES   DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE 


U.S.  Government  Printing  Office  -Washington,  D.C. 


The  Yearbook  Committee 


F.  C.  CRAIGHEAD,  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine 

L.  S.  GROSS,  Forest  Service 
L.  M.  HUTCHINS,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engineerin 

W.  H.  LARRIMER,  Forest  Service 
C.  B.  MANIFOLD,  Soil  Conservation  Service 

CURTIS  MAY,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engineering 

JOHN  M.  MILLER,  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine 

DANA  PARKINSON,  Forest  Service,  Chairman 

ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER,  Extension  Service 

ARTHUR  SPILLERS,  Forest  Service 

ALFRED  STEFFERUD,  Office  of  Information,  Editor 


Foreword 


BY  THE  SECRETARY  OF  AGRICULTURE 


I  WISH,  for  several  reasons,  that  every  American  might  have  the  oppor- 
tunity to  read  this  book  about  trees.  First,  the  book  underscores  the 
importance  of  forests  to  our  national  and  individual  prosperity,  security, 
and  happiness.  Of  all  the  figures  and  facts  marshalled  here  in  proof  of 
this  importance  the  most  striking  to  me  is  that  our  drain  of  saw  timber  is 
one  and  one-half  times  its  rate  of  growth.  Other  proof  is  close  at  hand — 
the  wooden  pencil  with  which  I  write,  the  chair  I  sit  in,  my  desk,  and  the 
doors  of  my  office. 

If  that  is  not  enough  evidence  of  the  everyday  importance  of  our  for- 
ests, I  have  only  to  look  out  my  windows  at  the  stately  trees  that  landscape 
architects  planted  to  temper  the  summer  heat,  to  join  building  and  earth 
and  sky  in  harmony,  and  to  give  pleasure  to  everybody. 

These  city  trees  bring  to  mind  the  watersheds,  shelterbelts,  groves, 
national  forests,  farm  woodlands,  community  parks,  and  commercial 
forests  between  the  eastern  seaboard  and  the  West,  where  I  grew  up. 
Truly,  our  woods  and  forests  are  one,  in  our  lives,  with  soil,  water,  animals, 
and  food.  Soil  and  water  conservation,  flood  control,  permanent  abun- 
dance, prosperity  on  the  land — the  very  goals  we  work  toward — involve 
the  proper  use  of  forests. 

We  all  know  what  happened  to  the  forests  the  first  settlers  saw.  Most 
of  our  virgin  timber  has  disappeared  through  exploitation,  waste,  destruc- 
tion, or  use  and  removal  to  meet  the  tremendous  needs  of  a  fast-growing 
Nation. 

However,  the  genius  of  American  democracy  can  yet  restore  our 
forests,  rebuild  our  ghost  towns,  redeem  our  watersheds,  and  find  new 
ways  to  fight  fire  and  forest  pests.  Much  remains  to  be  learned ;  we  are  not 
yet  of  one  mind  about  ways  and  purposes  of  protection.  But  the  history 


of  what  we  have  done  to  correct  a  fault — another  reason  why  I  wish  every 
American  might  read  this  book — is  a  lesson  we  can  apply  to  other  parts 
of  our  national  life. 

Most  heartening  and  reassuring  is  the  fact  that  our  forestry  achieve- 
ments have  come  through  democratic  processes.  Those  with  the  most  at 
stake — the  men  who  needed  grazing  lands,  for  example,  or  those  whose 
livelihood  depended  on  irrigation,  lumber,  or  wildlife — have  opportu- 
nities to  express  their  views.  The  guiding  precept  of  the  greatest  good  for 
the  greatest  number  prevails. 

All  this  embraces  the  conviction  that  a  basic  resource  is  a  national  trust. 
It  also  embraces  faith  in  people  and  their  leaders  and  faith  in  our  country. 
We  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  who  are  responsible  for  national 
forest  lands  try  constantly  to  act  with  the  humility  and  wisdom  that  befits 
custodians  of  such  a  great  trust. 

CHARLES  F.  BRANNAN. 


VI 


The  Editor  to  the  Reader 


IN  THE  LIBRARY  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
are  1 1,350-odd  publications  about  trees  and  forests.  Among  the  oldest 
of  these  volumes  is  the  1 20-page  Sylva,  or  a  discourse  of  forest-trees,  and 
the  propagation  of  timber  in  His  Majesties  dominions.  .  .  .  The  English 
patriot  and  philosopher  John  Evelyn  published  it  in  1664.  It  is  full  of 
warnings  and  advice :  "Men  seldom  plant  trees  till  they  begin  to  be  wise, 
that  is,  till  they  grow  old,  and  find,  by  experience,  the  prudence  and 
necessity  of  it." 

One  of  the  latest  books  in  the  library  is  Breaking  New  Ground,  by  the 
late  American  patriot  and  philosopher  Gifford  Pinchot.  It  is  an  auto- 
biographical account  of  a  pioneer  forester's  work  for  conservation  of 
forests,  soil,  and  water  supplies. 

To  that  goodly  company,  an  average  of  406  books,  pamphlets,  and 
articles  about  timber  and  its  products  is  added  each  month.  To  that  grow- 
ing number  also  we  are  adding  this  Yearbook  of  Agriculture.  An  explana- 
tion of  why  we  do  so  seems  to  be  called  for. 

We  have  tried  here  to  put  into  clearer  perspective  some  items  of  history, 
importance,  administration,  and  outlook  that  so  far  have  been  in  scattered 
form.  We  have  tried  to  explain  another  broad  segment  of  the  Depart- 
ment's work.  We  have  tried  to  tell  the  essentials  of  choosing,  planting,  and 
growing  trees  as  a  farm  crop,  as  a  renewable  national  treasure,  as  a  neces- 
sary part  of  country  and  city  life.  We  have  tried  to  make  a  book  that  is 
practical  and  useful  for  all  Americans  and  interesting  and  inspiring  for 
those  who  are  unaware  of  the  beauty  and  delight  of  the  woods.  We  have 
tried  to  tell  how  and  why  to  plant  trees  and  care  for  them,  and  to  offer  a 
sort  of  forum  to  persons  of  divergent  viewpoints,  with  all  of  which  we  do 
not  necessarily  agree. 

Several  hundred  persons  cooperated  to  produce  this  book.  The  names 


vn 


of  many  of  them  appear  elsewhere.  To  many  others  in  the  Government 
Printing  Office,  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  the  Congress,  grate- 
ful acknowledgment  is  made. 

For  help  and  loyalty  beyond  the  terms  of  their  job  descriptions,  thanks 
are  due  to  Margaret  V.  Loyd,  the  editor's  assistant,  and  Catherine  F. 
George,  of  the  Yearbook  staff. 

The  drawings  and  charts  were  made  by  Rudolph  A.  Wendelin,  Miss 
Leta  Hughey,  Linn  A.  Forrest,  and  Harry  Rossoll,  of  the  Forest  Service; 
Sidney  H.  Horn,  of  Ames,  Iowa ;  and  Joseph  H.  Stevenson,  of  the  Office  of 
Information.  Mr.  Wendelin  also  made  the  end-paper  maps,  and  Mr.  Horn 
drew  many  of  the  illustrations  at  the  heads  of  the  chapters. 

Leland  J.  Prater,  of  the  Forest  Service,  supervised  the  taking  of  many 
of  the  photographs.  Working  with  him  were  the  following  members  of 
the  Forest  Service:  Ross  Angle,  Herbert  Armstrong,  F.  S.  Baker,  Paul  S. 
Bieler,  F.  M.  Cossitt,  Duncan  Dunning,  Frank  Flack,  George  Griffiths, 
P.  Freeman  Heim,  Antonio  A.  Hernandez,  Jay  Higgins,  Ashbel  F.  Hough, 
Roger  Huff,  C.  R.  Hursh,  Wallace  I.  Hutchinson,  Bluford  W.  Muir, 
Frederick  Simmons,  Harry  Sperling,  C.  W.  Straus,  and  Paul  J.  Zehngraff. 
Others  whose  photographs  appear  are  Wilfred  J.  Mead,  of  the  Bureau  of 
Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engineering;  Bob  Branstead,  B.  C. 
McLean,  and  Hermann  Postlethwaite,  of  the  Soil  Conservation  Service ; 
H.  Miller  Cowling,  Russell  B.  Clapper,  H.  J.  MacAloney,  John  M. 
Miller,  and  J.  E.  Patterson,  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant  Quar- 
antine; Ralph  E.  Lawrence,  of  Washington,  and  Dr.  Curtis  May  and 
Edwin  S.  Menninger,  who  took  the  unusual  pictures  of  tree  flowers. 

A  word  about  the  organization  of  the  material  in  the  Yearbook.  We 
consider  first  the  tree  as  a  unit,  a  living  thing ;  next,  the  tree  as  a  member 
of  a  small  group — in  cities  and  around  homes;  finally,  trees  growing  to- 
gether in  wood  lots,  groves,  and  forests,  large  and  small.  The  main  section 
of  the  book  ends  with  chapters  on  specific  problems  and  values — insects, 
fire,  recreation,  wildlife,  forestry,  and  economic  importance. 

The  last  part  is  intended  to  furnish  additional  help — lists,  charts,  tables, 
a  glossary  of  unusual  terms,  and  references  for  reading — for  those  who 
wish  to  pursue  the  subject  further.  For  many  persons  the  fourth  section 
will  be  the  most  useful  of  all. 

ALFRED  STEFFERUD. 


VIII 


Contents 


Page 

THE  YEARBOOK  COMMITTEE iv 

FOREWORD,  Charles  F.  Brannan v 

THE  EDITOR  TO  THE  READER,  Alfred  Stefferud vu 


THE  TREE 

Trees  and  Men 

A  Tree  Is  a  Living  Thing,  N.  T.  MIROV 1 

Some  Trees  Are  Famous,  CHARLES  E.  RANDALL 11 

Trees  Remembered  and  Remembering,  G.  HARRIS  COLLING  WOOD     .  15 

Questions  and  Answers,  w.  w.  BERGOFFEN 19 

TREES  AND  HOMES 


Every  Tree  J or  Its  Use 

Trees  for  the  Country  Home,  w.  H.  LARRIMER 39 

City  Trees,  IRVING  c.  ROOT,  CHARLES  c.  ROBINSON 43 

Shade  Trees  for  the  Northeast,  ALMA  M.  WATERMAN,  R.  u.  SWINGLE, 

CLAYTON  S.  MOSES        48 

Shade  Trees  for  the  Southeast,  RALPH  M.  LINDGREN,  R.  P.  TRUE, 

E.  RICHARD  TOOLE 60 

Shade  Trees  for  the  Plains,  ERNEST  WRIGHT,  T.  w.  BRETZ 65 

Shade  Trees  for  the  Rockies,  LAKE  s.  GILL 72 


IX 


Page 

Shade  Trees  for  California,  w.  w.  WAGENER 77 

Shade  Trees  for  the  North  Pacific  Area,  T.  w.  GHILDS 82 

Pointers  on  Planting,  T.  E.  MAKI 85 

Keeping  Shade  Trees  Healthy,  CURTIS  MAY 91 

Protecting  Shade  Trees  From  Insects,  R.  A.  ST.  GEORGE 97 


FORESTS  AND  MEN 

Trees  Living  Together 

The  Community  of  Trees,  JESSE  H.  BUELL 103 

Forest  Types  of  the  United  States,  WILLIAM  A.  DAYTON 109 

Forests  and  Soils,  JOHN  T.  AUTEN,  T.  B.  PLAIR 114 

Forest  Renewal,  LEONARD  i.  BARRETT 120 

What  Do  We  Plant? 

First  the  Seed,  Then  the  Tree,  PAUL  o.  RUDOLF 127 

Direct  Seeding  of  Trees,  w.  E.  MG  QUILKIN    . 136 

Pine  Breeding  in  the  United  States,  j.  w.  DUFFIELD,  PALMER  STOCK- 
WELL      147 

Poplars  Can  Be  Bred  to  Order,  ERNST  j.  SCHREINER    .......  153 

Amateur  Tree  Breeders?  Why  Not?  ERNST  j.  SCHREINER  ...  158 
Production  of  Planting  Stock,  FLOYD  M.  COSSITT,  c.  A.  RINDT,  HARRY 

A.  GUNNING 160 

The  Wind  River  Experimental  Forest,  LEO  A.  ISAAC,  WILLIAM  E. 

BULLARD 169 

The  Small  Woodland 

Cash  Crops  From  Small  Forests,  R.  E.  MGARDLE 173 

Roots  and  Stems  and  Dogwood  Bolts,  A.  G.  HALL 176 

Cooperatives  and  Small  Woodlands,  ALLEN  w.  BRATTON  ....  183 
Windbreaks  and  Shelterbelts,  JOSEPH  H.  STOECKELER,  ROSS  A. 

WILLIAMS 191 

Growing  Better  Timber,  ARTHUR  KOEHLER 200 

The  Job  of  Planting  Trees :  A  Survey,  PHILIP  c.  WAKELEY,  G.  WILLARD 

JONES  206 

Planting  a  Small  Southern  Woodland,  w.  R.  HINE  211 

How  To  Care  for  Your  Small  Forest,  M.  M.  BRYAN 219 

Harvesting  the  Small  Forest,  ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER 237 


Christmas  Trees  page 

The  Tradition,  ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER 245 

Christmas  Trees — The  Industry,  ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER 248 

The  Farmer  and  Christmas  Trees,  ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER 251 

Company  Forests 

Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North,  HARDY  L.  SHIRLEY 255 

Private  Forestry  in  the  West,  GHAS.  L.  TEBBE,  H.  j.  ANDREWS   ....  275 
Forestry  on  Large  Ownerships  in  the  South,  j.  HERBERT  STONE, 

CHARLES  F.  EVANS,  W.  R.  HINE 279 

Naval  Stores:  The  Industry,  JAY  WARD 286 

Naval  Stores:  The  Forests,  CARL  E.  OSTROM,  JOHN  w.  SQUIRES  ...  291 

The  National  Forests 

The  People's  Property,  c.  M.  GRANGER      299 

Appalachian  Comeback,  M.  A.  MATTOON 304 

The  AuSable  Cooperative,  JOHN  E.  FRANSON 309 

Evolution  of  Management  on  Chippewa,  H.  BASIL  WALES     ....  311 
Forestry  in  the  Black  Hills,  ARTHUR  F.  c.   HOFFMAN,  THEODORE 

KRUEGER 319 

Taming  a  Wild  Forest,  JOHN  R.  BRUCKART 326 

New  Security  for  Forest  Communities,  DAHL  j.  KIRKPATRICK    .    .    .  334 

Rebuilding  a  Southern  Forest,  FRANK  A.  ALBERT 339 

Pinyon-Juniper  in  the  Southwest,  QUINCY  RANDLES 342 

Ponderosa  Pine  in  the  Southwest,  c.  OTTO  LINDH 347 

Pine  Forests  of  California,  B.  o.  HUGHES,  DUNCAN  DUNNING   ....  352 

Small  Ranchers  and  the  Forests,  WILLIAM  L.  ROBB 3*58 

Forests  of  Alaska,  B.  FRANK  HEINTZLEMAN 361 

The  Administration  of  National  Forests,  EARL  w.  LOVERIDGE  .    .    .  372 

Projects  oj  Many  Uses 

Other  Federal  Forests,  F.  w.  GROVER 381 

State  Forests,  STANLEY  G.  FONTANNA 390 

Community  Forests,  GEORGE  A.  DUTHIE 394 

Arboretums,  Places  of  Beauty  and  Science,  w.  H.  LARRIMER,  ERNST 

J.  SCHREINER 398 

The  National  Arboretum,  B.  Y.  MORRISON 403 

£dr.  .     ,  T'TIW"  .  .     UYCXJ4  ,'JK 

Insects,  Diseases,  Parasites 

Insects  in  the  Forest:  A  Survey,  F.  c.  CRAIGHEAD,  JOHN  M.  MILLER  .    .  407 

The  Key  to  Protection,  s.  A.  ROHWER   .  :y%3jr ;£.. 413 


XI 


Page 
Four  Billion  Feet  of  Beetle-Killed  Spruce,  N.  D.  WYGANT,  ARTHUR  L. 

NELSON 417 

The  Spruce  Budworm,  R.  c.  BROWN,  H.  j.  MAG  ALONEY,  p.  B.  DOWDEN  .  423 

Pine  Bark  Beetles,  F.  p.  KEEN      427 

Insects  in  Wood  Products,  THOMAS  E.  SNYDER 432 

Controlling  the  Tussock  Moth,  PAUL  H.  ROBERTS,  JAMES  c.  EVENDEN  .  436 

Diseases  and  the  Forest,  L.  M.  HUTGHINS 443 

Introduced  Tree  Diseases  and  Insects,  G.  F.  GRAVATT,  D.  E.  PARKER  .  446 

Dutch  Elm  Disease,  R.  u.  SWINGLE,  R.  R.  WHITTEN,  E.  G.  BREWER  .    .  451 

Blister  Rust  on  White  Pine,  j.  F.  MARTIN,  PERLEY  SPAULDING  ....  453 

Dwarf  Mistletoes,  LAKE  s.  GILL,  JESS  L.  BEDWELL 458 

Heart  Rot,  GEORGE  H.  HEPTING,  JAMES  w.  KIMMEY 462 

Breeding  and  Selecting  Pest-Resistant  Trees,  RUSSELL  B.  CLAPPER, 

JOHN    M.  MILLER 465 

The  Airplane  in  Forest-Pest  Control,  j.  s.  YUILL,  c.  B.  EATON  ....  471 

Fire,  Friend  and  Enemy 

Progress,  But  Still  a  Problem,  A.  A.  BROWN 477 

Bad  Business;  Your  Business,  R.  F.  HAMMATT 479 

Building  a  Fire  Organization,  EARL  s.  PEIRGE,  CARL  A.  GUSTAFSON  .    .  485 

Forest  Fire  Danger,  G.  LLOYD  HAYES 493 

The  Fire  on  Cedar  Creek,  FRANK  j.  JEFFERSON 498 

Fighting  Fires  From  the  Air,  CLAYTON  s.  CROCKER 508 

Fire  as  a  Tool  in  Southern  Pine,  ARTHUR  w.  HARTM AN 517 

Machines  and  Fires  in  the  South,  ARTHUR  w.  HARTMAN 527 

Fun  in  the  Forests 

New  Values  in  the  Minds  of  Men,  L.  F.  KNEIPP 533 

Trail  Riding  in  the  Wilderness,  SHIRLEY  w.  ALLEN 537 

Treasures  of  the  Nation,  CONRAD  L.  WIRTH,  j.  H.  GADSBY 544 

Everyone  is  Welcome,  JOHN  SIEKER 551 

Safety  for  Forest  Visitors,  ROBERT  s.  MONAHAN 556 

Forests  and  Wildlife 

Wildlife  in  the  Small  Woodland,  EDWARD  H.  GRAHAM 561 

Forests  as  a  Wildlife  Habitat,  LLOYD  w.  SWIFT 564 

Trees  and  Food  From  Acorns,  ALBERT  A.  DOWNS 571 

Managing  Utah's  Big-Game  Crop,  D.  IRVIN  RASMUSSEN,  DAVID  M. 

GAUFIN 573 

Forests  and  Fish,  PAUL  R.  NEEDHAM,  FRED  w.  JOHNSON 581 

Action  on  the  Blue  Ridge,  THEODORE  c.  FEARNOW,  i.  T.  QUINN    .    .  586 

XII 


Forests  and  Water  Page 

Timber  Gutting  and  Water  Yields,  H.  G.  WILM 593 

Watersheds  and  How  To  Care  for  Them,  GEORGE  w.  CRADDOGK, 

CHARLES   R.  HURSH 603 

To  Help  Control  Floods,  GEORGE  R.  PHILLIPS,  BERNARD  FRANK  .    .    .  609 

Wood  in  Use 

The  Wood  for  the  Job,  R.  P.  A.  JOHNSON,  CHARLES  E.  VAN  HAGAN  .    .  615 

Seasoning  of  Wood,  RAYMOND  c.  RIETZ 620 

Preservative  Treatment  of  Wood,  THOMAS  R.  TRUAX 623 

Painting  the  Farm  and  City  Home,  FREDERICK  L.  BROWNE  ....  625 

Fungi  and  Wood,  CARL  HARTLEY 630 

The  Prefabricated  House,  RONALD  F.  LUXFORD,  F.  A.  STRENGE   .    .    .  633 

The  Gluing  of  Wood,  DON  BROUSE 636 

Chemicals  From  Wood,  ALFRED  j.  STAMM 639 

Putting  Unused  Wood  To  Work,  c.  v.  SWEET 643 

The  Forest  Products  Laboratory,  GEORGE  M.  HUNT 647 

How  To  Use  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory,  F.  j.  CHAMPION  ....  651 

The  Foresters'  Calling 

Education  in  Forestry,  SAMUEL  T.  DANA 655 

Teachers  and  Conservation,  JULIEN  L.  BOATMAN 658 

Consulting  Foresters,  NORMAN  MUNSTER,  ARTHUR  SPILLERS 662 

National  Forest  Personnel,  H.  DEAN  COCHRAN 664 

Industrial  Forestry  Associations,  CHAPIN  COLLINS 666 

Prescription  for  Woods  Safety,  SETH  JACKSON 676 

Picturing  Forests  From  the  Air,  RAYMOND  D.  CARVER 679 

Railroads  and  Foresters,  ROBERT  N.  HOSKINS 682 

Yesterday  and  Today 

Since  the  Days  of  Leif  Ericson,  FRED  c.  SIMMONS 687 

Logging  the  Pacific  Slopes,  NEWELL  L.  WRIGHT 695 

The  History  of  Forestry  in  America,  w.  N.  SPARHAWK 702 

Today  and  Tomorrow 

Forest  Land  and  Timber  Resources,  c.  EDWARD  BEHRE 715 

Forest  Resources  and  the  Nation's  Economy,  EDWARD  c.  CRAFT?, 

MARTHA  A.  DIETZ ,  721 

Future  Requirements  for  Timber,  A.  c.  CLINE 731 

The  World  Forest  Situation,  STUART  BEVIER  SHOW 742 


XIII 


Page 

The  Real  Interests  of  the  People,  WILLIAM  GREEN  .. 754 

Labor  Looks  at  Trees  and  Conservation,  PHILIP  MURRAY 755 

A  National  Program  for  Forestry,  LYLE  F.  WATTS 757 


LISTS  AND  OTHER  AIDS 


To  Know  the  Trees 

Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States,  ELBERT  L.  LITTLE,  JR   .  763 

Fifty  Trees  From  Foreign  Lands,  ELBERT  L.  LITTLE,  JR 815 

Key  for  the  Identification  of  Woods  Without  the  Aid  of  a  Hand 

Lens  or  Microscope,  ARTHUR  KOEHLER 833 

Trees  Best  Adapted  for  Special  Purposes 845 

A  Vacation  Guide 

National  Forests 855 

Wilderness  and  Wild  Areas   .    . .... 877 

Natural  Areas 883 

Areas  Administered  by  the  National  Park  Service 889 

Public  Forest-Tree  Nurseries 893 

State  Forestry  Agencies 896 

For  Further  Reference 901 

Some  Words  Woodsmen  Use 911 

Index  917 


xrv 


THE  TREE 


Live  oak  near  Hahnville  in  Louisiana:  ffl  am  the  gift  of 
God  and  friend  of  man." 


Trees  and  Men 


A  TREE  IS  A  LIVING  THING 

N.  T.  MIROV 


FROM  THE  SEED  that  in  the  au- 
tumn falls  to  the  ground  and  is 
covered  with  leaves  and  soil,  a  tree  is 
born.  The  seed  is  a  thing  to  marvel  at. 

Pick  up  a  pine  nut;  crack  it  open. 
The  rich  kernel,  called  endosperm,  is 
packed  with  starch,  fat,  and  proteins. 
Inside  the  kernel  is  cradled  the  ivory 
rod  that  is  an  embryo  pine,  a  baby 
tree.  On  one  end  of  the  miniature 
stem  is  a  tuft  of  pale  leaves ;  the  taper- 
ing opposite  end  of  the  rod  will  de- 
velop into  a  root. 

Gut  open  a  mellow  acorn.  In  it  the 
baby  tree  does  not  rest  inside  rich, 
nutritional  tissue.  The  starch  and  fat 
and  proteins  are  packed  in  the  two 
seed  leaves  of  the  embryo,  which  are 
plump  and  round  like  the  two  halves 

Pictured  above  is  the  famous  Logan  Elm, 
in  southern  Ohio.  State-owned,  it  antedates 
the  Revolution.  In  1939,  the  tree  was  70  feet 
high  and  had  a  crown  spread  of  148  feet. 

802062°— 49 2 


of  a  peanut.  The  whole  acorn  inside 
the  shell  is  an  embryo. 

In  the  spring,  when  the  soil  gets 
warm  enough  and  moisture  is  abun- 
dant, deep  changes  begin  to  take  place 
in  the  dormant  seed,  already  condi- 
tioned by  the  low  winter  temperatures. 
The  embryo  tree  awakens  from  its 
sleep  and  begins  to  grow.  What  causes 
this  awakening  of  life  is  not  exactly 
known,  and  what  is  known  is  compli- 
cated, indeed.  The  growth  hormone  is 
activated;  the  enzymes,  whose  part  is 
to  direct  and  hasten  living  processes, 
start  their  work  feverishly.  The  insolu- 
ble stored  fats  and  starch  begin  to 
break  down  to  soluble  sugars,  mainly 
dextrose.  The  stored  proteins  are  split 
by  the  enzymes  into  some  20  soluble 
compounds  called  amino  acids.  Both 
sugars  and  amino  acids  are  rushed  to 
the  growing  points,  where  still  different 
enzymes  rearrange  them  into  building 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


material  to  be  used  by  the  germinating 
embryo.  Proteins  are  formed  again 
from  the  amino  acids,  and  dextrose  is 
partly  used  for  building  the  body  of  the 
tree  and  partly  burned  up  to  provide 
necessary  energy  for  the  process. 

The  embryo  grows  fast.  Soon  the 
seed  shell  becomes  too  small  and  splits 
open.  The  newly  born  tree  emerges 
above  the  ground.  Its  shoot  begins  to 
grow  straight  up  and  its  roots  straight 
down.  The  root  has  important  work  to 
do;  it  provides  water  for  the  young 
seedling.  As  soon  as  the  little  root  of  a 
seedling  penetrates  the  ground,  the  tree 
is  permanently  anchored,  for  better  or 
for  worse,  to  the  place  where,  unless 
it  is  transplanted,  it  has  to  stay  all  its 
life.  From  now  on  the  tree  has  to  de- 
pend on  the  nutrients  available  in  that 
particular  place  and  to  develop  under 
climatic  conditions  found  there,  which 
cannot  be  changed.  In  nature,  how- 
ever, a  seedling  generally  begins  its  life 
in  a  place  where  its  ancestors  have  been 
growing  for  a  long  time,  so  the  little 
tree  is  well  adapted  to  the  existing 
conditions. 

As  it  emerges  from  the  ground,  a 
young  tree  seedling  is  as  tender  as  a 
blade  of  grass.  Its  seed  leaves  may 
remain  in  the  shell  below  the  ground, 
as  in  oak,  or  they  may  be  carried  above 
the  ground,  as  in  maple.  In  pine,  the 
seed  leaves  pull  themselves  out  from 
the  endosperm  and  spread  above  the 
seedling  like  the  crown  of  a  miniature 
palm  tree.  On  the  tip  of  the  little  stem, 
tucked  between  the  seed  leaves,  is  the 
growing  point  or  terminal  bud  that 
gives  origin  to  the  shoot;  its  growth 
continues  as  long  as  the  tree  lives. 

Besides  the  root  and  stem  tips,  an- 
other important  growing  region  is  soon 
established  in  the  seedling.  It  is  called 
the  cambium  layer  and  is  found  be- 
tween the  wood  and  the  bark.  It  makes 
the  tree  grow  in  girth.  The  cambium 
consists  of  a  single  layer  of  cells  that 
retain  their  capacity  to  divide  through- 
out the  life  of  the  tree.  This  single 
layer  of  cells  has  a  peculiar  property 
in  that  it  gives  origin  both  to  the  wood 
and  to  the  bark.  In  the  spring,  when 


the  cambium  layer  becomes  active,  it 
begins  to  split  off  rows  of  wood  cells 
to  the  inside  and  rows  of  bark  cells 
to  the  outside.  Generally  speaking,  the 
bark  part  of  the  tree  is  much  thinner 
than  the  woody  part,  or  the  stem.  Bark 
continuously  sloughs  off,  while  the 
wood  accumulates.  In  the  soft  inner 
bark,  or  bast,  are  formed  sieve  tubes, 
through  which  manufactured  sugar 
dissolved  in  water  flows  from  the  foli- 
age to  storage  tissues  in  stem  and  root. 

The  wood  formed  in  the  spring  con- 
sists of  light-colored,  thin-walled  cells ; 
toward  the  end  of  the  season  smaller 
cells  are  formed — their  walls  are  heav- 
ier and  darker,  and  thus  summer  wood 
is  formed.  This  alternation  of  spring 
wood  and  summer  wood  causes  the 
concentric  structure  of  the  tree  trunk 
known  as  annual  rings;  they  are  seen 
clearly  on  the  cross  section  of  a  tree. 
By  counting  the  annual  rings  of  a  tree, 
one  can  determine  fairly  closely  its  age. 
When  growth  conditions  are  favorable 
and  food  and  water  are  abundant,  the 
rings  are  wide.  When  drought  occurs, 
the  growth  slows  down  and  the  rings 
are  narrow.  By  reading  a  cross  section 
of  an  old  tree,  one  can  determine 
what  growth  conditions  prevailed  dur- 
ing any  particular  year  of  the  past. 

In  the  cross  section  of  the  hardwood 
trees  there  may  be  seen  numerous  dots. 
These  are  canals,  so-called  vessels,  that 
serve  for  conducting  water  along  the 
trunk.  In  the  conifers,  like  pines  or  firs, 
there  are  no  vessels  and  water  moves 
painstakingly  up  the  trunk  through 
minute  holes  from  one  cell  to  another. 

Sixty  percent  of  the  wood  of  a  tree 
is  cellulose — by  far  the  most  important 
ingredient.  The  structure  of  cellulose 
is  well  understood  and  is  rather  simple : 
Molecules  of  dextrose  are  linked  in 
pairs  to  form  a  more  complex  sugar, 
cellobiose,  and  these  units  are  hooked 
up  to  form  long  chains  of  cellulose 
molecules.  This  structure  of  cellulose 
may  be  easily  changed  by  action  of 
even  a  weak  acid;  cellulose  then  falls 
apart  into  the  original  dextrose  mole- 
cules, providing  an  enormous  source  of 
sugar  that  can  be  used  for  many  pur- 


A  Tree  is  a  Living  Thing 


poses,  from  fattening  hogs  to  produc- 
tion of  industrial  alcohol.  Most  of  the 
cellulose  used  at  present,  however,  is 
converted  into  pulp  and  paper. 

The  rest  of  the  wood  consists  mostly 
of  Hgnin,  which  is  a  binding  material 
composed,  like  the  cellulose,  of  carbon, 
oxygen,  and  hydrogen,  but  of  an  en- 
tirely different  and  more  complicated 
chemical  structure  than  cellulose.  Lig- 
nin  is  not  so  useful  as  cellulose  at  pres- 
ent, but  there  is  little  doubt  that  valu- 
able products  will  be  made  from  it. 

Besides  cellulose  and  Hgnin,  wood 
contains  a  small  quantity  of  different 
substances — starch,  fats,  sugar,  resins, 
tannins,  and  many  others — and  is  liter- 
ally saturated  with  water. 

About  10  percent  of  the  wood  mass 
of  a  tree  is  found  underground  in  the 
form  of  roots.  The  root  system  of  a 
large  tree  is  enormous.  The  total  length 
of  all  roots  of  a  big  spreading  oak  tree 
amounts  to  many  hundreds  of  miles. 
The  function  of  the  root  is  to  provide 
water  and  minerals  for  the  tree  and 
to  anchor  it  securely  to  the  ground.  It 
is  important  to  keep  in  mind  that  the 
roots  are  part  of  a  living  organism  and 
that  they  need  air,  food,  and  water 
for  growing.  Mistreatment  of  roots, 
such  as  tramping  the  soil  above  them, 
flooding  them  for  long  periods  of  time, 
or  burying  them  too  deeply,  will  af- 
fect the  welfare  of  the  whole  tree. 

THE  TREE  COMES  OF  AGE.  Our  tree 
gradually  becomes  taller  and  broader, 
and  in  the  course  of  time  it  reaches  ma- 
turity. The  complicated  mechanism 
functions  with  the  precision  of  a  ma- 
chine, and  its  many  vital  processes  are 
well  coordinated.  Some  of  the  proc- 
esses, such  as  respiration  or  digestion 
of  fats,  are  strikingly  similar  in  both 
plants  and  animals.  Others,  as  mineral 
nutrition,  are  found  only  in  the  plants. 

LET  us  CONSIDER  first  the  process 
of  photosynthesis — that  is,  the  build- 
ing with  the  energy  of  light.  In  this 
process,  organic  matter  is  formed  liter- 
ally from  thin  air  and  water.  The  air 
contains  minute  amounts  of  carbon  di- 


oxide (0.03  percent  by  volume  or  three 
parts  in  10,000  parts  of  air) .  Through 
millions  of  small  pores,  or  stomata,  on 
the  leaf  surfaces,  air  penetrates  the 
leaves  and  gives  up  about  10  percent 
of  its  meager  supply  of  precious  car- 
bon dioxide  to  the  tree.  In  the  leaf 
cells  are  found  small  particles  called 
chloroplasts;  these  contain  a  green  sub- 
stance, chlorophyll,  similar  in  structure 
to  the  hemoglobin  of  the  blood.  In 
fact,  in  reflected  light  chlorophyll  ap- 
pears not  green  but  blood  red. 

Carbon  dioxide  unites  with  the 
chlorophyll  and  in  a  chain  of  reactions, 
regulated  by  the  enzymes,  it  combines 
with  oxygen  and  hydrogen  of  water  to 
form  sugar.  An  excess  of  oxygen  is  re- 
leased in  this  process.  The  energy  that 
is  needed  for  transformation  of  carbon 
dioxide  and  water  into  the  organic 
substance  (sugar)  is  supplied  by  sun- 
light. Only  about  1  percent  of  the  solar 
energy  that  falls  on  a  leaf  is  used  for 
photosynthesis.  The  sugar  formed  in 
the  process  of  photosynthesis  is  dex- 
trose. From  it  95  percent  of  the  body 
of  the  tree  is  ultimately  made  by  a 
series  of  complicated  reactions.  Dex- 
trose may  be  converted  into  other 
sugars  or  it  may  be  combined  with 
nitrogen  to  form  the  amino  acids,  the 
building  blocks  from  which  proteins 
are  made  and  on  which  all  life,  both 
plant  and  animal,  depends.  Part  of  the 
dextrose  is  also  used  for  other  purposes, 
such  as  conversion  into  starch,  fats,  and 
other  substances. 

The  most  favorable  conditions  for 
photosynthesis  are  mild  temperatures 
(about  70°  F.)  and  diffused,  moderate 
light.  On  hot,  bright,  summer  days  the 
efficiency  of  photosynthesis  goes  down. 
An  ample  supply  of  water  is  essential. 
When  the  soil  is  dry  and  not  enough 
water  is  delivered  to  the  crown,  the 
rate  of  photosynthesis  declines.  Fer- 
tility of  the  soil  is  also  important,  for 
the  building  of  the  tree  body  requires 
an  ample  supply  of  mineral  elements. 

Respiration  is  another  life  process. 
Like  other  living  organisms,  a  tree  must 
respire.  The  process  of  respiration 
consists  of  oxidizing  (burning  at  low 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


temperature)  dextrose  sugar;  although 
some  energy  is  lost  as  heat,  most  of  the 
energy  released  during  the  process  is 
used  by  the  organism  for  its  vital  proc- 
esses. Thus  sugar  is  a  source  of  energy 
for  a  tree  just  as  it  is  for  a  football 
player.  The  chemical  reaction  of  res- 
piration is  a  reversal  of  the  chemical 
reaction  of  photosynthesis,  as  seen  from 
the  following  scheme: 

PHOTOSYNTHESIS:  Carbon  dioxide 
+  water + energy  expended— ^dextrose 
+ oxygen; 

RESPIRATION  :  Dextrose  +  oxygen-* 
carbon  dioxide  +  water  +  energy  re- 
leased. 

In  daytime  both  photosynthesis  and 
respiration  occur  at  the  same  time. 

Oxygen  liberated  in  photosynthesis  is 
used  for  respiration,  while  the  carbon 
dioxide  exhaled  by  the  tree  is  used  in 
photosynthesis.  As  photosynthesis  is  a 
more  intensive  process  than  respiration, 
during  a  normal  day  an  excess  of  oxy- 
gen is  eliminated  and  an  excess  of 
carbon  dioxide  is  absorbed  by  the  tree. 
When,  under  adverse  conditions,  day- 
time respiration  is  more  intensive  than 
the  body-building  photosynthesis,  the 
tree  loses  weight  instead  of  gaining.  At 
night,  because  of  the  absence  of  light, 
photosynthesis  is  at  a  standstill,  but 
respiration  continues — just  as  in  hu- 
mans, oxygen  is  taken  in  and  carbon 
dioxide  is  eliminated.  Respiration  is 
going  on  at  all  times  in  all  living  cells, 
in  the  leaves,  the  roots,  and  in  the  stem 
and  bark. 

While  photosynthesis  has  its  opti- 
mum in  cool  days  and  decreases  when 
the  weather  becomes  too  hot,  respira- 
tion does  not  have  such  an  optimum. 
The  warmer  it  gets,  the  more  intense 
is  the  respiration.  Respiration  is  less 
sensitive  to  the  lack  of  water  than 
photosynthesis;  that  is  why  during 
droughts,  when  photosynthesis  stops, 
respiration  still  continues  and  causes 
great  harm  to  the  tree.  Inside  temper- 
atures of  120°  to  130°  F.  are  deadly. 

NITROGEN  is  needed  by  a  tree  for 
making  its  proteins.  Without  proteins 
a  cell  cannot  grow  and  cannot  divide. 


Generally  speaking,  an  abundance  of 
nitrogen  promotes  vegetative  growth 
of  a  tree.  Animals  have  no  capacity 
for  producing  proteins  from  nitrogen ; 
they  depend  on  plants  for  the  needed 
proteins. 

A  tree  has  the  capacity  to  absorb 
inorganic  nitrogen  and  with  it  to  make 
its  own  proteins.  Although  four-fifths 
of  the  air  consists  of  nitrogen,  less  than 
1  percent  of  the  element  is  found  in  the 
wood  of  a  tree.  And  to  get  that  little 
bit  of  nitrogen  is  an  extremely  diffi- 
cult task  for  a  tree.  Nitrogen  as  found 
in  the  atmosphere  cannot  be  used  by 
the  tree;  it  has  to  be  converted  into 
ammonia  or  into  nitrates  and  only  in 
this  form  (mostly  as  nitrates)  can  ni- 
trogen be  absorbed  by  the  roots.  Let 
us  see  how  a  tree  manages  its  nitrogen 
economy. 

Traces  of  ammonia  are  found  in 
the  air,  and  some  of  the  nitrogen  oxide 
is  formed  there,  especially  after  thun- 
derstorms. These  substances  are  car- 
ried by  the  rain  to  the  soil,  but  their 
quantity  is  altogether  too  meager  to 
contribute  much  to  the  nitrogen  nutri- 
tion. A  few  trees,  such  as  the  locust  or 
alder,  have  on  their  roots  nodules 
formed  by  bacteria  that  are  capable  of 
assimilating  nitrogen  from  the  air  and 
converting  it  into  nitrates,  but  most 
trees  have  no  nitrogen-fixing  nodules. 
There  are  free  bacteria  that  live  in  the 
soil  and  can  use  atmospheric  nitrogen. 
But  these  bacteria  are  not  abundant 
and  they  like  warmth,  so  that  in  cooler 
climates  they  are  not  active.  Fallen 
leaves,  if  not  burned,  contain  some 
proteins.  These  proteins  are  gradually 
decomposed  into  amino  acids,  ammo- 
nia, and  eventually  into  nitrates.  But 
fallen  leaves  contain  only  about  1  per- 
cent of  nitrogen — slightly  more  in  the 
hardwood  leaves  and  slightly  less  in 
pine  needles. 

Animals  waste  a  great  deal  of  ni- 
trogen, which  they  obtain  from  the 
plants.  Fur,  hair,  nails,  and  skin,  be- 
ing made  of  proteins,  contain  nitrogen 
that  cannot  be  used  again  by  the  or- 
ganism. Large  amounts  of  nitrogen  are 
eliminated  by  the  animals  as  waste. 


A  Tree  is  a  Living  Thing 


Trees,  however,  are  frugal  with  their 
nitrogen.  They  do  not  waste  it,  but  use 
it  over  and  over.  A  tree  that  is  well 
supplied  with  nitrogen  has  lush,  dark- 
green  foliage,  and  its  growth  is  luxu- 
riant— a  tree  deprived  of  nitrogen  is 
stunted  and  its  leaves  are  pale  green. 
An  overdose  of  nitrogen  is  also  bad 
for  a  tree.  Conditions  of  nitrogen  ex- 
cess are  extremely  rare  in  nature,  but 
might  occur  occasionally,  for  instance, 
in  a  tree  grown  in  a  chickenyard 
where  supply  of  nitrogen  is  in  excess. 

How  can  you  help  a  tree  in  its  ni- 
trogen nutrition?  Growing  nitrogen- 
fixing  legumes,  such  as  clover,  near 
your  trees  will  enrich  the  soil  with  ni- 
trogen. The  addition  of  leaf  mold  to 
the  soil  would  serve  the  same  purpose. 
Remember,  too,  that  removing  or 
burning  fallen  leaves  from  around  the 
trees  deprives  the  trees  of  the  much- 
needed  nitrogen.  If  burning  or  remov- 
ing must  be  done,  it  is  wise  to  replace 
the  loss  by  applying  some  nitrogen 
fertilizer.  One  word  of  caution  in 
feeding  trees  with  nitrogen.  Nitrate 
fertilizers  are  leached  rapidly  from  the 
soil;  they  are  not  absorbed  by  the  soil 
as  readily  as,  say,  the  phosphates.  It  is 
advisable  therefore  to  add  nitrates  in 
small  quantity  and  often,  rather  than 
to  apply  a  large  quantity  at  one  time. 

In  applying  fertilizer  one  should 
keep  in  mind  that  trees  do  not  grow  so 
fast  as  field  crops,  and  thus  their  de- 
mand for  nitrogen  and  for  other  nu- 
trients is  comparatively  small. 

BESIDES  OXYGEN,  hydrogen,  carbon, 
and  nitrogen,  which  are  obtained  from 
water  and  air,  for  proper  functioning 
a  tree  needs  several  other  elements, 
which  it  obtains  from  the  minerals 
found  in  the  soil. 

Some  of  these  mineral  elements — 
potassium,  phosphorus,  and  calcium — 
are  needed  in  relatively  large  amounts. 
Other  elements — magnesium,  sulfur, 
and  iron — are  needed  in  relatively 
smaller  quantities.  Still  others,  called 
trace  elements — such  as  manganese, 
copper,  zinc,  boron,  or  molybdenum — 
are  necessary  only  in  minute  quantities. 


The  need  even  of  major  elements  is 
very  small  indeed.  The  total  amount  of 
the  mineral  elements  in  dry  wood  is 
less  than  one-half  of  1  percent,  and  the 
need  for  the  trace  elements  is  so  small 
that  generally  they  are  found  in  suffi- 
cient quantity  in  any  soil. 

Occasionally  there  may  be  a  com- 
plete absence  or  too  small  a  supply  of 
the  trace  elements  in  a  particular  soil. 
In  that  case,  a  tree  will  not  grow  prop- 
erly unless  the  lacking  element  is 
introduced.  Great  care  should  be  exer- 
cised not  to  apply  too  much  of  the 
trace  elements,  lest  great  damage  be 
done  to  the  tree.  For  instance,  while 
potash  or  phosphorus  may  be  added  to 
soil  at  the  rate  of,  say,  1,000  pounds  an 
acre,  about  5  or  10  pounds  an  acre  of  a 
trace  element  is  enough.  More  than 
that  might  be  harmful  to  the  trees.  A 
specialist  should  be  consulted  before 
any  trace  element  is  added  to  the  soil. 

When  wood  is  burned,  all  these  and 
many  other  elements  are  found  in  the 
ashes,  but  some  sulfur  and  phosphorus 
and  all  nitrogen  are  lost  in  smoke. 
Twenty-seven  elements,  including  sil- 
ver, titanium,  and  nickel,  are  found  in 
the  ashes  of  white  pine.  That  does  not 
mean  that  all  these  elements  are  neces- 
sary for  the  life  of  the  tree.  Some  min- 
erals that  may  be  found  in  a  tree,  such 
as  common  salt,  apparently  are  not 
needed  for  its  proper  functioning. 
These  are  absorbed  by  the  roots  sim- 
ply because  they  happened  to  be  in 
the  soil;  the  tree  has  no  way  of  telling 
the  useful  minerals  from  the  useless 
or  even  harmful  ones.  For  example, 
arsenic,  though  very  poisonous  to 
the  tree,  is  as  readily  absorbed  as 
phosphorus. 

Mineral  elements  are  needed  by  a 
tree  to  perform  various  vital  func- 
tions. Phosphorus  is  found  in  some 
plant  proteins;  seeds  and  growing 
points  are  especially  rich  in  phospho- 
rus. Lack  of  phosphorus  often  mani- 
fests itself  in  purpling  or  bronzing  of 
foliage,  which  is  easy  to  detect.  Sulfur 
also  enters  into  the  building  of  certain 
proteins.  It  is  well  distributed  through- 
out the  plant.  Calcium  apparently  is 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


somehow  involved  in  the  carbohydrate 
translocation.  It  enters  into  the  con- 
struction of  the  cell  wall;  crystals  of 
calcium  oxalate  are  found  often  in  the 
tissues  of  plants.  Magnesium  is  a  con- 
stituent of  the  chlorophyll  molecule.  It 
is  also  probably  related  to  fat  forma- 
tion and  to  the  synthesis  of  some  pro- 
teins. Potassium  is  especially  abundant 
in  young  growing  parts  of  the  tree;  it 
has  something  to  do  with  synthesis  and 
translocation  of  sugars;  in  the  absence 
of  potassium,  cells  do  not  divide.  Iron 
is  needed  to  keep  the  tree  green.  Iron  is 
not  a  part  of  the  chlorophyll  molecule, 
but  without  it  chlorophyll  cannot  be 
formed.  Iron  is  also  needed  in  respira- 
tion. Generally,  there  is  enough  iron  in 
any  soil,  but  sometimes  in  alkaline  soils 
it  is  found  in  an  insoluble  state.  Iron- 
deficient  trees  lack  the  healthy  color. 
The  physiological  role  of  minor  ele- 
ments is  little  known,  but  symptoms 
of  their  deficiency  are  pronounced.  At 
present  our  concept  of  the  physiology 
of  plant  nutrition  is  in  the  process  of 
revision.  With  the  recent  advances  of 
nuclear  physics,  it  is  possible  to  prepare 
radioactive  mineral  salts.  "Tagged" 
radioactive  phosphorus  or  potassium 
can  be  followed  as  soon  as  it  is  ab- 
sorbed by  a  plant;  it  can  be  traced  to 
its  destination  and  its  function  in  plant 
life  can  be  determined. 

WATER  is  CONTAINED  in  all  tissues 
of  a  tree,  both  dead  and  alive.  Young 
leaves  or  tips  of  roots  contain  up  to 
90  percent  of  water;  tree  trunks  con- 
tain as  much  as  50  percent.  Water  is 
indispensable  to  the  tree.  All  living 
processes  take  place  in  water.  Sugars 
are  built  from  carbon  dioxide  and 
water.  Mineral  nutrients  are  carried 
from  the  soil  to  the  top  of  the  tree 
in  a  stream  of  water.  In  the  spring  the 
organic  materials  in  the  form  of  sugars 
and  amino  acids  are  rushed  in  a  stream 
of  water  from  their  places  of  winter 
storage  to  the  bursting  buds. 

And  there  is  the  dramatic  process 
called  transpiration.  In  that  process, 
water  is  absorbed  by  the  roots,  pushed 
into  the  sapwood,  and  then  pulled  up 


to  the  leaves  (as  high  as  350  feet  in 
redwood)  above  the  ground.  The  en- 
ergy needed  for  transpiration,  as  for 
photosynthesis,  is  supplied  by  the  sun. 
About  one-half  of  the  solar  energy 
falling  on  a  leaf  is  used  for  transpira- 
tion. Through  the  same  openings  (the 
stomata)  that  admit  carbon  dioxide  to 
the  inner  tissues  of  the  leaf,  the  water 
is  evaporated  to  the  atmosphere,  and 
this  evaporation  creates  a  tremendous 
pull  on  the  minute,  continuous  strands 
of  water  in  the  sapwood  and  thereby 
causes  a  movement  of  water  from  the 
roots  to  the  treetop.  There  is  no  such 
process  in  the  tree  as  circulation  of 
the  sap  similar  to  circulation  of  the 
blood  in  animals.  Only  a  trifle  of  water 
is  transported  from  the  crown  down- 
ward and  comparatively  little  is  re- 
tained by  the  tissues.  The  terms  "the 
sap  is  up"  and  "the  sap  is  down"  are 
not  correct  and  are  misleading. 

The  formation  of  100  grams  of  cellu- 
lose requires  55  grams  of  water.  But 
while  a  tree  increases  its  weight  by  100 
grams,  it  loses  in  transpiration  nearly 
100,000  grams  (that  is,  1,000  times 
more)  of  water. 

Transpiration  brings  water  from  the 
soil  to  the  leaves  so  that  photosynthesis 
can  be  carried  on.  To  enter  through  the 
cell  walls,  carbon  dioxide  must  be  dis- 
solved in  water.  The  surface  of  the 
chlorophyll  containing  cells  must  be 
moist  at  all  times. 

The  leaves  have  a  water-regulated 
mechanism  that  permits  a  tree  to  shut 
off  the  stomata  and  thus  prevent  loss 
of  water.  But  the  very  same  stomata 
have  to  be  open  in  order  to  admit 
carbon  dioxide  for  the  photosynthesis. 
When  stomata  are  open,  the  tree  loses 
water;  when  they  are  closed,  the  tree 
cannot  assimilate  carbon  dioxide.  A 
balance  between  the  two  processes 
must  be  maintained  by  the  tree. 

The  stomata  open  their  little  shutters 
early  in  the  morning.  At  noon  they 
begin  to  close,  and  just  before  sunset 
they  are  closed  tight  for  the  night.  In 
some  trees,  stomata  may  open  at  night. 
During  excessively  hot  and  dry  days 
the  stomata  are  open  only  for  a  short 


A  Tree  is  a  Uving  Thing 


time  in  the  early  morning  and  then 
close  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  Under 
these  conditions  the  tree  cannot  make 
much  sugar  from  the  carbon  dioxide. 
What  can  a  man  do  to  help  a  tree 
in  its  water  economy?  Not  more  than 
to  supply  it  with  water  by  irrigation, 
by  preserving  the  natural  mulch  on  the 
ground  and  thus  reducing  evaporation 
from  the  soil,  and  by  not  planting  trees 
too  close  to  each  other  or  exposing  the 
shade-loving  trees  to  full  sunlight. 

THE     PHYSIOLOGY    OF     GROWTH     is 

this:  Through  the  process  of  photo- 
synthesis and  with  the  help  of  nitro- 
gen and  the  mineral  elements,  the  tree 
builds  up  its  body.  In  some  trees,  such 
as  the  giant  sequoias,  as  much  as  50,- 
000  cubic  feet  of  organic  matter, 
mostly  wood,  may  accumulate  in  this 
way.  But  the  growth  of  a  tree  is  not 
merely  an  accumulation  of  organic 
matter.  Growth  is  an  involved  physio- 
logical process,  in  which  the  use  of 
building  materials  is  regulated  by  the 
growth  substances  or  hormones. 

Growth  of  a  tree  is  retarded  if  min- 
eral nutrition  is  held  at  a  minimum 
and  water  is  withheld.  This  is  the  meth- 
od used  by  the  Japanese  in  dwarfing 
trees ;  some  of  their  dwarf  trees,  grown 
in  small  pots,  may  be  several  hundred 
years  old.  In  fact,  any  pot-bound  young 
tree  is  checked  in  its  growth  and  thus 
is  more  or  less  dwarfed. 

Growth  of  the  tree  depends  not  only 
on  the  correlation  of  its  physiological 
functions  but  also  on  external  factors 
like  temperature,  light,  and  moisture. 
Within  a  certain  range,  an  increase  of 
temperature  of  18°  F.  nearly  doubles 
the  rate  of  growth  of  plants ;  but  when 
temperatures  are  either  too  low  or  too 
high  for  a  proper  functioning  of  the  or- 
ganism, many  disturbances  may  occur 
in  the  tree.  In  that  case  the  growth  of 
the  tree  is  retarded,  and  although  life 
may  still  continue  there  is  no  coordina- 
tion between  the  different  vital  func- 
tions. The  tree  ceases  to  grow.  The 
optimum  temperature  for  growth  is  not 
necessarily  the  same  as  the  optimum 
temperature  for  general  development 


of  the  plant.  Many  trees  need  a  low 
temperature  period  for  their  normal 
development;  when  this  cold  period  is 
eliminated,  they  do  not  grow. 

Light  must  also  be  available  in  the 
proper  amount  and  quality.  When  light 
is  lacking,  the  tree  cannot  manufac- 
ture organic  matter  and  will  eventually 
die.  Light  also  retards  the  growth  of  the 
tree.  In  the  dark,  the  shoots  grow 
faster  than  in  the  light.  In  yellow  and 
red  light,  the  plant  can  assimilate  car- 
bon dioxide  very  well,  but  the  plant 
does  not  develop  normally — it  behaves 
as  if  it  were  growing  in  the  dark.  For 
normal  development  a  tree  needs,  be- 
sides yellow  and  red  light,  the  blue, 
violet,  and  ultraviolet  rays  of  the  sun. 
Those  rays  are  not  needed  for  photo- 
synthesis, and  their  action  on  the 
growth  is  that  of  retardation.  The  blue 
end  of  the  spectrum  is  needed  by  a 
tree  for  formative  purposes. 

When  a  tree  is  bent  by  some  me- 
chanical force,  such  as  the  wind,  its 
normal  growth  is  disturbed.  On  the  up- 
ward side  of  the  tree,  the  newly  formed 
cells  of  the  sapwood  are  stretched;  on 
the  lower  side,  they  are  compressed. 
This  distortion  of  the  wood  structure, 
due  to  pressure,  is  often  noticed  in  our 
conifers.  Where  a  pressure  is  applied, 
there  is  formed  so-called  compression 
wood,  which  lowers  the  quality  of  lum- 
ber manufactured  from  such  wood. 

In  a  temperate  climate,  trees  show 
an  annual  periodicity  of  growth.  The 
annual  shoot  completes  its  growth  early 
in  the  season,  say  at  the  end  of  June. 
By  that  time,  in  many  forest  trees,  all 
cell  division  for  the  next  year's  growth 
is  completed  in  the  bud.  This  means 
that  the  next  year's  growth  pattern  of 
a  tree  is  determined  almost  a  year  be- 
fore— all  microscopic  flower  buds  are 
set;  all  microscopic  leaf  buds  are 
formed.  The  next  season  the  growth 
takes  place  mostly  by  elongation  of 
the  bud  cells  prefabricated  in  the  pre- 
vious year.  Growth  in  diameter  takes 
place  throughout  the  summer  by  divi- 
sion and  enlargement  of  cambium  cells. 

A  long  time  before  cold  weather  sets 
in,  the  tree  has  already  completed  its 


8 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


seasonal  growth;  it  prepares  for  the 
winter.  Evergreen  trees  retain  their 
foliage  for  winter,  but  deciduous  trees 
act  differently.  They  remove  much  of 
the  nutrient  material  from  the  leaves; 
then  a  peculiar  physiological  process 
(abscission)  of  the  leafstalks  causes  the 
leaves  to  drop.  The  tree  is  in  a  deep 
rest  now  and  can  withstand  a  great 
deal  of  cold.  An  unusual  warm  spell  in 
late  winter  or  early  spring,  however, 
may  cause  buds  to  open — subsequent 
cold  may  kill  them.  Sometimes  a  north- 
ern tree  transplanted  in  the  South 
might  open  its  buds  too  early  in  the 
spring  and  suffer  from  a  later  frost. 

REPRODUCTION  is  possible  when  the 
tree  reaches  its  physical  maturity. 
The  sexual  reproduction  of  trees  is 
basically  similar  to  that  of  animals.  In 
plants,  reproduction  manifests  itself  by 
the  appearance  of  male  and  female 
flowers,  which  may  be  borne  either  on 
separate  trees,  as  in  cottonwood,  or  on 
the  same  tree,  as  in  pine,  or  even  com- 
bined into  a  perfect  flower,  as  in  the 
magnolia. 

Pollen  of  the  male  flower  fertilizes 
the  ovule  of  a  female  flower,  which 
then  develops  into  the  seed.  The  whole 
process  of  reproduction  involves  set- 
ting of  flower  buds,  development  of 
the  male  and  female  flowers,  pollina- 
tion, and  development  of  the  seed  and 
fruit.  Each  process  depends  on  internal 
as  well  as  external  conditions. 

In  annual  plants,  the  reproductive 
stage  means  subsequent  death;  the 
plant  dies  as  soon  as  the  seed  is  ma- 
tured. In  trees,  production  of  seed  is 
continued  for  many  years.  In  a  tree 
there  is  a  delicate  balance  between 
vegetative  growth  and  reproduction. 
If  a  tree  grows  too  fast,  it  will  not  pro- 
duce much  fruit  or  seed.  The  repro- 
ductive stage  is  generally  reached  when 
a  tree  begins  to  slow  down  its  most 
vigorous  height  growth. 

The  accumulation  of  carbohydrates 
is  conducive  to  the  flowering,  while  the 
abundance  of  the  minerals,  especially 
nitrogen,  promotes  growth  at  the  ex- 
pense of  reproduction.  The  proper  bal- 


ance between  organic  and  mineral  nu- 
trition and  the  possible  formation  of 
flowering  hormones  occurs  in  the  tree 
only  after  a  certain  stage  of  maturity 
has  been  reached.  After  that,  a  tree 
begins  to  produce  seed,  but  not  neces- 
sarily every  year.  Seed  bearing  is  a 
taxing  process.  Much  material  and 
much  energy  are  required  for  it.  Many 
trees  have  periodicity  of  seed  years, 
and  the  intervals  between  the  good 
seed  years  vary  in  the  different  trees. 
Again,  this  periodicity  apparently  de- 
pends on  a  definite  combination  of 
nutritional  and  external  factors.  As  the 
flower  buds  are  set  during  the  previous 
summer,  the  weather  conditions  of  the 
last  year  have  a  lot  to  do  with  the 
flowering.  Dry,  warm  weather  gener- 
ally is  favorable  for  setting  flower  buds. 
Weather  conditions  prevailing  during 
pollination  and  the  development  of 
pollen  grains  are  also  of  importance.  A 
great  deal  of  light  is  needed  for  flower- 
ing. Trees  grown  in  the  open  produce 
flowers  and  seed  in  profusion  and  much 
earlier  than  trees  that  are  grown  in  the 
shade.  Abundant  sunshine  at  the  time 
of  setting  flowering  buds  also  con- 
tributes to  the  seed  crop  the  next  year. 

The  effect  of  photoperiod,  or  day 
length,  discovered  in  1920  by  W.  W. 
Garner  and  H.  A.  Allard  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  is  of 
great  importance  in  flowering  of  trees. 
Some  trees  flower  only  when  the  days 
are  short,  while  others  bloom  when  the 
days  are  long.  A  northern  tree  that  was 
growing  under  the  long-day  conditions 
may  not  bloom  if  moved  to  the  South, 
because  the  summer  days  of  the  new 
home  are  too  short  for  it.  If,  say,  a  street 
lamp  provides  that  extra  needed  light, 
a  northern  tree  may  burst  into  bloom 
even  in  a  short-day  country. 

Certain  chemical  substances,  such 
as  ethylene,  are  known  to  break  the 
dormancy  of  plants.  If  your  lilac  bush 
unexpectedly  bursts  into  bloom  earlier 
than  usual,  it  might  be  because  you 
had  burned  some  fallen  leaves  or  clip- 
pings nearby  and  the  smoke  supplied 
enough  ethylene  to  awaken  the  dor- 
mant flower  buds. 


A  Tree  is  a  Lit/ing  Thing 


Sexual  reproduction  of  trees  plays 
an  important  part  in  the  development 
of  the  diversity  of  our  trees.  By  com- 
bining characters  of  the  pollen  parent 
with  those  of  the  seed  parent,  new  com- 
binations are  formed,  some  of  which 
may  be  very  valuable.  But  sexual  re- 
production is  not  absolutely  necessary 
for  trees;  many  of  them  can  be  repro- 
duced by  vegetative  means — cuttings, 
grafting,  and  budding. 

OLD  AGE  comes  to  trees,  as  to  all 
other  living  organisms.  The  span  of 
life  of  a  tree  is  specific.  Gray  birch  is 
old  at  40.  The  sugar  maple  lives  longer, 
up  to  500  years.  Some  oaks  may  live 
1,500  years,  junipers  2,000  years.  Some 
of  the  giant  sequoias  are  believed  to 
be  about  4,000  years  old.  Old  trees  are 
like  old  people — the  infirmities  of  age 
are  upon  them.  They  have  difficulty 
with  respiration  (its  rate  in  old  plants 
is  much  lower  than  in  young  plants)  ; 
the  annual  shoots  are  not  so  vigorous 
as  they  once  were,  and  the  weakening 
cambium  activity  is  reflected  in  the 
formation  of  fewer  and  fewer  wood 
cells.  Hence,  the  annual  rings  become 
narrower.  As  the  rate  of  growth  of 
the  tree  decreases,  dead  branches  ap- 
pear in  ever-increasing  numbers.  The 
recuperative  capacity  of  an  old  tree  is 
impaired,  and  its  wounds  do  not  heal 
over  so  easily  as  before.  The  leaves  be- 
come smaller;  their  moisture  content 
decreases;  the  tree  finds  it  more  and 
more  difficult  to  provide  water  for  its 
vital  functions;  the  inflow  of  food  to 
the  growing  points  drops;  and  the 
growth  hormones  probably  cannot  be 
transported  in  large  enough  quantity  to 
the  places  where  they  are  needed. 

Causes  of  death  of  a  tree  may  be 
numerous  and  are  often  difficult  to 
diagnose.  When  a  tree  is  broken  by 
snowfall  or  uprooted  by  wind  or  killed 
by  fire,  the  cause  of  death  is  evident. 
But  often  the  cause  is  rather  obscure. 
Sometimes  lack  of  water  may  cause 
death  of  the  tree,  and  again  trees 
weakened  by  drought  may  fall  prey  to 
an  insect  or  fungus  attack. 

Fire  is  an  archenemy  of  trees.  Its 


direct  effect  on  trees  is  obvious  enough. 
But  there  is  also  an  indirect  effect: 
Heat  may  injure  patches  of  succulent 
inner  bark  of  the  tree  trunk.  Fermen- 
tation may  easily  start  in  these  places 
and  attract  insects.  The  smoke  of  a 
fire  contains  some  physiologically  ac- 
tive gases — ethylene,  for  example,  or 
acetylene.  The  gases  may  cause  the 
opening  of  the  dormant  buds  prema- 
turely, thus  exposing  them  to  frost 
damage  and  contributing  to  the  gen- 
eral weakening  of  the  tree. 

When  a  tree  dies,  its  death  almost 
always  can  be  traced  to  some  external 
cause — cold,  fire,  drought,  insects, 
fungi,  or  malnutrition.  Some  of  these 
causes  are  beyond  our  control.  Others 
can  be  prevented.  By  taking  good  care 
of  the  tree,  one  can  prolong  its  life.  The 
tree  should  be  well  provided  with 
water  and  light  and  be  well  nourished, 
or  at  least  not  deprived  of  nutritive 
substances.  A  healthy  tree  will  resist 
attacks  of  insects  and  diseases;  it  will 
develop  a  large  crown  and  a  strong 
root  system;  and  it  will  withstand  the 
action  of  the  wind. 

If  a  tree  is  treated  as  a  living  organ- 
ism, with  an  understanding  of  its  vital 
functions,  it  will  be  a  constant  source 
of  profit  and  pleasure  to  men. 

N.  T.  MIROV  is  plant  physiologist  of 
the  Institute  of  Forest  Genetics,  which 
is  a  branch  of  the  California  Forest  and 
Range  Experiment  Station,  maintained 
by  the  Forest  Service  in  cooperation 
with  the  University  of  California,  in 
Berkeley.  He  holds  a  master's  degree  in 
forestry  and  a  doctor's  degree  in  plant 
physiology  from  the  University  of 
California. 

The  attention  of  the  reader  is  di- 
rected particularly  to  later  chapters  and 
sections  that  relate  to  Dr.  Mirov's  sub- 
ject, including  the  bibliography  (For 
Further  Reference)  at  the  end  of  the 
booh;  Pointers  on  Planting,  by  T.  E. 
Maki;  First  the  Seed,  Then  the  Tree,  by 
Paul  O.  Rudolf;  Direct  Seeding  of 
Trees,  by  W.  E.  McQuilkin;  The  Com- 
munity of  Trees,  by  Jesse  H.  Buell. 


1C 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


DETAILS  OF  SEEDS 

Above:  A  pine  seed:  A,  seed  with  wing; 
B,  detached  wing;  C,  cross  section  of  a  seed 
showing  embryo  (a)  surrounded  by  an 
endosperm  (6),  which  is  filled  with  storage 
food,  and  in  turn  surrounded  by  the  seed 
coat  (c);  D,  excised  embryo  with  a  tuft  of 
seed  leaves. 

Opposite:  A  dewinged  Douglas-fir  seed 
in  cross  section. 

Below:  Seeds  of  several  types:  A,  white 
fir,  dewinged  seed,  borne  in  cones;  B,  silk- 
tree,  seeds  borne  in  pods;  C,  common 
spicebush,  seeds  borne  in  fleshy  drupes; 
D,  common  buttonbush,  2  to  4  nutlets 
borne  in  dry,  podlike  fruits. 


II 


SOME  TREES  ARE  FAMOUS 


CHARLES  E.  RANDALL 


Some  trees,  like  some  persons,  be- 
come famous.  In  every  section  there 
are  trees  that  have  the  esteem  of  local 
people  because  of  their  associations 
with  notable  persons  or  events  or  be- 
cause of  their  great  size  or  age.  Some 
of  the  trees  that  figured  prominently 
in  the  early  history  of  our  Nation  have 
become  national  shrines. 

Trees  are  natural  landmarks  and 
memorials.  Because  they  have  more 
than  the  allotted  life  span  of  man,  they 
carry  their  associations  through  gener- 
ation after  generation.  There  are  trees 
still  living  that  were  planted  by  the  first 
President  of  the  United  States.  There 
are  trees  that  have  been  immortalized 
by  poets  and  artists.  There  are  trees 
with  special  religious,  esthetic,  or  sen- 
timental associations.  There  are  trees 
that  are  respected  as  the  oldest  living 
things  on  earth. 

Almost  as  numerous  as  the  places 
where  George  Washington  is  reputed 
to  have  slept  are  the  trees  associated 
with  him.  Living  trees  planted  by 
Washington  or  under  his  direction  at 
Mount  Vernon  include  some  tuliptrees, 
buckeyes,  elms,  pecans,  hollies,  lindens, 
hemlocks,  and  mulberries.  Two  pecan 
trees  on  the  lawn  near  the  mansion  at 
Mount  Vernon,  grown  from  nuts  given 
to  Washington  by  Thomas  Jefferson  in 
1775,  are  said  to  be  the  oldest  trees 
now  standing  on  the  estate.  Washing- 
ton and  Jefferson  were  kindred  spirits 
in  their  love  for  trees,  and  the  "Jeffer- 
son Pecans"  are  a  living  illustration  of 
this  congeniality. 

The  Washington  Elm  near  the  Sen- 
ate wing  of  the  United  States  Capitol 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  survived 
until  1948.  Under  it,  the  first  Presi- 
dent was  said  to  have  watched  the 
construction  of  the  Capitol. 

The  Washington  Friendship  Tree,  a 
horsechestnut,  at  Bath,  Pa.,  is  said  to 
be  a  memorial  to  the  friendship  ex- 
isting between  Washington  and  Gen. 


Robert  Brown  in  Revolutionary  days. 
On  one  of  General  Brown's  visits  to 
Mount  Vernon,  when  peace  had  come, 
Washington  dug  from  his  garden  two 
young  horsechestnuts  and  presented 
them  to  his  friend,  who  carried  them 
on  horseback  into  the  hills  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  planted  them  at  his  home  at 
Bath.  One  of  the  trees  still  lives. 

Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  has 
its  Washington  Live  Oak.  The  story 
goes  that  when  George  Washington 
visited  Charleston  in  1791  he  was  a 
breakfast  guest  in  the  beautiful  planta- 
tion home  of  the  Pinckney  family.  He 
heard  the  mistress  of  the  household 
order  her  gardener  to  cut  down  the  oak 
tree  that  obstructed  the  view  from  the 
new  portico.  Washington,  the  tree 
lover,  expressed  the  wish  that  the  tree 
should  be  spared.  It  was. 

There  were  many  other  "Washing- 
ton trees."  One  of  the  most  famous 
was  the  Washington  Elm  in  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  under  which  the  leader 
of  the  American  Revolutionary  Forces 
assumed  command  in  1775.  The  tree 
is  now  dead,  but  its  true  descendants 
are  growing  on  the  campus  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Washington  in  Seattle  and 
in  the  Arnold  Arboretum  at  Jamaica 
Plain  in  Massachusetts.  (Incidentally, 
some  supposedly  pedigreed  cions  of 
the  Cambridge  elm  have  been  planted 
that  were  found  to  have  a  bar  sinister 
on  their  escutcheon.  When  a  forester 
inspected  them  a  few  years  ago,  all 
proved  to  be  either  English  or  Scotch 
elms  and  not  the  native  American  elm, 
and  so  could  not  be  descendants  of 
the  historic  tree.  Somebody  distributed, 
at  fancy  prices,  plants  or  seed  that 
were  misrepresented  as  being  from  the 
original  Washington  Elm.) 

And  the  John  Quincy  Adams  Elm, 
planted  on  the  White  House  grounds 
during  the  administration  of  President 
Adams,  the  great  beech  and  other  fine 
old  trees  on  the  estate  of  President 


12 

James  Buchanan  near  Lancaster,  Pa., 
the  Grant  Elm  planted  by  President 
Grant  in  1870  on  the  lawn  in  front  of 
Woodstock  Academy  in  Connecticut, 
the  six  tall  hickories  flanking  the  tomb 
of  Andrew  Jackson  and  his  good  wife, 
Rachel,  at  the  Hermitage  near  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  and  the  Lincoln  Oak  at 
Lincoln's  birthplace  at  Hodgenville, 
Ky.,  are  examples  of  the  many  trees  as- 
sociated with  Presidents  of  the  Nation. 

Many  other  trees  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  notable  persons:  The  an- 
cient oak  at  Crockett,  Tex.,  under 
which  David  Crockett  was  said  to  have 
camped  during  his  journey  from  the 
States  to  help  Texas  in  its  struggle  for 
freedom  from  Mexican  rule;  the  Buf- 
falo Bill  Elm,  near  Le  Claire,  Iowa, 
under  which  William  F.  Cody  played 
when  a  boy;  the  giant  hemlocks  in 
Germantown,  Pa.,  which,  according 
to  tradition,  were  planted  by  William 
Penn ;  and  the  horsechestnut  at  Strat- 
ford-on-the-Potomac,  Va.,  mentioned 
in  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee's  diary  as  hav- 
ing been  planted  by  his  mother,  Anne 
Carter  Lee. 

The  lovely  Charter  Oak,  in  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  was  a  famous  historical 
shrine  in  earlier  days.  The  charter  of 
the  Connecticut  Colony,  granted  by 
King  Charles  II  in  1662,  was  supposed 
to  have  been  hidden  in  the  oak  by  a 
patriot  when  Sir  Edmund  Andros  de- 
manded its  surrender  in  1687,  at  the 
command  of  King  James  II.  The 
charter  served  Connecticut  as  a  con- 
stitution from  1662  to  1816  and  con- 
veyed to  the  Colony  all  the  land  "from 
the  said  Narragansett  Bay  on  the  east 
to  the  South  Sea  on  the  west."  When 
the  tree  blew  down  in  1856,  the  hole 
that  concealed  the  charter  had  been 
enlarged  enough  to  hold  25  men,  so  it 
was  said.  Pieces  of  the  wood  were  made 
into  gavels,  picture  frames,  and  chairs; 
one  of  the  chairs  stands  in  the  senate 
chamber  of  the  State  capitol. 

A  number  of  Indian  trail  trees  may 
still  be  found  at  various  places  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley.  The  trees  were 
bent  over  when  they  were  small  sap- 
lings to  mark  an  Indian  trail,  and  for 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


that  reason  often  have  several  upright 
branches  growing  from  the  horizontal 
trunk.  A  good  example  of  an  Indian 
trail  tree  has  been  preserved  and 
marked  by  the  Daughters  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution  in  Evanston,  111. 

Many  trees  are  famous  in  literature. 
The  Evangeline  Oak  at  St.  Martinville, 
La.,  marks  the  place  where  the  Aca- 
dians,  driven  from  Nova  Scotia,  landed 
in  1 758.  It  was  immortalized  by  Long- 
fellow's famous  poem.  Under  the 
boughs  of  the  Lanier  Oak  at  Bruns- 
wick, Ga.,  the  southern  poet,  Sidney 
Lanier,  was  inspired  to  write  "The 
Marshes  of  Glynn."  A  tree  since 
known  as  "Whittier's  Pine  Tree,"  near 
Sunset  Hill,  N.  H.,  was  named  the 
"Wood  Giant"  by  Whittier.  The 
"Great  Elm  of  Concord"  in  Massachu- 
setts was  beloved  of  Emerson,  Haw- 
thorne, and  Thoreau.  A  tree  in  Wise 
County,  Va.,  was  made  famous  by  John 
Fox,  Jr.,  in  his  novel,  The  Trail  of  the 
Lonesome  Pine.  The  tree  in  Tuo- 
lumne  County,  Calif.,  under  which 
Mark  Twain  wrote  The  Jumping  Frog 
of  Calaveras  County,  which  made  him 
famous  overnight,  was  known  as  the 
"Mark  Twain  Oak"  until  it  was  felled 
in  1929.  Many  other  trees  can  be 
found  that  are  associated  with  Ameri- 
can authors,  or  that  have  a  place  in 
American  literature. 

Many  trees  of  historical  or  senti- 
mental interest  have  been  destroyed  or 
have  suffered  from  neglect.  Many 
others  have  been  preserved  through  the 
efforts  of  civic  organizations  or  inter- 
ested local  citizens. 

In  Norfolk,  Va.,  Memorial  Oak,  a 
tree  that  is  believed  to  antedate  the 
city  itself,  was  purchased  jointly  by  the 
city  and  the  Garden  Club  of  Norfolk 
in  1923  and  dedicated  as  a  memorial 
to  the  sons  of  Norfolk  who  died  in  the 
First  World  War. 

In  McAlester,  Okla.,  a  lone  pine 
stands  in  the  middle  of  a  wide  street, 
protected  by  fence  and  concrete  curb- 
ing. It  is  an  example  of  the  many 
favorite  trees  that  a  tree  lover  or  civic- 
minded  group  saved  by  changing  road 
locations  or  building  plans. 


Some  Trees  are  Famous 


An  Indian  trail  tree,  a  white  oak  in  High- 
land Park,  111.  The  tree  took  root  at  a  point 
of  secondary  contact  with  the  ground  and 
continued  to  grow  with  two  sets  of  roots. 

In  Athens,  Ga.,  was  the  "Oak  that 
Owned  Itself" — "for  and  in  consider- 
ation of  the  great  love  I  bear  this 
tree,"  its  owner,  William  H.  Jackson, 
willed  to  it  entire  possession  of  itself 
and  of  all  land  within  8  feet  of  the 
tree  on  all  sides.  The  deed,  dated  1820, 
is  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  town 
clerk. 

There  are  freak  trees,  interesting  as 
curiosities,  such  as  the  old  elm  in  Ham- 
burg, Conn.,  that  grew  around  a  grave- 
stone; the  G-trees  of  Biloxi,  Miss.;  the 
Lyre  Tree,  an  elm  of  freak  growth  in 
Livingston,  N.  J.;  the  Cannibal  Tree, 
a  Douglas-fir  that  entirely  enclosed  an 
oak  in  Oregon;  and  the  trees  that 
started  from  seed  and  grew  for  many 
years  on  the  top  of  the  courthouse 
tower  in  Greensburg,  Ind. 

Dane  County  Village,  near  Madi- 
son, in  Wisconsin,  has  a  Forest  of  Fame, 
in  which  trees  have  been  transplanted 
from  the  homes  of  many  Presidents  of 
the  United  States,  famous  generals,  and 
personages  associated  with  religion, 
science,  music,  and  commerce,  and 
from  historic  places  such  as  Sherwood 
Forest  in  England.  The  Forest  of  Fame 
was  started  by  John  S.  Donald,  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 
The  first  trees,  from  George  Washing- 
ton's home  at  Mount  Vernon,  were 


planted  by  Professor  Donald  on  Arbor 
Day,  1916. 

Among  the  trees  that  are  of  special 
interest  to  many  tourists  are  the  Japa- 
nese cherry  trees  in  Washington,  D.  C., 
and  the  Mile  of  Christmas  Trees  in 
Pasadena,  Calif.  The  awe-inspiring 
coastal  redwoods  and  the  giant  se- 
quoias of  the  California  Sierra  are 
visited  by  people  from  all  parts  of  the 
world. 

I  have  written  about  only  a  few  of 
the  notable  trees,  living  and  dead,  for 
which  Americans  have  a  special  fond- 
ness. Still  to  be  mentioned  are  the  trees 
for  which  I  ( and  millions  of  Americans 
like  me)  have  a  particular  affection,  al- 
though they  have  no  connections  with 
Presidents  or  history  and  it  is  only  our 
neighbors  and  friends  that  come  to  ad- 
mire them.  They  are  the  trees  in  our 
own  yards.  For  us  they  are  reminders 
of  how  close  trees  are  to  our  lives,  of 
the  words  that  I  am  told  appear  on  a 
sign  at  the  entrance  to  a  public  park  in 
Portugal : 

"Ye  who  would  pass  by  and  raise 
your  hand  against  me,  harken  ere  you 
harm  me.  I  am  the  heat  of  your  hearth 
on  the  cold  winter  nights;  the  friendly 
shade  screening  you  from  the  summer 
sun;  and  my  fruits  are  refreshing 
draughts  quenching  your  thirst  as  you 
journey  on.  I  am  the  beam  that  holds 
your  house,  the  board  of  your  table, 
the  bed  on  which  you  lie,  and  the  tim- 
ber that  builds  your  boat.  I  am  the 
handle  of  your  hoe,  the  door  of  your 
homestead,  the  wood  of  your  cradle, 
and  the  shell  of  your  coffin.  I  am  the 
gift  of  God  and  friend  of  man." 

CHARLES  E.  RANDALL  is  a  native  of 
California  and  a  graduate  of  Stanford 
University  and  George  Washington 
University.  After  teaching  in  Oregon 
State  College,  work  on  ranches,  news- 
paper work,  and  participation  in  a  tree- 
disease  survey  in  western  forests,  he 
joined  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engineering  as 
a  junior  forest  pathologist.  In  1927  he 
entered  the  Forest  Service  as  an  editor 
and  writer. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  General  Sherman  Bigtree  in  the  Sequoia  National 
Park,,  California 


TREES  REMEMBERED  AND  REMEMBERING 


G.  HARRIS  COLLINGWOOD 


Long  before  Maine  became  known 
as  the  Pine  Tree  State,  before  the  men 
who  accompanied  De  Soto  complained 
of  Florida  as  "cumbersome  with  woods 
and  bogs/'  before  Columbus  and  his 
intrepid  crew  from  three  little  wooden 
ships  knelt  in  reverent  thankfulness  on 
the  shores  of  San  Salvador  Island  in 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  before  Leif  Ericson 
and  his  Norsemen  set  sail  from  the 
North  Atlantic  coast  of  an  uncharted 
continent  with  a  cargo  of  timbers  for 
Greenland,  there  were,  among  the 
seemingly  limitless  forests  of  what  is 
now  known  as  North  America,  many 
of  the  same  giant  sequoias  that  now 
tower  above  their  giant  associates  in 
isolated  areas  of  the  western  slopes  of 
the  continent.  Today,  after  more  than 
three  centuries  of  exploitation  and  de- 
velopment, few  other  trees  are  stand- 
ing that  may  be  said  to  "remember" 
any  of  those  adventurous  explorers. 
The  sequoias  could  recall  them  all. 

Were  Columbus  and  his  crew  to  re- 
turn to  see  what  has  happened  to  the 
new  land  they  discovered  457  years 
ago,  they  might  find  among  perhaps  a 
dozen  varieties  of  trees  some  indi- 
viduals that  were  standing  when  the 
discovery  was  reported  to  their  royal 
patrons.  These  are  the  hardy,  long- 
lived  ones  of  more  than  a  thousand 
tree  species  that  inhabit  this  country. 

Along  the  east  coast  a  few  of  the 
original  southern  cypress  or  the  bald- 
cypress  still  stand — but  very  few.  Some 
of  the  biggest  eastern  hemlock  could 
probably  look  that  far  back,  as  could 
also  a  few  of  the  Carolina  hemlock,  in 
isolated  coves  of  the  Great  Smoky 
Mountains.  This  is  the  tree  that  the 
late  Charles  Sprague  Sargent  described 
as  America's  most  beautiful  conifer. 
Among  the  broadleaved  hardwoods 
they  would  find  early  companions  only 
among  the  white  oaks  and  post  oaks, 
with  possibly  a  rare  old  sassafras  tree. 
Beyond  the  Great  Plains,  of  whose  ex- 


istence those  explorers  had  not  the 
slightest  shadow  of  information,  they 
would  find  a  larger  variety  and  many 
more  individual  trees. 

Extensive  forests  of  Douglas-fir  in 
Washington  and  Oregon  include  trees 
whose  size  in  1492  exceeded  that  of 
many  present-day  trees  whose  trunks 
are  harvested  and  hauled  to  a  sawmill. 
Among  them,  extending  in  more  or 
less  pure  stands  through  British  Co- 
lumbia to  the  Alaskan  coast,  are  larch, 
Engelmann  spruce,  noble  fir,  western 
redcedar,  Sitka  spruce,  and  Alaska- 
cedar,  whose  size  and  growth  rings  at- 
test their  age.  But  the  biggest  trees 
then,  as  well  as  now,  were  two  varieties 
of  sequoia :  Sequoia  gigantea,  the  big- 
tree  or  giant  sequoia  of  California's 
high  Sierra,  and  Sequoia  sempervirens, 
the  coast  redwood,  whose  magnificent 
fluted  columns  rise  high  into  the  Pa- 
cific fog  near  the  coast  of  northern 
California  and  southwestern  Oregon. 

Those  trees,  and  more  particularly 
the  two  sequoias  with  their  associates, 
are  part  of  an  amazing  heritage  that 
has  contributed  immeasurably  to  the 
economy,  political  structure,  and  spir- 
itual outlook  of  this  Nation.  The  ex- 
tent to  which  they  and  all  other  forest 
trees  can  continue  to  help  support  the 
national  welfare  depends  on  the  fore- 
sight and  efforts  of  the  men  and  women 
who  now  inhabit  this  broad  land. 

During  four  centuries  and  more, 
while  man  has  pressed  with  accelerat- 
ing force  upon  the  natural  resources 
of  the  continent,  forests  that  seemed  a 
cumbersome  burden  to  the  early  pio- 
neers have  become  an  asset  whose  con- 
tribution is  only  beginning  to  be  fully 
recognized.  As  men  and  women  jour- 
neyed across  the  land,  broke  the  soil, 
and  built  towns,  political  needs  made 
necessary  division  of  the  country  into 
States,  each  with  an  identifying  name. 

Each  State  has  characteristics,  pecu- 
liarities, and  resources  that  give  rise  to 


i6 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


local  pride,  yet  all  have  ideals  in  com- 
mon and  all  bear  allegiance  to  a  cen- 
tral government.  The  struggles  and 
strife  that  resulted  in  this  common  al- 
legiance revealed  increasing  depend- 
ence upon  trees.  A  few  States  early 
identified  themselves  by  some  of  the 
trees  that  were  characteristic  of  their 
area.  Eventually,  there  developed  a 
Nation-wide  movement  to  designate  a 
typical  tree  for  each  State — a  mascot, 
as  it  were. 

Maine  was  early  dubbed  the  Pine 
Tree  State,  yet  no  single  species  of  the 
pine  has  been  officially  recognized. 
That  was  perhaps  too  obvious  since  it 
could  have  been  none  other  than 
the  eastern  white  pine,  whose  clean, 
straight  boles  had  early  been  selected 
by  the  King's  men  to  serve  as  masts  and 
spars  for  the  British  Navy  and  so  had 
borne  the  blaze  of  the  Broad  Arrow. 

Remembering  her  contributions  to 
the  development  of  the  great  agricul- 
tural and  industrial  Midwest  during 
the  turn  of  the  century,  Minnesota 
chose  the  same  white  pine  for  her  em- 
blem. Idaho  chose  the  taller  western 
white  pine  and  has  been  vigorously 
vociferous  in  claiming  for  that  tree  the 
official  name  of  Idaho  white  pine. 

Two  Southern  States  bear  witness 
to  the  fecundity  of  forests  and  the  eco- 
nomic importance  of  pines  in  their  de- 
velopment. Alabama  designated  as 
her  tree  the  slash  pine,  a  dual-purpose 
tree.  On  it  and  the  longleaf  pine,  a 
native  also  of  Georgia,  depends  the 
naval  stores  industry  which,  until  the 
recent  age  of  chemistry,  was  the  source 
of  all  our  turpentine  and  rosin.  Ar- 
kansas chose  the  shortleaf  pine,  her 
most  numerous  of  these  southern  lum- 
ber producers. 

Moving  to  the  west,  we  find  Mon- 
tana has  recognized  the  potential  pos- 
sibilities of  the  versatile  ponderosa 
pine,  whose  easily  worked  wood  long 
struggled  under  the  name  of  western 
yellow  pine.  Wyoming  memorialized 
the  home-making  efforts  of  her  In- 
dians and  accepted  the  lodgepole  pine. 
Other  tribes  of  Indians  were  a  strong 
influence  upon  the  selection  of  New 


Mexico  and  of  Nevada.  New  Mexico 
designated  the  pinyon  pine  and  Ne- 
vada the  singleleaf  pinyon,  whose  nut- 
like  seeds  formed  an  important  item 
in  the  Indian  diet. 

Recalling  the  Gothic  arch  under 
which  General  Washington  reviewed 
the  Colonial  troops  at  Cambridge,  and 
similar  trees  that  grace  her  village 
streets  and  country  highways,  Massa- 
chusetts honored  herself  by  singling 
out  the  American  elm. 

The  Charter  Oak,  whose  cavity 
played  so  significant  and  also  so  ro- 
mantic a  part  in  early  Colonial  his- 
tory, was  a  white  oak.  So  history  may 
be  said  to  have  made  the  decision 
for  Connecticut.  White  oak  is  also  the 
choice  of  Maryland,  whose  Wye  Oak, 
standing  on  her  Eastern  Shore,  is  said 
to  be  America's  largest  oak  tree.  Neigh- 
boring West  Virginia,  remembering 
that  many  families  and  industries  de- 
pend on  her  heavy  stands  of  hard- 
wood forest,  also  chose  the  white  oak. 
The  settlers  who  trekked  west  found 
counterparts  of  those  trees  in  the  oak 
openings  of  the  prairies,  and  Illinois 
chose  the  "native  oak,"  the  most  com- 
mon being  the  bur  oak. 

A  sweet  tooth  and  pride  in  the  spe- 
cial quality  of  a  product  for  which 
Vermont  has  long  laid  claim  made  the 
maple  her  natural  choice.  To  desig- 
nate this  sugar  maple,  hard  maple,  or 
white  maple  is  of  little  consequence, 
for  all  are  names  for  the  same  tree. 
Whether  New  York  chose  the  same 
tree  because  of  its  annual  crop  of  sirup 
and  sugar  is  a  question.  The  children 
of  Wisconsin,  by  vote,  have  asked  their 
legislature  to  name  the  sugar  maple  as 
their  State  tree,  also.  These  States  may 
as  logically  have  given  weight  to  the 
hard,  firm,  white  wood,  whose  uses 
range  from  shoe  trees  to  flooring,  and 
to  the  symmetry  of  the  leaves  and  the 
brilliant  autumn  foliage. 

The  straight-grained,  lightweight, 
easily  cleaved,  and  durable  eastern 
redcedar  was  cut  and  split  into  rails 
and  posts  for  many  southern  pioneer 
fences.  The  first  three  of  these  qualities 
later  singled  out  the  wood  as  peculiarly 


Trees  Remembered  and  Remembering 


adapted  for  the  wooden  casings  of 
pencils,  and  the  spicy  odor  added  to 
its  desirability.  But  with  these  qualities 
recognized,  it  was  the  durability  of 
the  wood  that  permitted  pencil  makers 
to  use  fence  rails  that  had  stood  in 
place  for  a  generation  or  more.  As  a 
result,  many  a  Tennessee  hill  farmer 
paid  off  the  mortgage  on  his  farm  with 
the  cedar  rails  his  father  had  cut.  Small 
wonder,  then,  that  Tennessee  citizens 
voted  to  make  eastern  redcedar  their 
State  tree. 

From  southern  New  England  to  the 
Gulf  coast  and  west  into  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  grows  a  glossy-leafed  giant 
known  variously  as  yellow-poplar  and 
whitewood,  for  its  soft,  even-grained 
wood,  and  as  tuliptree,  for  its  orange 
and  yellow  blossoms.  The  lumber  is 
sought  by  cabinetmakers  as  well  as 
carpenters,  and  it  has  contributed  to 
homes  and  barns  in  the  Middle  West, 
as  it  now  contributes  to  many  wood- 
working industries.  So  it  is  the  natural 
choice  of  Indiana  and  of  Kentucky. 

Utility  may  have  vied  with  romance 
when  Louisiana  and  Mississippi  chose 
southern  magnolia.  The  lumber  from 
magnolia  contributes  to  the  need  for 
even-grained,  soft,  easily  worked  hard- 
wood, but  the  white  blossoms  against 
the  shiny  green  leaves  are  a  lasting 
memory  of  all  who  have  enjoyed  life 
in  the  South. 

Some  of  the  same  love  of  beauty  and 
romantic  fervor  attributed  to  the  South 
may  have  influenced  the  people  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina  in  their 
choice  of  the  flowering  dogwood  as 
their  State  tree.  Similarly,  the  people 
of  Oklahoma  singled  out  the  eastern 
redbud  or  Judas-tree,  those  of  Missouri 
selected  the  Engelmann  hawthorn  or 
the  red  haw,  and  Delaware  chose  the 
American  holly. 

History  records  that  the  Southern 
soldiers  were  influenced  in  their  cam- 
paign against  Gettysburg  by  the  hope 
they  would  get  shoes  in  that  area.  Few 
may  have  realized  that  the  shoemakers 
had  established  themselves  in  Penn- 
sylvania because  of  the  seemingly  in- 
exhaustible forests  of  hemlock,  whose 

802062° — 49 3 


17 

bark  yielded  tannin  with  which  to  make 
leather  tough  for  shoe  soles.  But  Penn- 
sylvania knew  it  and  has  since  named 
the  eastern  hemlock  as  her  State  tree. 
Farther  west,  the  bigger  variety,  west- 
ern hemlock,  has  been  selected  by 
Washington. 

Long  before  the  movement  for  State 
trees,  Ohio  was  known  as  the  Buckeye 
State,  but  not  all  of  her  present  citizens 
have  ever  seen  the  Aesculus  glabra,  or 
Ohio  buckeye. 

Strangely  enough,  despite  the  wide 
range  of  growth  of  our  American  black 
walnut,  it  was  left  to  Iowa  to  accept 
this  tree,  whose  lumber  is  the  most 
costly  of  all  common  American  woods. 
Perhaps  Iowa's  choice  was  partly  for 
lack  of  a  wide  choice  of  native  trees. 
It  was  still  more  likely  that  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  and  South  Dakota  for  the 
same  reason  picked  the  cottonwood, 
the  tree  which  the  early  settlers  cut 
for  wood  for  their  homes  and  fuel 
for  their  fires  and  the  one  they  planted 
to  give  solace  to  their  souls.  Likewise, 
North  Dakota  looked  to  her  water- 
courses and  shelterbelts  to  find  the 
green  ash  and  claim  it  for  her  own. 

In  the  Southwest,  two  States  chose 
trees  that  furnish  food  as  well  as  wood. 
Texas  chose  the  pecan,  whose  nut  crop 
fattens  hogs  and  helps  fill  the  candy 
bars  of  the  Nation  and  whose  lumber 
is  increasingly  chosen  for  furniture, 
flooring,  and  a  host  of  uses  for  which 
a  hard,  resilient  wood  is  needed.  Far- 
ther west,  Arizona  accepted  the  honey 
mesquite,  whose  flowers  are  an  impor- 
tant source  of  honey,  whose  bean  pods 
are  eaten  by  cattle,  and  whose  wood 
is  now  directed  to  other  uses  than  to 
feed  a  sheepherder's  campfire. 

Utah  and  Colorado  went  into  high 
mountains  and  chose  the  blue  spruce. 

The  sea-faring  side  of  New  Jersey 
may  have  influenced  her  acceptance  of 
Atlantic  white-cedar  whose  light,  dur- 
able wood  is  prized  by  boat  builders. 

New  Hampshire  accepted  the  aro- 
matic yellow  birch,  but  Michigan,  with 
a  long  list  of  beautiful  native  trees 
whose  lumber  supported  much  of  her 
early  economy,  chose  the  apple.  The 


i8 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


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apple  is  the  only  State  tree  not  indige- 
nous to  the  United  States,  but  it  is 
so  widely  planted  and  so  important 
to  the  prosperity  of  Michigan  as  to 
seem  natural  to  much  of  her  landscape. 

Florida  and  South  Carolina  chose 
trees  of  a  comparatively  unusual  order. 
In  Florida,  it  is  the  cabbagepalm,  and 
in  South  Carolina,  it  is  the  same,  but 
they  call  it  the  cabbage  palmetto. 

The  two  tallest  trees  in  America 
grow  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  fortu- 
nately are  given  recognition.  Oregon 
has  selected  the  Douglas-fir  and  Cali- 
fornia the  redwood.  Each  is  a  giant. 
Each  is  of  great  economic  importance 
to  the  State  that  has  selected  it.  Each 
has  a  great  future  as  management  of 


o/  an  amazing  heritage  .  .  ." 


the  stands  of  Douglas-fir  and  redwood 
is  directed  by  forestry. 

Many  of  these  State  trees  played 
important  roles  in  the  building  of 
America.  That  this  country  has  more 
than  a  thousand  other  tree  species 
from  which  choices  might  have  been 
made  indicates  the  wealth  of  our  forest 
heritage.  Other  choices  may  yet  be 
made,  and  some  States  may  change 
their  selections.  Such  recognition  fos- 
ters the  growing  realization  of  man's 
dependence  on  trees.  It  is  good  that 
it  has  been  encouraged. 

G.  HARRIS  COLLINGWOOD  is  the 
author  (with  Warren  D.  Brush)  of 
the  book,  Knowing  Your  Trees. 


QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS 


W.  W.  BERGOFFEN 


What  is  the  difference  between 
trees  and  shrubs? 

There  is  no  clear-cut  distinction. 
However,  a  tree  is  commonly  defined  as 
a  woody  plant  that  reaches  a  height 
of  at  least  10  feet,  has  a  single  stem, 
and  has  a  definite  crown  shape.  A 
shrub  usually  is  less  than  10  feet  tall 
and  has  several  stems  without  a  defi- 
nite crown  shape.  Some  specimens  of 
plant  species  may  take  the  form  of  a 
tree  while  others  of  the  same  species 
may  take  the  form  of  a  shrub — sumac 
and  willows,  for  example. 

How  many  different  kinds  of  forest 
trees  are  there  in  the  United  States? 
Precisely  1,182. 

What  is  the  largest  genus  of  forest 
trees? 

Hawthorns;  the  genus  Crataegus 
comprises  about  165  species. 

What  is  the  largest  genus  of  com- 
mercial forest  trees? 

Oaks — about  60  species,  not  count- 
ing many  hybrids  and  varieties. 

What  section  has  the  most  kinds  of 
trees? 

The  Southeast — Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Alabama, 
Georgia,  Tennessee,  Florida,  Ken- 
tucky, Mississippi — has  at  least  half  of 
all  the  species  in  the  country. 

What  State  has  the  largest  number 
of  different  kinds  of  trees? 

Florida  has  314  species  of  native  and 
naturalized  trees.  Texas,  Georgia,  and 
California  follow  in  that  order. 

What  State  has  the  least  number  of 
different  kinds  of  trees? 

North  Dakota  is  almost  treeless  ex- 
cept, for  example,  cottonwoods  and 
willows  that  grow  along  the  streams. 
That  is  no  aspersion,  however,  against 


that  beautiful,  happy  State;  North  Da- 
kota is  a  "grass"  region;  North  Dako- 
tans  are  as  interested  as  anybody  in 
trees. 

What  is  a  "softwood"? 

A  name  in  general  use  for  trees  of 
the  pine  family — the  conifers,  or  cone 
bearers. 

What  is  a  "hardwood"? 

A  name  in  general  use  for  trees 
belonging  to  families  other  than  the 
conifers — such  as  the  oaks,  maples, 
hickories,  and  other  broadleaf  trees. 

What  is  our  most  important  com- 
mercial forest  tree? 

In  terms  of  volume  of  standing  tim- 
ber and  value  of  products  cut,  Douglas- 
fir  is  considered  the  most  important 
commercial  tree. 

In  what  kinds  of  trees  in  the  United 
States  are  males  and  ]emales  sepa- 
rated? 

The  holly,  persimmon,  ash,  juniper, 
most  maples,  yew,  and  several  of  the 
less  familiar  trees.  In  those  cases  it  is 
essential  that  both  sexes  be  present  to 
obtain  well-developed  fruit  and  seed. 

Can  any  trees  reproduce  without 
fertilization? 

Yes;  asexual  reproduction  has  been 
found  to  occur  in  several  birches  and 
perhaps  in  other  species. 

What  is  the  biggest  living  tree  in  the 
world? 

The  General  Sherman  Bigtree  in  the 
Sequoia  National  Park  in  California. 
It  is  nearly  115  feet  in  circumference 
and  273  feet  in  height;  its  volume  is 
600, 120  board  feet. 

What  is  the  world's  tallest  known 
standing  tree? 
Founders  Tree,  a  redwood  in  the 


20 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Humboldt  State  Redwood  Park  near 
Dyerville  in  California.  It  was  364  feet 
tall  in  1947. 

Are  any  living  trees  direct  descend- 
ants of  fossil  ancestors? 

Yes;  most  familiar  example  is  gink- 
go,  a  native  of  China  that  is  now 
cultivated  in  the  United  States.  The  re- 
cently discovered  "Dawn  Redwood" 
(Metasequoia),  also  of  China,  was  at 
first  believed  to  be  a  "living  fossil"  but 
recent  indications  are  that  it  may  be  a 
"surviving  ancestor"  of  the  well-known 
American  coast  redwood.  In  1948,  Dr. 
Ralph  Chancy,  of  the  University  of 
California,  headed  an  expedition  into 
China  to  study  the  Dawn  Redwood 
and  bring  back  specimens  and  seed 
of  it.  Seedlings  and  transplants  from 
China  are  growing  at  the  University  of 
California  as  a  result  of  his  effort.  A 
league  for  the  protection  and  preserva- 
tion of  these  trees  in  China  has  been 
founded  and  is  being  encouraged  and 
assisted  by  the  "Save  the  Redwoods 
League"  of  the  west  coast. 

What  is  the  oldest  tree? 

The  oldest  tree  is  probably  one  of 
the  big  giant  sequoias  in  California, 
variously  estimated  to  be  between  3,000 
and  4,000  years  old.  The  "Dragon 
Tree"  of  the  Canary  Islands,  which 
was  blown  over  in  1868,  was  estimated 
to  have  been  as  old  as  the  Great  Pyra- 
mid Cheops  in  Egypt — about  4,000 
years  old. 

Do  tree  seeds  all  weigh  the  same? 

Seed  from  conifers  range  from  a  half 
thousand  seeds  up  to  nearly  a  half 
million  to  the  pound.  White  pine  seed 
averages  27,000  a  pound,  for  example; 
red  pine,  approximately  52,000;  black 
spruce,  400,000;  and  Atlantic  white- 
cedar,  460,000  to  the  pound.  Torrey 
pine  has  about  500  seeds  to  the  pound. 

How  large  do  pine  cones  grow? 

The  sugar  pine  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
States  produces  the  longest  of  pine 
cones,  some  exceeding  20  inches  in 
length.  The  Mugho  pine  of  Europe 


produces  cones  from  less  than  1  inch 
to  2  inches  long. 

What  is  the  difference  between  a 
bigtree,  or  giant  sequoia,  and  a  red- 
wood? 

These  trees  are  different  species  of 
the  same  family  and  genus.  Botani- 
cally,  the  giant  sequoia  is  known  as 
Sequoia  gigantea,  and  the  redwood  is 
known  as  Sequoia  sempervirens.  They 
grow  in  different  places.  The  giant  se- 
quoia is  found  only  on  the  middle 
slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  in  Califor- 
nia. The  redwood  grows  only  along 
the  Pacific  coast,  within  reach  of  the 
ocean  fogs,  from  Monterey  County 
northward  to  the  Oregon  line.  The  red- 
wood has  needlelike  leaves ;  the  giant 
sequoia  has  scalelike  leaves. 

Is  it  a  good  practice  to  plant  a  new 
tree  for  every  one  cut? 

No.  The  use  of  a  method  of  cutting 
that  will  assure  renewal  of  the  woods 
by  natural  reproduction  is  generally 
more  economical  and  satisfactory.  Na- 
ture usually  plants  many  times  as  many 
trees  as  man  cuts,  if  man  helps  nature 
by  providing  proper  conditions  on  the 
cut-over  areas. 

What  kind  of  trees  should  I  plant  on 
my  land? 

The  safest  rule  is  to  plant  trees  that 
grow  naturally  in  your  neighborhood, 
because  they  are  adapted  to  the  local 
climate  and  soils.  Before  planting  any 
exotic — foreign  or  introduced — spe- 
cies, consult  your  local  forester  or  nurs- 
eryman to  find  out  if  it  will  grow  on 
your  soil. 

Can  I  get  trees  from  the  Government 
to  plant  on  my  land? 

The  Federal  Government  does  not 
distribute  trees  free  of  charge.  It  does, 
however,  cooperate  with  the  various 
State  forestry  agencies  in  producing 
and  distributing  trees  for  planting  on 
private  lands.  Applications  to  buy  trees 
should  be  made  to  the  State  forester. 
Trees  grown  in  the  State  nurseries  are 
sold  at  approximate  cost  of  production. 


Questions  and  Answers 


21 


Ornamental  trees,  of  course,  can  be 
purchased  from  private  nurseries. 

How  can  we  start  a  community 
forest? 

Because  community  forests  are  pub- 
licly owned,  the  first  step  is  to  get  the 
support  of  local  authorities  who  must 
obtain  title  to  the  land — for  a  county 
forest,  the  county  board;  for  a  mu- 
nicipal forest,  the  mayor  and  his  gov- 
erning body;  for  a  school  forest,  the 
school  superintendent.  Enlist  also  the 
support  of  other  interested  public-serv- 
ice organizations.  Work  up  a  plan  of 
operation  to  cover  the  sort  of  forest 
desired  as  well  as  the  type  of  develop- 
ment and  use.  Appoint  a  forest  board 
to  develop  and  manage  the  property. 
Seek  expert  advice  on  forest  manage- 
ment from  your  local  forester. 

In  planting,  do  the  roots  need  spe- 
cial care? 

John  Burroughs,  the  eminent  nat- 
uralist, wrote  to  the  principal  of  a 
school  in  Pennsylvania: 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  that  your  pupils 
are  going  to  keep  Arbor  Day;  if  you 
can  teach  them  to  love  and  to  cherish 
trees,  you  will  teach  them  a  very  val- 
uable lesson.  .  .  .  Give  the  tree  roots 
plenty  of  room  and  a  soft,  deep  bed 
to  rest  in;  tuck  it  up  carefully  with 
your  hands.  The  roots  of  the  tree  are 
much  more  soft  and  tender  than  its 
branches  and  cannot  be  handled  too 
gently.  It  is  as  important  to  know  how 
to  dig  up  a  tree  as  how  to  plant  it.  A 
friend  of  mine  brings  quite  large  hem- 
locks from  the  woods  and  plants  them 
on  his  grounds  and  has  no  trouble  to 
make  them  live.  He  does  much  of  the 
work  with  his  hands,  follows  the  roots 
along  and  lifts  them  gently  from  the 
soil,  and  never  allows  them  to  dry. 
The  real  feeders  of  the  tree  are  very 
small,  mere  threads;  the  bulky,  mus- 
cular roots  are  for  strength;  its  life 
is  in  the  rootlets  that  fringe  them,  and 
to  let  these  delicate  feeders  dry,  even 
by  an  hour's  exposure  to  a  drying  air, 
is  to  endanger  the  vitality  of  the  tree. 
By  the  way,  in  your  planting  do  not 


forget  the  hemlock.  It  is  a  clean, 
healthy,  handsome  tree.  Do  not  for- 
get the  ash,  either,  if  only  for  the 
beautiful  plum-colored  foliage  in  au- 
tumn. Above  all,  do  not  forget  the 
linden  or  basswood,  a  tree  generally 
overlooked  by  our  arborists.  It  is  as 
pleasing  as  maple  in  form  and  foliage, 
and  then  it  is  such  a  friend  of  the 
honey  bee.  What  a  harvest  they  get 
from  it,  and  just  when  other  sources 
of  honey  supply  begin  to  fail. 

"I  have  somewhere  said  that  when 
you  bait  your  hook  with  your  heart  the 
fish  always  bite,  and  I  will  now  say 
that  when  you  plant  a  tree  with  love 
it  always  lives;  you  do  it  with  such 
care  and  thoroughness." 

How  successful  are  shelterbelt 
plantings  in  the  Prairie  States? 

Those  plantings  are  generally  suc- 
cessful. They  directly  affect  the  agri- 
cultural welfare  of  the  region.  They 
reduce  excessive  evaporation  and  the 
blowing  of  soil,  and  are  a  protective 
screen  against  the  burning  winds  of 
summer  and  freezing  winds  of  winter. 

What  trees  are  most  commonly  used 
for  Christmas  trees? 

The  greatest  demand  has  been  for 
balsam  fir  and  Douglas-fir.  Other  pop- 
ular Christmas  trees,  in  order  of  their 
production,  are  black  spruce,  redcedar, 
white  spruce,  Scotch  pine  and  southern 
pine,  red  spruce,  Virginia  pine,  white 
fir,  Norway  spruce. 

How  many  Christmas  trees  are  pro- 
duced in  the  United  States  each  year? 

About  21,000,000  trees;  87  percent 
are  produced  on  private  forest  lands; 
about  a  million  are  harvested  on  the 
national  forests.  About  100,000  acres  of 
woodland  (most  of  it  owned  by  farm- 
ers) are  devoted  solely  to  growing 
Christmas  trees. 

How  can  I  keep  my  Chirstmas  tree 
fresh  and  green? 

Try  to  obtain  a  tree  that  has  been 
harvested  recently.  Store  it  in  a  cool 
place;  place  the  butt  in  water;  sprinkle 


22 

the  branches  daily.  When  you  take 
the  tree  indoors,  cut  the  butt  diagonally 
about  an  inch  above  the  original  cut 
and  keep  the  tree  in  a  stand  that  con- 
tains water. 

What  does  a  farm  forester  do? 

Upon  request,  he  helps  the  owner 
of  a  small  woodland  work  out  a  specific 
management  plan  right  on  the  ground. 
He  recommends  the  proper  protection 
and  cutting  methods ;  assists  the  owner 
in  marking  the  trees  to  be  cut;  helps 
measure  the  volume;  and  advises  him 
in  the  marketing  of  the  products.  Sur- 
veys indicate  that  2,000  farm  foresters 
are  needed  to  assist  the  country's  4.25 
million  small- woodland  owners;  there 
are  now  fewer  than  200  on  the  job. 

How  can  I  get  advice  and  in-the- 
woods  assistance  in  handling  my  own 
woodland  right? 

Write  your  State  forester  at  the 
State  capital  or  your  extension  forester 
at  the  State  agricultural  college;  or 
get  in  touch  with  your  county  agent, 
soil  conservation  district  supervisor,  or 
the  local  Forest  Service  representative. 
Any  one  of  them  will  put  you  in  touch 
with  the  nearest  farm  forester,  who  will 
work  with  you. 

What  Government  agency  actually 
gives  demonstrations  on  growing  tim- 
ber as  a  crop? 

The  State  extension  forester  (usually 
located  at  the  State  college  of  agri- 
culture) works  with  the  local  county 
agent  in  staging  such  demonstrations. 

What  are  the  Norris-Doxey  wood- 
land-management projects? 

They  are  the  projects  set  up,  under 
Federal  law,  to  give  on-the-ground 
woodland-management  advice  and  as- 
sistance to  farmers  and  other  owners  of 
small  woodlands.  In  1948,  farm  forest- 
ers worked  with  small-woodland  own- 
ers in  650  counties.  The  farm  forests 
are  employed  by  the  individual  States 
with  the  Federal  Government  sharing 
in  the  cost  and  administration  of  the 
various  projects. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Is  it  profitable  for  a  farmer  himself 
to  do  the  necessary  work  of  improve- 
ment cutting  in  his  woodland? 

It  is  possible  for  a  farmer  to  make 
a  dollar  or  more  an  hour  by  doing  his 
own  work  in  the  farm  woods. 

What  is  silviculture? 

Silviculture  is  the  science  and  art  of 
establishing  and  tending  forests  to  get 
the  best  timber  products.  It  is  analo- 
gous to  the  planting,  weeding,  and 
other  culture  necessary  to  grow  food 
crops. 

What  are  liberation  or  improvement 
cuttings? 

The  removal  of  the  bent,  forked,  or 
knotty  trees,  and  diseased,  rotted,  in- 
sect-infested trees,  and  the  broken  and 
fire-damaged  trees. 

Why  do  you  prune  young  timber 
trees? 

By  removing  the  knot-forming  lower 
branches,  pruning  makes  it  possible  to 
get  clear  wood  earlier. 

What  is  sustained-yield  timber  man- 
agement? 

A  basic  objective  in  timber  manage- 
ment is  to  fix  a  rate  of  cutting  that 
can  be  maintained  at  approximately 
the  same  rate  in  perpetuity  through 
growth  replacement  of  the  volume  har- 
vested. Control  over  the  rate  of  cut- 
ting for  this  objective  is  sustained-yield 
management. 

Is  national  forest  timber  ever  sold? 

Yes.  It  is  being  sold  currently  at  a 
rate  of  approximately  4  billion  board 
feet  a  year.  It  is  sold  to  supply  needed 
fuel  and  other  products  for  domestic 
use,  to  supply  raw  material  for  lumber 
industries,  to  provide  employment  and 
stability  to  towns  or  communities,  and 
to  harvest  the  timber  crop  that  is  con- 
tinuously being  produced  on  our  na- 
tional forest  lands. 

How  is  national  forest  timber  sold? 

More  than  25,000  sales  are  made 

each  year.  About  90  percent  of  all  the 


Questions  and  Answers 


23 


sales  are  made  to  small  producers  of 
fuel  wood,  pulpwood,  posts,  sawlogs, 
or  other  forest  products.  Sales  under 
$500  in  value  may  be  made  to  indi- 
viduals or  companies  by  local  forest 
officers  without  advertisement  if  com- 
petition for  the  timber  is  lacking.  Sales 
in  excess  of  $500  are  advertised  and 
sold  to  the  highest  acceptable  bidder. 
In  no  case  is  national  forest  timber  sold 
at  less  than  its  appraised  market  value. 
It  must  be  paid  for  in  advance  of  cut- 
ting; permits  or  contracts  make  ade- 
quate provision  for  protection  and 
preservation  of  the  soil,  water,  and  re- 
maining stand  of  timber. 

Can  national  forest  timber  be  ob- 
tained free  of  cost? 

Free  use  of  timber  may  be  granted 
to  bona  fide  settlers,  miners,  rural  resi- 
dents, and  prospectors — for  firewood, 
fencing,  building,  other  domestic  pur- 
poses, mining,  and  prospecting.  Usu- 
ally not  more  than  $20  worth  of  timber 
is  granted  to  any  one  person  a  year. 
Transients  may  take  dead  timber  for 
their  campfires  and  for  similar  uses 
without  written  permits. 

Why  cannot  foresters  increase  tim- 
ber production  through  the  use  of  hy- 
brids as  farmers  have  increased  corn 
production? 

They  can,  but  it  takes  time.  Trees 
cannot  be  grown  in  a  single  season  like 
corn.  Promising  hybrids  of  pine  and 
hybrids  of  poplar  are  being  tested. 

What  is  the  age  of  the  virgin  fir 
timber  now  being  harvested  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest? 

The  individual  trees  are  300  to  500 
years  old. 

How  long  does  it  take  to  grow  a 
marketable  crop  of  sawlog  timber? 

In  the  South,  30  to  40  years  (pine) ; 
Lake  States  and  Northeast,  60  to  70 
years  (pine),  100  years  (spruce),  100 
to  120  years  (hardwoods)  ;  west  coast, 
100  years  (fir  and  hemlock)  ;  Rocky 
Mountain  area,  150  to  180  years  (west- 
ern pine) . 


How  many  man-days  of  labor  does 
it  normally  take  to  convert  1,000  board 
feet  of  standing  timber  to  1,000  board 
feet  of  lumber? 

Two  to  three. 

What  causes  rot  in  trees? 

Rot  or  decay,  sometimes  termed  dote 
or  peckiness,  is  caused  by  the  action 
on  the  wood  by  fungi,  low  forms  of 
life  related  to  the  mushrooms.  The 
fungus  threads  penetrate  the  wood  and 
break  it  down. 

How  many  uses  of  wood  are  there? 

Somebody  once  counted  4,500  uses, 
but  he  did  not  guarantee  that  his  tabu- 
lation was  complete. 

Why  should  houses  be  built  of  dry 
lumber? 

Because  wet  lumber,  and  the  season- 
ing of  wood  in  place,  result  in  unequal 
shrinkage,  which  causes  plaster  cracks, 
distortion  of  door  and  window  open- 
ings, and  uneven  floors.  Shrinkage  also 
may  cause  air  leakage  around  chimney 
and  window  openings.  In  floorings,  it 
may  cause  unsightly  cracks  between  the 
floor  boards  and  may  cause  creaking 
floors. 

How  long  can  wood  houses  last? 

Many  American  homes,  which  date 
from  Colonial  times,  are  still  in  excel- 
lent condition.  Mount  Vernon  is  one 
of  them. 

Does  paint  preserve  wood? 

No;  paint  does  not  preserve  wood 
from  deterioration  due  to  decay.  Paint 
prevents  the  weathering  of  wood;  its 
main  value  is  for  decoration. 

Should  wet  or  green  lumber  be 
painted? 

No.  Paint  does  not  adhere  well  to 
wet  wood  and  is  likely  to  peel  off. 

Why  does  wood  remain  the  leading 
material  for  houses? 

Wood  is  economical  to  use  and  easy 
to  shape  and  work.  It  is  excellent  in- 
sulation material  and  it  will  give  long 


24 


of  Agriculture  1949 


service  with  moderate  care.  A  house 
built  of  wood  can  be  altered  easily. 

How  is  wood  used  chemically? 

To  make  charcoal,  wood  alcohol, 
acetone,  ethyl  alcohol,  wood-sugar  mo- 
lasses, fodder  yeast,  synthetic  fibers, 
photographic  films,  and  other  molded 
articles,  modified  wood  products  such 
as  compreg  and  impreg  and  staypak, 
many  specialized  products  of  wood 
pulp  and  paper,  and  a  host  of  other 
chemical  products. 

Is  it  true  that  most  of  the  paper  that 
we  use  today  is  made  from  wood? 

Yes.  Only  small  quantities  of  paper 
are  now  made  from  linen  or  other 
cloth  rags  —  the  reverse  of  150  years 
ago,  when  little,  if  any,  paper  was 
made  from  wood. 

How  much  wood  is  used  for  fuel? 

It  is  estimated  that  63,000,000  cords 
of  wood  are  annually  used  for  fuel  — 
about  one-eighth  of  all  the  wood  used 
in  the  United  States. 

What  major  improvement  has  been 
made  in  recent  years  in  the  use  of 
wood  for  shipbuilding? 

Ship  keels  and  other  long,  heavy,  or 
curved  members  can  now  be  laminated 
from  relatively  small  pieces  of  wood  by 
the  use  of  waterproof  glues.  Such  lam- 
inated members  often  are  superior  to 
the  solid  pieces  formerly  used. 

How  many  cross  ties  are  required 
for  a  mile  of  railway  track? 

Three  thousand  cross  ties  are  used 
in  the  average  mile  of  railway  track. 

How  many  cross  ties  are  there  in 
railway  tracks  throughout  the  United 
States? 

More  than  one  billion. 

How  many  cross  ties  do  the  railroads 
install  in  a  year? 

An  average  of  about  50  million. 
Approximately  80  percent  of  the  cross 
ties  installed  in  replacements  in  recent 
years  have  been  treated  —  that  is,  sat- 


urated  with  creosote,  zinc  chloride,  or 
other  preservatives  to  prevent  decay  or 
destruction  by  insects.  The  treatment 
more  than  doubles  the  service  life  of 
the  ties.  Bridge  timbers,  piling,  poles, 
and  other  woods  are  also  treated  in 
this  manner  before  use. 

Why  is  black  walnut  the  outstanding 
wood  for  gun  stocks? 

It  is  one  of  our  best  shock-resistant 
woods,  it  keeps  its  shape,  attaches  well 
to  metal,  and  is  durable.  Black  walnut 
also  makes  excellent  furniture  wood — 
it  has  a  beautiful  grain,  is  easy  to  work 
into  any  desired  shape,  and  takes  a 
good  finish. 

How  many  wooden  fence  posts  do 
American  farmers  use? 
About  500  million  a  year. 

What  wooden  shipping  container  is 
used  today  in  much  the  same  form  as 
in  the  days  of  antiquity? 

The  common  barrel  or  cask ;  cooper- 
ing is  one  of  the  oldest  known  crafts. 

What  is  the  hardest  American  wood, 
in  terms  of  density? 

Black  ironwood,  of  a  little-known 
species  found  in  southern  Florida,  has 
a  specific  gravity  of  1.04.  It  is  so  heavy 
it  sinks  in  water. 

What  is  the  softest  American  wood, 
in  terms  of  density? 

Corkbark  fir,  found  in  parts  of  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico,  has  a  specific 
gravity  of  0.28. 

What  are  the  main  causes  of  forest 
fires? 

There  are  seven:  Those  caused  by 
smokers'  matches  or  by  burning  to- 
bacco in  any  form;  campfires;  debris 
burning — fires  which  are  originally  set 
for  clearing  land  or  disposing  of  rub- 
bish, stubble,  and  such  and  which  get 
beyond  control;  incendiary,  which  are 
deliberately  started  with  the  intention 
of  burning  over  the  land  or  damaging 
property  owned  by  someone  else ;  light- 
ning; lumbering;  fires  resulting  from 


Questions  and  Answers 


maintenance  of  right-of-ways  or  con- 
struction or  operation  of  railroads. 

What  is  considered  the  worst  forest 
fire  in  American  history? 

The  Peshtigo  Fire  in  Wisconsin  in 
October  1871— when  1,280,000  acres 
were  burned  over;  homes,  towns,  and 
settlements  were  swept  away,  and  1,500 
persons  perished. 

What  are  the  different  types  of 
forest  fires? 

Crown — a  fire  that  burns  through 
the  tops  of  trees,  brush,  chaparral,  or 
that  consumes  all  or  a  large  part  of  the 
upper  branches  or  foliage;  ground — a 
fire  confined  to  the  materials  compos- 
ing the  forest  floor  or  beneath  the  sur- 
face, as  in  peat  beds;  surface — a  fire 
that  runs  over  the  forest  floor  and  burns 
only  the  surface  litter,  the  loose  debris, 
and  the  smaller  vegetation  or  ground 
cover. 

What  are  the  different  parts  of  a 
forest  fire? 

The  fingers — these  are  the  long,  nar- 
row tongues  of  a  fire  that  project  from 
the  main  body;  the  flanks — the  parts  of 
the  edge  of  a  fire  between  the  head  and 
the  rear;  the  head — the  part  of  the 
edge  of  a  fire  on  which  rate  of  spread 
is  most  rapid;  the  rear — the  part  of 
the  edge  of  a  fire  on  the  windward  or 
downhill  side. 

What  section  has  the  greatest  un- 
protected area  of  forest  land? 
^  The  South.  In  1947,  11  Southern 
States  had  organized  protection  against 
fire  on  92  million  acres  of  private  for- 
est land ;  82  million  acres  were  without 
such  protection. 

What  are  the  principal  causes  of 
forest  fires  in  the  different  sections? 

In  the  Lake  States  and  New  Eng- 
land, fires  are  mostly  man-caused ;  care- 
less smokers  head  the  list.  In  the  East- 
ern and  Southern  States,  also,  they  are 
mostly  man-caused ;  careless  brush  and 
field  burners  and  (in  the  South)  in- 
tentional fire  setters  head  the  list.  In 


the  Rocky  Mountain  area,  more  than 
70  percent  are  started  by  lightning; 
the  others  result  from  carelessness 
while  smoking.  In  the  Northwest, 
about  half  the  fires  start  with  light- 
ning; careless  smokers  and  campers 
(who  abandon  campfires)  are  serious 
offenders.  In  California,  lightning 
starts  about  23  percent,  careless  smok- 
ers and  campers  most  of  the  others. 

When  is  the  danger  of  forest  fires 
greatest? 

Generally  speaking,  the  worst  fire 
seasons  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  coun- 
try are  in  the  spring  and  fall;  in  the 
West,  late  summer.  But  at  no  time  of 
the  year  is  every  section  of  the  United 
States  completely  free  of  the  danger. 

How  does  one  fight  a  forest  fire? 

The  ^  first  essential  is  to  deprive  the 
fire  of  its  fuel  by  making  a  fire  line  or 
barrier  down  to  mineral  soil,  all  around 
the  fire.  After  one  has  stopped  the  fire 
from  spreading,  he  then  extinguishes 
all  the  burning  material  within  the  fire 
area.  This  applies  to  all  small  forest 
or  woods  fires.  For  a  small  grass  fire, 
the  first  action  is  to  beat  out  the  flames 
if  possible.  One  should  not  try  to  put 
out  a  big  fire  alone. 

What  is  a  smokejumper? 
^  He  is  a  parachute  fire  fighter,  espe- 
cially trained  and  equipped  to  drop  to 
forest  fires  in  remote  forest  areas  and 
put  the  fires  out  while  they  are  still 
small. 

Are  there  many  smokejumpers? 

The  Forest  Service  employs  more 
than  200  smokejumpers  to  help  control 
fires  in  the  roadless  national  forest 
areas  of  Idaho,  Montana,  Washington, 
Oregon,  and  California.  This  type  of 
fire  fighting  is  being  extended  to  other 
States  as  well.  Canada  recently  organ- 
ized a  smokejumper  group  in  British 
Columbia. 

Are  smokejumpers  effective? 
Yes.  They  reduce  forest  fire  losses. 
In  2  hours  they  can  reach  fires  in  road- 


26 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


less  areas  that  formerly  took  24  hours 
of  foot  travel.  That  22-hour  gain  in 
time  often  spells  the  difference  be- 
tween using  two  men  to  put  out  a  little 
fire  and  having  to  employ  large  forces 
of  men  to  put  out  a  big  one. 

What  are  some  of  the  precautionary 
measures  against  fire? 

Glean  up  logging  slash;  build  fire 
breaks  or  fire  lanes  to  divide  the  woods 
into  small  blocks;  keep  fire-fighting 
tools  handy  and  in  good  condition; 
know  the  location  of  the  local  forest 
fire  warden  or  forest  protection  officer; 
line  up  the  fire-fighting  manpower  in 
the  neighborhood  in  advance. 

What  do  foresters  mean  by  "burning 
period"? 

Normally  the  "burning  period"  is 
the  "heat  of  the  day,"  from  about  10 
a.  m.  to  just  before  sundown.  Unusual 
weather  or  other  conditions  may  pro- 
long the  "burning  period"  and  even 
may  create  a  severe  "burning  period" 
at  night. 

What  is  a  "backfire"? 

A  fire  intentionally  set  on  the  fire 
side  of  a  control  line  as  a  part  of  the 
process  of  controlling  a  fire.  Using  such 
a  fire  when  the  control  line  is  close  to 
the  fire  edge  is  sometimes  called  burn- 
ing out  or  clean  burning. 

What  is  a  "fire  dispatcher"? 

He  is  a  member  of  the  forest  fire- 
control  organization  who  receives  re- 
ports of  the  recovery  and  status  of 
fires,  determines  the  locations  of  fires, 
and  sends  the  men  and  the  supplies  and 
equipment  that  are  needed  to  suppress 
fires.  . 

How  does  the  United  States  Weath- 
er Bureau  cooperate  with  fire-control 
agencies? 

The  Weather  Bureau  prepares  spe- 
cial fire-weather  forecasts  for  use  by 
forest  fire-control  agencies.  Three  types 
are  issued:  A  "general  outlook"  for  2 
to  3  days;  a  "daily  forecast"  for  the 
ensuing  36  to  48  hours;  and,  upon  re- 


quest, "special  localized  forecasts"  for 
short  periods  of  3  to  12  hours. 

Why  are  man-caused  fires  usually 
worse  than  lightning  fires? 

Lightning  usually  strikes  on  the  tops 
of  ridges  and  starts  a  small  fire,  which 
spreads  slowly,  especially  if  the  light- 
ning storm  is  accompanied  by  rain. 
Man-caused  fires  most  frequently  start 
along  roads,  trails,  and  streams,  in 
canyons,  or  on  the  lower  slopes  of  the 
hills;  they  spread  rapidly  uphill  and 
often  become  conflagrations.  Fires  in- 
tentionally set,  that  is,  incendiary  fires, 
nearly  always  occur  in  periods  of  high 
fire  hazard. 

What  is  the  best  way  to  dispose  of 
burning  matches  and  tobacco  in  the 
forest? 

Break  your  match  in  two  and  hold  it 
in  your  hand  until  you  are  sure  it  is  out. 
Put  the  burned  end  back  in  the  box  or 
in  your  pocket.  Cigarettes  and  cigars 
should  be  put  out  by  wetting  the  end 
with  saliva,  throwing  them  in  water,  or 
clearing  a  spot  of  inflammable  mate- 
rial down  to  mineral  soil,  and  grinding 
the  fire  out  with  the  foot.  Pipe  heels, 
which  are  a  particularly  dangerous 
source  of  forest  fire,  should  be  ground 
out  in  mineral  soil.  Mechanical  lighters 
for  the  pocket  and  ash  containers  for 
automobiles  are  recommended  for  all 
persons  who  travel  in  forests.  It  is  well 
to  refrain  from  smoking  when  the 
woods  are  dry. 

Will  burning  things  thrown  from  air- 
planes in  flight  start  fires? 

Several  fires  have  occurred  that  were 
believed  to  have  originated  from  burn- 
ing material  thrown  from  airplanes. 
We  cannot  give  a  categorical  answer, 
but  that  the  practice  is  dangerous  seems 
obvious. 

Why  did  the  Indians  start  fires  in 
the  forests? 

Tradition  says  that  they  did  so  to 
drive  out  game,  but  we  have  no  positive 
proof  that  they  did  this  as  a  regular 
custom  over  any  large  areas.  The  In- 


Questions  and  Answers 


dians  had  no  matches  and  they  used 
small  campfires  that  they  tended  care- 
fully; so,  it  is  improbable  that  they  set 
many  fires.  But  with  the  coming  of  the 
white  man,  and  the  cutting  and  clear- 
ing of  timber,  fires  became  more  nu- 
merous and  widespread. 

What  shall  I  do  if  I  discover  a  fire? 

Try  to  put  it  out  at  once.  If  that  is 
impossible,  report  it  by  telephone  or  in 
person  to  the  nearest  Federal  or  State 
ranger,  ranger  station,  fire  warden,  or 
the  forest  officer.  Remember :  Minutes 
count  in  reporting  fires. 

Is  our  concern  about  fire  a  purely 
modern  worry? 

No;  Ezekiel  xx:  47:  "Behold,  I  will 
kindle  a  fire  in  thee,  and  it  shall  devour 
every  green  tree  in  thee,  and  every  dry 
tree:  the  flaming  flame  shall  not  be 
quenched,  and  all  faces  from  the  south 
to  the  north  shall  be  burned  therein." 
Exodus  xxii:  6:  "If  fire  break  out, 
and  catch  in  thorns,  so  that  the  stacks 
of  corn,  or  the  standing  corn,  or  the 
field,  be  consumed  therewith;  he  that 
kindled  the  fire  shall  surely  make 
restitution." 

What  is  the  most  destructive  agent 
of  our  forests,  other  than  man? 

Forest  insects  and  diseases  account 
for  more  than  double  the  losses  each 
year  than  does  fire. 

What  is  the  most  desirable  forest 
environment  for  wildlife  in  general? 

It  is  the  forest  or  woodland  in  which 
there  is  a  mixture  of  food-bearing  and 
cover-producing  plants  (from  trees  to 
grass),  plus  water  and  escape  areas, 
all  within  the  daily  travel  range  of  the 
wildlife.  Contrary  to  a  general  belief, 
such  conditions  do  not  always  exist  in 
mature  forests. 

Do  deer  compete  with  domestic 
livestock  for  forage  on  the  forest 
range? 

If  the  numbers  of  deer  and  livestock 
are  adjusted  to  the  available  food  sup- 
ply, there  will  be  no  conflict.  Generally 


speaking,  deer  feed  on  browse;  cattle 
and  sheep  prefer  grasses  and  weeds. 
Competition  exists  only  where  live- 
stock and  deer,  or  both,  are  present  in 
excessive  numbers. 

What  is  meant  by  a  "buck  law"? 

A  buck  law  is  a  hunting  regulation 
that  permits  the  killing  of  only  antler- 
bearing  males.  It  is  desirable  when  the 
goal  is  to  reestablish  a  herd.  When 
herds  are  already  established  and  in  a 
healthy  condition,  however,  the  buck 
law  is  unnecessary,  and  its  continued 
use  complicates  proper  management. 

Can  one  tell  the  age  of  a  buck  deer 
by  the  number  of  points  on  its  antlers? 

The  points  are  not  a  reliable  guide. 
A  fully  developed  set  of  antlers  usually 
indicates  good  health  and  maturity. 
Old  deer  often  carry  fewer  points  than 
young,  growing  bucks. 

Do  I  have  to  have  a  Federal  permit 
to  hunt  or  fish  on  a  national  forest? 

The  State  fish  and  game  laws  usually 
govern  hunting  and  fishing  on  the  na- 
tional forests. 

What  forest  creatures  are  most  to  be. 
feared? 

The  common  ticks.  They  may  carry 
the  Rocky  Mountain  spotted  fever,  a 
disease  dreaded  over  a  large  part  of  the 
United  States.  In  tick  areas,  inspect 
your  body  and  clothing  twice  a  day. 
If  you  find  a  tick  attached  to  your  body, 
remove  it  carefully  to  prevent  infection 
through  skin  abrasions  or  cuts.  Use 
tweezers  if  available.  Be  sure  to  re- 
move the  head  of  the  tick.  Paint  the 
spot  where  the  tick  was  attached  with 
iodine  or  alcohol.  The  best  protection 
against  possible  infection  is  inocula- 
tion with  the  tick  shots  developed  by 
the  Public  Health  Service. 

What  poisonous  snakes  are  in  the 
forests  of  the  United  States? 

The  rattlesnake  is  the  most  widely 
distributed  poisonous  reptile.  The 
others  are  the  cottonmouth  or  water 
moccasin,  copperhead,  and  coral  snake. 


28 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  best  precaution  against  snake  bites 
is  alertness.  Avoid  coming  into  close 
quarters  with  the  reptiles.  Contrary 
to  popular  belief,  snakes  do  not  go  out 
of  their  way  to  attack  human  beings. 
It  is  a  good  idea  to  carry  a  snake-bite 
kit  when  you  are  vacationing  or  work- 
ing in  snake-infested  areas. 

How  many  Rocky  Mountain  goats 
are  left? 

We  estimate  that  there  are  14,000 
Rocky  Mountain  goats  in  the  continen- 
tal United  States.  Most  of  them  are 
in  the  wilderness  areas  of  the  national 
forests  in  Washington,  Idaho,  and 
Montana.  Goats  are  also  found  in 
Alaska.  They  may  be  hunted  under 
special  permit  and  in  accordance  with 
State  laws. 

How  many  deer,  elk,  and  black  bear 
are  there? 

Of  the  estimated  6,300,000  deer  in 
the  United  States,  a  third  are  on  the 
national  forests.  There  are  nearly  200,- 
000  elk,  of  which  about  three-fourths 
spend  all  or  part  of  their  time  on  the 
national  forests.  About  one-half  of  the 
estimated  150,000  black  bear  are  on  the 
national  forests. 

What  are  the  most  important  forms 
of  forest  game? 

Deer,  elk,  grouse,  tree  squirrels,  tur- 
key, and  bear. 

How  do  caribou  differ  from  their 
relatives,  the  deer,  moose,  and  elk? 

The  caribou  are  unique  in  that  fe- 
males, as  well  as  males,  bear  antlers. 

Which  predatory  animals  live  in  big 
forests? 

Coyote,  lynx,  wild  cat,  mountain 
lion. 

How  do  forest  fires  harm  game  ani- 
mals, birds,  and  fish? 

Fire  destroys  the  natural  feeding  and 
breeding  grounds  of  the  wild  animals ; 
severe  fires  may  also  kill  deer  and  the 
smaller  animals.  The  nests  and  young 
of  birds  are  destroyed  by  fire;  streams 


are  filled  with  silt  and  ashes  which  can 
be  injurious  to  the  fish.  Under  some 
conditions,  as  in  the  longleaf  pine, 
however,  regulated  fire  can  be  used  as 
a  tool  to  improve  the  wildlife  habitat. 

Is  grazing  by  livestock  harmful  to 
hardwood  forests? 

It  certainly  is.  Hardwood  forests 
should  be  protected  from  grazing,  be- 
cause livestock  browse  the  young  trees 
to  the  point  of  destruction. 

What  is  the  place  of  grazing  in  the 
administration  of  the  national  forests? 

The  use  of  national  forest  range  by 
livestock  is  an  essential  part  of  the 
multiple-use  principle  that  governs  the 
administration  of  the  national  forests. 
Use  of  the  range  is  an  important  part 
of  the  welfare  of  many  communities 
and  individuals,  especially  in  the  West. 
The  Forest  Service  has  expended  ap- 
proximately 16  million  dollars  for  fence 
construction,  water  development,  and 
artificial  reseeding  to  make  the  range 
more  usable  by  livestock.  Besides,  hold- 
ers of  grazing  permits  have  invested 
about  one-half  billion  dollars  in  live- 
stock and  ranches. 

Is  Cfburning-off"  injurious  to  the 
range? 

In  certain  pine  types  of  the  southern 
Coastal  Plains  and  in  certain  sagebrush 
areas  in  the  West,  prescribed  burning 
may  be  helpful.  Uncontrolled  or  pro- 
miscuous use  of  fire  on  the  range  results 
in  great  damage  to  both  soil  and  forage. 

Is  it  true  that  all  that  is  needed  to 
bring  back  a  range  is  plenty  of  rain? 

Rain  cannot  bring  back  range  plants 
that  have  been  killed  by  overgrazing. 
A  good  rain  can  help  restore  the 
growth  and  vigor  of  range  plants  that 
drought  has  kept  back. 

What  does  one  mean  by  the  grazing 
capacity  of  a  range? 

The  term  applies  to  the  maximum 
number  of  livestock  that  can  be  grazed 
on  a  given  area  for  a  given  period  of 
time  without  injury  to  the  soil,  the 


Questions  and  Answers 


29 


forage  plants,  the  tree  growth,  or  the 
watershed,  with  due  provision  for  the 
game,  recreation,  and  other  land  uses. 

What  are  the  main  objectives  in 
range  management  on  the  national 
forests? 

There  are  three:  Perpetuation  of 
the  water,  soil,  and  forage  resources 
through  wise  use,  protection,  and  de- 
velopment ;  the  permanent  good  of  the 
livestock  industry,  through  proper  care 
and  improvement  of  the  grazing  lands, 
under  principles  of  practical  opera- 
tion; the  protection  of  the  established 
ranch  owner  against  unfair  competi- 
tion in  the  use  of  the  range. 

Does  a  grazing  permit  give  any  legal 
right  to  a  national  forest? 

No.  Legal  rights  do  not  accrue  in 
the  use  of  national  forest  range.  There 
can  be  no  exclusive,  no  private  vested 
right  on  lands  owned  by  all  the  people. 

Does  the  forest  influence  the  melting 
of  snow  as  well  as  the  disposition  of 
rainfall? 

Yes.  In  the  sections  of  the  country 
where  there  is  much  snow,  the  influ- 
ence of  forests  in  retarding  snow  melt 
is  more  important  than  its  effect  on  the 
disposition  of  rainfall.  The  snow-melt- 
ing period  may  last  several  weeks  longer 
in  the  forests  than  on  open  ground. 
Moreover,  as  the  forest  soil  is  likely  to 
freeze  less  deeply  than  soil  in  the  open, 
it  absorbs  more  of  the  snow  water. 
Spring  freshets  from  melting  snow  on 
bare  slopes  are  an  important  source  of 
river  floods.  By  delaying  the  melting  of 
snow  and  feeding  part  of  the  snow 
water  into  the  soil,  forests  prolong  the 
period  of  runoff,  reduce  flood  crests  to 
that  extent,  and  equalize  stream  flow 
in  the  rivers  fed  by  snow  melt. 

What  is  a  watershed? 

A  watershed,  or  drainage  basin,  is 
an  area  of  land  from  which  a  stream 
gets  its  supply  of  water.  It  may  be  as 
small  as  a  farm  or  as  large  as  several 
States.  It  is  more  than  a  combination 
of  hills  and  valleys  and  streams,  forests, 


grass,  farm  crops,  and  the  soil  beneath. 
It  may  also  include  cities,  roads,  peo- 
ple, and  animals.  For  there  is  an  in- 
terrelation among  all  things,  animate 
and  inanimate,  on  a  watershed  that 
bears  heavily  on  the  yield  of  water  from 
the  land. 

How  can  one  tell  when  a  watershed 
is  in  good  condition? 

On  a  good  watershed,  the  ground 
is  well  covered  with  vegetation  (grass, 
shrubs,  trees) ;  litter  or  duff  (leaves, 
twigs,  dried  grasses)  covers  the  forest 
floor;  the  streams  are  clear  and  clean; 
there  are  no  gullies  or  erosion ;  and  the 
banks  of  streams  are  stable. 

How  do  forests  function  in  a  storm? 

The  forest  acts  in  two  ways  during 
a  storm.  First,  the  canopy  of  leaves 
and  branches  breaks  the  impact  of 
rain  falling  upon  the  earth.  Even  dur- 
ing a  heavy  rain  one  has  the  sense 
of  the  dripping  of  water  from  the  tree- 
tops  rather  than  a  deluge  from  the 
sky.  The  second  is  in  the  effect  of 
the  layer  of  ground  litter  and  humus, 
which  act  as  a  sponge  cushion  to  ab- 
sorb the  water  and  reduce  surface  run- 
off. Much  more  significant  than  its 
spongelike  absorption  of  water,  how- 
ever, is  the  action  of  the  litter  and  the 
humus  in  keeping  the  soil  mellow, 
porous,  and  more  permeable  and  in 
preventing  the  sealing  up  of  the 
seepage  channels  into  the  substratum, 
where  the  great  supply  of  earth  water 
is  stored.  Much  of  the  earth  water  ap- 
pears again  at  the  surface  in  the  form 
of  springs  and  stream  flow.  The  action 
is  effective,  and  it  continues  regard- 
less of  the  intensity  or  duration  of  the 
precipitation  received. 

Do  forests  influence  climate? 

Forests  do  not  materially  affect  the 
climate  over  a  large  region.  In  the 
larger  sense,  climate  is  controlled  by 
major  factors  of  tremendous  air  move- 
ment around  the  earth  and  by  lati- 
tude, altitude,  and  the  relation  of  a 
given  locality  to  oceans  and  land 
masses — such  as  the  direction,  the  dis- 


30 

tance,  height,  and  character  of  moun- 
tain ranges.  Forests  are  the  results 
(rather  than  the  cause)  of  climate  in 
this  sense.  Forests  do  materially  af- 
fect the  climate  of  the  immediate  lo- 
cality which  they  occupy,  however. 
That  effect  is  due,  among  other  things, 
to  the  crowns  of  the  trees,  which  en- 
close the  land  much  as  roof  and  walls 
enclose  a  house.  The  forest  is  both 
cooler  in  summer  and  warmer  in  win- 
ter than  open  places  are.  The  same 
holds  true  of  daily  extremes.  Within 
the  forest  the  air  is  more  moist  than 
outside,  because  the  force  of  the  wind 
is  broken  and  less  evaporation  occurs. 
In  the  winter,  the  soil  of  the  forest  is 
less  subject  to  frost  than  in  the  open 
because  of  the  insulating  effect  of  the 
litter  and  humus.  Snow  tends  to  lie 
longer  in  the  forest  than  in  the  open. 

How  can  I  find  out  where  to  camp 
and  picnic  on  the  national  forests? 

For  general  information  on  vaca- 
tioning in  the  national  forests,  write  to 
the  United  States  Department  of  Ag- 
riculture, Forest  Service,  Washington 
25,  D.  C.  Information  about  specific 
areas  may  be  obtained  from  the  re- 
gional foresters  located  at  Missoula, 
Mont.;  Denver,  Colo.;  Albuquerque, 
N.  Mex. ;  Ogden,  Utah ;  San  Francisco, 
Calif.;  Portland,  Oreg.;  Philadelphia, 
Pa.;  Atlanta,  Ga.;  Milwaukee,  Wis.; 
Juneau,  Alaska. 

Is  there  a  charge  for  camping  and 
picnicking  on  the  national  forests? 

Generally  there  are  no  charges  for 
camping  and  picnicking  on  the  na- 
tional forests.  At  some  of  the  large 
recreational  areas,  concessioners  fur- 
nish wood,  operate  bathhouses,  and 
give  other  special  services  at  a  nom- 
inal charge.  In  1948,  a  few  large  camp 
grounds  were  placed  under  permit  and 
a  charge  of  50  cents  a  night  for  a  group 
in  an  automobile  (of  not  more  than 
six  persons)  was  authorized.  The  plan 
was  an  experiment,  and  may  or  may 
not  be  continued.  In  any  event,  most 
camping  and  picknicking  areas  on  na- 
tional forests  will  remain  free. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Are  there  cabins  for  rent  on  the  na- 
tional forests? 

The  Forest  Service  does  not  operate 
rental  cabins  on  the  national  forests 
nor  maintain  lists  of  available  cabins. 
There  are  many  cabins  for  rent  on 
private  lands  within  the  national  for- 
ests and  privately  owned  cabins  on 
national  forest  land.  For  information 
about  such  cabins  write  to  the  cham- 
ber of  commerce  in  the  locality  to 
which  you  plan  to  go. 

Are  trailers  permitted  on  national 
forest  camp  grounds? 

Yes;  on  most  of  them.  A  few  excep- 
tions are  made  because  of  steep  roads 
on  which  trailers  are  not  practical. 
None  of  the  usual  trailer  facilities 
(electricity,  water,  and  sewerage  con- 
nections) are  available  on  national  for- 
est camp  grounds. 

How  many  people  use  the  national 
forests  for  recreation? 

In  1947,  21  million  persons  visited 
the  national  forests  for  recreation, 
among  them  9  million  campers  and 
picnickers,  1%  million  who  partici- 
pated in  winter  sports,  and  hunters, 
fishermen,  children  at  organization 
camps,  guests  at  private  resorts,  people 
at  summer  homes,  travelers  in  wilder- 
ness areas. 

What  are  the  wilderness  areas? 

They  are  roadless  tracts  in  a  number 
of  national  forests.  In  them  the  natu- 
ral, primitive  conditions  are  preserved. 
There  are  77  wilderness  areas  in  all, 
mostly  in  the  Western  States;  they 
cover  14  million  acres.  Hunting  and 
fishing  are  permitted. 

Where  can  one  engage  horses  for 
wildnerness  trips? 

Local  dude  ranches  have  horses, 
guides,  and  pack  outfits  available. 

What  are  trail  rider  trips? 

They  are  expeditions  sponsored  by 
the  American  Forestry  Association, 
919  Seventeenth  Street  NW.,  Wash- 
ington 6,  D.  C.  The  Association,  a  non- 


Questions  and  Answers 


profit  organization,  arranges  and  con- 
ducts "Trail-riders  of  the  Wilderness" 
trips  into  some  of  the  wilderness  areas. 
The  American  Forestry  Association 
will  send  full  information  on  request. 

How  can  I  build  a  safe  campfire? 

The  safest  way  to  build  a  campfire  is 
to  scrape  away  the  inflammable  mate- 
rial down  to  the  mineral  soil  from  an 
area  6  feet  in  diameter.  Keep  your  fire 
small.  Never  build  it  against  trees  or 
logs.  When  you  are  through  with  it, 
soak  the  coals  until  no  more  smoke 
arises.  Be  sure  your  fire  is  dead  out 
when  you  leave  the  campfire  area. 

Where  can  I  get  a  permit  to  build 
a  campfire? 

From  any  Forest  Service  officer  or 
State  ranger.  Although  permits  are  not 
required  at  most  developed  camp  and 
picnic  areas  (California  excepted), 
persons  should  check  with  the  local 
officials. 

Does  the  Forest  Service  rent  sites 
on  the  national  forests  for  summer 
homes? 

Yes.  Sites  for  summer  homes  may  be 
rented  from  the  Forest  Service  on  most 
national  forests.  Information  regard- 
ing available  summer-home  tracts  may 
be  had  from  the  forest  supervisor  of 
the  national  forest  concerned. 

What  are  the  rules  for  keeping  a 
camp  ground  clean  and  sanitary? 

Burn  or  bury  all  garbage,  refuse, 
and  cans.  Use  camp  toilets  where  pro- 
vided; help  keep  them  clean.  If  none 
is  available,  dig  a  trench  at  least  100 
yards  from  the  camp  and  the  nearest 
stream,  lake,  or  living  spring;  heap 
the  earth  to  one  side  and  fill  the  trench 
as  it  is  used.  Leave  the  camp  neat 
and  clean. 

What  is  the  Appalachian  Trail? 

It  is  a  2,000-mile  trail  from  Maine 
to  Georgia,  900  miles  of  which  traverse 
eight  national  forests  and  two  national 
parks  along  the  crest  of  the  Appa- 
lachian Mountains.  There  are  open 


shelters  for  hikers  at  convenient  in- 
tervals along  the  trail  as  well  as  closed 
shelters  which  may  be  reserved  through 
local  Appalachian  Trail  clubs.  The 
trail  is  maintained  and  marked  co- 
operatively by  the  Forest  Service,  the 
National  Park  Service,  and  the  mem- 
ber clubs  of  the  Appalachian  Trail 
Conference.  Excellent  guide  books  and 
maps  of  the  route  may  be  obtained 
from  the  Appalachian  Trail  Confer- 
ence, 1916  Sunderland  Place  NW., 
Washington  6,  D.  C. 

When  was  the  first  national  forest 
in  the  United  States  created? 

The  first  forest  reserve — the  Yellow- 
stone Park  Timberland  Reserve — was 
created  by  President  Harrison  on  Sep- 
tember 16,  1891.  The  land  included 
within  this  reserve  now  forms  parts  of 
several  national  forests  in  Montana, 
Idaho,  and  Wyoming,  adjacent  to  the 
Yellowstone  National  Park. 

When  and  why  was  the  name 
"national  forests"  adopted? 

On  March  4,  1907,  the  name  "forest 
reserves"  was  changed  to  "national 
forests"  to  indicate  that  the  forests  and 
their  resources  were  not  reserved  or 
locked  up  but  were  for  immediate  as 
well  as  future  use. 

Who  administers  national  forests? 

The  Forest  Service,  a  bureau  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, created  February  1,  1905,  by  the 
merging  of  the  former  Division  of 
Forestry  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
Department  of  the  Interior,  and  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture.  The  transfer  to  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  was  the 
result  of  recommendation  by  Secretary 
of  Interior  Hitchcock,  the  American 
Forestry  Congress  of  1905,  and  Presi- 
dent Theodore  Roosevelt. 

What  becomes  of  the  money  received 
from  the  sale  and  use  of  national  forest 
resources? 

All  receipts  from  the  national  forests 
are  deposited  in  the  United  States 


32 

Treasury.  Under  Federal  law,  25  per- 
cent of  these  receipts  is  turned  over  to 
the  States  in  which  the  national  for- 
ests are  located.  The  State  in  turn  ap- 
portions this  fund  to  the  counties,  each 
county  receiving  as  its  share  a  propor- 
tion of  the  receipts  from  the  national 
forest  or  forests  located  within  the 
county,  based  on  the  acreage  of  the 
national  forest  land  within  the  county. 
This  fund  is  used  by  the  county  for 
school  and  road  purposes.  The  Federal 
law  also  requires  that  an  additional  10 
percent  of  all  receipts  from  the  national 
forests  be  expended  by  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice for  trails  and  roads  located  entirely 
within  the  forests  in  the  States  from 
which  the  receipts  are  obtained. 

What  are  the  duties  of  a  forest 
ranger? 

Every  national  forest  is  divided  into 
ranger  districts  with  a  forest  ranger  in 
charge  of  each.  Sometimes  he  has  an 
assistant  ranger.  A  ranger  district,  the 
smallest  administrative  unit  of  the  na- 
tional forests,  varies  in  size  from  100,- 
000  to  400,000  acres.  The  ranger's 
work  involves  supervision  of  timber 
sales,  grazing,  recreational  and  other 
uses  of  the  forest.  He  helps  build  roads, 
trails,  bridges,  telephone  lines,  and 
other  permanent  improvements.  He 
trains  and  inspects  forest  guards  and 
temporary  employees.  He  must  know 
his  district  well  enough  to  be  able  to 
conduct  Forest  Service  business  in  any 
part  of  it,  and  he  must  know  how  to 
fight  fire.  He  has  routine  reports  to 
make,  but  he  is  primarily  a  field  man 
rather  than  an  office  worker.  His  over- 
all responsibility  is  to  manage  the  for- 
est as  a  renewable  resource. 

What  is  the  difference  between  a  na- 
tional forest  and  a  national  park? 

They  are  both  Federal  areas,  and 
each  has  an  important  place  in  the 
conservation  picture  of  the  United 
States.  However,  the  principle  of  use 
of  resources  is  the  vital  distinction  be- 
tween them.  Essentially,  national  parks 
,are  maintained  for  the  preservation  of 
outstanding  features;  national  forests 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


are  for  the  production  of  the  resources. 

National  forests  are  administered  for 
the  protection,  development,  and  use 
of  timber,  water,  range,  and  other  re- 
sources in  the  public  interest.  A  basic 
purpose  is  the  protection  of  watersheds, 
to  safeguard  water  supplies  and  pre- 
vent floods.  Timber  resources  are  man- 
aged to  contribute  toward  a  permanent 
supply  of  lumber  and  other  forest  prod- 
ucts, and  to  serve  as  demonstration 
areas  of  forest  management  for  the 
benefit  of  private  timber  owners  and 
operators.  National  forest  ranges  are 
managed  to  provide  a  sustained  supply 
of  forage  for  the  grazing  of  livestock. 
The  forests  are  managed  also  to  pre- 
serve their  beauty  and  attractiveness 
for  the  recreational  enjoyment  of  the 
people ;  to  maintain  a  favorable  habitat 
for  wildlife ;  and  in  other  ways  to  make 
their  resources  contribute  to  the  eco- 
nomic stability  and  the  welfare  of  the 
Nation. 

National  parks  are  dedicated  to  the 
primary  purpose  of  preserving,  for  pub- 
lic enjoyment,  superlative  examples  of 
the  scenic  and  the  majestic  in  nature, 
though  they  serve  other  important  pur- 
poses such  as  wildlife  conservation  and 
the  regulation  of  stream  flow  through 
watershed  protection.  As  a  rule,  only 
lands  containing  outstanding  scenic, 
geologic,  or  other  natural  wonders  are 
included.  The  law  requires  that  they 
be  administered  to  provide  for  public 
enjoyment  "in  such  manner  and  by 
such  means  as  will  leave  them  unim- 
paired for  the  enjoyment  of  future  gen- 
erations." National  parks  are  thus,  in  a 
sense,  great  outdoor  museums.  The  na- 
tional parks  are  administered  by  the 
Park  Service,  a  bureau  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  the  Interior. 

Who  owns  the  land  in  the  United 
States  that  produces  or  can  produce 
timber  of  commercial  quality  and 
quantity?  On  how  much  of  it  are  cut- 
ting practices  good?  Fair?  Poor?  How 
much  timber  shall  we  need  in  1955? — 
and  50  years  hence? 

The  information  is  given  in  the 
tables  on  pages  33  and  34.  .iw-j 


Questions  and  Answers  33 

OWNERSHIP    OF   COMMERCIAL    FOREST    LAND   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES,    BY    REGION  » 


Region 


State,  Private 

Federally  owned  or  managed   county,  '  * 

All         ' " ; *      and  Indus- 

owner-  National  munici-  trial  and 

ships          Total      forest        Other         pal  Total       Farm        other 

1,000  7,000        7,OOO       7,000        7,000  7,OOO        7,OOO        7,OOO 


acres 


acres        acres 


acres 


acres 


acres        acres        acres 


New  England 30,  851 

Middle  Atlantic 41,  586 

Lake 50,345 

Central 44,  213 

Plains 3,326 


89I 
1,476 
6,495 
2,117 


822 
1,265 

5.455 

L95I 

30 


69  666  29,294  6,477  22,817 

211  3,613  36,497  11,854  24,643 

,040  14,805  29,045  13,930  15,115 

166  326  41,770  25,789  15,981 

302  .         4  2, 990  2, 960  30 


North 170,321     11,311       9,523       1,788     19,414139,596    6l,oiO      78,586 


South  Atlantic 42,923      3,485      2,775          7JO          536    38,902    23,377      !5.525 

Southeast 89,390       5,909       3,802       2,107       I,2l6     82,265     33,134      49,131 

West  Gulf 50,953      4,684      3,561       1,123          408    45.86i     12,549      33,312 


South 183, 266    14, 078     10, 138      3, 940      2, 160  167, 028    69, 060      97, 968 


Pacific  Northwest: 

Douglas-fir  subregion 26, 027     IO,  201 

Pine  subregion 2O,  177     12,  8l  I 


7,682 
9.659 


2,519 

3.  J52 


2, 616    13,210 
819     6, 547 


.383 


California 16,405       8,099       7,684 

North  Rocky  Mountain 29,066    2o,  OI2     18,061 

South  Rocky  Mountain 15,  782     12,445     JO,  765 


415 
L95I 
I,  680 


23 

1,702 
380 


8,283 
7.352 
2,957 


11,259 
5,164 


Total 46,204    23,012     17,341       5,671       3,435     19,757      3,334      16,423 


1.309  6,974 
2,  847  4,  505 
1,498  1,459 


West io%457    63,568     53,851       9,717      5,540    38,349      8,988       29,361 


Allregions 461,044    88,957    73. 512     15.445    27,114344,973139,058    205,915 

1  Prepared  by  Forest  Service,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Includes  land  capable  of  pro- 
ducing timber  of  commercial  quantity  and  quality,  and  available  now  or  prospectively  for  commercial 
use.  Status  beginning  of  1945. 


CHARACTER  OF  TIMBER  CUTTING  PRACTICES  ON  PRIVATE  AND  ON  PUBLIC  FOREST  LANDS, 

UNITED    STATES,  1945 

Percentage  of  operating  acreage  in  properties  or 
working  circles  being  cut  under  practices 
that  rate — 


Ownership  class 


Private. 
Public.. 


Total.  .  . 

802062' 


Commercial    High 
area  order 


Good        Fair 


Poor 


Destruc- 
tive 


Mil.  acres    Percent    Percent    Percent    Percent    Percent 
345  I  7  28  56  J     8 

116  8  59  19  13  •  --1 


461 


20 


34 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


SUMMARY  OF  ESTIMATED  POTENTIAL  ANNUAL  REQUIREMENTS   FOR  TIMBER  PRODUCTS  IN 
THE    UNITED    STATES    AND   THE    DRAIN    ON    DOMESTIC   TIMBER 


1950-55 


$O  years  hence 


Estimated  drain 


Estimated  drain 


From 
trees  of 

Potential    From         From  trees  of     Potential    From      saw-tim- 

require-    trees  of     saw-timber  size     require-    trees  of    ber  size 

ment     all  sizes1  only*  ment     all  sizes1    only2 


Major   timber  products  utilized  in   the 
primary  form: 

Fuel  wood cord . . 

Poles pole. . 

Piling linear  foot . . 

Fence  posts post. . 

Mine  timbers,  hewed  or  round 

cubic  foot   . 

Railroad  ties,  hewed tie. . 

Major  timber  products  that  are  further 
processed : 

In  the  manufacture  of  wooden  prod- 
ucts— 
Saw  logs  for  lumber 

board  foot7.. 
Logs  and  bolts  for  veneer 

board  foot8. . 

Cooperage  stock do.8. . . . 

In  the  manufacture  of  chemical  prod- 
ucts— 

Pulpwood cord . . 

Wood  for  hardwood  distillation 
cord. . 
Logs  and  bolts  for  all  other  uses 

board  foot  8. . 
Cordwood  for  all  other  uses  . .     . .  cord . . 


Million  Million 

Million  cu.ft.  Percent  bd.ft.  Million 

363  1,836  37.6  3,066  *50 

5.7  91  90.0  318  5 

38  29  100. 0  114  23 

56oo  480  25.7  492  56oo 

220  220  35.6  312  220 

22  238  98.5  1,084  18 


Million 

Million 

cu.ft. 

bd.ft. 

1,700 

2,839 

80 

279 

I? 

69 

480 

492 

220 

312 

I94 

887 

42,500      8,670        98.9    44,345    39,000      7,956     40,692 


2,400          566        98.5      2,837      2,400 
775         J83       98.8         919        700 


•29  i,  660  70.2  5,784  40 

0-5  34  35-0  53  0.5 

t,OOO  236  100. 0  1,200  1,500 

5  350  35-0  529  7 


566       2,837 
165          830 


3, 320  10, 678 

34  53 

354  i,  800 

490  740 


Total 


1  All  trees  above  5  inches  in  diameter  at  breast 
height. 

2  Saw-timber  sizes  vary  by  regions  but  nowhere 
is  it  less  than  9  inches. 

3  Estimated  that  27  million  cords  might  be  cut 
from  sound,  living  trees. 

4  Estimated  that  25  million  cords  might  be  cut 
from  sound,  living  trees. 


14,593        82.7    61,053     15,576      62,508 

6  Estimated  that  480  million  posts  might  be  cut 
from  sound,  living  trees. 

6  Estimated  that  equivalent  of  9  million  cords 
may  be  imported  as  paper,  wood  pulp,  and  pulp- 
wood. 

7  Measured  in  lumber  tally. 

8  Measured  in  log  scale. 

This  table  was  prepared  by  A.  C.  Cline;  see  p.  731. 


Questions  and  Answers 


35 


What  is  Arbor  Day  and  how  did  it 
originate? 

It  is  a  day  set  aside  by  law  in  most 
States  for  encouraging  the  planting  of 
shade  and  forest  trees,  shrubs,  and 
vines  about  homes,  along  highways, 
and  about  public  grounds  of  the  State, 
thus  contributing  to  the  wealth  and 
comforts  of  the  people.  In  some  States, 
the  law  specifies  the  date  on  which 
Arbor  Day  will  be  observed,  while  in 
others  the  date  is  specified  by  the  Gov- 
ernor or  another  official.  The  observ- 
ance of  Arbor  Day  by  schools,  civic 
organizations,  and  clubs  usually  in- 
cludes programs  designed  to  stress  the 
importance  of  trees  and  their  effect  in 
improving  the  appearance  of  school 
grounds,  streets,  parks,  and  highways 
and  to  encourage  the  planting,  protec- 
tion, and  preservation  of  the  trees  and 
shrubs  and  an  acquaintance  with  the 
best  methods  for  the  conservation  and 
use  of  our  natural  resources. 

Arbor  Day  was  first  observed,  as 
such,  in  Nebraska  in  1872.  The  plan 
was  conceived  and  the  name  "Arbor 
Day"  proposed  by  J.  Sterling  Morton, 
then  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture,  and  later  United  States 
Secretary  of  Agriculture.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  of 
Nebraska,  held  at  Lincoln,  January  4, 
1872,  he  introduced  a  resolution  to  the 
effect  that  Wednesday,  the  10th  day 
of  April  1872,  be  especially  set  apart 
and  consecrated  to  tree  planting  in  the 
State  of  Nebraska  and  named  Arbor 
Day.  The  resolution  was  adopted. 
Wide  publicity  was  given  to  the  plan, 
and  more  than  a  million  trees  were 
planted  on  the  first  Arbor  Day. 

Who  was  Paul  Bunyan? 

Paul  Bunyan  was  a  legendary  lum- 
berjack of  early  American  logging 
days.  In  the  North  Woods  men  still 
embellish  the  stories  about  this  boss 
logger,  a  fabulous  giant  who  invented 
the  lumber  industry,  dug  Puget  Sound, 
and  built  Niagara  Falls  so  he  could 
have  a  shower  bath.  One  account  says 
that  Bunyan  was  born  near  the  head- 
waters of  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 


Some  say  his  parents  were  French- 
Canadians.  Others  say  they  were  Scan- 
dinavians. When  he  was  2  weeks  old 
he  caught  a  full-grown  grizzly  with  his 
bare  hands.  He  fell  into  a  river  one  day 
and  caught  17  beaver  in  his  beard, 
which  he  had  from  birth.  At  3  months 
he  had  outgrown  his  parents'  cabin 
and,  because  of  damage  he  was  doing 
to  fences  and  barns  as  he  played  among 
the  neighboring  farms,  said  good-by  to 
his  parents  and  betook  himself  to  a 
cave  in  the  hills.  There,  as  he  grew  up, 
he  invented  hunting  and  fishing. 

In  the  Winter  of  the  Blue  Snow, 
Paul  Bunyan  found  Babe,  the  Blue 
Ox,  an  animal  that  grew  so  big  in  his 
care  that  the  distance  between  his  eyes 
was  measured  by  1 7  ax  handles,  3  cans 
of  tomatoes,  and  a  plug  of  chewing  to- 
bacco laid  end  to  end.  Among  the 
many  who  have  set  down  the  lumber- 
jack's mighty  tales  of  Paul  and  Babe 
are  James  Stevens,  R.  D.  Handy,  and 
Glen  Rounds.  So  big  was  Paul  Bun- 
yan's  logging  camp  and  so  hearty  his 
men  that  batter  for  their  flapjacks  was 
mixed  in  cement  mixers  and  the  grid- 
dles were  greased  by  men  who  skated 
on  them  with  slabs  of  bacon  tied  to 
their  feet.  Paul  made  Pike's  Peak  by 
piling  rocks  around  a  pike  pole.  He 
sharpened  his  ax  on  boulders  rolling 
down  mountainsides.  He  moved  his 
camp  3,000  miles  in  a  day  by  hitching 
Babe  to  it.  When  he  was  deepening  the 
Mississippi,  he  built  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains with  the  dirt  he  threw  to  one 
side.  In  a  few  hours  he  logged  off  the 
Upside  Down  Mountain  and,  in  a  ter- 
rific fight  with  Hels  Helsen,  his  fore- 
man, so  changed  it  that  it  became  the 
Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota.  He  and 
his  men  and  Babe  cleared  off  whole 
townships  between  sunup  and  sunset. 
He  cut  down  miles  of  trees  to  make  a 
desert.  He  used  young  pine  trees  for 
toothpicks.  He  logged  off  the  Dakotas 
with  an  axhead  tied  to  a  rope.  He 
made  a  good  start  toward  logging  off 
Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota. 

The  only  one  to  get  the  better  of 
Paul  Bunyan,  according  to  another  leg- 
end, was  an  Indian  chief.  Grant  Utley, 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  Cass  Lake,  a  Minnesota  commu- 
nity that  is  a  rival  of  nearby  Bemidji, 
whose  civic-minded  citizens  have 
erected  an  heroic  monument  to  Paul 
Bunyan,  tells  about  Nanabushu,  whom 
he  calls  "an  even  greater  figure  in  the 
history  of  the  Upper  Midwest." 

"It  was  Nanabushu,"  Mr.  Utley 
writes,  "who  met  Paul  Bunyan  about 
9  miles  east  of  Gass  Lake,  and  gave 
him  the  first  licking  that  he  ever  had, 
and  sent  him  back  where  he  belonged. 
For  40  days  and  40  nights  these  two 
giants  battled,  but  at  last  Paul,  bat- 
tered and  bleeding,  retired  and  left 
Nanabushu  to  rule  over  the  million 
and  a  half  acres,  which  later  was  to  be 
called  the  Chippewa  National  Forest. 
Over  this  village  hovers  the  spirit  of 
Nanabushu,  who  long  ago  realized  that 
if  you  take  care  of  the  forest,  the  forest 
will  take  care  of  you." 

Can  molasses  be  made  economically 
from  wood? 

Research  scientists  of  the  Forest 
Products  Laboratory  have  perfected 
wood  molasses  to  the  pilot  plant  stage 
of  development.  Funds  provided  by 
the  Research  and  Marketing  Act  made 
possible  the  production  of  a  sufficient 
quantity  to  permit  several  agricultural 
experiment  stations  to  make  practical 
tests  of  the  wood  molasses.  Pilot  plant 
operations  indicated  that  costs  can  be 
kept  low  enough  to  make  waste  wood 
molasses  attractive  to  livestock  grow- 
ers as  a  source  of  high-energy  stock 
feed.  In  the  first  tests,  wood  molasses 
has  compared  favorably  with  black- 
strap molasses  for  several  purposes. 

In  making  molasses,  wood  waste  is 
treated  with  acid  to  convert  it  into  a 
weak  solution  of  sugar  from  which  ex- 
cess water  is  evaporated  to  produce  a 
50-percent  solution  of  wood  sugar. 
Wood  sugar  molasses  is  being  tested  as 
a  preservative  for  grass  silage  at  Wash- 
ington, Oregon,  and  Wisconsin  experi- 
ment stations.  Montana  experimenters 
are  using  wood  molasses  in  preparing 
mixed  feeds  and  mixed-feed  pellets  to 
use  as  a  supplemental  feed  for  sheep 
and  cattle  wintering  on  the  range.  This 


station  found  it  possible  to  substitute 
molasses  from  lodgepole  pine  and  larch 
for  one-sixth  of  the  grain  ration  for 
lambs. 

At  the  Southern  Forest  Experiment 
Station  a  cooperating  farmer  found 
that  up  to  30  percent  of  oak  molasses 
added  to  a  mixture  of  cottonseed  meal 
and  hulls  was  palatable  to  older  cattle, 
but  that  calves  did  not  relish  so  much 
molasses. 

Alternative  ways  of  utilizing  wood 
sugar  are  to  grow  feed  yeast  or  produce 
ethyl  alcohol. 

Why  do  foresters  say  on  a  forest  and 
not  in  a  forest? 

To  foresters,  a  forest  is  an  area  that 
might  include  mountains,  canyons, 
streams,  open  places,  buildings,  and 
other  elements  besides  trees;  they  do 
not,  therefore,  consider  themselves 
necessarily  among  trees  or  under  trees 
or  in  a  grove  of  trees,  in  the  way  a 
person  thinks  he  has  a  picnic  or  hike, 
say,  in  the  woods.  A  similar  usage  is  on 
the  table  or  on  the  football  field  or  on 
the  page. 

How  much  pulpwood  does  a  news- 
paper use? 

Robson  Black,  the  president  of  the 
Canadian  Forestry  Association,  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  the 
Sunday  edition  of  the  New  York  Times 
has  a  weekly  consumption  of  800  cords 
of  pulpwood,  the  product  of  80  acres, 
and  that  a  perpetual  supply  of  news- 
print for  the  Sunday  Times  requires  a 
timber  stand  of  416,000  acres  that 
is  worked  on  a  rotation  of  80  years. 

W.  W.  BERGOFFEN  is  in  charge  of 
radio  and  television  activities  in  the 
Division  of  Information  and  Education 
of  the  Forest  Service.  He  joined  the 
Forest  Service  in  1933  and  worked  as 
forest  ranger  on  the  Chattahoochee 
National  Forest  in  Georgia  and  the  De- 
Soto  and  Bienville  National  Forests  in 
Mississippi  prior  to  his  assignment  in 
Washington.  Mr.  Bergoffen  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  New  York  State  College  of 
Forestry  at  Syracuse  University. 


TREES  AND  HOMES 


Pecan  trees — "Mississippi  hickories" — were  planted  by 
George  Washington  at  his  Mount  Vernon  estate  in  Vir- 
ginia. The  nuts  were  given  him  by  Thomas  Jefferson, 


Every  Tree  For  Its  Use 


TREES  FOR  THE  COUNTRY  HOME 


W.  H.  LARRIMER 


FOR  TREES,  as  with  people,  an 
ideal  place  to  grow  up  is  in  the 
country.  There  they  find  conditions  of 
the  soil,  moisture,  air,  and  sunshine  that 
make  for  their  best  development. 

Many  farms  lack  the  beauty  as  well 
as  the  practical  advantages  that  result 
from  the  carefully  planned  selection 
and  arrangement  of  trees  around  the 
farmstead.  Too  many  have  the  wrong 
kind  of  trees;  too  many  have  trees  that 
are  misshapen  and  neglected ;  too  many 
have  trees  that  are  located  by  chance 
where  the  seed  happened  to  fall;  too 
many,  alas,  have  no  trees  at  all. 

An  important  feature  in  the  general 
plan  for  the  development  of  the  farm- 

Above:  The  Wethersfield  Elm  in  Connec- 
ticut, which  was  201  years  old  in  1949,  but 
doomed  by  the  Dutch  elm  disease. 


stead  is  the  intelligent  and  artistic  use 
of  trees  and  shrubs.  The  time,  effort, 
and  reasonable  expense  involved  in 
carrying  out  such  a  plan  is  well  repaid 
in  the  resulting  years  of  contentment 
and  pleasure,  as  well  as  the  practical 
and  monetary  value  they  add  to  a  farm. 
Although  by  proper  selection  and  skill 
in  arrangement  trees  can  be  made  to 
fit  into  almost  any  requirement  of  a 
good  farmstead  plan,  their  full  con- 
sideration should  be  included  from  the 
very  beginning  as  an  integral  part  of 
any  such  plan.  Full  advantage  should 
be  taken  also  of  the  opportunity  to 
utilize  adequate  space  available  on  the 
farm,  as  contrasted  with  the  usually 
closely  grouped  plantings  around  the 
city  or  suburban  homes. 

Careful  planning  pays  big  dividends 

39 


4o 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


A  good  landscape  plan  shows  the  location  and  full-grown  size  of  trees  and  shrubs. 


Trees  for  the  Country  Home 


The  artistic  use  of  trees  enhances  the  beauty  and  value  of  a  well-designed  farmstead. 


42 

in  planting  trees  around  the  farm- 
stead. This  use  of  trees  in  farmstead 
development  is  so  important  that  it 
justifies  the  preparation  of  a  separate 
site  map  to  show  the  proposed  tree 
locations.  After  the  general  features, 
such  as  roads,  buildings,  orchard,  gar- 
den, lawns,  and  service  yard,  have  been 
blocked  in  to  scale,  the  map  is  ready 
for  the  trees  and  shrubs. 

First,  consideration  should  be  given 
to  attractiveness  and  ornamental  ef- 
fects. A  house  becomes  a  picture  when 
framed  by  appropriate  trees.  Next 
comes  planting  for  shade,  protection, 
border,  and  background.  Impatience 
at  this  stage  may  be  costly.  It  is  a  simple 
matter  to  move  a  tree  from  one  place 
to  another  on  the  map.  Once  a  tree  is 
planted  and  allowed  to  grow  for  a  few 
years,  however,  it  is  a  chore  to  move  it. 
When  the  matter  is  called  to  your  at- 
tention, you  will  be  surprised  how  fast 
trees  can  grow.  Take  time  to  consult  a 
landscape  architect  if  one  is  available, 
or  seek  the  advice  of  a  reliable  nursery- 
man. Make  sure  that  they  understand 
that  you  want  the  simplicity  and  in- 
formality appropriate  for  landscaping 
a  farm  home.  Observe  other  farm- 
steads and  adopt  those  features  that 
are  pleasing  or  otherwise  desirable. 

Also,  look  for  things  not  to  do.  It  is 
sad  but  true  that  most  of  our  farm- 
steads show  no  evidence  whatever  of 
planning.  Try  not  to  make  similar  mis- 
takes. Consult  the  available  literature 
on  the  subject — articles  in  the  farm 
journals  or  other  magazines.  All  such 
preliminary  study  is  worth  your  while. 

The  kind  of  trees  to  plant  is  closely 
related  to  the  conditions  of  the  place 
in  which  the  trees  are  to  be  planted 
and  the  care  and  attention  to  be  given 
them  after  planting. 

Lists  of  trees  that  are  adapted  to  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country  are  given 
elsewhere  in  this  book.  Weigh  the 
merits  and  handicaps  of  each  variety 
recommended  and  select  those  which 
fit  your  personal  preference,  as  well  as 
your  particular  needs  and  conditions. 

The  location  and  size  of  the  trees 
and  shrubs  when  they  are  full-grown 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


should  now  be  sketched  in  on  your 
map,  to  scale.  Rigidly  resist  the  urge  to 
plant  too  many  trees  or  to  interplant 
with  temporary  specimens.  You  be- 
come attached  to  these  and  their  re- 
moval at  the  right  time — or  ever — is 
just  out  of  the  question. 

Look  out  for  the  telephone  lines. 
Trees  and  telephone,  light,  or  power 
lines — each  has  its  place,  but  they  are 
not  the  same  place.Try  to  avoid  com- 
petition. If  a  conflict  does  occur  and 
must  be  resolved  in  favor  of  the  light 
or  power  lines,  the  outright  removal 
of  the  trees  is  frequently  more  desir- 
able than  the  mutilations  often  seen 
in  such  cases.  Such  problems  may  well 
be  kept  in  mind  in  drawing  up  the 
original  plans. 

WITH  THE  PLAN  COMPLETED,  you  are 
ready  to  begin  planting.  This  does  not 
mean  that  the  plan  cannot  be  revised. 

Obvious  changes  can  and  should  be 
made,  but  with  discretion  and  confined 
mostly  to  the  unplanted  part  of  the 
plan.  Keep  in  mind  your  ultimate  ob- 
jective and  make  only  those  revisions 
that  will  keep  the  development  headed 
toward  that  objective.  It  should  always 
be  emphasized  that  a  little  extra  care  in 
planting  may  mean  the  difference  be- 
tween the  loss  of  a  favorite  specimen 
tree  or  its  survival  and  growth. 

Just  as  soon  as  possible  you  should 
learn  to  know  your  trees  as  individ- 
uals. That  includes  recognition  of  the 
general  characteristics  that  indicate 
their  names  without  reference  to  a 
technical  key. 

One  of  the  principal  sources  of  satis- 
faction in  really  knowing  trees  is  this 
flash  recognition.  It  marks  a  stage  in 
the  friendship  with  trees  that  corre- 
sponds to  the  comfortable  stage  of 
friendship  between  people  when  they 
call  each  other  by  their  first  names. 

W.  H.  LARRIMER  is  a  forester  in  the 
Branch  of  Research,  Forest  Service, 
Washington,  D.  C.  He  grew  up  on  an 
Ohio  farm,  and  received  degrees  from 
Purdue  University  and  Ohio  State 
University. 


43 


CITY  TREES 


IRVING  C.  ROOT,  CHARLES  C.  ROBINSON 


We  rate  a  tree  in  a  forest  as  poten- 
tial lumber  according  to  the  texture 
of  its  wood  and  clean  bole,  its  rapidity 
of  growth,  market  value,  and  avail- 
ability. City  trees  have  price  tags  on 
them,  of  course  (perhaps  as  much  as 
$20  per  inch  of  trunk  diameter) ,  but 
we  appraise  them  largely  on  intangible 
values  of  shade  and  beauty.  We  judge 
the  city  tree  by  the  shape  of  its  canopy, 
its  habit  of  growing  tall  and  slender  or 
small  and  spreading,  its  spring  bloom 
or  fall  color,  the  shape  and  size  of  its 
leaves,  and  its  evergreen  or  deciduous 
nature.  Important,  too,  is  whether  it 
has  any  tendency  to  break  in  storms, 
whether  it  is  a  clean  tree  or  a  dirty 
one,  its  susceptibility  to  insect  pests 
and  disease,  and  its  ability  to  adapt  it- 
self to  the  artificial  conditions  of  cities. 

No  single  item  distinguishes  a  city 
more  than  its  green  areas,  and  prob- 
ably our  first  reaction  to  a  community 
is  to  its  abundance  or  lack  of  trees. 
The  shade  they  give  from  the  sun 
makes  the  summer  heat  more  tolerable, 
and  filters  for  grateful  eyes  the  dazzling 
reflection  from  masonry  and  concrete. 
A  city  of  monumental  buildings,  like 
Washington,  particularly  needs  trees 
to  interrupt  the  reflected  light.  The 
landscape  architect  uses  trees  to  soften 
hard  building  lines  and  accentuate 
vertical  or  horzontal  details. 

The  home  owner  plants  trees  to  give 
scale  and  proportion  to  desired  features 
and  to  delight  his  family  and  neighbors 
with  spring  bloom  and  fragrance,  green 
coolness  in  summer,  color  in  autumn, 
and  interesting  branch-and-twig  pat- 
terns in  winter. 

Trees  form  vistas,  frame  views,  and 
define  park  areas.  They  can  screen  out 
undesirable  sights,  and  separate  active 
from  passive  recreation.  They  border 
our  city  lakes  and  streams  and  cast 
their  reflections  in  our  pools.  Groups 
of  trees  are  a  back  drop,  a  cyclorama. 

For  all  their  beauty,  city  trees  are  no 


weaklings.  It  is  sometimes  surprising 
how  they  can  survive  the  artificial  and 
adverse  conditions  under  which  they 
grow.  Smoke  and  gases,  physical  in- 
juries, the  disrupted  water  table,  hard- 
packed  soil,  lack  of  humus  renewal 
and  mulch,  inadequate  root  space,  re- 
flected heat  from  pavements  and  build- 
ings, and  glacial  blasts  of  air  through 
the  wind  tunnel  formed  by  street  and 
buildings,  all  make  their  lot  hard. 

Because  trees  manufacture  their 
food  by  the  action  of  sunlight  on  ele- 
ments in  the  leaf,  any  substantial  ac- 
cumulation of  soot  or  residual  oil  from 
the  air  will  screen  out  sunlight  and 
retard  this  process  of  photosynthesis, 
resulting  in  a  weakening  of  the  tree 
from  starvation.  Trees  such  as  ailan- 
thus,  korsechestnut,  hackberry,  Ameri- 
can ash,  ginkgo,  poplars,  sycamores, 
willows,  lindens,  and  elms  are  all  toler- 
ant of  soot  and  smoke.  Others,  like  the 
sugar  maple,  sourgum,  sweetgum,  and 
honeylocust,  can  grow  well  only  if  the 
air  is  unpolluted. 

No  one  seems  prepared  to  say  why 
one  tree  and  not  another  can  stand 
smoke  and  soot.  It  may  be  related  to 
the  effect  of  smoke  and  soot-impreg- 
nated soil  on  the  mycorrhiza  and  their 
relation  to  root  growth  and  feeding. 
Why  some  trees  are  more  affected  than 
others  might  be  a  fertile  field  for  re- 
search. Perhaps  investigation  would 
show  us  how  to  grow  sugar  maples  in 
smoky,  soot-laden  air  where  now  they 
cannot  survive.  Perhaps  some  simple 
treatment  of  the  soil  or  tree  may  some 
day  make  this  possible. 

Another  factor  that  seems  to  affect 
the  ability  of  a  tree  to  withstand  smoke 
and  gases  is  the  nature  of  its  leaf  sur- 
face. A  rough,  heavy,  or  sticky  leaf 
will  accumulate  more  soot  and  residual 
oil  than  a  smooth  or  waxy  one,  and  the 
latter  is  more  easily  cleaned  off  by  rain- 
fall and  wind. 

City  trees  are  subject  to  physical  in- 


44 

juries  from  many  sources.  Seldom  is  a 
sewer,  drainage,  or  utility  line  put  in 
on  a  tree-lined  street  but  that  some 
damage  is  done  to  the  roots.  Because 
the  health  of  a  tree  is  in  direct  propor- 
tion to  the  extent  and  effectiveness  of 
its  feeder  roots,  great  care  should  be 
exercised  that  a  minimum  of  damage 
be  done  to  the  tree  roots  during  con- 
struction. This  damage  might  not  kill 
the  tree,  but  it  might  so  debilitate  it 
that  it  would  become  easy  prey  to 
insects  and  disease. 

The  power  and  telephone  companies 
used  to  expect  their  line-clearing  crews 
to  hack  off  the  tops  and  sides  of  trees 
for  line  clearance.  The  branches  ex- 
posed to  the  sun  by  the  sudden  re- 
moval of  the  protecting  canopy  were 
vulnerable  to  sunscald,  which  cracked 
the  tender  bark  and  permitted  the  in- 
roads of  disease  and  insect  pests.  For- 
tunately such  butchering  is  on  the 
wane,  and  few  cities  permit  it  today. 
More  and  more  underground  conduits 
are  used;  they  eliminate  unsightly  poles 
and  wires  and  do  away  with  the  neces- 
sity for  any  type  of  drastic  tree  pruning. 
Many  trees  are  killed  annually  by  il- 
luminating gas  from  underground  gas 
lines.  One  should  be  suspicious  of 
chlorosis  or  yellowing  of  leaves  and  of 
any  other  signs  of  the  unexplained  de- 
clining health  of  a  tree  when  it  is  lo- 
cated near  an  underground  gas  line. 

Additional  hazards  of  city  trees  are 
the  bumps  and  splintering  from  ve- 
hicular accidents,  the  thoughtlessness 
of  the  boy  who  breaks  off  branches  and 
gouges  with  his  new  knife  or  ax,  and 
girdling  by  squirrels  in  a  small  park. 

A  mower  in  the  hands  of  a  careless 
maintenance  man  can  severely  damage 
the  bark  and  cambium  layer  at  the  base 
of  trees ;  those  cuts  and  bruises  can  be- 
come immediate  focal  points  for  in- 
fectious diseases  like  verticillium  wilt 
and  canker  stain  of  our  sycamores.  In- 
deed, there  are  several  instances  on 
record  where  injuries  by  lawn  mowers 
were  responsible  for  the  spread  of  can- 
ker stain  and  the  subsequent  loss  of 
rows  of  fine  old  sycamores. 

Another  disadvantage  under  which 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


city  trees  live  is  the  lack  of  humus 
build-up  provided  by  the  decay  of 
fallen  leaves.  Humus  or  duff,  formed 
by  decayed  leaves,  is  nature's  food  for 
the  tree  and  her  protection  for  its  feed- 
ing roots  from  the  sun  and  drying 
wind.  When  we  remove  this  humus 
or  do  not  permit  its  manufacture,  we 
are  disturbing  one  of  nature's  proc- 
esses for  tree  growth  and  vigor. 

In  large  city  parks  like  Fairmount 
Park  in  Philadelphia  and  Rock  Creek 
Park  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  much 
of  the  total  area  is  left  naturalized  and 
the  fallen  leaves  are  allowed  to  remain, 
decay,  and  form  the  humus  that  pro- 
vides much  of  the  tree's  natural  food 
and  its  mulch  for  moisture  retention. 
Public  opinion  demands,  however,  that 
the  small  park  square,  the  quadrangle, 
and  parking  space  along  the  street  be 
kept  free  of  fallen  leaves  and  other 
debris.  As  a  practical  matter,  it  would 
be  almost  impossible,  even  if  desired, 
to  allow  a  build-up  of  fallen  and  de- 
caying leaves.  Clogged  gutters  and 
drain  pipes,  fire  hazard,  dangerously 
slippery  streets,  to  name  only  a  few, 
make  necessary  their  prompt  removal 
along  streets  and  in  most  parks. 

In  their  natural  habitat  trees  usually 
grow  in  soils  and  moisture  conditions 
that  are  best  suited  to  them.  Thus  (in 
New  England,  Middle  Atlantic,  and 
Midwestern  States  to  which  this  dis- 
cussion pertains)  we  find  elms,  pin 
oaks,  and  sweetgums  in  low-lying  land 
along  the  streams  and  even  in  swamps. 
Tuliptrees  seem  to  like  the  mountain 
valleys  from  which  they  spread  to  the 
low-lying  ridges.  Red  and  white  oaks 
and  sourgums,  on  the  other  hand,  may 
be  found  on  higher  mountains  where 
their  roots  have  to  go  deep  for  water. 

Too  often  in  city  planting,  particu- 
larly along  the  streets,  we  put  in  elms, 
oaks,  and  honeylocusts,  with  but  little 
regard  to  their  preference  of  soil  and 
moisture  conditions.  Trees  that  in  their 
native  environment  search  deeply  for 
water  are  planted  alongside  those  with 
shallow  roots.  It  is  a  tribute  to  nature's 
adaptability  that  elms  can  thrive  along- 
side the  deep-rooted  white  or  red  oaks. 


Were  it  not  for  this  amazing  adapta- 
bility, the  selection  of  trees  for  urban 
use  would  be  even  more  complex.  It  is 
true,  though,  that  the  nearer  we  can 
duplicate  natural  conditions  of  the  soil 
and  the  water  table,  the  better  we  can 
expect  our  tree  to  thrive. 

The  runoff  of  rainfall  is  high  in 
cities — almost  100  percent  from  paved 
areas.  The  ground  has  no  chance  to 
absorb  and  store  up  the  moisture  for 
future  needs;  most  of  the  rainfall, 
rather,  is  immediately  carried  off  into 
gutters  and  drains.  Trees  in  sizable 
city  parks  seldom  suffer  from  lack  of 
moisture  in  periods  of  normal  rainfall, 
but  the  street  tree  in  a  narrow  parking 
never  gets  a  fair  share  of  water  and 
cannot  absorb  the  little  it  receives.  An 
oak  tree  gives  off  some  120  tons  of 
water  in  only  one  season  through  its 
leaves — water  that  must  be  replenished 
from  the  soil — and  it  seems  almost 
miraculous  that  our  street  trees  sur- 
vive at  all.  An  interesting  observation 
is  that  in  times  of  drought,  street  trees, 
which  are  conditioned  to  a  constant 
substandard  amount  of  moisture,  fare 
better  than  those  accustomed  to  ade- 
quate rainfall. 

How  can  these  adverse  conditions  be 
improved? 

First,  we  must  see  that  the  tree  we 
select  for  planting  has  a  sufficiently 
large  tree  pit  filled  with  good  soil  to 
accommodate  potential  roots  for  some 
years  to  come.  The  hole  must  have 
natural  or  artificial  drainage  to  insure 
against  wet  feet  and  root  suffocation. 
The  variety  selected  should  be  environ- 
mentally suited  to  the  designated  site 
from  the  standpoint  of  exposure,  eleva- 
tion, and  purity  of  air.  It  should  be 
planted  where  physical  hazards  are 
few.  If  natural  moisture  is  lacking, 
particularly  during  periods  of  drought, 
it  must  be  watered.  If  it  shows  signs 
of  starvation,  it  must  be  fed  with  in- 
organic fertilizer  or  organics  like  ma- 
nure, tobacco  stems,  sludge,  or  tankage. 

Use  determines  whether  a  tree  is 
desirable  or  undesirable  for  city  plant- 
ing. A  broad-spreading,  low-hanging 
Chinese  magnolia  may  be  ideal  as  a 


City  Trees  45 

specimen  in  a  small  city  park  or  on 
home  grounds  but  impossible  as  a 
street  tree.  A  fastigiate  English  oak 
may  be  perfect  for  a  narrow  street 
but  of  limited  use  in  the  large  park. 
Individual  peculiarities  may  make  cer- 
tain trees  undesirable  for  any  urban 
use — the  female  ginkgo,  whose  fruit 
has  a  bad  odor,  for  example,  or  the 
silver  maple,  which  breaks  easily  in 
wind  and  snow,  or  the  boxelder,  which 
has  rapid  but  unsightly  growth.  Lom- 
bardy  and  Carolina  poplars  are  out  of 
favor  because  their  roots  fill  sewer  lines. 

For  street  use,  species  or  varieties 
should  be  avoided  that  are  subject  to 
disease  and  insect  pests.  Just  as  a  con- 
tagious disease  will  tend  to  spread 
rapidly  through  a  family  whose  mem- 
bers are  in  close  contact  with  one 
another,  so  the  Dutch  elm  disease,  for 
instance,  will  spread  rapidly  through  a 
concentrated  group  of  city  elms  unless 
strong  preventive  measures  are  taken. 

Dutch  elm  disease  and  phloem  ne- 
crosis of  elm  and  the  canker  stain  of 
sycamores  make  unwise  their  wide- 
spread planting,  particularly  for  cities. 

The  Dutch  elm  disease,  dissemi- 
nated principally  by  the  elm  bark 
beetle,  has  spread  quite  rapidly  and  is 
difficult  to  control.  The  control  of  the 
carrier  by  spraying  and  a  rigorous 
sanitation  program,  involving  the  im- 
mediate removal  and  destruction  of  all 
dead  and  dying  wood,  are  at  present 
the  only  effective  means  of  dealing 
with  this  serious  threat  to  our  elms. 
This  control  is  difficult  because  of  the 
inaccessibility  to  spray  machines  of 
scattered  infected  trees.  Canker  stain  of 
sycamores  seems  to  be  carried  largely 
by  man's  own  activities.  Bruises  made 
by  lawn  mowers  and  particularly  prun- 
ing operations  seem  to  be  the  chief 
means  by  which  this  canker  stain  is 
spread.  For  districts  where  canker  stain 
is  established,  there  are  several  primary 
control  measures  to  be  taken :  Remove 
all  diseased  sycamores  or  diseased  por- 
tions of  them,  and  avoid  all  unneces- 
sary mutilation.  In  zone  4  (New  York 
and  Philadelphia)  prune  the  sycamore 
only  between  December  1  and  Febru- 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ary  15,  and  avoid  asphalt  tree  paints 
during  that  period;  disinfect  all  prun- 
ing tools  before  use  on  healthy  syca- 
mores between  February  16  and 
November  30.  Denatured  alcohol  used 
as  a  dip  or  swab  is  a  satisfactory  disin- 
fectant. If  wound  dressing  is  necessary, 
use  a  gilsonite-varnish  paint  into  which 
0.2  percent  phenylmercury  nitrate  has 
been  mixed.  For  districts  where  the 
disease  is  not  established,  observe  these 
precautions :  Disinfect  all  of  the  prun- 
ing equipment  thoroughly  before  the 
work  begins;  use  new  paint  brushes 
and  pots. 

Most  of  the  authorities  are  pessimis- 
tic about  our  ability  to  check  entirely 
the  Dutch  elm  disease  or  phloem 
necrosis,  and  at  the  moment  we  can 
only  try  to  isolate  them  and  to  slow 
down  their  spread.  The  canker  stain  of 
sycamores,  while  serious  enough,  offers 
greater  hope  of  checking  and  perhaps 
even  eventual  eradication  or  isolation. 

We  have  listed  the  principal  epi- 
demic tree  diseases  which  we  are  fight- 
ing today,  but  we  must  be  alert  for 
others  which  might  appear  at  any  time 
and  alert  to  diseases  which  are  chronic 
now  but  which  might  become  epidemic. 

In  planting  trees  on  the  home 
grounds,  in  the  squares  and  circles,  the 
parkways,  and  large  city  parks,  the 
determination  of  varieties  hinges  on 
the  effects  desired  and  factors  of  natu- 
ral elevation  and  exposure  that  the 
trees  require.  There  are  several  sign- 
posts to  guide  one  in  making  the  selec- 
tions for  those  sites. 

A  good  street  tree  is  one  that  pro- 
vides shade  and  ornamentation,  keeps 
within  the  bounds  required  of  its 
growth,  does  not  interfere  with  vehic- 
ular or  pedestrian  traffic,  and  stays 
healthy. 

Streets  of  different  widths  require 
trees  of  different  shapes  and  sizes.  A 
narrow,  pyramidal,  or  columnar  tree 
is  indicated  for  the  narrow  street  with 
a  limited  building  set-back;  a  narrow 
street  cannot  accommodate  a  broad 
specimen  red  oak  or  sycamore,  but 
Lombardy  and  bolleana  poplars  are 
well  adapted  to  this  type  of  planting 


if  their  roots  do  not  interfere  with 
sewers.  Those  poplars  are  softwooded 
and  have  a  tendency  to  break  in  storms, 
but  they  are  sometimes  useful  where 
others  cannot  be  grown.  The  pyramidal 
English  oak,  the  fastigiate  form  of  the 
ginkgo,  as  well  as  the  pyramid  tulip- 
tree,  which  are  tolerant  of  smoke  and 
soot,  are  admirably  suited  to  this  use. 
Where  polluted  air  is  not  a  factor,  the 
columnar  sugar  maple,  the  pyramidal 
red  maple,  and  perhaps  the  sweetgum 
will  serve  the  purpose,  although  the 
sweetgum  is  sometimes  objectionable 
because  of  its  falling  fruit  in  autumn. 

The  wider  streets  can  be  planted  to 
American  ash,  Norway  maple,  tulip- 
tree,  sycamore,  or  the  lindens,  all  of 
which  resist  damage  from  smoke  and 
fumes.  Again,  if  smoke  is  not  prevalent, 
such  trees  as  scarlet  oak,  willow  oak, 
pin  oak,  sugar  maple,  thornless  honey- 
locust,  blackgum  or  sourgum,  and 
Scotch  elm  can  be  used  effectively. 

On  the  broadest  avenues  and  boule- 
vards there  is  opportunity  to  use  large, 
massive  tree  types.  Unfortunately,  most 
of  these  broadheaded  varieties  are  sus- 
ceptible to  the  gases,  smoke,  and  soot. 
The  patriarch  red  oak,  white  oak, 
black  oak,  willows,  and  even  the  larger 
pines,  spruces,  and  firs  can  be  effec- 
tive in  the  wide  parking  along  such 
thoroughfares. 

The  limitations  of  space  imposed  by 
streets  do  not  apply  in  our  selection 
of  trees  for  large  city  parks  and  park- 
ways, institutions,  or  residence  grounds. 
There  we  have  an  opportunity  to  plant 
the  more  common,  better-known  spe- 
cies as  well  as  add  greatly  to  the  interest 
and  variety  of  the  landscape  by  the  use 
of  the  rarer  and  more  unusual  sorts. 

Many  trees  of  outstanding  beauty  are 
too  sparingly  used  simply  because  one 
does  not  know  them.  Pink  and  white 
dogwoods  are  unsurpassed  of  their  sort, 
but  how  many  people  know  and  use 
the  Chinese  and  the  Kousa  dogwood, 
whose  blooms  come  after  the  foliage 
has  appeared?  Most  of  us  know  the 
redbud,  or  Judas-tree,  but  how  many 
are  familiar  with  the  beautiful  white 
form  of  this  spring  bloomer? 


City  Trees 


47 


'A  city  of  monumental  buildings,  like  Washington,  particularly  needs  trees  .  .  .' 


Magnolia  soulangeana,  the  saucer 
magnolia,  gets  the  spotlight,  but  the 
equally  deserving  star  magnolia,  M. 
stellata,  and  some  of  the  soulangeana 
varieties  remain  relatively  obscure. 
There  is  an  encouraging  trend  toward 
the  planting  of  more  varieties  of  Jap- 
anese cherries,  but  several  of  the 
finest,  Akebono,  Mt.  Fuji,  and  rosea, 
are  still  seldom  seen.  Among  the  flower- 
ing crab  apples,  sargenti,  theijera,  and 
Oekonomierat  Echtermeyer  are  a  few 
that  deserve  wider  recognition. 

Yellow  is  a  relatively  rare  color 
among  our  flowering  trees,  and  the 
yellow-blooming  things,  such  as  cor- 
nelian-cherry, goldenchain,  and  gold- 
enrain-tree,  can  show  up  beautifully 
against  a  foil  of  green. 

A  number  of  other  flowering  trees, 
too  little  used,  deserve  mention:  The 
red  horsechestnut,  Aesculus  carnea; 
the  fringetree,  Chionanthus  virginica; 
snowball,  Styrax  japonica;  the  silver- 
bells,  Halesia  tetraptera  and  monti- 
cola;  and  various  hawthorns,  Cratae- 
gus  cordata,  punctata,  oxyacantha  and 
its  varieties. 

These  flowering  trees  can  be  planted 
as  single  specimens,  in  groups,  or  in 


great  drifts  to  enrich  park  and  park- 
way plantings  and  add  greatly  to  the 
interest  of  home  grounds. 

Chinese  scholartree,  Sophora  japon- 
ica, and  the  zelkova  are  examples  of 
outstanding  shade  trees  that  are  little 
used.  Both  of  these  shade  trees  have 
the  reputation  of  being  trouble-free 
and  long-lived.  The  scholartree  gives 
additional  dividends  in  its  long  white 
bloom  panicles  in  August.  The  Ken- 
tucky coffeetree,  too,  offers  great  possi- 
bilities for  more  extensive  use. 

Most  of  us  can  visualize  the  spruces, 
firs,  and  pines  at  maturity,  but  not 
many,  perhaps,  think  of  the  little  con- 
ical sheared  cypress  or  cedar,  bought 
from  the  nurseryman,  in  terms  of  its 
ultimate  magnificence  in  size  and  con- 
tour. Groups  or  specimens  of  Deodar 
cedar,  cryptomeria,  baldcypress,  Law- 
son  cypress,  and  umbrella-pine  acquire 
character  as  they  grow,  and  only  when 
these  less  common  trees  have  a  chance 
to  develop  naturally  do  they  attain 
their  full  picturesqueness. 

City  officials  can  do  much  to  foster 
the  propagation  and  development  of 
good  city  tree  types — for  example,  the 
pyramidal  type  of  tuliptree,  the  py- 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


ramidal  English  oak,  the  columnar 
sugar  maple,  and  the  vegetatively 
propagated  male  ginkgo  tree.  Until 
cities  all  over  the  country,  by  their 
purchases,  encourage  the  propagation 
of  these  and  other  desirable  but  little- 
used  varieties,  the  growers  will  be 
forced  by  hard  economics  to  confine 
their  efforts  to  the  more  common  and, 
in  many  cases,  less  desirable  kinds. 

In  summary,  several  fundamentals 
are  to  be  borne  in  mind  if  our  cities 
are  to  have  good  trees. 

First:  Hire  a  competent  landscape 
architect  or  arborist,  one  who  knows 
the  esthetic  and  practical  problems  of 
city  tree  planting.  He  is  the  key  man 
in  a  successful  program:  He  knows 
what  varieties  will  or  will  not  grow  in 
any  given  location,  how  they  will  look 
at  maturity,  how  far  apart  to  plant 
the  trees,  and  what  soils  will  sustain 
them.  He  will  use  tree  forms  to  create 
the  desired  effect. 

Second:  Select  only  those  varieties 
adapted  to  your  local  conditions. 

Third :  Buy  only  the  best  obtainable 
materials;  cheap,  substandard  trees 
are  usually  expensive  in  the  end. 

Fourth:   Insist  on  proper  planting 


to  rigid  specifications  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  competent  plantsman. 

Fifth :  Spray,  feed,  water,  and  prune 
whenever  necessary ;  perform  these  op- 
erations according  to  the  latest  scien- 
tific methods.  Adequate  maintenance 
is  vital  to  the  continuing  survival  and 
good  health  of  trees  and  is  as  necessary 
as  good  original  design  and  planting. 

Sixth:  Keep  in  sight  the  goal — 
beauty  and  livability.  A  city  of  trees 
is  a  better  place  in  which  to  live. 

IRVING  G.  ROOT  is  superintendent  of 
National  Capital  Parks,  Department  of 
the  Interior.  He  has  degrees  in  horti- 
culture and  forestry  from  Kansas  State 
College  and  in  landscape  architecture 
from  Massachusetts  State  University. 
He  was  formerly  chief  engineer  for  the 
Maryland  National  Capital  Park  and 
Planning  Commission. 

CHARLES  C.  ROBINSON  is  a  gradu- 
ate in  landscape  architecture  of  Penn- 
sylvania State  College  and  has  devoted 
20  years  to  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
He  has  specialized  in  the  development 
of  home  grounds.  He  is  a  landscape 
architect  with  National  Capital  Parks 
in  Washington. 


SHADE  TREES  FOR  THE  NORTHEAST 

ALMA  M.  WATERMAN,  R.  U.  SWINGLE,  CLAYTON  S.  MOSES 


Throughout  the  Northeastern  States, 
the  maples,  the  elms,  and  the  oaks  have 
long  been  preferred  for  shade  trees. 
The  elms  in  this  region,  however,  are 
threatened  by  two  serious  diseases.  In 
the  northwestern  part  a  wilt  disease 
impairs  the  value  of  red  oaks  for  shade- 
tree  planting.  Fortunately,  there  are 
still  many  kinds  of  beautiful  native 
trees  and  some  introduced  kinds  that 
make  satisfactory  shade  trees. 

Some  of  the  outstanding  deciduous 
shade  trees  that  can  be  recommended 
for  residential  and  suburban  sections, 
primarily  because  of  their  tolerance  of 
city  conditions,  are :  Sugar  maple,  Nor- 
way maple,  red  maple,  white  oak,  pin 


oak,  northern  red  oak,  scarlet  oak, 
Texas  oak  or  Shumard  oak,  thornless 
common  honeylocust,  sweetgum,  gink- 
go,  American  sycamore,  London  plane- 
tree,  common  hackberry,  black  tupelo, 
green  ash,  silver  linden,  littleleaf  linden, 
Kentucky  coffeetree,  yellow-poplar 
or  tuliptree,  the  American  yellow- 
wood,  Japanese  pagodatree,  and  Amur 
corktree. 

In  heavily  congested  and  industrial 
areas  the  following  species  may  be 
used:  The  ginkgo,  the  thornless  com- 
mon honeylocust,  London  planetree, 
ailanthus  or  tree-of-Heaven,  and  the 
Amur  corktree. 

In  the  Northeastern  States,  a  large 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Northeast 


area,  the  climate  and  other  conditions 
vary  so  much  that  not  all  the  recom- 
mended kinds  of  shade  trees  will  grow 
equally  well  throughout  the  region. 
The  elevation  above  sea  level,  rainfall, 
the  proximity  of  large  bodies  of  water, 
river  valleys,  and  other  factors  modify 
the  natural  distribution  of  plants  and 
affect  the  growth  of  shade  trees.  For 
best  growth,  some  kinds  will  be  limited 
to  the  more  northern  or  to  the  more 
southern  sections.  Some  kinds  that  will 
grow  in  the  southern  border  zone  of  the 
area  may  not  grow  at  all  in  the  most 
northerly  parts.  Some  kinds  of  shade 
trees  that  grow  best  in  New  England 
may  do  well  in  the  southern  Appalach- 
ians, but  very  poorly  on  the  Coastal 
Plain.  On  the  other  hand,  some  pre- 
dominantly southern  species  may  ex- 
tend far  north  along  the  Atlantic  coast. 

THE  MAPLES  are  widely  planted  as 
shade  trees  in  the  Northeast,  but  most 
of  the  native  species  are  not  entirely 
satisfactory  for  this  purpose.  They  are 
short-lived,  are  subject  to  windbreak, 
and  require  moist,  rich  soil. 

The  Norway  maple,  introduced  from 
Europe,  and  our  native  sugar  maple 
are  considered  the  most  satisfactory  for 
streets  and  lawns. 

Sugar  maple  is  one  of  the  most  com- 
mon and  attractive  trees  throughout 
the  Northeast.  It  is  a  large  tree,  50  to 
90  feet  in  height.  When  it  is  grown  in 
the  open  as  a  shade  tree,  it  has  a  short 
trunk  with  a  broadly  egg-shaped  or 
round-topped  crown  of  stout,  ascend- 
ing branches.  Horticultural  varieties 
that  have  a  narrow  columnar  head  are 
especially  adapted  for  planting  along 
narrow  streets.  The  leaves  of  the  sugar 

802062° — 49 5 


49 

maple  are  thin,  bright,  rich  green,  and 
in  the  North  usually  develop  in  May 
together  with  a  profusion  of  yellowish- 
green  flowers,  from  which  bees  obtain 
pollen  and  nectar.  In  the  autumn  the 
brilliant  yellow,  orange,  and  scarlet 
coloration  of  its  foliage  is  attractive. 

Sugar  maple  is  readily  transplanted, 
its  rate  of  growth  is  moderate,  and  it  is 
relatively  long-lived,  with  a  possible 
life  span  of  more  than  100  years.  It  is 
injured  by  city  smoke  and  gas  fumes 
and  therefore  is  not  suitable  for  plant- 
ing in  industrial  or  congested  residen- 
tial areas.  It  is  valuable,  however,  on 
lawns,  along  suburban  streets,  or  on 
farmsteads.  It  attains  its  best  develop- 
ment when  it  is  grown  in  well-drained, 
moist,  rich  soil,  but  it  will  survive  in 
less  favorable  sites  in  gravelly  soil.  It  is 
the  source  of  maple  sugar. 

A  wilt  disease  is  sometimes  serious, 
and  several  leaf  diseases  caused  by 
fungi  are  common  on  sugar  maple. 
Brown  dead  areas  in  or  along  the  edge 
of  the  leaf  blade  often  develop  when 
drying  winds  or  bright  sunlight  and 
high  temperatures  immediately  follow 
a  period  of  moist  weather. 

Norway  maple  is  grown  extensively 
from  central  New  England  and  New 
York  southward.  It  is  usually  about  30 
to  60  feet  tall  at  maturity,  with  a  short 
trunk  and  numerous  stout,  ascending 
branches  that  form  a  low,  round, 
spreading  head.  The  greenish-yellow 
flowers  appear  in  abundance  in  April 
and  May  before  the  leaves  develop. 
The  leaves  are  slightly  larger  than 
those  of  the  sugar  maple,  deeper  green, 
and  firmer  in  texture.  The  dense 
foliage  remains  on  the  tree  late  in  au- 
tumn and  the  leaves  turn  bright  yellow 
before  falling.  Norway  maple  is  easily 
transplanted,  its  rate  of  growth  is  mod- 
erate, and  it  tolerates  a  wide  range  of 
soil  conditions.  It  stands  unfavorable 
soil  and  atmospheric  conditions  in 
cities  and  therefore  is  widely  used  as  a 
street  tree.  Its  low,  dense  head,  how- 
ever, requires  considerable  pruning  to 
adjust  it  to  street  conditions,  and  it  is 
not  adapted  for  planting  along  narrow 
streets. 


50 

A  horticultural  variety  with  a  nar- 
rower, more  upright  crown  is  some- 
times grown  successfully  under  such 
conditions.  Because  the  thick  shade  and 
mass  of  fine  feeding  roots  of  the  Nor- 
way maple  make  it  hard  for  grass  to 
grow  under  the  tree,  Norway  maple 
frequently  is  considered  undesirable  as 
a  lawn  tree. 

The  Schwedler  maple,  a  variety  of 
Norway  maple,  has  a  similar  type  of 
growth.  When  young,  it  has  bright-red 
leaves  that  change  to  dark  red  and 
finally  to  green.  It  is  planted  on  lawns 
and  sometimes  along  suburban  streets 
for  ornament  and  for  shade. 

The  Norway  maple  is  subject  to 
about  the  same  pests  as  the  sugar 
maple,  but  is  less  subject  to  leaf  scorch. 

Red  maple,  a  native,  is  less  desirable 
for  a  shade  tree  than  either  the  sugar 
maple  or  the  Norway  maple.  It  can  be 
used  when  a  fast-growing  tree  is 
needed.  The  red  maple  develops  a 
conical  or  broad,  rounded  crown,  with 
bright-green  leaves  that  assume  bril- 
liant shades  of  orange,  red,  and  scarlet 
in  autumn.  The  foliage  casts  a  moder- 
ately dense  shade.  In  the  spring,  masses 
of  red  flowers  make  it  attractive. 

Red  maple  is  easily  transplanted. 
The  wood  is  somewhat  weak  and  sub- 
ject to  storm  damage,  and  its  roots 
often  enter  and  clog  sewers. 

THE  ELMS  are  outstanding  trees,  but 
unfortunately  the  American  elm  can- 
not be  recommended  now  except  for 
limited  planting,  because  of  phloem 
necrosis  and  the  Dutch  elm  disease, 
both  of  which  are  spreading  rapidly 
and  causing  heavy  losses.  New  public 
plantings  of  American  elm  should  be 
delayed  therefore  until  satisfactory 
control  measures  for  the  diseases  have 
been  developed,  and  the  home  owner 
will  do  well  to  consider  carefully 
whether  some  other  kind  of  shade  tree 
cannot  be  planted  instead. 

In  the  Northeast,  the  Dutch  elm 
disease  extends  from  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board westward  to  Indiana.  An  iso- 
lated outbreak  has  been  found  in 
Colorado.  It  has  not  been  found  in 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  or  Arkansas. 

Phloem  necrosis  is  not  known  to 
occur  in  Pennsylvania,  States  east  of 
the  Appalachians,  or  in  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota.  The  Ameri- 
can elm  is  subject  to  several  other  pests. 

The  American  elm  grows  to  a  height 
of  50  to  100  feet  and  has  a  tall,  branch- 
ing trunk.  It  develops  numerous  as- 
cending or  drooping  branches  that 
form  various  types  of  crowns,  such  as 
the  typical  vase  or  umbrella  forms. 
The  beauty  of  its  various  forms  of 
growth  and  the  arching  of  its  branches 
above  the  streets  of  New  England 
towns  have  made  the  American  elm 
an  outstanding  characteristic  of  the 
landscape.  None  of  the  many  intro- 
duced species  of  elm  can  equal  it  for 
ornament  or  shade.  The  greenish  flow- 
ers appear  in  drooping  clusters  in  April 
or  May  before  the  leaf  buds  open.  The 
leaves  are  4  to  6  inches  long,  rough, 
dark  green,  unequally  rounded  at  the 
base;  they  turn  yellow  in  autumn  and 
usually  fall  rather  early. 

The  American  elm  is  easily  trans- 
planted, grows  rapidly,  and  often  lives 
between  70  and  100  years  under  city 
conditions.  Tfye  American  elm  is  tol- 
erant of  a  wide  range  of  soil  condi- 
tions, except  dry,  sandy  locations,  but 
its  best  growth  is  developed  in  moist, 
well-drained  soils.  In  its  natural  habitat 
it  is  found  along  streams  or  in  low, 
moist  ground.  It  grows  well  on  streets 
and  in  yards.  The  growth  habit  of  the 
branches  is  such  that  the  crotches  of 
old  trees  often  have  to  be  braced  in 
order  to  withstand  heavy  wind  or  ice 
storms. 

The  rock  elm  might  be  used  more 
for  streets  and  lawns,  as  it  is  a  large, 
strong,  narrow-headed  tree.  This  elm  is 
more  suited  to  the  northern  than  to 
the  southern  part  of  the  region,  and 
should  be  considered  particularly  for 
the  Lake  States.  Rock  elm  grows  more 
slowly  than  American  elm. 

In  this  region  two  European  species 
of  elm  are  grown  sometimes  as  shade 
trees.  They  are  susceptible  to  the  Dutch 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Northeast 


elm  disease  and  also  are  frequently  af- 
fected by  the  elm  leaf  beetle. 

The  English  elm  (Ulmus  procerd) 
is  a  large  tree,  sometimes  reaching  100 
feet  in  height.  It  has  a  straight  trunk 
that  extends  into  the  tree  crown,  and 
branches  that  spread  or  ascend  to  form 
an  oblong,  rounded  crown  more  like 
the  oaks  than  the  American  elm.  The 
leaves,  2  to  3  inches  long,  remain  on 
the  tree  later  in  the  autumn  than  those 
of  the  American  elm.  The  English  elm 
can  be  transplanted  quite  easily  and  is 
adaptable  to  the  same  types  of  soils 
as  the  American  elm.  It  has  the  tend- 
ency to  produce  numerous  shoots  or 
suckers  from  the  roots. 

For  that  reason,  another  European 
species,  the  Scotch  or  Wych  elm,  which 
is  similar  to  the  English  elm  in  form 
and  growth  habit  but  does  not  produce 
suckers,  has  often  been  preferred,  both 
for  lawn  and  street  planting.  The 
leaves  of  the  Scotch  elm  are  about  3 
to  6  inches  long.  Several  horticultural 
varieties  of  both  these  species  are  in 
cultivation. 

The  Chinese  elm  ( Ulmus  parvifolia) 
has  small  leaves,  which  turn  bright  yel- 
low in  the  autumn  before  they  fall.  Its 
flowers  are  formed  in  August  or  Sep- 
tember. It  is  easily  transplanted  and 
grows  rapidly.  It  is  hardy  in  south- 
ern parts  of  the  region.  The  Morris 
Arboretum  in  Philadelphia  has  a  beau- 
tiful, large  specimen  of  this  tree. 

The  Siberian  elm  is  resistant  to  the 
Dutch  elm  disease,  but  it  is  subject  to 
canker  and  leaf  diseases.  It  is  not  rec- 
ommended except  for  locations  where 
better  trees  will  not  grow  or  for  places 
where  quick  effects  are  wanted  while 
the  more  durable  species  are  getting 
started.  It  lives  25  to  40  years. 

THE  OAKS  are  hardy  and  long-lived, 
and  have  beautiful  foliage  in  summer 
and  autumn.  Some  of  the  species  that 
are  native  to  the  Northeast  are  well 
adapted  for  use  as  shade  trees  on  lawns 
and  along  streets. 

In  southern  Wisconsin,  northern 
Illinois,  and  northeastern  Iowa,  and 
down  the  Mississippi  River  to  St. 


Louis,  oak  wilt  threatens  the  red  and 
black  oaks  particularly.  The  disease 
is  spreading,  and  no  control  is  now 
known  for  it.  The  red  and  black  oaks 
therefore  should  not  be  planted  as 
street  trees  in  the  infected  area  at 
present,  and  the  home  owner  should 
realize  that  he  runs  a  risk  in  planting 
them.  In  areas  near  the  infected  zone 
it  would  be  prudent  to  use  red  and 
black  oaks  cautiously  until  more  is 
known  about  the  disease. 

Pin  oak  in  this  region  usually  reaches 
40  to  80  feet  in  height  at  maturity.  It 
makes  a  satisfactory  shade  tree  in 
southern  Maine,  eastern  Massachu- 
setts, Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  cen- 
tral and  western  New  York,  central 
Pennsylvania,  and  southward.  The 
straight  trunk  extends  into  the  crown. 
Its  numerous  slender  branches,  long, 
horizontal  or  ascending  above,  shorter 
and  drooping  below,  form  a  broadly 
pyramidal  head.  The  branches  bear 
many  short,  upright,  and  pinlike  twigs. 
The  leaves  are  4  to  6  inches  long,  deep- 
ly cut  with  five  to  seven  bristle-tipped 
lobes,  and  are  thin,  firm,  dark  green, 
and  glossy.  They  turn  dark  red  in  the 
autumn  and  sometimes  remain  on  the 
trees  during  the  winter.  The  pin  oak 
blooms  in  May  when  the  leaves  are 
about  one-third  grown.  It  is  particu- 
larly adapted  for  use  as  a  shade  tree, 
even  on  city  streets,  because  of  its 
narrow  symmetrical  form,  the  ease  of 
transplanting,  and  rapidity  of  growth. 
It  is  tolerant  of  a  wide  range  of  soil 
conditions  and  of  city  smoke.  Prun- 
ing the  lower  drooping  branches  is 
necessary,  particularly  for  trees  planted 
along  streets. 

Pin  oak  is  subject  to  a  leaf  yellow- 
ing— chlorosis — if  alkaline  soil  condi- 
tions prevent  the  trees  from  obtaining 
sufficient  iron,  but  the  injured  trees 
will  usually  respond  to  soil  treatment, 
injections,  or  sprays.  The  fungus  dis- 
eases common  to  many  species  of  oak, 
such  as  the  cankers  and  wood  rots,  may 
occur  on  pin  oaks,  but  otherwise  the 
species  is  free  from  serious  diseases. 

The  northern  red  oak  is  among  the 
largest  of  the  northeastern  oaks.  It 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


grows  well  along  the  Atlantic  coast 
close  to  the  ocean,  as  well  as  inland  in 
northern  localities.  It  attains  a  height 
of  50  to  85  feet,  occasionally  up  to  150 
feet.  The  trunk  is  usually  short.  The 
widespreading  branches  form  a  broad, 
open,  symmetrical  crown.  The  leaves 
are  5  to  9  inches  long,  thin,  firm,  dull 
dark  green,  7-  to  1 1-lobed,  with  bristles 
at  the  tips  of  the  lobes.  The  northern 
red  oak  is  rather  slow  in  leafing  in  the 
spring  but  retains  its  leaves  late  in  the 
autumn,  when  they  turn  a  brilliant  red. 
Its  inconspicuous  light-green  flowers 
appear  late  in  May  or  early  in  June 
when  the  leaves  are  about  one-half  de- 
veloped. It  is  relatively  easy  to  trans- 
plant in  early  spring.  The  tree  is  of 
moderately  rapid  growth.  It  sometimes 
reaches  a  height  of  18  feet  in  10  years, 
and  50  to  75  feet  in  50  years.  It  may 
live  two  or  three  centuries.  It  grows 
well  in  any  well-drained  soil,  particu- 
larly in  gravelly  or  sandy  loam.  It  is 
intolerant  of  shade  and  wet  soils.  Be- 
cause of  its  spreading  crown,  it  re- 
quires a  relatively  large  area  for  its 
best  development,  and  therefore  it  is 
adapted  for  planting  on  lawns  and 
along  wide  streets.  It  is  moderately 
tolerant  of  smoke  and  soot  and  may 
be  used  on  wide  streets  in  suburban 
and  moderately  congested  districts. 

The  northern  red  oak  is  susceptible 
to  the  fungus  disease,  Strumella  can- 
ker, which  may  attack  shade  trees  but 
is  much  more  serious  in  the  forest.  Like 
most  of  our  northern  oaks,  northern 
red  oak  may  be  severely  attacked  by 
wound-decay  fungi.  Its  most  serious 
enemy  at  present  is  oak  wilt  disease. 

The  scarlet  oak  is  native  throughout 
most  of  the  area  and  makes  an  excel- 
lent shade  tree  except  in  northern  New 
England,  the  northern  half  of  the  up- 
per Lake  States,  the  edge  of  the  Plains, 
and  the  Coastal  Plain  in  Virginia.  In 
the  most  northern  part  of  the  region 
it  is  of  medium  height,  30  to  50  feet, 
but  under  more  favorable  growing 
conditions  southward  it  may  grow  to 
60  or  80  feet.  The  trunk  is  tapering 
and  usually  continuous  into  the  crown. 
The  lateral  branches  are  ascending 


above,  horizontal  and  spreading  below, 
and  form  an  open,  narrow,  irregular, 
or  rounded  head.  The  leaves  are  3  to  6 
inches  long,  with  five  to  nine  bristle- 
tipped  lobes,  thin,  firm,  glossy,  and 
dark  green.  They  turn  dark  red  to 
bright  scarlet  in  autumn.  The  flowers 
develop  in  May  and  early  June  when 
the  leaves  are  about  one-half  grown. 

The  scarlet  oak  is  quite  readily  trans- 
planted, grows  rapidly,  and  prefers  dry, 
sandy  soil,  but  it  is  more  tolerant  of 
moist  soils  than  the  red  oak.  It  is 
adapted  for  planting  on  lawns  and  the 
wide  streets  in  suburban  areas,  for  it 
requires  slightly  less  room  for  develop- 
ment than  the  northern  red  oak.  It 
also  endures  city  conditions  and  resists 
drought  and  smoke,  but  it  is  subject  to 
rot  by  wound-decay  fungi  and  there- 
fore may  suffer  from  wind  breakage.  It 
is  subject  to  oak  wilt. 

White  oak  is  one  of  our  best  shade 
trees  for  lawn  planting.  It  is  native  to 
all  parts  of  the  region  except  a  small 
area  in  the  northern  part  of  Michigan 
and  northern  and  western  Minnesota. 
It  is  a  slow-growing,  sturdy  tree  that 
grows  60  to  90  feet  tall  and  develops  a 
broad,  rounded,  open  crown.  It  bears 
light-green  leaves  that  turn  brown  in 
autumn  and  cling  to  the  twigs  through 
the  winter.  Its  large  size  makes  it  un- 
suitable for  planting  along  most  streets. 
Young  white  oaks  can  be  transplanted 
readily  if  carefully  handled,  but  large 
specimens  are  difficult  to  transplant 
successfully.  White  oak  trees  often  live 
more  than  a  century.  White  oak  is  af- 
fected by  oak  wilt  but  is  said  to  be  less 
severely  injured  by  the  disease  than  are 
red  or  black  oaks. 

The  Texas,  or  Shumard,  oak  is  an 
attractive  tree  not  often  seen  in  most 
parts  of  the  Northeast.  It  is  hardy  in 
southern  Illinois  and  Indiana,  western 
Ohio,  southeastern  Iowa,  and  the 
Coastal  Plain  of  Virginia.  It  is  not 
native  in  the  Appalachians  or  north  of 
Maryland.  It  grows  50  to  75  feet  high, 
develops  an  open  crown,  and  has  foli- 
age like  that  of  the  scarlet  oak. 

Willow  oak  develops  into  a  hand- 
some, large  tree,  and  is  useful  along 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Northeast 


53 


streets  and  in  lawns.  The  leaves  are  an 
attractive  light  green  and  resemble  wil- 
low leaves  in  shape.  It  is  native  in  the 
Coastal  Plain  from  Virginia  to  New 
York  City  and  in  the  small  area  sur- 
rounding the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and 
the  Mississippi  Rivers.  In  planting,  60 
feet  should  be  allowed  between  trees 
for  full  development. 

THE  GINKGO  was  introduced  into 
America  from  China  and  Japan,  where 
it  has  been  grown  for  centuries  in 
temple  gardens.  It  has  long  been  cul- 
tivated in  northeastern  United  States 
as  an  ornamental  and  shade  tree,  par- 
ticularly for  street  planting.  It  is  hardy 
northward  to  southern  Maine  and  may 
be  grown  near  the  seacoast.  It  reaches 
a  height  of  60  to  80  feet  and  has  a  single 
erect  trunk  continuous  into  the  crown. 
The  straight,  slender  branches  are 
slightly  ascending  and  form  a  broadly 
conical  or  pyramidal  head. 

The  flowers  appear  in  May;  the 
male  and  female  flowers  are  borne  on 
separate  trees.  The  female  flowers  de- 
velop into  a  stone  fruit  with  a  malodor- 
ous, fleshy  outer  layer,  which,  when 
the  fruit  falls,  makes  pavements  slip- 
pery and  disagreeable.  For  that  rea- 
son, only  trees  that  bear  male  flowers 
should  be  planted.  The  fan-shaped 
leaves,  about  2  to  4  inches  broad,  re- 
semble a  leaflet  of  the  maidenhair  fern. 
In  autumn  they  turn  bright  yellow  and 
fall  from  the  tree  within  a  few  days. 

The  ginkgo  tolerates  unfavorable 
city  conditions  and  a  wide  range  of 
soil  conditions.  It  is  relatively  easy  to 
transplant.  It  withstands  wind  and  ice 
storms  and  is  free  from  serious  pests. 

TULIPTREE,  also  called  yellow-pop- 
lar, is  native  in  Indiana  and  southern 
Michigan  south  of  a  line  that  extends 
eastward  along  the  south  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario,  eastward  to  Massachusetts, 
and  then  southeastward  diagonally  to 
Rhode  Island.  It  is  native  also  in  the 
southern  tip  of  Illinois  and  in  south- 
eastern Missouri.  It  is  grown  as  a  shade 
tree  as  far  north  as  central  Vermont. 

It  reaches  a  height  of  50  to  70  feet, 


with  a  tall,  straight  trunk  that  is  con- 
tinuous into  the  crown.  The  branches 
are  ascending  at  the  top  and  horizontal 
or  slightly  drooping  at  the  base,  but 
they  have  upcurved  tips  that  form  a 
low-branched,  compact  and  pyramidal 
head  when  young.  As  the  tree  matures 
it  develops  an  oblong  and  open  crown. 
The  leaves  are  light  green,  glossy,  5  to 
6  inches  long,  and  four-lobed,  with 
petioles  or  stems  as  long  as  the  leaves. 
They  turn  bright  yellow  before  fall- 
ing in  the  autumn.  The  large,  tuliplike 
flowers  are  greenish  yellow,  1%  to  2 
inches  deep,  and  2  to  5  inches  wide; 
they  appear  on  older  trees  in  May  or 
June  after  the  leaves  develop. 

The  tuliptree  is  not  easily  trans- 
planted, and  its  young  fleshy  roots 
must  be  carefully  protected  from  dry- 
ing during  transplanting,  which  should 
be  done  in  early  spring.  It  requires  a 
rather  moist,  well-drained  soil  and, 
once  established,  its  growth  is  fairly 
rapid.  In  the  forest  it  reaches  maturity 
in  about  200  years. 

When  soil  conditions  are  favorable  it 
may  be  used  as  a  shade  tree  along  wide 
streets  in  suburban  areas.  Its  brittle 
wood,  however,  makes  it  rather  suscep- 
tible to  storm  and  ice  damage  and 
therefore  it  is  sometimes  considered  un- 
desirable for  street  planting.  It  is  rela- 
tively free  from  fungus  diseases,  but  a 
slight  early  leaf  fall  may  occur  as  a  re- 
sult of  dry  summer  weather.  It  is  most 
satisfactory  for  planting  in  parks  and 
around  the  home,  where  its  attractive 
foliage  and  flowers  make  it  valuable 
both  for  shade  and  ornament. 

SWEETGUM  is  native  to  the  southern 
part  of  this  region.  Its  northern  range 
extends  diagonally  from  southeastern 
Missouri  to  southern  Connecticut.  It 
has  been  used  successfully  in  more 
northern  locations  but  has  not  proved 
hardy  in  some  localities  of  the  Lake 
States.  It  usually  attains  a  height  of  50 
to  75  feet  and  its  straight  trunk  is  con- 
tinuous into  the  crown.  The  slender 
ascending  or  spreading  branches  form 
a  narrow  pyramidal  or  broad,  rounded, 
and  open  crown.  The  leaves  are  3  to  5 


54 

inches  long,  broader  than  long,  star- 
shaped  with  five  lobes,  thin,  smooth, 
bright  green,  and  glossy.  They  turn 
bright  red  or  dark  red  or  scarlet  in  the 
autumn;  the  foliage  is  attractive  and 
ornamental  in  summer  and  autumn. 
The  greenish  and  rather  inconspicuous 
flower  clusters  appear  in  April  or  May 
when  the  leaves  are  about  one-third 
grown.  The  fruit  ripens  in  the  autumn 
in  ball-like,  tough,  spiny  heads  about  1 
to  l/a  inches  in  diameter,  which  re- 
main on  the  tree  into  the  winter. 

Sweetgum  is  not  very  readily  trans- 
planted in  heavy  soils  and  in  its  more 
northern  limits,  but  otherwise  it  will 
become  easily  adjusted  to  a  wide  range 
of  soil  conditions.  All  through  New 
England  it  should  be  transplanted  in 
early  spring.  It  prefers  a  moist,  well- 
drained  soil,  has  a  moderate  growth 
rate,  and  will  thrive  near  the  seacoast. 
It  reaches  maturity  in  200  to  300  years 
in  the  forest.  Sweetgum  is  adapted  to 
planting  in  suburban  areas  both  as  a 
street  and  a  lawn  tree.  It  is  relatively 
resistant  to  fungus  diseases  as  well  as 
to  damage  from  wind  or  ice  storms. 

THE  AMERICAN  LINDEN,  or  bass- 
wood,  has  been  grown  to  some  extent 
as  a  shade  tree  along  roadsides,  par- 
ticularly in  the  suburban  areas.  Some 
of  the  European  lindens,  however,  are 
usually  preferred  as  lawn  or  street  trees, 
because  of  their  more  ornamental, 
compact  growth. 

American  linden  is  native  through- 
out the  Northeast,  from  the  seacoast  to 
altitudes  of  1,000  feet.  It  may  attain  a 
height  of  50  to  75  feet,  sometimes  even 
more  than  100  feet,  with  a  straight 
trunk  that  is  continuous  into  the 
crown.  The  numerous  and  slender 
branches  are  ascending  at  the  top,  but 
tend  to  be  slightly  drooping  below. 
They  form  a  dense,  broad,  rounded 
crown.  The  leaves  are  unequal,  heart- 
shaped,  5  or  6  inches  long  and  almost 
as  wide,  thick  and  firm,  dull  dark 
green,  and  coarsely  toothed  along  the 
margin.  They  remain  on  the  trees  late 
in  the  autumn  and  turn  yellow  before 
falling.  The  yellowish-white  flowers, 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


produced  in  loose  clusters  in  late  June 
or  July  after  the  leaves  have  developed, 
are  well  supplied  with  a  fragrant  nec- 
tar that  attracts  bees. 

American  linden  is  easily  trans- 
planted, comparatively  fast  growing, 
and  in  the  forest  reaches  maturity  in 
90  to  140  years.  It  may  be  relatively 
short-lived  on  streets.  It  prefers  a  rich, 
well-drained,  and  loamy  soil,  and,  like 
most  species  of  linden,  it  is  intolerant 
of  dry  locations  or  dry  climate.  It  may 
be  used  as  a  shade  tree  on  lawns  or 
along  wide  streets  in  suburban  areas, 
provided  soil  conditions  are  favorable. 

American  linden  is  susceptible  to 
several  leaf  diseases  but  none  is  usually 
serious  enough  to  cause  lasting  injury. 
A  trunk  rot,  however,  which  occurs 
rather  frequently,  starts  near  the 
ground  level  and  advances  slowly  up- 
ward. Affected  trees  are  subject  to 
breakage  in  windstorms  and  may  be- 
come unsightly  at  an  early  age. 

Several  species  of  European  linden 
have  proved  to  be  desirable  and  hardy 
shade  trees  in  the  Northeast.  One, 
the  European  linden  (Tilia  europaea, 
sometimes  sold  under  the  name  of 
T.  vulgaris),  forms  a  dense,  pyramidal 
head,  and  its  leaves  are  slightly  smaller 
than  those  of  the  American  linden.  It 
is  widely  planted  as  a  shade  tree  on 
lawns  and  along  city  streets  and  is 
relatively  tolerant  of  city  conditions. 
It  is  susceptible  to  trunk  rot,  which 
makes  it  subject  to  wind  breakage. 

Another  species  of  similar  growth 
habit  is  the  littleleaf  linden,  whose 
leaves  are  l/>  to  2/>  inches  long  and 
sometimes  broader  than  long.  It  also 
grows  successfully  as  a  lawn  or  street 
tree  in  suburban  areas. 

The  silver  linden  is  considered  one 
of  the  most  satisfactory  trees  for  street 
and  lawn  planting  and  is  hardy  from 
western  Massachusetts  and  central 
New  York  southward.  It  may  reach  a 
height  of  100  feet  and  has  upright 
branches  that  form  a  dense,  broad, 
pyramidal  head.  The  leaves,  about  2 
to  4  inches  long  and  almost  as  broad, 
are  dark  green  on  the  upper  surface 
and  silvery  white  below.  The  small, 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Northeast 


fragrant,  cream-colored  flowers  appear 
in  July  or  August  and  are  said  to  be 
poisonous  to  bees.  The  silver  linden 
tolerates  heat  and  drought  and  there- 
fore is  suitable  for  planting  along  wide 
city  streets.  It  may  also  be  grown  suc- 
cessfully near  the  seacoast. 

The  pendent,  or  silverpendent,  lin- 
den has  leaves  like  those  of  the  silver 
linden,  but  it  has  slender,  drooping 
branches  and  is  adapted  to  planting  as 
an  ornamental  shade  tree  on  lawns. 
Well  grown,  it  may  reach  80  feet. 

THE  AMERICAN  SYCAMORE,  or  the 
planetree,  is  native  in  the  region  except 
in  northern  New  England,  northern 
Wisconsin,  most  of  Minnesota,  and 
northwestern  Iowa.  This  tree  has  been 
planted  rather  extensively  as  a  shade 
tree  in  its  native  range.  It  is  suscepti- 
ble to  anthracnose,  a  fungus  disease 
that  attacks  and  kills  the  leaves  when 
they  are  developing  in  the  spring  and 
also  infects  twigs,  causing  a  disfiguring 
dieback.  Therefore,  it  is  not  recom- 
mended for  street  or  lawn  planting. 

THE  LONDON  PLANETREE,  which  is 
more  resistant  to  anthracnose,  has  been 
grown  successfully  along  wide  streets 
and  around  suburban  homes.  This 
species  is  considered  a  hybrid  between 
the  American  sycamore  and  the  Ori- 
ental planetree,  and  is  hardy  in  the 
southern  parts  of  Maine,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Vermont,  in  central  New  York, 
and  southward. 

In  the  past  few  years  it  has  proved 
susceptible  to  canker  stain,  a  disease 
caused  by  a  fungus  that  may  kill  large 
branches  and  entire  trees.  The  disease 
may  be  controlled  by  using  certain  pre- 
cautionary methods  in  pruning  and 
in  the  treatment  of  cut  surfaces  and 
wounds.  Detailed  information  about 
the  disease  and  its  control  can  be  ob- 
tained by  writing  to  the  Division  of 
Forest  Pathology,  Plant  Industry  Sta- 
tion, Beltsville,  Md. 

The  London  planetree  may  attain  a 
height  of  100  feet.  Usually  it  has  a 
short  trunk  that  divides  into  several 
stout  ascending  secondary  trunks.  Its 


55 

head  is  irregularly  rounded  or  pyram- 
idal. The  bark  resembles  that  of  the 
American  planetree,  except  that  it  is 
slightly  cream-colored.  The  brownish 
bark  peels  off  in  rather  large,  thin 
patches,  and  exposes  the  yellowish  or 
greenish  innermost  bark.  The  leaves, 
which  have  three  to  five  lobes,  are 
bright  green,  glossy  on  the  upper  sur- 
face, broader  than  long,  and  4  to  10 
inches  wide.  The  rather  inconspicu- 
ous reddish-green  flowers  appear  in 
May  when  the  leaves  are  partly  devel- 
oped. The  fruit  matures  in  September 
or  October  in  greenish-brown,  bristly 
balls,  about  an  inch  in  diameter.  The 
balls  hang  on  the  trees  during  winter. 
The  London  planetree  is  easily 
transplanted,  grows  rather  rapidly,  and 
prefers  a  rich,  moist,  well-drained  soil. 
It  is  tolerant  of  a  wide  range  of  soil 
conditions,  however,  and  may  be 
planted  as  a  lawn  or  street  tree  where 
there  is  enough  room  for  the  spread 
of  its  branches.  It  endures  city  fumes. 

AMERICAN  YELLOW  WOOD  is  native  in 
the  Southeastern  States,  but  is  hardy 
as  a  shade  tree  southward  from  eastern 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island  and  Con- 
necticut, and  southern  New  York.  It 
is  a  small  tree,  usually  not  exceeding  30 
to  45  feet,  with  a  short  trunk  and  sev- 
eral ascending  or  slightly  spreading 
branches  that  form  a  broad,  rounded 
head.  The  bark  of  the  trunk  is  light 
gray  or  brown,  usually  smooth  and  at- 
tractive. The  leaves  are  composed  of 
seven  to  nine  leaflets,  bright  green, 
smooth  and  firm,  each  leaflet  3  or  4 
inches  long.  The  leaves  turn  bright 
yellow  in  the  autumn  before  they  fall. 
In  June,  after  the  leaves  have  devel- 
oped, the  fragrant  white  flowers  appear 
in  loosely  branched,  drooping  clusters, 
10  to  16  inches  long.  In  August  or 
September,  the  fruit  matures  in  pods 
about  4  inches  long. 

American  yellowwood  should  be 
transplanted  in  the  spring;  it  becomes 
established  rather  slowly.  It  prefers 
rich,  moist,  well-drained  soil,  but  it  is 
drought-resistant.  The  slender  twigs 
are  rather  brittle  and  may  break  in 


56 

severe  windstorms.  It  is  free  from  any 
serious  fungus  disease  but  its  low  head 
makes  it  suitable  for  planting  as  a 
street  tree  only  in  suburban  areas  along 
wide  streets.  The  falling  of  the  mature 
pods  may  be  objectionable  in  some 
locations.  Its  attractive  flowers  and 
bark  are  ornamental  on  the  home 
grounds,  and  its  abundant  foliage  pro- 
vides adequate  but  open  shade. 

EUROPEAN  BEECH,  an  introduced 
species,  is  40  to  65  feet  high  at  ma- 
turity. It  has  a  compact,  oval  crown 
and  glossy,  dark-green  foilage.  It 
prefers  fertile,  well-drained  soil;  it 
cannot  stand  soil  compaction.  The  sev- 
eral good  horticultural  varieties  that 
are  available  offer  variation  in  growth 
habit,  form,  and  color  of  foliage. 

THE  THORNLESS  COMMON  HONEY- 
LOCUST  has  gained  favor  for  use  on 
streets  and  lawns.  Its  small  leaflets 
cast  a  light  shade  that  does  not  prevent 
good  growth  of  grass  beneath  it.  It 
is  high-rectangular  or  round-topped. 
This  tree  is  long-lived  and  a  rapid 
grower.  The  large,  purplish-black  fruit 
pods  of  the  thornless  common  honey- 
locust  may  be  interesting — or  just  a 
nuisance  when  they  fall  to  the  ground. 

THE  COMMON  HACKBERRY  is  a  slow- 
growing  tree  of  widespreading  form 
that  may  reach  50  to  70  feet.  Opinions 
differ  on  its  desirability,  but  it  seems 
to  be  gaining  in  popularity.  Birds  feed 
on  the  fruit.  The  interesting  bark  is 
formed  into  warts  or  narrow  ridges. 
The  leaves  are  a  light  green,  and  the 
foliage  casts  a  moderately  dense  shade. 
It  is  easily  transplanted. 

In  many  places  it  is  susceptible  to 
a  disease  that  causes  an  excessive  pro- 
duction of  small  twigs,  called  brooms. 
This  does  not  seem  to  be  especially 
detrimental  to  the  tree,  however.  Dur- 
ing the  growing  season  the  brooms  are 
inconspicuous;  in  winter  they  give  a 
more  massive  effect  to  the  tree.  In 
habit  it  is  something  like  the  American 
elm,  although  not  so  graceful.  It  dis- 
likes smoke  and  soot. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

TREES  OF  LIMITED  USE  include  sev- 
eral species  that  are  good  in  many  sit- 
uations or  for  special  purposes. 

The  American  mountain-ash  is  a 
small  to  medium  tree,  with  a  some- 
what open  to  round-topped  crown.  It 
is  short-lived,  fairly  slow  in  growth, 
and  subject  to  attack  by  several  pests. 
The  white  flowers  in  the  spring  and  the 
bright-red  fruits,  which  remain  over 
winter  and  are  eaten  by  birds,  make 
it  an  attractive  tree  for  suitable  yard 
locations.  In  New  England  many  beau- 
tiful specimens  brighten  the  landscape. 

The  magnolias  are  not  usually  con- 
sidered as  shade  trees,  but  the  native 
cucumbertree  magnolia  has  the  neces- 
sary qualifications.  It  grows  best  in 
well-drained  soil.  It  is  native  in  the 
region  from  Pennsylvania  southwest- 
ward  in  the  mountains  and  in  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Kentucky.  The  wide 
pyramidal  crown  reaches  50  to  90  feet 
in  the  forest.  Its  red  fruits  are  con- 
spicuous in  the  autumn.  Its  large 
leaves  turn  yellow  before  they  fall.  The 
sweetbay  and  the  southern  magnolia 
are  sometimes  used  for  shade  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  Northeast. 

The  black  tupelo  is  native  in  all 
States  in  the  region,  except  Minnesota, 
Wisconsin,  and  Iowa,  and  the  most 
northern  parts  of  New  England,  Michi- 
gan, and  Missouri.  It  grows  50  to  70 
feet  tall  and  develops  a  pyramidal 
but  irregular  crown.  The  leaves,  which 
are  scarlet  in  autumn,  are  oval,  leath- 
ery, and  dark  green.  Black  tupelo  casts 
a  moderately  light  shade.  Large  trees 
are  difficult  to  transplant.  The  fruits 
are  eaten  by  birds.  Squirrels  often  cut 
off  many  young  twigs  in  the  spring. 
The  black  tupelo  grows  best  in  rich, 
moist  soil. 

Amur  corktree,  introduced  from 
Asia,  forms  a  low-branched,  spreading, 
rounded  crown,  which  may  reach  40 
to  50  feet  in  height.  The  leaflets  are 
a  shiny  dark  green  above  and  light 
green  below.  The  foliage  casts  light 
shade.  It  develops  an  attractive,  corky 
bark.  The  low-branching  habit  limits 
its  use  on  streets,  but  it  is  recommended 
for  parks  and  lawns.  It  is  smoke-toler- 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Northeast 


ant  and  it  can  be  transplanted  readily. 

Panicled  goldenrain-tree,  another 
Asiatic  species,  deserves  consideration 
when  some  flowering  tree  of  relatively 
quick  growth  is  needed.  It  is  hardy  in 
central  Ohio  and  in  southern  New 
England.  The  beautiful  yellow  panicles 
of  flowers  are  produced  in  July. 

The  Japanese  pagodatree,  intro- 
duced from  Asia,  reaches  50  to  65  feet 
in  height  and  has  a  rounded,  spreading 
crown.  The  leaves  are  glossy  and  dark 
green  on  the  upper  surface  and  soft, 
hairy,  and  pale  green  on  the  lower  sur- 
face. The  tree  has  an  intermediate 
rate  of  growth  and  casts  light  shade. 
The  attractive,  small,  yellowish-white 
flowers  are  produced  in  loose,  open 
clusters  in  midsummer.  As  far  north 
as  Ohio  and  southern  New  England 
the  young  trees  are  subject  to  winter 
injury  but  are  hardy  when  mature. 

The  paper  birch  grows  rapidly  into  a 
medium-sized  tree,  which  is  pyramidal 
in  form  at  first  and  later  becomes 
irregularly  round.  It  is  a  fast  grower. 
Its  life  expectancy  in  the  forest  is  about 
80  years,  but  it  may  be  much  less  under 
shade-tree  conditions.  It  is  not  adapted 
to  street  planting  although  it  has  been 
successfully  used  in  parks.  It  is  subject 
to  attack  by  the  bronze  birch  borer, 
which  limits  its  use  in  some  localities. 

Silver  maple  is  a  large,  widespread- 
ing  tree  of  rapid  growth.  The  leaves 
are  whitish  underneath,  and  when  the 
pendulous  branches  sway  in  the  breeze 
the  tree  has  a  flowing,  silvery  appear- 
ance. The  wood  is  brittle  and  easily 
broken,  and  its  roots  often  clog  drain 
pipes.  The  silver  maple  is  not  recom- 
mended except  for  quick  effects  or  for 
places  where  better  trees  will  not  grow. 

Green  ash  is  a  tall,  fairly  narrow 
tree  of  rapid  growth.  It  gives  moderate 
shade.  In  the  Lake  States  it  is  a  fairly 
reliable  tree  that  lends  variety  along 
streets  or  on  lawns. 

Kentucky  coffeetree  grows  40  to  60 
feet  tall.  The  shiny  and  pale-green  leaf- 
lets turn  clear  yellow  and  fall  in  early 
autumn.  The  large  brown  seed  pods 
hang  on  the  tree  through  the  winter. 
It  is  native  from  western  New  York 


57 

southward  in  the  Appalachians  to 
Tennessee  and  westward  to  southern 
Minnesota.  It  also  can  be  grown  suc- 
cessfully as  a  shade  tree  in  central  and 
southern  New  England. 

Several  other  deciduous  shade  trees 
are  grown  in  this  region  but  are  not  so 
common  as  those  we  have  described. 

Eastern  black  walnut  is  difficult  to 
transplant.  Some  of  the  new  varieties 
produce  nuts  that  crack  easily. 

Bolleana  poplar  is  a  narrow  upright 
tree  that  can  be  used  for  special  effects. 
Most  poplars  are  too  short-lived  to  be 
a  good  investment,  but  this  species  is 
better  than  the  Lombardy  poplar. 

Golden  weeping  willow,  a  pendulous 
variety,  can  be  used  effectively.  Amer- 
ican hornbeam  is  a  good  small  tree  to 
supplement  larger  ones. 

Ohio  buckeye  and  common  horse- 
chestnut  have  good  forms  and  attrac- 
tive flowers,  but  are  prey  to  leaf  blotch. 

THE    NARROW-LEAVED   EVERGREENS, 

or  conifers  as  they  are  more  commonly 
called,  are  not  suitable  generally  for 
planting  along  streets,  but  they  are  val- 
uable as  shade  trees  around  the  home, 
particularly  in  suburban  areas,  and  are 
ornamental  all  the  year. 

Although  the  needles  may  persist 
for  several  years  and  the  older  parts  of 
the  twigs  are  bare  of  foliage,  once  the 
needles  are  lost  from  a  conifer  they  are 
never  replaced  as  are  the  leaves  of  de- 
ciduous trees. 

The  transplanting  of  some  kinds  of 
large  evergreens  is  difficult,  losses  some- 
times running  as  high  as  10  or  20  per- 
cent for  the  larger  trees. 

EASTERN  HEMLOCK  is  one  of  the 
most  satisfactory  evergreens  for  home 
planting  throughout  New  England  and 
southward  in  the  highlands.  It  is  a 
native  and  sometimes  is  called  Canada 
hemlock.  It  is  a  large  tree,  50  to  80 
feet  tall,  with  long,  slender,  horizontal 
branches,  which  ascend  above  and 
droop  at  the  base,  forming  a  broad, 
pyramidal  head.  The  lowest  branches 
very  often  extend  to  the  ground.  The 
terminal  shoot  of  the  straight  trunk 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


is  flexible,  and  the  small  twigs  and 
foliage  are  arranged  in  graceful  sprays. 
The  inconspicuous  flowers  appear  in 
May  and  cones  develop  in  the  summer 
and  autumn.  The  latter  are  formed 
at  the  tips  of  the  small  twigs;  they  are 
about  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  long,  green  at  first,  gradually  turn- 
ing reddish  to  brown. 

In  planting  hemlock,  the  site  should 
be  carefully  selected  so  that  the  young 
tree  may  be  sheltered  from  any  drying 
winds.  The  hemlock  grows  slowly  and 
prefers  a  shady  or  sheltered  location 
with  moist  soil.  It  may  be  grown  in 
various  types  of  soil,  however,  but  will 
not  be  successful  in  an  exposed  site  with 
dry,  poor  soil. 

RED  PINE  is  native  in  northern  New 
England  and  in  the  Lake  States.  It  is 
also  grown  extensively  in  the  area  as 
a  shade  or  ornamental  tree.  It  may 
attain  a  height  of  50  to  75  feet.  The 
trunk  is  erect  and  continuous  into  the 
crown.  The  branches  are  stout,  spread- 
ing, and  slightly  pendulous  at  the  base 
of  the  tree.  The  tips  of  the  branches 
usually  turn  upward.  On  young  trees 
the  branches  extend  to  the  ground  and 
form  a  broad,  pyramidal  head.  The 
bark  of  the  trunk  is  reddish  brown. 
The  needle-shaped  leaves  are  dark 
green,  from  5  to  6  inches  long,  slender, 
brittle,  and  have  sharply  pointed  tips. 
There  are  two  in  a  cluster,  in  long, 
flexible  tufts.  They  remain  on  the  trees 
four  or  five  seasons.  The  cones,  about 
2  inches  long,  are  green  when  young; 
they  gradually  turn  light  brown  and 
reach  maturity  the  second  autumn. 

Red  pine  will  grow  best  in  light  and 
sandy  soil  in  sunny  locations.  It  will 
not  thrive  in  shady  sites  or  in  poorly 
drained  soils.  It  is  not  readily  trans- 
planted but,  when  it  is  once  established 
under  favorable  conditions,  young  trees 
will  grow  rapidly.  The  lifespan  of  the 
red  pine  in  the  forest  is  about  350  years. 

The  species  is  susceptible  to  a  num- 
ber of  fungus  diseases,  including  leaf 
diseases,  cankers,  and  wood  rots,  but 
when  grown  in  the  open  as  a  shade  tree 
it  is  usually  free  from  these  diseases. 


EASTERN  WHITE  PINE,  a  native  in 
much  of  the  region,  is  valued  highly 
both  for  shade  and  ornament.  It 
may  attain  a  height  of  50  to  80  feet. 
Its  straight  and  tapering  trunk  nor- 
mally is  continuous  into  the  crown.  The 
branches  are  widespreading  and  hori- 
zontal and  generally  are  arranged  in 
whorls  of  five.  In  the  young  trees  they 
extend  to  the  ground  and  form  a 
broad-based  and  pyramidal  or  conical 
head.  The  leaves  are  three-sided,  in 
clusters  of  five,  and  are  bluish  green, 
soft,  slender,  flexible,  and  about  3  to 
5  inches  long.  They  usually  remain 
on  the  twigs  for  two  seasons.  White 
pine  will  grow  in  almost  any  location 
but  nevertheless  it  likes  best  a  rich, 
well-drained  soil. 

Under  favorable  conditions,  white 
pine  grows  rapidly  and  reaches  ma- 
turity in  about  200  years,  and  in  the 
forest  its  lifespan  is  about  450  years. 
As  a  shade  tree  it  often  becomes  ragged 
after  40  to  60  years,  particularly  at 
low  elevations  or  in  the  hotter  and 
drier  parts  of  the  region. 

Many  fungus  diseases  attack  the 
leaves,  twigs,  and  trunk  of  the  eastern 
white  pine,  but  most  of  them  cause 
only  slight  weakening  or  injury.  Blister 
rust,  a  fungus  disease,  produces  serious 
cankers  on  branches  or  trunk  and  may 
result  in  the  death  of  the  tree.  Pre- 
cautionary measures  can  usually  be 
taken  to  prevent  ornamental  white 
pines  from  becoming  infected. 

WHITE  FIR  is  native  in  the  western 
part  of  the  United  States  but  is  ex- 
tensively and  successfully  grown  as  a 
shade  or  ornamental  tree  in  the  North- 
east. It  is  hardy  as  far  north  as  central 
Maine.  It  may  attain  a  height  of  60 
to  70  feet.  Its  straight,  tapering  trunk 
and  whorled,  spreading  branches  usu- 
ally extend  to  the  ground  and  form  a 
broad-based,  pyramidal  head.  The 
leaves  are  narrow,  flat,  about  2  inches 
long,  bluish  green  or  silvery;  they 
spread  outward  and  curve  upward 
from  the  twigs.  They  remain  on  the 
twigs  for  several  years. 

White  fir  will  grow  in  a  wide  range 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Northeast 


59 


of  soil  conditions,  but  it  is  rather  slow 
in  becoming  adjusted  after  it  has  been 
transplanted.  It  prefers  a  rich,  moist, 
well-drained,  gravelly  or  sandy  loam. 
Even  under  the  most  favorable  soil 
conditions,  however,  the  growth  of 
young  trees  is  rather  slow.  Maturity  is 
reached  in  300  years  in  the  forests. 

White  fir  stands  heat  and  drought 
well,  but  in  the  northern  parts  of  the 
area  late-spring  frosts  sometimes  kill 
the  tender  new  growth.  A  disease 
caused  by  a  fungus  that  is  native  on 
northern  balsam  fir  sometimes  kills 
back  the  new  growth  and  may  seri- 
ously weaken  the  trees.  For  that  rea- 
son it  is  usually  inadvisable  to  plant 
the  white  fir  near  the  balsam  fir. 

NIKKO  FIR,  native  in  Japan,  is  one 
of  the  most  satisfactory  firs  for  shade 
or  ornament  and  is  hardy  in  central 
and  southern  New  England.  It  may 
reach  a  height  of  50  to  60  feet.  It  has 
a  straight  and  tapering  trunk — with 
whorled,  spreading  branches,  con- 
tinuous to  the  ground.  The  leaves  are 
narrow,  flat,  and  about  an  inch  long; 
closely  set  on  the  twigs,  they  spread 
outward  and  upward.  They  are  shin- 
ing, dark  green  on  the  upper  surface 
and  have  two  broad  white  bands  on 
the  lower  surface,  and  remain  on  the 
twigs  for  several  years. 

Nikko  fir  may  be  rather  slow  in  its 
growth  for  a  few  years  after  trans- 
planting, but  usually  is  slightly  more 
rapid  than  the  white  fir.  Although  it 
prefers  a  rich,  moist,  and  well-drained 
soil,  it  will  also  grow  successfully  in 
drier  locations  and  is  relatively  tol- 
erant of  heat  and  drought. 

No  fungus  diseases  have  been  re- 
ported on  Nikko  fir  in  this  country. 

ORIENTAL  SPRUCE  is  native  in  Asia 
Minor  and  is  hardy  in  the  central  part 
of  the  region.  It  makes  a  graceful  and 
attractive  shade  tree  with  a  rather  nar- 
row, pyramidal  head.  The  trunk,  which 
may  reach  a  height  of  50  to  80  feet, 
is  erect  and  tapering.  It  has  dense  and 
spreading  branches,  in  whorls,  hori- 
zontal or  even  slightly  ascending  above, 


somewhat  pendulous  below,  and  con- 
tinuous to  the  ground.  The  leaves  are 
from  one-fourth  to  one-half  inch  long, 
closely  set  on  the  twigs,  four-sided, 
shining  dark  green,  and  blunt  at  the  tip. 
They  remain  on  the  twigs  several  years. 
The  Oriental  spruce  is  slow  growing 
and  is  most  successful  in  rich,  moist, 
well-drained  soil.  It  is  susceptible  to 
a  fungus  disease  that  first  attacks  the 
lowest  branches  of  old  trees  and  grad- 
ually progresses  upward.  Cankers  and 
dieback  of  these  lowest  branches  some- 
times disfigure  the  trees. 

COLORADO  BLUE  SPRUCE,  native  in 
the  western  United  States,  is  very  well 
known  as  a  lawn  tree  throughout  the 
Northeast.  It  grows  50  to  80  feet  in 
height.  Its  stout,  horizontal  branches 
extend  the  entire  length  of  the  straight, 
tapering  trunk,  and  form  a  symmet- 
rical, pyramidal  head.  The  leaves  are 
four-sided,  sharp-pointed,  and  rigid 
and  spread  out  from  the  twigs.  They 
are  about  an  inch  long  and  vary  from 
dull  green  to  bluish  green  or  silvery 
white.  They  remain  on  the  twigs  for 
several  years,  but  they  tend  to  lose  their 
silvery  color  as  they  age. 

The  Colorado  blue  spruce  is  slow 
growing  and  is  tolerant  of  a  wide  range 
of  soil  conditions.  Most  satisfactory 
growth  is  obtained  in  rich,  moist,  well- 
drained  soil. 

The  lowest  branches  of  older  trees 
may  be  seriously  injured  by  the  pre- 
viously mentioned  fungus  disease  on 
Oriental  spruce.  The  Colorado  blue 
spruce  is  particularly  susceptible  to 
this  disease,  which  causes  large  resinous 
cankers  and  dieback. 

THE  NATIVE  WHITE  SPRUCE  is  most 
satisfactory  for  shade  and  ornament 
in  the  northern  parts  of  the  region. 
It  develops  into  a  symmetrical,  pyram- 
idal tree  50  to  60  feet  tall,  with  dense, 
horizontal,  spreading  branches  that  ex- 
tend to  the  ground.  The  leaves  are 
about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  long, 
four-sided,  crowded  on  the  twigs, 
slightly  curved,  light  bluish  green,  and 
remain  on  the  twigs  for  several  seasons. 


6o 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


They  give  off  a  disagreeable,  pungent 
odor  when  they  are  crushed. 

The  growth  rate  of  white  spruce  is 
much  slower  in  dry  locations  than  in 
moist,  well-drained  soil.  Its  life  span  in 
the  forest  is  200  to  300  years. 

It  is  slightly  susceptible  to  the  Orien- 
tal spruce  fungus  disease,  but  usually 
is  not  seriously  injured. 

Black  Hills  white  spruce  is  compact 
and  slow  in  growth,  and  is  generally 
useful  in  the  northern  Lake  States. 

The  common  Douglas-fir  is  a  large, 
pyramidal  specimen,  with  branches 
growing  well  down  to  the  ground. 

MANY  OTHER  kinds  of  trees,  both 
deciduous  and  evergreen,  might  have 
been  mentioned  here.  This  list  tends  to 
be  conservative;  it  is  based  on  the  ex- 
perience of  many  men  who  plant  and 
take  care  of  trees.  But  we  compiled  it 
with  the  thought  that  it  could  be  a 
springboard  from  which  you  might 
take  a  deep  plunge  into  the  fascinat- 
ing hobby  of  planting  and  growing 
shade  trees  around  your  home  or  de- 


velop an  interest  in  the  trees  of  your 
city  streets  and  parks. 

ALMA  M.  WATERMAN  is  a  forest  and 
shade-tree  pathologist  in  the  Bureau 
of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and  Agricul- 
tural Engineering.  She  is  stationed  in 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  where  she  has 
studied  trees  and  their  diseases  for 
more  than  25  years.  Dr.  Waterman  is 
a  graduate  of  Brown  University. 

R.  U.  SWINGLE  is  a  forest  pathologist 
and  is  in  charge  of  the  field  head- 
quarters of  the  Division  of  Forest  Path- 
ology in  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  is  at 
present  investigating  phloem  necrosis, 
an  epidemic  virus  disease  of  American 
elm.  Mr.  Swingle  is  a  graduate  of  Ohio 
State  University. 

CLAYTON  S.  MOSES,  a  graduate  of 
Pennsylvania  State  College,  is  a  forest 
pathologist  in  the  Bureau  of  Plant  In- 
dustry, Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engi- 
neering and  is  stationed  in  Madison, 
Wis.  In  recent  years  he  has  investigated 
the  epidemic  dying  of  oak  in  Wisconsin 
and  adjoining  States. 


SHADE  TREES  FOR  THE  SOUTHEAST 

RALPH  M.  LINDGREN,  R.  P.  TRUE,  E.  RICHARD  TOOLE 


Residents  of  the  Southeastern  States 
have  a  wide  choice  of  trees  for  shade 
and  ornamental  purposes.  They  also 
have  a  difficulty  in  making  their  selec- 
tion, for  their  section  has  variables  in 
climate  and  altitude  and  other  con- 
ditions that  do  affect  tree  growth. 
(Florida  alone,  for  example,  can  be 
subdivided  into  at  least  three  distinct 
zones  in  which  climate  and  commonly 
used  plants  are  likely  to  differ  a  good 
deal  from  each  other.) 

Furthermore,  certain  local  conditions 
may  sometimes  prevent  the  successful 
use  of  a  species  within  the  recognized 
geographic  range  of  the  Southeast.  For 
these  reasons,  the  list  of  trees  we  pre- 
sent is  not  expected  to  be  entirely 
acceptable  throughout  the  region  or 
adequate  for  specific  localities. 


THE  LIVE  OAK,  a  tree  of  history  and 
beauty,  is  long-lived  and  rather  slow 
growing.  It  attains  tremendous  size 
with  age.  It  branches  low  into  mas- 
sive and  widespreading  limbs,  and 
forms  a  broad,  dense,  round-topped 
crown  of  dark,  glossy,  evergreen  leaves. 
It  resists  storm  damage,  insects,  and 
diseases;  the  costs  of  care  and  mainte- 
nance therefore  are  relatively  low. 

Propagation  from  seed  or  transplants 
is  not  difficult.  The  live  oak  is  used 
widely  where  enough  space  is  avail- 
able on  lawns  and  along  driveways  and 
roads.  Severe  freezes  injure  it,  but  it 
is  considered  satisfactory  in  such  in- 
land cities  as  Shreveport. 

SOUTHERN  MAGNOLIA,  with  its  beau- 
tiful flowers  and  evergreen  foliage,  is 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Southeast 


61 


a  popular  shade  and  ornamental  tree. 
Rather  large  at  maturity,  it  forms  a 
broad,  conical  crown  of  pleasing  sym- 
metry. The  thick,  leathery  leaves  are 
dark,  shining  green  above  and  rusty 
brown  below.  Large,  fragrant,  creamy- 
white  flowers,  mostly  produced  before 
July  but  sometimes  continuing  until 
November,  are  followed  by  purplish, 
conelike  fruits.  The  tree  is  rather  slow 
growing  and  long-lived,  relatively  free 
of  pests,  and  tolerant  of  varying  con- 
ditions except  poor  drainage.  It  usually 
is  propagated  from  seed  or  pot-grown 
transplants.  Adequate  space  is  needed 
for  best  development,  and  it  is  often 
used  singly  on  lawns.  In  the  moun- 
tainous regions,  severely  cold  weather 
may  kill  much  of  the  foliage. 

THE  CAMPHOR-TREE  is  frequently 
planted  in  lawns  and  parks  and  along 
streets  in  many  localities.  It  is  a  me- 
dium-sized, stout  evergreen  that  forms 
a  handsome,  dense-topped  crown.  The 
leaves,  shiny  green  above  and  silvery 
blue  below,  are  strongly  aromatic  when 
crushed.  The  fruit,  a  small  bluish-black 
drupe,  often  is  abundant  and  occa- 
sionally is  considered  a  nuisance.  The 
tree  is  hardy  but  prefers  a  well-drained 
soil,  and,  except  for  thrips  and  scale, 
has  few  damaging  pests. 

It  is  propagated  usually  from  seed 
or  pot-grown  transplants.  Well-estab- 
lished trees  resist  temperatures  of  15° 
F.  without  a  great  deal  of  injury. 

THE  WILLOW  OAK  is  a  rather  large, 
long-lived,  and  fast-growing  deciduous 
tree  that  develops  a  fairly  short  trunk 
in  the  open.  It  has  a  dense  oval  or 
round-topped  crown.  Slender  branches 


with  light-green,  willowlike  leaves  give 
the  tree  a  graceful  appearance.  Al- 
though growth  is  best  in  moist  soils,  it 
also  thrives  satisfactorily  in  rather  dry 
situations. 

It  is  easily  transplanted,  moderately 
storm-resistant,  and,  except  for  gall  in- 
sects on  branches  and  a  leaf  rust  dis- 
ease, is  relatively  free  of  pests.  The  leaf 
rust  is  seldom  disfiguring,  but  it  is  the 
alternate  stage  of  a  serious  canker  dis- 
ease of  southern  pines.  Willow  oak  is 
used  extensively  as  an  attractive  shade 
tree  for  wide  streets  and  large  lawns. 

THE  RED  MAPLE  has  brilliant  scarlet 
to  orange  autumnal  coloring,  which 
adds  greatly  to  its  ornamental  value. 
It  is  medium  to  fairly  large  in  size.  Its 
branches  develop  low  on  the  trunk  to 
form  a  dense,  narrow,  oblong  head. 
Conspicuous  reddish  flowers  appear  in 
early  spring  and  are  followed  by  scar- 
let fruits  and  attractive  foliage. 

The  tree  grows  rapidly,  is  relatively 
short-lived,  thrives  satisfactorily  on 
fairly  varied  sites,  and  is  rather  easily 
propagated  and  moderately  resistant 
to  pests.  Although  grown  less  often 
than  many  other  trees,  the  red  maple 
is  not  uncommon  in  the  Southeast. 

THE  FLOWERING  DOGWOOD  is  a 
native  tree  that  is  grown  widely  for  its 
attractive  flowers,  red  berries,  and  pleas- 
ing crown.  It  attains  40  feet  and  has 
spreading  branches  that  form  a  low, 
fairly  dense,  rounded  head.  The  small 
greenish-yellow  flowers,  produced  in 
April,  May,  or  June,  are  surrounded 
by  four  large,  white  bracts;  pink  forms 
occur  also.  Red  fruit  and  autumnal 
leaf  coloration  add  ornamental  value. 

The  tree,  rather  slow  growing  and 
long-lived,  is  propagated  with  some 
difficulty  from  seed  and  cuttings.  It 
has  relatively  few  pests.  It  thrives  in 
shaded  or  exposed  places  but  prefers 
well-drained  and  fairly  light  soils. 
While  not  always  easily  established, 
it  is  useful  around  many  homes. 

THE  SWEETGUM  is  a  large  and  fast- 
growing  tree  with  a  pyramidal  or  ob- 


62 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


long  crown.  The  star-shaped,  decidu- 
ous leaves  develop  brilliant  autumn 
colors  that  range  from  yellow  through 
orange  to  red  and  deep  bronze.  Gorky 
ridges  on  some  of  the  branches  and 
the  persistent  spiny,  fruiting  balls  are 
characteristically  present.  The  tree  is 
fairly  long-lived,  tolerant  of  different 
sites  excepting  poorly  drained  ones, 
and  moderately  free  of  pests. 

Transplanting  is  fairly  easy  in  light 
but  rather  difficult  in  heavy  soils.  Its 
woody  fruits  are  somewhat  objection- 
able at  times,  and  a  top  dieback  in 
some  localities  has  been  noted. 

THE  AMERICAN  HOLLY  may  become 
a  moderate-sized  tree  40  feet  in  height. 
It  has  both  shade  and  ornamental 
value.  Its  pyramidal  crown  of  glossy 
evergreen  leaves  and  its  brilliant  red 
berries  lend  beauty  throughout  the 
year.  Certain  individuals  and  varieties 
bear  fruit  much  more  abundantly  than 
others,  so  that  selections  are  desirable 
or  necessary.  The  tree  is  fairly  slow 
growing,  long-lived,  and  rather  resist- 
ant to  insects  and  diseases. 

Propagation  with  well-kept  trans- 
plants is  more  successful  than  with 
wild  seedlings.  The  tree  is  rather  exact- 
ing in  soil  requirements  but  grows  sat- 
isfactorily when  established  in  acid 
soils.  Although  it  is  not  particularly 
adaptable,  the  beauty  of  the  American 
holly  justifies  listing  it  for  suitable  sites. 

THE  AMERICAN  BEECH  is  a  medium- 
tall  tree,  which  branches  close  to  the 
ground  and  has  a  large,  open-spread- 
ing crown.  It  gives  a  good,  dense  shade. 
Unbroken  light-gray  bark,  maintained 
throughout  its  life,  is  a  distinctive  char- 
acteristic. The  tree  thrives  best  on  rich, 
well-drained  soils  in  the  mountains  or 
bottom  lands  and  is  relatively  free  of 
pests. 

A  number  of  ornamental  varieties  of 
the  European  beech  includes  those 
forms  with  bronze-purple  foliage, 
weeping  branches,  and  cut  leaves.  Use 
of  the  beech  for  shade  purposes  is 
most  common  in  the  Garolinas  and 
more  mountainous  parts  of  the  region. 


THE    COMMON    CRAPEMYRTLE   IS   CX- 

tensively  planted  in  the  warmer  parts 
of  the  region.  An  introduced  tree,  it 
is  noted  for  its  attractive  flower  clus- 
ters and  persistent  foliage.  It  is  a  small 
tree  with  fluted  trunk  from  which  the 
thin  bark  peels  off,  leaving  a  smooth 
surface.  The  flowers,  1  to  1.5  inches 
in  diameter,  are  purple,  pink,  laven- 
der, or  red,  and  occur  in  terminal 
panicles  from  June  to  September.  The 
tree  is  fairly  long-lived  and  slow  grow- 
ing, and  is  easily  cultivated. 

It  prefers  moist  conditions  during 
the  growing  season.  In  moist  soils,  it  is 
subject  to  uprooting  by  severe  storms. 
It  is  particularly  useful  if  space  is 
limited  and  a  decorative  tree  is  desired. 

THE  EASTERN  REDBUD  is  a  rather 
small  tree  that  is  extensively  favored 
for  ornamental  purposes.  It  usually 
branches  10  to  15  feet  from  the  ground 
and  forms  a  narrow  erect,  or  spreading, 
flattened,  or  rounded  head.  Masses  of 
attractive  small  light-pink  to  purple 
flowers  appear  from  late  in  February 
to  April. 

The  redbud  grows  fairly  rapidly,  is 
rather  free  of  pests,  and  is  propagated 
from  seed  or  young  transplants.  Al- 
though moderately  hardy,  it  prefers 
rich  and  fairly  moist  sandy  loam  soils. 
Special  care  in  establishing  and  main- 
taining the  tree  may  be  required  in 
some  localities. 

THE  WATER  OAK  is  a  large  tree  that 
is  grown  extensively  on  wide  streets 
and  large  lawns.  It  grows  fast  in  early 
life  and  provides  quick  shade.  It  is 
tall  and  rather  slender,  with  a  round- 
topped,  fairly  symmetrical  crown  of 
ascending  branches.  Although  it  is 
not  an  evergreen,  the  leaves  often  per- 
sist until  Christmas  or  after. 

It  is  easily  propagated,  tolerant  of 
varying  conditions,  rather  short-lived, 
and  somewhat  more  subject  to  mistle- 
toe and  storm  damage  than  willow 
oak.  Since  it  provides  early  shade,  is 
easily  handled,  and  has  pleasing  sym- 
metry, the  water  oak  is  grown  widely 
where  adequate  space  is  available. 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Southeast 


THE  MIMOSA,  or  silktree  albizia,  is 
a  rather  small  tree  that  is  widely  cul- 
tivated in  the  Southeast  as  an  orna- 
mental. It  grows  rapidly  under  a 
variety  of  conditions  of  soil  and  has 
graceful  and  fernlike  leaves  and  strik- 
ing colorful  flowers.  The  flowers,  pink 
in  color  and  in  clusters  at  the  ends  of 
the  branches,  usually  come  in  May  and 
June.  The  seed  is  produced  in  large 
quantities  and  propagation  from  seed 
is  easy.  A  vascular  wilt  disease  has 
been  highly  destructive  to  mimosa,  but 
we  hope  resistant  varieties  can  be  bred. 

THE  WINGED  ELM  is  medium  in  size, 
usually  from  40  to  50  feet  in  height. 
It  develops  a  short  bole,  with  branches 
ascending  into  a  fairly  open  round- 
topped  crown.  It  is  of  pleasing  pro- 
portions and  has  a  somewhat  lacy  and 
drooping  habit;  the  branchlets  often 
are  corky- winged.  The  tree  grows 
fairly  rapidly.  It  is  moderately  long- 
lived,  and  does  well  on  dry  as  well  as 
on  rich,  moist  soils.  Propagation  from 
seed  or  transplants  is  not  difficult. 
Although  relatively  resistant  to  pests, 
a  destructive  virus  disease  is  known  to 
attack  it.  The  winged  elm  lacks  some 
of  the  graceful  qualities  of  the  Ameri- 
can elm,  but  is  liked  in  many  places. 

THE  AMERICAN  ELM,  a  highly  prized 
shade  tree,  is  planted  extensively  only 
in  the  more  northern  part  of  this  re- 
gion. It  is  described  fully  on  page  50. 

A  SUPPLEMENTAL  LIST!  The  follow- 

ing  trees  are  grown  somewhat  less  ex- 
tensively than  those  described,  or,  if 
widely  used,  have  certain  limiting  fea- 
tures, which,  however,  may  be  con- 
sidered minor  in  specific  places. 

Sugarberry,  or  the  sugar  hackberry. 
Fairly  large  and  widely  used  for  quick 
shade;  not  exacting  in  requirements; 
propagates  easily,  but  tends  to  split  in 
storms;  subject  to  some  mistletoe  dis- 
figurement ;  not  very  clean. 

Pecan.  Medium  to  rather  large;  is 
widely  cultivated  for  nuts  and  to  some 
extent  for  shade;  fairly  exacting  in  re- 
quirements; rather  susceptible  to  dis- 


eases, insects,  and  mistletoes ;  nuts  often 
lead  to  branch  breakage. 

Eastern  redcedar.  Medium-sized  py- 
ramidal conifer  commonly  used  as  an 
ornamental;  it  tolerates  various  soils; 
often  subject  to  a  complex  of  pest  and 
environmental  troubles  that  may  re- 
quire attention. 

Panicled  goldenrain-tree.  Small  to 
medium-sized  introduced  hardy,  decid- 
uous tree  with  sparse  branching,  fern- 
like  leaves,  large  terminal  panicles  of 
yellow  flowers  in  summer  followed  by 
attractively  colored  capsules;  it  is  not 
widely  tested  but  merits  consideration 
for  late-summer  and  fall  coloring. 

Yellow-poplar,  or  tuliptree.  Large  in 
size  and  grown  to  some  extent  for  shade 
and  ornamental  purposes,  its  pleasing 
form,  and  floral  characteristics;  some- 
what exacting  in  requirements;  rather 
subject  to  breakage  from  storms. 

Canary  date.  Massive,  spreading  or- 
namental planted  widely  in  Florida 
and  to  some  extent  along  coastal  area; 
tolerant  of  soil  conditions;  subject  to 
freezing  in  some  parts  of  region;  used 
chiefly  as  ornamental. 

American  sycamore.  Extensively 
used,  massive,  spreading  deciduous 
tree;  grows  rapidly;  provides  early 
shade;  tolerates  varied  site  conditions; 
propagates  fairly  easily;  needs  60-foot 
spread  space;  subject  to  a  number  of 
pests;  shedding  of  leaves,  fruit,  and 
twigs  sometimes  objectionable. 

Carolina  laurel-cherry.  Small  to  me- 
dium evergreen  cultivated  somewhat 
for  ornament  and  shade;  grows  rapid- 
ly; produces  small  white  flowers  in 
numerous  short  racemes;  not  very  ex- 
acting; useful  for  limited  space;  not 
long-lived;  leaves  contain  prussic  acid 
poisonous  to  stock. 

White  oak.  This  is  a  large  tree  with  a 
broad  crown  and  spreading  limbs; 
rather  long-lived  and  fairly  tolerant  of 
varied  sites;  somewhat  slow  in  growth 
and  cultivated  less  extensively  than 
several  other  oaks  for  shade. 

Scarlet  oak.  Medium  to  fairly  large 
with  widespreading  irregular  crown; 
rather  fast  growing;  brilliant  scarlet 
fall  coloring;  it  is  short-lived;  the  dead 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


"A  tree  of  history  and  beauty" — the  Lafitte  live  oak  in  Louisiana. 


branches  may  be  common;  mostly 
grown  in  northern  part  of  region. 

Laurel  oak.  Fairly  large  in  size  and 
commonly  grown  in  the  Southeast; 
pleasing  form  and  semievergreen  foli- 
age; similar  in  many  qualities  to  wil- 
low oak  but  somewhat  shorter-lived 
and  more  subject  to  storm  damage. 

Pin  oak.  Rather  tall,  with  broad,  ex- 
tensively branched  crown;  fairly  fast 
growing;  pleasing  fall  coloring;  not 
long-lived;  may  bear  numerous  dead 
branches;  cultivated  mostly  in  north- 
ern part  of  region. 

Cabbage  palmetto.  Tall,  erect  palm 
widely  used  along  avenues  in  coastal 
regions  of  the  Southeast  particularly; 
greenish-white  to  yellow  flower  clusters 
in  June,  July,  and  August  and  small 
black  berries  in  the  fall;  tolerant  of 
varied  sites;  primarily  an  ornamental. 

Weeping  willow.  Medium-sized,  in- 
troduced, deciduous  tree  with  graceful 
drooping  branchlets ;  rather  widely  cul- 
tivated throughout  region ;  damaged  by 
pests  in  some  sections;  used  largely 
as  ornamental. 


Eastern  arborvitae.  A  medium-sized 
conifer  with  dense,  narrow  pyramidal 
crown ;  rather  commonly  used  in  north- 
ern part  of  region;  fairly  subject  to 
disease,  insect,  and  some  environmen- 
tal troubles;  chief  value  is  ornamental. 

SOUTHERN  FLORIDA  is  distinct  from 
the  rest  of  the  region  in  climate  and 
vegetation.  Selected  trees  that  are 
widely  used  for  shade  and  ornamental 
purposes  in  southern  Florida  are  listed. 

Oxhorn  bucida.  Medium-tall,  small- 
leaved  evergreen  for  windbreak,  beach, 
driveway,  and  home  planting. 

Horsetail  beefwood,  or  Australian- 
pine.  A  medium-tall,  evergreen  shade 
tree  for  driveway,  windbreak,  and 
hedge  planting  in  central  Florida  also. 

Coconut.  Tall  palm  with  large  leaves 
and  nuts,  for  large  landscape  orna- 
mental and  beach  planting. 

Royal  poinciana,  or  the  flamboyant- 
tree.  Large,  spreading,  deciduous  tree 
with  showy  flowers,  for  large  landscape 
ornamental. 

Benjamin  fig.  Large,  spreading  ever- 


WTj* 


,**r 


A  forest  is  more  than  trees.  Here  in  the  Rogue  River  National  Forest  in  Oregon 
where  a  ranger  (above)  and  his  pack  train  paused  on  an  inspection  tour,  there 
are  lodgepole  pine  and  alpine  fir;  mountains,  which  store  the  snow  and  rain 
for  the  plains  below;  and  a  tree-girt  lake,  a  link  in  the  natural  water-supply  sys- 
tem. Or  like  Big  Flat  (below),  which  faces  City  Creek  Peak  in  the  Fishlake 
National  Forest  in  Utah,  a  forest  may  include  mountain  meadows  on  which  graze 
cattle,  sheep,  and  deer  that  bulk  large  in  the  Nation's  supply  of  meat  and  wool. 
The  grass  and  the  alpine  fir  hevond  are  vital  in  the  protection  of  the  watersheds 


«200 


l\: 


In  Tongass  National  Forest  in  Alaska  (above),  a  raft  of  Sitka  spruce  and  western 
hemlock  sawlogs  is  abuilding  on  Hood  Bay.  It  will  be  towed  to  a  sawmill  in  Sitka. 
Dense  coastal  forests  of  Alaska  can  support  huge  pulp  mills  besides  other  timber- 
using  industries.  Below:  Vacationists  on  a  trail-rider  wilderness  trip  portage  across 
Curtain  Falls,  Superior  National  Forest  in  Minnesota.  Across  the  stream  is  Canada. 
This  wilderness  area  is  in  the  proposed  Quetico-Superior  International  Peace  Me- 
morial Forest.  Scores  of  folk  take  horseback  and  canoe  trips;  to  other  millions,  for- 
ests afford  opportunities  for  picnicking,  camping,  skiing,  fishing,  hunting,  hiking. 


Here  are  contrasts  in  forests,  methods,  uses.  Above:  A  father-son  team  uses  a 
gasoline-powered  saw  to  cut  ponderosa  pine  in  Kootenai  National  Forest,  Montana. 
Some  saws  are  driven  by  electricity — a  departure  from  logging  that  relies  on  saws, 
axes,  hard  muscle.  America  has  plenty  of  forest  land — but  saw-timber  supply  is 
declining;  drain  is  50  percent  greater  than  growth.  Also,  quality  of  saw  timber  is 
deteriorating.  Below:  Pitsawing  tabonuco  into  lumber  for  furniture,  in  Luquillo 
Mountains,  Caribbean  National  Forest,  Puerto  Rico.  Pitsawing  developed  into 
vertical  saws  driven  by  water  power;  later  came  modern  circular  and  band  saws. 


In  a  plant  in  Rothschild,  Wis.,  lignin,  precipitated  from  waste  liquor  of  the  sulfite 
pulping  process,  is  extracted  by  a  vacuum  filter  (above).  Mixed  with  soda  and 
cooked,  lignin  yields  vanillin,  source  of  "vanilla"  flavoring,  and  desulfonated  lignin, 
base  for  plastic  and  molding  resins.  Waste  sulfite  liquors  also  contain  wood  sugars 
which  may  be  converted  into  ethyl  alcohol  and  high-protein  yeast  and  molasses  for 
livestock  feed.  Below:  A  large  pulp  and  paper  company's  yard  at  Luke,  Md., 
where  20,000  cords  of  all  kinds  of  hardwoods  (except  black  locust  and  walnut)  are 
kept  always  on  hand  for  making  all  sorts  of  paper,  particularly  fine  stock  for  books. 


How  trees  can  beautify  a  city  is  shown  in  the  view  above  of  Rhinelander,  Wis.,  an 
old  lumbering  center,  where  a  main  industry  now  is  making  glassine  and  laminated 
paper.  Some  towns  did  not  survive  the  exploitive  phase  of  lumbering;  to  some,  a 
sustained-yield  plan  gives  new  hope.  On  Gerhart  Lund's  farm  (below)  near  Rolette, 
N.  D.,  trees  are  an  integral  of  conservation  farming.  New  and  older  windbreaks  can 
be  seen.  On  the  north  they  give  protection  from  winds  and  drifting  snow.  On  the 
south  and  west  they  temper  summer  heat.  Shrubs  furnish  berries  for  family  and 
wildlife  and  protect  young  trees  and  serve  as  a  windbreak  below  crowns  of  the  trees. 


Birds,  like  the  Kentucky  warbler  above,  are  farmers'  willing  coworkers  because 
they  eat  insects;  they  are  a  delight  also  to  city  people.  Other  forms  of  wildlife — 
deer,  fish,  squirrels,  and  many  more  in  forest  and  woodland — provide  meat,  fur, 
fun.  They  are  part  of  nature's  wise  balance,  which  man  often  upsets.  Below: 
Azaleas  planted  under  the  trees  in  the  National  Arboretum,  in  process  of  develop- 
ment in  Washington,  D.  C.  The  country  over,  arboretums  provide  places  for  pleas- 
ure and  study  of  tree  habits  and  breeding.  Opposite:  To  botanist,  geneticist,  and 
nature  lover,  tree  flowers  give  interest  and  knowledge  of  trees  and  seed  production. 


Black  locust 


American  holly 


Butternut 


Silktree;  "mimosa" 


Tweed  calliandra 


Black  cherry 


Red  pine 


Pussy  willow 


Eastern  redbud 


Insects,  fire,  and  diseases  damage  or  kill  trees.  Above,  left:  Japanese  beetles 
defoliate  trees  and  many  other  plants;  despite  strong  efforts  against  them  in  Eastern 
States,  they  move  southward  and  westward.  Above,  right:  Larvae  of  bark  beetles 
will  develop  into  adults,  eat  their  way  outward,  and  attack  other  pines.  Below,  left: 
Termites  do  40  million  dollars  worth  of  damage  a  year  to  buildings  in  the  United 
States,  not  counting  poles,  posts,  derricks.  A  termite  colony  may  comprise  250,000 
individuals  of  three  castes — defenders,  reproducers,  and  the  wood-boring  workers. 
Below,  right:  Blister  rust  on  15-year-old  western  white  pine  infected  in  1941. 


Soon  after  this  small  mill  started  operations  in  second-growth  pine  in  California, 
bark  beetles  began  competing  with  it  for  trees.  The  red-brown  trees  in  the  back- 
ground are  infested  and  dying;  some  can  be  sawn  into  lumber,  but  blue  stains 
will  lower  their  value.  Spread  of  the  beetles  can  be  checked  by  burning  the  bark 
and  using  toxic  oils  and  proper  disposal  of  slash.  Below:  To  protect  a  new  crop  of 
western  white  pine  in  St.  Joe  National  Forest,  Idaho,  from  blister  rust,  a  crew 
grubs  out  ribes — gooseberries  and  currants — which  are  the  hosts  of  blister  spores. 
The  crew  works  in  lanes  marked  by  string  to  assure  complete  coverage  of  the  area. 


Smokejumpers,  who  parachute  from  airplanes  to  rugged  and  remote  fastnesses  not 
easily  accessible  to  men  afoot,  form  our  newest  fire-fighting  force.  Above:  Two 
young,  trained,  daring  jumpers  have  landed  and  with  streamers  signal  the  pilot: 
"Landed  O.  K.  Can  handle  fire  alone.  Drop  tools  here."  Such  action  saves  pre- 
cious time  and  valuable  forests.  Below:  Fire  that  swept  through  Engelmann  spruce 
in  Arapaho  National  Forest,  Colorado,  50-odd  years  ago  left  desolation  that  time 
has  not  healed.  The  flames  killed  all  seed,  all  seed  trees;  only  replanting  can  return 
the  tract  to  production.  Fire  destroys  today's  forests  as  well  as  tomorrow's  lumber. 


'       h , 

-fl**    ^ 

^^:4 


Poor  cutting  increases  the  waste  of  our  forests.  Above:  Stumps  cut  high  leave 
valuable  timber  in  the  woods.  Removal  of  all  the  choice  trees  greatly  degrades  the 
forest;  and  often  it  is  50  to  100  years  before  such  areas  can  produce  saw  timber. 
Below:  The  New  York  farmer  who  owns  this  white  pine  sold  the  trees  for  a 
lump  sum  to  a  mill  operator,  who  cut  everything  that  would  make  a  two-by-four, 
and  left  ruin  that  it  will  take  years  to  repair.  A  farm  forester  could  have  advised 
the  farmer  on  management  and  sales,  suggested  a  fair  selling  price  and  proper 
cutting  practice,  and  saved  the  sturdy  young  trees  for  regular  harvests  in  the  future. 


Here  are  two  examples  of  good  cutting.  Above:  In  Columbia  National  Forest,  Wash, 
ington,  between  French  Butte  and  Mt.  Rainier,  60-  to  100-acre  patches  of  Douglas- 
fir  (instead  of  whole  mountainsides)  are  clean-cut,  with  regard  to  location  of  seed 
trees,  prevailing  winds,  slopes,  ease  of  logging,  roads.  New  growth  will  start  soon; 
then  other  blocks  will  be  cut.  Below:  A  farm  wood  lot  in  Chemung  County,  New 
York,  after  cutting  but  before  logs  are  removed.  The  tract  was  carefully  cut:  Low 
stumps,  healthy  young  trees  left  for  later  harvests,  standing  trees  undamaged.  Such 
a  wood  lot  can  return  steady  income  in  cash  sales,  posts,  and  fuel  for  home  use. 


Research  has  disclosed  better  ways  to  care  for  trees  and  forests.  Above,  left:  An 
entomologist  inspects  hybrid  of  Jeffrey  and  Coulter  pines  exposed  in  cage  to  a 
weevil  that  is  particularly  destructive  to  young  Coulter  pines.  The  cage  allows  him 
to  assess  results  quickly.  Above,  right:  At  Pike  Bay  Experimental  Forest  in  Minne- 
sota a  geneticist  finds  that  Scotch  pines  grown  from  seed  from  northern  Europe  resist 
cold  better  than  stock  from  central  Europe.  Below:  The  Coweeta  weirs,  Southeast- 
ern Forest  Experiment  Station  in  North  Carolina,  yield  useful  facts  on  stream  flows 
from  watersheds  on  which  different  amounts  of  vegetation  have  been  removed. 


Foresters  believe  that  millions  of  acres  in  the  United  States  should  be  planted  to 
trees.  Nurseries  throughout  the  country  produce  seedlings  for  public  and  private 
forests.  In  a  Georgia  nursery,  above,  longleaf  pine  seedbeds  are  being  sprayed  with 
bordeaux  mixture  to  control  brown  spot  disease.  Below:  Tree-planting  machine 
in  Bienville  Parish,  Louisiana,  can  plant  up  to  10,000  seedlings  a  day.  A  colter 
wheel  slices  the  sod;  a  trencher  opens  the  cut;  the  operator  spots  seedlings  at  the 
right  depth  and  spacing;  finally,  wheels  behind  pack  the  seedlings.  Hand  plant- 
ing, though  much  slower,  still  must  be  used  on  areas  of  rough  and  rocky  terrain. 


Above:  The  forest  of  a  large  paper  company  in  Maine.  Cut  in  1935  to  a  12-inch 
stump  diameter  limit,  the  stand  was  opened  up  to  allow  white  pine  and  spruce  ad- 
vance reproduction  to  get  established.  That  is  good  forestry;  it  saves  loss  of  revenue 
from  cutting  undersized  stock,  insures  a  nurse  crop  that  prevents  sunscald,  provides 
intermediate  cuts  for  periodic  sales,  assures  greater  ultimate  returns,  steadies  em- 
ployment. Below:  The  Otsego  Forest  Products  Cooperative  Association's  sawmill  in 
Cooperstown,  N.  Y. — an  example  of  a  way  in  which  owners  of  woodlands  cooperate 
in  meeting  problems  of  cutting  and  selling  timber  and  keeping  wood  lots  producing. 


On  watch  over  forests  are  rangers,  scientists,  lookouts,  loggers,  work  crews.  Modern 
equipment  multiplies  their  effectiveness  and  cuts  costs.  Above:  Using  portable 
power  equipment  to  spray  insect-infested  lodgepole  pine  in  Teton  National  Forest, 
Wyoming.  Below:  Pilot  Carl  Nelson  and  District  Ranger  William  J.  Trygg  land 
their  amphibious  plane  on  Thomas  Lake  in  Superior  National  Forest  to  get  data 
on  fire  hazard — rainfall,  humidity,  dryness  of  vegetation.  Planes  supplement  regu- 
lar lookouts  when  visibility  is  low  and  fire  danger  is  high.  Nelson  and  Trygg  cover 
in  hours  an  area  that  old-time  rangers  in  canoes  and  afoot  took  months  to  survey. 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Plains 


green  for  driveway  planting  and  as  or- 
namental shade  tree. 

Mango.  Tall,  broad  evergreen  for 
ornamental  shade  and,  where  selected 
strains  are  used,  for  fruit  also. 

Cajeput-tree.  Medium-tall,  yellow- 
flowered,  slender  evergreen  for  wind- 
break, beach,  driveway,  ornamental 
shade. 

Cuban  royalpalm.  Tall  palm  with 
decorative,  smooth  trunk,  for  driveway 
and  as  large  landscape  ornamental  on 
moist  soils. 

African  tuliptree,  or  Bell  flambeau- 
tree.  Tall,  rapid-growing,  semidecid- 
uous,  conspicuously  flowered  tree  for 
ornamental  and  shade. 

West  Indies  mahogany.  Tall,  slender 
evergreen  that  gives  light  shade  for 


lawn,  driveway,  and  general  planting. 

The  authors  are  forest  pathologists 
in  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils, 
and  Agricultural  Engineering  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

RALPH  M.  LINDGREN  is  in  charge  of 
the  field  headquarters  of  the  Division 
of  Forest  Pathology  in  New  Orleans. 
Dr.  Lindgren  is  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Minnesota. 

R.  P.  TRUE  is  stationed  in  Lake  City, 
Fla.  Dr.  True  is  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania. 

E.  RICHARD  TOOLE  is  stationed  in 
Asheville,  N.  C.  He  has  been  working 
for  several  years  on  mimosa  wilt  and 
other  diseases  of  shade  trees.  Dr.  Toole 
is  a  graduate  of  Duke  University. 


SHADE  TREES  FOR  THE  PLAINS 

ERNEST  WRIGHT,  T.  W.  BRETZ 


Good  care  is  doubly  important  for 
shade  trees  in  the  Plains  States. 

Trees  planted  on  shallow  soil  under- 
lain with  clay  or  other  hardpans  have 
little  chance  of  survival  unless  watered 
artificially  and,  even  then,  growth  is 
generally  unsatisfactory.  The  best  and 
deepest  soil  available  should  be  chosen 
so  tree  roots  can  develop  unhindered. 

Cultivation,  following  planting,  is 
necessary  to  help  the  trees  compete 
with  prairie  grasses  and  other  native 
vegetation.  Cultivation  should  be  shal- 
low to  avoid  unnecessary  injury  to  tree 
roots  near  the  surface.  After  the  crowns 
of  the  trees  are  well  developed,  par- 
ticularly in  group  plantings,  they  tend 
to  shade  out  competing  vegetation,  and 
cultivation  may  no  longer  be  necessary. 
The  tree  also  must  be  protected  from 
injury  by  livestock  and  sometimes  from 
damage  by  rodents. 

At  best,  most  of  the  trees  planted  in 
the  Plains  States  are  relatively  short- 
lived as  compared  to  the  same  species 
growing  in  more  favorable  regions. 

Coarse  and  droughty  gravels,  clay- 
pan  soils,  the  undrained  alkaline  basins 

802062° — 49 6 


(buffalo  wallows),  and  shale-derived 
upland  soils  generally  are  unsuited  for 
trees.  Furthermore,  the  western  third 
of  the  Plains  States,  from  Texas  to  the 
Dakotas,  have  areas  where  the  soil  is 
deficient  in  iron  or  where  iron  or  other 
essential  nutrients  are  unavailable  to 
growing  trees. 

Unavailability  of  iron  causes  chlo- 
rosis, or  yellowing,  of  the  leaves  of 
some  tree  species,  reduces  growth,  and 
frequently  brings  on  premature  death. 
Also,  in  Texas  and  Oklahoma  along 
the  Red  River  and  southward  east  of 
the  high  plains,  certain  large  areas  are 
infested  with  the  cotton  root  rot  fun- 
gus, an  indigenous  soil  fungus  that 
infects  the  roots  of  many  kinds  of 
trees  and  eventually  kills  them.  A  few 
species,  however,  are  highly  resistant 
to  the  disease  and  will  usually  survive 
satisfactorily.  The  susceptibility  of  sev- 
eral of  the  more  important  tree  species 
to  cotton  root  rot  is  indicated  later. 

Adequate  artificial  watering  of  the 
shade  and  street  trees  is  frequently  not 
practicable  in  the  Plains.  In  such  cases 
their  survival  depends  largely  on  rain 


66 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


and  snow.  Furthermore,  isolated  indi- 
vidual shade  trees  do  not  have  the 
advantage  of  gaining  additional  mois- 
ture by  stopping  drifting  snow,  as  do 
shelterbelt  or  block  plantings.  Because 
of  the  reduction  in  annual  precipita- 
tion from  east  to  west  in  the  midcon- 
tinental  section  of  the  United  States, 
there  is  a  corresponding  reduction  in 
the  choice  of  usable  tree  species.  Sur- 
vival and  growth  are  usually  poor,  even 
for  the  hardiest  species,  where  annual 
precipitation  is  less  than  16  inches  in 
the  extreme  northern  part  and  20 
inches  in  the  more  southern  part  of  the 
Plains  States. 

Low  winter  temperatures  can  like- 
wise endanger  the  survival  of  trees. 
Even  worse  are  freezes  in  early  fall  and 
late  spring.  Consequently,  the  choice  of 
species  becomes  more  restricted  the 
farther  north  one  goes. 

In  the  following  discussion  of  trees 
for  the  Great  Plains,  we  have  separated 
broadleaf  species  from  the  conifers  and 
describe  in  greater  detail  the  trees  that 
can  be  used  in  all  parts  of  the  Plains. 

The  broadleaf  species  include  the 
ash,  cottonwood,  elms,  oaks,  birch, 
poplars,  and  others. 

GREEN  ASH,  a  native  species,  devel- 
ops spreading  branches  and  makes  a 
medium-sized,  round-topped  tree  up  to 
50  feet  in  height.  Its  trunk  may  grow 
1J/2  feet  thick.  It  makes  a  moderate 
growth  and  the  light-green  foliage, 
turning  golden  yellow  in  autumn,  gives 
dense  shade.  The  greenish  flowers  de- 
velop in  late  spring.  Green  ash  develops 
best  in  deep,  rich,  lowland  soil,  but  it 
also  does  well  on  heavier  upland  soil. 
It  is  one  of  the  best  broadleaf  trees  for 
streets  and  yards  in  the  Plains  States.  It 
is  moderately  drought-resistant,  but  it 
will  stand  wet  as  well  as  dry  sites.  Borers 
damage  it,  especially  on  droughty  sites. 
Several  relatively  unimportant  leaf 
spot  diseases  and  a  rust  affect  it.  Green 
ash  is  moderately  susceptible  to  cotton 
root  rot. 

White,  blue,  or  red  ash  are  impor- 
tant locally,  principally  on  the  extreme 
eastern  edge  of  the  Plains. 


THE  PLAINS  COTTONWOOD  was  wide- 
ly planted  by  early  settlers.  This  native 
tree  quickly  develops  an  open  crown 
and  it  reaches  a  height  of  80  or  90  feet. 
The  trunk  gets  to  be  as  large  as  6  feet 
in  diameter  at  the  base.  It  affords  light 
shade.  Flower  catkins  appear  in  early 
spring  before  the  leaves.  The  leaves 
become  a  colorful  yellow  in  autumn. 
The  trees  may  attain  an  age  of  60  years 
or  more  on  the  better  sites.  Although 
they  prefer  rich,  moist  soil  and  thrive 
particularly  well  in  the  lowlands,  they 
will  also  grow  in  drier,  sandier  loca- 
tions of  the  uplands.  They  do  poorly  on 
soils  with  clay  hardpan  near  the  sur- 
face, and  should  not  be  planted  on 
sand  dunes.  The  life  of  the  plains  cot- 
tonwood on  such  soil  is  short,  usually 
10  years  or  less.  The  tree  is  susceptible 
to  borers,  especially  on  the  drier  sites. 
Poplars  and  cottonwoods  are  highly 
susceptible  to  cotton  root  rot.  Bacterial 
limb  galls,  not  uncommon,  cause  con- 
siderable branch  dying  in  older  trees. 
Fungus  stem  cankers  are  destructive  to 
young  trees,  especially  on  unfavorable 
sites  where  growth  is  slow.  Leaf  rusts 
are  common  but  of  little  consequence 
to  thrifty  trees.  Cottonwoods  are  sub- 
ject to  attack  by  gall  insects,  which 
make  them  unsightly  but  cause  little 
harm.  They  are  moderately  drought- 
resistant  when  well  established  on  good 
upland  sites.  They  are  also  susceptible 
to  chlorosis  and  grow  poorly  on  alka- 
line soils.  They  are  mainly  usable  as 
farmstead  trees.  When  used  for  street 
plantings,  only  male  trees  should  be 
selected,  to  avoid  the  nuisance  from 
cottony  seed.  Roots  of  the  cottonwood 
often  clog  sewer  and  drain  pipes.  The 
wood  is  weak  and  subject  to  breaking 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Plains 


in  storms.  Large,  old  trees  near  houses 
are  often  dangerous.  The  cottonwood 
should  not  be  planted  on  streets,  except 
where  more  suitable  species  will  not 
grow. 

Other  species,  such  as  Lombardy 
poplar  and  the  hybrid  Carolina  poplar, 
have  also  been  used  widely  but  are 
better  suited  to  the  eastern  edge  of  the 
Plains  area  where  rainfall  is  greatest. 

THE  AMERICAN  ELM,  perhaps  the 
most  beautiful  broadleaf  tree,  some- 
times reaches  90  feet  in  this  region. 
This  elm  has  a  symmetrical,  vase- 
shaped  crown  that  frequently  attains  a 
width  of  60  feet  or  more.  It  lives  to  an 
age  of  75  to  100  years  on  the  better 
sites,  provides  moderately  dense  shade, 
and  grows  moderately  fast.  Its  small, 
brown  flowers  appear  in  early  spring 
before  the  tree  leafs  out.  It  prefers 
deep,  rich,  moist  loam,  but  it  will  stand 
adverse  soil  and  weather  conditions 
and  does  fairly  well  even  on  sandy 
exposed  sites. 

In  the  Plains  States,  American  elm 
is  often  seriously  attacked  by  the  elm 
leaf  beetle  and  European  elm  scale. 
The  elm  sawfly  causes  defoliation  at 
times.  The  wooly  elm  aphid  is  also 
abundantly  present,  especially  during 
wet  seasons.  A  fungus  leaf  spot  disease 
is  common.  Phloem  necrosis  has  been 
found  in  eastern  Nebraska,  Kansas, 
and  Oklahoma  and  is  a  serious  menace 
to  the  existence  of  the  American  elm 
throughout  the  Plains.  We  fear  that 
phloem  necrosis  will  progress  rapidly 
westward;  until  a  method  of  control 
is  discovered  for  this  destructive  dis- 
ease, we  advise  against  planting  the 
American  elm.  Trunk  rot  due  to  a 
fungus  is  fairly  common  in  planted 
street  trees.  American  elm  is  suscep- 
tible to  cotton  root  rot  and  should  not 
be  planted  on  soils  infested  by  this 
fungus.  Rabbits  are  another  enemy. 

THE  SIBERIAN  ELM,  often  sold  un- 
der the  name  of  Chinese  elm,  has  been 
planted  perhaps  more  widely  than  any 
of  the  other  introduced  species.  It 
grows  rapidly  to  a  height  of  50  to  60 


feet.  The  main  branches  tend  to  grow 
upward  and  form  sharp  crotches  that 
are  easily  broken  by  wind.  Slime  flux 
commonly  develops  in  such  wounds. 
The  species  provides  moderately  dense 
shade.  Small  purplish  flowers  appear 
in  early  spring  before  the  leaves  show. 
It  does  best  on  sandy  loam  soils,  but  it 
will  also  grow  on  sandy  sites  of  low 
fertility.  It  lives  about  50  years  or  less. 
It  is  drought-hardy,  but,  because  it  de- 
velops its  leaves  early  in  the  spring  and 
retains  them  later  than  most  trees  in 
the  fall,  it  is  in  constant  danger  of 
severe  damage  by  unseasonable  freezes. 
Cytospora  fungus  cankers  cause  further 
damage  to  frost-injured  trees.  Siberian 
elm  is  highly  susceptible  to  cotton  root 
rot  and  cannot  be  used  on  soil  infested 
by  the  fungus.  Rabbits  often  damage  it 
severely.  This  species  is  used  for  both 
street  and  yard  planting,  but  is  now  in 
general  disfavor  because  of  its  sus- 
ceptibility to  frost  damage. 

COMMON  HAGKBERRY  makes  a  mod- 
erate growth  up  to  50  to  70  feet,  and 
develops  a  large,  rounded  crown.  Its 
spreading  branches  provide  moderate 
shade.  The  small,  greenish  flowers  ap- 
pear in  late  spring.  It  prefers  a  rich, 
moist,  and  well-drained  soil,  but  it  will 
grow  successfully  on  practically  all 
types.  The  common  hackberry  is  frost- 
hardy  and  withstands  heat  well.  It 
attains  an  age  of  60  to  70  years. 

Webworms  commonly  cause  defoli- 
ation, especially  of  young  trees.  This 
species  is  subject  to  rabbit  damage. 
Witches'  brooms  are  a  distinguishing 
feature  of  older  trees  and  are  regarded 
as  undesirable,  but  they  do  not  se- 
riously affect  the  health  of  the  trees. 
Several  minor  leaf  diseases  occur  on 
this  species.  It  resists  cotton  root  rot, 
and  is  drought-hardy  when  once  es- 
tablished. It  will  not  stand  extensive 
flooding. 

The  common  hackberry  is  a  good 
street  tree  and  should  be  used  more 
extensively  in  this  region. 

THE  BUR  OAK,,  a  large,  slow-grow- 
ing native  tree,  reaches  a  height  of  80 


68 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


feet  on  the  best  sites.  Its  life  expect- 
ancy is  75  years  or  more.  It  has  a  short 
trunk  and  a  broad,  massive  top  that 
gives  moderately  dense  shade.  The 
slender  flower  catkins  and  the  leaves 
appear  in  midspring.  The  bur  oak  does 
well  on  many  soils  but  prefers  rich 
bottom  lands.  Drought-resistant  and 
frost-hardy,  it  should  be  planted  more 
extensively  despite  its  slow  growth. 

Twig  galls  are  common,  but  few 
insects  attack  the  tree.  Leaf  rollers  are 
observed  frequently  and  red  spider 
occurs  in  dry  years.  Foliage  diseases 
usually  are  not  serious.  Powdery  mil- 
dew and  leaf  scorch  sometimes  do 
damage.  Gronartium  rust  is  common 
on  oak  leaves  in  some  localities.  Rab- 
bit damage  is  severe  to  the  young  seed- 
lings in  the  western  part  of  the  area. 
Bur  oak  is  susceptible  to  the  cotton 
root  rot  fungus. 

Other  species  more  limited  in  use 
are  pin  oak,  black  oak,  and  the  chin- 
quapin oak.  In  the  uplands  of  Nebras- 
ka, the  trunks  of  pin  oaks  often  have 
vertical  cracks  that  are  the  result  of 
freezing  injury. 

Several  broadleaf  species  have  a 
more  restricted  use. 

AILANTHUS,  or  tree-of-Heaven,  can 
be  planted  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
central  and  southern  Plains.  It  grows 
rapidly,  gives  moderate  shade,  and 
lives  30  to  50  years.  It  develops  best 
in  light,  moist  soil  but  tolerates  fairly 
heavy  soils.  It  stands  smoke  and  dust 
better  than  most  trees  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, adapted  to  street  planting  in  fac- 
tory districts.  Only  the  female  plants 
should  be  used,  because  the  flowers  of 
the  male  trees  have  a  disagreeable  odor 
and  the  pollen  is  said  to  cause  ca- 
tarrhal  troubles.  The  brown  seeds  hang 
on  the  trees  until  late  winter.  Some 
persons  may  consider  them  unsightly. 
Ailanthus  suckers  so  readily  that  it  is 
objectionable  in  some  locations.  Web- 
worms  frequently  defoliate  the  young 
trees.  Ailanthus  is  moderately  resist- 
ant to  cotton  root  rot.  Moderately 
drought-hardy,  it  does  not  stand  flood- 
ing, and  it  is  subject  to  wind  damage. 


EUROPEAN  WHITE  BIRCH,  which  has 
drooping  branches,  can  be  used  in  the 
easternmost  part  of  the  northern 
Plains.  This  widely  used  ornamental 
has  several  horticultural  varieties.  It 
gives  moderate  shade,  prefers  moist 
soil,  and  is  not  frost-hardy  on  dry  soil 
sites.  On  favorable  sites  its  life  ex- 
pectancy is  25  to  35  years.  It  is  not 
drought-resistant.  Bronze  birch  borer 
causes  serious  injury  and  is  perhaps 
the  main  factor  that  limits  survival. 
The  young  trees  sunscald  readily. 

Yellow  birch  is  better  suited  to  dry 
sites.  The  best  use  for  the  birch  species 
is  as  ornamentals. 

THE  BOXELDER^  a  native,  is  mainly 
a  yard  tree  in  the  northern  and  cen- 
tral Plains.  It  develops  best  on  deep, 
rich,  moist  soil  but  survives  surpris- 
ingly well  on  the  dry  and  droughty  sites. 
It  gives  moderate  shade.  It  is  short- 
lived, 20  to  40  years,  depending  on  site 
quality.  All  in  all,  it  deserves  wider 
use  in  this  zone. 

One  reason  why  it  is  in  disfavor  for 
planting  near  dwellings  is  that  the 
boxelder  bug,  which  breeds  on  the 
female  trees,  enters  houses  or  cellars  in 
search  of  hibernating  places.  Because 
the  insect  lays  its  eggs  on  the  fruit,  only 
male  trees  should  be  planted  as  a  yard 
tree  in  the  northern  and  central  Plains. 

NORTHERN  CATALPA  can  be  planted 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  central  and 
southern  Plains.  It  commonly  lives  35 
to  40  years  and  is  not  especially 
drought-hardy.  The  large  leaves  are 
frequently  affected  by  a  Phyllosticta 
leaf  spot  disease,  which,  however,  is  not 
ordinarily  serious.  An  insect  known  as  a 
midge  causes  a  leaf  scorch.  Decay  fungi 
commonly  invade  the  wood  through 
wounds;  the  rot  often  advances  rap- 
idly and  shortens  the  life  of  the  tree. 
The  species  is  not  resistant  to  cotton 
root  rot  but  it  is  moderately  frost- 
hardy.  The  leaves  sometimes  turn  yel- 
low because  of  iron  deficiency.  Catalpa 
is  not  particularly  popular  because  its 
blooms  and  seed  pods  can  be  a  nui- 
sance. Rabbits  damage  it. 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Plains 


KENTUCKY  COFFEETREE,  a  native, 
is  used  as  a  street  or  yard  tree  in  the 
central  and  southern  Plains.  It  prefers 
a  deep,  moist  soil  but  adapts  itself  to 
drier  sites  as  well.  The  trees  may  grow 
as  tall  as  50  feet  and  may  live  40  to  50 
years.  The  leaves  give  light  shade  and 
are  said  to  possess  an  ingredient  poi- 
sonous to  flies.  The  cofFeetree  is  sus- 
ceptible to  cotton  root  rot  and  should 
not  be  used  on  infested  soils. 

THE  CHINESE  ELM  has  much  the 
same  habit  of  growth  as  the  Siberian 
elm,  but  the  flowers  open  late  in  the 
summer.  It  is  small  and  half-evergreen 
from  Oklahoma  southward.  It  is  like 
the  Siberian  elm  in  adaptation  to  soil 
conditions. 

Other  species  of  elm,  such  as  the 
Scotch  elm  and  English  elm,  and  such 
native  species  as  rock  elm  and  slippery 
elm,  can  be  used  especially  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  Plains.  The  first  two, 
however,  are  almost  as  readily  sus- 
ceptible to  frost  injury  as  Siberian  elm, 
and  the  latter  two  are  considerably 
less  drought-resistant.  None  of  these 
has  been  widely  used  as  street  trees. 

SUGARBERRY,  or  sugar  hackberry,  a 
native  tree,  is  useful  in  the  southern 
Plains.  It  is  a  smaller  tree  than  the 
common  hackberry  but  grows  up  to 
25  feet  tall.  It  is  not  so  frost-hardy  as 
common  hackberry.  It  will  grow  on 
dry  soil  and  is  drought-resistant.  It  is 
not  widely  used. 

Netleaf  hackberry,  also  a  native,  is 
not  widely  planted.  It  grows  up  to  35 
feet  in  height.  It  is  drought-hardy  but 
not  especially  frost-hardy.  It  grows 
naturally  on  rocky  or  gravelly  soil. 

THE  BLACK  LOCUST  is  suitable  for 
parks  and  lawns  in  the  central  and 
southern  Plains.  A  native,  it  does  well 
on  sandy  soils  and  is  moderately  frost- 
hardy  and  drought-resistant,  and  long- 
lived,  40  to  60  years.  The  trunk  is 
commonly  attacked  by  wood-rotting 
fungi  that  follow  borer  injury.  The 
wood  rots  materially  reduce  the  length 
of  life  of  the  tree  and  are  especially 


common  in  the  southern  Plains.  Black 
locust  is  highly  susceptible  to  chlorosis 
and  to  cotton  root  rot.  The  wood 
makes  good  fence  posts. 

COMMON  HONEYLOCUST  is  valuable 
in  the  central  and  southern  parts  of 
the  Plains.  It  grows  well  in  most  kinds 
of  soils  but  prefers  deep  and  rich  loam. 
It  lives  40  to  50  years.  It  is  not  so  sub- 
ject to  borer  injury  as  black  locust,  but 
trees  on  droughty  soils  are  commonly 
attacked.  Twig  girdlers  are  common 
on  this  native  species  in  the  southern 
localities.  It  is  susceptible  to  cotton 
root  rot,  but  is  drought-resistant  and 
frost-hardy.  It  is  less  susceptible  to 
chlorosis  than  the  black  locust.  Its  seed 
pods  make  good  cattle  feed.  It  grows 
well  in  street  or  yard  plantings ;  in  fact, 
it  is  one  of  the  best  trees  for  the  central 
West. 

A  thornless  variety  of  the  common 
honeylocust  is  gaining  favor.  It  has 
most  of  the  desirable  characteristics  of 
the  common  honeylocust. 

SILVER  MAPLE  can  be  used  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  northern  and  cen- 
tral Plains,  but  is  not  recommended 
where  better  trees  will  grow.  Under 
most  favorable  conditions  this  native 
tree  may  reach  an  age  of  70  years.  Not 
particularly  drought-hardy,  it  prefers 
rich  bottom-land  soil  but  will  do  fairly 
well  on  fertile  upland  soil.  Silver  maple 
is  subject  to  a  number  of  insect  at- 
tacks, mostly  foliage  destroyers  such 
as  bagworm,  green  worm,  and  blad- 
der gall  mites.  Foliage  is  frequently 
infected  with  various  leaf  spot  fungi, 
which  are  generally  of  minor  impor- 
tance. Twig  borers  are  also  common 
and  may  cause  considerable  damage. 
Trunk  rots  are  common  but  occur 
most  frequently  in  drought-weakened 
trees.  A  fungus  disease,  Verticillium 
wilt,  occurs  occasionally  and  some- 
times kills  the  trees.  Silver  maple  is 
susceptible  to  chlorosis,  which  is  caused 
by  lack  of  iron.  It  is  best  suited  to 
growth  in  the  eastern  third  of  the  area 
but  will  grow  farther  west  when  it  is  ar- 
tificially watered.  It  often  is  subject  to 


7o 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


wind  damage,  but  it  is  commonly  used 
as  a  shade  and  street  tree.  Its  roots 
commonly  plug  drain  pipes. 

Other  species — sugar  maple,  Nor- 
way maple,  black  maple,  red  maple — 
are  usable  only  in  the  extreme  eastern 
border  of  the  Plains  area  where  rain- 
fall is  heaviest. 

THE  RUSSIAN -OLIVE,  an  introduc- 
tion from  southern  Russia,  usually  at- 
tains less  than  30  feet  in  height.  It 
survives  well  on  many  sites,  from  sandy 
to  alkaline  soils,  but  prefers  moist,  rich 
soil  in  open  sunlight.  It  is  drought- 
hardy  and  moderately  frost-resistant. 
The  dry,  cast-off  leaves  sometimes  are 
eaten  by  sheep,  goats,  and  cattle.  Al- 
though it  is  but  little  troubled  with 
insect  or  fungus  attacks,  it  is  suscep- 
tible to  cotton  root  rot. 

The  Russian-olive  merits  wide  use, 
especially  in  the  drier  and  more  alkali 
sections  from  the  Dakotas  southward. 
It  is  not  especially  desirable  as  a  street 
tree,  but  if  it  is  used  in  streets  the  lower 
branches  should  be  pruned  when  the 
tree  is  young. 

THE  AMERICAN  SYCAMORE  prefers 
rich,  moist  soil,  but  it  can  adapt  itself 
to  drier  sites.  It  is  not  frost-hardy 
enough  for  planting  in  the  northern 
Plains,  but  can  be  used  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  central  and  southern  Plains. 
Leaf  blight,  a  fungus  disease,  is  often 
prevalent  and  causes  considerable  de- 
foliation, disfigurement,  and  reduction 
in  growth.  It  is  moderately  resistant 
to  cotton  root  rot,  and  is  the  best  of 
the  fast-growing  tall  trees  for  use  on 
soil  infested  with  the  disease.  It  is  sus- 
ceptible to  chlorosis,  however,  on  al- 
kaline sites.  It  is  recommended  for 
street  planting  in  places  free  of  blight. 
The  American  sycamore  is  widely 
planted  as  an  ornamental. 

THE  LONDON  PLANETREE  is  less  sus- 
ceptible than  the  American  sycamore 
to  leaf  blight,  but  is  more  restricted  in 
range.  It  is  best  suited  to  the  extreme 
eastern  edge  of  the  Plains  where  rain- 
fall is  highest.  It  is  excellent  in  parks. 


THE  EASTERN  BLACK  WALNUT  grOWS 

moderately  fast  and  reaches  a  height 
of  60  feet  or  more.  On  favorable  sites 
it  will  live  75  years.  It  thrives  best  on 
moderately  friable  soil  that  has  good 
fertility  and  moisture.  It  will  stand 
some  flooding  but  will  not  live  long  on 
the  swampy  sites.  Because  its  leaves 
and  fruit  hulls  contain  tannic  acid  and 
stain  objects  with  which  they  come  in 
contact,  the  tree  should  not  be  planted 
too  close  to  walks  or  clotheslines.  Sev- 
eral insects  attack  the  leaves  and  fruit 
but  do  not  endanger  the  health  of  the 
tree.  Fungus  diseases  are  also  of  little 
consequence.  It  is  susceptible  to  cotton 
root  rot  and  is  not  drought-hardy.  It 
is  used  as  a  street  and  shade  tree,  but 
the  fruits  are  objectionable  on  streets. 

WEEPING  WILLOW  and  black  willow 
are  sometimes  used  as  shade  trees.  The 
European  white  willow  appears  to  be 
more  drought-resistant  than  the  other 
species,  but  it  should  not  be  planted 
on  dry  sites. 

The  willows  are  all  fairly  short-lived 
and  subject  to  insect  damage  and  fun- 
gus diseases. 

Desertwillow,  native  to  the  South- 
west, develops  into  a  small  tree  20  to 
30  feet  high  under  favorable  condi- 
tions. Often,  however,  it  is  shrublike, 
especially  in  hedge  plantings.  It  is  ex- 
tremely drought-hardy  and  prefers  a 
sandy  soil.  It  will  not  tolerate  flood- 
ing and  is  short-lived — probably  about 
20  years — but  withal  it  is  an  excellent 
tree  that  can  well  be  planted  more 
widely  in  the  Southwest.  Its  principal 
advantage  over  other  species  there  is 
its  high  resistance  to  cotton  root  rot. 

Other  broadleaf  species  of  local  im- 
portance that  do  well  on  sandy  soils 
and  are  usable  principally  in  the  south- 
ern parts  of  the  Plains  are  the  western 
soapberry  (which  is  resistant  to  cotton 
root  rot),  and  Osage-orange  and  east- 
ern redbud,  both  of  which  are  prey  to 
cotton  root  rot. 

The  principal  value  of  evergreens 
on  the  Plains  is  as  ornamentals  and  for 
protection  from  wind.  They  do  provide 
much  shade,  particularly  when  they 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Plains 


are  in  groups.  The  most  desirable  spe- 
cies are  eastern  redcedar,  Rocky  Moun- 
tain juniper,  ponderosa  pine,  common 
Douglas-fir,  and  some  spruces. 

THE  EASTERN  REDCEDAR,  a  medium- 
sized  tree,  forms  a  pyramidal  or  coni- 
cal crown,  grows  30  to  40  feet  tall, 
and  reaches  an  age  of  100  years  or 
more.  Flowers  are  produced  in  small 
cones  in  midspring.  It  prefers  loamy 
soil  in  open  sunlight,  but  it  will  grow 
successfully  on  almost  any  soil.  It  is 
drought-resistant  and  frost-hardy  but 
will  not  stand  flooding.  It  is  some- 
times damaged  by  grasshoppers  and 
hail,  but  it  makes  rapid  recovery.  It 
is  subject  to  attack  by  red  spider.  The 
main  objection  to  its  use  is  that  it  is 
a  bridging  host  for  a  rust  that  also 
attacks  apple  and  related  trees.  East- 
ern redcedar  should  not  be  grown 
where  apples  are  grown  commercially, 
because  of  the  possibility  of  damage 
by  the  rust.  The  rust  galls  cause  rela- 
tively minor  damage  to  the  cedar  ex- 
cept when  infections  are  numerous  on 
young  trees. 

Ornamental  eastern  redcedar  is  also 
damaged  by  a  needle  blight.  It  is  the 
best  evergreen  for  use  on  soil  infested 
with  the  cotton  root  rot  because  it  is 
highly  resistant  to  the  disease.  Mice 
often  damage  young  plants. 

Rocky  Mountain  juniper  resembles 
eastern  redcedar,  but  it  is  perhaps  even 
more  drought-hardy.  It  is  particularly 
suited  for  the  western  Plains  area. 

PONDEROSA  PINE,  a  native,  can  be 
used  in  the  Black  Hills  and  vicinity. 
It  grows  slowly  to  a  height  of  50  to 
75  feet.  The  broad,  conical  crown  gives 
moderate  shade.  It  is  long-lived.  It 
does  well  on  various  upland  soils  in 
full  sunlight  but  it  will  not  stand  per- 
manent shading.  Ponderosa  pine  is 
susceptible  to  cotton  root  rot  but  it  is 
frost-resistant  and  drought-hardy.  It 
is  used  mainly  as  an  ornamental  and 
occasionally  in  street  planting. 

THE  DOUGLAS-FIR:  The  Rocky 
Mountain  strain  of  the  common  Doug- 


las-fir makes  a  particularly  good  orna- 
mental shade  tree  for  the  eastern  part 
of  the  northern  Plains.  It  is  best  adap- 
ted to  a  moist,  deep,  porous  soil  but  it  is 
moderately  drought-hardy  and  fairly 
long-lived. 

Common  Douglas-fir  here  is  prac- 
tically free  of  serious  pests.  It  is  not 
recommended  for  use  in  the  central 
part  of  the  area,  but  it  does  fairly  well 
in  eastern  Colorado  and  Wyoming. 
The  common  Douglas-fir  grown  from 
Pacific  coast  seed  should  not  be  used 
in  any  part  of  the  Plains  area. 

WHITE  FIR  is  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  the  coniferous  ornamentals.  It  is 
about  as  drought-hardy  as  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Douglas-fir  and  does  sur- 
prisingly well  even  on  poor  to  dry, 
shallow  sites  after  it  has  become  well 
established. 

AUSTRIAN  PINE  is  similar  to  pon- 
derosa pine  but  less  adapted  to  poorer 
sites.  It  is  subject  to  a  fungus  twig 
blight  that  causes  some  dieback  of 
branches  and  is  less  drought-resistant 
than  ponderosa  pine. 

SCOTCH  PINE  is  a  widespreading  tree 
with  somewhat  scant  foliage.  It  is  well 
adapted  to  upland  soil  but  less  drought- 
hardy  than  either  ponderosa  pine  or 
Austrian  pine. 

Several  other  pines  also  are  useful  in 
the  region.  Among  them  are  jack  pine, 
in  the  north-central  part,  on  the  lighter 
soils;  loblolly  pine  and  shortleaf  pine, 
which  can  be  grown  in  the  southern 
parts,  but  are  susceptible  to  cotton  root 
rot;  and  the  eastern  white  pine,  which 
frequently  makes  an  excellent  tree  in 
the  eastern  central  Plains. 

THE  SPRUCES:  Several  species  of 
spruces  can  be  grown,  particularly  in 
the  northern  Plains.  Colorado  blue 
spruce,  black  spruce,  and  western  white 
spruce  are  examples.  As  a  class  the 
spruces  are  fairly  drought-resistant  and 
frost-hardy.  The  spruces  are  somewhat 
shorter-lived  than  the  pines,  but  are 
fine  ornamental  shade  trees. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


In  the  southern  Plains  the  Arizona 
cypress  is  of  limited  value. 

ERNEST  WRIGHT  worked  in  the 
Great  Plains  region  7  years  before  he 
was  transferred  to  the  field  headquar- 
ters of  the  Division  of  Forest  Pathology 
in  Portland,  Oreg.  In  his  work  on  the 
Great  Plains,  Dr.  Wright  studied  the 
survival  of  trees  in  relation  to  climate 
and  disease. 


T.  W.  BRETZ,  a  forest  pathologist, 
conducts  investigations  on  methods  of 
controlling  the  phloem  necrosis  of  elm 
in  Missouri  and  nearby  States.  Dr. 
Brett?  experience  includes  searching  for 
plant  diseases  in  Iowa  and  Missouri 
on  the  Emergency  Plant  Disease  Sur- 
vey and  teaching  and  research  work  in 
Texas,  where  he  became  familiar  with 
conditions  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
Great  Plains. 


SHADE  TREES  FOR  THE  ROCKIES 

LAKE  S.  GILL 


Getting  trees  to  grow  along  with  the 
settlements  and  cities  of  the  southern 
Rocky  Mountain  region  has  been  all 
the  more  impressive  because  trees  are 
naturally  absent  from  most  of  the  area. 

The  region — Arizona,  Colorado, 
New  Mexico,  and  Utah — is  largely  a 
high  plateau  4,000  to  8,000  feet  in  ele- 
vation and  broken  by  mountain  ranges 
that  often  exceed  10,000  feet.  In  south- 
ern Arizona  and  southwestern  New 
Mexico,  roughly  the  area  drained  by 
the  Gila  River  and  its  tributaries,  the 
plateau  is  1,000  to  4,000  feet  in  alti- 
tude. The  plateau  is  largely  treeless, 
although  a  few  species  occur  along 
stream  banks,  and  usually  the  foothills 
support  an  open  woodland  forest  of 
low  pinyons  and  junipers.  Coniferous 
forests,  broken  occasionally  by  stands 
of  quaking  aspen,  cover  the  sides  of 
the  mountains. 

Normal  precipitation  is  less  than  16 
inches  a  year,  only  about  half  of  which 
falls  during  the  growing  season.  In  the 
Gila  Basin  the  average  annual  rainfall 
is  less  than  12  inches,  although  there  is 
proportionally  more  rain  in  the  winter 
than  in  other  parts  of  the  region  below 
8,000  feet  elevation.  Precipitation  is  20 
to  30  inches  in  the  mountains.  Cold 
winters  and  hot  summers  are  the  rule 
except  in  the  Gila  drainage,  where 
winter  temperatures  are  usually  mild. 
Wide  changes  in  daily  temperatures 
occur  throughout  the  region,  especially 


during  the  winter  months.  Late  frosts 
are  the  rule.  Searing  winds  are  com- 
mon. Most  of  the  soil  is  alkaline ;  much 
of  it  is  low  in  nitrogen  and  poor  in 
physical  characteristics.  Often  an  im- 
pervious layer  of  hardpan  lies  close  to 
the  surface. 

Under  such  conditions,  the  early 
settlers  deserve  great  credit  for  intro- 
ducing new  trees.  Today  Salt  Lake 
City,  Denver,  and  Phoenix  are  out- 
standing examples  of  large  cities  that 
have  been  beautified  by  shade  trees 
despite  natural  odds  against  them. 

At  first  the  plains  poplar  and  the 
common  hackberry,  both  native,  were 
commonly  planted.  More  recently,  the 
plains  poplar  has  lost  favor  because  of 
its  space  requirements,  its  expansive 
and  high  water-consuming  root  system, 
and  its  untidy  habit  of  shedding  "cot- 
ton." The  common  hackberry  is  still 
widely  used  in  difficult  locations. 

The  black  locust  and  boxelder  were 
among  the  first  introductions  to  survive 
the  vicissitudes  of  climate  and  soil 
with  minimum  care.  Later  the  Siberian 
elm  joined  them.  These  three  cannot 
be  surpassed  in  their  ability  to  produce 
quick  shade,  stand  abuse,  and  endure 
unusually  unfavorable  climatic  and  soil 
conditions. 

Today  the  list  of  shade  trees  that  can 
be  grown  successfully  in  the  southern 
Rocky  Mountains  is  indeed  impressive. 
Most  of  them  require  supplemental  ir- 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Rockies 


73 


rigation.  Sometimes  the  soil  in  which 
they  are  planted  must  be  carefully 
selected  or  specially  prepared,  either 
with  a  view  toward  reducing  alkalinity 
or  of  penetrating  underlying  hardpan 
to  permit  better  drainage  and  root 
growth.  Under  the  most  severe  condi- 
tions only  the  hardier  kinds  will  live, 
but  even  in  the  northern  part  in  pro- 
tected locations  a  number  of  the  more 
tender  species  that  cannot  be  recom- 
mended for  the  whole  region  can  be 
grown. 

Following  are  brief  descriptions  and 
supplemental  notes  of  the  more  com- 
mon trees  that  have  been  successfully 
planted  in  the  region.  Most  of  the 
broadleaved  evergreens  suitable  only 
for  the  extremely  mild  winters  of  the 
Gila  River  Basin  have  been  omitted. 

THE  DECIDUOUS  trees  are  listed  first. 

The  tree-of-Heaven  ailanthus,  often 
called  simply  ailanthus,  is  an  aggres- 
sive tree  that  can  thrive  where  many 
other  kinds  would  perish.  It  grows 
rapidly  with  some  care,  but  it  is  rela- 
tively short-lived  and  provides  little 
shade  from  its  thin,  loose  crown.  It  is 
recommended  as  a  street  tree  where 
low  moisture,  poor  soil,  and  excessive 
heat  preclude  the  use  of  more  attrac- 
tive species.  It  is  almost  immune  to 
smoke  and  soot  injury  but  is  easily 
broken  by  snow  and  high  wind.  Only 
seed-bearing  trees  should  be  planted, 
as  the  pollen-bearing  form,  the  male, 
has  an  offensive  odor  when  it  blooms. 
It  may  be  planted  throughout  the  re- 
gion except  in  the  high  mountains  or 
parts  of  the  plateau  where  winter  tem- 
peratures are  low. 

Green  ash,   although  smaller  than 


white  ash,  is  the  preferred  street  tree. 
It  has  darker  foliage,  is  more  resistant 
to  drought,  and  seems  to  have  fewer 
enemies.  It  is  suitable  for  the  plateau 
but  it  is  not  recommended  for  the 
mountains. 

Velvet  ash,  especially  the  smooth  or 
Arizona  form,  is  well  adapted  to  the 
Gila  drainage  area.  It  will  not  stand 
protracted  cold,  but  it  resists  drought 
and  can  grow  in  strongly  alkaline  soil. 

White  ash  has  a  rather  oval  crown 
and  light-green  and  moderately  dense 
foliage.  It  will  stand  abuse  but  is  sen- 
sitive to  drought.  The  oystershell  scale 
often  attacks  it.  It  is  not  recommended 
for  the  mountains  or  the  Gila  Basin. 

Boxelder  develops  into  a  tree  with  a 
ragged  crown  of  fairly  light-green  foli- 
age. Although  the  boxelder  is  extremely 
drought-resistant  and  able  to  with- 
stand abuse,  it  is  recommended  only 
for  places  where  more  desirable  trees 
will  not  grow.  It  is  the  breeding  place 
of  the  boxelder  bug,  which  in  some 
years  becomes  objectionable  in  the 
houses  nearby.  Aphids  commonly  at- 
tack boxelder,  and  in  the  cities  the 
honeydew  that  drops  from  them  is 
objectionable  on  pavements.  It  will 
grow  anywhere  in  the  region.  The 
Arizona  form  is  best  adapted  to  the 
Gila  River  drainage. 

Northern  catalpa,  a  relatively  small 
tree,  possesses  a  globe-shaped  crown  of 
large,  heart-shaped  leaves.  It  stands 
drought  fairly  well  but  not  cold.  Its 
flowers  are  large  and  attractive,  but 
some  persons  object  to  it  as  a  street 
tree  because  of  the  litter  of  the  fallen 
flowers  in  early  summer  and  the  seed 
pods  in  autumn.  It  may  be  planted 
throughout  the  plateau,  although  it  is 
not  recommended  for  the  extreme 
northern  parts  or  for  elevations  above 
5,000  feet. 

American  elm  has  been  planted  ex- 
tensively on  the  plateau  for  many  years. 
It  is  not  very  tolerant  of  alkali  and 
should  have  plenty  of  irrigation  to 
thrive.  It  is  heavily  attacked  by  the 
European  elm  scale.  It  is  subject  also 
to  two  serious  epidemic  diseases,  the 
Dutch  elm  disease,  which  recently  was 


74 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


found  in  Denver,  and  phloem  necrosis, 
a  killing  virus  disease  that  has  not  yet 
been  found  in  the  region.  American 
elm  should  be  used  sparingly  until  con- 
trols are  available  for  the  diseases. 

Siberian  elm,  which  was  introduced 
as  Chinese  elm  and  is  still  often  called 
that,  can  persist  despite  drought,  poor 
soil,  and  abuse,  and  at  the  same  time 
provide  shade  and  greenery.  It  is  nat- 
urally scrubby  in  habit,  but  it  can  be 
trained  while  young  into  a  fairly  attrac- 
tive street  tree.  It  has  been  overplanted 
in  some  cities.  Its  root  system  is  prone 
to  invade  tile  sewers  and  to  heave  pave- 
ments and  curbs.  It  produces  seed  pro- 
fusely and  the  seedlings  may  become 
extremely  noxious  weeds  in  nearby 
gardens.  It  is  not  subject  to  the  epi- 
demic diseases  described  for  American 
elm  but  is  highly  susceptible  to  the 
cotton  or  Ozonium  root  rot.  Often  the 
European  elm  scale  attacks  it. 

The  common  hackberry  is  usually  a 
small  tree  with  a  spreading,  flat  crown 
of  dense,  light-green  foliage.  It  is  ex- 
cellent for  use  under  adverse  growing 
conditions  in  hot,  dry  climates.  The 
foliage  does  not  tend  to  turn  yellow 
in  alkaline  soils.  It  is  recommended  for 
all  parts  of  the  region  except  in  the 
mountains. 

Thornless  honeylocust  forms  a  thin, 
irregular  crown  that  provides  light 
shade.  It  is  one  of  the  last  trees  to  leaf 
out  in  the  spring  and  one  of  the  first 
to  lose  its  foliage  in  the  fall — a  distinct 
shortcoming  in  a  region  of  long,  hot 
summers.  But  it  is  drought-resistant, 
hardy,  and  capable  of  withstanding 
abuse  once  it  is  established.  It  is  not 
recommended  for  the  mountains. 

Linden  is  not  extensively  planted 
here,  although  it  is  recommended  as 
a  good  street  tree  in  some  of  the  larger 
cities  for  places  where  it  will  receive 
fertilization  and  irrigation.  It  is  sub- 
ject to  sunscald  following  transplant- 
ing. American  linden  and  the  littleleaf 
linden  are  the  two  preferred  species 
for  the  high  plateau.  Local  authorities 
should  be  consulted  regarding  suit- 
ability of  linden  in  parts  of  northwest- 
ern Colorado. 


Black  locust  is  a  tree  that  will  stand 
the  rigors  of  drought,  poor  soil,  and 
abuse.  It  produces  showy,  white,  fra- 
grant flowers  in  the  spring,  but  some 
persons  object  to  its  ragged  appear- 
ance, early  leaf  fall,  and  the  litter  of 
its  flowers  and  seed  pods.  In  some 
localities  it  is  severely  attacked  by  the 
locust  borer.  The  thornless  variety  is 
preferable,  but  various  pink-flowering 
forms  are  gaining  in  popularity. 

Norway  maple  is  a  handsome  tree 
with  a  dense,  globelike  crown  of  dark- 
green  foliage.  It  is  favored  as  a  street 
tree  in  the  larger  cities  in  places  where 
irrigation  and  fertilization  are  possible 
and  space  is  ample  for  root  develop- 
ment. It  is  less  subject  to  snow  damage 
than  silver  maple  and  is  moderately 
resistant  to  smoke  injury.  The  Schwed- 
ler  variety  has  bright  red  leaves  in  the 
spring,  which  later  turn  deep  green. 
This  variety  is  less  likely  to  suffer  from 
yellow  foliage  in  alkaline  soil  than 
other  maples.  Norway  maple  is  sub- 
ject to  sunscorch  or  leaf  scald,  especially 
when  the  root  system  has  not  sufficient 
room  to  develop  properly.  It  is  best 
suited  to  the  high  plateau  and  is  not 
recommended  for  the  Gila  River  drain- 
age. It  is  best  to  consult  local  authori- 
ties regarding  the  use  of  Norway  maple 
and  its  varieties,  as  the  species  has 
proved  to  be  tender  in  some  localities. 

Red  mulberry  is  a  somewhat  larger 
tree  than  Russian  mulberry  but  is  less 
resistant  to  drought  and  cold. 

Russian  mulberry  develops  a  crown 
of  dense,  dark-green  foliage.  It  is  fairly 
resistant  to  drought  but  is  subject  to 
winter  injury.  The  fruits  attract  birds 
but  also  make  a  litter  on  walks  and 
streets.  The  male,  or  staminate,  trees 
do  not  produce  fruit.  This  tree  should 
not  be  planted  in  the  mountains  or  in 
the  colder  parts  of  the  high  plateau. 

Oak  may  be  grown  successfully  in  a 
few  restricted  areas  in  the  region,  not- 
ably in  the  foothills  of  northern  Colo- 
rado. The  limiting  factor  is  soil  alka- 
linity, which,  besides  giving  the  foliage 
a  yellow  cast,  inhibits  normal  develop- 
ment for  a  naturally  slow-growing  tree. 

Bur  oak  appears  to  be  best  adapted 


Shade  Trees  for  the  Rockies 


75 


to  the  plateau  as  a  whole,  but  even 
with  the  best  of  care  and  conditions  it 
grows  slowly. 

London  planetree,  a  slow-growing 
but  attractive  tree,  has  a  crown  of  deep- 
green  leaves  on  a  grayish- white,  smooth 
stem.  It  makes  a  fine  street  tree  where 
it  can  be  planted  in  rich  soil  with  ample 
irrigation.  It  is  not  recommended  for 
the  mountains  or  the  cold  plateaus  of 
northwestern  Colorado. 

The  closely  related  sycamore  has 
much  the  same  characteristics  and  re- 
quirements but  is  less  desirable  because 
of  its  susceptibility  to  a  seriously  dis- 
figuring leaf  blight. 

Lanceleaf  poplar  is  a  clean-looking 
tree  with  moderately  dense,  light-green 
foliage  and  smooth,  greenish  bark.  It 
is  recommended  for  mountain  areas 
only. 

Narrowleaf  poplar  resembles  lance- 
leaf  poplar  but  is  better  adapted  to 
lower  elevations.  With  some  care  it 
makes  a  good  street  tree  at  altitudes 
of  5,000  feet  or  more.  It  is  subject  to 
attack  by  several  borers,  which,  if  not 
controlled,  will  ruin  its  apearance  and 
shorten  its  life. 

Lombardy  poplar  has  a  narrow 
columnlike  crown  of  thin,  almost  up- 
right, branches.  It  is  better  adapted 
to  roadside  than  street  planting.  It 
seldom  remains  attractive  more  than 
20  years,  and  is  commonly  killed  about 
that  age  by  an  uncontrollable  disease. 
It  is  not  recommended  for  the  moun- 
tain areas. 

Plains  poplar  is  a  distinctive  native 
tree  with  a  low,  spreading,  irregular 
crown.  It  may  be  used  anywhere  on 
the  plateau  but  should  be  planted  only 
where  it  will  have  ample  room  to  de- 
velop and  where  there  is  plenty  of 
moisture.  Stock  from  male,  or  stami- 
nate,  trees  is  preferred  as  it  does  not 
produce  the  bothersome  "cotton."  This 
tree  is  rapidly  losing  popularity  in  the 
cities  because  it  takes  so  much  space, 
and  in  the  agricultural  areas  it  is  being 
cut  as  a  water  conservation  measure. 

Russian-olive  is  a  small  tree  with  an 
irregular-shaped  crown  of  silvery-gray 
foliage.  It  has  a  tendency  to  assume  a 


shrubby  habit  but  can  be  trained  into 
an  attractive  tree.  It  is  excellent  for 
color  contrast  in  group  plantings.  This 
tree  is  especially  adapted  to  the  high 
plateau.  It  is  highly  resistant  to  drought 
and  tolerant  of  alkali. 

Tamarisk  has  an  irregular  outline, 
thin,  feathery,  gray-green  foliage,  and 
white  to  pink  flowers.  It  is  well  adapted 
to  dry  alkaline  soils  and  will  thrive  with 
little  care.  It  should  not  be  used  at  ele- 
vations above  5,000  feet  or  in  unusually 
cold  locations,  as  found  in  some  parts 
of  northwestern  Colorado. 

EVERGREENS  are  worth  particular 
attention. 

Arizona  cypress  and  its  relative,  the 
smooth  Arizona  cypress,  have  conical 
crowns  of  grayish-green  foliage.  They 
grow  rapidly  with  irrigation  and  are 
especially  adapted  to  the  Gila  River 
Basin  or  the  lower  elevations — below 
5,000  feet— of  the  high  plateau.  They 
will  not  stand  severe,  protracted  cold. 
Twig-girdling  insects  sometimes  attack 
them  in  force. 

Eucalyptus  can  be  grown  only  at  the 
lower  elevations  of  the  Gila  River 
Basin — and  even  there  they  may  be 
killed  or  damaged  in  the  relatively  se- 
vere winters  that  sometimes  occur.  Of 
the  several  species  that  have  been  ex- 
tensively planted  in  southern  Arizona, 
the  horncap  eucalyptus  is  most  toler- 
ant of  alkali  and  hardpan  so  prevalent 
in  the  area. 

Rocky  Mountain  juniper,  another 
native  of  the  plateau,  frequently  is 
found  growing  with  Colorado  pinyon 
pine.  It  is  a  small  evergreen  tree  with 
a  conical  crown  of  greenish  to  greenish- 
gray  cast.  The  branchlets  often  droop 
and  have  a  weeping  effect.  This  tree 
can  be  used  effectively  as  a  specimen 
in  formal  planting,  or  in  seminatural 
groupings,  as  for  example,  with  pinyon. 
In  Denver,  with  irrigation,  it  develops 
into  an  attractive  tree  of  moderate  size. 

Aleppo  pine  is  used  extensively  in  the 
Gila  River  Basin  as  an  ornamental  or 
specimen  tree  but  will  not  grow  else- 
where in  the  region  where  winters  are 
more  severe. 


76 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


Austrian  pine  makes  a  fine  specimen 
tree  anywhere  in  the  region.  It  de- 
velops a  cone-shaped  crown  of  deep- 
green  foliage,  which  is  little  affected 
by  hot,  dry  winds.  Some  irrigation  is 
necessary  on  the  plateau. 

Canary  pine,  useful  as  a  specimen 
tree,  has  light-green  foliage  of  medium 
density.  It  will  not  stand  long  periods 
of  cold  weather,  and  therefore  it  can 
be  planted  with  success  only  in  the 
Gila  River  Basin ;  even  there  it  should 
receive  irrigation. 

Colorado  pinyon  pine,  also  native  to 
much  of  the  plateau,  does  well  under 
cultivation.  It  grows  slowly  into  a  low, 
scrubby  tree  too  small  for  shade  but 
good  for  group  plantings  in  full  sun- 
light. It  will  respond  to  some  irriga- 
tion, but  constant  heavy  watering  is 
detrimental. 

Ponderosa  pine  is  a  native  tree  with 
much  the  same  appearance  as  Austrian 
pine,  but  usually  it  is  slower  in  growth. 
Growth  is  extremely  slow  the  first  10 
years  or  so.  Later  it  can  grow  a  foot  or 
more  annually  even  in  severe  locations 
provided  it  receives  some  irrigation. 

Scotch  pine  resembles  Austrian  and 
ponderosa  pines  in  ruggedness  but  is 
less  regular  in  shape. 

Colorado  spruce,  often  called  Colo- 
rado blue  spruce,  is  similar  to  Engel- 
mann  spruce  except  that  the  foliage  is 
always  gray  green  or  bluish  green.  At 


elevations  below  8,000  feet  it  tends  to 
become  scraggly  with  age  and  for  that 
reason  is  less  suitable  than  Engelmann 
spruce  on  the  plateau.  With  watering 
it  makes  a  beautiful,  ornamental  tree. 
Engelmann  spruce,  with  its  tall, 
cone-shaped  crown  of  green  to  gray- 
green  foliage,  is  well  suited  to  lawn 
planting  and  for  use  as  an  outdoor 
Christmas  tree.  It  will  thrive  in  both 
mountain  and  plateau  areas  if  pro- 
vided with  fairly  rich  soil  and  given 
some  protection  from  high  winds. 

FOR  THE  NORTHERN  Rocky  Moun- 
tain region,  resistance  to  cold  is  a  para- 
mount consideration  in  the  selection 
of  shade  trees.  Suitable  species  are 
Norway  maple,  cutleaf  birch,  bass- 
wood,  white  poplar  (alba),  green  ash, 
hackberry,  American  elms,  Austrian 
pine,  Scotch  pine,  Black  Hills  spruce, 
Colorado  blue  spruce,  and  Norway 
spruce.  Russian-olive  and  the  Siberian 
pea-tree  may  also  be  used  where  a 
smaller  type  of  tree  is  desired. 

LAKE  S.  GILL  is  a  forest  pathologist 
of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils, 
and  Agricultural  Engineering.  He  is 
stationed  in  Albuquerque,  N.  Mex.  He 
has  investigated  many  aspects  of  forest- 
and  shade-tree  problems  in  the  South- 
west. Dr.  Gill  is  a  graduate  of  Yale 
School  of  Forestry. 


What  do  we  plant  when  we  plant  the 

tree? 
We  plant  the  ship,  which  will  cross 

the  sea. 

We  plant  the  mast  to  carry  the  sails; 
We  plant  the  planks  to  withstand  the 

gales — 
The  keel,  the  keelson,  the  beam,  the 

knee; 
We  plant  the  ship  when  we  plant  the 

tree. 

What  do  we  plant  when  we  plant  the 

tree? 

We  plant  the  houses  for  you  and  me. 
We  plant  the  rafters,  the  shingles,  the 

floors, 


We  plant  the  studding,  the  lath,  the 

doors, 

The  beams,  the  siding,  all  parts  that  be; 
We  plant  the  house  when  we  plant 

the  tree. 

What  do  we  plant  when  we  plant  the 

tree? 

A  thousand  things  that  we  daily  see; 
We  plant  the  spire  that  out-towers  the 

crag, 
We  plant  the  staff  for  our  country's 

flag. 
We  plant  the  shade,  from  the  hot  sun 

free; 
We  plant  all  these  when  we  plant  the 

tree. 

HENRY    ABBEY 


77 


SHADE  TREES  FOR  CALIFORNIA 


W.  W.  WAGENER 


Climate  is  the  key  to  the  trees  that 
can  be  grown  in  a  region.  On  the  Pa- 
cific coast,  the  key  to  the  climate  is  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  which  imparts  its  rela- 
tively mild  temperatures  and  its  char- 
acteristic summer  droughty  period. 
The  region  embraces  more  than  16°  of 
latitude  and  extends  inland  about  120 
miles  to  the  high  barrier  formed  by  the 
Sierra  and  Cascade  Mountain  chains. 
East  of  the  barrier,  the  climate  is  arid 
or  semiarid  and  has  a  much  greater 
yearly  range  in  temperatures.  Eastern 
Washington,  eastern  Oregon,  and  a 
part  of  eastern  California  share  this  in- 
terior type  of  climate.  This  article  dis- 
cusses shade  trees  in  California;  the 
next  article  is  about  trees  in  the  north- 
ern Pacific  area — the  western  parts  of 
Washington  and  Oregon. 

No  part  of  the  United  States  presents 
a  greater  diversity  in  climate,  topog- 
raphy, and  soils  than  California.  Rela- 
tively mild  winter  temperatures  and  a 
long  summer  dry  season  are  common 
to  all  parts  of  the  State  except  the 
higher  mountains,  but  in  other  respects 
even  a  few  miles  may  bring  wide  dif- 
ferences in  the  conditions  that  govern 
tree  growth. 

Few  trees,  consequently,  have  suffi- 
cient adaptability  to  be  satisfactory  in 
all  parts  of  the  region,  and  the  planter 
must  make  his  choice  on  the  basis  of 
the  conditions  prevailing  in  his  own 
neighborhood.  An  important  consider- 
ation in  inland  districts  is  whether  the 
tree  is  to  receive  supplemental  irriga- 
tion, directly  or  indirectly,  or  whether 
it  must  depend  on  moisture  provided 
by  the  winter  rains.  Another  is  whether 
the  ground  contains  appreciable  quan- 
tities of  soluble  salts,  commonly  known 
as  alkali.  If  so,  the  choice  should  be 
species  known  to  be  alkali-tolerant. 

From  the  thousands  of  trees  that 
will  grow  successfully  in  California,  or 
parts  of  it,  I  shall  discuss  here  a  limited 
number  that  are  generally  suitable  for 


shade  and  ornament  or  have  specific 
qualities  that  fit  them  for  use  under 
conditions  that  are  unfavorable  for 
most  species.  In  general,  I  omit  trees 
used  primarily  for  accent  or  specimen 
planting,  the  palms,  nearly  all  of  the 
eucalypts,  and  a  few  species  of  other 
types  that  once  were  popular  but  are 
not  recommended  now  because  of  in- 
sects, diseases,  or  undesirable  qualities. 
Among  the  last  are  the  elms,  Monterey 
cypress,  and  the  black  acacia. 

Besides  the  trees  here  described,  the 
owner  who  is  considering  planting 
around  the  home  should  not  overlook 
the  ornamental  and  shade  value  of  our 
fruit  and  nut  trees.  The  apricot,  avo- 
cado, cherry,  orange,  kaki  persimmon, 
mission  fig,  Persian  walnut,  and  many 
another  often  serve  a  double  utility. 

THE  CALIFORNIA  LIVE  OAK  is  a 
rather  evenly  rounded  tree  when  it  is 
young;  it  spreads  broadly  with  age. 
It  grows  up  to  30  to  75  feet — rather 
slowly  at  first  but  faster  when  it  is  well 
established  and  supplied  with  mod- 
erate amounts  of  water  in  summer.  Its 
leaves  are  small  and  oval,  dark  green 
and  glossy  above,  paler  below,  and 
rather  dense.  It  casts  a  fairly  dense 
shade  unless  the  crown  is  thinned  by 
pruning.  For  yards,  streets,  and  road- 
ways it  is  satisfactory  in  the  coastal  dis- 
tricts, where  it  is  native,  and  also  in 
the  less  hot  and  dry  parts  of  the  in- 
terior. In  some  districts  it  is  subject  to 
defoliation  by  the  larvae  of  the  Cali- 
fornia oak  moth  which  never  kill  the 
tree  and  are  readily  controlled  by 
sprays.  Some  trees  suffer  from  mildew 
in  the  coastal  districts  that  have  sum- 
mer fogs.  Because  heavy  pruning  and 
heavy  summer  watering  favor  the  de- 
velopment of  mildew,  the  tree  should 
not  be  planted  on  lawns  or  other  areas 
that  are  constantly  irrigated.  Despite 
these  disadvantages,  the  merits  of  the 
tree  make  it  good  for  many  districts. 


78 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


SOUTHERN  MAGNOLIA  is  a  medium- 
sized  or  tall  (25  to  60  feet),  round- 
topped  or  pyramidal  evergreen  with 
large,  thick,  glossy,  dark-green  leaves 
and  rust-colored  branchlets  and  buds. 
It  is  slow  of  growth,  moderately  long- 
lived,  and  relatively  few  insects  and 
diseases  bother  it.  The  large,  white, 
showy,  fragrant  flowers  come  in  late 
summer  and  fall.  It  is  hardy  through- 
out the  region  except  in  the  higher 
mountains,  but  does  not  tolerate  alkali. 
Altogether,  it  is  a  satisfactory  orna- 
mental for  home  and  street.  It  should 
be  given  additional  moisture  in  sum- 
mer in  most  parts  of  the  region. 

CAMPHOR-TREE  is  a  handsome,  com- 
pact, medium-sized  and  oval-crowned, 
evergreen  tree,  20  to  40  feet  in  height 
when  mature,  with  dense,  glossy,  light- 
green  foliage,  bronze-tinged  in  spring. 
The  leaves,  which  have  an  odor  of 
camphor  when  crushed,  cast  a  fairly 
dense  shade.  The  flowers  are  small,  yel- 
low, and  inconspicuous;  the  growth 
rate  is  moderate,  and  the  length  of 
life  is  average.  The  trunk  is  rather 
heavy  and  enlarged  at  the  base.  Cam- 
phor-tree is  satisfactory  for  planting 
around  the  home  and  as  a  street  tree  if 
parkways  are  wide  enough.  It  is  hardy 
in  most  of  the  region,  including  the 
central  valleys,  but  it  needs  access  to 
additional  moisture  in  the  drier  situa- 
tions in  summer.  It  is  fairly  tolerant 
of  alkali. 

RED  IRONBARK,  a  slender  and  open, 
medium-sized,  evergreen  tree  of  the 
eucalyptus  family,  eventually  grows  to 
50  to  60  feet  in  height.  It  has  rough, 
furrowed,  dark,  and  persistent  bark 
and  small,  gray-green  leaves.  The 
flowers  are  deep  pink  and  are  produced 
in  profusion  in  late  winter,  spring,  and 
into  June.  Its  growth  rate  is  moderate 
and  its  longevity  is  average.  It  is  hardy 
to  about  15°  F.  and  stands  drought 
well.  Thus  it  is  adapted  to  both  coastal 
and  inland  situations.  Moderately  al- 
kali-tolerant, it  is  a  satisfactory  tree  for 
roadsides  as  well  as  for  backgrounds  or 
screen  planting  around  the  home. 


THE  CALIFORNIA  PEPPERTREE  is  a 
medium  to  large  and  broadly  round- 
topped,  evergreen  tree,  and  30  to  50 
feet  high  when  mature.  Its  finely  cut, 
light-green  and  drooping  foliage  casts 
a  light  shade.  The  small  and  yellowish- 
white  flowers  come  in  many-branched 
clusters  and  are  followed  in  fall  by 
pendent  bunches  of  small,  rose-colored 
fruits  that  persist  through  the  winter.  It 
grows  fast  and  is  of  average  longevity. 
It  is  somewhat  tender,  but  it  can  stand 
temperatures  of  about  18°  F.;  conse- 
quently, it  is  usable  in  most  of  southern 
California  and  the  milder  parts  of  cen- 
tral and  northern  California.  Although 
it  is  drought-resistant  and  somewhat 
tolerant  of  alkali,  it  has  the  reputation 
of  harboring  black  scale  and  therefore 
is  in  disfavor  among  many  citrus  grow- 
ers. It  is  also  susceptible  to  Armillaria 
root  rot,  better  known  in  the  region  as 
oak  root  fungus,  and  for  that  reason 
is  uncertain  on  land  formerly  occupied 
by  oak  woodlands.  It  used  to  be  planted 
often  as  a  street  tree,  but  for  that  pur- 
pose it  has  several  faults.  Nevertheless, 
the  peppertree  is  so  firmly  identified 
with  California,  so  attractive  when  it  is 
properly  used  around  the  home,  and 
fits  so  well  with  California  architecture 
that  it  will  remain  popular. 

CAPE  CHESTNUT  is  a  medium-sized, 
round-headed  tree,  50  to  60  feet  high 
when  mature.  Its  medium-sized,  elon- 
gated, somewhat  sparse  leaves  cast  a 
light  shade.  Growth  rate  is  moderate; 
it  is  fairly  long-lived.  It  is  cultivated 
chiefly  for  its  panicles  of  showy,  laven- 
der-rose flowers  that  appear  in  late 
May  and  June.  Hardy  in  most  of  south- 
ern California  and  in  warmer  situations 
elsewhere  in  the  region,  it  can  endure 
temperatures  to  about  15°  F.  In  the 
colder  locations  it  is  partly  deciduous. 
It  is  suitable  for  planting  around  the 
home  and  as  a  street  tree,  but  it  re- 
quires watering  in  the  summer. 

THE  GINKGO,  an  erect,  rounded,  and 
pyramidal  tree,  becomes  somewhat 
spreading  with  age.  The  ginkgo  is  long- 
lived  and  rather  slow  growing  to  an 


Shade  Trees  for  California 


79 


ultimate  height  of  40  to  50  feet  in  Cali- 
fornia. The  unique  leaves  are  medium- 
sized,  fan-shaped,  and  a  clear  green  in 
color,  changing  to  yellow  in  autumn. 
Because  it  is  hardy  and  has  practically 
no  pests,  it  is  useful  both  as  an  orna- 
mental and  shade  tree,  but  it  needs 
extra  summer  moisture  in  the  drier 
places.  Only  male  trees  should  be 
planted,  because  the  fallen,  mature 
fruits  of  the  female  tree  have  a  dis- 
agreeable odor. 

THE  NORWAY  MAPLE  is  a  medium- 
sized,  round-headed,  spreading,  decid- 
uous tree,  25  to  60  feet  high.  It  has 
moderately  large,  light-green  leaves 
that  form  a  dense  crown  and  cast  a 
rather  heavy  shade.  It  is  relatively  fast 
growing,  of  average  length  of  life,  and 
hardy.  It  has  proved  satisfactory  as  a 
lawn  and  street  tree  in  the  interior  and 
mountain  valleys  of  the  region,  except 
for  a  tendency  of  the  roots  to  raise 
sidewalks.  It  is  moderately  tolerant  of 
alkaline  soils. 

The  silver  maple  is  fast  growing, 
large,  spreading,  and  60  to  100  feet  in 
height.  Its  large  leaves,  bright  green 
above  and  silvery  below,  form  a  rather 
open  crown,  which  casts  a  medium  to 
light  shade.  The  flowers,  greenish  and 
in  clusters,  appear  before  the  leaves.  It 
is  hardy,  and  its  useful  life  is  about 
average.  It  is  similar  to  the  Norway 
maple  in  uses  and  districts  to  which  it 
is  best  adapted.  Its  roots  sometimes 
raise  sidewalks. 

THE  LONDON  PLANETREE  is  rounded 
and  pyramidal  in  habit,  but  becomes 
spreading  with  age.  It  grows  to  30  to 
70  feet,  and  has  large,  broad,  lobed, 
green  leaves  that  form  a  rather  open 
crown  and  cast  a  light  shade.  Its  growth 
rate  is  rapid;  its  longevity  is  about 
average.  Its  light-colored  bark  peels  in 
thin  plates.  The  brown,  globular  fruit- 
ing heads,  about  an  inch  in  diameter, 
disintegrate  when  mature. 

It  is  hardy  throughout  the  region, 
but  it  is  subject  to  the  sycamore  blight, 
which  attacks  the  leaves,  and  the  syca- 
more scale.  Some  strains  of  the  tree 


are  practically  immune  to  the  blight 
and  resistant  to  the  scale.  It  is  a  satis- 
factory shade  and  street  tree,  especially 
for  inland  valleys,  when  propagated 
from  parent  stock  selected  for  freedom 
from  blight  and  pests.  The  London 
planetree  is  alkali-tolerant. 

THE  SWEETGUM  forms  a  rounded 
pyramidal  tree,  usually  reaching  not 
over  50  feet  in  height  in  California, 
with  deeply  furrowed  bark  and  me- 
dium-large, deeply  lobed,  dark-green 
leaves,  paler  on  the  under  side.  These 
turn  to  a  crimson  or  wine  purple  in  the 
fall.  The  seeds  are  borne  in  spherical 
heads — which  are  about  an  inch  in 
diameter  and  rather  prickly  on  the 
outside.  The  tree  grows  at  a  moderate 
rate  and  it  produces  a  compact  head, 
which  casts  a  medium-dense  shade.  It 
is  hardy  and  relatively  long-lived,  but 
not  tolerant  of  alkali.  The  sweetgum 
is  satisfactory  as  a  street  tree  and  for 
home  planting  in  all  parts  of  the  re- 
gion, except  on  alkaline  soils.  It  is  not 
adapted  to  locations  exposed  to  dry 
winds,  and  it  requires  extra  summer 
moisture  in  the  drier  localities. 

OF  THE  VELVET  ASH,  the  Modesto 
or  Montebello  forms  make  a  spread- 
ing but  rather  compact  tree,  30  to  40 
feet  high  when  mature.  The  willow- 
like,  deep-green  leaves  cast  a  medium- 
dense  shade.  Fast  in  growth,  it  is  hardy 
except  at  high  elevations  in  the  region. 
In  longevity  it  is  about  average.  It  is 
drought-resistant,  moderately  tolerant 
of  alkali,  and  more  resistant  to  the  red 
spider  type  of  mite  than  the  regular 
form.  It  is  subject  to  occasional  de- 
foliation by  insects  in  some  districts, 
but  these  pests  can  be  controlled  read- 
ily by  sprays.  A  popular  shade  and 
street  tree  for  the  interior  valleys,  it 
stands  drying  winds  well  and  succeeds 
with  little  moisture.  Recently  a  leaf 
disease  has  appeared  in  parts  of  the 
region  which  may  make  it  less  desir- 
able as  a  shade  tree  in  the  future. 

THE  CAROLINA  POPLAR,  a  tall,  up- 
right tree  from  40  to  100  feet  in  height, 


8o 


of  Agriculture  1949 


is  pyramidal  to  columnar  in  form  and 
is  fast  growing.  The  medium-sized  and 
rounded,  bright-green  leaves  cast  a 
medium  shade.  Of  average  longevity, 
it  is  hardy  and  slightly  tolerant  of  al- 
kali. It  grows  best  in  moist  sites.  Only 
the  male  trees  should  be  used  in  order 
to  avoid  the  disagreeable  fuzz  that  is 
shed  from  the  blooms  of  the  female. 

This  and  the  other  more  spreading 
types  of  poplar  are  especially  adapted 
as  shade  or  roadside  trees  in  moun- 
tain valleys  or  around  irrigated  pas- 
tures in  the  lower  inland  valleys.  Suck- 
ers are  sometimes  troublesome.  Poplars 
should  not  be  planted  close  to  sewer 
lines  because  of  the  penetrating  roots. 

PIN  OAK  forms  a  rounded,  pyram- 
idal tree  when  young  but  tends  to  be- 
come irregular  at  maturity,  with  a 
height  of  50  to  80  feet.  The  deeply 
cut,  glossy,  dark-green  leaves  cast  a 
medium-dense  shade  and  turn  an  at- 
tractive scarlet  in  the  late  fall.  The 
tree  grows  at  a  moderate  rate  and  is 
hardy  and  long-lived  but  not  tolerant 
of  alkali  nor  resistant  to  drought.  In 
California,  pin  oak  is  a  desirable  street 
and  shade  tree  for  both  inland  and 
coastal  districts  where  extra  moisture 
can  be  supplied  during  the  summer. 

SOUTHERN  RED  OAK  is  a  round- 
topped  tree  with  spreading  branches, 
50  to  70  feet  high  at  maturity.  The 
leaves  are  medium  large,  incised,  dark 
green  above  and  pale  below,  and  dark 
red  in  late  fall.  It  casts  a  medium 
shade.  Its  growth  rate  is  relatively 
rapid.  It  is  fairly  long-lived,  but  is  not 
drought-resistant  or  tolerant  of  alkali. 
It  resembles  pin  oak  in  uses  as  well  as 
in  its  range  of  suitability. 

THE  CALIFORNIA  BLACK  WALNUT,  a 
large,  irregularly  rounded  tree  that  is 
50  or  more  feet  high  at  maturity,  usu- 
ally is  taller  than  broad  and  branches 
from  the  trunk  rather  high  above  the 
ground.  Its  bark  is  furrowed.  The 
dark-green  leaves  are  divided  into 
many  leaflets  and  cast  a  medium-dense 
shade.  Growth  rate  is  rapid.  It  is  long- 


lived,  fairly  tolerant  of  alkali,  and 
drought-resistant.  The  hard,  rounded 
nuts  are  borne  in  a  green  husk  and 
mature  in  late  fall.  It  is  a  desirable 
roadside  and  shade  tree  for  coastal  and 
interior  valleys  in  locations  where  the 
falling  nuts  are  not  objectionable.  It 
stands  dry  winds  well. 

THE  CHINESE  PISTAGHE  is  a  round- 
topped,  fairly  long-lived  tree,  40  to  60 
feet  high  when  mature.  Its  growth 
rate  is  moderately  rapid.  Its  attractive, 
divided  foliage  becomes  highly  colored 
in  late  fall.  The  flowers  are  incon- 
spicuous. The  female  trees  bear  pend- 
ent, open  sprays  of  small  fruits  that 
are  scarlet  in  late  summer  and  purplish 
in  fall.  It  is  hardy  everywhere  in  the 
region  except  at  high  altitudes.  It  is 
moderately  alkali-tolerant  and  is  es- 
pecially adapted  to  dry  climates  for 
shade  or  roadside  planting.  It  is  not 
desirable  as  a  street  tree  because  of 
the  many  fruits  of  the  female  trees. 

THE   PANIGLED  GOLDENRAIN-TREE  IS 

a  rather  low,  widespreading,  round- 
headed,  deciduous  tree,  20  to  30  feet 
high  at  maturity  and  somewhat  open  in 
habit.  It  casts  a  light  to  medium  shade. 
The  leaves,  composed  of  many  fine 
leaflets,  are  dark  green  above  and  paler 
beneath,  and  give  a  soft,  fernlike  ap- 
pearance. The  profuse  yellow  flowers 
are  borne  in  large  clusters  in  late  sum- 
mer. The  fruit  is  a  papery-walled  cap- 
sule and  remains  on  the  tree  until  fall. 
The  growth  rate  is  fairly  rapid.  It  is 
hardy  and  its  length  of  life  is  about 
average.  The  tree  is  drought-resistant 
and  will  tolerate  alkali,  including  black 
alkali,  to  a  greater  extent  than  almost 
any  tree  known.  It  is  therefore  espe- 
cially adapted  to  difficult  situations  in 
the  drier  portion  of  the  region  where 
few  other  species  will  succeed,  but  it 
will  grow  well  in  more  favored  loca- 
tions. It  deserves  to  be  more  widely 
planted. 

OF  THE  WHITE  MULBERRY,,  the  Khl- 

gan  fruitless  variety  is  a  fast  growing, 
broadly,  round-topped,  deciduous  tree, 


Shade  Trees  for  California 


81 


30  to  40  feet  high  when  mature.  Its 
medium-sized,  broadly  oval,  thin,  light- 
green  leaves  cast  a  rather  dense  shade. 
It  stands  heat,  drought,  and  alkali  ex- 
ceptionally well,  and  will  give  a  quick 
shade  under  conditions  where  most 
trees  would  fail.  The  branches  are 
somewhat  brittle  and  eventually  are 
subject  to  wind  breakage  in  windy  sit- 
uations unless  they  are  carefully  pruned 
back  when  necessary. 

This  fruitless  variety  overcomes  the 
objection  to  falling  fruits  common  to 
most  other  mulberries.  It  is  not  recom- 
mended for  locations  where  other  trees 
of  better  types  will  do  well,  but  it  is  un- 
excelled for  unfavorable  places  where 
a  quick,  nonpermanent  tree  is  needed. 

THE  CANARY  PINE  is  tall,  slender, 
and  fast  growing  when  it  is  young,  but 
ultimately  becomes  rather  broad  and 
round-topped.  It  reaches  60  to  80  feet 
in  height,  with  long,  grayish-green, 
drooping  foliage  and  rather  slender 
cones  4  to  8  inches  long.  The  bark  is 
reddish  brown  and  lightly  fissured.  It 
is  hardy  in  most  of  the  region  below  an 
elevation  of  2,000  feet,  and  endures 
temperatures  down  to  about  10°  F.  It  is 
moderately  long-lived.  It  casts  a  light- 
to  medium-dense  shade.  A  handsome 
tree,  the  canary  pine  is  especially  use- 
ful for  background  and  screen  planting. 

THE  COULTER  PINE  is  a  stout,  thrifty, 
roundly  pyramidal  native  conifer  with 
rather  long,  stiff,  dark-green  needles 
and  fissured  dark-brown  to  blackish 
bark,  Coulter  pine  is  50  to  80  feet  high 
when  mature,  moderately  long-lived, 
and  hardy  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the 
region.  Its  cones  are  large,  decorative, 
9  to  14  inches  long,  and  composed  of 
stout,  sharp-pointed  scales.  It  is  espe- 
cially adapted  as  a  specimen  or  back- 
ground tree  in  hill  or  valley  situations 
where  little  or  no  supplementary  mois- 
ture can  be  supplied.  Because  the 
heavy,  prickly  cones  may  fall  after  the 
tree  becomes  older  and  offer  a  hazard, 
it  should  not  be  planted  where  it  will 
overhang  buildings  or  walks. 

802062°— 49 7 


THE  LAWSON  CYPRESS,  a  narrow 
to  broadly  pyramidal  tree,  is  native  to 
the  coast  of  southwestern  Oregon  and 
northern  California.  It  reaches  a  height 
of  75  to  100  feet  in  cultivation.  Its 
growth  rate  is  moderate.  The  foliage  is 
bright  green  or  bluish  and  hangs  in 
broad,  flat,  drooping,  fernlike  sprays. 
Its  shade  is  dense.  It  is  hardy  through- 
out the  region  and  is  long-lived  under 
favorable  conditions.  It  is  an  excellent 
specimen  or  background  tree  for  the 
coastal  districts  and  the  cooler  portions 
of  interior  valleys  and  foothills  where 
alkali  is  absent.  It  needs  additional 
summer  moisture,  except  in  the  coastal 
belt  which  is  subject  to  summer  fogs. 

Nurserymen  offer  a  number  of  hor- 
ticultural forms  of  the  species  that  dif- 
fer from  the  parent  type  in  color  of 
foliage  and  growth  habit. 

THE  CALIFORNIA  INCENSE-CEDAR  is 
a  native  conifer,  broadly  pyramidal 
when  young  if  it  is  not  crowded.  It  is 
narrowly  columnar  to  broadly  and  ir- 
regularly pyramidal  in  later  life.  Its 
mature  height  is  80  to  100  feet.  The 
tapering  trunk  is  broad  at  the  base, 
with  deeply  ridged,  reddish  to  cinna- 
mon-brown, fibrous  bark.  The  deep- 
green  foliage  grows  in  pliant,  flattish 
sprays  and  casts  shade  of  medium  to 
heavy  density.  Growth  is  moderately 
rapid  and  the  species  is  long-lived.  It 
is  fairly  free  of  pests. 

The  California  incense-cedar  is 
hardy  anywhere  in  California  and  usu- 
ally will  succeed  except  on  alkaline 
soils.  It  requires  supplemental  mois- 
ture during  the  summer  in  the  drier 
parts.  It  is  excellent  as  a  specimen  tree 
or  for  background  planting.  It  will 
also  succeed  as  a  roadside  tree  in  mois- 
ter  localities  if  it  is  given  enough  room 
to  grow  properly. 

THE  DEODAR  CEDAR  is  a  graceful 
tree,  broadly  pyramidal  in  form  at  the 
base  and  narrowing  to  a  thin  spire  at 
the  top  in  younger  trees.  It  is  irregular- 
ly pyramidal  and  spreading  when  ma- 
ture and  50  to  100  feet  high.  The  lower 
branches  persist  to  old  age.  The  foliage 


82  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

of  short  needles,  in  clusters  on  pendu-  It  is  adapted  both  to  home  and  road- 

lous  branchlets,  is  green  or  glaucous-  side  planting  if  space  is  ample, 
green  in  color.  This  cedar  is  relatively 

fast    growing    and     long-lived.     De-  W.  W.  WAGENER,  a  forest  pathol- 

servedly  it  is  the  most  popular  conifer  ogist  in  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 

for  planting  in  the  region,  for  it  is  al-  Soils,   and   Agricultural   Engineering, 

most  free  of  insects  and  diseases  and  is  in  charge  of  the  field  headquarters 


most 

successful  in  coastal  and  interior  dis- 
tricts. It  requires  added  summer  mois- 
ture in  the  drier  parts  of  the  interior. 


of  the  Division  of  Forest  Pathology  in 
San  Francisco.  Dr.  Wagener  is  a  grad- 
uate of  Yale  University. 


SHADE  TREES  FOR  THE  NORTH  PACIFIC  AREA 


T.  W.  CHILDS 


The  northern  part — western  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon — of  the  Pacific 
coast  region  resembles  the  southern 
part  in  several  respects,  but  three  dif- 
ferences greatly  influence  the  kinds  of 
shade  trees  that  can  be  used  in  the  two 
areas.  In  western  Washington  and  Ore- 
gon, precipitation  is  greater  and  more 
frequent  than  farther  south,  average 
temperatures  are  lower,  and  the  sum- 
mer dry  season  is  much  shorter.  The 
Pacific  coast  itself,  a  long,  narrow  strip 
to  the  west  of  the  barrier  ranges,  is 
divided  naturally  into  the  northern  and 
southern  (that  is,  California)  subdivi- 
sions by  the  main  summit  of  the  Siski- 
you  Mountains. 

The  unusually  favorable  climate  in 
western  Washington  and  Oregon  per- 
mits the  use  of  a  wide  range  of  tree 
species,  both  native  and  introduced. 

East  of  the  Cascade  Range,  environ- 
mental conditions  are  ordinarily  much 
less  favorable,  and  the  species  listed 
are  not  generally  suitable  for  that  area. 

COMMON  HAGKBERRY  develops  here 
into  a  round-topped  tree  with  a  ma- 
ture height  of  40  to  60  feet.  Its  growth 
is  moderately  rapid  and  it  is  moderate- 
ly long-lived.  Its  shade  is  of  medium 
density;  leaves  appear  in  late  April  or 
early  May.  It  resists  drought,  cold,  and 
wind ;  twig  brooming  ( witches' -broom ) 
is  not  serious.  Although  inferior  to 
American  elm  in  some  respects,  com- 
mon hackberry  should  be  a  good  yard 


and  street  tree  in  many  localities  east 
of  the  Cascade  Range.  Its  smaller  size 
and  relative  resistance  to  pests  make  it 
a  desirable  substitute  for  elm  along  nar- 
row streets  and  in  places  where  the  elm 
leaf  beetle  is  destructive. 

THE  AMERICAN  YELLOWWOOD  is  a 
widespreading  tree,  50  to  60  feet  high 
when  mature.  Growth  is  moderately 
rapid  and  it  is  moderately  long-lived. 
Its  small  white  flowers  in  long  clus- 
ters appear  in  early  June.  The  leaves 
turn  bright  yellow  in  late  fall.  It  is 
resistant  to  cold.  It  is  fairly  resistant  to 
drought,  and  relatively  free  from  insect 
and  fungus  pests.  American  yellow- 
wood  has  not  been  planted  extensively, 
but  it  deserves  to  become  more  popu- 
lar as  a  street  tree  and  as  a  yard  tree. 
It  is  well  adapted  to  the  territory  west 
of  the  Cascade  Range  and  should  also 
do  well  in  the  Columbia  River  Valley 
and  on  the  Snake  River  Plain  if  it  is 
watered  occasionally. 

SWEETGUM.,  a  rounded,  pyramidal 
tree,  has  a  mature  height  of  80  to  120 
feet.  It  is  moderately  rapid  in  growth, 
long-lived,  fairly  resistant  to  cold  and 
relatively  free  from  pests,  but  it  is  sus- 
ceptible to  injury  by  drought  and  by 
wind.  Its  star-shaped  leaves,  about  6 
inches  across,  turn  crimson  or  wine 
purple  in  the  fall.  The  bark  is  deeply 
furrowed.  It  casts  a  moderately  dense 
shade  and  makes  rather  heavy  de- 


Shade  Trees  for  the  North  Pacific  Area 


mands  on  soil  fertility  and  moisture, 
so  that  water  and  fertilizer  must  be 
generously  applied  if  a  good  lawn  is  to 
be  maintained.  Sweetgum  is  an  excel- 
lent street  and  yard  tree.  It  has  attrac- 
tive form  and  brilliant  fall  color. 

THE  YELLOW-POPLAR,  or  tuliptree, 
is  narrowly  pyramidal  to  broadly 
spreading  and  grows  rapidly  to  100  to 
160  feet.  It  is  long-lived  and  fairly  re- 
sistant to  cold,  but  it  is  intolerant  of 
drought  and  city  smoke.  It  is  rela- 
tively free  from  pests.  The  yellow 
flowers,  about  2  inches  in  diameter, 
beautiful  but  not  showy,  appear  in  early 
June.  The  leaves  are  keystone-shaped 
and  turn  yellow  in  the  fall.  The  tree 
requires  moist,  fertile  soil  and  has  a 
tendency  to  rob  lawns  of  moisture  and 
nutrients.  This  handsome  tree  unfor- 
tunately is  not  well  suited  to  most  city 
locations  and  is  generally  undesirable 
as  a  street  tree.  It  is  recommended  for 
use  on  larger  suburban  and  country 
properties  for  shade  and  ornament. 

THE  NORTHERN  RED  OAK  is  broadly 
round-topped.  Its  growth  is  moder- 
ately rapid,  and  it  may  attain  a  height 
of  60  to  90  feet.  It  is  moderately  long- 
lived.  The  shade  is  of  medium  density. 
It  resists  cold  but  not  drought  and  is 
susceptible  to  root  rot.  The  leaves  turn 
dark  red  or  orange  to  brown  in  early 
fall.  It  requires  considerable  space  and 
fertile  soil  for  good  development.  This 
oak  has  proved  to  be  an  excellent  street 
tree  in  the  Eastern  States  and  should 
be  equally  satisfactory  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest.  If  given  enough  water,  the 
northern  red  oak  may  prove  to  be  a 
valuable  shade  tree  in  many  localities 
east  of  the  Cascade  Range. 

THE  OREGON  WHITE  OAK  grows 
slowly  but  is  very  long-lived.  Its  ma- 
ture height  is  60  to  80  feet.  This  tree  is 
broadly  round-topped  and  its  shade  is 
rather  sparse  to  moderately  dense.  Old 
trees  frequently  are  infected  with  mis- 
tletoe and  sometimes  with  wood  rots. 
It  requires  moderate  moisture  and  soil 
fertility  for  good  growth,  but  does  not 


compete  seriously  with  lawns.  It  adds 
neither  grace  nor  brilliant  color  to  the 
landscape,  but  those  lacks  are  far  out- 
weighed by  its  restful  form  and  air  of 
tranquil  permanence.  Notwithstand- 
ing its  slow  growth,  this  fine  native 
should  be  more  extensively  used  as  a 
yard  tree  on  lots  of  medium  and  large 
size  and  as  a  street  tree  where  space  is 
available  for  its  development. 

THE  PIN  OAK  may  be  pyramidal  to 
rounded  and  irregular,  and  50  to  80 
feet  high  at  maturity.  Its  growth  is 
moderately  rapid  and  it  is  moderately 
long-lived.  Its  shade  is  of  medium  den- 
sity. It  is  fairly  resistant  to  cold  but  is 
not  resistant  to  drought.  The  leaves 
appear  in  late  spring,  turn  deep  scarlet 
in  late  fall,  and  often  remain  on  the 
twigs  during  most  of  the  winter,  par- 
ticularly on  young  trees.  It  prefers  rich 
and  moderately  moist  soil,  and  is  more 
easily  transplanted  than  either  north- 
ern red  oak  or  the  Oregon  white  oak.  It 
does  well  in  city  environments  and 
can  be  used  to  advantage  along  streets. 

THE  BIGLEAF  MAPLE  is  broadly  and 
compactly  round-topped.  Its  mature 
height  is  60  to  80  feet.  Growth  is  rapid. 
It  is  moderately  long-lived.  Shade  is 
dense.  It  is  susceptible  to  a  wilt  disease 
and  often  is  attacked  by  insects,  which 
cause  "honey-dew"  to  drip  from  the 
leaves.  It  makes  heavy  demands  on  soil 
fertility  and  moisture,  so  that  mainte- 
nance of  a  lawn  under  it  is  difficult.  A 
disease  of  unknown  cause  that  affects 
the  leaves  and  kills  the  twigs  has  been 
observed  recently  in  parts  of  Califor- 
nia. This  handsome  native  has  been 
widely  used,  and  even  more  widely 
misused,  west  of  the  Cascade  Range. 
It  is  not  a  desirable  street  tree  because 
its  roots  heave  sidewalks  badly  and  its 
dense  growth  necessitates  frequent  and 
drastic  pruning  by  line-clearing  crews. 
It  has  also  proved  unsatisfactory  in 
most  city  yards  because  of  its  space 
requirements,  litter,  and  its  injurious 
effect  on  lawns.  These  failures  have 
more  or  less  obscured  the  suitability  of 
bigleaf  maple  for  planting  along  rural 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


roads  and  around  the  country  homes. 

Norway  maple  is  slightly  smaller  and 

grows  a  little  less  rapidly  than  bigleaf 

maple,  but  is  not  otherwise  preferable. 

THE  AMERICAN  ELM  cannot  be  rec- 
ommended unqualifiedly  for  use  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest.  Elm  leaf  beetle  is 
often  serious,  and  spraying  is  necessary 
to  control  this  pest. 

PACIFIC  MADRONE,  a  narrowly  oblong 
to  broadly  round-topped,  broadleaf 
evergreen,  has  a  mature  height  of  60 
to  80  feet.  Its  growth  is  moderately 
rapid  and  it  is  long-lived.  It  gives 
sparse  to  medium  shade  and  is  resist- 
ant to  drought  but  not  to  severe  cold 
or  wind.  The  small  white  flowers  ap- 
pear in  showy  clusters  from  March  to 
May;  the  fruits  are  orange  red  in  late 
fall.  The  leaves  are  oval,  3  to  5  inches 
long,  glossy  dark  green  above  and  pale 
below.  The  bark  is  thin  and  pea  green 
or  orange  to  reddish  brown.  This  un- 
usually colorful  native  is  well  suited 
for  use  as  a  yard  tree  west  of  the 
Cascade  Range,  in  the  Columbia  River 
Valley  of  central  Washington,  and 
perhaps  also  in  favorable  localities 
elsewhere  in  this  region.  It  is  less  satis- 
factory as  a  street  tree,  because  it  scars 
easily  and  its  smooth  bark  is  a  constant 
temptation  to  small  boys  with  jack- 
knives.  Its  appearance  is  occasionally 
impaired  for  a  short  time  by  leaf- 
spotting  fungi,  but  pests  seldom  cause 
any  permanent  harm. 

A  FEW  ADDITIONAL  SPECIES  are  valu- 
able for  special  situations. 

For  windy  sites  in  western  Wash- 
ington and  northwestern  Oregon,  the 
California  sycamore  is  useful. 

Rock  elm,  European  linden,  and 
eastern  black  walnut  can  be  used  in 
the  mountains  and  valleys  of  eastern 
Oregon  and  Washington  where  con- 
ditions are  not  too  severe. 

Green  ash  is  satisfactory  for  the  arid 
plateaus  east  of  the  Cascade  Range. 

CONIFERS  RECOMMENDED  for  west- 
ern Washington  and  Oregon  include 


several  species  of  cedar,  cypress,  and 
pines. 

ATLAS  CEDAR  is  pyramidal  and  90  to 
100  feet  high  when  mature.  Its  growth 
is  moderately  rapid  and  it  is  long-lived. 
Its  shade  is  sparse  to  medium.  It  is 
fairly  resistant  to  cold  and  pests.  Foli- 
age is  bluish  green  or  silvery  blue  in  one 
popular  variety — blue  Atlas  cedar.  It 
requires  fairly  rich  soil  and  moderate 
moisture. 

Atlas  cedar  and  its  close  relatives,  the 
Deodar  cedar  and  cedar-of-Lebanon, 
must  be  given  considerable  space  for 
good  development  and  for  proper  dis- 
play of  their  attractive  forms.  They 
have  been  successfully  used  sometimes 
for  street  trees.  If  given  an  adequate 
water  supply,  they  should  do  well  in 
many  localities  east  of  the  Cascades. 

LAWSON  CYPRESS  has  been  widely 
planted  because  of  its  rapid  growth, 
the  blue-green  color  of  its  foliage,  and 
its  slender  form.  It  is  hardy  throughout 
the  region  and  is  long-lived  under  fa- 
vorable conditions.  Unfortunately,  in 
the  Northwest  a  root  disease  has  killed 
many  fine  specimens. 

THE  CALIFORNIA  INCENSE-CEDAR  is 
broadly  pyramidal  when  young,  but 
later  it  tends  to  become  narrowly 
columnar  to  broadly  and  irregularly 
pyramidal.  Its  mature  height  is  80  to 
100  feet.  Growth  is  moderately  rapid 
and  it  is  long-lived.  The  deep-green, 
frondlike  foliage  casts  shade  of  medium 
to  heavy  density.  The  fibrous  bark  is 
deeply  ridged  and  reddish  to  cinnamon 
brown.  The  trunk  is  broad  at  the  base 
and  tapers  rapidly.  It  is  fairly  resistant 
to  drought,  cold,  and  pests.  The  ability 
of  California  incense-cedar  to  thrive 
in  city  environments  is  questionable, 
but  it  will  undoubtedly  prove  to  be 
valuable  for  both  shade  and  ornament 
in  large  suburban  and  country  yards. 
It  is  native  to  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Cascade  Range  as  far  north  as  Mount 
Hood,  and  should  do  well  in  the  Co- 
lumbia River  Valley  and  on  the  Snake 
River  Plain. 


Pointers  on  Planting 


HIMALAYAN  PINE  is  a  broadly  py- 
ramidal tree  that  reaches  a  height  of 
120  to  150  feet.  It  grows  rapidly  and  is 
moderately  long-lived.  It  is  fairly  re- 
sistant to  cold  and  drought.  It  is  sus- 
ceptible to  a  fungus  twig  canker  but 
highly  resistant  to  white  pine  blister 
rust.  The  rather  sparse  foliage  is  gray- 
ish green.  A  handsome  tree  for  large 
yards,  the  Himalayan  pine  is  not  suit- 
able for  street  planting. 

COMMON  DOUGLAS-FIR  grows  mod- 
erately fast  to  a  height  of  160  to  180 
feet,  and  is  long-lived.  Its  shade  is  of 
medium  density.  It  is  fairly  resistant  to 
cold  and  drought  but  not  to  wind.  In 
some  localities,  exposure  to  city  condi- 
tions has  resulted  in  the  slow  decline 
and  eventual  death  of  many  trees  of 


this  species.  Douglas-fir  is  more  tolerant 
of  such  unfavorable  environments 
when  exposed  to  them  from  the 
seedling  stage;  however,  this  species 
seems  generally  to  be  more  suitable  for 
country  than  for  city  use.  Seed  of  local 
origin  should  be  used  east  of  the  Cas- 
cade Range,  where  climatic  extremes 
are  much  greater  than  in  the  coastal 
region  and  are  likely  to  result  in  injury 
to  planting  stock  of  nonlocal  origin. 

Shore  pine  is  valuable  for  windy  sit- 
uations in  western  Washington  and 
northwestern  Oregon. 

T.  W.  CHILDS  conducts  research  on 
problems  of  forest  and  shade  trees.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant 
Industry,  Soils.,  and  Agricultural  En- 
gineering, and  is  stationed  in  Portland. 


POINTERS  ON  PLANTING 

T.  E.  MAKI 


No  home  owner  is  too  poor  or  busy 
or  inexperienced  to  let  his  yard  go 
treeless.  Poor? — he  can  use  small  trees, 
which  cost  little,  or  he  can  dig  up 
wildings  in  the  woods.  Busy? — he  can 
learn  easily  the  techniques  of  plant- 
ing trees  rapidly.  Inexperienced? — he 
can  do  a  satisfactory  job  with  a  little 
study  and  observation. 

He  should  first  know  something 
about  choosing  a  tree. 

ABOUT  SIZE  :  Small  trees  recover  so 
quickly  from  transplanting  that  in  a 
few  years  they  provide  shade,  effective 
screening,  windbreak,  and  modifica- 
tion of  vistas.  No  expenditure  on  the 
home  grounds  increases  the  value  of 
the  property  so  quickly  and  easily  as 
landscaping  with  young  trees ;  they  are 
an  investment  rather  than  an  expense. 

We  are  here  concerned  with  these 
small  specimens,  that  is,  seedlings  and 
trees  up  to  about  3  inches  in  diameter 
of  trunk,  or  up  to  about  15  feet  in  total 
height.  Practically  all  the  steps  in  plant- 
ing small  trees  apply  to  both  shrubs 


and  large  trees,  but  the  latter  take 
special  equipment  and  skill  and  usually 
cost  more  than  owners  care  to  spend. 

Next,  trees  must  be  adapted  to  the 
climate  and  the  soil  of  their  new  situa- 
tion and  be  in  harmony  with  the  pur- 
pose of  the  planting. 

For  screens  and  windbreaks,  it  is 
best  to  plant  evergreens  like  the  spruce, 
hemlock,  fir,  cedar,  juniper,  holly,  and 
similar  species  that  retain  live  branches 
close  to  the  base  throughout  their  life. 

For  shade  in  the  yard,  deciduous 
trees  (like  birch,  elm,  mulberry,  red 
oak,  sycamore,  and  willow)  or  ever- 
greens (like  Norway  spruce;  live  oak; 
Douglas-fir;  white,  ponderosa,  pitch, 
and  loblolly  pines)  are  suitable.  In  the 
open,  these  species  develop  spreading 
limbs  and  may  be  pruned  from  below 
sufficiently  to  give  good  clearance. 

In  places  where  species  that  attain 
heights  of  only  40  to  50  feet  at  ma- 
turity are  adequate,  it  is  unwise  to 
choose  those  that  grow  into  giants  of 
100  feet  or  more.  Later  damage  from 
limb  breakage  and  windthrow  can 


86  Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

largely  be  avoided  by  proper  selection      time  of  the  year,  but  the  novice  should 
and  location  of  treJat  planting  time.       plant  only  in  the  fall,  winter   or  early 


and  location  of  trees  at  planting 

It  is  better  not  to  plant  species  like 
maples  and  elms  directly  on  lawns. 
These  and  some  others  form  a  mat  of 
surface  roots  and  are  voracious  feed- 
ers. Much  extra  watering  and  fertiliz- 
ing is  required  to  keep  the  lawn  under 
such  trees  green  and  healthy. 

Some  trees,  like  the  American  elm, 
have  a  forking  habit  of  growth  that 
may  require  bracing  later.  Others,  like 
silver  maple  and  yellow-poplar,  have 
brittle  branches  that  break  easily  in 
wind  and  ice  storms.  Pin  oak,  black- 
gum,  green  ash,  shipmast  locust,  red- 
gum,  and  similar  species  have  an  erect 
habit  of  growth,  require  less  space,  and 
withstand  wind  and  ice  storms  better. 


spring,  when  most  trees  are  more  or  less 
dormant.  In  some  localities,  fall  plant- 
ing is  as  successful  as  spring  planting; 
in  others,  it  may  be  either  somewhat 
better  or  decidedly  worse. 

In  the  Eastern  States  south  of  a  line 
from  Boston  to  Buffalo,  Chicago,  and 
Kansas  City,  and  east  of  a  line  from 
Topeka  to  Corpus  Christi,  deciduous 
trees  can  be  moved  from  the  time 
leaves  turn  in  the  autumn  until  buds 
burst  in  the  spring,  except  when  tem- 
peratures are  below  freezing.  The 
same  holds  for  the  humid  coastal  re- 
gion on  the  Pacific,  from  northern 
California  to  British  Columbia. 

Within  those  zones,  evergreens  may 


Some  species  are  rapid  growers  but      be  planted  from  late  summer  till  late 


are  intolerant  of  shade.  Frequently 
that  quality  characterizes  the  relatively 
short-lived  species,  like  aspen,  cotton- 
wood,  and  some  of  the  other  poplars. 
The  Carolina  poplar,  which  has  been 
widely  used  in  landscaping,  is  a  poor 
choice  around  homes  because  of  its 
short  life  and  its  tendency  to  clog  up 
sewer  lines  with  its  roots. 

Do  not  mix  rapid  and  slow  growers 
in  the  same  grove  or  windbreak,  or 
else  be  sure  that  the  slow  growers  do 
well  under  shade. 

The  trees  one  selects  should  be 
healthy  and  vigorous.  Trees  grown  in 
a  well-established  local  nursery  are 
preferable  to  wild  ones  or  to  nursery 
stock  shipped  in  from  great  distances. 
Native  species  are  preferable  to  the 
exotic — introduced — ones,  but  exotics 
of  proved  adaptation  may  be  used 
freely.  Some  home  owners  believe  that 
individuality  and  beauty  require  ex- 
otic species,  but  that  is  not  so.  A  little 
time  spent  in  observation  and  inquiry 
on  successfully  landscaped  grounds  in 
one's  own  community  may  be  inval- 
uable in  getting  the  right  start. 

If  one  does  choose  wilding  stock, 
open-grown  specimens  are  hardier  and 
easier  to  dig  than  stock  in  dense  woods. 

SEASON  OF  PLANTING:  Experts  can 
plant  trees  successfully  at  almost  any 


spring,  provided  they  are  moved  with 
a  ball  of  earth  around  the  roots. 

North  and  west  of  the  indicated 
lines,  spring  planting  is  recommended 
for  both  evergreens  and  the  deciduous 
plants  because  severe  freezes  or  dry 
winds  harm  the  newly  reset  plants. 
Exceptions  are  the  peninsula  of  Flor- 
ida and  the  interior  and  southern  parts 
of  California.  In  those  places,  ever- 
greens can  be  transplanted  whenever 
soil  moisture  is  abundant;  deciduous 
trees  can  be  transplanted  when  they  are 
as  nearly  dormant  as  they  are  likely  to 
become  there. 

SPACING:  In  working  out  the  space 
requirements  of  the  trees,  it  is  well  to 
draw  a  sketch  to  scale,  showing  build- 
ings, roads,  driveways,  walks,  courts, 
shrubs,  flower  beds,  and  whatever  else 
will  influence  the  placement  of  trees. 
On  this  sketch  one  should  plot  the 
areas  the  trees  will  need  when  they 
are  mature. 

Common  mistakes  are  to  plant  too 
close  in  an  effort  to  get  quick  screening 
effects,  to  set  small  trees  under  win- 
dows, to  crowd  the  walls  of  buildings, 
and  to  plant  trees  where  they  will 
eventually  block  vistas  that  should  re- 
main open.  The  oft-quoted  rule, 
"plant  thick  and  thin  quick,"  is  no 
good  unless  one  is  aiming  at  natural 


Pointers  on  Planting 


grove   effects,   a  goal   mainly  sought 
only  in  windbreak  plantings. 

Some  trees,  like  white  oak,  live  oak, 
black  walnut,  and  elm,  need  50  to  60 
feet  between  the  trunks  at  maturity. 
Smaller  trees,  like  willow,  dogwood, 
and  holly,  need  about  20  feet.  Red- 
cedar,  fir,  hemlock,  and  spruce  need  20 
to  30  feet,  but  if  they  are  used  for 
windbreaks  they  may  be  planted  as 
close  as  8  to  10  feet.  Columnar  varie- 
ties like  juniper,  Lombardy  poplar, 
and  arborvitae  frequently  need  only  6 
to  8  feet.  A  Sunday  afternoon's  stroll 
through  a  park  or  an  open  grove  in 
the  country  will  yield  enough  informa- 
tion on  bole  size  and  crown  area  of 
mature  trees  of  several  species.  The 
basic  point  to  remember  is  to  plant  far 
enough  from  buildings,  walks,  and 
driveways  to  obviate  costly  moving  or 
much  pruning  when  the  trees  are  big. 

PREPARATION  OF  THE  SITE:  The 
usual  advice  is  to  transplant  a  tree  in 
soil  at  least  as  good  as  the  soil  in  which 
it  previously  grew.  That  advice  is 
sound  enough  where  it  can  be  applied, 
but  planting  stock  frequently  comes 
from  rich,  well-drained  nursery  sites 
and  has  to  be  reset  in  inferior  soil.  In 
such  instances,  some  site  preparation 
is  essential. 

Drainage  is  of  first  importance. 
Sometimes  heavy  clay  soil  or  hardpan 
is  encountered  at  the  bottom  of  the 
planting  hole,  but  is  fortunately  under- 
lain by  sand  or  gravel.  If  so,  puncture 
the  compacted  layer  several  times  with 
a  large  soil  auger,  post-hole  digger,  or 
similar  tool  and  fill  the  resulting  holes 
with  gravel.  This  will  permit  water  to 
percolate  downward  into  the  pervious 
sand  or  gravel  layer  beneath.  For  small 
seedling  stock,  a  3-  to  5-inch  layer  of 
gravel  at  the  bottom  of  the  hole  is  all 
that  is  needed. 

If  the  soil  is  especially  tight  and  is 
not  underlain  by  a  sand  or  gravel  layer, 
the  use  of  agricultural  tile  is  recom- 
mended. A  single  line  of  3-  or  4-inch 
tile  laid  across  the  bottom  of  the  hole 
and  barely  covered  by  a  layer  of 
crushed  rock  or  coarse  gravel  will  help 


drainage.  The  bottom  of  the  hole 
should  slope  toward  the  tile,  which 
should  be  carried  to  a  suitable  outlet. 

In  digging  the  hole,  the  good  topsoil 
should  be  set  aside  and  saved  for  back- 
filling. Since  the  soil  dug  out  of  holes 
is  often  infertile  and  either  too  heavy 
or  too  light,  it  is  advisable  to  mix  ma- 
terial into  it  to  improve  texture  and 
fertility.  In  heavy  soils,  a  mixture  of 
one-third  topsoil,  one-third  sand  or 
weathered  cinders  that  are  screened  to 
remove  large  chunks,  and  one-third 
mixture  of  equal  parts  of  peat  moss  and 
subsoil  is  recommended.  Well-rotted 
manure,  finely  chopped  sod,  leafmold, 
or  weed  compost  may  be  substituted 
for  peat  moss.  In  light  soils,  the  recom- 
mended mixture  for  backfilling  is  one- 
third  topsoil,  one-third  peat  moss, 
rotted  manure,  leafmold,  compost,  or 
finely  chopped  sod,  and  one-third  mix- 
ture of  equal  parts  of  subsoil  and  sand 
or  cinders.  Turn  over  these  mixtures 
three  or  four  times  with  a  shovel,  sepa- 
rating out  all  stones,  the  larger  woody 
root  fragments,  and  other  trash. 

On  the  more  unsatisfactory  sites,  as 
beach  sands  or  where  grading  or  ero- 
sion has  exposed  a  gravelly,  cemented 
subsoil,  it  is  advisable  to  dig  out  entire 
bed  areas  or  enlarged  holes  and  fill 
them  in  with  friable,  fertile  new  soil. 

Temptation  is  ever  present  to  add 
mineral  fertilizers  in  preparing  the  site 
for  planting.  The  wise  man  will  sub- 
due this  urge.  He  will  just  see  that  the 
soil  is  well  drained,  has  abundant  mois- 
ture, and  is  of  proper  tilth  to  permit 
good  aeration. 

DIGGING  BARE-ROOT  STOCK:  Until 
they  are  15  to  20  feet  high,  deciduous 
species  (like  pin  oak,  sycamore,  locust, 
elm,  maple,  willow,  ash,  yellow-poplar, 
and  basswood)  that  shed  their  leaves 
each  autumn  and  remain  leafless  over 
winter  can  be  easily  moved  with  bare 
roots.  Other  deciduous  species  (like 
white  oak,  blackgum,  persimmon,  hick- 
ory, walnut,  dogwood,  and  birch)  can 
also  be  moved  bare-rooted,  but  they 
recover  more  slowly  and  require  more 
care  to  insure  survival. 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


88 

The  first  step  in  digging  up  a  tree 
for  transplanting  is  to  make  a  circular 
trench  around  the  outside  spread  of 
the  roots  of  the  tree.  A  tree  with  a  1- 
inch  trunk  diameter  (measured  a  foot 
above  the  ground)  should  have  a 
trench  with  at  least  a  10-inch  radius. 
The  trench  radius  should  be  increased 
about  10  inches  for  each  inch  of  in- 
crease in  trunk  diameter.  Depth  of 
trench  should  be  at  least  18  inches,  ex- 
cept in  situations  where  the  roots  are 
especially  shallow.  Gut  small  roots  with 
a  spade  and  larger  ones  with  an  ax. 

Second,  remove  the  soil  from  the 
roots  by  carefully  working  inward  from 
the  edge  of  the  trench,  using  a  narrow- 
tine  spading  fork  to  comb  the  roots. 
Continue  combing  until  most  of  the 
roots  are  exposed.  For  large  trees  that 
require  more  time  to  dig,  cover  ex- 
posed roots  with  wet  burlap. 

Third,  tip  the  tree  carefully  to  loosen 
it  further  after  all  lateral  roots  are  un- 
covered. Avoid  strain  on  any  roots  that 
escaped  cutting.  If  a  strong  taproot  is 
encountered,  dig  deeper  to  obtain  at 
least  20  to  30  inches  of  taproot,  de- 
pending on  the  size  of  the  tree. 

Fourth,  cover  all  roots  temporarily 
with  damp  burlap,  moist  soil,  leaves, 
or  other  material  to  keep  them  from 
drying  after  the  tree  has  been  lifted. 
Whenever  possible,  move  trees  on  calm, 
cloudy  days  to  reduce  root  drying. 

Trees  should  be  planted  as  soon  as 
possible  after  lifting.  Where  delay  is 
unavoidable,  trees  may  be  maintained 
without  deterioration  by  setting  them 
in  easily  worked,  well-drained  soil. 

DIGGING  BALLED  STOCK:  All  ever- 
greens are  best  moved  with  a  ball  of 
soil  that  keeps  a  central  core  of  the 
sensitive  roots  intact  and  reduces  the 
transplanting  shock.  Deciduous  trees 
may  also  be  moved  with  balled  roots, 
but  the  need  is  not  so  great  as  with  ever- 
greens. The  width  of  the  ball  varies 
with  the  size  of  the  plant,  as  shown  in 
the  first  table. 

To  dig  balled  stock: 

First,  mark  a  circle  on  the  ground 
around  the  tree,  making  the  radius  of 


RECOMMENDED  MINIMUM  BALL   DIAMETERS 
FOR    DIFFERENT     SIZES     OF     SHRUBS    AND 


TREES 


Shrubs  and  small  trees 


Larger  trees 


Tree  diameter 

Height  of 
plant 

Diameter 
of  ball 

Jf  foot  above 
ground 

Diameter 
of  ball 

Feet 

Inches 

Inches 

Inches 

1V2-  2 

II 

I'A-l'/z 

18 

2-3 

12 

l'/2-I3/4 

20 

3-4 

14 

I  3/4-2 

22 

4    -  5 

16 

2      -2'/2 

24 

5    -6 

18 

2V2-3 

28 

6    -7 

20 

3    -3'/2 

33 

7    -8 

22 

3'/2-4 

38 

8    -9 

24 

4    -4'/2 

43 

9    -10 

26 

4'/2-5 

48 

10     -12 

29 

5    -5'/2 

53 

12     -14 

32 

5'/2-6 

58 

14    -16 

36 

6    -7 

65 

RECOMMENDED    DEPTHS    TO    DIG    FOR 
DIFFERENT    BALL    SIZES 


Diameter  of  ball 

Inches 
10 
20 
30 
48 


Depth  of  ball 

Inches 
8 

15 
20 
30 


the  circle  somewhat  larger  than  the 
width  of  the  ball. 

Second,  dig  a  vertical  trench  just 
outside  the  marked  circle,  going  down 
below  the  zone  of  abundant  fibrous 
roots.  The  depth  of  the  ball  varies  with 
the  size  of  the  tree,  as  in  the  second 
table. 

Third,  cut  any  lateral  roots  flush 
with  the  inside  face  of  the  trench.  To 
avoid  jarring  the  soil  loose,  use  prun- 
ing shears  or  a  saw  instead  of  an  ax 
for  the  larger  roots. 

Fourth,  pare  off  all  the  surplus  soil 
with  the  back  of  the  spade  toward  the 
ball.  Trim  the  sides  to  slope  inward  so 
that  the  diameter  at  the  bottom  of  the 
ball  is  a  few  inches  less  than  that  at  the 
top,  and  the  surface  of  the  ball  is 
smooth. 

Fifth,  if  the  ball  is  not  more  than  18 


Pointers  on  Planting 


inches  in  diameter  and  the  soil  is  com- 
pact, adhering  firmly,  simply  undercut 
the  ball  and  tip  it  over  on  a  square  of 
burlap.  Then  lift  the  ball  from  the 
hole.  Next,  draw  burlap  tight  around 
the  ball  and  pin  it  in  place  with  nails. 
If  the  soil  is  loose  or  the  ball  diameter 
exceeds  18  inches,  reinforce  the  pinning 
with  heavy  cord,  net  fencing,  or  light 
rope  drawn  around  the  ball.  The  pin- 
ning and  roping  should  be  completed 
in  the  hole  before  lifting.  Digging  is 
easier  and  balls  hold  together  better  if 
the  soil  is  fresh.  Take  advantage  of 
periods  immediately  following  rains  to 
move  trees. 

Balls  too  large  to  lift  by  direct  man- 
power require  the  use  of  platforms  and 
rollers.  Trees  requiring  ball  diameters 
of  4  feet  or  greater  are  best  moved  with 
special  machinery.  Moving  large  trees 
is  a  job  for  experts,  not  one  that  the 
average  home  owner  should  attempt 
on  his  own.  But  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  large  trees  can  be  moved  success- 
fully and  that  throughout  the  country 
there  are  arborists  equipped  to  under- 
take such  jobs — which  are  often  diffi- 
cult and  cost  accordingly. 

PLANTING:  Schedule  the  planting 
job  so  that  all  soil  preparation  is  com- 
pleted and  all  holes  dug  before  the 
plants  are  brought  in.  This  will  reduce 
the  length  of  time  the  trees  need  to  be 
out  of  the  ground. 

The  steps  in  planting  bare-rooted 
and  balled  stock  are  somewhat  dif- 
ferent. 

For  bare-rooted  stock : 

First,  inspect  the  hole  to  see  that  it 
has  a  flat  bottom  and  is  deep  enough 
and  wide  enough  to  accommodate  the 
roots  freely  without  any  cramping. 

Second,  shovel  3  to  4  inches  of  top- 
soil  or  prepared  soil  into  the  bottom 
of  the  hole.  Heap  up  a  mound  in  the 
center  of  the  hole  at  the  spot  where 
the  base  of  the  trunk  will  rest.  The 
mound  should  be  large  enough  to  pre- 
vent formation  of  air  pockets  as  the 
soil  packs  and  recedes. 

Third,  inspect  the  roots  and  prune 
off  any  ragged  ends.  Insert  tree  and 


fill  in  the  earth  to  hold  the  tree  at  about 
the  depth  it  had  in  its  former  location. 

Fourth,  spread  out  the  roots  to  ap- 
proximately their  original  position, 
and  shovel  in  backfill  of  topsoil  or  pre- 
pared soil  to  hold  them  in  place. 
Trample  the  soil  carefully  around  the 
trunk  and  roots  to  prevent  excessive 
settling  of  soil  away  from  the  roots, 
taking  care  not  to  scuff  any  bark  from 
the  roots  or  base  of  trunk. 

Fifth,  when  the  hole  is  nearly  filled, 
pour  in  several  gallons  of  water.  Water 
will  cause  rapid  settling  of  soil  and 
bring  it  into  close  contact  with  the 
roots.  After  free  water  has  disappeared, 
fill  in  the  hole  level  with  the  adjoining 
ground.  Add  more  filling  later  if  the 
soil  continues  to  settle.  To  reduce  run- 
off during  subsequent  watering,  build 
up  a  small  ridge  around  the  hole. 

For  trees  planted  with  a  ball  of  soil: 

First,  see  that  the  hole  is  at  least  a 
foot  wider  than  the  ball  diameter  and 
about  5  inches  deeper  than  the  ball. 

Second,  heap  up  a  low  mound  in 
the  center  of  the  hole.  Measure  the 
depth  of  the  ball  as  accurately  as  it  is 
possible,  then  adjust  mound  height  to 
insure  leaving  the  tree  at  the  same  level 
it  held  in  its  former  location.  Lower 
the  tree  into  the  hole,  then  shovel 
in  enough  soil  at  the  base  of  the  ball 
to  hold  it  in  place. 

Third,  remove  the  burlap  and  shovel 
in  topsoil  or  prepared  soil  until  the 
hole  is  about  half  full.  Tramp  down  to 
reduce  air  pockets. 

Fourth,  fill  the  hole  with  water,  and 
when  this  has  soaked  away,  fill  with 
soil  up  to  ground  level. 

Fifth,  build  up  a  3-  to  4-inch  ridge 
around  the  outer  edge  of  the  ball  to 
reduce  runoff  from  watering.  If  the 
ball  is  compact,  of  heavy  texture,  and 
much  drier  than  adjoining  backfill,  ex- 
amine the  ball  to  see  whether  it  is  ab- 
sorbing water.  The  tendency  is  for 
water  to  percolate  downward  and  out- 
ward into  the  looser,  lighter  textured 
adjoining  soil,  leaving  the  ball  dry.  If 
this  is  happening,  take  special  pre- 
cautions to  see  that  the  ball  is  ade- 
quately moistened  at  the  start. 


9° 

PRUNING:  Enough  leaf -bearing  sur- 
face of  newly  transplanted  deciduous 
trees  should  be  thinned  out  by  pruning 
to  balance  the  loss  of  roots.  Prune  only 
lateral  branches,  removing  from  one- 
half  to  two-thirds  of  them.  The  main 
leader  and  any  short  branches  growing 
out  directly  from  the  leader  or  the  main 
trunk  should  be  left  undisturbed.  Most 
evergreen  trees  require  little,  if  any, 
pruning,  except  to  remove  broken  or 
injured  branches. 

Wounds  from  pruning  or  other  in- 
jury, if  more  than  a  square  inch  in  area, 
should  be  dressed  with  special  asphalt- 
base  tree  paint,  shellac,  or  other  suit- 
able wound  dressing  to  hasten  healing 
and  reduce  the  possibility  of  decay. 
High-quality  roofing  asphalt  may  be 
used  (as  a  substitute)  if  prepared  dres- 
sings are  not  obtainable.  Tree-wound 
dressing  compounds  and  paints  are 
available  at  arborists'  supply  houses 
and  also  in  most  well-stocked  hardware 
and  paint  stores. 

AFTER-CARE  :  The  work  does  not  end 
after  the  tree  has  been  set  in  the 
ground,  has  been  given  a  preliminary 
watering,  and  has  been  properly 
pruned. 

If  the  tree  is  more  than  7  feet  tall 
and  in  a  situation  exposed  to  winds, 
it  needs  support.  A  single  stake,  long 
enough  to  reach  up  into  the  lower  part 
of  the  crown  after  being  driven  down 
to  solid  soil  about  1  foot  from  the  base 
of  the  trunk,  will  do  for  trees  up  to  2 
inches  in  trunk  diameter.  The  tree  is 
fastened  to  the  stake  with  wire,  which 
is  run  through  a  piece  of  old  garden 
hose  to  keep  it  from  cutting  into  the 
bark.  If  wire  and  hose  are  not  avail- 
able, burlap  and  sash  cord  or  light 
rope  will  do. 

Trees  that  are  2  to  4  inches  in  diam- 
eter require  two  or  three  such  stakes. 
Trees  larger  than  4  inches  in  diameter 
should  be  guyed  down  with  three  or 
more  guys.  Use  wire  or  cable  run 
through  old  garden  hose  or  attached  to 
the  tree  by  means  of  a  lag  hook,  and 
fasten  the  lower  ends  to  2-inch  by 
4-inch  by  4-foot  stakes  or  to  deadmen. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Another  point  to  remember  is 
mulching.  A  2-  to  3-inch  layer  of  peat 
moss,  leaves,  straw,  hay,  shredded  corn 
stalks,  bagasse,  wood  shavings,  or  simi- 
lar material  laid  down  in  a  circle  over 
the  root  area  is  definitely  advisable. 
This  mulch  will  reduce  evaporation, 
prevent  early  freezing,  and  keep  down 
weeds.  On  deciduous  trees  a  mulch 
layer  is  not  necessary  after  the  first  2 
years,  but  on  evergreens,  particularly 
broadleaf  types,  a  continuous  mulch 
layer  is  desirable.  Where  rodents  are 
numerous,  the  mulch  layer  should  be 
pulled  away  from  the  base  of  the  trunk 
to  reduce  possibilities  of  girdling  injury. 

To  the  newly  planted  tree,  proper 
watering  is  the  most  important  of  all 
measures.  The  soil  should  be  kept  fresh 
at  all  times  and  occasionally  be  well- 
saturated  to  make  sure  that  roots  have 
not  dried  out.  But  waterlogging  should 
definitely  be  avoided.  Excess  water  will 
kill  some  species  faster  than  drought. 

Exposed  trunks  of  newly  planted 
trees  are  sometimes  injured  by  sun- 
scald.  To  prevent  this  injury,  wrap  the 
trunk  and  lower  limbs  with  strips  of 
burlap  or  with  special  horticultural 
crepe  paper,  which  comes  in  strips  4 
to  6  inches  wide.  The  wrapping  should 
remain  on  at  least  a  year.  Inquire 
among  local  nurserymen  or  experi- 
enced tree  planters  to  determine  which 
species,  if  any,  require  wrapping. 

No  fertilizing  is  advised  at  planting 
time,  but  when  the  tree  is  established, 
say  6  months  to  a  year  after  planting, 
moderate  fertilizing  is  recommended. 
The  kinds  and  amounts  of  fertilizers 
and  the  season  of  application  depend 
on  the  local  soil  and  climate.  Advice 
on  this  matter  can  usually  be  obtained 
from  the  county  agent,  State  experi- 
ment station,  or  any  local  nurseryman. 

T.  E.  MAKI  is  in  charge  of  the  Gulf- 
coast  Branch  of  the  Southern  Forest 
Experiment  Station,  Gulfport,  Miss. 
A  graduate  of  the  University  of  Min- 
nesota., where  he  majored  in  forestry 
and  soils,  he  has  had  experience  in 
landscape  plantings  in  the  Lake  States, 
Idaho,  Maryland,  and  Mississippi. 


KEEPING  SHADE  TREES  HEALTHY 


CURTIS  MAY 


The  formula  for  keeping  shade  trees 
healthy  has  three  parts:  Selecting 
kinds  of  trees  that  are  adapted  to  your 
locality;  planting  them  in  good  soil; 
and  following  a  program  of  soil  main- 
tenance, watering,  pruning,  and  treat- 
ment for  diseases  and  insects. 

The  kinds  of  shade  trees  that  will 
grow  well  in  the  different  regions  are 
discussed  in  preceding  articles.  A  few 
general  considerations  need  to  be  re- 
peated here:  Generally  speaking,  the 
species  that  grow  naturally  in  any 
region  are  adapted  to  the  climate  of 
the  region  and  can  cope  with  native 
pests.  If  they  also  can  withstand  the 
artificial  conditions  imposed  when 
they  are  planted  for  shade  trees,  it  is 
advisable  to  use  them,  provided  they 
are  of  the  proper  form  and  size.  Some 
trees  grow  satisfactorily  outside  their 
natural  range,  it  is  true,  and  many 
species  introduced  from  other  con- 
tinents succeed  well  in  various  parts  of 
the  United  States.  Before  one  makes 
extensive  plantings  of  the  introduced 
species,  he  will  do  well  to  check  their 
usefulness,  hardiness,  and  values.  On 
those  points,  other  sections  of  this 
book,  aboretums,  experiment  stations, 
nurserymen,  and  garden  publications 
give  a  wealth  of  information. 

Your  properly  chosen  tree  has  been 
planted — how  does  it  grow? 

If  it  grows  well,  leave  it  alone.  If 
it  does  poorly,  one  or  several  remedies 
may  be  needed.  Some  of  the  symptoms 
of  disease  and  decline  in  trees  are  so 
specific  that  the  cause  can  be  diag- 
nosed accurately  and  easily.  Other 
symptoms  can  develop  from  a  number 
of  causes.  Five  early  warnings  that  all 
is  not  well  are  sparse  foliage;  leaves 
that  are  paler  green  than  normal ;  die- 
back  of  the  tips  of  the  twigs;  drying 
and  loosening  of  the  bark;  and  ab- 
normally slow  growth. 

Look  first  to  the  soil — its  fertility, 
drainage,  aeration,  and  moisture.  The 


trouble  might  be  that  the  roots  are  not 
developing  as  they  should  because  the 
soil  is  heavy  clay,  airless  and  poorly 
drained,  such  as  the  soil  often  is  that  is 
excavated  in  the  construction  of  a  base- 
ment. If  so,  fertilizer,  organic  matter, 
and  loosening  of  the  soil  are  needed. 
Most  of  the  roots  of  trees  do  not 
grow  deeply  into  the  earth.  Unless  the 
soil  is  gravelly  or  sandy,  the  bulk  of 
the  roots  of  most  kinds  of  trees  is  likely 
to  be  found  in  the  upper  3  feet;  com- 
monly they  penetrate  even  less  deeply. 
When  the  minerals  in  the  soil  mass  in 
which  the  roots  are  growing  become 
inadequate  to  maintain  good  growth, 
the  tree  begins  to  show  signs  of  decline. 
Annual  depletion  of  the  mineral  ele- 
ments by  taking  away  all  grass  clip- 
pings and  fallen  leaves  may  not  affect 
the  tree  for  several  decades  of  its  early 
life,  but  after  30  to  50  years  signs  of 
mineral  depletion  often  are  evident. 
Street  trees  are  even  more  likely  to 
decline  from  lack  of  soil  fertility  than 
lawn  trees,  because  the  soil  mass  in 
which  their  roots  can  develop  well  is 
likely  to  be  even  more  restricted  than  it 
is  for  lawn  trees.  The  need  for  addi- 
tional minerals  in  the  soil  can  be  cor- 
rected by  applications  of  fertilizer. 

THE  FERTILIZER  should  be  applied 
regularly,  preferably  in  the  spring,  just 
about  the  time  growth  begins.  It  can 
be  applied  safely  until  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  summer  in  most  parts  of  the 
country — even  later  in  the  Deep 
South.  Or,  the  fertilizer  can  be  put  on 
in  the  fall  after  the  trees  have  lost 
their  leaves.  Evergreens,  however, 
should  not  be  fertilized  in  the  late  fall. 

The  amount  of  fertilizer  to  be  used 
without  danger  of  causing  injury  varies 
somewhat  with  the  kind  of  tree,  the 
condition  of  the  soil,  and  the  time  of 
application.  A  safe  dosage  is  2  pounds 
for  each  inch  in  diameter  of  the  trunk 
3  feet  above  the  ground  line.  Wherever 


92 

possible,  it  should  be  put  into  the 
ground  to  a  depth  of  15  to  24  inches 
to  encourage  deeper  root  growth. 

When  fertilizer  is  spread  on  the  sur- 
face over  a  period  of  several  years,  the 
tree  tends  to  develop  roots  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil,  which  interferes  with 
mowing  the  lawn,  and  during  drought 
periods  cannot  obtain  sufficient  water. 

Maples  and  elms  tend  to  produce 
many  roots  near  the  surface  even  under 
the  best  conditions,  and  fertilizer  on 
the  soil  encourages  the  habit. 

If  a  chemical  fertilizer  is  used,  it 
should  be  thoroughly  soaked  deep  into 
the  soil;  otherwise  it  might  cause  some 
burning  of  plants,  and  the  roots,  which 
take  up  nutrients  only  in  solution,  will 
be  able  to  get  it  slowly  or  not  at  all. 

The  practice  of  raking  and  burning 
the  fallen  leaves  each  autumn  and  re- 
moving all  grass  clippings  eventually 
reduces  the  fertility  of  the  soil  to  such 
a  low  point  that  trees  may  not  get 
enough  of  the  mineral  elements  they 
need.  In  the  forest  the  decaying  fallen 
leaves  provide  a  protective  mulch  that 
conserves  natural  moisture  and  tem- 
pers summer's  heat  and  winter's  cold. 
They  return  to  the  soil  the  mineral  ele- 
ments necessary  for  tree  growth.  Grass 
under  trees  may  rob  them  of  needed 
minerals.  Top  dressing  the  lawn  does 
not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  tree, 
but  a  heavy  application  of  well-rotted 
manure  over  the  root  area  of  the  tree 
is  usually  beneficial. 

A  SECOND  FACTOR  that  sometimes 
affects  the  growth  of  shade  trees  is  the 
lack  of  aeration  of  the  soil.  Clay  soils 
that  bake  hard  in  summer  and  that  are 
heavy  and  sticky  when  wet  are  not 
favorable  for  good  tree-root  growth. 
Such  soils  can  be  made  looser  by  the 
addition  of  sand  or  some  other  suitable 
material  and  organic  substances,  such 
as  manure,  peat,  compost,  thoroughly 
rotten  sawdust,  decayed  leaves,  and  so 
on.  The  materials  can  be  worked  into 
the  top  4  to  6  inches  of  soil.  Ordinarily 
for  that  purpose  it  is  better  to  use  a 
fork  than  a  shovel,  because  a  fork  in- 
jures the  roots  less.  A  surface  mulch  of 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


organic  material  is  often  helpful;  it 
helps  to  conserve  water  and  provides 
insulation  against  overheating. 

For  the  decomposition  of  newly 
fallen  leaves  and  sawdust,  additional 
nitrogen  is  required.  Unless  nitrogen 
is  added,  the  addition  to  the  soil  of 
fresh  leaves  or  sawdust  may  actually 
reduce  the  amount  of  the  essential 
nitrogen  available  to  the  tree  roots. 
Moreover,  fresh  manure,  newly  fallen 
leaves,  and  similar  materials  mixed 
into  the  soil  or  buried  in  it  may  release, 
during  decomposition,  injurious  sub- 
stances that  are  poisonous  to  the  trees. 
However,  leaves  and  sawdust  can  be 
used  as  surface  mulches. 

Trees  often  get  too  little  water: 
Many  street  trees  grow  in  places  where 
the  area  of  soil  exposed  to  rainfall  is 
small;  lawn  trees  have  to  compete  for 
water  with  grass  and  other  plants. 
Moreover,  the  drain  pipes  that  honey- 
comb the  soil  in  cities  remove  from  it, 
every  day,  thousands  of  gallons  of 
water  and  might  lower  the  soil  water 
table  so  much  that  established  trees 
cannot  get  enough  water. 

Heavy  watering  will  prevent  damage 
from  this  cause.  Light  sprinkling  merely 
moistens  the  ground  for  only  a  few 
inches  and  does  not  benefit  the  trees.  A 
thorough  soaking  of  the  ground  for 
several  hours  once  a  week  is  much  bet- 
ter than  sprinkling  each  evening. 

A  COMMON  CAUSE  of  the  decline  of 
established  trees  in  residential  areas  is 
damage  done  to  them  when  the  houses 
were  built  and  streets  laid  out. 

Soil  piled  on  the  ground  over  the 
root  area  of  a  tree  can  kill  it  within  a 
few  weeks  or  after  a  score  of  years,  de- 
pending upon  the  depth  of  the  fill,  the 
sensitivity  of  the  species,  and  other 
factors.  A  few  inches  of  earth  fill  over 
its  roots  can  kill  the  American  beech. 
The  American  elm  will  often  with- 
stand several  feet  of  earth  fill. 

If  the  earth  fill  happens  to  be  gravel 
or  has  a  large  amount  of  decomposed 
organic  matter  in  it,  the  effects  may 
not  be  evident  until  15  to  30  years 
later.  Gradual  compaction  of  the 


Keeping  Shade  Trees  Healthy 


filled-in  soil  and  the  complete  decom- 
position of  the  organic  material  slowly 
reduces  permeability  of  the  soil  to  air 
and  the  roots  die  slowly  from  suffoca- 
tion. Eventually  the  tops  of  trees  with 
damaging  earth  fills  over  their  roots 
begin  to  die  back.  Often  they  blow 
over  in  storms — the  stubs  might  have 
rotted  below  the  soil  line  and  for  some 
distance  above  it;  oxygen  starvation  of 
the  roots  combined  with  wood  decay 
has  finally  killed  the  tree. 

How  can  one  tell  whether  an  earth 
fill  has  been  made  over  the  root  area 
of  a  tree?  Normally  the  base  of  a  tree 
at  the  ground  line  and  just  above  it  is 
greater  in  diameter  than  the  main 
trunk  a  few  feet  above  the  ground.  A 
buttress  or  flaring  of  the  trunk  just 
above  the  ground  line  indicates  that 
it  has  grown  normally  at  that  soil  level. 
However,  if  the  trunk  enters  the 
ground  without  expanding,  flaring,  or 
buttressing,  one  should  be  suspicious 
that  an  earth  fill  has  been  placed  over 
the  roots.  The  soil  around  the  base  of 
the  trunk  should  then  be  removed  to 
determine  if  a  fill  has  been  made. 

The  bad  effects  of  a  fill  can  often 
be  prevented  or  overcome  by  installing 
drain  tiles  in  the  soil.  The  tiles  should 
be  placed  at  the  old  soil  level.  They 
should  open  into  a  well  built  around 
the  base  of  the  tree.  This  well  can 
either  be  left  open  or  can  be  filled  with 
coarse  stones.  The  tiles  may  be  installed 
either  in  a  radiating  pattern  or  be  laid 
in  parallel  lines.  In  either  case  they  will 
provide  both  aeration  and  a  place  to 
introduce  water  during  drought. 

MANY  DISEASES  of  shade  trees  are 
caused  by  parasitic  fungi  and  bacteria. 
Some  virulent  parasites  will  attack  and 
disfigure  or  kill  trees  even  though  they 
are  growing  under  the  best  possible 
conditions.  Many  weak  parasitic  or- 
ganisms, however,  that  do  practically 
no  damage  when  trees  are  growing 
well  can  destroy  trees  that  grow  under 
poor  conditions. 

To  avoid  the  attacks  of  many  kinds 
of  twig  blights  and  trunk  and  branch 
cankers  caused  by  weakly  parasitic  or- 


93 

ganisms,  give  your  trees  the  best  pos- 
sible growing  conditions — keep  them 
well  fertilized,  provide  organic  mate- 
rial in  the  soil,  make  certain  that  the 
soil  is  permeable  to  air,  and  water  ade- 
quately during  droughts. 

Many  of  the  virulent  fungus  para- 
sites can  be  controlled  by  the  applica- 
tion of  fungicides,  but  for  others  no 
means  of  control  are  yet  available. 
Some  diseases  can  be  prevented  by  con- 
trolling the  insects  that  spread  them. 

Most  leaf  diseases  (which  do  their 
damage  by  reducing  the  ability  of  the 
leaves  to  make  sugars  and  other  foods 
needed  for  growth  and  other  normal 
functions)  can  be  controlled  by  spray- 
ing with  fungicides.  Sycamore  an- 
thracnose,  a  destructive  fungus  disease, 
will  respond  to  pruning  of  the  cankered 
branches  and  spraying  with  a  fungi- 
cide two  or  three  times  in  summer. 

Bordeaux  mixture  is  the  commonly 
recommended  fungicide.  For  this  work 
power  sprayers  are  usually  necessary. 

Leaf  spots  of  elm,  maple,  horsechest- 
nut,  ash,  and  many  other  kinds  of 
trees  can  be  controlled  by  spraying. 

Many  leaf  diseases  are  not  suffi- 
ciently serious  to  warrant  spraying  for 
them.  They  ordinarily  will  not  kill  a 
tree  in  one  season,  but  if  the  attack  is 
serious  year  after  year,  great  damage 
may  result. 

The  fungi  that  cause  cankers  of  the 
limbs  and  branches  can  often  be  con- 
trolled by  removing  the  diseased 
branches  or  by  cutting  out  the  cank- 
ered tissues.  When  cankers  are  excised, 
the  wounds  should  be  painted  with  an 


Illustrated  on  the  next  two  pages  are  the 
form  and  comparative  size  of  commonly 
planted  shade  trees.  They  are  drawn  to 
scale;  the  distance  between  the  horizontal 
lines  is  1 0  feet.  Another  point  brought  out 
is  one  that  home  owners  often  overlook — a 
young  tree,  2  or  3  feet  high  when  it  is 
planted,  may  in  time  grow  into  a  giant,  and 
therefore  should  not  be  planted  too  close 
to  a  house.  The  drawings  were  made  by 
Rudolph  A.  Wendelin;  the  original  silhou- 
ettes were  prepared  by  Marguerite  M.  Mc- 
Cormick,  under  the  direction  of  Curtis 
May,  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils, 
and  Agricultural  Engineering. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Catalpa     Black  larch          Sugar  maple 


Tuliptree  Ginkgo      White  spruce 


Red  mulberry  White  oak 


Red  maple      Paper  birch    Yellowwood 


Chestnut  oak  Sweetgum 


Willow  oak  Horsechestnut 


II 
ellbark  hickory 


American  beech      American  linden 


Sequoia          Scarlet  oak      Redcedar 


Mimosa '         Hackberry         Redwood 


Keeping  Shade  Trees  Healthy 


American  elm   Chinaberry   'Honeylocust 


Dogwood     Pin  oak  Blackgum 


Sycamore  maple  White  pine  Ohio  buckeye 


Redbud       Austrian  pine        Magnolia 


American  ash  Norway  spruce  Hornbeam  Norway  maple  Lombardy  poplar   Black  cherry 


Eastern  cotfonwood        Hemlock 


Madrone  American  holly 


Arborvitae  Live  oak 


asphaltum  paint  containing  0.2  per- 
cent phenol-mercury  nitrate,  a  power- 
ful fungicide. 

One  might  want  to  treat  the  wound 
caused  by  pruning  dead  and  undesir- 
able branches  from  a  tree.  Many  hard- 
ware stores  and  paint  stores  sell  tree 
paint  or  tree  wound  dressing,  which 
usually  is  obtainable  in  either  plastic 
or  liquid  form  and  practically  always 
has  an  asphalt-base  paint. 

Ordinary  asphalt  roofing  paint  is 
satisfactory,  but  it  is  not  antiseptic. 

Some  fungi  develop  in  the  wood  of 
living  trees  and  cause  wilt  and  dieback 
of  the  tops.  They  are  difficult  to  con- 
trol; for  the  most  part,  no  adequate 
means  of  combating  them  have  been 
developed.  Verticillium  wilt  of  elm  and 
of  maple,  however,  can  sometimes  be 
overcome  by  fertilizing  the  affected 
trees,  improving  the  condition  of  the 
soil  in  which  they  are  rooted,  and 
watering  heavily  during  dry  spells. 

Some  kinds  of  fungi  require  more 
than  one  kind  of  plant  to  complete 
their  life  cycle.  For  example,  one  kind 
of  gall  that  develops  on  the  common 
redcedar  is  caused  by  a  rust  fungus.  To 
develop,  the  fungus  spores  produced 
on  the  galls  must  be  transmitted  to  an 
apple  or  closely  related  tree,  on  which 
they  cause  leaf  and  fruit  spot.  The 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

spores  are  then  carried  back,  by  the 
winds  or  otherwise,  to  redcedars, 
which  they  infect.  The  rust  fungi  that 
have  such  a  life  history  generally  can 
be  controlled  by  spraying,  but  some- 
times one  can  avoid  such  diseases  by 
eliminating  one  of  the  host  plants. 

Along  the  northeastern  seaboard,  ash 
rust  sometimes  becomes  epidemic;  the 
fungus  that  causes  it  develops  on 
marshgrass,  which  sometimes  is  used 
as  a  mulch  in  orchards. 


DECAY  OF  THE  WOOD  of  limbs  and 
trunk  can  be  combated  by  removing 
the  affected  parts  or  removal  of  the 
decayed  wood.  Sometimes  the  cavities 
made  in  removing  decayed  wood  are 
filled  with  concrete  or  other  materials ; 
sometimes  they  are  left  open. 

Wood  decay  fungi  often  gain  en- 
trance through  wounds  that  expose 
sapwood  or  heartwood.  Avoidance,  in- 
sofar as  possible,  of  wounding  and 
painting  of  accidental  wounds  and 
pruning  cuts  over  1/2  inches  in  di- 
ameter will  assist  in  the  prevention  of 
wood  decay. 

CURTIS  MAY  is  a  principal  pathol- 
ogist in  the  Division  of  Forest  Path- 
ology, Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils, 
and  Agricultural  Engineering,  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHS  in  the  next  section  were  chosen  to  summarize  the  main 
points  in  this  book  and  to  awaken  interest  in  the  purposes  and  pleasures  of  trees 
and  forests: 


Our  forests  are  diverse  in  types,  ex- 
tent, and  uses. 

They  are  a  living  part  of  every  Amer- 
can's  life,  whether  he  lives  in  Puerto 
Rico,  North  Dakota,  Alaska,  whether 
in  Maine  or  Hawaii. 

They  provide  paper,  recreation, 
furniture,  foods,  feeds,  protection  from 
wind  and  flood,  homes  for  birds  and 
other  wildlife,  and  so  many  other 
products  and  comforts  that  no  man  has 
counted  them  all. 

Forests  protect  hillsides  and  moun- 


tainsides and  make  on  them  living  res- 
ervoirs of  water. 

Trees  and  forests,  however,  are  not 
something  only  on  a  far  mountain.  The 
trees  at  our  own  doors  are  neighbors, 
friends,  and  helpers. 

These  trees,  these  forests,  need  care. 

We  are  making  great  strides  in  car- 
ing for  our  trees  and  forests.  We  have 
new  machines,  uses,  cutting  methods, 
knowledge  of  breeding  trees,  improve- 
ments in  watershed  practices,  fire  fight- 
ing, planting,  marketing,  and  more. 


97 


PROTECTING  SHADE  TREES  FROM  INSECTS 


R.  A.  ST.  GEORGE 


Many  kinds  of  insects  attack  shade 
trees.  Some  of  the  worst  infest  the 
trunk  or  the  branches  or  the  leaves. 
Some  merely  mar  the  appearance  of 
the  part  attacked.  Others  cause  severe 
injury.  But  of  all  of  them  it  can  be  said 
that  they  have  specific  habits  whereby 
they  and  their  damage  can  be  iden- 
tified, assessed,  and  used  to  determine 
the  need  for  applying  control  meas- 
ures. It  is  convenient  to  separate  the 
more  important  insect  enemies  of 
shade  trees  into  two  groups,  those  that 
attack  weakened  and  dying  trees  and 
those  that  infest  the  more  healthy  ones. 

THE  FIRST  GROUP  includes  many 
species  of  bark-infesting  and  wood- 
boring  beetles.  They  can  detect  trees 
that  have  reached  a  decadent  stage 
long  before  a  man  can  see  the  changes 
associated  with  decadence. 

The  ambrosia  beetles  frequently  are 
among  the  first  insects  to  attack  weak- 
ened trees.  Their  presence  can  be  de- 
tected by  the  strings  or  piles  of  white, 
powdery  frass  that  they  push  to  the 
bark  surface  as  they  extend  their  tun- 
nels deep  into  the  wood.  It  is  a  posi- 
tive indication  that  the  tree  is  dying. 
If  the  infestation  is  confined  to  a  small 
area  on  one  side  of  the  trunk,  the  tree 
might  be  saved  by  taking  measures  to 
revitalize  it — fertilizing  and  watering, 
and  by  applying  a  protective  chemical 
spray  to  the  stem  of  the  tree.  But  if 
the  attack  extends  entirely  around  the 
trunk,  the  processes  of  decadence  are 
likely  to  have  progressed  so  far  that 
the  tree  will  die,  and  the  expenditure 
of  large  sums  of  money  to  save  it  is 
questionable.  Often  it  is  more  practical 
to  dispose  of  such  a  tree  than  to  try  to 
save  it. 

Certain  of  the  roundheaded  beetles 
attack  dying  trees.  The  females  of  some 
species  of  the  roundheaded  beetle  make 
slits  or  pits  in  the  bark  and  deposit  their 
eggs  in  them.  After  the  larvae  have 

802062° — 49 8 


worked  beneath  the  bark  and  into  the 
wood  their  presence  can  be  detected 
by  the  noise  they  make  while  cutting 
their  tunnels  and  also  by  the  coarse, 
shredded  wood  fibers  that  are  pushed 
to  the  bark  surface. 

Many  bark  beetles  attack  weakened 
trees.  They  work  between  the  bark  and 
the  wood.  They  make  small  shot  holes 
in  the  bark  and  push  their  granular 
borings  to  the  surface.  Their  color, 
which  is  similar  to  that  of  the  bark, 
helps  one  to  distinguish  between  the 
bark  borers  and  wood  borers.  Certain 
species,  known  as  turpentine  beetles, 
are  much  larger  than  the  rest  of  the 
bark  beetles  and  confine  their  attacks 
to  the  bases  of  trees.  A  large,  reddish 
pitch  tube  is  formed  at  each  point  of 
entry.  In  the  eastern  and  southern  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  their  attacks  are 
mostly  unsuccessful,  but  in  the  western 
pine  regions  turpentine  beetles  can 
sometimes  kill  slow-growing  and  in- 
jured trees  and  cause  considerable  con- 
cern to  owners  of  mountain  homes. 

The  obvious  way  to  combat  these  in- 
sects is  to  keep  the  trees  healthy — to 
remove  the  factors  responsible  for  the 
weakening  of  shade  trees.  Among  the 
factors  causing  the  most  damage  are 
prolonged  droughts;  earth  fills;  sun- 
scald  and  whipping  of  the  stems,  due 
to  severe  thinnings  around  trees  left 
for  natural  shade;  mechanical  injury 
to  the  trunks  and  roots  of  trees  made  by 
heavy  equipment  while  cutting  roads 
and  grading  the  soil  around  new 
homes;  poor  drainage;  transplanting 
at  the  wrong  time  of  year;  and  not 
using  due  caution  in  handling  the 
trees  or  caring  for  them  sufficiently 
until  they  are  well  established. 

THE  SECOND  GROUP  includes  those 
insects  that  attack  healthy  trees.  All 
parts  of  the  tree  are  subject  to  infesta- 
tion. 

The  stem  borers  include  many  kinds 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  beetles  and  moths.  Their  larvae 
cause  injury  by  tunneling  into  the  sap- 
wood  and  heartwood  of  the  trunks. 
The  locust  borer,  which  attacks  black 
locust,  is  a  good  example  of  this  group. 

The  twig  borers  and  girdlers  consist 
principally  of  certain  roundheaded 
beetles,  the  larvae  of  which  mine  or 
girdle  the  terminal  shoots.  Sometimes 
the  girdled  terminals  are  not  entirely 
broken  off  by  the  wind;  then  dangling 
dead  branches  become  conspicuous, 
especially  on  hickory  and  oak  trees. 

The  white-pine  weevil  attacks  and 
kills  the  leaders  of  white  pines. 

A  moth  causes  similar  injury  to  the 
terminal  shoots  of  the  red  and  Scotch 
pines. 

The  elm  bark  beetles  feed  in  the 
crotches  of  the  smaller  branches  of  the 
elm  tree  and,  in  doing  so,  transmit 
the  spores  of  the  destructive  Dutch  elm 
disease. 

Certain  sucking  insects,  known  as 
chermids,  attack  the  terminal  shoots 
of  white  pines  and  frequently  cause 
a  marked  drooping  of  the  branches  or 
their  death. 

The  buds  of  several  species  of  pines 
are  subject  to  attack  by  tip  moths. 

The  gall-making  insects  consist  for 
the  most  part  of  tiny  flies,  certain  plant 
lice,  small  wasps,  and  some  mites.  Most 
of  them  are  relatively  unimportant. 

The  leaf  feeders  include  nearly  all 
types  of  insects  and  their  close  relatives, 
the  mites;  the  chewing  insects  destroy 
the  foliage  and  the  sucking  insects 
remove  the  juices.  Some  mine  the 
leaves;  others  work  on  the  surface. 

The  elm  leaf  beetle  and  the  Japanese 
beetle  are  good  examples  of  the  leaf- 
eating  type.  They  skeletonize  the  foli- 
age and  cause  the  leaves  to  turn  brown 
and  drop  to  the  ground.  Repeated  de- 
foliations weaken  elms  and  may  cause 
their  death. 

Of  these  two  insects,  the  Japanese 
beetle  is  by  far  the  more  important 
economically.  Unchecked  by  its  natu- 
ral enemies  and  supplied  with  an  abun- 
dance of  its  natural  food  plants,  it  soon 
spread  over  much  of  the  eastern  United 
States.  Serious  infestations  now  occur 


from  Connecticut  to  North  Carolina. 
The  beetles  appear  during  June  and 
remain  active  until  the  latter  part  of 
August  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington, 
D.  C.  They  cause  most  extensive  in- 
jury during  the  first  2  or  3  weeks,  when 
they  attack  the  upper  and  outer  parts 
of  trees  and  shrubs  exposed  to  sunlight. 
The  beetles  also  can  seriously  injure 
flowers,  fruits,  vegetables,  and  the 
grubs  destroy  the  roots  of  grass  and 
other  plants. 

The  catalpa  worm,  or  sphinx,  is  an 
example  of  the  kind  of  insect  that  eats 
the  entire  leaf  and  frequently  all  the 
leaves  of  a  tree. 

The  bagworms  attack  many  kinds 
of  trees.  Their  favorite  host  is  arbor- 
vitae.  Their  presence  can  be  detected 
by  the  cases  or  bags  on  the  trees. 

The  locust  leaf  miner  is  a  small, 
brownish  beetle  that  deposits  its  eggs 
on  the  leaf  surface.  The  new-hatched 
larva  penetrates  the  leaf  and  mines  the 
interior.  Severe  injury  disfigures  the 
leaves  and  may  kill  them. 

Spider  mites  and  such  insects  as  the 
aphids,  chermids,  and  scales  suck  the 
juices  from  the  foliage  of  many  kinds 
of  shade  trees.  One  leafhopper  that 
feeds  on  elm  leaves  has  been  found  to 
transmit  the  elm  virus  disease,  which 
kills  the  trees  more  quickly  than  the 
Dutch  elm  disease. 

GENERAL  PRECAUTIONARY  MEASURES 
can  do  much  to  prevent  such  insect 
damage  to  shade  trees.  Some,  which  do 
not  require  the  use  of  chemicals,  are 
aimed  at  safeguarding  the  trees  from 
the  weakening  influences  to  which  they 
are  frequently  subjected  during  and 
following  new  construction. 

Trees  that  are  being  left  to  provide 
shade  about  new  residences,  after  thin- 
nings have  been  made  among  the  re- 
maining trees,  should  have  their  trunks 
wrapped  with  burlap  or  other  suitable 
material  to  prevent  sunscald  in  hot 
weather. 

Isolated  tall  trees  of  small  diameter 
should  be  anchored  by  guide  wires  to 
keep  them  from  being  whipped  by  the 
wind. 


Protecting  Shade  Trees  from  Insects 


Trees  cut  in  thinnings  made  during 
the  fall  months  should  be  removed 
from  the  property  before  spring  to 
avoid  attracting  insects ;  if  they  are  cut 
in  summer,  they  should  be  disposed  of 
at  once. 

The  lower  part  of  the  trunks  should 
be  boxed  to  protect  the  bark  from 
mechanical  injury  while  heavy  equip- 
ment is  being  used  about  the  property. 

Changes  in  grade  level  around  trees 
should  be  avoided  wherever  possible. 
If  it  is  necessary  to  raise  the  grade 
more  than  about  6  inches,  injury  to 
the  trees  can  be  reduced  by  installing 
a  system  of  tiles  and  a  well  about  the 
trunk  of  each  of  the  trees  so  that  air 
can  reach  the  roots.  ( Details  are  given 
in  Department  of  Agriculture  Farmers' 
Bulletin  No.  1967,  Reducing  Damage 
to  Trees  From  Construction  Work.) 

Good  drainage  away  from  the  build- 
ing and  the  trees  is  needed.  In  trans- 
planting, one  should  choose  the  right 
time  of  year  to  move  the  particular 
species.  The  ball  of  earth  about  the 
roots  should  be  as  large  as  possible. 
The  tree  needs  plenty  of  water  for  a 
considerable  period  after  it  is  placed  in 
a  new  location. 

During  a  drought,  all  trees  should 
be  watered  as  much  as  practical. 

Sometimes  it  is  wise  to  apply  com- 
mercial fertilizer  to  the  soil  around 
trees  to  help  maintain  or  improve  their 
vigor. 

Toxic  CHEMICALS,,  applied  to  the 
bark,  can  often  protect  trees  against 
insects  that  attack  the  main  stem  and 
limbs.  Such  chemical  protection  is 
especially  desirable  where  summer 
homes  are  built  in  wooded  areas.  A 
chemical  like  DDT,  which  acts  as  a 
contact  insecticide  as  well  as  a  stom- 
ach poison,  is  suitable.  It  will  help  to 
prevent  attack  even  by  many  of  the 
insects  that  are  attracted  to  the  trunks 
of  weakened  trees. 

Applications  of  DDT  in  the  form  of 
emulsions  or  wettable  powders  have 
prevented  attack  by  many  insects  that 
infest  the  buds  and  foliage  of  various 
kinds  of  shade  trees.  However,  DDT 


99 

is  not  a  cure-all,  and  certain  insects, 
such  as  bagworms,  some  of  the  aphids, 
scales,  and  the  spider  mites,  are  not 
readily  controlled  by  this  chemical. 

Other  newer  chemicals  that  have 
recently  appeared  on  the  market  and 
show  promise  for  killing  some  of  these 
insects  and  mites  are  methoxychlor, 
hexaethyl  tetraphosphate,  tetraethyl 
pyrophosphate,  and  parathion.  Meth- 
oxychlor is  reported  to  be  only  slightly 
toxic,  while  the  other  chemicals  are 
regarded  as  being  highly  toxic  to 
humans  and  warm-blooded  animals, 
so  considerable  care  must  be  taken  in 
handling  them.  Because  of  this  hazard 
and  until  further  experimentation  has 
been  conducted  to  determine  the  tol- 
erance of  various  plants  to  these  chemi- 
cals, they  are  not  recommended  at  this 
time  for  general  use. 

SEVERAL  CONTROLS  are  now  avail- 
able. Trees  that  have  become  infested 
by  insects  despite  precautionary  meas- 
ures should  be  examined  carefully  to 
determine  whether  the  trees  are  dying, 
whether  they  should  be  disposed  of  so 
as  not  to  menace  the  remaining  trees, 
or  whether  they  can  be  saved  by  the 
application  of  a  toxic  chemical. 

Dying  trees — in  their  bark  and 
wood — usually  contain  broods  of  in- 
sects that  can  damage  nearby  living 
trees  if  they  are  allowed  to  develop  and 
emerge. 

Bark  beetles,  usually  the  most  im- 
portant of  these  insects,  can  be  de- 
stroyed either  by  burning  the  infested 
bark  or  by  applying  chemicals.  It  is 
important  that  any  contemplated  con- 
trol measures  be  carried  out  promptly 
before  the  insects  can  mature  and 
emerge,  preferably  at  the  first  sign  of 
change  of  color  in  the  foliage. 

All  types  of  bark-boring  insects  can 
be  killed  by  felling  the  trees  and 
thoroughly  spraying  the  bark  with  a 
solution  composed  of  one  part  ortho- 
dichlorobenzene  to  six  parts  of  fuel 
oil.  Placing  the  tree  trunks  in  the  sun 
will  help  to  increase  penetration  of 
the  spray.  The  log  sections  should  be 
turned  at  least  once  in  order  to  treat 


100 

thoroughly  the  entire  bark  surface. 
Care  must  be  taken  in  applying  this 
spray  to  avoid  getting  it  on  living  trees, 
shrubs,  or  flowers,  as  it  will  injure  or 
kill  them.  Precautions  must  be  taken 
also  to  keep  the  spray  from  coming  in 
contact  with  the  skin  and  especially 
from  reaching  the  eyes  of  the  operator. 

Borers  that  tunnel  the  main  trunks 
of  shade  trees  are  difficult  to  control. 
The  method  usually  employed  consists 
of  injecting  into  the  burrow  some 
fumigant,  such  as  carbon  bisulfide,  and 
then  closing  the  opening  with  putty  or 
its  equivalent,  so  as  to  confine  the  gas. 

If  the  insect  is  of  the  type  that  works 
mainly  beneath  the  bark,  like  the  dog- 
wood borer,  a  mixture  of  paradichloro- 
benzene  and  cottonseed  oil  daubed  on 
the  parts  attacked  is  often  effective  in 
killing  the  insects.  A  DDT  emulsion 
sprayed  on  the  bark  should  be  bene- 
ficial in  preventing  further  attack,  and 
the  application  of  fertilizers  and  water 
will  increase  the  vitality  while  the  trees 
are  overcoming  the  infestation. 

Damage  to  pine  trees  caused  by  tur- 
pentine beetles  can  be  checked  either 
by  cutting  out  the  attacking  beetles  as 
soon  as  the  pitch  exudations  are  ob- 
served or  by  injecting  carbon  bisulfide 
into  their  galleries. 

Infested  terminals  of  trees  attacked 
by  twig  borers  and  twig  girdlers  should 
be  removed  and  burned. 

A  good  control  for  scale  insects  and 
mites  consists  of  applying  a  dormant- 
strength  miscible  oil  spray  in  the  spring 
just  before  new  growth  begins.  These 
and  other  sucking  insects,  like  aphids, 
that  are  present  on  the  terminal  shoots 
in  summer  should  be  sprayed  with  a 
contact  insecticide,  such  as  an  emulsion 
of  nicotine  sulfate,  soap,  white  oil. 

Damage  by  tip  moths  can  be  checked 
by  spraying  the  terminal  growth  of 
pines  with  a  DDT  emulsion  or  wettable 
powder.  For  best  results,  the  spray  has 
to  be  put  on  as  the  eggs  hatch. 

Many  of  the  leaf  feeders  are  con- 
trolled with  applications  of  lead  ar- 
senate,  which  is  more  effective  than 
DDT  in  controlling  certain  insects, 
such  as  the  bagworm.  In  general,  how- 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ever,  DDT  is  the  more  valuable  ma- 
terial because  it  is  effective  a  long  time 
and  because  it  kills  insects  when  they 
crawl  over  sprayed  surfaces,  as  well  as 
when  they  eat  it  or  are  touched  by  it. 

Various  kinds  of  spraying  equip- 
ment are  available  for  applying  in- 
secticides to  shade  trees.  The  simple 
3-gallon  type  is  suitable  for  spraying 
a  few  low  trees  about  a  home.  Large 
power  sprayers  and  the  new  mist  blow- 
ers are  used  for  treating  large  trees  on 
residential,  city,  or  park  areas. 

If  an  insect  outbreak  affects  the 
trees  over  a  wide  territory,  it  is  best  for 
all  concerned  to  cooperate  in  planning 
a  control  program.  United  action  can 
reduce  the  insect  population  more 
quickly  and  more  effectively  than  if 
each  person  acts  independently.  Fur- 
thermore, where  tall  trees  are  con- 
cerned, community  action  will  make 
practical  the  use  of  high-power  spray- 
ing equipment,  such  as  hydraulic 
machines  or  the  more  modern  mist 
blowers.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into 
detail  on  an  important  point  like  this — 
a  point  that  every  home  owner  ap- 
preciates. He  knows  how  difficult  and 
costly  it  is  to  replace  trees  that  have 
died,  how  precious  are  his  shade  trees, 
how  close  his  friendship  with  them  can 
become — quite  beyond  measurement 
in  dollars  and  cents.  But  if  such  a 
measure  is  needed,  we  have  one  by  J. 
A.  Hyslop,  formerly  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture.  He  has  estimated 
that  the  losses  due  to  insects  in  shade 
trees  total  87  million  dollars  a  year  in 
the  United  States.  Home  owners,  alone 
and  together,  can  stop  the  insects. 

R.  A.  ST.  GEORGE  is  an  entomol- 
ogist in  the  Bureau  of  Entomology 
and  Plant  Quarantine,  and  is  sta- 
tioned at  the  Agricultural  Research 
Center  at  Beltsville.  He  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege and  George  Washington  Univer- 
sity. He  has  been  associated  with  the 
Division  of  Forest  Insect  Investiga- 
tions since  1918  and  has  specialized  in 
research  problems  concerning  insects 
that  affect  forest  and  shade  trees. 


FORESTS  AND  MEN 


-4  juniper  centuries  old:  "A  man  does  not  plant  a  tree  for 
himself,  he  plants  it  for  posterity/3 


Trees  Living  Together 


THE  COMMUNITY  OF  TREES 

JESSE  H.  BUELL 


A">  ONE  gets  farther  and  farther  be- 
yond the  centers  of  population  he 
comes  finally  to  the  forests  that  human 
activities  have  not  changed — to  virgin 
forests.  In  them,  one  can  see  better 
what  man  has  done  to  forests  and  how 
he  can  more  wisely  mold  them  to  his 
benefit.  In  these  manless  forests,  also,  a 
person  comes  to  understand  that  a 
forest  is  a  changing,  living  community, 
subject  always  to  the  forces  of  inani- 
mate nature — earth,  air,  sunshine,  and 
rain ;  to  the  interaction  within  them  of 
plants  and  the  animals ;  to  the  changes 
that  forests  themselves  can  effect  in 
their  environment. 

Green  plants  are  the  engines  for  the 
manufacture  of  the  carbohydrates — 
the  basic  stuff  that  all  vegetable  matter 
comes  from,  all  animals  live  on,  and  by 
which,  ultimately,  all  of  us  are  fed, 
clothed,  sheltered,  and  kept  warm.  A 
forest  is  a  vast  battery  of  such  engines. 
In  a  single  growing  season  an  acre  well 
stocked  with  vigorous  trees  may  pro- 


The  drawing  at  the  top  of  the  page  is  of  a 
scene   among  the  redwoods  in   California. 


duce  3  or  4  tons  of  useful  wood,  not 
counting  the  additional  unmeasured 
pounds  of  the  new  growth  on  branches 
and  roots  and  in  leaves,  buds,  flowers, 
and  seeds.  The  raw  materials  are  car- 
bon dioxide  from  the  air,  water  and 
mineral  nutrients  from  the  soil,  and 
warmth  and  energy  from  the  sun.  Of 
these,  only  water  and  warmth  are  likely 
anywhere  on  earth  to  be  too  scarce  for 
forest  growth.  Carbon  dioxide  makes 
up  only  3  parts  in  10,000  parts  of  the 
atmosphere,  but  unlimited  fresh  sup- 
plies are  continually  brought  by  air  cur- 
rents. Mineral  nutrients,  although  in- 
dispensable, are  needed  in  such  small 
quantities — they  make  up  only  a  small 
fraction  of  the  dry  weight  of  trees — 
that  they  are  abundant  enough  almost' 
everywhere  to  keep  forests  growing. 

But  forests  use  up  vast  quantities  of 
water.  To  make  a  summer's  growth, 
the  roots  of  the  acre  of  healthy  forest 
that  grew  3  or  4  tons  of  wood  may  take 
up  from  the  soil  4,000  tons  of  water. 
Much  of  this  water,  passing  up  from 
the  roots  through  the  trunk,  branches, 
and  leaves,  escapes  into  the  surround- 

103 


104 


ing  air.  Its  chief  usefulness  to  the  tree 
is  to  carry  nutrients  from  the  soil  and 
organic  materials  from  storage  places 
in  the  trunk  and  roots  to  the  leaves 
and  the  growing  twigs.  Although  the 
water  that  is  transpired  into  the  air 
never  goes  into  the  building  of  woody 
tissue  or  leaves,  trees  cannot  live  with- 
out it.  Such  quantities  are  required 
that  the  climate  over  large  areas  of  the 
earth  is  too  dry  to  supply  them. 

And  the  circumpolar  regions  are  too 
cold  for  tree  growth.  No  plant  can 
thrive  where  monthly  mean  tempera- 
tures are  below  freezing  the  year 
around.  Just  a  few  days  in  midsummer, 
warm  enough  to  melt  the  snow  and 
thaw  out  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  an  inch 
or  two,  may  bring  into  bloom  tiny 
alpine  plants  on  the  bleak  north  shore 
of  Greenland  within  350  miles  of  the 
Pole.  But  so  short  a  growing  season 
would  give  a  tree  no  chance  to  store 
up  food  for  another  season's  burst  of 
growth  and  it  could  not  withstand  the 
intense  cold  of  the  arctic  winter. 

So  it  was  that  before  man  began 
to  use  the  forests  their  distribution  over 
the  continents  was  determined  by  the 
climatic  pattern  of  the  earth.  Drought 
and  cold  are  the  barriers  that  limit 
tree  growth,  but  the  effect  of  each  de- 
pends upon  the  other.  It  is  the  com- 
bination of  temperature  and  rainfall 
that  counts:  A  rainfall  sufficient  for 
vigorous  tree  growth  in  the  Temperate 
Zone,  to  give  an  instance,  might  be  in- 
adequate in  the  Tropics,  where  water 
evaporates  more  rapidly  from  the  soil 
and  plants  transpire  faster,  and  would 
be  useless  in  the  polar  regions,  where 
temperatures  are  below  freezing  most 
of  the  time. 

In  general,  forests  occur  only  where 
the  annual  precipitation  is  more  than 
15  or  20  inches  a  year  and  where  the 
frost-free  period  is  at  least  14  or  16 
weeks  long.  In  regions  too  dry  for 
forests,  grasses  grow  or  they  give  way 
to  desert;  where  it  is  too  cold,  tundras 
and  icefields  spread.  The  broad  forest 
zones  of  the  earth  are  the  coniferous 
forests  that  stretch  around  the  world 
above  about  45°  north  latitude,  fol- 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 

low  the  mountains  farther  south,  and 
(in  North  America)  extend  down  the 
Pacific  coast  and  then  reappear  in  the 
southeastern  United  States ;  the  broad- 
leaf,  Temperate  Zone  forests  of  east- 
ern North  America,  western  Europe, 
and  eastern  Asia;  the  scrub  or  wood- 
land forests  that  border  the  desert 
areas  of  all  the  continents;  and  the 
tropical  forests  of  Africa  and  South 
America. 

We  in  the  United  States  are  fortu- 
nate in  our  present  and  past  climates, 
for  they  have  given  us  the  richest  and 
most  varied  forests  to  be  found  any- 
where in  the  Temperate  Zones.  In 
Maine  or  Michigan  the  forests  are 
spruce  and  fir.  In  the  South  they  are 
longleaf  and  loblolly  pines;  in  be- 
tween they  are  birch,  maple,  white 
pine,  and  hemlock  toward  the  north, 
and  oaks,  hickory,  and  yellow-poplar 
toward  the  south.  In  parts  of  Cali- 
fornia are  giant  redwoods;  in  other 
parts  are  scrub  chapparal  and  wood- 
land that  border  dry  lands  where  cacti 
are  as  big  as  trees;  they,  in  turn,  give 
way  to  deserts  where  almost  nothing 
grows.  West  of  the  Cascade  Mountains 
in  Oregon  and  Washington  are  Doug- 
las-fir forests;  eastward  to  the  far  edge 
of  the  Rockies  are  ponderosa  and 
lodgepole  pines  where  the  rainfall  is 
sufficient,  with  spruce  and  fir  showing 
up  in  the  places  where  the  mountains 
go  high  enough  to  reach  the  alpine 
cold.  In  the  wide  belt  stretching  from 
the  base  of  the  Rockies  toward  the 
Mississippi,  the  only  trees  you  will  find 
are  cottonwoods  and  willows  along  the 
creeks  or  planted  shelterbelts  around 
the  farms,  for  this  is  the  great  domain 
of  the  grasses.  Within  the  broad  pat- 
tern there  are  innumerable  variations. 

But  neither  the  broad  pattern  nor 
the  local  variations  are  standing  still. 


IN  THE  FIRST  PLACE,  climates  are 
continually  shifting.  Geological  revolu- 
tions, such  as  inundations,  mountain 
uprisings,  and  ice  ages,  can  profoundly 
alter  weather  and  vegetation.  We  do 
not  need  to  go  into  details,  but  one 
example  is  especially  interesting.  When 


The  Community  of  Trees 


105 


the  icecap  moved  slowly  down  from  the 
polar  regions,  Temperate  Zone  trees, 
which  at  one  time  grew  almost  to  the 
Pole  itself,  migrated  southward  ahead 
of  the  freezing  weather.  In  Europe  the 
trees  finally  came  to  the  Alps,  which 
made  an  east-to-west  barrier  directly 
across  their  path.  The  climate  of  the 
mountains  was  already  cold,  and,  be- 
cause none  of  the  scattering  seeds 
lodged  where  they  could  grow,  many 
species  disappeared;  only  a  few  were 
left  to  repopulate  the  land  when  the 
glacier  receded.  Today  Europe  has 
only  a  few  native  kinds  of  trees.  In  our 
country,  the  mountains  run  north  and 
south,  and  none  lay  in  the  way  of  the 
trees  that  were  retreating  before  the 
ice.  Consequently  a  rich  variety  sur- 
vived the  ice  age  and  gave  us  our  pres- 
ent wealth  of  species. 

The  second  source  of  change  is  the 
forest  itself.  It  is  a  living  community  of 
trees;  through  its  own  internal  work- 
ings it  is  constantly  adjusting  itself. 
Within  the  community,  plants  and 
animals  live,  grow  old,  and  die;  some- 
times they  help  their  own  kind  to 
inherit  their  places;  more  often  they 
hinder  them  from  doing  so;  always, 
however,  they  alter  the  environment, 
and,  through  that  alteration,  change 
the  forest  itself. 

On  any  tract  of  land,  these  continu- 
ing adjustments  bring  about  a  natural 
development  of  the  vegetation  that  re- 
sembles the  evolutionary  development 
of  an  animal  or  plant.  Early  plant  com- 
munities give  way  to  more  advanced 
forms  in  a  succession  of  infancy,  youth, 
and  maturity  that,  while  the  climate 
stays  unchanged,  is  regular  and  pre- 
dictable. These  regular  and  predictable 
changes  are  of  utmost  importance :  We 
can  modify  them  by  the  way  we  treat 
the  forest ;  we  can  speed  up  natural  suc- 
cession or  delay  it,  depending  on  the 
kind  of  forest  most  useful  to  us. 

Let  us,  then,  take  a  closer  look  at 
natural  forest  succession,  and  consider 
ways  in  which  we  can  modify  it. 

Every  forest  area  began  once  as  a 
stretch  of  bare  rock  or  of  water.  If  it 
was  a  lake,  algae  and  other  floating 


plants  first  appeared.  As  they  died  and 
sank  they  made  the  lake  more  shallow, 
and  plants  could  grow  that  must  have 
their  roots  in  the  bottom  and  their 
leaves  above  the  water.  The  remains 
of  these  in  time  built  the  land  still 
higher,  making  the  area  less  suitable 
for  floating  and  rooting  acquatic  plants 
and  more  favorable  for  land  plants. 
These,  in  turn,  took  over  and  helped 
to  build  up  the  ground  with  decaying 
leaves  and  stems  and  to  dry  it  out  by 
transpiring  quantities  of  water.  Herbs 
gave  way  to  bushes  and  they  to  for- 
ests, because  climate  was  favorable. 

If  the  forest  area  began  as  bare 
rock,  lichens  first  got  a  toehold  in  the 
crevices  that  could  catch  a  few  drops 
of  moisture.  Gradually,  as  one  genera- 
tion after  another  added  its  substance 
to  the  fragments  of  rock  broken  away 
by  weathering  or  the  corrosive  action 
of  the  lichen  juices,  a  thin  layer  of  soil 
was  built  up  in  which  mosses  could 
take  root  and  the  process  continued. 
As  each  type  of  plant  spread  its  shade 
and  added  more  humus,  the  air  near 
the  ground  was  made  cooler  so  that 
evaporation  was  lessened,  and  the  soil 
became  more  spongy  and  could  hold 
more  rain  water.  The  soil  deepened 
and  got  more  moist,  the  shade  in- 
creased, and  new  plants  were  favored 
over  those  already  there.  Finally  again, 
because  the  climate  permitted,  a  forest 
resulted. 

None  of  us  in  his  lifetime  can  see  all 
these  stages  over  a  single  area.  The 
whole  process  may  take  hundreds  or 
thousands  of  years,  and  some  of  the 
steps  may  change  so  slowly  that  they 
seem  interminable.  But  in  one  spot  we 
can  find  lichens  helping  the  slow  dis- 
integration of  rock,  in  another  poly- 
pody ferns  growing  on  soil  so  thinly 
spread  over  a  ledge  that  they  dry  to 
tinder  during  drought,  and  in  another 
blueberry  bushes  where  the  soil  is  a 
few  inches  deep.  Elsewhere  we  can 
find  pitch  pines  and  scrub  oaks  in  dry 
situations  and  a  forest  of  maple  and 
beech  in  a  deep,  moist  cove.  By  going 
from  one  place  to  another  we  can  pic- 
ture the  slow  process  of  succession. 


io6 

Or,  in  a  favorable  situation,  it  may 
be  moving  so  fast  that  we  can  ap- 
prehend its  progress  in  a  few  years. 
Take  an  abandoned  farm  in  southern 
Connecticut.  The  summer  after  cul- 
tivation stops,  tall  weeds  grow  in  the 
fields.  Next  year,  there  may  be  a  little 
grass  beneath  the  weeds,  and  black- 
berry seedlings  will  have  started.  At 
the  end  of  5  years,  the  field  will  be  a 
tangle  of  briars.  Here  and  there  clumps 
of  gray  birch  will  have  started  from 
seed  blown  in  by  the  wind,  and  juni- 
pers will  be  dotted  about  where  birds 
have  lighted  and  have  gotten  rid  of  the 
seeds  of  the  juniper  berries  they  have 
been  eating.  In  10  years,  the  old  field 
is  a  young  forest  of  birch  and  juniper 
higher  than  your  head;  in  20  years, 
oaks  and  maples  will  be  coming  in  in 
the  shade;  in  40,  the  birches  will  be 
dying  out,  some  of  the  oaks  that  got 
an  early  start  will  be  crowding  the 
junipers,  and  the  place  will  begin  to 
look  like  the  wood  lot  that  never  was 
plowed. 

Meanwhile,  around  the  edges  of  the 
millpond  down  the  slope,  the  pickerel- 
wTeed  and  waterlilies  will  have  grown 
farther  and  farther  out  into  the  water. 
The  shore  line  will  have  been  pushed 
out  with  a  tangle  of  buttonbushes,  and 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  pond,  where 
40  years  ago  one  could  push  a  row- 
boat,  there  may  be  a  forest  of  red 
maples  with  oaks  coming  in  along  the 
drier  edges. 

Both  in  the  old  field  and  the  mill- 
pond,  as  in  all  vegetational  succession, 
progress  is  toward  median  moisture. 
Dry  areas  become  less  dry,  and  the  wet 
areas  less  wet. 

The  important  lesson  to  be  gained 
from  a  study  of  natural  plant  succes- 
sion is  that,  wherever  the  climate  is 
suitable  for  forests,  the  trend  is  to- 
ward them.  Fire  may  destroy  them,  in- 
sects or  diseases  decimate  them,  or 
winds  blow  them  down;  but,  given 
time,  they  will  build  back  again.  Fur- 
thermore, once  the  process  of  succes- 
sion is  understood  for  a  region,  the 
steps  can  be  predicted.  The  trend  is 
not  only  toward  a  forest  but  toward  a 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


particular  type  of  forests,  the  forest  that 
can  use  most  efficiently  the  rainfall  and 
the  temperatures  that  prevail.  It  will 
be  made  up  of  trees  whose  seedlings 
can  grow  in  the  shade  of  their  parents. 
Such  a  forest  perpetuates  itself.  It  is 
the  climax,  and  does  not  change  unless 
the  climate  changes  or  it  is  disturbed. 
Of  all  the  disturbers  of  forests,  man 
is  first.  Because  trees  grow  in  climates 
comfortable  for  him  and  favorable  to 
agriculture,  he  has  destroyed  them  to 
make  room  for  his  cities  and  his  farms. 
He  has  needed  wood,  and  to  satisfy 
that  need  has  used  up  or  cut  into  for- 
ests on  vast  acreages  of  land  that  he 
did  not  intend  to  use  for  anything  else. 
When  the  first  settlers  came  to  this 
country  there  were  1,072  million  acres 
of  forests  within  the  1,905-odd  million 
acres  that  now  make  up  the  United 
States.  Only  624  million  acres  remain ; 
of  them,  only  45  million  are  at  all  com- 
parable to  the  original  forests.  The 
forest  land  most  suitable  for  farming 
has  already  been  cleared.  The  trend 
is  now  the  other  way ;  large  areas  once 
farmed  have  been  abandoned. 

FORESTRY  is  THE  handling  of  forest 
lands  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  man,  just 
as  farming  is  the  management  of  farm 
lands  to  serve  his  purposes.  As  agricul- 
ture is  the  science  underlying  farming, 
so  silviculture  underlies  forestry.  Both 
deal  with  plants.  The  basis  of  both  is 
botany.  Their  difference  is  of  degree 
rather  than  kind. 

Forestry  generally  sticks  closer  to 
nature  than  farming  does,  following 
the  natural  progress  of  plant  succes- 
sion almost  exactly  if  the  kinds  of  trees 
in  the  climax  forest  furnish  the  most 
useful  wood  products.  The  farmer  had 
to  get  rid  of  the  original  forest  and 
often  felled  the  trees  and  burned  them. 
The  crops  he  raises  are  different  from 
the  climax  forest.  Trees  cut  in  the  vir- 
gin forest  are  themselves  the  first  crop 
in  forestry,  and  the  successive  crops  are 
much  like  the  one  that  grew  naturally. 

In  farming,  new  crops  are  started  by 
plowing  and  planting  seed.  That  is  not 
often  done  in  forestry.  Instead,  natural 


The  Community  of  Trees 


107 


seeding  from  trees  left  standing  is  de- 
pended upon.  When  small  trees  grown 
in  nurseries  are  planted  in  forests,  it  is 
usually  to  correct  some  mistake  in  land 
management,  such  as  the  clearing  for 
farms  of  land  not  suitable  for  farming 
or  the  accidental  burning  over  of  for- 
ests; or  it  is  done  to  alter  drastically 
the  type  of  forest  that  grew  naturally. 

Agriculture  tends  the  growing  crop 
by  tilling  the  ground  to  reduce  the 
competition  of  weeds.  In  forestry,  til- 
lage is  almost  never  used  except  during 
the  earliest  stages  when  trees  are  raised 
in  nurseries  and  planted  in  the  forest. 
Rather,  the  weed  trees  are  cut.  Some- 
times they  can  be  used.  The  weeds  a 
farmer  pulls  are  rarely  useful. 

Agricultural  crops  are  mostly  an- 
nual ;  the  forest  crops,  almost  never.  In 
agriculture,  one  crop  is  removed  with 
comparatively  little  thought  of  the  one 
to  follow.  In  forestry,  there  is  emphatic 
need  to  consider  the  next  crop.  It  is 
the  chief  duty  of  silviculture  to  devise 
methods  for  harvesting  forests  in  such 
a  way  that  a  new  crop  will  be  assured — 
so  that  plenty  of  seed  of  the  wanted 
species  will  be  shed  on  the  ground  and 
conditions  will  be  right  for  their  germi- 
nation and  the  growth  of  the  seedlings. 

The  tools  of  silviculture  are  the  ax 
and  fire-fighting  equipment — the  ax 
to  modify  natural  succession  to  man's 
needs,  and  the  fire-fighting  equipment 
to  keep  forest  fires  in  their  places. 

In  order  to  understand  more  inti- 
mately what  silviculture  is  and  to  get 
its  relation  to  natural  forest  succession 
clearer,  let  us  go  back  to  the  com- 
munity of  trees.  And  to  make  it  easier 
let  us  consider  specific  forests. 

First,  a  tract  of  loblolly  pine  in  the 
Carolina  Piedmont.  A  great  deal  of  lob- 
lolly pine  grows  in  this  region,  but  we 
have  evidence  that  it  is  not  the  climax 
forest.  Loblolly  is  intolerant  of  shade, 
and  the  new  seedlings  cannot  grow  be- 
neath the  old  trees,  which  change  the 
environment  by  shading  the  ground 
and  by  adding  moisture-holding  humus 
to  it.  Shady,  cool,  moist,  humus-cov- 
ered ground  is  a  hard  place  for  loblolly 
seedlings  to  get  started.  Those  condi- 


tions favor  the  shade-enduring  hard- 
woods, oaks,  gums,  and  hickories.  A 
little  study  of  surrounding  areas  will 
show  that  loblolly  is  a  pioneer  species 
on  abandoned  fields  and  burned-over 
areas.  Its  seeds  are  light  and  winged, 
and  mature  trees  can  seed  large  areas 
in  a  single  season.  Consequently  all 
trees  in  a  stand  of  loblolly  are  likely 
to  be  about  the  same  age.  These  facts 
indicate  that  loblolly  forests  are  the 
result  of  disturbances  in  the  natural 
succession.  Further  proof  comes  from 
the  forests  along  the  creeks  where  fields 
have  never  been  cultivated  and  where 
fires  burn  less  readily.  These  forests  are 
hardwoods. 

Hardwoods  are  evidently  the  climax 
type  in  the  Carolina  Piedmont,  or  at 
any  rate  they  are  a  higher  stage  in  suc- 
cession than  loblolly  pine.  But  hard- 
woods are  not  what  we  want  to  grow 
there.  Pine  is  better  suited  to  a  greater 
number  of  products  than  hardwood, 
and  it  grows  faster.  So  the  job  of 
silviculture  is  to  devise  a  method  of  har- 
vesting our  tract  of  loblolly  to  get  an- 
other crop  of  the  same  species  started. 

That  can  be  done  by  clear  cutting 
the  stand  except  for  the  trees  necessary 
to  produce  the  seed  for  the  next  crop. 
Clear  cutting  will  lay  the  ground  open 
to  the  hot  sun.  It  will  dry  out.  Much 
of  the  moisture-holding  humus  will 
disappear  and  again  conditions  fa- 
vorable to  pine  seedlings  will  prevail. 
It  is  true  that  to  perpetuate  loblolly 
pine  we  must  push  nature  backward  a 
step.  But  consider  how  much  further 
back  we  would  go  to  raise  a  crop  of 
tobacco:  To  do  that,  every  vestige  of 
natural  growth  would  be  removed  first 
and  later  kept  out  by  tillage. 

Another  example:  An  acreage  of 
northern  hardwoods  in  Michigan — 
the  sugar  maple,  yellow  birch,  beech. 
Seedlings  of  those  species  can  grow  in 
the  shade  cast  by  their  parents,  and  all 
ages  of  trees,  from  seedlings  to  vet- 
erans, grow  together.  Remnants  of  the 
original  forests  evidently  undisturbed 
for  many  tree  generations  are  of  this 
type.  We  must  suppose  that  northern 
hardwoods  are  one  of  the  climaxes 


io8 

here  and  that  the  forest  would  perpet- 
uate itself  if  it  were  left  undisturbed. 

The  problem  of  silviculture  in  this 
case  is  to  harvest  the  crop  with  as  little 
disturbance  as  possible.  The  procedure 
is  therefore  to  imitate  the  way  indi- 
vidual trees  die  in  the  natural  forest 
and  cut  a  mature  tree  here  and  there. 

To  round  out  the  picture,  consider 
land  that  has  been  abandoned  for  agri- 
culture in  an  area  once  covered  with 
forests.  Eventually  this  land  will  revert 
to  forests.  But  if  there  are  no  seed  trees 
nearby  of  pioneer  species  that  can  start 
on  dry,  shadeless  land,  it  may  take  a 
thousand  years.  Natural  succession  can 
be  hurried  along  by  planting  such 
abandoned  fields  to  pine. 

All  of  these  examples  are  oversimpli- 
fied. But  more  details  of  silvicultural 
methods  are  given  in  later  articles. 

REAL  SIMPLIFICATION  of  silviculture 
can  come  only  with  more  knowledge  of 
how  forest  communities  behave.  The 
very  richness  of  the  forests  in  these 
United  States  multiplies  the  problems 
of  the  silviculturist.  For  many  forest  as- 
sociations, we  know  little  about  nat- 
ural succession;  for  some,  we  can  only 
guess  at  the  climax  type  toward  which 
the  association  tends.  So  much  of  our 
original  forests  has  been  destroyed  or 
cut  over  that  it  is  hard  or  impossible  to 
find  undisturbed  areas  of  many  types. 
Belatedly  we  are  establishing,  on  the 
national  forests  and  elsewhere,  natural 
areas  in  the  few  remaining  virgin- 
forest  communities.  These  areas  are  to 
be  protected  from  all  cutting  and  other 
artificial  alterations  so  that  we  can 
learn  from  them  the  nature  of  our  cli- 
max or  near-climax  forests. 

Most  bothersome  of  unsolved  silvi- 
cultural problems  are  those  that  deal 
with  the  effects  of  modifications  that 
must  necessarily  be  made  when  the  tree 
crops  are  harvested.  To  work  in  the 
direction  of  natural  succession  is  usual- 
ly easy  and  inexpensive.  To  work 
against  it  is  harder  and  may  be  costly. 
For  instance:  Will  it  be  possible  con- 
tinuously to  keep  back  the  hardwoods 
in  the  Carolina  Piedmont  and  raise 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


pine  without  eventually  having  to  fer- 
tilize the  soil  artificially?  Can  we  man- 
age to  tolerate  just  enough  of  the  soil- 
enriching  hardwoods  without  letting 
them  get  the  upper  hand?  Or  will  we 
have  to  go  to  the  expense  of  plowing 
and  planting  trees  if  we  insist  on  rais- 
ing pine?  Such  questions  probe  deeply 
into  the  underlying  laws  of  ecology. 

We  seek  ever  the  best  balance  be- 
tween the  ways  of  nature  and  our 
wants.  To  make  the  forests  yield  useful 
products  while  maintaining  and  im- 
proving their  natural  vigor  requires 
continuous,  painstaking  research. 

FORESTERS  MUST  be  forward-look- 
ing. A  single  tree  crop  may  require  200 
years  to  mature.  But  the  single  crop  is 
not  the  only  concern;  there  must  be 
provision  for  successions  of  them.  Fur- 
thermore, we  cannot  wait  a  century  or 
two  between  harvests.  Things  must  be 
arranged  so  that  some  trees  can  be 
harvested  each  year  or  every  few  years. 
That  requires  foresight  and  planning, 
and  leads  to  another  branch  of  for- 
estry— forest  regulation. 

The  basic  rule  of  forest  regulation 
is  to  cut  each  year  a  volume  of  timber 
no  greater  than  the  volume  that  grew 
during  the  year.  If  the  layers  of  wood 
added  to  the  trees  on  an  acre  of  north- 
ern hardwood  forest  in  Michigan  total, 
say,  250  board  feet  each  year,  then 
trees  with  a  volume  of  250  board  feet 
or  less  can  be  removed  from  the  acre 
annually  without  reducing  the  growth 
capacity  of  the  forest.  Thus  yield  can 
be  sustained  indefinitely. 

But  sustained  yield  of  our  forests 
depends  on  more  than  making  plans. 
It  depends  on  how  well  we  are  able  to 
work  with  nature  and  get  her  to  work 
with  us.  Wherever  this  cooperation  is 
attained,  communities  of  men  and 
communities  of  trees  are  in  harmony. 

JESSE  H.  BUELL  is  assistant  chief  of 
the  Division  of  Forest  Management 
Research  in  the  Forest  Service.  He  was 
formerly  engaged  in  research  in  sil- 
viculture at  the  Southeastern  Forest 
Experiment  Station. 


io9 


FOREST  TYPES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


WILLIAM  A.  DAYTON 


Because  of  the  size  of  the  United 
States,  the  diversity  of  its  conditions, 
and  the  wealth  of  its  vegetation  (we 
have  about  four  times  as  many  tree  spe- 
cies as  does  Europe)  and  because  of 
differences  in  terminology  and  of  opin- 
ions on  classification,  climaxes,  and 
such,  it  is  not  surprising  that  ideas 
about  the  forest  types  of  the  United 
States  are  still  somewhat  controversial. 

Dr.  James  Graham  Cooper  (1830— 
1902),  Army  surgeon,  explorer,  and 
naturalist,  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
to  publish  a  vegetative- type  map  of 
North  America.  It  appeared  in  1859  in 
his  paper  On  the  Distribution  of  the 
Forests  and  Trees  of  North  America, 
with  Notes  on  its  Physical  Geography. 
Overleaf  is  reproduced  the  United 
States  part  of  Dr.  Cooper's  map;  the 
original  letters  for  his  regions  are  re- 
tained, but  hachures  have  been  added 
to  make  their  differentiation  clearer  to 
the  eye.  It  will  be  observed  that  four  of 
Dr.  Cooper's  regions  are  in  the  Eastern 
seaboard,  three  are  in  the  Appalach- 
ians, six  are  in  the  Plains  States,  five 
are  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  areas,  three 
are  in  the  Intermountain  area,  and  two 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  Most  of  them  are 
forested  areas,  at  least  in  part. 

Dr.  Cooper  was  a  link  between  an- 
cient students  of  the  subject  and  the 
modern  investigators,  who  have  added 
a  great  deal  to  our  ken  of  botany. 

Theophrastus  of  Eresus  (372-287 
B.  C.)  by  the  will  of  Aristotle  became 
heir  to  the  great  philosopher's  cele- 
brated library,  guardian  of  his  chil- 
dren, and  his  successor  as  head  of  the 
Lyceum  at  Athens.  Theophrastus  has 
been  called  "primus  verorum  botani- 
corum" — the  first  real  botanist.  He 
was  perhaps  the  first  to  emphasize  the 
relation  of  trees  and  other  plants  to 
their  environment,  and  may  rightly  be 
regarded  as  the  father  of  the  concepts 
of  ecological  and  vegetative  types. 

Nearly  two  centuries  ago,  Linnaeus, 


in  his  Philosophia  Botanica,  had  a 
chapter  on  plant  distribution  corre- 
lated with  the  geographic  regions,  cli- 
mate, soils,  and  the  other  factors  of 
habitat. 

Henry  Solon  Graves,  who  published 
Practical  Forestry  in  the  Adirondacks 
in  1899,  is  generally  credited  with  the 
introduction  of  the  term  "forest  type" 
in  this  country.  The  late  Dr.  Frederic 
E.  Clements,  a  distinguished  ecologist 
and  author  of  Plant  Formations  and 
Forest  Types,  published  in  1909,  calls 
Professor  Graves'  types  "plant  (or 
forest)  formations."  He  separates  for- 
mations into  associations,  associations 
into  societies,  societies  into  communi- 
ties (with  two  or  more  principal  or 
secondary  species),  and  communities 
into  families  (defined  as  groups  of  co- 
specific  individuals) . 

The  Ecological  Society  of  America 
tentatively  suggested  this  definition 
of  "forest  types"  in  1934:  "A  forest 
stand  essentially  similar  throughout 
its  extent  as  regards  composition 
and  development  under  essentially  sim- 
ilar conditions,  i.  e.,  essentially  similar 
throughout  as  regards  floristic  com- 
position, physiognomy,  and  ecological 
structure." 

Ten  years  later  the  Committee  on 
Forestry  Terminology  of  the  Society  of 
American  Foresters  defined  forest  type 
thus:  "A  descriptive  term  used  to 
group  stands  of  similar  character  as  re- 
gards composition  and  development 
due  to  certain  ecological  factors,  by 
which  they  may  be  differentiated  from 
other  groups  of  stands.  The  term  sug- 
gests repetition  of  the  same  character 
under  similar  conditions.  A  type  is 
temporary  if  its  character  is  due  to 
passing  influences  such  as  logging  or 
fire;  permanent  if  no  appreciable 
change  is  expected  and  the  character 
is  due  to  ecological  factors  alone; 
climax  if  it  is  the  ultimate  stage  of  a 
succession  of  temporary  types.  A  cover 


no 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Forest  Types  of  the  United  States 


type  is  a  forest  type  now  occupying  the 
ground,  no  implication  being  conveyed 
as  to  whether  it  is  temporary  or  per- 
manent." 

Raphael  Zon,  in  Principles  Involved 
in  Determining  Forest  Types,  pub- 
lished in  1906,  emphasizes  the  im- 
portance of  forest  types  in  silvical 
studies  of  individual  species,  and  sets 
forth  a  philosophy  basic  to  determin- 
ing forest  types.  The  main  considera- 
tions are  physical  conditions  of  climate, 
soil,  and  the  like;  man  and  his  opera- 
tions ;  accidents,  such  as  fire  and  wind. 
He  says  that  "one  of  the  most  im- 
portant characteristics  of  a  forest  type 
is  its  stability,  its  resistance  to  invasion 
by  other  forms,"  and  adds  that  the  re- 
production of  the  forest  must  always 
be  considered. 

Arthur  W.  Sampson  (The  Stability 
of  Aspen  as  a  Type,  1916)  believes  that 
aspen  is  a  temporary  type,  replaced, 
slowly  but  surely,  by  conifers. 

Carlos  G.  Bates,  in  Forest  Types  in 
the  Central  Rocky  Mountains  as  Af- 
fected by  Climate  and  Soil,  1924,  states 
that,  in  a  general  way,  the  forest  zones 
of  that  region  correspond  with  air- 
temperature  zones.  He  adds  that  a  re- 
view of  the  facts  leaves  little  doubt  that 
the  tree  species  of  the  central  Rocky 
Mountains  are  controlled  in  their  dis- 
tribution almost  wholly  by  the  degree 
of  insolation  of  the  site,  with  the  re- 
sultant temperatures,  and  by  the  closely 


•<  Adapted  from  Dr.  James  G.  Cooper's 
Distribution  of  the  Forests  and  Trees  of 
North  America  (1859).  The  letters  indi- 
cate: C,  Lacustrine  Province  (Canadian  Re- 
gion); D,  E,  F,  G,  Apalachian  Province 
(Alleghany,  Ohio,  Tennessean,  Caro- 
linian Regions,  respectively);  H,  Mississip- 
pian  Region;  I,  Floridian  Region  (part  of 
West  Indian  Province);  J,  K,  L,  M,  N, 
Campestrian  Province:  (1)  Prairies,  J 
(Texan  Region),  K  (Illinois  Region),  L 
(Saskatchewan  Region),  (2)  Arid  Plains,  M 
(Dacotah  Region),  N  (Comanche  Region); 
Q,  Mexican  Province  (Chihuahian  Region); 
R,  S,  T,  U,  V,  Rocky  Mountain  Province 
(Arizonian,  Wasatch,  Padoucan,  Utah,  and 
Shoshone  Regions,  respectively);  W,  X,  Y, 
Z,  Nevadian  Province  (Californian,  Ore- 
gonian,  Kootanic,  and  Yukon  Regions, 
respectively). 


Ill 

related  surface  conditions  of  moisture. 

A  distinguished  Finnish  forester  and 
ecologist,  Aimo  K.  Cajander,  places 
forest  typification  on  a  combined  eco- 
logical and  biological  basis  (The 
Theory  of  Forest  Types,  English  trans- 
lation revised  by  Mr.  M.  L.  Anderson, 
1926).  He  recognizes  two  kinds,  in 
principle,  of  forest  classification,  ac- 
cording to  quality  and  site.  He  says: 
"The  features  of  a  plant  association  are 
generally  determined  by  those  species 
which  are  present  in  the  greatest 
abundance  and  frequency.  Those  spe- 
cies, however,  which  are  present  at 
a  lesser  rate  of  abundance,  but  are, 
nevertheless,  always  or  nearly  always 
present,  are  also,  of  course,  equally 
characteristic  of  the  association.  Fi- 
nally those  species,  which,  though  they 
may  be  more  or  less  rare,  are  met  with, 
however,  almost  exclusively  in  the  as- 
sociation in  question,  are  also  charac- 
teristic of  that  association.  On  the 
other  hand,  of  course,  the  absence  of 
certain  plant  species  is  also  a  very  im- 
portant feature  in  the  delineation  of 
a  plant  association,  although  the  defi- 
nite establishment  of  absence  is  more 
difficult." 

Arthur  Freiherr  von  Kruedener,  who 
published  Waldtypen — Klassifikation 
und  ihre  volkswirtschaftlich  Bedeutung 
in  1927,  based  scientific  classification 
of  forest  types  on  three  factors:  Cli- 
mate, soil,  and  plant  associates :  "Was 
wir  unter  Waldtypen  verstehen,  sowie 
von  den  Faktoren — Klima,  Boden-Un- 
tergrund  und  Pflanzengemeinschaft, 
welche  drei  in  ihrer  Verbindung  uns 
erst  den  Begriff  des  Waldtyps  geben." 

Gustaf  A.  Pearson,  in  Forest  Types 
in  the  Southwest  as  Determined  by 
Climate  and  Soil,  1931,  distinguishes 
seven  broad  zones  with  four  forest 
types:  Woodland,  ponderosa  ("west- 
ern yellow")  pine,  Douglas-fir,  and 
Engelmann  spruce.  The  soil  differ- 
ences, he  says,  appear  to  be  due  more 
to  physical  than  to  chemical  differ- 
ences, the  more  porous  soils  being  best 
suited  to  tree  growth,  the  upper  alti- 
tudinal  range  determined  by  ability  to 
withstand  low  temperatures  and  the 


112 

lower  altitudinal  range  to  drought  en- 
durance. The  soil,  except  locally,  rarely 
acts  as  a  limiting  factor.  He  does  not 
regard  light  as  a  limiting  factor  in  the 
range  of  trees,  but  it  may  affect  the 
composition  of  stands. 

Marinus  Westveld  (Type  Defini- 
tions Based  on  Statistics  of  Stand  Com- 
position, 1934)  gives  type  definitions 
of  the  red  spruce-yellow  birch  (with 
yellow  birch  subtype)  as  well  as  the  red 
spruce-sugar  maple-beech  (with  sugar 
maple  subtype)  types.  In  the  red 
spruce-yellow  birch  type,  the  conifers 
usually  make  up  more  than  40  percent 
of  the  stand,  with  spruce  and  the  bal- 
sam fir  in  about  equal  numbers,  the 
yellow  birch  composing  between  25  and 
50  percent,  and  sugar  maple  seldom 
more  than  5  percent  of  the  total  stand. 
In  the  red  spruce-sugar  maple-beech 
type,  the  conifers  make  up  25  to  45  per- 
cent of  the  stand,  spruce  usually  being 
more  abundant  than  fir.  Sugar  maples 
generally  make  up  more  than  10  per- 
cent of  the  stand  and,  combined  with 
beech,  usually  considerably  exceed  the 
yellow  birch  in  number. 

Again,  in  the  field  of  forest  classifi- 
cation systems  and  their  terminology, 
there  is  a  large  literature  and  differ- 
ences in  viewpoint. 

The  eminent  German  forester  Hein- 
rich  von  Cotta  in  1804  listed  forest 
lands  in  100  quality  classes,  "0"  being 
absolutely  barren  land  incapable  of 
producing  wood  of  any  sort,  and  "100," 
the  best  imaginable  land. 

W.  Schiitze,  who  wrote  Beziehungen 
zwischen  chemischer  Zusammenset- 
zung  und  Ertragsfdhigkeit  des  Wald- 
bodens  in  1871,  classified  six  areas  of 
German  forest  land  on  the  basis  of 
determining  in  a  surface  layer  5^4  feet 
deep  the  percentage  of  mineral  matter 
soluble  in  hydrochloric  acid.  This  is  a 
refinement  in  the  methodology  of  forest 
typification  which  obviously  it  has  not 
been  practical  to  utilize  in  this  country 
on  any  large  scale. 

The  late  John  W.  Harshberger,  in 
his  Phy  to  geographic  Survey  of  North 
America,  1913,  divides  the  part  of 
North  America  lying  within  the  United 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


States  into  two  zones,  temperate  and 
subtropical.  These  zones,  so  far  as  for- 
ests are  concerned,  are  again  divided 
into  9  regions,  24  districts,  and  16  areas. 
Under  these  forest  areas,  forest  and 
other  plant  formations  are  recognized. 

Jesse  B.  Mowry  (The  Nature  and 
Development  of  Forest  Types,  1920) 
recognizes  two  classifications  of  the 
term  "forest  type" :  Where  type  means 
( 1 )  locality,  and  ( 2 )  composition.  He 
believes  that,  for  the  present  at  least, 
forest  types  should  be  designated  by 
terms  indicating  both  concepts.  He  em- 
phasizes the  importance  of  moisture  in 
tree  growth,  their  tissues  consisting  of 
from  65  to  95  percent  of  water,  and 
quotes  Ebermeyer  to  the  effect  that 
conifers  require  less  potash,  lime,  and 
phosphate  than  do  deciduous  trees. 

Although  published  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  still  the  best  available  map 
of  the  vegetation  of  the  United  States 
is  that  by  Homer  L.  Shantz  and 
Raphael  Zon  (Natural  Vegetation, 
Section  E,  Atlas  of  American  Agricul- 
ture, U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics, 
Part  I — The  Physical  Basis  of  Agricul- 
ture, 29  pages,  Washington.  1924). 
This  map  is  reproduced  on  the  next 
page,  on  a  smaller  scale  and  with 
hatching  replacing  the  original  colors. 
It  will  be  observed  that  the  forested 
and  woodland  areas  are  classified  in  it 
under  18  divisions. 

A  booklet  of  the  Forest  Service,  In- 
structions for  Making  Timber  Surveys 
in  the  National  Forests,  1925,  has  a 
chapter,  "Standard  Classification  of 
Forest  Types,"  covering  7  treeless  land 
types  and  52  woodland  and  forest-land 
types. 

The  Committee  on  Forest  Types  of 
the  Society  of  American  Foresters  in 
1940  recognized  and  defined  97  forest 
types  in  the  eastern  United  States. 
"Eastern  United  States"  is  interpreted 
to  include  "the  eastern  forests  which 
are  separated  from  the  western  forests 
by  a  broad  zone  of  relatively  treeless  or 
desert  country.  The  territory  covered 
by  the  committee  extends  in  some 
places  to  the  westward  of  the  eastern 


Forest  Types  of  the  United  States 


802062C 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


forests.  The  western  boundary  of  the 
'eastern  United  States'  as  thus  defined 
is  a  wavy  north  and  south  line  extend- 
ing from  Canada  to  Mexico  between 
the  97th  and  101st  degrees  of  longi- 
tude." 

Lee  R.  Dice,  in  the  book  The  Biotic 
Provinces  of  North  America,  1943, 
recognizes  20  biotic  provinces  in  the 
United  States,  in  17  of  which  trees 
are  either  important  or  dominant.  He 
defines  biotic  province  as  "a  consid- 
erable and  continuous  geographic  area 
.  .  .  characterized  by  the  occurrence 
of  one  or  more  important  ecologic  as- 
sociations that  differ,  at  least  in  pro- 
portional area  covered,  from  the  as- 
sociations of  adjacent  provinces.  In 
general,  biotic  provinces  are  character- 
ized also  by  peculiarities  of  vegetation 
type,  ecological  climax,  flora,  fauna, 
climate,  physiography,  and  soil." 

The  Committee  on  Western  Forest 
Types  of  the  Society  of  American  For- 
esters in  1945  recognized  and  defined 


50  forest  types  in  the  western  part  of 
the  United  States.  This  means  that  the 
Society  of  American  Foresters  has  rec- 
ognized 147  distinct  forest  types  in  the 
United  States.  Some  of  these,  such  as 
ponderosa  pine,  redwood,  lodgepole 
pine,  and  Engelmann  spruce,  may  oc- 
cupy large  areas  in  pure  or  almost  pure 
stands.  Most  of  the  types,  however, 
are  mixed.  In  general,  eastern  types 
are  more  complex  than  western,  and 
conifer  types  less  complex  than  hard- 
wood forests.  In  going  from  north  to 
south,  the  types,  with  some  exceptions, 
tend  to  a  greater  number  of  species. 

WILLIAM  A.  DAYTON  is  in  charge 
of  dendrology  and  range-forage  in- 
vestigations of  the  United  States  Forest 
Service.  He  is  probably  best  known  for 
his  publications  on  native  range  plants 
and  is  joint  editor,  with  Harlan  P. 
Kelsey,  of  Standardized  Plant  Names. 
Mr.  Dayton  has  been  connected  with 
the  Forest  Service  since  1911. 


FORESTS  AND  SOILS 

JOHN  T.  AUTEN,  T.  B.  PLAIR 


Successful  reforestation,  particularly 
with  the  hardwoods,  has  to  take  into 
consideration  selection  of  the  proper 
species  and  the  balance  between  trees 
and  soil.  Perhaps  the  soil  has  eroded  or 
all  trees  have  been  removed  from  it: 
Then  it  is  not  simple  to  choose  trees 
that  grow  well  on  bare  land;  also,  the 
balance  that  existed  in  the  virgin  for- 
ests was  destroyed  when  the  land  was 
cleared.  Basic  soil  and  atmospheric 
changes  often  make  such  areas  inca- 
pable of  supporting  the  original  species. 

Soil  loss  from  erosion  following  fire, 
overgrazing,  clearing,  and  cultivation 
is  a  basic  loss.  It  reduces  productivity 
of  cleared  land;  it  also  lowers  the  site 
quality  in  existing  forests.  Any  appre- 
ciable change  in  soil  necessitates  a 
shift  in  species  composition  in  order  to 
obtain  those  best  suited  to  the  site. 
Site  deterioration  means  species  of 


lower  value  in  the  stand  and  a  loss  to 
the  owner. 

Accordingly,  the  problems  of  restor- 
ing and  conserving  our  trees  and  for- 
ests will  be  simplified  by  a  knowledge 
of  forest  soils  and  of  the  relation  be- 
tween forests  and  soils. 

A  soil  is  a  natural  mineral  body  with 
distinct  features  that  identify  it,  even 
in  widely  separated  areas.  It  has  def- 
inite structure  with  horizons  or  layers, 
one  over  the  other.  The  topsoil,  from 
which  the  fine  soil  has  been  washed  by 
percolating  waters,  is  the  A  horizon. 
Just  under  it  is  horizon  B,  the  heavy 
horizon  or  subsoil,  which  receives  the 
fine  soil  washed  out  of  A.  The  C  hori- 
zon is  the  parent  soil  material  below  B. 

A  fertile  soil  contains  a  myriad  of 
living  organisms,  plant  and  animal, 
adapted  to  the  soil  conditions.  It  has 
pore  space,  which  contains  water  and 


Forests  and  Soils 


air.  To  some  degree,  like  a  living  body, 
it  absorbs  oxygen  and  releases  carbon 
dioxide.  A  soil  has  characteristic  parts 
in  harmony  with  its  environment.  Its 
productivity  depends  on  all  of  its  parts. 

The  formation  of  a  soil,  a  slow  proc- 
ess, doubtless  began  on  the  first  crust 
of  the  earth,  when  heating  and  cooling 
and  wetting  and  drying  cracked  the 
surface  rocks,  made  little  patches  of 
loose  rubble,  and  caused  little  pockets 
of  mineral  crystals  to  settle  in  crannies 
and  depressions,  and  allowed  lichens, 
mosses,  and  other  simple  plants  to  grow 
in  the  thin  soil  and  on  porous  rocks. 
Rain  dissolved  the  softer  parts  of  the 
rocks  and  made  soluble  minerals  avail- 
able to  plant  roots. 

As  the  soil  mantle  grew  deeper,  the 
soil  grains  became  finer.  Water  perco- 
lated through  the  soil  mass,  carried  fine 
particles  from  the  surface  layer  down- 
ward, and  deposited  them  at  lower 
depths  to  form  subsoil.  Plant  debris  fell 
on  the  surface  and  the  micro-organic 
life  appeared.  Larger  and  more  com- 
plex plants  appeared  until  finally  trees 
and  forests,  as  we  know  them  today, 
emerged  with  their  characteristic  soils. 

Each  forest  soil  developed  its  orderly 
arrangement  of  horizons,  its  porous 
and  absorptive  structure,  and  its  bal- 
anced and  active  population  of  bac- 
teria, molds,  fungi,  worms,  insects,  and 
animals.  Roots  of  the  trees  anchored 
the  soil  in  place ;  the  leaves  provided  a 
protective  cover  of  litter  and  added 
fertility  yearly. 

Soils  differ  broadly  among  climatic 
provinces.  Basic  differences  occur  be- 
cause rainfall,  temperature,  and  rocks 
are  different.  Any  part  of  the  earth 
having  a  characteristic  climate  and 
parent-rock  material  has  its  special 
kinds  of  soil:  The  gray,  desert  sage- 
brush soils  of  southern  Wyoming;  the 
subhumid,  chestnut-colored  prairie 
soils  of  western  Nebraska;  the  black, 
tall-grass  prairie  soils  of  Iowa  and  Illi- 
nois; the  gray-brown,  hardwood-cov- 
ered soils  of  Indiana  and  Illinois;  the 
gray,  leached,  pine-covered  podzol 
soils  of  Maine;  and  the  rich-brown, 
humid,  forest  soils  of  the  Northwest. 


Even  within  a  climatic  province, 
many  differences  occur  among  soils, 
chiefly  because  of  differences  in  vege- 
tation, degree  of  slope,  and  the  nature 
of  the  parent  rock.  Vegetation  alters 
the  surface  of  soils,  but  the  primary 
local  difference  is  permeability  of  the 
soil  to  water.  Permeability  is  altered 
according  to  changes  in  coarseness  of 
the  soil  and  is  controlled  largely  by  the 
nature  of  parent  rocks  and  by  the  sub- 
soil density  associated  with  topography. 
A  basic  factor  in  soil  formation  is  the 
relation  of  topography  to  subsoil. 

Rain  falling  anywhere  on  bare  soil 
puddles  it  with  muddy  water.  Such 
muddy  water  contains  colloidal  soil — 
exceedingly  small  soil  particles,  some 
of  them  almost  molecular  in  size.  If 
the  soil  surface  is  sloping,  much  of  the 
muddy  water  runs  off.  If  the  surface 
is  flat,  much  of  the  water  seeps  into  the 
lower  soil,  where  the  colloidal  particles 
are  deposited,  forming  a  part  of  the  B 
horizon.  This  horizon  forms  in  the 
lower  soil  at  depths  usually  ranging 
from  8  up  to  36  inches,  depending  on 
height  of  the  water  table  during  the 
formative  period.  The  thickness  of  this 
zone  depends  on  the  rate  of  internal 
drainage  and  fluctuation  of  the  water 
table  during  the  rainy  season.  Density 
of  the  B  horizon  is  affected  by  the  flat- 
ness of  the  terrain.  In  general,  the 
flatter  the  terrain  the  denser  the  B  hori- 
zon. This  horizon — sometimes  called 
the  subsoil,  or  where  very  dense,  a  clay- 
pan — is  the  key  to  drainage. 

Soils  in  any  one  area  are  affected  by 
differences  in  parent-rock  material. 
Coarse  sands  from  sandstone  do  not 
puddle  as  much  as  clay  from  shales; 
hence  subsoil  formation  is  less  pro- 
nounced in  sandstone-  than  in  shale- 
derived  soils.  Differences  in  the  rock 
composition  do  not  alter  the  basic  soil- 
forming  process,  but  do  affect  the  rate 
of  soil  formation. 

SOILS  AFFECT  THE  TREES  principally 
through  soil  air  and  soil  moisture. 
Seasonal  available  soil  moisture  com- 
monly determines  what  species  grow  in 
any  forest  and  their  rate  of  growth. 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


n 

? 


Graphic  relation  between  equal-aged  yellow-poplar  and  subsoil  in  the  same  planting. 


Soils  affect  forests  much  as  soils  affect 
any  other  crop.  Dry  soils  in  the  hard- 
wood belt  are  likely  to  have  dry-site 
oaks,  like  scrub  oak,  blackjack,  and 
scarlet  oak.  Moist  soils  support  such 
species  as  yellow-poplar,  beech,  maple, 
black  walnut,  and  red  and  white  oaks. 
Wet  soils  are  more  favorable  for  syca- 
more, cottonwood,  redgum,  pin  oak, 
and  willow. 

Four  general  soil  conditions  in- 
fluence forests  through  their  effects  on 
available  soil  moisture :  Surface  poros- 
ity, subsoil  density,  aspect,  and  depth. 
The  first  affects  rate  of  water  absorp- 
tion; the  second,  free  movement  of 
water  in  the  soil;  the  third,  surface 
evaooration  rate;  and  the  fourth,  the 


volume  of  water  available.  Surface 
porosity  is  an  ever-present  and  indis- 
pensable attribute  of  the  forest  soils.  A 
forest  soil  always  develops  porosity 
under  a  protective  litter  cover.  This 
porous  surface  facilitates  absorption. 

Water  movement  is  governed  by  sub- 
soil density :  The  denser  the  subsoil,  the 
slower  the  movement  of  water  through 
it.  Furthermore,  the  shallower  the  A 
horizon  above  a  tight  subsoil,  the  less 
rainfall  the  soil  absorbs  because  of  the 
smaller  volume  of  porous  surface  soil. 

Aspect  and  exposure  influence  avail- 
able soil  moisture  by  affecting  the  rate 
of  evaporation.  South-  and  west-facing 
slopes  normally  have  less  soil  moisture 
than  north  and  east.  In  hilly  or  moun- 


Forests  and  Soils 


117 


tainous  country,  the  quantity  of  mois- 
ture available  to  a  tree  varies  with  its 
position  on  the  slope.  Trees  on  lower 
slopes  normally  have  more  available 
moisture  than  trees  on  otherwise  sim- 
ilar upper  slopes.  Deep  soils  that  have 
adequate  water-holding  capacities  keep 
trees  growing  at  maximum  rates — if 
other  factors  are  not  limiting — whereas 
shallow  soils  not  having  adequate 
water-holding  capacity  do  not. 

Some  tree  species  grow  well  under 
many  soil  conditions,  others  do  not. 
Black  locust,  for  instance,  can  grow  on 
deep  or  shallow,  moist  or  dry  soils. 
True,  it  does  not  grow  equally  well  on 
all  situations,  but  it  does  persist.  Other 
species,  such  as  yellow-poplar,  occur 
on  only  a  few  deep  moist  soils  and 
usually  do  not  become  established  on 
shallow  dry  soils  or  on  tight  claypan 
soils.  Segregation  of  species  within 
their  ranges  is  therefore  often  due  to 
differences  in  soils. 

Forest  types  or  associations  of  tree 
species  depend  somewhat  upon  rela- 
tive tolerance  of  the  several  associated 
species  to  shade.  Some  stand  more 
shade  than  others.  For  instance,  pon- 
derosa  pine,  cottonwood,  and  black 
locust  are  less  tolerant  of  shade  than 
yellow-poplar,  white  oak,  beech,  and 
hemlock.  Some  species  appear  to  be 
more  tolerant  under  some  soil  condi- 
tions than  under  others.  Two  factors, 
then,  chiefly  determine  forest  types  in 
any  climatic  province:  First,  the  in- 
herent capacity  of  a  species  to  with- 
stand the  shade  and,  second,  the  soil 
conditions. 

FORESTS  AFFECT  THE  SOIL  most  of 
all  through  litter.  Litter  breaks  the  im- 
pact of  rain,  retards  runoff,  and  filters 
rain  water  into  the  soil  without  disturb- 
ing soil  structure.  In  dry  weather,  litter 
reduces  surface  evaporation.  When 
litter  decays,  it  provides  mineral  ele- 
ments for  tree  growth.  It  shelters  mi- 
crobiotic  life,  which  breaks  down  many 
kinds  of  complex  substances  into  sim- 
ple forms,  and  it  shelters  worms  that 
help  to  keep  the  soil  granular  and 
mellow.  In  extremely  cold  weather, 


the  forest  litter  acts  as  a  blanket 
through  which  the  heat  from  the  soil 
cannot  escape  rapidly.  Litter  therefore 
reduces  the  depth  of  freezing  of  forest 
soils.  When  a  forest  soil  does  freeze,  it 
tends  to  honeycomb  and  is  therefore 
permeable  to  sudden  rains  that  may 
come  in  late  spring. 

Litter  is  the  source  of  the  humus 
horizon  of  a  forest  soil,  and  the  humus 
layer  is  the  part  of  a  forest  soil  that 
distinguishes  it  from  an  agricultural 
soil.  Cultivated  soils  contain  humus, 
too,  but  it  chiefly  comes  from  a  humus 
layer  previously  formed  under  grass 
or  forest.  The  humus  of  a  farmed  soil 
is  maintained  only  by  extraordinary 
methods  of  crop  rotation  and  fertiliz- 
ing, whereas  the  humus  layer  of  a 
forested  soil  is  maintained  by  the  yearly 
leaf  fall.  When  bare  fields  are  planted 
to  trees  the  humus  layer  increases  in 
thickness.  This  increase  is  a  good  in- 
dex of  site  recovery. 

Forests  help  prevent  peak  floods 
through  their  effect  on  the  soil.  A  po- 
rous, permeable  soil  absorbs  rainfall 
faster  than  a  cultivated  soil.  A  soil 
covered  with  litter,  brush,  and  tree 
stems  retards  runoff  of  much  surface 
water  that  may  not  be  absorbed 
quickly.  Experiments  show  that  from  a 
40-  to  50-inch  rainfall  in  Ohio,  forests 
store  about  6  inches  more  water  than 
fields  in  cultivated  row  crops. 

The  forest  intercepts  much  of  the 
force  of  wind-driven  rain,  and  thus 
prevents  beating  of  the  protective  lit- 
ter and  soil.  It  protects  the  soil  from 
excessive  heat,  light,  and  drying  winds. 
Its  roots  hold  the  soil  in  place.  They 
have  grown,  died,  and  decayed  through 
centuries,  and  have  made  the  soil  more 
and  more  porous  and  permeable.  As 
they  decay,  they  leave  deep  channels 
through  which  water  may  percolate 
and  air  may  move. 

Rain  water  dissolves  salts  of  calcium, 
potassium,  and  magnesium  from  the 
soil,  causing  it  to  become  sour,  but  in 
the  hardwood  region  these  bases,  re- 
plenished in  the  litter,  tend  to  preserve 
a  "sweet"  soil.  These  elements,  to- 
gether with  organic  matter,  keep  the 


n8 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


GOVERNING  EFFECT  OF  RAINFALL-EVAPORATION  RATIO  ON  VEGETATION 

Each  vertical  plane  cutting  the  figure  from  front  to  back  locates  a  geographic  position 

between  the  prairie  of  western  Iowa  (left)  and  the  Appalachian  Mountains  of  West 

Virginia  (right)  with  its  rainfall-evaporation  ratio  by  months.  The  undulations  at  the 

right  represent  contrasting  evaporation  rates  on  Appalachian  ridges  and  coves. 


upper  hardwood-forest  soil  mellow  and 
granular.  The  forest  absorbs  mineral 
elements  from  the  soil,  and  in  turn 
largely  replaces  them  in  the  yearly  leaf 
fall.  If  the  forest  dropped  more  leaves 
than  decayed  each  year,  it  would  even- 
tually bury  itself  in  its  litter ;  and  if  the 
rate  of  organic-matter  decay  were 
greater  than  the  rate  of  organic  ac- 
cumulation, the  soil  would  at  inter- 
vals be  totally  devoid  of  organic  mat- 
ter. Such  conditions  never  occur;  a 
balance  short  of  them  is  maintained. 

OF  THE  FACTORS  that  adversely  af- 
fect forest  soils,  burning  alone  usually 
does  not  seriously  influence  a  hard- 
wood-covered soil.  It  destroys  the 
litter,  which  protects  the  mineral  soil, 
but  subsequent  erosion  does  the  real 
damage.  Fire  in  a  coniferous  forest  is 
frequently  more  serious  since  shallow 
soils  over  bedrock  are  more  common. 


Overgrazing  is  injurious  to  any  kind 
of  forest.  In  wet  weather  trampling 
compacts  the  soil  and  makes  it  hard 
and  harsh  when  it  dries.  Trampling 
breaks  up  the  litter  cover,  thereby  ex- 
posing mineral  soil  to  excessive  drying 
in  summer.  Heavy  grazing  destroys 
forest  soil  structure,  and  eventually 
lowers  its  site  quality. 

Since  soils  are  formed  slowly,  their 
loss  through  accelerated  erosion  is 
especially  serious.  Erosion  is  more 
damaging  to  some  soils  than  to  others. 
Many  of  the  hardwood  lands  of  south- 
ern Illinois  grew  only  a  few  good  crops 
after  the  trees  were  removed.  The 
porous,  organic-rich  loess  mantle  dis- 
appeared quickly  when  the  protective 
litter  was  plowed  under. 

Aspect  and  degree  of  slope  greatly 
affect  the  rate  of  site  deterioration  due 
to  erosion.  Any  disturbance  of  site  by 
erosion  is  much  worse  on  dry  south 


Forests  and  Soils 


119 


FOREST  COMMUNITIES 


WHITE  OAK 
BLACK  WALNUT 
RED  OAK 
HARD   MAPLE 
BEECH 
BASSWOOD 
WHITE  ASH 


Soil,  topography,  and  tree  species  become  adjusted  in  natural  stands. 


slopes  and  ridges  than  on  moist  north 
slopes  because  the  dry  sites  are  already 
nearer  the  critical  soil  moisture  level. 

Cultivation  of  forest  soil  immediately 
reduces  its  natural  porosity  and  de- 
stroys its  protective  litter.  Erosion  then 
attacks  the  body  of  the  soil. 

Experiments  conducted  by  the  Cen- 
tral States  Forest  Experiment  Station 
and  reported  in  1945  show  that  site 
quality  for  black  locust,  black  walnut, 
and  yellow-poplar  may  be  predicted 
on  the  basis  of  easily  recognizable  soil 
properties,  such  as  permeability  to 
water,  depth  to  subsoil,  and  slope, 
position,  and  aspect.  Studies  by  the 
Soil  Conservation  Service  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest  show  that  growth  rates  of 
Douglas-fir  and  ponderosa  pine  may 
be  predicted  on  the  basis  of  the  same 
soil  properties. 

Agreement  on  the  relationship  be- 
tween the  same  set  of  general  soil  prop- 
erties and  tree  growth  in  such  widely 
separated  and  different  regions  sug- 
gests that  soil-tree  relationships  are  ba- 
sic and  applicable  to  many  more  forest 


regions.  Predictions  of  tree  suitability 
to,  and  rate  of  growth  on,  bare  land 
help  to  set  values  on  land  intended  for 
reforestation.  These  soil-tree  relation- 
ships provide  some  basis  for  predicting 
the  eventual  site  quality  of  deteriorated 
land.  They  assist  also  in  choosing  the 
best  tree  species  for  degraded  sites  and 
in  managing  stands  to  maintain  a  com- 
position of  more  desirable  species. 

JOHN  T.  AUTENJ  a  soil  scientist  in 
the  Forest  Service,  has  been  engaged 
in  forest-soil  investigations  since  1929. 
He  was  once  soil  analyst  for  the  Iowa 
soil  survey  and  professor  of  chemistry 
and  soils  in  Pennsylvania  State  College. 
He  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Illinois  and  of  Iowa  State  College. 

T.  B.  PLAIR  is  chief  of  the  Regional 
Forestry  Division,  Soil  Conservation 
Service,  Pacific  Coast  Region,  and  has 
been  primarily  concerned  with  plan- 
ning forest  land  use  since  1935.  He  is  a 
graduate  of  Mississippi  State  College 
and  the  University  of  California  School 
of  Forestry. 


120 


FOREST  RENEWAL 


LEONARD    I.  BARRETT 


Forestry  attempts  to  perpetuate  at 
the  least  cost  the  species  that  will  pro- 
vide the  greatest  volume  of  useful 
commodities.  In  forestry,  harvesting  is 
followed  promptly  by  a  new  crop,  and 
maximum  productivity  is  maintained 
in  perpetuity. 

The  means  of  establishing  new  for- 
est crops  are  few.  They  include  plant- 
ing small  trees  or  seed,  securing  a 
growth  of  sprouts,  and  natural  seeding 
from  the  mature  forest.  The  first  two 
are  important  locally  in  several  of  the 
forest  regions  of  the  United  States,  but 
prompt  forest  renewal,  through  repro- 
duction by  natural  seeding,  is  appli- 
cable wherever  standing  forests  exist. 

My  purpose  here  is  to  discuss  the 
basic  factors  that  must  be  considered 
in  seeking  natural  forest  renewal  and 
the  methods  that  are  finding  success  in 
the  United  States. 

The  methods  of  renewing  forests 
were  born  at  least  700  years  ago,  when 
the  feudal  lords  and  communal  forest 
owners  of  central  Europe  felt  the  pinch 
of  short  wood  supplies  and  vanishing 
game  habitats  and,  through  edicts  and 
restrictions,  sought  to  perpetuate  for- 
est resources.  At  first,  the  methods 
were  based  on  the  observations  and 
folklore  of  huntsmen  and  did  not  begin 
to  receive  the  benefit  of  systematic  and 
scientific  scrutiny  until  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  eighteenth  century.  From 
then  on,  progress  was  comparatively 
fast;  within  100  years  European  forest- 
ers developed  well-defined  and  effec- 
tive ways  to  get  continued  productivity 
of  forests.  The  practice  of  forestry  was 
elevated  from  a  folklore  or  speculative 
status  to  that  of  applied  science. 

The  beginning  of  a  conservation 
movement  in  the  United  States  about 
50  years  ago  saw  many  attempts — in 
teaching,  research,  and  practice — to 
transplant  the  European  prescriptions 
to  American  forests.  They  did  not  suc- 
ceed too  well.  Gradually,  as  our  own 


basic  knowledge  expands,  methods 
more  applicable  to  our  varied  forests 
and  their  requirements  are  emerging 
and  creating  an  American  science 
of  silviculture.  The  science  is  still  in 
its  infancy,  and  many  more  years  of 
experience  and  research  will  be  needed 
before  sound  solutions  are  obtained  to 
many  important  problems  of  forest  re- 
newal. But  American  foresters  believe 
that  modern  methods  of  research  will 
shorten  this  period  of  development. 

If  a  farmer,  in  one  operation,  could 
harvest  this  year's  crop  of  grain  and 
sow  the  next,  using  a  fraction  of  the 
crop  as  seed,  he  would  accomplish  an 
operation  similar  to  the  one  the  forest 
grower  uses  in  renewing  a  timber  crop. 
For  farm  crops  it  would  not  work,  be- 
cause the  life  processes  of  the  plants 
require  intense  culture  and  care  if  the 
yield  is  to  be  worth  while.  The  farm 
manager  approaches  his  job  with  the 
viewpoint  of  comparatively  complete 
control  of  the  crop  environment  that 
is  needed  to  meet  the  demanding  re- 
quirements of  specific  plants.  He  has 
learned  that  it  pays  to  modify  the 
weather;  he  controls  moisture  by  irri- 
gation and  frost  by  smudge  pots. 

Trees  also  are  demanding  in  their 
requirements  for  germination,  early 
survival,  and  best  growth.  The  cul- 
tural measures  necessary  to  meet  these 
requirements,  however,  are  generally 
quite  different  from  those  needed  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  farm  crops. 
The  intensity  of  culture  used  in  farm- 
ing would  be  wasteful  and  sometimes 
inimical  to  successful  forest  renewal. 
Another  article  in  this  book  discusses 
the  biology  of  the  forest,  and  shows 
how  natural  trends  over  long  periods 
change  the  species  in  a  forest.  It  indi- 
cates also  that  forests  respond  to  the 
natural  variations  in  the  factors  that 
affect  tree  growth  by  a  change  in  spe- 
cies or  in  rate  of  growth  and  thrift. 

The   biological   basis   of   successful 


Forest  Renewal 


forest  regeneration  is  a  knowledge  of 
these  long-time  trends,  of  the  natural 
factors  and  their  variations  that  affect 
tree  growth,  and  of  how  the  variations 
meet  the  basic  requirements  of  the 
trees  for  best  development.  Thus  the 
manager  of  woodlands  must  have  as 
fully  developed  a  knowledge  of  plants 
and  the  specific  environments  with 
which  he  is  dealing  as  the  farmer.  But 
the  woodland  manager  necessarily 
seeks  his  objective  by  guiding  and 
modifying  these  natural  trends  and 
factors,  rather  than  by  attempting 
such  complete  environmental  control 
as  the  farmer.  His  methods  are  less 
obvious  therefore  than  those  of  farm- 
ing and  often  may  not  be  apparent  to 
the  untrained  eye. 

THE   BASIC   REQUIREMENTS   of   treCS 

are  light,  heat,  moisture,  and  wind — 
particularly  in  the  early  stages  of  seed 
production  and  dissemination,  germi- 
nation, and  survival.  When  a  tree  is 
beyond  its  first  stages,  the  texture  and 
chemical  composition  of  the  soil  must 
be  added.  Because  a  man  cannot 
change  the  requirements  of  trees,  suc- 
cess in  securing  natural  regeneration 
depends  upon  how  well  he  can  change 
and  modify  the  natural  factors  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  tree. 

Reactions  of  tree  species  to  changes 
in  these  factors  vary  widely.  I.  T.  Haig 
learned  from  experiments  in  Montana 
that  only  8  percent  of  lowland  white 
fir  seedlings  on  mineral  soil  survived 
in  full  sunlight,  whereas  about  90  per- 
cent survived  under  intensities  of  24 
percent  and  less  of  full  sunlight.  At  the 
same  locality,  less  than  15  percent  of 
western  larch  seedlings  survived  under 
either  full  sunlight  or  almost  complete 
shade,  while  more  than  80  percent 
survived  under  one-fourth  of  full  sun- 
light. 

George  P.  Burns  at  the  Vermont 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  found 
that  sugar  maple  seedlings  required 
only  about  2  percent  of  full  sunlight. 

Paul  J.  Kramer  at  Duke  University 
discovered  that  loblolly  pine  seedlings 
required  nearly  full  sunlight  for  best 


121 

development.  At  the  same  time  he  dis- 
covered that  the  life  processes  of  east- 
ern red  oak  could  be  fully  satisfied 
under  about  one-third  of  full  sunlight. 

Working  in  the  Lake  States,  Hardy 
L.  Shirley  showed  that,  under  unmodi- 
fied conditions  with  only  the  amount 
of  light  varied,  the  dry  weight  of  2- 
year-old  jack  pines  in  80-percent  light 
was  four  times  that  of  those  in  23  per- 
cent light.  Within  those  variations  of 
light,  white  spruce  showed  no  signifi- 
cant difference  in  dry  weight. 

Similar  variations  in  requirements 
between  species  could  be  cited  for  the 
other  factors  that  affect  tree  growth. 
The  important  point  to  keep  in  mind 
is  that  trees  vary  widely  in  the  condi- 
tions under  which  they  develop  well, 
and  the  creation  of  those  conditions  is 
vital  to  successful  forest  renewal. 

Because  these  factors  are  all  inter- 
related, a  modification  of  one  affects 
another.  For  example,  light  is  one  of 
the  most  easily  controlled.  That  is 
accomplished  by  cutting  that  changes 
the  density  of  the  forest  canopy  and 
allows  light  to  enter  the  stand  in  pro- 
portion to  intensity  of  the  cut.  A 
change  in  the  amount  of  light  reach- 
ing the  forest  floor  affects  soil  tempera- 
ture. Soil  moisture  also  is  affected,  be- 
cause the  trees  that  are  removed  no 
longer  draw  upon  it. 

Light  is  so  important  and  (more 
than  any  other  single  factor)  is  so 
closely  correlated  with  other  factors 
that  species  of  forest  trees  are  often 
classified  on  the  basis  of  their  apparent 
tolerance  or  intolerance  to  shade.  This 
concept  of  tolerance  is  really  an  expres- 
sion not  only  of  the  shade-enduring 
capacity  of  a  species  but  also  of  its  abil- 
ity to  develop  well  under  the  complex 
of  all  factors  associated  with  various 
degrees  of  light.  The  concept  is  im- 
perfect in  several  respects  and  is  un- 
satisfactory if  it  is  universally  applied 
to  the  exclusion  of  other  considera- 
tions, but  it  provides  a  useful  working 
principle  in  devising  methods  of  forest 
renewal. 

Under  this  concept,  tolerant  species 
are  those  that  can  become  established 


122 

and  develop  well  as  an  understory  in 
a  well-stocked  stand  of  larger  trees, 
while  intolerant  trees  are  those  that 
cannot  survive  such  a  subordinate 
position. 

From  the  examples  I  have  cited,  it 
is  apparent  that  species  such  as  sugar 
maple,  white  spruce,  and  the  lowland 
white  fir  are  very  tolerant  of  shade, 
jack  pine  and  loblolly  pine  are  rather 
intolerant,  and  western  larch  and  east- 
ern red  oak  have  intermediate  ratings 
in  the  scale  of  tolerance. 

SEEDING  CHARACTERISTICS  of  trees 
are  also  important  in  arriving  at  work- 
able methods  of  forest  renewal. 

The  means  of  natural  dissemination 
of  seed  are  key  factors  and  can  be 
divided  into  two  major  groups.  The 
largest  group  is  the  light-seeded  species 
whose  seed  can  be  disseminated  by  the 
wind.  Seed  of  these  species  are  attached 
to  wings,  downy  material,  or  other 
structures  that  aid  in  distribution  by 
the  wind.  In  this  group  are  the  pines, 
spruces,  and  firs,  and  many  important 
broadleaved  species  such  as  the  yellow- 
poplar,  the  ashes,  maples,  birches,  elms, 
poplars,  and  others.  The  second  group 
consists  of  heavy-seeded  species  whose 
seed  is  distributed  only  by  gravity,  with 
some  rather  ineffective  aid  by  birds  and 
animals.  This  class  includes  the  oaks, 
walnut,  hickories.  Obviously  with  these 
there  can  be  little  lateral  distribution 
from  the  parent  tree  by  wind.  Hence, 
with  this  group,  the  trees  chosen  to 
reseed  an  area  must  be  more  closely 
spaced  than  with  the  group  whose  seed 
is  wind-borne. 

Seed-producing  capacity  is  another 
important  characteristic  to  be  con- 
sidered. It  may  be  poor  because  the 
intervals  between  the  good  seed  years 
may  amount  to  as  much  as  6  or  7  years 
(with  species  such  as  red  pine,  longleaf 
pine,  and  beech)  or  because  not  much 
seed  is  produced,  as  is  the  case  with 
chestnut  oak.  Other  species  (such  as 
Virginia  pine  and  scarlet  oak)  bear 
good  crops  every  year  or  two. 

Many  other  seeding  characteristics 
are  of  importance.  One  is  the  time  over 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


which  seed  is  dispersed.  Some  species, 
like  white  pine  and  the  firs,  spread 
their  seed  within  a  few  days  or  weeks. 
Others,  such  as  loblolly  pine,  spread  a 
considerable  portion  within  a  few 
weeks,  but  continue  to  shed  significant 
quantities  of  seed  for  several  months 
after  the  cones  open.  Still  others,  such 
as  jack  pine,  lodgepole  pine,  and  pond 
pine,  retain  seed  in  persistent  cones  for 
several  years,  shedding  few  or  none 
until  opened  either  by  the  heat  of  a 
fire  or  by  exposure,  after  felling,  to  the 
high  temperatures  that  exist  near  the 
soil  surface  in  midsummer. 

As  in  basic  requirements,  seeding 
characteristics  vary  widely  between  the 
species,  and  knowledge  of  them  is 
needed  by  anyone  who  wants  to  ac- 
complish forest  renewal. 

As  TO  CUTTING  i  I  mentioned  earlier 
that  forest  renewal  is  an  integral  part 
of  the  harvesting  process  and  how 
readily  light  and  associated  factors  can 
be  modified  by  cutting.  Seeding  char- 
acteristics, too,  can  be  taken  advantage 
of  by  cutting,  because  relatively  few 
trees  are  needed  for  regeneration  pur- 
poses where  species  produce  good  crops 
of  wind-borne  seed. 

The  knowledge  of  a  species  and  its 
requirements,  coupled  with  the  tools 
of  logging,  are  the  basic  equipment  for 
successful  forest  renewal. 

A  forest  composed  of  the  tolerant 
species,  that  is,  those  that  develop  well 
in  an  understory  position,  if  they  are 
protected  from  fire  and  grazing,  will 
contain  on  a  single  acre  trees  of  many 
sizes  and  ages.  To  the  layman  it  may 
present  an  unkempt  appearance,  and 
his  first  reaction  may  be  a  desire  to 
clear  away  the  underbrush.  The  wood- 
land manager  who  deals  with  such  a 
forest  feels  fortunate,  because  his  prob- 
lems of  forest  renewal  are  relatively 
simple  and  almost  automatic.  In  this 
type  of  forest,  the  scattered  individual 
mature  trees  or  small  groups  of  them 
are  removed  at  intervals  along  with 
the  deformed,  diseased,  overcrowded, 
or  otherwise  unneeded  trees.  The  rate 
of  such  cutting  is  prescribed  by  a 


Forest  Renewal 


123 


branch  of  forestry  called  management 
or  regulation,  which  determines  the 
rate  of  growth  and  allowable  cut  so 
that  continuous  production  from  a 
single  property  is  assured,  provided  the 
renewal  phases  are  properly  handled 
in  harvesting. 

Such  an  all-aged  forest  is  known  as 
a  selection  forest,  and  the  harvest  and 
renewal  method  applicable  to  it  as 
the  selection  system.  No  particular 
provision  is  needed  for  differences  in 
seeding  characteristics  of  species,  be- 
cause many  trees  of  seed-producing  age 
are  always  standing  on  an  acre.  Also 
present  are  smaller  trees  ready  to  take 
advantage  of  and  fill  in  the  high  open- 
ings created  by  the  harvest  of  the  large, 
mature  individuals  or  groups.  Natural 
renewal  under  the  selection  system 
therefore  is  constantly  under  way  and, 
unlike  some  of  the  other  systems,  is  not 
limited  to  any  particular  period  in  the 
life  history  of  the  forest. 

Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be 
placed,  however,  on  the  greatest  con- 
trolling factor  respecting  the  applica- 
bility of  the  selection  system :  It  works 
well  as  a  method  of  forest  renewal  only 
where  the  chosen  species  are  capable 
of  germination,  survival,  and  satisfac- 
tory development  in  the  shade  of  a 
productive  stand  of  older  and  larger 
trees.  Some  species  native  to  the  United 
States  that  fall  in  this  category  are 
sugar  maple,  beech,  some  of  the  firs 
and  spruces,  and  several  more  tolerant 
hardwoods  or  broadleaved  species. 

For  species  that  will  not  thrive  in 
an  intimate  mixture  of  all  ages  and 
sizes,  methods  aimed  at  eventual  com- 
plete removal  of  the  mature  crop  must 
be  adopted.  Although  a  number  of  such 
methods  have  been  developed,  they  all 
have  their  origins  in  two  broad,  basic 
systems;  each  has  the  ultimate  objec- 
tive of  producing  stands  in  which  there 
is  relatively  little  variation  in  the  age 
of  individual  trees. 

ONE    OF    THE    BASIC    SYSTEMS    COn- 

sists  of  a  series  of  partial  cuttings  as  the 
stand  approaches  maturity  and  termi- 
nates in  a  final  cut  that  removes  the 


last  of  the  crop.  Two  or  more  cuttings 
may  be  spaced  over  a  period  of  10  to 
30  years,  or  more,  if  the  situation  is 
particularly  difficult. 

Early  cuttings  of  the  series  have 
several  objectives.  They  harvest  the 
poorer  trees  that  may  not  survive  until 
later  cuts  as  well  as  improve  the  growth 
rate  of  the  better  trees  that  are  left. 
They  may  also  harvest  trees  suitable 
for  specific  products  that  have  an  un- 
usually good  demand  at  the  time.  From 
the  viewpoint  of  forest  renewal,  how- 
ever, they  open  the  stand  enough  to 
stimulate  production  of  seed  and  pro- 
vide light  so  that  new  seedlings  may 
start.  Later  cuttings  continue  the  har- 
vest features  and  gradually  provide 
more  light  and  other  conditions  favor- 
ing the  continued  establishment  of  the 
new  crop  and  its  development. 

When  a  satisfactory  stand  of  young 
trees  has  become  established,  the  final 
cut  of  mature  trees  is  made;  it  frees 
the  new  crop  of  all  competition  with 
the  old.  The  number  of  cuttings,  their 
intensity,  and  the  periods  between  the 
cuttings  vary  widely  with  the  species 
and  other  conditions,  but  all  these  vari- 
ations are  covered  in  the  shelterwood 
system.  In  the  partial-cutting  stages, 
it  may  closely  resemble  or  even  be 
confused  with  the  selection  system. 
Where  such  confusion  exists,  the  for- 
est manager  must  seek  reorientation  in 
a  knowledge  of  the  basic  requirements 
of  the  species  or  the  mixture  of  species 
with  which  he  is  dealing. 

The  shelterwood  system  is  designed 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  species 
that  require  partial  shade  during  es- 
tablishment and  early  life,  or  of  those 
that  tolerate  some  shade  but  are  poor 
seed  producers,  or  of  those  that  are 
heavy-seeded.  Red  pine  is  an  outstand- 
ing example  of  a  species  whose  re- 
quirements are  met  by  this  system. 
Ponderosa  pine,  the  southern  pines, 
and  the  less  tolerant  oaks  (such  as 
black  oak  and  scarlet  oak)  also  seem 
well  adapted  to  renewal  by  the  shelter- 
wood  system. 

This  system  has  an  important  fea- 
ture in  the  opportunity  it  provides  for 


124 

the  control  of  competing  brush.  In 
many  localities,  too  heavy  a  cut  in  the 
maturing  forest  creates  conditions 
favoring  the  invasion  of  shrubs  or 
other  undesired  plants,  which  may 
offer  such  serious  competition  to  seed- 
lings of  the  desired  species  that  they 
can  later  be  established  only  by  expen- 
sive artificial  measures,  such  as  the  re- 
moval of  brush  followed  by  planting. 
In  many  areas  where  such  a  threat  is 
present,  careful  attention  to  the  tim- 
ing and  intensity  of  cutting  can  con- 
trol brush  and  favor  establishment  of 
valuable  tree  species. 

THE  OTHER  BASIC  SYSTEM  is  sub- 
stantially a  single  cutting  that  removes 
all  or  nearly  all  of  the  mature  crop.  It 
is  primarily  a  clear-cutting  system,  but 
its  use  in  forestry  is  accompanied  by 
the  concept  of  small  cutting  areas  so 
located  with  reference  to  seed  sources 
that  a  plentiful  supply  of  seed  can  be 
promptly  disseminated  over  the  cut- 
ting locality.  The  methods  developed 
under  this  system  take  many  forms. 
In  shape,  they  conform  more  or  less  to 
the  clear-cut  strips,  blocks,  wedges,  or 
spots.  After  new  growth  is  established 
in  the  clear-cut  areas,  another  series  of 
cuttings  in  adjoining  mature  timber  is 
made.  In  the  United  States,  where 
much  forest  renewal  must  be  accom- 
plished in  forests  that  have  been  un- 
managed  in  the  past,  a  single  series  of 
cuttings  may  consist  of  a  diverse  pat- 
tern of  irregularly  shaped  areas  on 
which  mature  timber  stood  at  the  time 
management  was  started. 

If  renewal  is  to  be  prompt  and  ade- 
quate, the  size  of  such  clear  cuttings 
must  be  held  to  a  safe  minimum. 
That  is  usually  smaller  than  many  per- 
sons suppose,  and  is  dictated  by  the 
effective  seeding  distance  of  the  ad- 
joining uncut  timber.  For  many  spe- 
cies (like  the  southern  pines)  such  a 
distance  is  usually  not  more  than  400 
or  500  feet.  For  others  (such  as  red 
spruce  or  Douglas-fir)  it  may  be  three 
or  four  times  that  distance.  Winds 
often  carry  seed  for  many  miles,  but 
the  distance  over  which  enough  seed 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


will  reach  the  ground  to  produce  a  sat- 
isfactory stocking  of  young  growth  is 
usually  rather  short. 

The  location  of  cutting  areas  down- 
wind from  seed  sources  is  sometimes 
important.  For  species  that  shed  an 
entire  seed  crop  in  a  few  days  or  weeks, 
a  wise  precaution  is  to  locate  cutting 
strips  at  right  angles  to  the  direction  of 
prevailing  winds  during  the  time  of 
year  when  seed  is  shed.  The  location 
of  other  types  of  clear-cut  areas  can  be 
similarly  directed  with  reference  to  de- 
sirable seed  sources  and  prevailing 
winds  during  the  time  of  seed  fall. 
Mountainous  terrain  and  its  effect  on 
wind  currents  may  be  fully  as  impor- 
tant as  the  direction  of  prevailing 
winds,  and  local  knowledge  of  these 
characteristics  of  wind  is  useful.  For 
species  that  shed  seed  slowly  in  the  fall 
and  winter  months,  the  location  of  the 
cutting  areas  with  respect  to  wind  cur- 
rents is  of  less  importance.  The  varia- 
tions in  wind  direction  over  a  long 
period  are  enough  to  accomplish  the 
necessary  dissemination. 

Of  greater  importance  than  wind  is 
the  quantity  of  seed  necessary  to  pro- 
duce an  established  crop  of  seedlings. 
The  difference  between  the  number  of 
seed  reaching  the  ground  and  the  num- 
ber of  resulting  seedlings  is  tremendous. 
The  difference  has  not  been  measured 
for  all  species  and  localities  in  the 
United  States,  but  study  thus  far  indi- 
cates that  200  to  400  seed  reach  the 
ground  for  every  seedling  that  becomes 
successfully  established. 

Satisfactory  renewal,  therefore,  re- 
quires that  several  hundred  thousand 
seed  an  acre  reach  the  ground  within 
a  few  years  after  cutting. 

The  reasons  for  this  difference  are 
many.  Forest-tree  seed  are  important 
as  food  for  wild  birds  and  animals  and, 
where  heavy  populations  of  wildlife 
exist,  all  or  most  of  a  seed  crop  may  be 
consumed.  Many  seed  fall  on  inhos- 
pitable spots  for  germination,  and 
many  seedlings  succumb  during  their 
first  season  to  the  competition  of  other 
plants  or  adverse  weather.  The  practi- 
cal importance  of  this  difference  be- 


Forest  Renewal 


Gullying  of  forest  land  is  healed  in  time  by  tree  growth. 


tween  amount  of  seed  produced  and 
the  seedlings  established  is  that  abun- 
dant sources  of  seed  must  be  kept  avail- 
able. Often  that  means  the  necessary 
seed  source  must  consist  of  well-stocked 
blocks,  strips,  or  other  bodies  of  mature 
trees.  The  jack  pine,  Douglas-fir,  and 
lodgepole  pine  are  typical  species  for 
which  block  methods  of  clear  cutting 
are  providing  satisfactory  conditions 
for  forest  renewal. 

Some  species  produce  such  copious 
crops  of  seed  at  short  intervals  that  re- 
newal can  be  accomplished  by  leaving 
individual  trees  well  distributed  over 
the  cutting  area.  For  these,  a  modified 
clear-cutting  method  called  the  seed- 
tree  system,  has  proved  suitable.  Suffi- 
cient seed  for  necessary  renewal  is  pro- 
duced by  a  dozen  or  more  mature  trees 
an  acre.  If  maturity  is  judged  on  the 
basis  of  small-sized  products  such  as 
pulpwood,  which  can  be  produced 
from  young  trees,  seed  production  may 
not  yet  have  reached  a  very  high  level 
and  the  method  may  fail  because  of  the 
lack  of  sufficient  seed.  The  lack  may 
be  offset  by  leaving  more  seed  trees 
per  acre,  in  which  case  the  method 


approaches  and  may  actually  become 
the  shelterwood  system.  Such  a  tend- 
ency toward  the  shelterwood  is  also 
characteristic  of  species  that  demand 
full  light  for  good  development,  but  are 
poor  producers  of  seed.  The  seed-tree 
method  is  often  effective  with  such 
wind-firm  species  as  the  Virginia  pine, 
the  slash  pine,  and  loblolly  pine,  al- 
though the  shelterwood  method  is 
favored  by  many  for  the  last  two. 

WITH  MANY  of  the  various  methods 
aimed  at  the  production  of  even-aged 
stands,  additional  measures  designed 
to  make  more  efficient  use  of  the  seed 
will  pay  dividends.  Since  most  wind- 
borne  seed  germinate  best  in  contact 
with  mineral  soil,  some  form  of  rough 
cultivation,  either  immediately  before 
or  after  seed  fall,  is  effective.  This  op- 
eration is  usually  accomplished  by  a 
heavy  tractor  and  disk  combination 
and  is  necessarily  limited  to  rather 
smooth  ground.  It  is  particularly  effec- 
tive where  winter  logging  on  snow  or 
the  logging  equipment  does  not  ac- 
complish much  scarification  of  the 
forest  floor  and  exposure  of  mineral 


126 

soil.  It  is  also  recommended  following 
the  cutting  of  species  with  persistent 
cones  that  open  best  at  high  tempera- 
tures. In  the  process  of  disking,  the  cone- 
bearing  limbs  of  cut  trees  are  broken 
and  forced  close  to  the  soil;  there  the 
high  surface  temperatures  slowly  open 
the  cones  and  release  the  seed. 

THE  REACTION  OF  MATURE  stands  to 
partial  cuttings  of  the  selection  and  the 
shelterwood  systems  is  adverse  for  some 
species.  That  reaction  takes  the  form 
of  increased  death  of  trees  left  in  the 
cutting  area  for  future  growth  and  for 
seed  sources.  So  far,  we  can  give  only 
theoretical  explanations  for  this  in- 
creased death  rate.  One  explanation 
is  that  temperature  and  soil  moisture 
are  suddenly  changed  by  the  cutting, 
so  that  new  conditions  are  created  to 
which  the  older  trees  cannot  adapt 
themselves.  Freed  wind  movement  may 
increase  the  rate  at  which  water  is 
evaporated  from  leaves  and  needles, 
thus  upsetting  physiological  processes 
in  the  tree.  Mechanical  injury  to  roots 
from  severe  bending  as  falling  trees 
strike  some  of  their  neighbors  is  an- 
other possible  contributor  to  the  in- 
creased death  rate. 

Except  for  the  particularly  sheltered 
areas,  the  reaction  frequently  takes 
place  in  the  older  stands  of  both  east- 
ern and  western  hemlock,  Douglas-fir, 
the  yellow  birch,  and  some  species  of 
spruce.  Other  species  may  show  the 
same  reactions  to  lesser  degrees.  Thus 
we  find  that  the  tolerant  hemlocks 
which  should  respond  well  to  the  selec- 
tion system  have  other  characteristics 
that  require  clear-cutting  methods  in 
many  localities. 

SHALLOW  SOILS  over  the  bedrock 
may  make  the  selection  or  shelterwood 
systems  dangerous,  because  a  partial 
cutting  removes  some  mutual  mechan- 
ical support  and  permits  increased  wind 
velocity.  Loss  from  windthrow  may 
be  serious.  An  inherent  lack  of  wind- 
firmness  due  to  typical  shallow-root 
systems  also  results  in  windthrow.  En- 
gelmann  spruce  is  a  species  that  re- 


of  Agriculture  1949 


quires  clear  cutting  in  spots  because  of 
a  lack  of  wind  firmness. 

ADAM  SGHWAPPAGH,  a  distinguished 
European  forester  of  the  past  century, 
cites  an  experience  that  carries  an  im- 
portant message  for  all  who  seek  suc- 
cess in  forest  renewal.  In  tracing  the 
development  of  European  forestry,  he 
related : 

"An  important  step  in  the  progress 
of  sylviculture  was  the  evolution  of  the 
so-called  Selection  System,  introduced 
at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
By  it,  single  trees  or  small  groups  in  the 
forest  are  chosen  and  felled,  according 
as  their  state  of  maturity  suggests,  and 
the  necessity  for  younger  growth  re- 
quires. Originally  adopted  for  the 
utilisation  and  regeneration  of  decidu- 
ous species,  particularly  Beech,  the  sys- 
tem met  with  the  commendation  of 
those  pioneers  in  scientific  forestry,  G. 
L.  Hartig  and  Heinrich  von  Gotta. 
Upon  the  selection  method  being  ap- 
plied to  the  Scots  Pine — the  species 
least  suited  to  this  treatment — failure 
resulted,  which  caused  a  sudden  reac- 
tion in  favour  of  clear-felling  with  sub- 
sequent planting.  Both  the  selection 
and  the  clear-felling  systems  have  their 
peculiar  advantages  under  particular 
circumstances;  but  the  indiscriminate 
use  of  either  leads  naturally  enough  to 
disappointments." 

LEONARD  I.  BARRETT  is  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Forest  Management  Re- 
search of  the  Forest  Service.  Before 
taking  that  position  in  1945,  he  was 
director  of  the  Central  States  Forest 
Experiment  Station  in  Columbus, 
Ohio;  chief  of  the  Division  of  Forest 
Management  Research  in  the  South- 
eastern Forest  Experiment  Station  in 
Asheville,  N.  C.;  junior  forester  and  as- 
sistant silviculturist  in  the  Central 
States  and  Southern  Forest  Experi- 
ment Stations.  Before  entering  on  his 
research  career  in  1926,  Mr.  Barrett 
served  2  years  as  a  fire  lookout,  survey- 
or, and  timber  estimator  on  various 
national  forests  in  the  Pacific  North- 
west and  Alaska. 


What  Do  We  Plant? 


FIRST  THE  SEED,  THEN  THE  TREE 

PAUL  O.  RUDOLF 


IN  THE  United  States  more  than 
600  species  of  woody  plants  are  use- 
ful for  conservation  planting,  and  some 
75  million  acres  are  in  need  of  refores- 
tation. For  that,  more  than  100,000 
tons  of  forest  seeds  will  be  needed.  We 
should  therefore  know  all  we  can  about 
forest  seeds — where  they  are  borne, 
how  often  good  crops  come,  when  seeds 
are  ripe,  when  is  the  best  time  to  col- 
lect, how  to  clean  them,  how  to  store 
them,  how  to  obtain  prompt  germina- 
tion, how  good  they  are,  and  what  their 
origins  are. 

SEEDS  DEVELOP  from  flowers.  The 
floral  organs  are  the  stamens  and  the 
pistils,  which  produce  the  sperm,  or 
male  cells,  and  the  egg,  or  female  cells, 
which,  when  united,  produce  the  seed. 
Some  trees  and  shrubs  have  bisexual, 


Above:  A  onetime  Navy  plane  is  used  to  seed 
white  pine  on  burned-over  forest  lands  in 
Maine. 


or  perfect  flowers.  Many,  however, 
have  stamens  and  pistils  borne  in  sepa- 
rate flowers,  either  on  the  same  plant 
or  on  separate  plants.  Others  have  both 
perfect  and  unisexual  flowers  on  the 
same  plant.  A  knowledge  of  these 
habits  helps  the  seed  collector  to  know 
what  trees  are  likely  to  produce  seeds 
and  also  what  crop  to  expect  from  the 
abundance  of  blossoms. 

A  typical  tree  seed  consists  of  an 
embryo,  usually  embedded  within  an 
endosperm  (sometimes  very  thin  or 
even  absent) ,  all  enclosed  in  one  or  two 
seed  coats.  The  embryo  is  a  complete 
plant  in  miniature.  The  endosperm 
contains  food  reserves  that  become 
available  for  germination  and  early 
growth.  The  seed  coat  protects  the  em- 
bryo from  injury  before  germination. 

Tree  seeds  range  in  size  from  the 
powderlike  rhododendron  seeds  to  the 
large  black  walnuts.  They  differ  greatly 
also  in  shape,  color,  and  other  char- 
acteristics. From  the  standpoint  of  col- 

127 


128 

lection  and  extraction,  however,  seeds 
fall  into  three  groups: 

1.  True  seeds  readily  extracted  from 
dry  fruits.  Included  in  this  group  are 
trees  whose  seeds  are  borne  in  cones 
(fir,  hemlock,  larch,  pine)  or  in  fruits 
that  split  open,  such  as  pods  (honey- 
locust,  locust,  yellowwood),  or  in  cap- 
sules (e.  g.,  the  fremontia,  poplar,  wil- 
low) .  Commercial  seed  is  almost  always 
the  true  seed. 

2.  Dry  fruits  with  seeds  surrounded, 
by  a  tightly  adhering  fruit  wall.  In- 
cluded  are   species   whose   seeds   are 
borne  in  achenes  (clematis,  cliffrose, 
eriogonum) ,  the  nuts  (chestnut,  filbert, 
oak),  and  samaras,  or  key  fruits  (ash, 
elm,  maple) .  Because  it  is  hard  to  do 
so,  seeds  of  this  group  are  seldom  ex- 
tracted from  the  fruits.  For  all  practi- 
cal purposes  the  entire  fruit  is  the  seed. 

3.  Seeds  of  fleshy  fruits.  Included 
are  species  whose  seeds  are  borne  in 
accessory  fruits  ( buffaloberry,  winter- 
green),  aggregate  fruits   (raspberry), 
the  berries  (barberry,  currant,  honey- 
suckle), the  drupes  (cherry,  dogwood, 
plum,  walnut),  multiple,  or  collective 
fruits    (mulberry,   Osage-orange),   or 
pomes  (apple,  pear). 

To  SUPPLY  the  needs  of  the  seed 
trade  and  reforestation,  large  quanti- 
ties of  tree  seeds  must  be  collected, 
extracted,  and  stored  every  year. 

In  scouting  out  supplies,  the  seed 
collector  should  keep  eight  points  in 
mind: 

1.  The  parent  plants  should  be  of 
desirable  form  and  development. 

2.  Trees  whose  crowns  receive  light 
from  above  and  the  sides  usually  pro- 
duce the  bulk  of  the  seed  crop. 

3.  The  flowering  habit  determines 
which  trees  will  produce  seeds  and  the 
part  of  the  crown  in  which  they  are 
borne. 

4.  Estimates  based  on  actual  count 
of  fruits  on  representative  trees  or  on 
small   sample    plots   well    distributed 
over  the  collecting  area  are  most  re- 
liable. 

5.  "Tree  seed  farms,"  set  aside  in 
mature  stands  of  particularly  good  de- 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


velopment  or  plantations  of  known 
good  seed  source,  which  produce  seed 
in  reasonable  abundance,  will  provide 
desirable  local  collecting  areas. 

6.  The  tree  seed-crop  reporting  serv- 
ices, available  in  some  regions,  tell  the 
collector  where  good  local  crops  are. 

7.  The  soundness  of  seeds  in  indi- 
vidual localities,  or  even  on  individual 
plants,  should  be  tested. 

8.  Next  year's  potential  crop  can  be 
estimated  from  the  number  of  first- 
year  fruits  for  such  trees  as  the  pines, 
black  oaks,  and  others  which  require 
2  years  to  mature  their  fruits. 

RIPENESS  of  the  seed  and  the  length 
of  time  it  may  remain  on  the  plant  or 
on  the  ground  without  deterioration  or 
injury  determine  the  time  of  collection. 
Collectors  usually  judge  the  ripeness  of 
fruits  by  their  general  appearance, 
color,  degree  of  "milkiness"  of  the  seed, 
hardness  of  the  seed  coat,  their  attrac- 
tiveness to  animals,  or  some  combina- 
tion of  these  factors.  For  some  pines, 
ripeness  can  be  determined  more  ac- 
curately by  the  floatability  of  freshly 
picked  cones  in  motor  oil,  kerosene,  or 
other  liquids. 

The  exact  time  for  starting  seed 
gathering  must  be  determined  for  each 
species  in  each  locality  each  year.  How- 
ever, the  general  season  in  which  to 
make  collections  is  known  for  a  great 
many  species,  some  of  which  are: 

Spring:  Berlandier  ash,  river  birch, 
cottonwoods,  elms  (except  Chinese), 
red  maple  and  silver  maple,  poplars, 
and  the  willows. 

Summer:  Bigcone-spruce,  cherries, 
Douglas-fir,  elders,  alpine  larch,  mag- 
nolias, red  maple,  mulberries,  Siberian 
pea-shrub,  plums,  serviceberries,  Cali- 
fornia sycamore. 

Fall :  The  ashes  (except  Berlandier) , 
beeches,  bigcone-spruce,  birches  (ex- 
cept river  birch),  boxelder,  catalpas, 
cherries,  Douglas-fir,  Chinese  elm,  firs, 
hickories,  junipers,  the  larches  ( except 
alpine),  magnolias,  maples  (except 
the  red  and  silver),  oleasters,  Osage- 
orange,  pecan,  most  pines,  plums, 
spruces,  sycamores,  walnuts. 


First  the  Seed,  Then  the  Tree 


129 


Winter:  Ashes  (except  Berlandier), 
yellow  birch,  the  boxelders,  catalpas, 
Osage-orange,  black  spruce,  Norway 
spruce,  sycamores,  walnuts. 

Any  season:  Aleppo  pine,  bishop 
pine,  jack  pine,  lodgepole  pine,  Monte- 
rey pine,  pond  pine,  sand  pine. 

Forest  seeds  commonly  are  collected 
from  standing  trees.  Most  tall  trees 
must  be  climbed  and  the  fruits  or  seeds 
detached  by  hand  picking,  by  cutting 
them  off,  or  by  knocking  them  off.  In 
hand  picking,  the  fruits  usually  are 
placed  in  containers.  If  the  fruits  are 
cut  or  knocked  off,  they  are  usually 
caught  in  sheets  spread  below.  Seeds 
usually  are  hand-picked  or  flailed  from 
small  trees  or  shrubs  without  climbing 
them. 

It  is  usually  cheaper  to  collect  seeds 
from  felled  rather  than  from  standing 
trees.  The  collector  must,  however, 
gather  seeds  only  from  trees  cut  after 
the  fruits  have  begun  to  ripen. 

Twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  conifer 
cones  frequently  were  gathered  from 
squirrel  hoards  in  the  Lake  States  and 
the  West.  This  is  still  done  to  some 
extent.  However,  seed  collection  from 
rodent  caches  is  of  limited  usefulness 
because  the  parent  trees  are  unknown, 
hoards  are  difficult  to  find  consistently, 
and  few  species  are  included.  Some 
successful  collectors  gather  squirrel-cut 
cones  from  the  ground. 

Seeds  or  fruits  are  gathered  from 
water  surfaces  or  from  drifts  along  the 
shores  for  a  few  tree  species,  such  as 
baldcypress  and  some  of  the  willows. 

Fruits  should  be  taken  to  the  extrac- 
tion point  soon  after  collection.  Fleshy 
fruits  should  neither  be  crushed  nor 
dried  for  very  long.  Others  should  be 
spread  out  and  dried  partially  before 
shipment. 

To  PREVENT  spoilage,  to  conserve 
space  and  weight  in  the  shipment  and 
storage,  and  to  facilitate  handling  and 
sowing,  seeds  of  many  species  must  be 
separated  from  the  fruits  and  cleaned 
of  fruit  parts  and  debris. 

Seeds  are  separated  from  the  fruits 
by  drying,  threshing,  depulping,  or 


cleaning  procedures  such  as  fanning 
and  sieving. 

The  simplest  method  of  drying  is  to 
spread  the  fruits  in  shallow  layers  so 
that  there  is  free  circulation  of  air 
across  and  around  each  fruit.  Where 
the  climate  is  damp,  or  the  quantities 
of  fruit  great,  drying  is  usually  done 
under  a  roof. 

Artificial  heat  is  necessary  to  open 
some  cones  readily.  Artificial  drying 
ordinarily  is  done  in  special  kilns  which 
aim  to  provide  the  highest  dry  heat  that 
the  seeds  can  stand  without  injury. 
Two  general  types  of  kilns  are  used  for 
extracting  seeds  from  cones:  The 
simple  convection  and  the  forced-air. 
The  former  has  long  been  in  use;  the 
latter  has  been  developed  since  1934. 
Newly  developed  in  Canada  is  a  kiln 
using  batteries  of  infrared  lamps. 

Convection  kilns  depend  upon  the 
natural  rise  of  heated  air  through  cones 
spread  on  trays  placed  directly  above 
the  source  of  heat.  Forced-air  kilns 
are  more  complicated.  Heat  and  hu- 
midification  are  supplied  by  steam, 
and  fans  provide  forced  circulation  of 
the  warm  air.  Temperature  and  the 
humidity  are  controlled  automatically 
by  an  electrically  operated  recorder- 
controller.  Forced-air  kilns  are  more 
efficient  than  convection  kilns.  For 
example,  it  takes  from  24  to  72  hours 
to  extract  seeds  from  red  pine  cones  in 
convection  kilns  as  compared  to  5  hours 
in  forced-air  kilns.  However,  forced- 
air  kilns  are  more  expensive  and 
require  skilled  men  to  install  and  oper- 
ate them.  The  infrared  kilns  give  prom- 
ise of  efficiency  and  relative  cheapness 
and  ease  of  operation. 

Upon  their  removal  from  the  kiln, 
cones  are  run  through  tumblers — re- 
volving boxes  or  drums  with  screened 
sides — to  shake  out  the  seeds. 

The  seeds  of  many  dry  fruits  must 
be  separated  from  the  bunches,  pods, 
or  capsules  in  which  they  grow.  The 
simplest  methods  are  flailing  or  tread- 
ing under  foot.  Sometimes  agricultural 
machinery  can  be  used.  Frequently, 
however,  special  apparatus  is  neces- 
sary for  fully  efficient  extraction.  Two 


802062°— 49- 


-10 


130 


types  have  proved  widely  useful,  a 
macerator  developed  by  the  Forest 
Service,  and  a  hammer  mill.  Either 
can  produce  several  hundred  pounds 
of  clean  seeds  a  day. 

Some  small  fleshy  fruits  are  dried 
whole.  However,  the  seeds  of  most 
fleshy  or  pulpy  fruits  must  be  extracted 
promptly  to  prevent  spoilage.  Small 
lots  can  be  cleaned  by  hand,  by  tread- 
ing in  tubs,  or  by  rubbing  through 
hardware  cloth  with  hand  brushes  and 
water  from  a  hose.  Food  choppers, 
concrete  mixers,  feed  grinders,  cider 
mills,  wine  presses,  and  restaurant  po- 
tato peelers  have  been  used  for  remov- 
ing seeds  from  fleshy  fruits,  but  none 
of  these  are  as  widely  applicable  as  the 
Forest  Service  macerator  or  the  ham- 
mer mill.  Mulberries,  chokecherries,  or 
Osage-orange  fruits,  which  require 
mashing  and  soaking  before  they  can  be 
run  through  the  macerator,  should  not 
be  allowed  to  ferment. 

Seeds  of  several  species,  such  as  elm, 
maple,  and  oak,  require  no  extraction, 
but  need  merely  to  be  freed  of  chaff 
or  trash.  Often  dried,  without  extrac- 
tion, are  some  of  the  small  fleshy  fruits 
such  as  the  chokecherries,  elders,  hol- 
lies, manzanitas,  mountain-ashes,  Rus- 
sian-olives, and  viburnums. 

Methods  of  seed  extraction  com- 
monly used  for  several  species  are : 

Air  or  kiln  drying :  The  arborvitaes, 
baldcypress,  bigcone-spruce,  ceanoth- 
uses,  chamaecyparises,  chestnut,  chin- 
quapins, cypresses,  Douglas-fir,  elms, 
eucalyptus,  firs,  hemlocks,  California 
incense-cedar,  larches,  pines,  poplars, 
common  prickly-ash,  redwood,  spruces, 
sweetgum,  willows. 

Kilns  necessary:  The  Aleppo  pine, 
bishop  pine,  jack  pine,  lodgepole 
pine,  Monterey  pine,  pond  pine,  sand 
pine.  (The  cones  remain  unopened  on 
the  trees  for  several  years  in  all  these 
species.) 

Threshing  or  screening:  Acacias, 
alders,  baccharises,  beeches,  catalpas, 
Kentucky  coffeetree,  filberts,  fremon- 
tias,  hickories,  honeylocusts,  American 
hornbeam,  common  lilac,  locusts,  Si- 
berian pea-shrub,  eastern  redbud,  the 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

rhododendrons,  silktree,  sourwood,  su- 
macs, walnuts,  witch-hazel. 

Depulping:  Apples,  aralias,  barber- 
ries, blackberries,  buffaloberries,  lilac 
chaste-tree,  the  cherries,  cotoneasters, 
creepers,  elders,  grapes,  hollies,  honey- 
suckles, black  huckleberry,  common 
jujube,  junipers,  red  mahonia,  manza- 
nitas, mountain-ashes,  the  mulberries, 
Osage-orange,  common  pear,  common 
persimmon,  plums,  European  privet, 
raspberries,  meadow  rose,  sassafras, 
common  sea-buckthorn,  serviceberries, 
silverberry,  snowberries,  western  soap- 
berry, common  spicebush,  tupelos, 
viburnums,  yews. 

Cleaning  methods:  Apache-plume, 
ashes,  birches,  antelope  bitterbrush,  the 
elms,  hackberries,  eastern  hophorn- 
beam,  common  hoptree,  the  lindens, 
mountain-mahoganies,  oaks,  Carolina 
silverbell,  tanoak,  common  winterfat, 
yellow-poplar. 


CLEANING  is  SOMETIMES  necessary. 
For  better  storage  and  handling,  seeds 
of  many  species  must  be  cleaned  of 
chaff,  trash,  adhering  fruit  parts,  or 
empty  seeds,  after  separation  from  the 
fruits.  Sometimes  cleaning  is  combined 
with  extraction  and  often  a  combina- 
tion of  methods  is  required  to  clean 
the  seeds.  Most  of  the  conifer  seeds,  for 
example,  must  be  both  dewinged  and 
fanned. 

Conifer  seeds  may  be  dewinged  by 
hand  rubbing,  beating  or  trampling  in 
sacks,  or  moistening  and  raking.  Large- 
scale  dewinging  is  usually  done  in  ma- 
chines, which  tumble  the  seeds  against 
stiff  brushes,  or  in  a  macerator.  Such 
machines  must  be  used  and  adjusted 
carefully  or  much  of  the  seed  will  be 
injured. 

Often  seeds  can  be  cleaned  satis- 
factorily by  running  them  through 
screens,  either  dry  or  with  running 
water.  Often  two  screens  are  used  in 
series,  one  with  a  mesh  large  enough 
to  pass  the  seeds  but  hold  back  larger 
objects,  and  a  second  with  a  mesh 
small  enough  to  hold  the  seeds  but  to 
pass  smaller  material. 

Fanning  is  the  principal  means  of  re- 


First  the  Seed,  Then  the  Tree 


moving  wings  or  light  chaff  from  many 
kinds  of  seeds.  Sometimes  empty  seeds 
also  are  fanned  out.  Small  lots  can  be 
cleaned  by  passing  them  from  one  con- 
tainer to  another  in  the  wind  or  in 
front  of  a  fan.  Large  lots  usually  are 
run  through  standard  agricultural 
seed  fanning  or  cleaning  mills.  Unless 
fanning  is  done  skillfully,  either  too 
much  debris  will  remain  or  too  many 
good  seeds  will  be  blown  out. 

Seeds  of  most  pulpy  or  fleshy  fruits 
can  be  cleaned  most  effectively  by  flo- 
tation in  water.  Sound  seeds  usually 
sink,  whereas  poor  seeds,  skins,  and 
pulp  either  float  or  sink  more  slowly. 
Freshly  gathered  acorns  often  are 
separated  from  the  cups  and  weeviled 
fruits  by  flotation  in  water.  Loblolly 
pine  seeds  can  be  cleaned  better  by 
flotation  in  water  than  by  fanning. 
Prompt  drying  after  such  wetting  is 
essential. 

To  determine  the  amount  of  fruit 
needed  for  specific  sowing  or  market 
requirements,  it  is  necessary  to  know 
the  extraction  factor. 

The  amount  of  cleaned  seeds  pro- 
duced per  100  pounds  of  fruit  as 
usually  collected  ranges  from  30  to  50 
pounds  for  many  species,  and  may 
range  from  1  to  nearly  100  pounds,  as 
shown  below: 

One  to  five  pounds :  Apples,  arborvi- 
taes,  red  chokeberry,  cucumbertree, 
golden  currant,  Douglas-fir,  firs,  hem- 
locks, honeysuckles,  black  huckleberry, 
California  incense-cedar,  inkberry,  the 
larches,  common  lilac,  mountain-ashes, 
the  mulberries,  Osage-orange,  common 
pear,  pines,  raspberries,  serviceberries, 
common  snowberry,  spruces,  mahog- 
any sumac. 

Six  to  ten  pounds :  Glossy  buckthorn, 
silver  buffaloberry,  black  chokeberry, 
the  elders,  firs,  honeysuckle,  mountain- 
holly,  western  snowberry,  skunkbush 
sumac,  sweetfern,  sweetgum,  American 
sycamore,  yellow-poplar. 

Eleven  to  twenty  pounds :  Japanese 
barberry,  bearberry,  chamaecyparises, 
cherries,  devils-walkingstick,  elders, 
euonymuses,  riverbank  grape,  shell- 
bark  hickory,  pawpaw,  Siberian  pea- 


shrub,  common  persimmon,  plums, 
redwood,  Russian-olive,  common  sea- 
buckthorn,  common  spicebush,  sugar 
sumac,  common  winterberry. 

Twenty-one  to  forty  pounds :  Ailan- 
thus,  apricot,  Japanese  barberry, 
American  beech,  boxelder,  most  buck- 
thorns, butternut,  the  gum  bumelia, 
catalpas,  cherries,  Kentucky  coff  eetree, 
Virginia  creeper,  desertwillow,  dog- 
woods, American  filbert,  fringetree, 
shagbark  hickory,  shellbark  hickory, 
American  holly,  honeylocust,  eastern 
hophornbeam,  junipers,  common  ju- 
jube, locusts,  mountain-mahoganies, 
common  persimmon,  eastern  redbud, 
Russian-olive,  common  sea-buckthorn, 
silktree,  western  soapberry,  smooth 
sumac,  staghorn  sumac. 

Forty-one  to  sixty  pounds:  Ailan- 
thus,  indigobush  amorpha,  baldcy- 
press,  boxelder,  Kentucky  coffeetree, 
desertwillow,  elms,  European  filbert, 
mockernut  hickory,  Norway  maple, 
sugar  maple,  oaks,  pecan,  Fremont 
silktassel,  smooth  sumac,  black  walnut, 
little  walnut,  southern  waxmyrtle. 

Sixty-one  to  eighty  pounds:  Ailan- 
thus,  ashes,  boxelder,  lilac  chaste-tree, 
bitternut  hickory,  mockernut  hickory, 
pignut  hickory,  lindens,  sugar  maple, 
Tatarian  maple,  oaks,  pecan. 

Eighty-one  to  one  hundred  pounds : 
Ailanthus,  bitternut  hickory,  pignut 
hickory,  black  maple,  red  maple,  sugar 
maple,  oaks,  laurel  sumac. 

STORAGE  VARIES  considerably.  Forest 
seeds  seldom  are  sown  immediately 
after  extraction  and  cleaning.  Com- 
monly they  are  extracted  in  the  fall 
and  held  over  winter.  Often,  too,  they 
must  be  held  for  several  years  because 
some  species  produce  good  crops  in- 
frequently. In  either  case  the  seeds 
should  be  stored  so  as  to  maintain  high 
viability.  For  some  species  this  is  a 
simple  matter;  for  others  it  is  quite 
difficult,  and  for  many,  suitable  storage 
practices  are  not  yet  known. 

The  simplest  and  oldest  method  of 
storage  is  to  hold  the  seeds  at  air  tem- 
peratures either  in  sacks  or,  preferably, 
in  sealed  containers.  Storage  may  be 


132 


at  room  temperatures,  in  cool  cellars, 
or  frequently  in  special  seed-storage 
sheds.  Seeds  of  many  species  can  be 
kept  for  one  or  more  years  in  such 
sheds,  but  for  longer  periods  cold  stor- 
age is  necessary. 

Seeds  of  many  woody  plants  keep 
well  at  temperatures  between  33°  and 
50°  F.  Before  storage,  seeds  of  most 
conifers  should  be  dried  to  a  moisture 
content  below  10  percent  of  oven-dry 
weight.  Seeds  of  the  oaks,  hickories, 
and  silver  maple,  however,  should  be 
kept  above  35-percent  moisture  con- 
tent, and  those  of  southern  magnolia 
should  not  be  allowed  to  dry  at  all. 
Proper  cold  storage  requires  a  refrig- 
erator or  cold  room  in  which  tempera- 
tures can  be  held  nearly  constant. 
Sealed  containers  maintain  the  right 
moisture  content  and  are  best  for  such 
storage. 

Many  of  the  nuts  and  some  other 
seeds  often  can  be  stored  for  a  few 
months  by  mixing  them  with  one  to 
three  times  their  volume  of  moist  peat 
moss,  sand,  or  chopped  sphagnum 
moss,  and  placing  them  in  a  refrigera- 
tor or  holding  them  over  winter  in  the 
ground  under  a  mulch.  Sometimes 
fall  sowing  is  used  instead. 

The  short-lived  seeds  of  the  poplars 
can  be  kept  fairly  well  for  several 
months  in  sealed  containers  from 
which  much  of  the  air  has  been  ex- 
hausted by  suction  pumps,  or  in  which 
the  relative  humidity  of  the  air  is  less 
than  20  percent.  So  far,  however, 
vacuum  storage  has  been  attempted  on 
a  laboratory  scale  only. 

Under  proper  storage,  seeds  of  most 
trees  can  be  kept  viable  for  5  to  10  years 
and  that  of  some  species  has  been  kept 
for  several  decades.  The  best  storage 
methods  known  for  several  species 
follow : 

Dry,  cold  storage  in  sealed  con- 
tainers: Apples,  arborvitaes,  ashes, 
barberries,  bigcone-spruce,  birches,  an- 
telope bitterbrush,  blackberries,  silver 
buffaloberry,  ceanothuses,  lilac  chaste- 
tree,  the  cypresses,  Douglas-fir,  elders, 
elms,  firs,  riverbank  grape,  hackber- 
ries,  hemlocks,  honeylocusts,  common 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

hoptree,  black  huckleberry,  junipers, 
larches,  black  locust,  maples  (other 
than  silver) ,  the  mountain-ashes,  oleas- 
ters, Osage-orange,  pines,  some  pop- 
lars, common  prickly-ash,  raspberries, 
eastern  redbud,  redwood,  sassafras, 
giant  sequoia,  the  snowberries,  spruces, 
sumacs,  sweetgum,  witch-hazel,  yellow- 
poplar. 

Moist,  cold  storage:  Beeches,  buck- 
eyes, chestnut,  chinquapins,  filberts, 
hickories,  silver  maple,  oaks,  tanoak, 
walnuts,  yews. 

At  air  temperatures:  Acacias,  Ken- 
tucky coflfeetree,  eucalyptus,  fremon- 
tias,  common  lilac,  lindens,  common 
pear,  the  Siberian  pea-shrub,  European 
privet,  meadow  rose,  fourwing  salt- 
bush,  the  common  sea-buckthorn,  com- 
mon winterfat. 

Under  partial  vacuum:  Some  pop- 
lars. 


PRETREATMENT  is  SOMETIMES  re- 
quired. Seeds  of  some  trees  and  shrubs 
germinate  quite  promptly.  Those  of 
many,  however,  often  fail  to  sprout 
even  when  exposed  to  suitable  condi- 
tions of  temperature,  moisture,  oxygen, 
and  light.  Such  seeds  are  called  dor- 
mant, and  special  treatment  is  required 
to  induce  germination. 

There  are  two  main  causes  of  seed 
dormancy :  ( 1 )  An  impermeable  or 
hard  seed  coat  which  prevents  water 
and  oxygen  from  reaching  the  embryo, 
or  sometimes  prevents  the  embryo 
from  breaking  through  even  though 
water  has  entered;  and  (2)  internal 
conditions  of  the  embryo  or  stored  food. 
Many  kinds  of  seeds  have  only  one 
kind  of  dormancy,  but  there  are  many 
others  which  have  double  dormancy. 

To  overcome  seed-coat  dormancy, 
seeds  usually  are  subjected  to  one  of 
the  following  pretreatments :  ( 1 )  Soak- 
ing in  concentrated  sulfuric  acid  (usu- 
ally from  15  to  60  minutes)  ;  (2)  scari- 
fying the  seed  coats  with  abrasives;  or 
(3)  soaking  in  hot  water  (usually  at  a 
temperature  of  170°  to  212°  F.)  for 
about  12  hours  as  it  gradually  cools. 

Treatments  used  to  break  internal 
dormancy  are :  ( 1 )  Cold  stratification, 


First  the  Seed,  Then  the  Tree 


133 


in  which  the  seeds  are  placed  in  moist 
sand,  acid  granular  peat,  or  chopped 
sphagnum  moss  and  held  at  32°  to  41° 
F.  for  1  to  4  months;  and  (2)  chemi- 
cal treatment,  in  which  the  seeds  are 
soaked  in  such  materials  as  thiourea  or 
exposed  to  fumes  of  such  substances 
as  ethylene  chlorhydrin.  The  chemical 
treatments  have  been  largely  confined 
to  experimental  use. 

To  overcome  double  dormancy,  the 
seed  coat  must  be  made  permeable 
and  the  embryo  or  stored  food  induced 
to  undergo  the  changes  necessary  for 
germination.  Sometimes  cold  stratifi- 
cation is  sufficient,  but  more  often 
soaking  in  hot  water,  acid  treatment, 
scarification  followed  by  cold  stratifi- 
cation, or  warm  followed  by  cold  strati- 
fication is  necessary.  Double  dormancy 
can  often  be  broken  by  sowing  the 
seed  soon  after  collection  in  the  late 
summer  and  early  fall. 

Out  of  444  species  of  tree  and  shrub 
seeds  studied,  33  percent  were  non- 
dormant,  7  percent  had  seed-coat 
dormancy,  43  percent  had  internal 
dormancy,  and  17  percent  had  double 
dormancy.  A  single  species  may  have 
both  dormant  and  nondormant  seeds, 
or  more  than  one  kind  of  dormancy. 

Typical  species  with  dormant  seeds : 

Seed  coat  dormancy:  Acacias, 
amorphas,  Dahurian  buckthorn,  felt- 
leaf  ceanothus,  the  hairy  ceanothus, 
Monterey  ceanothus,  Kentucky  coffee- 
tree,  honeylocusts,  black  huckleberry, 
locusts,  mesquite,  common  persimmon, 
silktree,  western  soapberry,  sumacs 
(except  skunkbush) . 

Internal  dormancy:  Alders  (except 
European) ,  the  ailanthus,  apples,  most 
ashes,  baldcypress,  barberries,  beeches, 
bigcone-spruce,  birches  (except  river) , 
antelope  bitterbrush,  American  bitter- 
sweet, buckeyes  (except  California), 
alder  buckthorn,  glossy  buckthorn, 
cascara  buckthorn,  buffaloberries,  lilac 
chaste-tree,  cherries,  American  chest- 
nut, chokeberries,  creepers,  currants, 
flowered  dogwood,  devils-walkingstick, 
Douglas-fir,  euonymuses,  filberts,  firs, 
fringetree,  gooseberries  (except  round- 
leaf),  riverbank  grape,  hackberries, 


hemlocks,  hickories,  hollies,  honey- 
suckles, eastern  hophornbeam,  com- 
mon hoptree,  American  hornbeam, 
junipers,  most  larches,  common  lilac, 
Pacific  madrone,  magnolias,  most  of 
the  maples,  the  European  mountain- 
ash,  mountain-laurel,  the  mulberries, 
bitter  nightshade,  black  oaks,  oleasters, 
pawpaw,  common  pear,  most  pines, 
plums,  common  prickly-ash,  European 
privet,  sassafras,  serviceberries,  com- 
mon sea-buckthorn,  Fremont  silktassel, 
Carolina  silverbell,  common  spicebush, 
spruces  (except  the  western  white), 
sweetgum,  sycamores,  common  trum- 
petcreeper,  tupelos,  viburnums,  wal- 
nuts, southern  waxmyrtle,  checker- 
berry  wintergreen,  yellow-poplar. 

Double  dormancy:  Bristly  aralia, 
black  ash,  blue  ash,  European  ash, 
bearberry,  most  ceanothuses,  coto- 
neasters,  most  dogwoods,  elders,  fre- 
montia,  the  panicled  goldenrain-tree, 
downy  hawthorn,  black  jetbead,  some 
junipers,  common  jujube,  the  lindens, 
manzanita,  Amur  maple,  American 
mountain-ashes,  the  mountain-holly, 
Osage-orange,  Digger  pine,  Swiss  stone 
pine,  whitebark  pine,  raspberries,  east- 
ern redbud,  meadow  rose,  wild-sarsa- 
parilla,  snowberries,  skunkbush  sumac, 
witch-hazel,  yellowwood,  yews. 

SEED  QUALITY  largely  governs  the 
rate  at  which  seeds  should  be  sown  to 
produce  a  certain  number  of  good 
seedlings.  Tests  can  disclose  several  of 
the  fundamental  characteristics  of  qual- 
ity: Genuineness,  purity,  number  of 
seeds  to  the  pound,  moisture  content, 
and  viability. 

The  sample  tested  should  be  truly 
representative  of  the  entire  lot.  Repre- 
sentative sampling  can  be  attained 
either  by  thorough  mixing  of  the  en- 
tire seed  lot  before  sampling,  or  by 
drawing  a  number  of  small  subsamples 
of  equal  size  at  random  from  different 
parts  of  the  lot  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  seeds  in  each  part.  The 
number  of  seeds  required  for  a  germi- 
nation test  seldom  should  be  less  than 
400,  tested  separately  in  four  equal 
parts.  For  lots  larger  than  100  pounds, 


134 

from  800  to  1,000  seeds  should  be  used. 

Genuineness  is  determined  by  com- 
paring a  representative  sample  of  the 
seed  lot  under  test  with  samples  of 
known  identity.  Purity  commonly  is 
expressed  as  the  percentage  by  weight 
of  clean  whole  seeds  true  to  species  in 
a  sample  containing  seeds  and  mixed 
impurities.  The  number  of  seeds  per 
pound  is  obtained  by  careful  weighing 
of  a  counted  number  of  seeds.  It  is 
usually  expressed  in  two  ways:  The 
number  of  clean  seeds  per  pound  of 
the  sample  as  received  and  the  num- 
ber of  clean  seeds  per  pound  of  pure 
seeds.  Moisture  content  usually  is  ex- 
pressed as  a  percentage  of  the  oven- 
dry  weight  of  the  seeds  after  commer- 
cial cleaning,  but  not  on  a  pure  seed 
basis. 

Viability,  or  the  percentage  of  seeds 
capable  of  germinating  when  exposed 
to  the  most  favorable  conditions,  is 
determined  directly  by  germination 
tests  or  indirectly  by  cutting  tests,  the 
growth  of  excised  embryos,  flotation, 
biochemical  staining  of  embryos,  or 
measurements  of  enzyme  activity.  The 
indirect  methods  give  quicker  results, 
but  they  are  seldom  as  reliable  as  di- 
rect germination  tests. 

Germination  tests  usually  are  made 
in  flats,  porous  clay  pots,  or  greenhouse 
benches  filled  with  fine  sand,  acid  peat 
(sometimes  used  as  compressed  mats), 
or  sphagnum  moss;  or  in  germinators 
on  porous  plates,  blotters,  filter  paper, 
or  agar.  Sand,  peat,  or  sphagnum  moss 
are  preferred  as  giving  results  closer  to 
germination  in  the  nursery.  Carefully 
counted  numbers  of  seeds,  pretreated 
where  necessary,  are  sown  on  the  sur- 
face of  peat  mats  or  at  controlled 
depths  in  sand,  moss,  or  peat  flats. 
Small  seeds  are  sown  shallow;  larger 
seeds  deeper,  as  a  rule. 

The  sand,  peat,  or  other  medium 
must  be  kept  at  a  fairly  constant  mois- 
ture level.  Air  temperatures  should  be 
controlled  closely.  Many  species  ger- 
minate well  at  temperatures  fluctuat- 
ing from  68°  F.  at  night  to  86°  during 
the  day;  some  do  just  as  well  at  con- 
stant temperatures  of  70°  or  75°; 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


Oak  seedling.  The  two  plump  seed  leaves 
packed  with  food  remain  inside  the  acorn. 

others  need  temperatures  that  fluctu- 
ate from  50°  (night)  to  77°  (day) ;  and 
some  germinate  best  at  temperatures 
between  40°  and  50°.  The  needs  of 
each  species  must  be  known  and  sup- 
plied for  best  results.  Light  is  not  neces- 
sary for  germination  of  most  tree  seeds, 
but  aids  that  of  some  southern  pines. 
Germination  tests  ordinarily  are  run 
for  30  to  60  days.  Counts  should  be 
made  every  2  or  3  days,  and  systematic 
records  of  results  should  be  kept  and 
made  available  to  the  seed  user. 
Promptness  of  germination  is  almost 
as  important  to  nurserymen  as  amount. 

NURSERYMEN  DETERMINE  the  rate  of 
sowing  from  the  laboratory  tests  as 
modified  on  the  basis  of  their  own  ex- 
perience. Nursery  germination  of  tree 
seeds  commonly  is  from  50  to  80  per- 
cent of  laboratory  germination.  Since 


First  the  Seed,  Then  the  Tree 


135 


further  losses  normally  occur  after  ger- 
mination, the  usable  seedlings  pro- 
duced by  a  number  of  species  usually 
run  from  10  to  60  percent  of  the  viable 
seeds  sown.  The  following  produce  10 
to  15  usable  seedlings  for  every  100 
viable  seed  sown:  European  white 
birch,  silver  buff  aloberry,  Siberian  crab 
apple,  desertwillow,  elms,  Tatarian 
honeysuckle,  European  larch,  common 
lilac,  and  Russian  mulberry.  Lilac 
chaste-tree,  Japanese  larch,  and  red- 
wood yield  16  to  20  usable  seedlings; 
Dahurian  buckthorn,  hackberries,  Si- 
berian larch,  black  locust,  and  nanny- 
berry  produce  21  to  30;  the  common 
jujube  and  Siberian  pea-shrub,  31  to 
40;  and  the  baldcypress,  pines,  and 
spruces,  41  to  60. 

THE  SOURCE  OF  SEED  is  important. 
Forest  trees  and  shrubs  have  evolved 
races  within  species.  Each  race  is  spe- 
cially adapted  to  thrive  under  the  con- 
ditions in  which  it  has  developed. 
Unless  seeds  of  proper  origin  are  used 
in  forest  planting,  trees  undesirable  in 
vigor,  form,  or  hardiness  may  result 
even  though  the  right  species  has  been 
used. 

Studies  started  more  than  100  years 
ago  in  Europe  and  about  35  years  ago 
in  the  United  States  have  shown  that 
there  are  climatic  races  in  about  30 
North  American  and  35  foreign  tree 
species.  Doubtless  many  other  trees  and 
shrubs  also  have  developed  races.  Com- 
prehensive information  is  available  for 
only  five  trees:  Ponderosa  pine  and 
Douglas-fir  from  North  America ;  and 
Scotch  pine,  Norway  spruce,  and  Euro- 
pean larch  from  Europe.  Within  these 
species  the  various  races  differ  in  rate 
of  growth,  stem  form,  leaf  length,  and 
color;  the  time  that  growth  starts  and 
stops;  resistance  to  frost,  drought, 
diseases,  and  insects;  fruit  and  seed 
size;  and  wood  quality. 

Some  forest  trees,  within  areas  of 
uniform  climate,  have  even  developed 
races  particularly  adapted  to  local  site 
conditions.  Furthermore,  trees  of  the 
same  species  within  an  individual  stand 
may  display  much  hereditary  variation 


in  all  the  characteristics  listed  under 
climatic  races.  For  these  reasons  seed 
collectors  should  use  extreme  care  in 
selecting  the  stands  and  even  individ- 
ual trees  from  which  they  obtain  seeds. 
They  should  try  to  have  stands  of  de- 
sirable trees  set  aside  as  tree-seed  farms 
to  provide  a  continuous  source  of  high- 
quality  seeds. 

In  most  countries  of  northern  and 
central  Europe  rigid  laws  have  been 
enacted  to  enforce  the  use  of  forest- 
tree  seeds  of  suitable  origin.  In  the 
United  States  no  Federal  legislation 
has  yet  been  passed,  but  some  dealers 
have  provided  information  as  to  seed 
origin.  The  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture  in  1939  adopted  a  for- 
est-seed policy,  stressing  the  use  of 
local  seeds,  and  some  other  agencies 
have  followed  suit. 

ON  THE  BASIS  of  present  knowledge, 
there  are  three  general  requirements 
that  should  be  enforced  either  by  vol- 
untary action  or  regulation : 

Seed  collectors  should  be  required 
to  label  their  seeds  accurately  and  ade- 
quately as  to  species,  time  of  collection, 
and  place  of  collection. 

Seed  dealers  should  be  required  to 
purchase  only  properly  labeled  seeds 
from  collectors  who  are  known  to  be 
reliable. 

Users  of  seed  or  nursery  stock  should 
demand  adequate  information  as  to 
seed  origin  and  should  use  only  seeds 
of  local  origin  or  of  proven  adaptabil- 
ity to  local  conditions,  or  stock  grown 
from  such  seeds. 

PAUL  O.  RUDOLF  is  silviculturist  at 
the  Lake  States  Forest  Experiment 
Station,  maintained  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  in  cooperation 
with  the  University  of  Minnesota.  He 
has  been  doing  research  in  forest-plant- 
ing, forest-seed,  and  nursery  problems 
in  the  Lake  States  since  1931  and  is 
author  of  numerous  publications  on 
those  phases  of  forestry.  Mr.  Rudolf 
holds  degrees  in  forestry  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Minnesota  and  Cornell 
University. 


136 


DIRECT  SEEDING  OF  TREES 


W.  E.  MCQUILKIN 


Growing  tree  seedlings  in  a  nursery 
and  transplanting  them  later  to  the 
field  is  the  standard  artificial  means 
for  establishing  forest  plantations.  On 
good  sites  and  poor,  in  wet  years  and 
dry,  the  use  of  nursery  stock,  properly 
grown  and  properly  planted,  has 
proved  more  likely  to  succeed  than  any 
other  artificial  method. 

Direct  seeding,  which  means  sowing 
seeds  in  the  field  where  the  trees  are 
to  grow,  thus  bypassing  the  nursery 
and  transplanting  operations,  under 
some  conditions  may  be  a  simpler, 
faster,  and  less  expensive  reforestation 
method.  Because  of  certain  inherent 
drawbacks,  however,  direct  seeding  is 
not  regarded  as  a  method  to  replace 
planting  on  a  wide  scale,  but  rather 
as  a  useful  adjunct  to  it  by  which,  in 
selected  situations,  reforestation  can  be 
speeded  up  and  costs  reduced. 

By  conservative  estimates,  we  now 
have  in  this  country  at  least  30  million 
acres  of  land  in  need  of  artificial  re- 
stocking. Obviously,  any  procedure 
that  will  facilitate  getting  this  land 
back  into  forest  production  should  be 
fully  utilized. 

ADVANTAGES  AND  DISADVANTAGES 
will  first  be  considered.  With  proper 
procedures  on  selected  sites,  direct 
seeding  may  be  done  successfully  at 
lower  cost  than  for  planting  nursery 
stock.  Furthermore,  since  direct  seed- 
ing is  not  dependent  upon  maintenance 
of  a  nursery  and  the  starting  of  stock 
1  to  4  years  in  advance,  it  permits  a 
degree  of  flexibility  in  reforestation 
programs  according  to  availability  of 
labor,  allotments  of  funds,  and  the 
press  of  other  jobs  that  is  impossible 
with  planting.  If  curtailment  is  neces- 
sary, seeds  can  be  held  over  a  year  or 
so  more  easily  than  growing  nursery 
stock ;  with  expansion,  seed  usually  can 
be  procured  upon  shorter  notice  and 
with  less  advance  planning.  Also,  seed- 


ing can  be  done  over  a  considerably 
longer  season. 

Growth  direct  from  seed  in  the  field 
permits  normal  development  of  root 
systems.  Transplanting  at  best  entails 
mutilation  of  roots  and  a  set-back  in 
growth.  Although  most  species  seem  to 
suffer  no  lasting  damage  when  prop- 
erly handled,  many  cases  of  poor 
growth  and  disease  in  forest  planta- 
tions are  believed  to  be  caused  by  mal- 
formed root  systems  that  result  from 
improper  or  careless  planting.  Some 
strongly  taprooted  species  seem  by 
nature  poorly  adapted  to  withstand 
transplanting — they  typically  suffer 
high  mortality,  and  many  of  the  sur- 
vivors fail  to  regain  the  vigor  of  nat- 
ural, undisturbed  trees.  With  direct 
seeding,  all  depressive  after-effects  of 
transplanting  are  avoided. 

On  very  stony  areas,  direct  seeding 
is  especially  advantageous.  Successful 
planting  at  reasonable  cost  on  such 
sites  may  be  almost  impossible  because 
of  difficulty  in  digging  holes  to  required 
depth  and  in  finding  enough  rock-free 
soil  to  make  a  proper  refill  around  the 
roots.  Trees  starting  from  seed  in  such 
ground  are  able  to  extend  their  roots 
around  and  between  the  stones,  and 
may  make  excellent  growth. 

Opposed  to  these  advantages  is  one 
major  disadvantage  that  relegates  di- 
rect seeding  to  a  secondary  place; 
namely,  that  with  a  few  possible  ex- 
ceptions (such  as  on  extremely  stony 
ground)  direct  seeding  almost  always 
entails  greater  risks  of  failure  than 
planting  nursery  stock. 

Greater  risks  are  inherent  in  the 
method.  Because  of  greater  palatabil- 
ity  to  wildlife,  greater  susceptibility  to 
certain  types  of  insect  injury  and  dis- 
eases, smaller  size,  undeveloped  root 
systems,  and  generally  greater  fragility, 
seeds  and  newly  germinated  seedlings 
in  the  field  almost  unavoidably  are 
more  vulnerable  to  injury  and  death 


Direct  Seeding  of  Trees 


or  destruction  by  all  the  natural  ob- 
stacles to  plant  establishment  than  are 
transplanted  nursery  stock.  In  the  nurs- 
ery, seeds  and  seedlings  are  given  in- 
tensive care  and  protection  during  the 
highly  vulnerable  early  growth  period; 
such  care  cannot  practicably  be  given 
in  the  field. 

The  natural  obstacles  most  likely  to 
interfere  more  in  direct  seeding  than 
in  planting  are  the  rodents  and  birds, 
drought,  competition  or  smothering  by 
the  surrounding  vegetation,  injuriously 
high  surface-soil  temperatures,  frost 
heaving,  insect  pests,  as  well  as  the 
seedling  diseases. 

Of  these,  rodent  and  bird  depreda- 
tions upon  the  seed,  and  direct-heat 
injury  from  high  soil  temperatures  are 
problems  practically  unique  to  direct 
seeding.  Planters  of  nursery  stock  ordi- 
narily escape  them  entirely,  and  nurs- 
erymen can  feasibly  institute  control 
measures  if  required.  In  certain  sec- 
tions, throughout  the  Western  States 
particularly,  seeding  without  some 
form  of  rodent  control  generally  is 
futile;  in  other  sections,  notably  the 
southern  Gulf  Coast  States,  birds  are 
the  major  problem. 

Direct-heat  injury  and  mortality 
(independent  of  drought  effects)  may 
occur  among  tender,  newly  germinated 
seedlings  if  the  surface-soil  tempera- 
ture rises  above  120°  F.  Such  tempera- 
tures are  not  unusual  on  bare  ground 
in  full  sun;  considerably  higher  tem- 
peratures sometimes  develop  on  black 
soil  surfaces  or  south-facing  slopes.  In 
extreme  cases,  even  transplanted  nurs- 
ery stock  may  be  damaged. 

Both  seedings  and  plantings  are 
affected  by  the  other  obstacles  named, 
but  in  general  seedings  are  more  sensi- 
tive and  more  likely  to  fail  as  any 
factor  or  condition  becomes  increas- 
ingly unfavorable.  Little  trees  starting 
from  seed  in  the  field  are  more  subject 
to  the  damaging  effects  of  drought, 
root  competition  from  other  plants, 
and  frost  heaving  because  of  their  less 
well-developed  root  systems;  they  are 
more  subject  to  smothering  by  other 
plants  because  of  their  handicap  in 


height.  Certain  insect  pests,  like  cut- 
worms and  white  grubs,  sometimes  are 
highly  destructive  to  the  tender  young 
plants  but  ordinarily  do  not  seriously 
damage  the  1-  or  2-year-old  seedlings. 
Likewise,  serious  damage  from  certain 
of  the  diseases,  notably  damping-off,  is 
largely  restricted  to  the  period  during 
and  immediately  after  germination. 

Other  lesser  disadvantages  of  direct 
seeding  as  compared  to  planting  are 
that  it  requires  a  good  deal  more  seed 
per  reforested  acre — seed  that  may 
sometimes  be  difficult  to  obtain — and 
that  it  is  a  somewhat  more  painstaking 
type  of  work,  especially  with  small- 
seeded  species  like  most  conifers,  which 
germinate  poorly  unless  the  depth  of 
coverage  is  carefully  controlled. 

With  recognition  that  direct  field 
seedings  are  inherently  more  sensitive 
to  adverse  factors  than  plantings,  the 
art  of  successful  seeding  can  be  char- 
acterized as,  first,  the  discernment  and 
the  utilization  of  the  combinations  of 
species,  site  conditions,  and  the  seasons 
where  natural  obstacles  to  plant  estab- 
lishment are  relatively  few  or  present 
in  mild  degree;  and,  second,  applica- 
tion of  such  treatments  as  are  necessary 
and  economically  feasible  for  lessening 
the  obstacles  or  modifying  the  factors 
most  likely  to  cause  failure. 

SEVERAL  PRINCIPLES  AND  METHODS  : 
Direct  seeding  generally  should  be 
restricted  to  the  more  favorable  sites. 
These  sites  usually  are  characterized  by 
fairly  deep,  mellow,  loamy,  and  well- 
drained  soils  situated  on  lower  slopes 
and  benches  with  northern  or  eastern 
exposures,  in  coves,  or  on  bottom  lands. 
Site  selection  is  more  important  in 
dry  climates  than  in  the  moister  ones. 
In  the  Lake  States,  for  instance,  which 
average  rather  dry  among  the  forest 
climates,  direct  seeding  generally  is  an 
uncertain  undertaking  except  on  the 
lower  lying  parts  of  the  areas  known 
as  sand  plains.  Extensive  acreages  of 
this  formation  are  found  in  Wisconsin. 
Seeding  tests  in  the  sand  plains  have 
indicated  good  chances  for  success 
where  the  ground-water  table  lies  be- 


138 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


tween  2  and  5  feet  from  the  soil  sur- 
face, but  increasingly  greater  risks  of 
failure  as  the  water  table  gets  deeper. 

Besides  good  soil  and  moisture  con- 
ditions, sites  favorable  for  seeding  are 
characterized  by  relatively  thin  and 
open  plant  cover.  This  points  to  recent 
burns  on  forest  land  and  to  recently 
abandoned  farm  lands  as  being  among 
the  most  likely  situations  for  satisfying 
direct-seeding  requirements. 

Seeding  can  be  done  any  time  that 
field  conditions  permit  from  late  fall 
to  early  spring — roughly  October 
through  April  in  the  North,  with  a 
somewhat  shorter  spring  season  in  the 
South.  Fall  sowing  generally  is  best 
because  it  allows  the  seed  to  afterripen 
naturally  on  the  ground  and  germinate 
as  soon  as  the  weather  is  favorable  in 
the  spring.  With  spring  sowing,  seeds 
that  require  afterripening  must  have 
been  previously  stratified  at  near  freez- 
ing temperatures  for  one  to  three 
months.  When  no  positive  rodent-con- 
trol measures  are  planned,  spring  sow- 
ing sometimes  is  advisable  because  of 
the  shorter  period  during  which  the 
seeds  are  exposed  to  the  foraging  of 
the  animals. 

All  experience  indicates  that  direct 
seeding  with  most  species  in  the  west- 
ern forest  regions  is  futile  without  some 
form  of  rodent  control.  Effective  con- 
trol measures  are  of  two  types :  Hard- 
ware cloth  covers  placed  over  the  seed- 
ed spots,  and  poisoning  the  area  before 
seeding. 

Covers  or  "screens"  of  hardware 
cloth  (3  or  4  meshes  to  the  inch)  are 
effective  but  relatively  costly  and  in- 
convenient. They  are  made  usually  in 
a  conical  or  dome  shape  to  permit  nest- 
ing for  carrying  and  storage.  At  pre- 
war prices,  covers  6  inches  in  diameter 
could  be  made  for  about  4  cents  each, 
and  with  reasonable  care  were  expect- 
ed to  serve  about  10  seasons.  Thus, 
where  seeding  might  be  done  year  after 
year,  the  prorated  cost  per  spot  for 
screens  could  be  reduced  to  less  than 
one-half  cent.  Even  at  that  rate,  the 
cost  runs  around  $5  an  acre  of  1,000  to 
1,200  spots;  to  this  must  be  added  the 


labor  cost  of  placing  them  on  the  spots, 
lifting  them  later,  and  storage.  Obvi- 
ously, seeding  with  screens  offers  little 
chance  for  reducing  reforestation  costs 
below  those  that  are  needed  for  plant- 
ing. Their  use  clearly  is  out  of  the 
question  for  a  private  landowner  with 
a  small,  one-season  job. 

The  prepoisoning  for  rodents,  be- 
fore seeding,  seems  to  offer  the  best 
promise  of  effective  control  at  reason- 
able cost.  Experimental  trials  of  this 
method,  as  developed  at  the  Northern 
Rocky  Mountain  Forest  and  Range  Ex- 
periment Station  in  cooperation  with 
the  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service,  were  in- 
terrupted by  the  war  and  have  not  been 
resumed  there.  However,  the  prepoi- 
soning technique  has  been  employed 
successfully  since  the  war  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest. 

The  procedure  at  the  Northern 
Rocky  Mountain  Station  was  to  place 
about  a  tablespoon  of  poisoned  bait 
(hulled  sunflower  seed  treated  with 
thallium  sulfate)  at  20-foot  intervals 
over  the  seeding  area  a  week  before 
sowing  the  seed.  Four  experimental 
field  trials  of  10  to  50  acres  each  were 
made  on  cut-over  and  burned  forest 
land  in  the  western  white  pine  type, 
seeding  with  western  white  pine.  After 
5  years,  from  67  to  79  percent  of  the 
seeded  spots  on  these  areas  were 
stocked.  Subsequently  a  97-acre  tract 
was  seeded  as  a  reforestation  job  by 
GCG  labor  without  the  painstaking 
care  exercised  in  the  earlier  experi- 
ments. After  5  years  this  tract  showed 
62  percent  of  its  spots  stocked.  Some  of 
the  spot  failures  here  were  attributed  to 
too-deep  coverage  of  the  seeds  by  care- 
less workmen  rather  than  to  rodents. 
Other  tests  showed  that  treating  the 
tree  seeds  with  poison  failed  to  give 
adequate  rodent  control  where  the  area 
had  not  been  prepoisoned.  When  pre- 
poisoning was  used,  treating  the  seed 
did  not  increase  the  stocking  enough 
to  justify  the  added  costs. 

Cost  of  the  bait  used  in  the  prepoi- 
soning was  about  25  cents  an  acre,  and 
the  labor  required  to  spread  it  was 
about  2  man-hours. 


Direct  Seeding  of  Trees 


139 


Repellents  for  rodent  and  bird  con- 
trol have  been  tried,  applied  both  on 
the  seed  and  on  or  around  the  seeded 
spots.  No  substance  thus  far  tested  has 
given  effective  control. 

Species  with  relatively  small  seed 
sometimes  can  be  direct-seeded  success- 
fully even  in  areas  of  high  rodent  pres- 
sure, without  specific  control  measures. 
Apparently  the  animals  simply  do  not 
find  all  the  seed  in  these  instances.  In 
tests  with  western  redcedar  and  Engel- 
mann  spruce,  seeded  without  protec- 
tion at  the  Northern  Rocky  Mountain 
Forest  and  Range  Experiment  Station, 
most  of  the  spots  showed  some  germi- 
nation, and  where  sites  were  favorable 
and  ground  cover  fairly  open,  64  to  97 
percent  of  the  spots  were  stocked  5 
years  later.  Where  failures  occurred, 
they  were  generally  attributable  to 
drought  or  overgrowth  by  other  plants, 
rather  than  to  damage  by  rodents. 

In  the  Eastern  States,  direct  seeding 
often  can  be  done  without  special 
treatments  to  control  rodents.  Mice, 
which  here  are  the  most  common  of- 
fenders, typically  are  most  numerous  in 
heavier  types  of  cover  where  seeding 
generally  would  be  inadvisable  because 
of  plant  competition.  Choicer  seeding 
areas,  like  recently  cultivated  fields  or 
fresh  burns  with  scant  cover,  harbor 
relatively  few  mice,  and  seedings  on 
them  usually  will  not  be  seriously  mo- 
lested. In  moderately  heavy  cover 
where  furrowing  or  clearing  of  spots 
normally  would  be  required  in  prep- 
aration for  seeding,  it  has  been  found 
helpful  to  do  this  work  several  weeks 
in  advance  of  sowing.  The  animals  in- 
vestigate immediately;  if  they  find 
nothing  of  interest  they  apparently 
pass  by  the  spots  or  furrows  thereafter 
without  close  examination.  Thus  a  de- 
layed sowing  may  largely  escape  mo- 
lestation. 

In  some  localities  where  studies  have 
been  made,  mouse  populations  are 
known  to  fluctuate  from  high  to  low 
on  about  a  4-year  cycle.  Probably  this 
is  true  of  mouse  populations  generally. 
Obviously,  seedings  made  during  the 
low  of  a  cycle  will  be  less  likely  to  be 


seriously  molested.  Information  on 
mouse  cycles  can  be  obtained  from  the 
Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  or,  in  some 
States,  from  the  State  biologist  or  State 
forester. 

Prepoisoning  entire  seeding  areas  as 
has  been  done  in  the  northern  Rocky 
Mountain  region  is  not  generally  rec- 
ommended in  the  East  because  of  the 
denser  human  population  and  greater 
danger  of  accidental  consumption  of 
the  poisons  by  domestic  livestock,  pets, 
desirable  forms  of  wildlife,  or  unsus- 
pecting people.  Some  States  prohibit 
such  poisoning  by  law,  or  control  it  by 
requiring  the  landowner  to  show  cause 
for  use  of  poison  and  obtain  a  permit 
from  State  or  local  authorities. 

In  the  Southern  and  the  Gulf  Coast 
States,  trials  of  direct  seeding  mostly 
have  been  unsuccessful  because  of  dep- 
redations by  birds.  No  effective  con- 
trols short  of  the  costly  screening 
method  have  been  found,  and  seeding, 
therefore,  is  not  now  generally  advo- 
cated in  that  region. 

Ground  preparation  of  some  sort 
usually  is  required  for  success  in  seed- 
ing unless  the  existing  plant  cover  is 
sparse  and  open.  Where  they  are  fea- 
sible, furrows  plowed  on  the  contour 
are  probably  the  cheapest  effective 
procedure.  Spacing  between  furrows 
should  be  6  to  8  feet,  the  depth 
should  be  no  greater  than  is  required 
for  good  turning  action  by  the  plow, 
the  furrow  slices  should  all  be  thrown 
down  slope,  and  the  work  preferably 
should  be  done  several  weeks  before 
seeding.  Where  plowing  cannot  be 
done,  seed  spots  1  to  2  feet  in  diameter 
are  prepared  by  scalping  off  the  vege- 
tation with  a  mattock  or  hazel  hoe. 
Deep  digging  of  the  spots  to  loosen  the 
soil  is  not  necessary.  Where  the  cover 
is  sufficiently  open  to  allow  location  of 
seed  spots  at  satisfactory  spacing  on 
bare  soil  between  clumps  of  vegetation, 
ground  preparation  may  be  omitted. 
The  omission  should  be  recognized, 
however,  as  an  acceptable  increase  in 
risk  taken  for  the  sake  of  lower  labor 
costs. 

In  seeding  new  burns  without  fur- 


140 

rowing  or  scalping,  ashes  should  be 
raked  or  brushed  aside  before  sowing. 
Fresh  ashes  in  contact  with  the  seed 
have  been  found  to  inhibit  root  growth 
and  may  cause  many  seedlings  to  fail 
immediately  after  germination. 

Rates  of  sowing  should  be  governed 
by  percentages  of  viable  seed,  which 
for  most  tree  seed  runs  far  below  100 
percent.  On  large  operations  that  in- 
volve considerable  investment,  seed 
quality  should  be  ascertained  by  germi- 
nation tests.  For  the  small  operator 
such  tests  often  are  inconvenient  to 
make,  especially  with  the  species  whose 
seed  require  cold  stratification.  A 
reasonably  dependable  substitute  is  to 
determine  the  percentage  of  soundness 
by  cutting  each  seed  in  a  sample  with 
a  knife  or  mashing  with  a  hammer. 

For  the  sowing  operation,  the  fast- 
est and  cheapest  hand  method  on  clean 
ground  or  after  furrowing  is  to  use  a 
garden-type  mechanical  seeder,  which 
a  man  can  push  along  without  undue 
effort.  Relatively  small-seeded  spe- 
cies like  pines  should  be  sown  to  aver- 
age two  to  three  sound  seeds  to  the 
lineal  foot  of  row.  Covering  may  be 
done  by  use  of  the  shoe  attachment 
furnished  with  most  seeders,  or  by  a 
brush  drag  drawn  along  the  furrow 
after  the  seed  are  dropped.  With  fall 
sowing  in  furrows,  covering  often  is 
not  necessary,  as  the  seed  will  be  cov- 
ered anyhow  by  rain  and  frost  action. 
However,  immediate  covering  may  be 
of  some  value  in  concealing  the  seed 
from  birds  and  rodents.  Guard  care- 
fully against  excessive  coverage;  small 
seeds,  like  pine  and  spruce,  should  not 
be  planted  more  than  a  quarter  inch 
deep. 

In  the  spot  seeding  of  small  seeds, 
sow  about  10  sound  ones  on  a  spot. 
Covering  may  be  accomplished  by  light 
raking  or,  better,  by  sowing  in  two  or 
three  little  trenches  made  with  the  fin- 
ger, a  pointed  stick,  or  any  convenient 
small  tool.  Fill  the  trenches  level  over 
the  seeds  with  soil  and  firm  gently  with 
the  hand  or  foot. 

Recently  a  tool  has  been  designed 
for  spot  seeding  consisting  of  a  blade 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

for  scarifying  the  soil,  a  seed  chamber, 
and  a  spring  mechanism  which  can  be 
adjusted  to  deliver  a  definite  amount 
of  seed.  On  areas  requiring  little  or 
no  preparation  of  the  spots,  it  is  re- 
ported that  one  man  with  this  tool  can 
seed  2  to  3  acres  a  day.  The  tool  is 
not  at  present  available  on  the  market, 
but  construction  is  fairly  simple.  Speci- 
fications can  be  obtained  from  the 
Oregon  State  Department  of  Forestry, 
at  Salem. 

Though  application  of  supplemen- 
tal treatments  means  more  labor  time 
and  shrinkage  or  elimination  of  any 
cost  differential  in  favor  of  seeding, 
extra  treatments  or  refinements  in  tech- 
nique are  in  some  situations  almost 
prerequisite  to  success.  Mulching,  for 
instance,  will  markedly  increase  the 
amount  of  successful  germination  in 
regions  such  as  the  southern  Piedmont, 
where  hot,  dry  conditions  often  develop 
during  the  early  spring.  Especially  on 
the  heavy  soils  that  have  little  natural 
cover  to  shade  the  surface  and  retard 
drying,  mulch  is  practically  a  require- 
ment in  that  region.  On  such  sites, 
mulch  also  greatly  reduces  losses  from 
frost  heaving.  Costs  for  mulching  vary 
greatly  according  to  availability  of  suit- 
able material.  On  grassy  fields  where 
material  can  be  raked  directly  into  the 
furrows  or  on  to  the  seed  spots,  costs 
usually  will  not  be  prohibitive.  Hauling 
mulch  to  the  seeding  site  involves 
greater  expense,  but  may  be  feasible  if 
pine  litter  or  other  material  can  be 
picked  up  easily  in  the  vicinity.  Seed 
should  not  be  covered  with  soil  if  mulch 
is  used,  as  that  covers  them  too  deep; 
when  used,  the  mulch  must  be  spread 
lightly  with  all  entangled  mats  and 
chunks  broken  apart.  Inexperienced 
labor  almost  invariably  tends  to  spread 
mulch  too  thickly;  ideally,  it  should 
nowhere  exceed  one-half  inch  when 
settled. 

Another  instance  of  need  for  special 
treatment  occurs  when  seeding  open- 
ings among  the  hardwood  trees  and 
sprouts  where  considerable  leaf  litter 
is  cast  each  fall.  Experience  with  spot 
seeding  in  situations  of  this  sort  at  the 


Direct  Seeding  of  Trees 


141 


Central  States  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 
tion has  shown  the  necessity  for  raising 
each  spot  an  inch  or  so  above  the  sur- 
rounding level  to  escape  the  lodging 
of  leaves  and  smothering  of  the  young 
plants.  With  spots  properly  located 
away  from  the  natural  obstacles  where 
litter  collects,  this  slight  elevation 
causes  most  leaves  to  slide  off  or  be 
carried  on  by  the  next  gust  of  wind. 

Where  screen  covers  are  used,  they 
should  be  placed  on  the  spots  immedi- 
ately as  sown;  delay  of  a  few  hours  or 
overnight  may  be  too  late.  Though 
they  may  be  lifted  anytime  after  ger- 
mination is  completed,  screens  usually 
are  left  in  place  until  fall  or  the  follow- 
ing spring.  Leaving  them  through  the 
first  summer  is  desirable  in  that  they 
cast  a  light  shade  which  measurably 
reduces  soil  temperatures  and  evapora- 
tion, and  thereby  tends  to  increase 
seedling  growth. 

Nut  seeds,  such  as  walnuts  or  acorns, 
produce  a  more  robust  seedling  from 
the  start  than  smaller  seeds  like  pine 
or  the  yellow-poplar.  Early  mortality  is 
lower,  and,  consequently,  fewer  seeds 
need  to  be  sown.  The  usual  practice 
with  good-quality  nuts  is  to  sow  two  to 
the  seed  spot,  placing  them  several 
inches  apart  so  that,  if  both  grow,  one 
can  be  removed  later  without  injuring 
the  other.  In  furrows,  single  nuts  are 
planted  at  intervals  of  2  to  3  feet. 
Depth  of  planting  should  be  1  to  2 
inches,  or  about  twice  the  thickness  of 
the  seed. 

Inasmuch  as  nut  seeds  are  especially 
subject  to  rodent  depredations,  spring 
seeding,  with  its  much  shorter  period 
of  exposure,  often  is  preferable  to  fall 
seeding.  However,  nuts  held  over- 
winter require  careful  storage.  For 
most  species  they  should  be  stratified 
in  moist  sand  or  peat  moss  either  in 
a  refrigerated  room  or  in  an  outdoor 
pit  on  a  well-drained  site.  Pits  should 
be  deep  enough  to  prevent  solid,  win- 
ter-long freezing.  Germination  will 
start  in  pits  as  soon  as  ground  tempera- 
tures begin  to  rise  in  March  or  early 
April,  at  which  time  the  nuts  should 
be  removed  and  planted  without  de- 


lay. Acorns  of  the  white  oak  group 
require  no  afterripening  and  may  be 
held  overwinter  without  stratification 
in  an  unheated  cave  or  humid,  cold 
room. 

The  foregoing  discussion  has  dealt 
only  with  hand  methods,  sometimes 
aided  by  common  machines,  such  as 
plows  and  mechanical  seeders.  Those 
are  the  methods  on  which  we  can  pass 
some  measure  of  judgment  based  on 
results,  but  even  here  the  background 
of  experiment  and  experience  is  too 
scant  to  warrant  final  conclusions.  Fur- 
thermore, these  methods  have  all  em- 
bodied the  idea  of  spot  or  row  seeding 
often  with  more  or  less  ground  prepa- 
ration. Broadcast  seeding,  after  nu- 
merous unsuccessful  trials  on  the  na- 
tional forests  35  to  40  years  ago,  was 
abandoned  as  a  futile  effort. 

NOW,  HOWEVER,  A  NEW  TECHNIQUE 

is  stirring  the  imagination  of  many  for- 
esters— seeding  from  airplanes.  With 
the  great  impetus  given  to  aviation  by 
the  war,  and  the  increasing  awareness 
of  our  dwindling  timber  resource  ac- 
centuated by  the  war,  it  was  natural 
that  the  idea  of  rapid  reforestation  by 
airplane  should  emerge  and  demand 
trial.  The  airplane  has  been  adapted 
with  phenomenal  success  to  the  dis- 
persal of  insecticides  and  fungicides 
over  field,  orchard,  and  forest.  It  has 
been  used  successfully  in  the  West  to 
seed  herbaceous  species  for  watershed 
protection  after  fires,  to  seed  rice  fields, 
and  has  found  some  use  in  range  re- 
seeding.  Why  not  use  airplanes  to 
reseed  the  forest? 

Several  tests  of  airplane  seeding  of 
forest  trees  are  now  under  way.  One  of 
the  first  was  600  acres  seeded  in  the 
spring  of  1946  by  the  Oregon  State 
Board  of  Forestry.  The  Crown  Zeller- 
bach  Corporation  in  Oregon  seeded 
1,100  acres  by  air  in  1947,  and  2,600 
acres  more  in  1948,  the  latter  by  heli- 
copter. The  Central  States  Forest  Ex- 
periment Station  tried  airplane  seeding 
of  trees  in  1948  on  spoils  left  after 
strip  mining  bituminous  coal,  and  the 
Northeastern  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 


142 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

studies  in  the  Lake  States,  Hardy  L. 
Shirley  expressed  the  prevailing  phi- 
losophy regarding  broadcast  seeding  in 
these  words:  "There  seems  to  be  no 
more  certain  way  of  wasting  a  large 
amount  of  seed  and  accomplishing 
nothing  than  to  broadcast  it  on  unpre- 


tion  seeded  about  2,500  acres  in  Maine 
on  land  burned-over  in  the  fall  of  1947. 
The  Department  of  Lands  and  Forests 
of  Ontario,  Canada,  also  has  been  ex- 
perimenting with  airplane  seeding. 

The  degree  of  success  to  follow  from 

these  experiments  remains  to  be  deter-      nothing  than  to  broadcast  it  on 
mined    Preliminary  inspections  of  the      pared  soil  in  the  Lake  States." 
area  seeded  in  Maine  indicate  a  poor          Though  Shirley  restricted  his  state- 
ment to  the  Lake  States,  it  would  have 


catch  of  seedlings  there.  Of  the  other 
areas  mentioned,  reports  on  degree  of 
stocking  have  been  received  only  for 
the  1946  seeding  in  Oregon.  On  a  re- 
cently burned  part  of  that  area  which 
was  seeded  to  Douglas-fir  and  Port- 
Orford-cedar  (*4  pound  of  seed  of 
each  an  acre),  examination  of  166  4- 
milacre  circular  line  plots  in  the  fall  of 
1947  showed  52  percent  of  the  plots 
stocked.  Plots  of  this  size  (about  14.9 
feet  in  diameter)  give  perhaps  an  un- 
duly favorable  picture  of  stocking  den- 
sity. When  tallied  by  milacre  plots,  the 
percent  of  stocked  plots  on  the  same 
area  was  only  22.  Though  this  amount 
of  seedling  catch  leaves  much  to  be  de- 
sired, the  Oregon  investigators  feel  the 
results  are  satisfactory  and  plan  to 
continue  their  airplane  seeding. 

At  this  early  stage  in  developments, 
the  ultimate  usefulness  of  the  airplane 
in  forest  seeding  cannot  be  foretold. 
Rapid  coverage  of  ground  is  its  chief 
attraction.  Compared  to  1,  or  at  best,  2 
or  3  acres  a  man-day  by  hand  methods, 
or  even  several  times  those  amounts  by 
use  of  simple  machines  like  garden 
seeders,  the  ability  of  the  plane  to 
spread  seed  on  100  acres  in  a  matter  of 
minutes  opens  vistas  of  reforestation 
that  heretofore  have  been  only  conser- 
vationists' dreams.  And  the  cost  factor 
is  favorable;  present  indications  are 
that  airplane  seeding  can  be  done  for 
from  $3  to  $6  an  acre — cheaper  than 
the  most  efficient  hand  or  simple  ma- 
chine methods. 

The  airplane  method,  however,  has 
several  shortcomings,  chief  of  which  is 
that  it  represents  a  return  to  broad- 
cast seeding — a  procedure  that  has 
been  rather  thoroughly  tried  in  the  past 
and  found  wanting. 

In    1937,    after   extensive    seeding 


found  ready  acceptance  among  forest- 
ers had  it  been  broadened  to  include 
the  entire  country.  Practically  all  for- 
est-seeding experience  supported  it.  In 
view  of  this  bit  of  history,  what  is  the 
outlook  for  airplane  seeding,  which  is 
nothing  more  than  the  adaptation  of  a 
new  machine  to  a  discarded  method? 

Airplane  seeding  offers  promise  of 
limited  successful  use  because  of  two 
developments  in  the  last  decade :  ( 1 ) 
A  greater  appreciation  among  forest- 
ers of  the  importance  of  proper  site 
selection  for  direct  seeding;  and  (2) 
with  special  reference  to  the  West,  the 
development  of  practicable  methods  of 
rodent  control  by  mass  prepoisoning 
prior  to  seeding. 

Suitable  sites  for  airplane  seeding 
will  be  those  which,  in  addition  to 
meeting  other  requirements,  have  un- 
dergone recent  denudation,  either  by 
large,  hot  fires  or  disturbances  of  the 
soil.  There  the  seed  will  find  the  min- 
eral soil  that  many  species,  especially 
the  conifers,  require  for  effective  estab- 
lishment of  seedlings,  the  young  plants 
will  encounter  a  minimum  of  compe- 
tition, and  animal  population  will  be 
at  low  ebb.  The  main  problem  is  to  get 
the  seeds  planted,  that  is,  covered  suffi- 
ciently to  promote  germination.  To  ac- 
complish that,  the  seed  is  dispersed  in 
the  winter,  preferably  on  soft  snow,  so 
that  it  will  become  embedded  before 
germination  time  by  the  physical  action 
of  melting  down  of  the  snow,  frost 
movements,  and  spring  rains.  As  the 
natural  plant  cover  returns  to  an  area 
following  denudation,  the  area  rapidly 
declines  as  a  broadcast  seeding  site. 
Some  measure  of  ground  preparation 
becomes  increasingly  necessary,  and 
sooner  or  later  a  stage  is  reached  where 


Direct  Seeding  of  Trees 


143 


again  broadcasting  would  waste  seed. 
Seeding  from  the  air  involves  the 
same  basic  procedures  as  spreading  in- 
secticides and  fungicides,  except  that 
flight  strips  must  be  narrower  because 
seeds  fall  more  sharply  than  mists  or 
dusts.  On  the  experiment  in  Maine, 
flight  strips  were  50  feet  wide,  with  the 
plane  flying  50  to  75  feet  above  the 
treetops.  Ground  crews  must  precede 
the  plane  to  erect  flags  and  wind-socks 
at  corners  and  along  boundaries  as 
guides  for  the  pilot.  Distributing  de- 
vices are  whatever  an  ingenious  me- 
chanic can  devise  to  fit  the  plane  and 
the  job.  On  the  Maine  job  the  plane 
used  was  a  converted  N3N  Navy  train- 
ing biplane  with  equipment  originally 
designed  for  spreading  poisoned  bran 
grasshopper  bait.  The  hopper  held 
about  1 7  bushels.  Material  flowed  from 
the  bottom  of  the  hopper  through  a 
slot  into  a  pan  under  the  fuselage  from 
which  it  was  blown  out  by  the  slip 
stream  through  four  fanwise  diverging 
channels.  Agitators  in  the  hopper  were 
operated  by  a  small  gear  box  and  shaft 
mounted  on  one  wing  and  driven  by 
wind  vanes.  With  this  distributing  ap- 
paratus, the  flow  of  pure  pine  seed 
could  not  be  regulated  satisfactorily; 
consequently,  the  seed  was  mixed  with 
sawdust.  By  trial  and  error,  propor- 
tions of  1 2  of  sawdust  to  1  of  seed  and 
6  of  sawdust  to  1  of  seed,  by  volume, 


were  found  to  give  the  2  desired  den- 
sity rates  of  approximately  4,000  and 
8,000  seeds  an  acre.  These  rather  low 
rates  were  necessitated  by  the  limited 
amount  of  seed  available.  Only  white 
pine  was  sown ;  original  plans  called  for 
red  pine  also,  but  seed  could  not  be  had. 
These  details  on  the  Maine  seeding 
are  cited  merely  as  one  example.  With 
other  kinds  of  seed  and  distributing 
equipment,  the  procedures  might  vary 
considerably.  The  Ontario  investi- 
gators, for  instance,  devised  a  mecha- 
nism for  distributing  undiluted  seed 
through  the  camera  hatch  of  a  Cessna 
Crane  plane.  They  also  have  worked 
with  coated  or  pelleted  seed,  which 
increases  seed  weight  by  about  six 
times,  thus  causing  the  seed  to  strike 
the  ground  with  greater  force  and 
embed  themselves  to  some  degree  in 
the  surface  soil  or  litter.  The  partial 
embedding,  plus  the  coating  of  diato- 
maceous  earth  and  the  fly  ash,  provide 
more  or  less  coverage  for  the  seed  and 
thereby  promote  better  germination 
and  higher  survival.  Fungicides,  ferti- 
lizers, and  rodent  repellents  have  been 
incorporated  into  the  seed  coatings, 
but  with  no  significant  benefits  except 
possibly  from  fungicides  in  reducing 
losses  from  damping-off. 

As  FOR  COSTS  :  That  direct  seeding 
can  be  done  at  lower  cost  than  plant- 


144 

ing  has  been  amply  demonstrated  by 
experiments  and  early  administrative 
experience — the  latter  mostly  prior  to 
1913 — on  the  western  national  forests. 
Most  of  those  pre-1913  seedings  failed, 
however,  which  points  up  the  highly 
significant  fact  that  lower  operating 
costs  an  acre  mean  little  unless  per- 
centages of  successful  stocking  by  seed- 
ing and  by  planting  are  consistently 
about  the  same,  or,  if  not,  that  the 
costs  for  seeding  are  enough  lower  to 
compensate  for  the  larger  margin  of 
failures. 

We  have  no  cost  records  for  the 
more  recently  developed  seeding  tech- 
niques that  are  sufficiently  compre- 
hensive in  acreage  and  years  to  pro- 
vide real  comparisons  with  planting 
in  terms  of  successfully  stocked  acres. 
We  have  only  the  evidence  from  rela- 
tively small-scale  experimental  trials 
which  strongly  indicates,  but  does  not 
conclusively  demonstrate,  that  seeding 
can  be  done  on  selected  sites  in  various 
sections  of  the  country  at  lower,  or  at 
least  no  higher,  costs  per  successfully 
stocked  acre  than  planting. 

In  the  northern  Rocky  Mountain 
tests  before  the  war,  seeding  western 
white  pine,  exclusive  of  poisoning,  cost 
approximately  the  same  as  planting 
2-0  stock  (about  1  man-day  of  labor 
plus  $3.34  for  seed  or  $3.60  for  stock 
for  an  acre  of  800  spots),  and  $3.86 
less  than  for  2-2  stock,  which  is  the 
grade  usually  recommended  for  plant- 
ing in  that  region.  Prepoisoning,  which 
required  2  man-hours  and  25  cents  for 
bait  an  acre,  brought  seeding  charges 
slightly  above  those  for  planting  2—0 
stock,  but  still  well  below  those  for  2-2 
stock.  On  suitable  sites,  fully  as  good 
stocking  usually  was  achieved  with 
seeding  as  with  planting.  The  cost  for 
ponderosa  pine  seed,  for  2-0  seedlings, 
and  for  the  usually  preferred  1-2  trans- 
plants were  $3.64,  $3.20,  and  $5.60,  re- 
spectively. Though  this  leaves  a  margin 
in  favor  of  seeding  as  compared  with 
transplant  stock,  it  is  an  appreciably 
narrower  margin  than  for  white  pine. 
Seeding  costs  for  Engelmann  spruce 
and  western  redcedar,  on  the  other 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


hand,  run  far  below  planting  costs  be- 
cause with  these  species  nursery  stock  is 
rather  expensive  to  produce,  whereas 
seed  costs  are  low  on  an  acre  basis  be- 
cause of  the  large  number  of  seed  to  the 
pound.  C.  S.  Schopmeyer  and  A.  E. 
Helmers  estimate  costs  for  seed  well 
under  50  cents,  while  the  nursery  stock 
would  cost  at  least  $7  or  $8  an  acre. 

Tests  in  Oregon,  using  the  seeding 
tool  mentioned  on  a  preceding  page, 
show  that  under  favorable  conditions 
of  weather,  terrain,  and  accessibility, 
burned-over  Douglas-fir  land  can  be 
prepoisoned  for  rodents  and  then  spot- 
seeded  at  1946  wage  rates  for  about 
$6  an  acre,  approximately  $4  of  which 
is  for  labor.  With  less  favorable  con- 
ditions, costs  will  run  from  $7  to  $8 
an  acre.  No  direct  comparisons  with 
planting  have  been  reported ;  however, 
seeding  (mostly  with  Douglas-fir)  has 
reportedly  given  good  results  on  north- 
ern slopes  and  some  fair  catches  on 
southern  slopes.  Planting  the  same  type 
of  terrain  undoubtedly  would  cost  at 
least  twice  as  much — perhaps  more. 

In  the  sand  plains  of  the  Lake  States, 
on  old  fields  in  Ohio  and  the  Atlantic 
Piedmont  region,  and  on  depleted  for- 
est areas  in  the  Missouri  Ozarks,  suc- 
cessful seeding  of  pines  has  been  done 
for  approximately  half  the  usual  costs 
for  planting — in  round  numbers,  about 
$5  versus  $10  an  acre  or  per  1,000 
spots.  Those  are  the  prewar  figures ;  at 
present  wage  rates  the  costs  would  be 
higher  but  the  relationships  probably 
would  be  about  the  same.  No  rodent- 
control  measures  were  employed.  The 
above  costs  were  based  on  use  of  a 
mechanical  seeder  in  furrows  at  the 
Lake  States  and  Piedmont  locations, 
and  spot  seeding  in  Ohio  and  the 
Ozarks.  Spot  seeding  in  the  Piedmont, 
using  mulch  over  the  spots,  cost  about 
the  same  as  planting.  Planting  costs 
are  based  on  local  practices,  typically 
1-0  or  2-0  stock,  the  species  being 
principally  the  jack  pine  in  the  Lake 
States,  loblolly  pine  in  the  Piedmont, 
and  shortleaf  pine  in  Ohio  and  the 
Ozarks.  In  all  probability,  seeding  can 
be  done  throughout  much  of  the  east- 


Direct  Seeding  of  Trees 


ern  forest  region  by  similar  methods 
and  at  about  the  same  relative  costs  as 
in  those  experiments.  The  approxi- 
mately 50-percent  lower  operating 
costs  for  seeding  appear  adequate  to 
compensate  for  the  greater  risks  in- 
volved, and  indicate  that  the  method 
might  well  be  more  widely  used  as  a 
supplement  to  planting. 

Costs  for  airplane  seeding  will  not 
mean  much  until  more  evidence  is 
available  on  the  degree  of  success  to  be 
expected.  If  a  fair  percentage  of  air- 
plane seedings  do  succeed,  the  cost  as- 
pects of  the  method  are  especially  at- 
tractive. The  previously  cited  job  in 
Maine  was  done  for  about  $3.50  an 
acre.  This  figure  does  not  include  any 
rental  or  depreciation  charge  for  the 
plane;  however,  a  private  concern  of- 
fered to  do  the  flying  for  50  cents  an 
acre.  The  Oregon  State  Board  of 
Forestry  reports  costs  of  $5.13  an  acre 
for  their  1946  job,  which  costs  included 
prepoisoning  for  rodent  control  and 
some  snag  felling.  On  the  latter  job, 
mixtures  of  Douglas-fir,  Port-Orford- 
cedar,  western  hemlock,  and  Sitka 
spruce  seed  were  used  at  the  rate  of 
one-half  pound  an  acre. 

Flying  costs  will  be  influenced  appre- 
ciably by  size  and  shape  of  the  seeding 
areas.  Situations  that  permit  flight 
strips  of  a  mile  or  more  will  go  much 
faster  than  those  where  strips  are  short- 
er, thus  requiring  more  time  to  be 
spent  in  turns.  Probably  the  helicopter 
will  prove  to  be  better  suited  and  more 
economical  than  the  conventional-type 
planes  for  working  smaller  tracts. 

RECOMMENDATIONS:  Since  direct 
seeding,  even  though  it  has  several  ad- 
vantages over  planting,  has  the  major 
drawback  of  generally  being  more  sub- 
ject to  failure,  one  may  ask  where  or 
under  what  circumstances  it  can  be 
used  to  best  advantage. 

The  statements  to  follow  refer  to  the 
tested  hand  methods  or  simple  machine 
methods.  No  recommendations  regard- 
ing airplane  seeding  are  warranted 
now,  except  that  developments  be 
watched  with  a  critical  but  open  mind. 

802062° — 49 11 


145 

First,  seeding  can  be  advocated  in 
those  localities  and  on  those  classes  of 
sites  where  experiments  have  shown 
that  it  has  a  good  chance  to  succeed. 
Among  these  are  cut-over  and  burned 
moist  slopes  and  benches  in  the  north- 
ern Rocky  Mountain  white  pine  type; 
the  similar  areas  in  the  northwestern 
Douglas-fir  region;  the  low-lying  sand 
plains  in  the  Lake  States;  the  better 
old-field  sites  in  the  East  Central  States 
and  Atlantic  Piedmont ;  the  better  cut- 
over  forest  sites  in  the  Missouri  Ozarks. 
Its  use  might  well  be  extended,  on  a 
small  scale  at  first,  to  other  sections  or 
localities  having  conditions  similar  to 
any  of  the  above  areas.  No  curtailment 
of  planting  in  favor  of  seeding  is  pro- 
posed; rather  the  planting  should  be 
pushed  with  full  vigor  during  the 
proper  season,  but  sites  deemed  suit- 
able for  seeding  should  be  bypassed. 
Then  as  conditions  permit  at  other 
times,  seed  the  selected  areas. 

Second,  seeding  can  be  advocated  on 
certain  classes  of  sites,  notably  very 
stony  areas,  where  good  planting  is 
difficult,  expensive,  or  impossible. 

Third,  seeding  is  admirably  suited 
for  filling  in  fail  spots  in  natural  repro- 
duction or  plantations  and  other  small 
or  out-of-the-way  places  that  hardly 
would  justify  taking  in  a  planting  crew. 
Such  places  can  be  seeded  during  the 
off  season  for  planting  by  a  few  men  at 
relatively  small  expense.  If  the  seedings 
are  successful,  the  gain  is  definitely 
worth  while ;  if  they  fail,  little  is  lost. 

Fourth,  seeding  can  be  suggested  for 
special  consideration  in  the  establish- 
ment of  any  species  that  is  difficult  to 
handle  or  tends  to  react  unfavorably  to 
the  usual  nursery  and  transplanting 
procedures.  For  instance,  some  strong- 
ly taprooted  nut  species,  like  black  wal- 
nut, preferably  should  be  direct  seeded 
where  the  method  is  at  all  feasible. 

Finally,  seeding  appeals  to  many 
farmers  for  starting  or  restocking  a  few 
acres  of  wood  lot,  partly  because  it  can 
be  done  intermittently  at  odd  times, 
partly  because  many  men  derive  satis- 
faction in  growing  their  trees  from  seed 
of  their  own  collection  from  a  favor- 


I46  Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 

able  source,  while  saving  the  price  of  W.  E.  McQuiLKiN  is  a  forester  at 

nursery  stock  in  the  process.  Establish-  the  Northeastern   Forest  Experiment 

ing  a  wood  lot  is  an  excellent  project  Station.  From  1938  to  1942  he  was  en- 

for  farm  boys  and  many,  like  their  gaged  in  direct-seeding  studies  at  the 

fathers,  derive  satisfaction  and  good  Southeastern  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 

experience  by  starting  with  seed  collec-  tion.  Dr.  McQuilkin  is  a  graduate  of 

tion   rather   than   purchased   nursery  Doane  College  and  the  Universities  of 

stock  Nebraska  and  Pennsylvania. 


CROSSES  AMONG   THE  WHITE    PINES    ATTEMPTED    BETWEEN    1939  AND  1948  AT   THE 
INSTITUTE    OF    FOREST   GENETICS,    PLACERVILLE,    CALIF.1 

Pollen  parent 

S    *  *  5  ^  R 

sjilillli,  sill  Jits  111 

S«drar<n<*  I J    H  |   U  !    U  !       t    I    I    !    I  1   J    t  I 

Pinus — 

koraiensis  

cembra 

albicaulis U     U 

ftexilis U    ..    U U 

armandi 

ayacahuite 

lambertiana U     ....FFF..UU    FF F 

parviflora 

peuc e 

pence  X  strobus 

excelsa ..U    ..    ..    U U    U 

monticola U      UHFUUH      H..H ..   F 

strobus F    ..    F H    U 

cembroides U 

monophylla 

eduiis .Y.  '?;r;7r%( '"7. ''!!.  .. 

bungeana F 

balfouriana U F U 

aristata tl F  .U 

1  F — failure.     This  does  not  mean  that  the  cross  cannot  be  made  but  that  the  attempts  to  date  have 
failed. 

U — unknown  results.     These  represent  recent  crossing  attempts  of  which  the  seeds  have  not  yet  matured 
or  have  not  yet  been  planted. 

H — hybrids  secured  from  the  cross. 

2  Only  those  white  pines  are  listed  that  have  been  used  for  crossing.     Cones  mature  approximately  15 
months  after  pollination;  the  success  of  a  cross  is  not  known  until  the  third  year,  when  planted  seed  from 
the  attempted  cross  have  germinated. 


147 


PINE  BREEDING  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


J.  W.  DUFFIELD,  PALMER  STOCKWELL 


Trees  fit  into  the  general  rule  that 
the  plants  and  animals  which  nature 
gave  us  have  not  been  considered  quite 
good  enough.  For  millions  of  years,  it 
is  true,  nature  has  developed  a  breath- 
taking variety  of  forms,  each  wonder- 
fully adapted  to  its  surroundings. 
Changes  in  climate  or  the  conforma- 
tion of  the  earth's  surface  have  caused 
the  extinction  of  some  forms  and  the 
development  and  migration  of  others. 
But  during  the  long  development  of 
civilization  man  has  learned  to  alter 
some  of  the  myriad  forms  of  life  about 
him,  making  them  better  suited  to  his 
needs. 

Centuries  of  breeding  have  devel- 
oped livestock  and  plants  that  have 
special  value,  but  only  recently  has  man 
applied  his  knowledge  of  breeding  to 
the  development  of  better  forest  trees. 
Much  of  this  work  has  been  done  with 
pines  because  of  their  wide  distribu- 
tion and  their  value  for  many  wood 
products.  Today  pine-breeding  re- 
search has  progressed  to  the  point  that 
promising  pine  hybrids  exist  for  each 
of  the  major  timber-producing  regions 
in  the  United  States. 

How  has  this  point  been  reached? 
And  what  are  the  results  now  ready  for 
trial? 

As  long  as  man  used  only  an  occa- 
sional tree  he  was  not  concerned  with 
replacing  it.  But  when  he  began  to 
fell  sizable  sections  of  the  forest,  he 
observed  that  the  succeeding  cover 
was  often  different  from  the  one  he 
had  removed.  To  insure  another  tree 
crop  of  the  type  harvested,  he  often 
found  it  necessary  to  sow  seeds  or  plant 
young  trees.  This  practice  foreshad- 
owed the  beginning  of  forest-tree  im- 
provement, perhaps  500  years  ago.  In 
his  early  planting  operations,  the  for- 
ester soon  learned  that  certain  local 
races  of  trees  surpassed  the  average. 

American  foresters,  influenced  in 
their  early  work  by  European  forestry, 


were  quick  to  import  one  of  Europe's 
leading  timber  trees,  the  Scotch  pine, 
a  species  that,  despite  its  name,  extends 
from  the  British  Isles  into  Siberia  and 
from  the  Arctic  Circle  as  far  as  south- 
ern Austria  and  the  Iberian  Peninsula. 
Foresters  in  New  York  State  found 
that  Scotch  pine  from  the  shores  of  the 
Baltic  Sea  made  a  respectable  tree  in 
their  plantations,  while  the  same  spe- 
cies grown  from  south  German  seed 
produced  gigantic  corkscrews  and 
other  bizarre  and  useless  forms.  Forest- 
ers in  almost  every  European  country 
have  studied  Scotch  pine  from  various 
sources  and  have  come  to  recognize  an 
almost  limitless  number  of  local  races, 
each  fitted  by  natural  selection  into 
the  mold  of  the  local  climatic  and  soil 
conditions. 

In  the  past  few  years,  several  workers 
in  the  Forest  Service,  notably  R.  H. 
Weidman,  T.  T.  Munger,  and  W.  G. 
Morris,  have  completed  studies  of  local 
races  of  ponderosa  pine  and  Douglas- 
fir,  two  of  our  most  widespread  and 
important  western  conifers.  An  inter- 
esting study  of  altitudinal  races  of  pon- 
derosa pine  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  of 
California  was  initiated  by  L.  Austin, 
also  of  the  Forest  Service.  Work  of 
this  kind  has  led  foresters  to  the  realiza- 
tion that  careful  comparative  studies  of 
climate  and  soils  and  of  the  growth  of 
local  races  should  enable  them  to  pro- 
ceed with  more  certainty  in  their  work 
of  reforestation. 

In  recent  years  most  spectacular  re- 
sults have  been  achieved  by  this  analyt- 
ical approach  in  parts  of  Italy,  South 
Africa,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand — 
regions  that  have  rather  meager  na- 
tive conifer  forests  and  only  moderate 
rainfall,  most  of  which  falls  in  the  win- 
ter. Such  a  climate  resembles  that  of 
coastal  California,  where  a  few  small 
patches  of  natural  Monterey  pine  sur- 
vive. The  fossil  record  shows  that  this 
pine  once  occupied  a  much  larger  area, 


148 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


but  because  of  increasing  dryness  along 
the  coast  it  was  squeezed  into  a  smaller 
and  smaller  area.  There  it  was  making 
its  last  stand  when  the  botanists  found 
it.  Given  a  fresh  start  in  Australia,  New 
Zealand,  Italy,  and  South  Africa,  this 
almost  extinct  pine  delighted  foresters 
by  its  rapid  growth  and  good  form. 
In  places  where  it  was  a  complete 
stranger,  it  found  just  the  conditions  of 
soil  and  climate  it  needed. 

These  examples  show  the  effective- 
ness of  natural  selection  in  shaping  the 
heredity  of  trees  so  as  to  fit  them  for 
growth  in  specific  types  of  environ- 
ment. It  would  be  surprising,  however, 
if  men  were  content  with  a  process  so 
slow  that  it  can  only  be  seen  in  the  un- 
folding of  the  fossil  record.  Foresters 
have  turned  to  artificial  selection  or 
sought  some  other  man-made  device  to 
speed  up  the  remodeling  of  forest  trees. 

Biologists  generally  agree  that  cer- 
tain features  of  species  are  especially 
important  to  survival  of  the  race.  The 
features  have  to  do  with  the  survival  of 
the  individual  and  perpetuation  of  the 
species.  Furthermore,  infancy  is  the 
period  in  the  individual's  life  during 
which  the  balance  between  survival 
and  death  is  most  precarious.  Thus  the 
features  most  strongly  molded  by  natu- 
ral selection,  the  so-called  adaptive  fea- 
tures, have  to  do  largely  with  the  start 
of  life  of  the  individual.  The  forester, 
however,  is  largely  concerned  with  the 
characteristics  of  mature  or  young-i 
mature  trees.  His  selection  has  been 
aimed  at  the  development  of  trees  espe- 
cially suited  to  producing  usable  prod- 
ucts such  as  clear  lumber,  smooth 
veneer,  or  strong  paper  in  the  greatest 
possible  quantities  per  acre  per  year. 
His  selection  therefore  must  take  quite 
a  different  direction  from  the  one  prac- 
ticed by  nature. 

Before  our  knowledge  of  the  science 
of  genetics  was  developed,  selection 
was  practiced  in  the  woods.  Seed  trees 
of  good  form  were  left  and  misshapen 
wolf  trees  were  cut,  or,  if  plantings 
were  needed,  seed  was  collected  only 
from  the  best-formed  trees.  With  the 
recognition  of  Gregor  Mendel's  work 


at  the  turn  of  the  century,  some  for- 
esters realized  that  well-formed  seed 
trees  might  carry  in  a  recessive  or  con- 
cealed condition  certain  hereditary 
factors  that  could  cause  some  of  their 
offspring  to  be  of  an  inferior  quality. 
Other  early  work  by  geneticists  showed 
that  many  characteristics  of  plants  and 
animals — such  as  size,  quality,  and  re- 
sistance to  unfavorable  environmental 
influences — were  determined  by  many 
hereditary  factors.  So,  for  a  tree  to 
have  the  maximum  growth  rate  or  a 
certain  form,  it  had  to  have  just  the 
right  combination  of  a  large  number  of 
hereditary  factors.  That  fact  revealed 
the  relative  ineffectiveness  of  selection 
practiced  in  the  woods  as  a  method  of 
improving  the  heredity  of  a  forest  and 
eventually  led  to  deliberate  efforts  to 
develop  superior  types  of  forest  trees 
by  genetic  methods. 

It  is  always  difficult  to  point  with 
certainty  to  the  originator  of  an  idea, 
and  we  hope  to  be  forgiven  if  we  un- 
wittingly slight  the  "father  of  tree 
breeding."  Klotzsch,  in  Germany,  at- 
tempted to  cross  Scotch  pine  with 
Austrian  pine  in  1845.  His  statement 
that  he  planted  the  hybrid  seed  the 
spring  following  pollination  is  at  vari- 
ance with  the  facts,  because  2  years 
are  required  for  the  formation  of  seed 
of  those  species.  Nils  Sylven  in  1909 
undertook  to  investigate  the  heritabil- 
ity  of  certain  well-recognized  crown 
types  in  Norway  spruce  and  Scotch 
pine  growing  in  Sweden.  This  he  did 
by  making  self-pollinations  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  various  crown  types 
would  breed  true.  From  1912  to  1924, 
Augustine  Henry,  in  England,  and  sev- 
eral Americans,  including  Helge  Ness, 
A.  B.  Stout,  E.  J.  Schreiner,  and  others, 
began  controlled  pollination  work,  the 
foundation  stone  of  tree  breeding. 

In  1925,  James  G.  Eddy,  after  seek- 
ing the  advice  of  Luther  Burbank, 
established  the  Eddy  Tree  Breeding 
Station  at  Placerville,  in  northern  Cali- 
fornia. The  station  was  later  deeded 
to  the  United  States,  to  be  managed 
by  the  Forest  Service  as  the  Institute 
of  Forest  Genetics.  The  Institute  soon 


Pine  Breeding  in  the  United  States 


149 


narrowed  the  scope  of  its  work  to  the 
genetic  improvement  of  the  timber 
pines.  John  Barnes,  W.  C.  Gumming, 
and  W.  G.  Wahlenberg  pioneered  in 
the  development  of  pollination  tech- 
niques. F.  I.  Righter  joined  the  sta- 
tion staff  in  1931  and,  with  W.  G. 
Gumming,  perfected  the  techniques 
and  used  them  to  demonstrate  the 
great  possibilities  for  genetic  improve- 
ment that  could  be  realized  through 
species  hybridization  in  the  pines.  At 
about  this  time,  Philip  G.  Wakeley, 
also  of  the  Forest  Service,  made  a  num- 
ber of  crosses  between  the  timber-pine 
species  of  the  Southeastern  States. 

Much  of  the  pioneer  work  in  pine 
breeding  thus  is  behind  us. 

THREE  GENERAL  METHODS  are  avail- 
able to  the  tree  breeder  today.  Two  of 
them — selection  and  hybridization — 
consist  of  using  and  recombining  he- 
reditary variations  already  existing 
among  trees.  The  third  method  can  be 
used  to  create  hereditary  variations 
through  physical  or  chemical  treat- 
ments. 

Selection  becomes  much  more  effec- 
tive when  it  is  combined  with  other 
techniques,  such  as  progeny  testing, 
vegetative  propagation,  or  hybridiza- 
tion. Progeny  tests  of  self-pollinated 
plants  help  determine  which  parents  to 
select  for  the  best  offspring.  But  since 
the  pines  are  predominantly  cross-pol- 
linated, a  progeny  test  in  which  only 
the  seed  parent  is  known  tells  only  half 
of  the  story.  Vegetative  propagation, 
which  is  used  by  fruit  growers  to  mul- 
tiply selected  trees,  has  not  yet  reached 
a  stage  of  development  for  pines  which 
would  permit  economical  propagation 
of  forest  planting  stock  except  in  New 
Zealand,  where  it  is  practiced  with 
Monterey  pine.  Great  progress  has  been 
made,  however,  by  workers  in  South 
Africa  and  Australia;  by  K.  W.  Dor- 
man  and  his  associates,  who  have  been 
working  with  turpentine  pines  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  United  States ; 
and  by  N.  T.  Mirov,  of  the  Institute  of 
Forest  Genetics  in  California. 

This  work  has  resulted  in  techniques 


by  which  the  clones  from  selected  pines 
may  be  vegetatively  propagated  for  re- 
search purposes  or  for  establishment  of 
seed-producing  plantations.  Members 
of  a  clone  are  merely  parts  of  a  single 
tree,  made  to  produce  roots  and  be- 
come self-supporting  or  supplied  with 
roots  by  grafting.  Numerous  experi- 
ments have  shown  that  pines  and  many 
other  forest  trees  can  produce  few  seed 
as  a  result  of  self-pollination;  usually 
the  few  seedlings  so  produced  are  weak. 
Pollination  between  members  of  the 
same  clone  is  equivalent  to  self-pollina- 
tion. For  that  reason,  mixing  several 
clones  in  a  seed-producing  plantation 
is  necessary  to  insure  cross-pollination 
and  satisfactory  seed  production.  Such 
plantations  in  Sweden  contain  from  6 
to  12  selected  clones,  all  from  a  single 
local  race  to  insure  adaptability.  When 
two  selected  trees  or  clones  are  cross- 
pollinated,  there  is  no  certainty  that 
the  offspring  will  be  better  than  the 
average  for  the  species,  but  when  half 
a  dozen  or  more  selected  clones  are  al- 
lowed to  interpollinate  the  chance  for 
average  superiority  of  the  offspring  is 
increased.  Only  by  controlled  pollina- 
tion can  it  be  determined  which  pairs 
of  clones  will  consistently  produce  su- 
perior offspring.  Perhaps  the  most 
promising  field  for  selection  work  with 
pines  is  the  search  for  trees  resistant  to 
disease  and  insect  attack. 

The  methods  and  benefits  of  pine 
hybridization  were  discussed  in  an  ar- 
ticle on  hybrid  forest  trees  in  the  1943- 
1947  Yearbook  of  Agriculture. 

Briefly,  the  benefits  to  be  expected 
are  hybrid  vigor,  the  combination  of 
desirable  characters  in  a  single  plant, 
and  the  uncovering  by  hybrid  segrega- 
tion of  hitherto  unsuspected  characters 
in  the  offspring  derived  from  breeding 
within  a  hybrid  population.  Naturally, 
hybridization  can  be  expected  to  be 
most  effective  if  the  parents  are  se- 
lected rather  carefully. 

As  to  the  third  method  available  to 
tree  breeders,  most  of  the  techniques  for 
initiating  new  hereditary  variations  are 
barely  out  of  the  laboratory  and  as  yet 
cannot  be  consciously  directed — they 


ISO 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


might  more  appropriately  be  called 
shotgun  methods  in  their  present  state 
of  development.  They  include  the  in- 
duction of  gene  mutations  and  chromo- 
some rearrangements  by  X-ray  and 
other  types  of  radiation,  heat  treat- 
ments, and  cold  shocks.  The  doubling 
of  chromosome  numbers  by  treatment 
of  seeds  or  growing  points  with  col- 
chicine,  acenaphthene,  or  other  chem- 
icals was  once  regarded  as  promising 
for  making  pine  hybrids  true-breeders. 
This  hope  has  faded  somewhat  in  the 
face  of  a  number  of  failures  of  this 
type  of  experimentation,  and  at  pres- 
ent such  work  is  placed  in  the  category 
of  pure  research,  which,  given  sufficient 
time  and  effort,  may  yet  produce  valu- 
able tools  for  the  practical  tree  breeder. 

What  has  been  accomplished  by 
these  methods  and  how  and  where  can 
the  accomplishments  be  put  to  use? 

Perhaps  the  best  way  to  answer  is  to 
make  a  tour  of  the  forest  regions  of  this 
country,  stopping  long  enough  in  each 
to  see  what  the  breeders  have  to  offer. 

IN  THE  NORTHEASTERN  STATES,  the 
eastern  white  pine  is  most  interesting 
to  the  tree  breeder  because  of  its  great 
commercial  value  and  because  of  the 
challenge  offered  by  its  susceptibility 
to  the  attacks  of  two  major  pests,  the 
white-pine  weevil  and  the  white  pine 
blister  rust.  This  pine  belongs  to  a 
group  of  closely  related  species,  which 
includes  the  western  white  pine  of  the 
northern  Rockies  as  well  as  the  Pacific 
Northwest,  Himalayan  white  pine,  and 
the  Balkan  pine  of  Yugoslavia  and 
Greece.  The  last  two  pines  are  of  par- 
ticular interest  because  they  exhibit 
some  resistance  to  blister  rust. 

Several  pine  breeders  have  made  hy- 
brids within  this  group.  Workers  at  the 
Arnold  Arboretum  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity and  at  the  Institute  of  Forest 
Genetics  have  found  that  hybrids  be- 
tween eastern  white  pine  and  western 
white  pine,  between  western  white  pine 
and  Himalayan  white  pine,  and  be- 
tween Himalayan  white  pine  and  east- 
ern white  pine  are  all  more  vigorous 
than  the  parent  species.  During  the 


first  7  years  of  growth,  the  hybrid  just 
about  doubles  the  height  growth  of  the 
parents. 

L.  P.  V.  Johnson  and  G.  Heimburger 
of  Canada  have  crossed  eastern  white 
pine  with  the  Balkan  pine.  C.  Syrach- 
Larsen  in  Denmark  also  has  made  this 
cross  and  has  grown  hybrid  seedlings 
that  are  already  producing  pollen. 

Some  of  this  pollen  has  been  used 
in  crosses  with  the  western  white  pine 
at  the  Institute  of  Forest  Genetics.  By 
this  means  we  hope  to  introduce  the 
blister  rust  resistance  of  the  Balkan 
and  Himalayan  pines  into  a  cross  that 
exhibits  hybrid  vigor.  The  work  of 
A.  J.  Riker  and  associates  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin  has  shown  that  in 
areas  heavily  infected  with  blister  rust 
a  rare  tree  may  be  found  to  have  a  high 
degree  of  resistance.  These  trees  are 
now  being  used  to  produce  stock  that 
can  be  tested  for  resistance  to  blister 
rust.  Dr.  G.  Heimburger  is  emphasiz- 
ing both  blister  rust  resistance  and  re- 
sistance to  white-pine  weevil  attack  in 
his  breeding  work  with  the  white  pines. 

The  practical  value  of  all  hybrids  de- 
pends on  their  adaptation  to  the 
climate  in  which  they  are  planted. 

Some  of  the  hybrids  mentioned  are 
of  unknown  hardiness  in  the  Northeast, 
but  we  can  be  confident  that  others  will 
thrive  because  both  parent  species  are 
known  to  be  hardy.  This  applies  espe- 
cially to  the  eastern-western  white  pine 
hybrid  and  to  a  less  certain  degree  to 
the  hybrids  involving  the  Balkan  white 
pine.  The  Himalayan  pine  is  known  to 
be  hardy  in  Philadelphia,  and  there- 
fore hybrids  involving  this  species 
should  thrive  at  least  that  far  north. 

Pitch  pine,  which  is  currently  of 
minor  importance  in  the  Northeast  be- 
cause of  its  poor  form  and  slow  growth, 
has  been  successfully  crossed  with 
loblolly  and  shortleaf  pines  to  yield 
hybrids  that  surpass  pitch  pine  in  form 
and  rate  of  growth.  The  hardiness  of 
these  hybrids  has  not  yet  been  tested 
in  the  more  northerly  region  inhabited 
by  pitch  pine,  but  it  is  reasonable  to 
expect  that  the  hybrids  will  be  at  least 
intermediate  in  cold  resistance. 


Pine  Breeding  in  the  United  States 


THE  SOUTHEASTERN  AND  SOUTH- 
ERN STATES  have  four  principal  tim- 
ber pines — all  used  in  hybridization 
work.  None  of  the  crosses  so  far  made 
have  resulted  in  conspicuous  hybrid 
vigor  comparable  to  that  found  in  the 
white  pine  crosses,  but  some  of  them 
combine  desirable  properties  of  the 
parent  species  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  of 
great  interest  to  timber  growers.  The 
cross  between  shortleaf  and  loblolly 
pines  is  generally  superior  to  shortleaf 
pine  in  form  and  growth  rate  and  gives 
some  promise  of  growing  in  areas  out- 
side the  natural  range  of  loblolly  pine, 
notably  in  eastern  Texas  and  Arkansas. 

Loblolly  and  shortleaf  pines  have 
both  been  crossed  with  slash  pine,  per- 
haps the  most  productive  pine  in  the 
region  for  both  timber  and  naval  stores. 
Slash  pine  would  contribute  much 
more  to  the  economy  of  the  South  if 
it  were  not  comparatively  restricted  in 
its  distribution;  it  is  to  be  expected 
that  crosses  with  loblolly  and  shortleaf 
pines  can  be  made  that  will  consider- 
ably extend  the  range  of  slash  pine 
without  sacrificing  productivity.  The 
natural  hybrid  between  longleaf  and 
loblolly  pines  has  been  known  for  some 
time,  and  a  number  of  second-genera- 
tion hybrids  have  been  tested  at  the  In- 
stitute of  Forest  Genetics.  Some  of 
these  show  strikingly  good  form  and 
rapid  growth  under  conditions  wholly 
unfavorable  to  longleaf  pine. 

FOR  THE  LAKE  STATES  two  im- 
portant timber  pines  have  been  used  in 
crosses,  which  have  shown  remarkable 
vigor.  The  first  of  these,  eastern  white 
pine,  has  already  been  discussed  under 
the  northeastern  region.  The  second, 
jack  pine,  has  been  crossed  with  lodge- 
pole  pine  of  western  United  States  to 
give  a  hybrid  as  vigorous  as  jack  pine 
and  as  much  as  79  percent  taller  than 
lodgepole  pine  of  the  same  age.  So 
far,  this  cross  has  been  made  only 
with  the  lodgepole  pine  of  the  high 
Sierra  Nevada,  which  is  a  relatively 
slow-growing  tree  at  medium  to  low 
altitudes. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  lodgepole 


pine  from  lower  elevations  in  the  Pa- 
cific Northwest  or  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains may  be  used  with  a  selected  local 
race  of  jack  pine  to  produce  even  better 
hybrids.  This  cross  should  have  great 
appeal  to  the  pulpwood  growers  and  is 
comparatively  easy  to  produce. 

Preliminary  experiments  at  the  In- 
stitute of  Forest  Genetics  have  shown 
that  jack  pine  cuttings  can  be  rooted 
rather  easily,  thus  opening  up  the  pos- 
sibility of  establishing  clonal  seed-par- 
ent blocks  of  this  species  that  can  be 
mass-pollinated  with  lodgepole  pine 
pollen  to  produce  hybrids  at  relatively 
low  cost.  The  scheme  is  especially 
practicable  for  jack  pine,  which  nor- 
mally produces  sound  seeds  at  an  ear- 
lier age  than  most  other  pine  species. 

WESTWARD,  in  the  northern  Rocky 
Mountain  and  Pacific  Northwest  re- 
gions, the  same  hybrids  that  show 
promise  in  the  Lake  States  are  likely 
to  succeed.  Recent  work  by  T.  T. 
Munger  shows  that  at  the  Wind  River 
Arboretum  in  southern  Washington, 
eastern  white  pine  equals  the  western 
white  pine  in  growth  and  form.  Thus 
it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  hybrids 
that  have  shown  superior  growth  in 
tests  in  California  and  Massachusetts 
will  thrive  in  the  Northwest.  Although 
neither  of  the  parent  species  is  gener- 
ally resistant  to  blister  rust,  it  is  be- 
lieved that  resistance  can  eventually  be 
introduced  from  resistant  species  such 
as  Balkan  and  Himalayan  pines  or  from 
resistant  individuals  of  eastern  white 
pine.  No  doubt  some  resistant  trees  of 
western  white  pine  will  eventually  be 
found  and  brought  into  the  breeding 
program. 

For  the  central  and  southern  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  Southwestern  States, 
and  California,  a  number  of  the  hybrids 
have  been  produced.  Monterey  pine  of 
the  mild  California  coast  has  been 
crossed  with  knobcone  pine,  which  is 
generally  found  in  locations  with  much 
lower  winter  temperatures  and  more 
extreme  summer  drought  than  occur 
in  locations  where  Monterey  pine  has 
survived.  It  is  a  typical  combination 


152 

hybrid  that  brings  together  the  greater 
drought  and  frost  resistance  of  the 
knobcone  pine  and  the  rapid  growth 
and  good  form  of  Monterey  pine. 
Studies  under  way  at  the  Institute  of 
Forest  Genetics  suggest  that  practical 
methods  of  vegetative  propagation 
may  be  found  to  establish  plantations 
made  up  of  superior  clones  of  this 
hybrid. 

California's  infant  paper  industry 
may  in  time  derive  much  of  its  raw 
material  from  plantations  of  this  and 
similar  hybrids  in  the  foothills  sur- 
rounding the  great  Central  Valley,  at 
the  lower  border  of  the  pine  belt.  Al- 
though the  area  is  known  to  favor  ex- 
cellent growth  of  ponderosa  pine,  it 
has  produced  little  pine  timber  in  re- 
cent years  because  of  frequent  fires  and 
rainfall  conditions  that  are  not  often 
favorable  to  the  natural  establishment 
of  ponderosa  pine  seedlings. 

Both  Monterey  and  knobcone  pines 
carry  their  own  fire  insurance  in  the 
form  of  cones  that  open  after  fires  and 
shower  the  burned-off  areas  with  mil- 
lions of  seeds.  The  hybrid  between 
these  species  is  highly  fertile  and  has 
"fire  cones,"  which  are  produced  abun- 
dantly when  the  trees  are  little  more 
than  5  years  old. 

Several  hybrids  between  the  so- 
called  yellow  pines  show  great  promise 
for  the  semiarid  West,  although  no  cer- 
tain cases  of  hybrid  vigor  have  been 
found.  Ponderosa  pine  of  the  Pacific 
slope  is  known  to  grow  more  rapidly 
than  the  Rocky  Mountain  ponderosa 
pine,  but  the  ability  of  the  coastal  va- 
riety to  thrive  in  the  Rocky  Mountain 
region  or  in  the  Southwest  is  open  to 
serious  question.  In  tests  in  California, 
however,  the  hybrids  of  these  two  have 
caught  up  to  ponderosa  pine  in  height 
growth  at  5  years.  A  distinct  possibility 
is  thereby  offered  to  the  forest  planters 
in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  and  the 
Southwest.  An  even  more  promising 
hybrid  has  been  made  by  crossing  pon- 
derosa pine  with  Apache  pine,  a  close 
relative  from  Arizona.  The  hybrid  is 
remarkable  for  its  rapid  root  penetra- 
tion and  diameter  growth,  both  of 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


which  greatly  exceed  those  of  ponder- 
osa pine,  and  for  the  fact  that  it  equals 
ponderosa  pine  in  height  growth. 

Jeffrey  pine,  a  native  of  California, 
Oregon,  Nevada,  and  Mexico,  and 
long  thought  to  be  closely  related  to 
ponderosa  pine,  is  generally  of  excel- 
lent form  but  of  slower  growth  than 
ponderosa.  A  few  years  ago  Jeffrey  pine 
was  found  to  have  crossed,  in  several 
parts  of  its  range,  with  Coulter  pine, 
a  species  found  only  in  California  and 
Mexico. 

Coulter  pine,  under  California  con- 
ditions, is  one  of  the  fastest  growing 
pines  although  it  is  limby  and  relatively 
short-lived.  Pollen  from  the  natural 
hybrid  between  these  pines,  applied  to 
flowers  of  Jeffrey  pine,  produced  an 
abundant  crop  of  backcross  hybrids. 
In  repeated  tests  these  hybrids  have 
grown  almost  as  fast  as  Coulter  pine, 
and  have  exhibited  as  good  crown  and 
stem  form  as  Jeffrey  or  ponderosa  pine. 
Elsewhere  in  this  Yearbook,  an  account 
is  given  of  insect  resistance  of  this  in- 
teresting hybrid,  which  may  yet  offer 
stiff  competition  to  pondersa  pine, 
heretofore  the  undisputed  king  of  the 
western  pines. 

THESE  RESULTS  of  research  are  en- 
couraging. The  principles  and  tech- 
niques of  pine  breeding  are  reasonably 
well  worked  out.  Hybrids  and  strains  of 
superior  growth  rate,  hardiness,  insect 
resistance,  gum  yield,  and  other  quali- 
ties have  been  produced  with  trees 
from  widely  separated  localities.  The 
superior  forms  so  far  produced  should 
be  very  useful,  but  they  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  grow  equally  well  under  all 
climatic  and  soil  conditions.  As  with 
other  crops,  it  will  be  necessary  to  breed 
pines  to  fit  the  major  climatic  regions 
and  in  some  cases  particular  sites  with- 
in a  region. 

The  present  status  of  pine  breeding 
might  be  likened  to  that  of  corn  breed- 
ing in  the  early  1930's.  The  principles 
and  techniques  had  been  pretty  well 
worked  out  by  various  research  work- 
ers, and  a  number  of  high-yielding  corn 
strains  had  been  produced.  The  next 


Poplars  Can  Be  Bred  to  Order 


step  was  to  make  hybrid  seed  available 
to  the  farmers.  When  this  was  done, 
the  planting  of  new  strains  spread 
amazingly ;  during  the  next  6  years  hy- 
brid corn  came  to  occupy  more  than  80 
percent  of  the  land  planted  to  corn  in 
the  Corn  Belt,  with  an  increased  yield 
averaging  about  20  percent.  Although 
existing  hybrid  pines  may  be  expected 
to  increase  the  yield  on  plantation  sites 
to  which  they  are  adapted,  no  seed  of 
these  superior  tree  strains  is  now  avail- 
able for  general  distribution.  Devising 
means  for  production  and  distribution 
of  those  hybrids  that  seem  worthy  of 
trial  in  the  various  regions  is  the  next 
step  needed  to  capitalize  on  the  results 
of  pine-breeding  research. 

J.  W.  DUFFIELD,  a  geneticist,  joined 
the  staff  of  the  Institute  of  Forest  Ge- 


153 

netics  in  1946.  A  graduate  of  Cornell 
and  Harvard  Universities,  he  worked 
as  a  forester  for  the  Forest  Service  in 
Michigan  and  as  a  tree  breeder  for  the 
Northeastern  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 
tion. 

PALMER  STOGKWELL  is  geneticist  in 
charge,  Institute  of  Forest  Genetics,  a 
branch  of  the  California  Forest  and 
Range  Experiment  Station,  main- 
tained by  the  Forest  Service  in  coop- 
eration with  the  University  of  Califor- 
nia, in  Berkeley.  He  has  served  with 
the  Boyce  Thompson  Southwestern 
Arboretum  in  Arizona,  the  Carnegie 
Institution  in  California,  the  Soil  Con- 
servation Service  in  New  Mexico,  and, 
since  1937,  the  Forest  Service.  He  is 
a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Ari- 
zona and  holds  the  doctor's  degree 
from  the  Stanford  University. 


POPLARS  CAN  BE  BRED  TO  ORDER 

ERNST    J.    SCHREINER 


Scientific  breeding  has  given  us  the 
hybrid  poplars  that  grow  faster  than 
our  native  species  and  resist  better  the 
inroads  of  insects  and  disease.  New 
hybrids  now  can  be  practically  bred  to 
order. 

Poplars  offer  outstanding  possibil- 
ities for  rapid  improvement  through 
scientific  breeding  for  several  reasons. 
First  of  all,  nature  has  provided  a  wide 
diversity  of  germ  plasm,  the  stuff  that 
controls  inheritance;  there  are  a  large 
number  of  relatively  rapid-growing 
species  and  varieties  that  extend  over 
a  wide  climatic  range.  Because  poplar 
species  hybrids  are  reasonably  fertile, 
one  can  create  new  types  that  combine 
the  best  characteristics  of  many  species 
and  varieties.  Breeding  is  simplified 
because  branches  cut  from  mature 
trees  can  be  made  to  flower  and  fruit  in 
the  greenhouse.  Most  poplars  can  be  re- 
produced easily  from  stem  cuttings. 
Thus  inherently  excellent  trees  can  be 
utilized  almost  at  once  without  con- 
tinued breeding  for  many  generations 


to  get  the  type  true  from  seed;  a  new 
and  improved  hybrid  can  be  multiplied 
by  cuttings  with  the  assurance  that 
every  tree  will  be  exactly  like  the 
selected  individual. 

The  painstaking,  patient  work  of 
improving  forest  trees  began  in  Ger- 
many in  1845,  when  Johann  Klotzsch 
crossed  two  species  each  of  pine,  oak, 
elm,  and  alder,  and  observed  that  af- 
ter 8  years  his  hybrids  averaged  one- 
third  taller  than  the  parent  species.  In 
the  following  60  years  scientists  accu- 
mulated additional  evidence  on  the 
occurrence  of  hybrid  vigor  in  crosses 
between  tree  species  and  varieties,  but 
there  was  no  effort  to  create  better 
forest  trees  by  scientific  breeding. 
Augustine  Henry,  professor  of  forestry 
in  the  Royal  College  of  Science,  Dub- 
lin, was  the  first  forester  to  do  some- 
thing about  it  and  to  urge  strongly  that 
the  artificial  production  of  trees  by 
crossing  was  a  new  and  important  field 
of  forest  research. 

"In  countries  like  our  own,"  he  said 


154 

in  1910,  "the  only  hope  of  salvation  for 
forestry  is  in  growing  timber  rapid- 
ly. ...  We  are  ourselves  making 
some  experiments  in  cross-fertilization 
this  year;  but  more  workers  are  re- 
quired in  this  field.  Hitherto,  nothing 
whatever  has  been  done  to  improve 
the  breeds  of  forest  trees;  and  foresters 
have  never  even  thought  of  the  possi- 
bilities in  this  direction,  though  gar- 
deners and  farmers  have  shown  the 
way  for  centuries." 

Four  years  later  he  described  several 
hybrids  he  had  made,  including  a  vig- 
orous poplar  hybrid  (  X  Populus  gene- 
rosa),  and  again  directed  attention  to 
certain  first-generation  hybrid  trees 
that,  as  in  other  plants,  "are  remark- 
able for  their  size,  rapid  growth,  early 
and  free  flowering,  longer  period  of 
life,  the  ease  with  which  they  can  be 
multiplied,  and  in  all  probability  their 
comparative  immunity  from  disease." 

IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  suggestions 
on  breeding  forest  trees  began  to  ap- 
pear in  the  reports  of  the  Ameri- 
can Breeders  Association  in  the  early 
1900's.  But  hybridizing  poplars  so  as  to 
produce  fast-growing  trees  for  reforest- 
ing cut-over  pulpwood  lands  was  first 
advocated  in  1916  by  Ralph  H.  Mc- 
Kee,  then  head  of  the  Paper  and  Pulp 
School  in  the  University  of  Maine. 

Dr.  McKee,  convinced  of  the  prac- 
tical possibilities  by  Augustine  Henry's 
hybridization  results,  turned  for  help 
and  advice  on  a  breeding  program  to 
A.  B.  Stout,  plant  breeder  and  director 
of  laboratories  at  the  New  York  Botan- 
ical Garden.  The  Oxford  Paper  Co., 
in  Maine,  agreed  to  finance  the  pro- 
gram, and  in  April  1924  the  work  was 
started  in  cooperation  with  the  New 
York  Botanical  Garden.  Botanists  and 
foresters  had  laid  the  ground  work; 
the  persistence  of  Dr.  McKee,  a  re- 
search chemist,  brought  the  financial 
support  for  large-scale  hybridization. 

The  project  had  headquarters  at 
the  New  York  Botanical  Garden  under 
the  supervision  of  Dr.  Stout,  who  was 
directly  and  solely  responsible  for  the 
planning  and  direction  of  the  poplar 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


breeding.  The  most  complete  collection 
in  the  country  of  poplar  species  and 
varieties  of  blooming  age  was  in  High- 
land Park,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  Within  2 
years  the  breeding  work  at  the  New 
York  Botanical  Garden  and  Highland 
Park  had  produced  thousands  of  new 
hybrids;  the  hybrid  seedlings  in  pots 
filled  two  entire  greenhouses.  Late  in 
1926  the  Oxford  Paper  Co.  established 
near  Rumford  Falls,  Maine,  a  nursery 
devoted  entirely  to  the  propagation  of 
the  best  of  those  hybrids.  There,  more 
than  13,000  seedlings,  which  represent 
99  cross-combinations  among  34  types 
of  poplars,  were  set  out  in  forest  planta- 
tions in  1927  and  1928.  Those  seedlings 
represent  thousands  of  new  combina- 
tions of  germ  plasm. 

Sixty-nine  of  the  most  promising  hy- 
brids were  being  propagated  for  large- 
scale  reforestation  planting  in  1932, 
when  a  change  in  pulpwood  utiliza- 
tion practically  eliminated  the  Oxford 
Paper  Go.'s  need  for  poplar  pulpwood ; 
research  chemists  had  adapted  the 
soda  process  to  the  utilization  of  birch, 
beech,  and  maple.  Previously,  only 
aspen  wood,  the  native  poplar,  was 
used  for  soda  pulp  to  provide  the  short- 
fibered  stock  necessary  for  the  manu- 
facture of  most  high-grade  papers. 
Birch,  beech,  and  maple  grow  abun- 
dantly near  Rumford,  and  good  busi- 
ness dictated  their  use.  Nevertheless, 
the  company  continued  to  maintain 
the  hybrids  because  of  their  potential 
value  for  reforestation.  During  the  de- 
pression years  the  project  was  on  a  bare 
maintenance  basis  and  it  was  not  pos- 
sible to  establish  test  plantations  of  the 
best  hybrids. 

Congress  appropriated  funds  for 
research  in  tree  breeding  in  the  North- 
east in  1936,  and  the  Oxford  Paper 
Co.  transferred  the  new  hybrids  and 
its  breeding  records  to  the  Northeast- 
ern Forest  Experiment  Station.  It  took 
several  years  to  propagate  stocks  of  the 
selected  hybrids,  and  then,  just  when 
planting  stock  in  sufficient  quantity  for 
large-scale  field  tests  was  available,  the 
war  stopped  the  work,  and  it  went  back 
again  to  a  maintenance  basis. 


Poplars  Can  Be  Bred  to  Order 


155 


In  1947  we  started  once  more  to 
build  up  our  growing  stock  of  200 
selected  hybrids  for  comprehensive 
forestation  tests  throughout  the  North- 
east. We  hope  this  time  to  be  able  to 
complete  the  job.  Research  with  liv- 
ing trees  cannot  be  slowed  down, 
stopped,  and  started  again,  without 
loss  of  results  out  of  all  proportion  to 
the  length  of  the  inactive  period.  Na- 
ture keeps  her  steady  pace  without 
regard  for  depressions  and  wars;  trees 
that  can  be  transplanted  this  spring 
will  be  too  large  next  year;  trees  that 
are  dying  this  month  can  provide 
symptoms  of  their  malady  if  they  are 
examined  in  time,  but  next  month  may 
be  too  late;  a  thinning  in  hybrid  poplar 
delayed  a  year  can  result  in  more  than 
merely  retarded  growth — it  can  start 
the  entire  stand  on  the  road  to  de- 
generation. 

DURING  OUR  YEARS  of  work  with  it, 
we  have  thought  of  the  hybrid  poplar 
as  the  farmer's  tree — a  tree  that  can 
provide  a  forest  income  for  many 
farmers,  with  marginal  land  and  de- 
pleted wood  lots,  earlier  than  the  slow- 
growing  species  can. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  hybrids 
has  been  demonstrated  in  the  original 
plantations  in  western  Maine,  where 
the  growing  season  is  relatively  short. 
They  were  planted  6  by  6  feet  apart  on 
farm  land  abandoned  about  60  years 
ago.  They  were  never  thinned  (con- 
trary to  good  practice)  because  we 
wanted  to  let  natural  selection  elimi- 
nate the  weak. 

Judging  from  the  growth  of  the  se- 
lected hybrids  in  the  unthinned  plan- 
tations, we  can  predict  that  with  good 
forestry  methods  the  poplar  hybrids 
will  produce  at  least  40  cords  of  wood 
an  acre  in  15  years.  The  prediction  is 
based  on  the  actual  growth  of  indi- 
vidual hybrids  whose  equally  vigorous 
neighbors  gave  them  far  greater 
competition  than  would  be  permitted 
under  good  forestry.  At  the  prewar 
roadside  price  of  $8  a  cord,  we  figure  a 
gross  income  of  $320  for  40  cords  an 
acre  over  15  years — 10  cords  an  acre 


from  thinnings  between  the  eighth  and 
tenth  years,  and  30  cords  an  acre  at  15 
years.  Properly  thinned  stands  need 
not  be  cut  in  15  years;  in  20  to  25  years 
they  would  produce  logs  for  veneer  or 
lumber. 

As  for  net  income,  a  farmer  would 
calculate  the  amount  of  work  he  would 
have  to  do  on  his  plantation.  Each 
newly  planted  acre  will  require  ap- 
proximately 10  days  of  work  from 
planting  to  harvest,  of  which  all  but 
the  planting  and  cultivation  in  the 
first  year  can  be  done  during  slack 
seasons.  The  work  of  the  first  year 
(preparation  of  land,  planting,  and 
cultivation,  which  would  take  4  man- 
days  an  acre)  would  be  required  only 
once — when  the  timber  is  harvested 
the  hybrid  poplars  will  regenerate 
themselves  from  root  suckers.  In  the 
third  or  fourth  year,  thinning  the  trees 
would  take  1  man-day  an  acre.  Be- 
tween the  eighth  and  tenth  year,  thin- 
ning would  require  approximately  5 
man-days  an  acre.  Besides  work  re- 
quired to  grow  the  crop,  there  will  be 
the  harvest  labor,  which  can  also  be 
handled  as  a  winter  or  off-season  job. 
If  the  farmer  does  the  work  himself, 
he  simply  transfers  the  difference  be- 
tween gross  and  net  income  from  one 
pocket  to  the  other ;  if  the  work  is  done 
by  hired  labor,  the  net  income  will 
compare  favorably  with  that  from 
many  other  farm  crops. 

These  estimates  are  based  on  growth 
in  Maine,  where  the  growing  season  is 
short.  With  a  longer  growing  season, 
the  hybrids  will  grow  faster.  Dormant 
cuttings  (12-inch  lengths  of  1 -year-old 
stems  without  roots)  of  102  different 
hybrids  were  planted  at  the  Agricul- 
tural Research  Center  in  Maryland  in 
the  spring  of  1947.  Fifty  of  them  grew 
to  an  average  height  of  6  to  8  feet  in  a 
year.  In  1  year  from  cuttings,  the  same 
hybrids  would  grow  only  2 /a  to  3  feet 
in  Maine  and  4  to  5  feet  in  western 
Massachusetts. 

OTHER  CHARACTERISTICS  than  rapid 
growth  have  been  considered  in  mak- 
ing the  selections.  The  hybrids  were 


I56  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

selected  for  resistance  to  poplar  dis-      our  new  hybrids,  selected  for  disease 
eases  present  in  the  Maine  plantations, 
and  they  now  are  being  subjected  to 
direct  inoculation  tests.  The  variation 


resistance,  will  be  valuable  over  large 
areas  outside  the  Northeast,  I  believe 
additional  breeding  is  necessary  to  pro- 

amonVth7ne^ "hybrids  in  susceptibility  duce  the  best  adapted  and  fastest  grow- 
to  damage  by  Japanese  beetles  has  been  ing  hybrids  possible  for  the  warmer 

regions  of  the  country.  Such  breeding 
should  include  the  native  southern  and 
western  poplars  and  the  best  of  our 
disease-resistant  hybrids. 

Research  with  varieties  and  hybrids 

another" major~point  in"  selecting^the  of  poplars  is  going  on  now  in  Canada, 
hybrids  for  further  testing.  All  of  the  Europe,  Great  Bntam,  Scandinavia, 
selected  hybrids  grow  practically  100  the  Soviet  Union,  South  America, 
percent  from  cuttings  planted  directly  South  Africa,  and  Australia.  The  re- 
in the  field  on  properly  prepared  search  in  several  countries  is  on  a  much 

larger  scale  than  in  the  United  States. 


observed  for  several  years  in  Connecti- 
cut, Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland.  Only 
a  few  have  so  far  been  found  suscep- 
tible to  the  insect. 

The  ability  to  root  from  cuttings  is 


ground.  The  branching  habit  has  also 
been  considered ;  sometimes  it  has  been 
possible  to  select  hybrids  with  few  and 
small-diameter  branches.  The  largest 
branches  on  some  of  these  sparsely 
branched  hybrids,  trees  60  to  70  feet 
tall,  are  less  than  3  inches  in  diameter. 
Trees  with  few  and  small  branches  will 
require  a  minimum  of  labor  for  limb- 
ing-out,  and  will  provide  lumber  or 
veneer  logs  with  a  minimum  of  small 
knots. 

FOR  OTHER  SECTIONS  of  the  United 
States,  the  hybrids  are  promising.  A 
few  of  the  earliest  selections  that  were 
tested  on  a  small  scale  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest  have  been  reported  to  be 
better  than  the  native  cottonwoods  in 
rate  of  growth  and  resistance  to  dis- 
ease. Evidence  on  this  point  is  not  yet 
conclusive. 

One  should  remember  that  the  orig- 
inal purpose  of  the  poplar-breeding 
project  was  to  develop  fast-growing 
trees  for  pulpwood  forestation  in 
Maine  and  New  England.  The  hybrids 
were  planted  in  western  Maine,  where 
the  growing  season  is  short  and  winter 
temperatures  drop  far  below  zero. 
Hundreds  of  seedlings  failed  to  survive 
this  rigorous  test — many  because  they 
continued  to  grow  too  late  into  the  fall, 
others  because  they  started  to  grow  too 
early  in  the  spring.  Some  of  the  non- 
hardy  hybrids  that  were  lost  in  Maine 
might  have  done  exceptionally  well  in 
a  warmer  climate.  Although  many  of 


Poplars  are  so  important  to  the  forest 
economy  of  Europe  that  before  the  war 
their  culture  and  improvement  was 
studied  in  practically  every  European 
country.  Since  the  war,  the  interest  of 
European  foresters  in  poplars  has 
greatly  increased.  The  International 
Poplar  Commission,  established  in 
1947,  has  sponsored  two  international 
conferences  on  poplar,  in  Paris  in  1947 
and  in  Rome  in  1948. 

IN  THIS  COUNTRY,  poplars  for  re- 
forestation have  not  come  fully  into 
their  own  because  of  two  handicaps. 
They  are  susceptible  to  diseases  that, 
under  certain  conditions,  can  wipe  out 
an  entire  plantation,  and  they  require 
considerable  care  in  planting  and  are 
highly  intolerant  of  both  top  and  root 
competition.  They  cannot  be  planted 
and  forgotten  on  abandoned  fields  or 
brush  land;  the  ground  must  be  pre- 
pared properly  before  planting,  and 
the  plantation  has  to  be  kept  free  of 
grass  and  weeds  for  at  least  the  first 
year.  Later  the  trees  must  be  thinned 
before  mutual  competition  begins  to 
interfere  with  their  growth.  On  the 
credit  side,  the  hybrid  poplars  respond 
quickly  to  good  care,  and  their  rapid 
growth  will  pay  a  profit  on  the  labor  in- 
volved. Carefully  selected  hybrids  will 
largely  eliminate  the  disease  hazard. 

The  future  is  bright  for  fast-growing, 
disease-resistant  poplar  hybrids.  Pop- 
lar wood  in  this  country  is  used  for 


Poplars  Can  Be  Bred  to  Order 


157 


paper  pulp,  boxes,  veneer  for  fruit  and 
vegetable  containers,  excelsior,  and  for 
minor  uses.  Recent  advances  in  the  use 
of  wood  promise  an  expanded  market 
in  the  future.  New  physical  and  chem- 
ical treatments  can  endow  poplar  wood 


with  properties  capable  of  bringing  it 
into  competition  with  many  hardwoods 
and  conifers.  The  increasing  use  of 
plastics  is  bound  to  favor  the  growing 
of  a  tree,  like  hybrid  poplar,  that  can 
produce  cellulose  and  lignin  rapidly. 


EZ-2 


Each  square  represents  a  20-  by  20-foot  plot  containing  50  trees  of  a  poplar  hybrid. 


No  feeding  during  the  entire  infestation. 

Light  feeding.  Up  to  25  percent 
of  leaves  damaged  on  20  percent 
to  100  percent  of  the  trees. 


a  Medium  feeding.    About  50  percent 
I  of  leaves  damaged  on  80  percent 

'    ""    ercent  of  the  trees. 

Heavy  feeding.    More  than  75  percent 
I  of  leaves  damaged  on  100  percent 
of  the  trees. 


This  diagram  shows  the  random  planting  arrangement  of  102  poplar  hybrids,  which 
represent  30  different  parentages.  Japanese  beetle  infestation  was  heavy  in  1947;  as 
late  as  September  9  beetles  were  as  numerous  as  10-12  per  leaf  on  the  most  susceptible 
plants.  Although  the  insects  were  feeding  everywhere  on  the  sparsely  scattered  weeds 
growing  under  the  hybrids,  beetle  feeding  was  found  on  only  nine  hybrids  representing 
four  parentages.  Three  of  these  parentages  include  hybrids  that  were  entirely  free  of 
beetle  feeding  during  the  entire  infestation. 

Parentage  No.  I  (Popultts  charkoiviensisXP*  balsamifera  virginiana).  Hybrids  No. 
1-1, 1-2, 1-3  were  all  susceptible. 

Parentage  No.  II  (Populus  cbarkoiviensisXP.  caudina).  Hybrids  No.  II-l,  II-2,  II-3, 
II-4  were  susceptible.  Hybrid  No.  II-5  was  nonsusceptible. 

Parentage  No.  Ill  (Populus  cbarkotviensisXP-  berolinensis).  Hybrid  No.  III-l  was 
susceptible.  Hybrid  No.  Ill — 2  was  nonsusceptible. 

Parentage  No.  IV  (Populus  simoniixP.  berolmensis).  Hybrid  No.  IV-1  was  suscep- 
tible. Hybrid  No.  IV-2  was  nonsusceptible. 

The  extremely  wide  variation  in  susceptibility  among  individual  hybrids  of  the  same 
parent  trees  is  of  great  significance  to  forest-tree  breeding.  Such  differences  were  hardly 
expected  for  an  insect  like  the  Japanese  beetle  which  feeds  on  many  species  of  plants. 
If  the  1947  results  are  confirmed  during  the  next  few  years,  it  will  justify  intensive  breed- 
ing for  resistance  to  other  forest  insects,  such  as  the  spruce  budworm. 


i58 


AMATEUR  TREE  BREEDERS?    WHY  NOT? 


ERNST    J.  SCHREINER 


The  amateur  can  find  ample  scope 
for  a  creative  interest  in  breeding  and 
hybridizing  trees.  There  are  only  two 
absolute  requisites,  a  keen  and  lasting 
interest  and  sufficient  available  land 
for  growing  trees.  Plant  breeding  was 
practiced  as  an  art  long  before  the 
discovery  of  the  principles  upon  which 
scientific  breeding  rests.  A  scientific 
background  is  not  necessary  to  the  art 
of  tree  breeding;  the  techniques  are 
relatively  simple  and  inexpensive. 

Better  shade  trees  and  better  forest 
trees  are  needed.  In  many  tree  species 
the  same  controlled  pollinations  may 
produce  both,  but  the  amateur  tree 
breeder  will  be  wise  to  direct  his  major 
efforts  into  one  or  the  other  of  these 
two  fields.  In  my  opinion,  the  breeding 
of  shade  and  ornamental  trees  offers 
several  important  advantages.  Just 
one  example :  The  breeding  enthusiast 
with  only  a  little  ground  available  for 
growing  trees  cannot  work  with  forest 
types,  but  he  can  breed,  grow,  and 
select  ornamental  dwarf  types. 

Tree-breeding  methods  are  much 
the  same  as  those  used  by  the  breeder 
of  the  agricultural  and  horticultural 
plants.  Controlled  breeding  requires 
protection  of  the  female  flowers  from 
chance  pollination  both  before  and 
after  the  desired  pollination  has  been 
made.  That  usually  is  accomplished 
by  covering  the  unopened  flower  buds 
with  bags  of  paper,  vegetable  parch- 
ment, light  canvas,  or  cloth.  Bags  made 
from  cellulose  sausage  casings,  which 
are  available  in  a  fair  range  of  sizes, 
are  excellent  for  many  kinds  of  trees. 

For  trees  that  produce  separate  male 
and  female  flowers  on  the  same  twigs 
(for  example,  birch,  hickory,  oak), 
one  must  remove  the  male  flowers  from 
the  part  of  the  branch  that  is  to  be 
bagged.  If  the  tree  bears  perfect  flowers 
(male  and  female  parts  in  the  same 
flower),  the  stamens,  which  produce 
the  pollen,  must  be  carefully  removed 


before  they  mature.  Such  emascula- 
tion is  not  necessary  if  the  tree  does 
not  set  viable  seed  to  its  own  pollen. 
This  latter  point  can  be  determined  by 
bagging  flowers  that  have  not  been 
emasculated. 

Bags  of  glassine  or  heavy  brown 
paper  are  cheap,  are  available  almost 
everywhere,  and  are  generally  satis- 
factory for  bagging  many  kinds  of 
trees.  The  size  of  the  bags  depends 
upon  the  tree  species  being  worked; 
they  should  be  large  enough  to  allow 
for  the  growth  of  shoots  and  leaves. 
A  glassine  bag  of  suitable  size  is  tied 
securely  over  a  bit  of  cotton  batting 
wrapped  around  the  stem.  The  cotton 
prevents  the  entrance  of  pollen  and 
keeps  the  bag  from  slipping  back  and 
forth.  A  slightly  larger  brown-paper 
bag  is  then  tied  over  the  glassine  bag 
for  mechanical  protection. 

Transparent  bags  are  advantageous 
because  flower  developments  can  be 
observed  more  easily.  Strong,  trans- 
parent bags  are  easily  made  from  com- 
mercial sausage  casings,  which  come  in 
cylindrical  strips  of  various  diameters 
and  lengths.  Strips  cut  into  suitable 
lengths  can  be  made  into  pollination 
bags  in  several  ways ;  one  easy  way  is  to 
gather  and  tie  one  end  of  the  casing 
over  a  small  cotton  plug. 

When  the  female  flowers  under  the 
bags  are  fully  open  and  receptive,  they 
must  be  dusted  with  pollen  from  the 
selected  male  parent.  For  some  insect- 
pollinated  species  it  is  safe  to  remove 
the  bags  and  to  apply  the  pollen  di- 
rectly with  a  small  cotton  swab,  but 
the  wind-pollinated  trees  (such  as  the 
oaks,  hickories,  and  poplars)  should 
be  pollinated  without  removing  the 
bags.  With  such  species  a  tiny  puncture 
is  made  in  the  glassine  bag  and  the 
pollen  is  blown  into  the  bag  with  an 
ordinary  glass  medicine  dropper.  The 
small  puncture  in  the  bag  is  then  im- 
mediately covered  with  scotch  tape,  or 


Amateur  Tree  Breeders?     Why  Not? 


a  second  glassine  bag  may  be  tied  over 
the  original.  The  heavy  paper  bag  is 
then  replaced  and  the  bags  are  left 
in  position  until  the  flowers  are  past 
bloom.  Sausage-casing  bags  may  be 
punctured  for  pollination,  or  the  tip 
of  the  bag  may  be  opened  carefully, 
just  enough  to  admit  the  dropper. 

The  medicine  droppers  work  best  if 
the  ends  are  drawn  out  to  a  relatively 
fine  point  in  the  heat  of  a  gas  flame.  A 
loose  wad  of  absorbent  cotton  inserted 
in  the  dropper,  just  below  the  rubber 
bulb,  will  conserve  pollen  by  keeping 
it  out  of  the  bulb.  Such  droppers  are 
cheap  enough  to  be  used  for  one  kind 
of  pollen  and  then  discarded. 

Pollen  can  be  collected  directly  from 
the  tree  selected  as  the  male  parent, 
but  there  is  less  danger  of  contamina- 
tion if  flowering  branches  are  cut  and 
kept  indoors,  in  water,  until  the  pollen 
is  shed.  Special  care  must  be  taken  to 
prevent  any  mixing  of  pollen  from  dif- 
ferent trees.  Pollen  can  be  handled 
most  conveniently  in  small  vials  stop- 
pered with  plugs  of  absorbent  cotton. 
Most  pollen  will  remain  viable  for  at 
least  several  days,  if  the  cotton-stop- 
pered vials  are  kept  in  a  tight  jar  and 
stored  in  a  refrigerator. 

Accurate  records  are  essential ;  flow- 
ers, pollen,  seeds,  and  seedlings  should 
be  labeled  to  provide  a  detailed  record 
of  the  parentage  of  all  progenies  pro- 
duced by  controlled  breeding.  The 
amateur  breeder  should  record  such 
information  as  location  and  description 
of  parent  trees,  dates  of  bagging,  pol- 
len collection,  pollination,  removal  of 
bags,  collection  of  seed,  storage  of  seed, 
and  date  of  planting.  Such  records  are 
necessary  for  planning  future  breeding 
work,  especially  breeding  directed 
toward  the  improvement  of  particular 
characters  or  qualities. 


159 

The  tree  breeder  also  should  collect 
seed,  matured  to  natural  pollination, 
from  both  parents  of  his  successful 
crosses.  The  seedlings  and  trees  grown 
from  such  open-pollinated  seed  can  be 
used  as  a  "yardstick"  to  determine  how 
much  the  control-bred  seedlings  differ 
from  their  parental  types. 

Seed  can  be  planted  in  pots,  in  flats, 
or  in  carefully  prepared  seedbeds;  the 
essential  thing  is  to  maintain  the  iden- 
tity of  each  seed  lot  from  the  time  the 
seed  is  collected  until  the  seedlings  are 
planted  in  a  permanent  location.  The 
final  planting  location  of  the  seedling 
progenies  is  best  recorded  on  a  map. 

The  study  of  his  progeny  trees  can 
keep  the  amateur  breeder  occupied  for 
many  years.  From  frequent  observa- 
tions during  every  month  of  the  grow- 
ing season,  by  literally  living  with  his 
trees,  the  amateur  will  soon  recognize 
differences  between  trees  of  even  the 
same  parentage.  Where  "yardstick 
trees"  of  the  parent  types  are  included 
in  the  plantation,  they  will  provide  a 
good  measure  for  estimating  improve- 
ment in  the  progenies  derived  from 
controlled  breeding. 

ERNST  J.  SGHREINER  has  done  re- 
search in  tree  breeding  since  1924, 
when  he  left  the  New  York  State  Col- 
lege of  Forestry  at  Syracuse  University 
shortly  before  graduation  to  work  on 
poplars.  His  first  work  with  hybrid  pop- 
lars was  as  research  forester  with  the 
Oxford  Paper  Company  from  1924  to 
1935.  After  a  year  with  the  Tennessee 
Valley  Authority  as  associate  tree-crop 
specialist,  he  joined  the  staff  of  the 
Northeastern  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 
tion as  forest  geneticist.  He  holds  de- 
grees from  the  New  York  State  College 
of  Forestry  at  Syracuse  (1926)  and 
from  Columbia  University. 


Many  a  tree  is  found  in  the  wood 
And  every  tree  for  its  use  is  good: 
Some  for  the  strength  of  the  gnarled 

root. 
Some  for  the  sweetness  of  flowering 

fruit; 


Some  for  a  shelter  against  the  storm. 
And  some  to  keep  the  hearthstone 

warm; 
Some  for  the  roof,  and  some  for  the 

beam  .  .  . 

HENRY  VAN   DYKE 


i6o 


PRODUCTION  OF  PLANTING  STOCK 

FLOYD  M.  COSSITT,  C.  A.  RINDT,  HARRY  A.  GUNNING 


To  produce  the  millions  of  treelings 
that  are  needed  for  reforestation  and 
for  planting  on  farm  woodlands,  wild- 
life areas,  stream  banks,  windbreaks, 
and  erosion-control  projects  in  the 
United  States,  nurserymen  grow  more 
than  40  coniferous  species  of  trees  and 
shrubs  and  fifty-odd  hardwood  species. 
To  get  the  quality,  quantity,  and  va- 
riety needed,  the  growers  have  to  ob- 
serve most  carefully,  in  exact  sequence, 
a  number  of  well-defined  procedures. 
Their  work  embraces  the  attention  to 
detail  that  the  grower  of  orchids  must 
have,  the  cycles  of  seed-time  and  har- 
vest that  govern  the  farmer's  work,  the 
long  view  of  things  that  the  parent 
takes  in  rearing  children.  Nurserymen 
must  have  practical  knowledge  of  a 
half  dozen  sciences — genetics,  botany, 
entomology,  soils,  dendrology,  pathol- 
ogy. Patience,  too. 

From  the  time  they  sow  the  seed  in 
the  nursery  until  the  trees  are  ready  to 
be  shipped  to  the  planting  site,  the  men 
must  care  for  the  seedlings  scientifi- 
cally to  make  them  strong  enough  to 
stand  the  hardships  they  will  encounter 
in  their  permanent  home.  The  nursery 
soil  must  contain  certain  plant  nutri- 
ents in  the  right  amounts  necessary  for 
healthy  growth.  The  nursery  stock 
must  be  protected  from  many  diseases, 
weeds,  as  well  as  insects.  Gold  hardi- 
ness, shade  requirement,  tolerance  to 
sun,  and  other  factors  must  be  ob- 
served. Too  much  water  makes  the 
trees  soft  and  weak;  too  little  retards 
their  growth.  Some  species  must  re- 
main in  the  nursery  as  long  as  5  years, 
maybe  more,  before  they  are  ready  to 
be  planted  in  the  field;  others  are  ready 
in  a  year.  All  can  better  live  and  popu- 
late a  new  forest  if  they  have  had  prop- 
er care  in  the  nursery. 

Every  State  in  the  United  States  has 
some  form  of  planting  program  that 
requires  nursery  stock.  The  Forest 
Service  operates  nurseries  to  produce 


planting  stock  for  reforestation  on  na- 
tional forests  and  for  a  few  States  that 
have  cooperative  programs  with  farm- 
ers. The  Soil  Conservation  Service  has 
nurseries  to  produce  trees  for  farms  in 
the  organized  soil  conservation  dis- 
tricts. Other  federal  agencies,  among 
them  the  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service,  of 
the  Department  of  the  Interior,  and  the 
Tennessee  Valley  Authority,  conduct 
planting  programs  on  land  they  admin- 
ister. The  State  nurseries,  which  pro~ 
vide  planting  stock  for  use  on  State- 
owned  land  and  for  use  by  farmers,  are 
increasing  in  number  and  quantity  of 
production.  Many  private  lumber  com- 
panies, paper-pulp  companies,  and  soil 
conservation  districts  are  establishing 
nurseries  to  get  stock  for  their  own  for- 
estry programs.  Some  private  individ- 
uals, too,  are  finding  pleasure  and 
profit  in  operating  small  nurseries. 

This  discussion  deals  with  large-scale 
nursery  operations,  but  the  man  who 
wants  to  grow  his  own  stock  might  find 
in  it  many  helpful  suggestions. 

Nursery-grown  trees  were  planted  on 
181,000  acres  in  the  United  States  in 
1947.  Approximately  217  million  trees 
were  used.  To  date,  in  the  United 
States,  nearly  6,700,000  acres  have 
been  planted  with  more  than  8  billion 
trees  and  shrubs  that  started  life  in 
nurseries. 

SELECTING  A  GOOD  SITE  is  of  first  im- 
portance in  successful  nursery  manage- 
ment. Its  topography,  location,  fertil- 
ity, soil  texture,  drainage,  and  avail- 
ability of  water  affect  markedly  the  cost 
and  quality  of  the  stock.  One  rarely 
finds  an  area  that  has  all  the  desirable 
features  of  an  ideal  nursery  site;  com- 
promises usually  are  necessary,  but  the 
extent  and  number  of  the  exceptions 
determine  the  desirability  of  the  site. 

The  acreage  required  depends  on 
the  age  and  the  species  of  trees  to  be 
grown.  Approximately  1,000,000  coni- 


Production  of  Planting 


161 


fer  seedlings  can  be  produced  on  an 
acre  with  seedbed  densities  of  30  plants 
to  the  square  foot.  Correspondingly 
greater  acreage  production  can  be  had 
under  densities  of  90  to  100  plants  to 
the  square  foot.  Transplanted  conifers 
in  beds  with  6-inch  row  spacing  will 
approximate  400,000  plants  an  acre. 
Row-planted  deciduous  trees  will  pro- 
duce 150,000  usable  plants  an  acre. 

In  the  Southern  States,  most  of  the 
species  used  for  reforestation  will  at- 
tain field-planting  size  in  a  single  grow- 
ing season.  In  the  Northern  States, 
because  of  a  shorter  season  and  slower- 
growing  species,  from  2  to  5  years  are 
needed  to  produce  satisfactory  field- 
planting  stock.  The  acreage  of  nursery 
land  required  to  meet  an  annual  pro- 
duction quota,  therefore,  is  a  matter 
of  arithmetic  that  takes  into  account 
species,  season,  and  proper  considera- 
tion of  the  fact  that  enough  land  must 
be  provided  to  permit  rotations  of  trees 
and  soiling  crops. 

The  ideal  nursery  site  is  most  likely 
to  be  a  smooth,  flat,  moderately  sandy 
soil  on  a  stream  terrace.  The  site  should 
have  a  uniform  slope,  preferably  in  one 
direction  in  order  to  facilitate  surface 
drainage.  Terraces  are  needed  where 
the  nursery  is  on  an  erosive  soil  with  a 
slope  in  excess  of  2  percent.  In  conif- 
erous nurseries,  Nichols-type  terraces 
are  considered  best  so  that  tractor- 
drawn  cultivating  equipment  can  cross 
them.  Broadleaf  trees  usually  are 
grown  in  drill  rows  spaced  16  to  42 
inches  apart.  A  hilly  or  irregular  sur- 
face adds  materially  to  the  cost  of  op- 
erations; it  is  poor  economy  to  begin 
production  on  anything  but  the  best 
available  site,  even  though  the  initial 
investment  may  seem  high. 

Serious  consideration  also  should  be 
given  to  the  hazards  of  flooding;  the 
lateness  of  spring  frosts  and  the  earli- 
ness  of  fall  frosts ;  the  season  at  which 
digging  can  be  started  and  its  relation- 
ship to  the  planting  area;  accessibility 
to  the  nursery  on  all-weather  roads; 
availability  of  public  utilities — electric 
power,  telephone,  telegraph,  and  rail- 
roads and  other  shipping  facilities. 


TEXTURE  OF  SOIL  bears  importantly 
on  all  cultural  operations  of  a  nursery. 
It  must  be  friable  to  permit  working 
in  the  fall  and  winter  and  earlier  in  the 
spring  than  one  does  with  ordinary 
farm  crops.  Sandy  loam  soils  are  con- 
sidered best.  They  should  have  a  silt 
and  clay  content  of  15  to  25  percent, 
and  an  alkalinity  range  of  5.5  to  6.5 
pH.  Extremely  sandy  soils  are  unsuit- 
able because  leaching  removes  plant 
nutrients  at  a  rapid  rate.  On  the  other 
hand,  heavy  soils  demand  greater  care 
in  nearly  all  cultural  operations  and 
are  subject  to  frost  heaving  in  the 
colder  climates. 

If  the  topsoil  is  a  fertile,  porous, 
sandy  loam  that  is  underlaid  with  a  re- 
tentive subsoil,  it  is  ideal  for  producing 
nursery  stock.  A  subsoil  with  a  hard- 
pan  should  be  avoided  because  it  pre- 
vents good  drainage.  Seedlings  grow 
vigorously  with  well-developed  roots  in 
a  deep  soil  of  good  quality;  they  de- 
velop a  ramifying  root  system  with  few 
fibrous  roots  where  the  soil  is  poor. 

THE  SPECIES  of  the  stock  to  be  pro- 
duced has  some  bearing  on  the  selec- 
tion of  the  nursery  site,  but  it  is  not 
of  first  importance.  It  is  wise,  however, 
to  locate  the  nursery  within  the  plant- 
ing region.  Many  nurseries  produce 
both  conifer  species  and  deciduous 
species.  The  deciduous  species  gen- 
erally are  tolerant  of  a  wider  variety 
of  soil  conditions.  Conifers  do  best  in 
soils  with  an  alkalinity  range  of  from 
5.0  to  6.0  pH.  Soils  with  a  higher  alka- 
linity are  more  favorable  to  fungi, 
which  cause  mortality  in  young  conif- 
erous seedlings. 

Seasonal  laborers  are  required  in 
nursery  work,  particularly  for  2  or  3 
months  in  the  spring  and  early  sum- 
mer and  in  the  fall.  The  nursery  should 
be  located  where  labor  is  available  and 
where  the  minimum  amount  of  time 
is  required  to  go  to  and  from  work. 

The  first  step  in  developing  a  nurs- 
ery site  is  to  bring  the  soil  into  good 
physical  condition.  Then  suitable  fa- 
cilities— buildings  for  storage  and 
equipment — must  be  built  to  meet  the 


802062° — 49- 


-12 


ifa 


of  Agriculture  1949 


needs  of  the  program.  A  soil  conserva- 
tion plan  is  needed  so  as  to  retain  and 
improve  fertility  and  prevent  erosion. 
Terraces  and  drainage  should  be  put 
in  where  necessary.  It  is  wise  to  make 
several  maps  and  keep  them  up  to 
date:  A  topographic  and  soil  map  of 
the  nursery;  a  plan  that  shows  all 
permanent  features;  and  a  map,  to  be 
prepared  each  year,  that  shows  the 
current  use  of  each  unit  or  part  of  a 
unit,  including  treatment  of  the  soil, 
species  of  nursery  stock  on  it,  and  age 
class.  The  maps  serve  as  a  record  of 
stock  produced  and  are  a  year-to-year 
record  of  soil  management.  Permanent 
roads  that  divide  the  plots  into  work- 
able units  should  be  established. 

BUILDINGS  vary  in  number,  kind, 
and  character  with  the  climate  and  lo- 
cation of  the  nursery  in  relation  to 
labor  and  other  services. 

In  some  climates,  trees  can  be  grad- 
ed and  packed  for  shipment  as  they  are 
dug. 

Where  the  digging  season  is  short  or 
the  weather  is  unfavorable,  stock  must 
be  graded  and  packed  under  shelter. 
In  some  climates,  where  the  planting 
seasons  do  not  coincide  with  the  nur- 
sery seasons,  cold  storage  is  needed  to 
hold  nursery  stock  when  it  is  out  of  the 
ground,  and  a  well-designed  building 
that  has  facilities  for  sorting,  packing, 
and  storage  of  nursery  stock  is  essen- 
tial. In  mild  climates,  a  simple  shelter 
and  a  temporary  heeling-in  bed  usually 
are  enough. 

The  superintendent,  or  nursery  fore- 
man, should  reside  on  the  grounds  so 
as  to  be  always  within  reach.  On  a 
large  nursery,  houses  may  be  desirable 
for  other  yearlong  personnel.  The  op- 
erations of  a  nursery  demand  24-hour 
attention;  neglect  at  critical  periods 
may  mean  loss  of  trees.  Sometimes  a 
dormitory  and  mess  hall  are  necessary 
for  laborers.  Besides  the  quarters  for 
personnel,  buildings  are  needed  for  of- 
fice, laboratory,  storage  of  equipment, 
seed  extracting  and  cleaning,  and  for 
repair  work.  The  repair  shop  should  be 
designed  to  handle  all  but  major  re- 


pairs to  equipment.  Usually  the  office 
and  laboratory  can  be  in  one  building, 
which  should  be  placed  so  that  visitors 
will  go  there  first  for  a  proper  welcome 
and  an  introduction  to  the  work  that  is 
being  carried  on  in  the  nursery. 

IRRIGATION  is  necessary  to  the  pro- 
duction of  good  plants  in  most  nur- 
series, although  some  species  can  be 
grown  without  irrigation  in  regions 
where  precipitation  is  adequate  for 
farm  crops. 

Ordinarily,  an  overhead  sprinkler 
system  is  used  for  the  irrigation  of  coni- 
fers. Usually  this  consists  of  runs  of  1- 
to  1 1/2 -inch  pipe  up  to  500  feet  in 
length  and  50  feet  apart,  with  spray 
nozzles  at  3-foot  intervals,  and  sup- 
ported on  posts  2  to  6  feet  above  the 
ground.  Water  coverage  on  both  sides 
of  each  pipe  is  obtained  as  the  pipe  is 
rotated  from  side  to  side  by  a  water 
motor  or  oscillator.  Other  systems  em- 
ploy revolving  sprinkler  heads  on  up- 
right pipes  at  intervals  of  40  to  60  feet. 
The  installations  may  be  fed  by  perma- 
nent underground  or  portable  surface 
pipes. 

The  quantity  of  water  and  the  meth- 
ods of  applying  it  (especially  to  coni- 
ferous seedlings)  strongly  influence  the 
quality  of  the  stock.  During  the  ger- 
mination period,  the  seedbed  must  be 
kept  moist  but  not  saturated.  An  even 
distribution  of  water  during  the  grow- 
ing season  results  in  a  uniform  growth 
of  plants  throughout  the  seedbed.  The 
quantity  of  water  needed  varies  with 
the  soil,  climate,  and  age  class  of  the 
stock  being  grown.  Under  similar  cli- 
matic conditions,  a  light,  sandy  soil  de- 
mands more  water  than  a  heavier  soil. 
First-year  seedlings  require  more  fre- 
quent light  waterings  than  older  stock. 

LAND  cannot  be  cropped  repeatedly 
without  measures  to  maintain  its  pro- 
ductivity. Nursery  stock  returns  noth- 
ing to  the  soil  because  the  trees  are 
removed,  root  and  branch.  Nutrients 
are  taken  from  the  soil  faster  than  they 
become  available  naturally.  Nursery 
stock  can  be  grown  satisfactorily  for 


Production  of  Planting 


several  years  on  exceptionally  good 
land,  but  the  application  of  fertilizers 
becomes  necessary  sooner  or  later. 

The  use  of  soiling  crops,  in  rotation 
with  tree  crops  and  supplemented  by 
heavy  applications  of  compost,  is  a 
good  way  to  maintain  an  acceptable 
level  of  fertility  and  soil  structure. 
The  application  of  the  plant  nutrients 
that  are  deficient  in  the  soil  without 
regard  to  the  physical  condition  of  the 
soil  will  seldom  suffice. 

Much  can  be  done  to  maintain  good 
physical  condition  in  both  heavy  and 
light  soils  by  adding  organic  matter. 
Many  kinds  of  rotted  vegetable  matter 
can  be  used:  Rice,  oat,  and  wheat 
straw;  hardwood  sawdust,  which  needs 
extra  nitrogen  for  decomposition ;  pine 
needles  and  leaves,  which  are  used  in 
limited  amounts;  and  other  like  ma- 
terials. Nurseries  located  near  peat 
bogs  make  extensive  use  of  peat  as  a 
source  of  humus.  About  3  percent  of 
organic  matter  in  the  top  6  inches  of 
soil  is  desirable.  Compost  is  commonly 
applied  at  the  rate  of  2  to  5  tons  an 
acre  every  2  or  3  years.  From  200  to 
600  pounds  an  acre  of  chemical  fer- 
tilizer is  applied. 

The  principal  supplements  needed 
in  nurseries  are  nitrogen,  phosphorous, 
and  potash.  Occasionally  lime,  and, 
rarely,  minor  (or  trace)  elements  are 
added.  The  three  major  elements  must 
be  available  in  sufficient  amounts  to 
supply  the  heavy  demands  made  by  the 
tree  crops — it  has  been  calculated  that 
a  crop  of  2-year-old  untransplanted 
white  pine  (at  a  density  of  100  to  the 
square  foot)  removed  94.6  pounds  of  ni- 
trogen, 31.8  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid, 
and  41.6  pounds  of  potash  an  acre. 
Nurserymen  make  repeated  soil  analy- 
ses to  determine  the  amounts  of  chemi- 
cal fertilizers  and  compost  to  add. 

Fertilizers  of  animal  and  vegetable 
origin  are  preferred  but  are  sometimes 
impossible  to  get  in  the  quantities 
needed,  and  the  fertilizers  of  mineral 
origin  must  be  used.  Experiments  show 
that  better  results  are  had  when  the 
mineral  fertilizers  are  added  through 
soiling  crops  and  fortified  composts, 


rather  than  when  they  are  applied 
directly  in  liquid  or  solid  form  to  the 
tree  crops.  On  the  lighter  soils  it  fre- 
quently is  necessary  to  apply  fertilizers 
as  a  side  dressing  to  correct  chlorosis 
and  to  keep  the  crops  healthy.  The 
most  desirable  amount  of  fertilizer  can 
best  be  determined  by  local  experimen- 
tation. The  quantity  depends  not  only 
on  the  kind  of  soil  but  also  on  the  spe- 
cies of  trees  being  produced.  The  con- 
dition and  quality  of  the  trees  indicates 
whether  or  not  adequate  fertilizer  is 
being  applied. 

As  FOR  SEED  AND  SOWING  i  Where 
trees  and  shrubs  native  to  the  region 
are  being  used,  the  use  of  seed  from  the 
nearest  possible  source  will  best  guar- 
antee the  hardiness  and  vigor  that  are 
required  in  the  field  plantings.  If  one 
cannot  get  seed  nearby,  he  should  ob- 
tain it  from  localities  of  similar  climate 
and  altitude.  The  use  of  northern  seed 
in  the  South  is  likely  to  produce  trees 
of  slow  growth  and  poor  development, 
which  may  eventually  succumb  to 
drought  and  heat.  Southern  seed  used 
too  far  north  may  produce  trees  that 
lack  the  hardiness  to  withstand  the 
northern  winters.  It  is  safest  to  use  seed 
from  native  trees  that  are  adapted  to 
the  climate  of  the  region  and  from  well- 
formed,  vigorous  specimens. 

The  quality  of  the  seed  collected  de- 
pends largely  on  the  collector's  good 
judgment.  Immature  seed  definitely 
has  poor  keeping  quality  and  lower  ger- 
mination capacity  than  well-ripened 
seed.  The  color  of  the  seed  coat  usually 
can  be  considered  a  reliable  indicator 
of  seed  maturity.  Simple  cutting  tests 
will  give  a  rough  estimate  of  the  poten- 
tial germinating  capacity  of  the  seed 
in  question.  This  is  a  common-sense 
economy  measure  to  prevent  collection 
of  the  immature,  weeviled,  hollow,  or 
otherwise  defective  seed. 

Sowing  the  tree  seed,  an  exacting 
operation,  must  be  controlled  carefully 
to  obtain  the  maximum  germination 
and  the  desired  density.  The  seed  of 
some  species  must  be  sown  in  the  fall, 
others  in  the  early  spring,  and  some  as 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


late  as  July.  Some  may  be  sown  either 
in  the  spring  or  fall;  early  fall  sowing 
and  immediate  germination  are  desired 
for  others.  Each  species  must  be  given 
individual  consideration  to  secure  the 
desired  size  and  development.  Seed  of 
some  species  sown  in  the  fall  does  not 
germinate  until  warm  weather  comes 
in  the  spring. 

Some  of  the  species  that  require  fall 
sowing  or  stratification  are  white  pine, 
spruce,  redcedar,  juniper,  and  the  nut 
and  stone  species  of  the  broadleaf  trees. 
Longleaf  pine  seed  is  sown  in  October; 
it  germinates  promptly  and  by  mid- 
December  the  seedlings  are  well  estab- 
lished. Jack  pine  and  shortleaf  pine 
are  sometimes  sown  in  late  June  for 
transplanting  the  following  spring  or 
are  left  in  place  for  another  year.  In  the 
South,  shortleaf,  loblolly,  and  slash 
pines  are  sown  in  March  and  early 
April.  Farther  north,  spring  sowing  is 
done  in  April  and  May.  Hard-seed- 
ed species  are  sown  in  the  fall  for 
early  spring  germination,  or  they  are 
stratified  or  otherwise  treated  to  in- 
duce germination  and  sown  in  the 
spring.  Cottonwood  seed  must  be 
sown  shortly  after  it  is  collected,  other- 
wise it  will  suffer  serious  losses  in 
germinative  capacity. 

Presowing  treatment  to  break  dor- 
mancy is  necessary  for  some  species. 
Stratification  consists  of  placing  the 
seed  in  a  moist  medium,  such  as  peat 
moss,  sand,  or  sawdust,  and  keeping  it 
at  temperatures  ranging  from  32°  to 
41°  F.,  for  periods  varying  from  2 
weeks  to  2  months.  This  treatment  is 
substituted  for  fall  sowing.  A  method 
used  to  break  dormancy  of  species  with 
impervious  seed  coats  is  to  remove  a 
portion  of  the  outer  coat  with  acid. 
Black  locust,  honeylocust,  soapberry, 
and  coffeetree  are  sometimes  treated 
in  this  manner.  Scarification,  that  is, 
the  reducing  of  the  thickness  of  the 
seed  coat  by  mechanical  means,  is 
sometimes  used  in  place  of  the  acid 
treatment.  Ash,  mulberry,  Osage- 
orange,  and  catalpa  respond  to  soak- 
ing in  water  before  they  are  sown. 

As  far  as  possible,  all  seed  is  sown 


by  tractor-drawn  seeding  machines. 
Some  seeds  are  so  irregular  in  shape  or 
size  (because  of  out-growth  and  ap- 
pendages) that  they  cannot  be  sown 
with  a  machine  and  must  be  sown  by 
hand.  All  conifer  and  many  broadleaf 
species  are  sown  mechanically.  Cotton- 
wood,  oak,  walnut,  and  ash  are  some 
of  the  seed  sown  by  hand. 

The  seed  cover  for  the  germination 
period  varies  with  the  type  of  soil,  cli- 
matic conditions,  and  the  species.  In 
the  northern  regions,  sand  is  used  to 
cover  conifer  seed  where  the  soil  con- 
tains a  high  percentage  of  clay,  other- 
wise native  soil  is  used.  In  the  South, 
burlap  is  used  extensively  for  cover 
during  the  germination  period.  Pine 
needles  or  straw  may  be  substituted  for 
burlap  with  good  results.  Mulching  to 
prevent  frost  heaving  is  a  requirement 
for  fall-sown  seedbeds  in  the  northern 
nurseries;  straw  held  in  place  with 
wide  mesh  wire  is  commonly  used. 
Where  the  frost  heaving  is  severe,  the 
older  seedlings  and  some  transplants 
must  be  covered. 

Hardwood  seedlings,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, are  grown  without  mulching. 
In  the  heavier  soils  where  crusting  is 
serious,  the  seed  is  covered  slightly 
deeper  and,  when  germination  starts, 
the  excess  soil  and  crust  is  removed  to 
permit  the  seedlings  to  emerge  nor- 
mally. A  light  mulch  cover  of  straw, 
pine  needles,  or  leaves  is  sometimes 
used  to  keep  the  soil  surface  moist  and 
prevent  the  formation  of  a  crust. 

The  density  of  seedlings  in  seedbeds 
varies  from  4  to  100  to  the  square  foot. 
Those  to  be  shipped  as  seedlings  are 
given  sufficient  space  for  optimum  de- 
velopment. The  seedlings  to  be  trans- 
planted after  1,  2,  or  3  years  are  grown 
at  greater  densities  to  reduce  their  cost. 
Broadleaf  species  usually  are  shipped 
as  1 -year-old  seedlings,  but  most  coni- 
fers must  be  left  in  the  nursery  for  2 
to  5  years. 

Great  care  is  taken  to  obtain  proper 
density.  Germinating  a  large  enough 
sample  of  each  lot  of  seed  is  standard 
practice  to  determine  the  number  of 
seed  to  sow.  Seed  changes  in  germi- 


Production  of  Planting  Stoc\ 


native  capacity  while  in  storage ;  conse- 
quently, tests  must  precede  the 
sowing  of  any  seed  lot  regardless  of 
previous  tests.  Low  germination  results 
in  shortage  of  stock  and  irregular 
waste  of  valuable  seed.  Moreover,  the 
resulting  stock  usually  has  an  unfavor- 
able top-root  ratio. 

PROTECTION  of  seedlings  from  dis- 
ease, insects,  birds,  rodents,  ants,  and 
weather  begins  before  the  seed  is  sown 
and  goes  on  until  the  stock  is  shipped. 

Where  damping-off  is  common,  the 
soil  must  be  treated  before  sowing. 
Sulfuric  acid,  aluminum  sulfate,  for- 
maldehyde, or  ferrous  sulfate  are  used 
in  various  concentrations,  depending 
on  the  acidity  of  the  soil,  buffer  action, 
and  the  severity  of  the  disease.  Some 
soils  require  one-fourth  ounce  or  less 
of  aluminum  sulfate,  while  others  re- 
quire 1/2  ounces  to  the  square  foot. 
Sulfuric  acid  is  applied  in  a  1-  to  2- 
percent  solution  at  the  rate  of  6  gallons 
to  100  square  feet.  Formaldehyde  is 
applied  at  the  rate  of  one-fourth  ounce 
to  the  square  foot  where  the  acidity  of 
the  soil  should  not  be  changed. 

Protection  from  birds  sometimes  is 
necessary,  particularly  during  the  ger- 
mination period.  Some  nurseries  are 
located  on  flyways  where  the  number 
of  birds  is  much  greater  than  in  other 
nurseries.  Repellents  are  used  to  some 
extent  but  usually  are  ineffective. 
Where  the  seedbed  area  is  small,  wire 
screen  over  the  beds  is  cheaper.  Ants, 
moles,  crayfish,  and  field  mice  are  a 
source  of  trouble  in  certain  localities. 
Poison  bait  and  carbon  disulfide  or 
other  fumigants  are  used  for  them. 

TRANSPLANTING  is  necessary  for  cer- 
tain species.  It  is  done  to  improve  the 
quality  of  the  stock,  making  it  better 
fitted  to  survive  on  adverse  sites.  Root 
systems  of  the  transplants  develop  a 
greater  amount  of  small  fibrous  roots, 
and  height  growth  is  retarded;  conse- 
quently, a  better  top-root  ratio  is  se- 
cured. Transplanting  is  done  in  the  fall 
or  spring.  Spring  is  preferable  because 
of  the  danger  of  losses  in  winter. 


Transplant  beds  are  4  to  6  feet  wide 
with  rows  across  or  lengthwise.  Where 
the  trenches  are  made  with  a  tractor- 
drawn  trencher,  the  rows  run  length- 
wise; when  opened  by  hand,  they  us- 
ually run  crosswise.  Two-year-old 
transplants  usually  are  spaced  2  inches 
apart;  younger  trees  may  need  only 
1/3  inches.  The  distance  between  the 
rows  is  from  6  to  8  inches,  to  permit 
multiple  row  cultivation. 

The  use  of  transplant  boards  enables 
the  planting  at  one  time  of  a  large 
number  of  seedlings.  The  boards  are 
filled  with  seedlings  in  small  portable 
shelters,  then  they  are  carried  to  the 
bed,  the  trees  planted,  and  the  board 
returned  to  the  shelter  for  refilling. 
Throughout  the  entire  operation,  the 
roots  must  be  kept  moist. 

A  machine  patterned  after  a  celery 
transplanter  is  frequently  used  to  trans- 
plant mechanically.  When  a  mechan- 
ical transplanter  is  used,  individual 
seedlings  are  inserted  into  the  machine 
by  an  operator  riding  a  self-propelled 
or  tractor-drawn  unit,  or  multiple 
units.  The  machine  opens  and  closes 
the  trench  for  the  seedling.  The  rows 
are  lengthwise  of  the  bed. 

Transplanting  broadleaf  species  usu- 
ally is  confined  to  small  trees  that  are 
intermingled  with  larger  trees.  They 
are  used  as  liners,  or  transplant  stock, 
when  this  method  is  cheaper  than  to 
discard  them  and  grow  the  same  num- 
ber from  seed. 

CULTURAL  OPERATION s,  among  them 
weeding,  watering,  and  the  protection 
from  insects,  disease,  and  other  dam- 
age, require  a  crew  of  men  during  most 
of  the  growing  season.  The  labor  peak 
is  reached  when  growth  is  the  fastest, 
because  of  the  weeding  job.  Summer 
rains  interfere  with  virtually  all  of  the 
work  and,  in  prolonged  rainy  seasons, 
additional  manpower  is  needed  to  do 
the  various  jobs  in  season.  It  is  good 
practice  to  keep  the  soiling  crops  and 
areas  around  the  nursery  free  of  weeds 
to  prevent  maturing  of  weed  seed. 

The  conifer  seedbeds  are  weeded  by 
hand  until  all  the  seedlings  are  large 


i66 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


enough  to  be  cultivated  mechanically. 
In  southern  nurseries,  machines  can 
be  used  2  to  3  weeks  after  germination. 
In  northern  nurseries,  where  initial 
growth  is  slower,  machine  weeding  is 
supplemented  by  hand  weeding  the 
first  year  and,  for  some  species,  the  sec- 
ond and  third  year.  Transplants  some- 
times are  hoed  or  cultivated  to  remove 
the  greater  part  of  the  weeds,  and  the 
rest  of  the  weeding  is  done  by  hand. 

Drill-sown  hardwoods  are  cultivated 
with  ordinary  farm-tractor  cultivators 
in  about  the  same  manner  as  farm  row 
crops.  Cultivating  tools  should  not  go 
deeper  than  2  inches.  Timeliness  is  im- 
portant to  keep  weeds  from  interfering 
with  normal  development  of  the  trees. 

In  areas  of  high  summer  rainfall  and 
longer  growing  season,  the  weeding  job 
is  greater  than  in  drier  areas  or  colder 
climates.  Normally,  about  one-half 
man-day  to  1,000  trees  is  necessary  in 
the  South  and  about  half  that  in  north- 
ern sections. 

Recent  developments  indicate  that 
costs  of  weeding  conifers  can  be  re- 
duced appreciably  by  the  use  of  a  pe- 
troleum product  known  as  Stoddard's 
Solvent,  or  mineral  spirits.  When  ap- 
plied under  certain  temperature  and 
soil-moisture  conditions,  conifers  are 
unaffected,  but  most  of  the  weeds  and 
grasses  are  killed.  This  promises  to  re- 
duce weeding  costs,  particularly  in  the 
South,  to  about  5  or  10  cents  per  thou- 
sand trees.  Other  chemicals  such  as 
2,4-D  and  ammonium  sulfamate  are 
being  used  to  some  extent. 

Some  species  need  shade  during  the 
first  year.  Tolerant  trees,  such  as  the 
spruce,  hemlock,  balsam  fir,  and  white- 
cedar  require  50  percent  cover.  In 
some  localities  where  growth  is  slow, 
shade  is  necessary  for  2  and  sometimes 
3  years.  Other  species,  such  as  white 
pine  and  Douglas-fir,  can  be  grown  in 
some  localities  without  shade  but  re- 
quire it  in  others.  Generally,  hard- 
woods are  grown  without  shade  except 
for  a  small  amount  during  the  germi- 
nation period.  Sugar  maple  must  be 
kept  under  shade  during  the  first  year. 
Care  must  be  exercised  in  using  shade 


because  of  the  tendency  of  all  species 
to  develop  large,  succulent  tops  sus- 
ceptible to  frost  damage  or  other  in- 
jury. Winter  mulches  of  straw,  pine 
needles,  or  seed-free  hay  are  needed 
in  nurseries  where  frost  heaving  is 
serious,  particularly  on  shallow-rooted 
seedlings  and  transplants.  Where  frost 
heaving  occurs  throughout  the  winter, 
mulch  is  applied  in  the  late  fall  before 
snowfall.  If  confined  to  the  spring 
period,  it  is  applied  after  the  snow  has 
melted. 

LIFTING,,  GRADING,  AND  PACKING  of 
trees  for  shipment  to  planting  sites  is 
commonly  termed  "stock  distribution." 
In  the  Deep  South  the  work  may  start 
around  December  1  and  end  in  late 
February.  Northward,  spring  planting 
begins  in  February  and  continues  to 
April,  interrupted  only  by  inclement 
weather.  Farther  north,  spring  plant- 
ing may  not  begin  until  late  April  and 
extend  to  mid-May  or  later.  Fall  plant- 
ing starts  in  October  and  continues 
until  frost  or  snow. 

Most  deciduous  stock  is  dug  during 
the  fall  months,  counted,  graded,  and 
held  in  storage  or  in  heeling-in  beds 
until  planted. 

It  is  essential  to  have  a  current  in- 
ventory of  trees  in  the  nursery  accord- 
ing to  species  and  age  classes.  It  is 
obtained  by  counting  a  series  of  ran- 
dom samples.  The  intensity  of  the 
sampling  varies  from  0.5  percent  for 
beds  with  uniform  density  and  size  to 
5  percent  for  those  with  high  variabil- 
ity. The  average  density  is  obtained 
from  the  random  samples  and  is  used 
in  computing  the  total  number  on 
hand.  A  smaller  number  of  samples  is 
dug  and  graded ;  from  them  is  obtained 
the  cull  percentage,  which  is  used  as  a 
factor  in  computing  the  total  number 
of  plantable  trees.  The  sampling  unit 
is  either  6  inches  or  1  foot  wide,  ex- 
tending across  the  bed.  Deciduous  trees 
in  rows  are  inventoried  by  a  series  of 
1-foot  random  samples,  amounting  to 
0.5  to  1  percent  of  the  total  stand. 

Care  must  be  taken  to  get  accurate 
inventory  data.  The  samples  must  be 


Production  of  Planting 


representative,  the  counts  accurate, 
and  the  grading  specifications  the  same 
as  those  to  be  used  in  culling  at  the 
time  of  shipping.  Inventories  should 
not  vary  more  than  5  percent  from  the 
shipping  count. 

Trees  are  loosened  in  the  soil  by 
mechanical  lifters,  which  are  connected 
directly  to  tractors  that  straddle  the 
bed,  or  are  pulled  by  cable  and  winch 
mounted  on  a  tractor  at  the  end  of  the 
bed.  They  are  then  gathered  by  hand, 
bunched,  and  transported  to  the  pack- 
ing shed.  Digging  forks  are  used  as 
supplemental  lifting  tools  in  the  heav- 
ier soils  to  retain  all  the  fine  rootlets, 
because  stock  that  is  stripped  in  lifting 
is  inferior. 

Fine  rootlets  must  be  kept  moist 
from  the  time  lifting  starts  until  the 
trees  are  planted.  To  do  this,  the  roots 
are  covered  with  soil  or  wet  burlap  as 
soon  as  they  are  taken  from  the  ground. 
Conifers  are  especially  sensitive  to  in- 
jury of  this  nature.  Lifting  should  not 
be  done  when  air  temperatures  are  be- 
low freezing.  Bare  roots  of  plants  suffer 
damage  if  they  freeze. 

Grading  and  packing  is  done  in  tem- 
porary field  shelters  or  in  permanent 
packing  sheds.  Where  weather  condi- 
tions permit,  the  stock  is  graded  and 
packed  in  the  nursery  near  the  seed- 
beds as  it  is  removed  from  them.  Where 
permanent  packing  sheds  are  used,  the 
stock  is  taken  from  the  fields  in  baskets 
or  boxes  to  the  sheds  where  it  is  graded 
and  packed.  Here,  better  control  may 
be  exercised  over  the  graders,  and  the 
trees  are  better  protected  from  sun  and 
drying  winds.  For  shipment,  the  stock 
is  packed  in  crates  or  bales  with  the 
roots  in  wet  sphagnum  moss  or  shingle- 
tow.  It  is  necessary  to  have  an  accurate 
count  of  the  stock  shipped,  particularly 
where  small  orders  are  sent  to  farmers. 
Grading  tables  with  moving  belts  are 
used  to  facilitate  counting  and  packing. 
Graders  place  a  specified  number  of 
trees  in  each  compartment  on  the  belt 
as  it  moves  forward.  These  are  dropped 
at  the  end,  ready  to  be  tied  in  bunches 
of  25  to  100,  depending  on  the  size  of 
the  stock. 


It  is  unnecessary  to  tie  or  count  accu- 
rately the  stock  shipped  in  large  orders. 
The  crates  or  bales  are  uniform  in  size 
and  a  random  sample  count  is  made 
to  obtain  an  estimate  of  their  contents. 
A  5 -percent  sample  is  usually  within 
3  percent  of  the  actual  count. 

In  normal  operations,  stock  is  lifted, 
packed,  and  shipped  without  delay,  but 
that  procedure  is  not  always  possible 
during  adverse  weather  conditions. 
Nursery  storage  is  necessary  until  the 
trees  are  called  for.  Heel-in  beds  under 
shelter  can  be  used  as  temporary  stor- 
age. Cold  storage,  with  temperature 
between  33°  and  35°  F.,  is  used  at  some 
nurseries.  In  late  spring,  cold  storage  is 
effective  for  holding  stock  dormant, 
when  normally  growth  would  start  in 
the  nursery  beds,  until  it  is  needed  at 
the  planting  site.  Where  heavy  freezing 
occurs,  broadleaf  species  are  usually 
dug  in  the  fall  and  stored  in  cellars. 
With  good  aeration  and  temperatures 
between  30°  and  34° ,  it  can  be  kept  in 
good  condition  for  several  months. 

Defining  a  plantable  tree  is  an  ex- 
tremely difficult  task.  Size  is  not  the 
complete  answer.  It  has  been  demon- 
strated that  trees  forced  with  water  or 
fertilizer  have  a  lower  survival  than 
unforced  trees  of  equal  size.  Trees  with 
a  greater  number  of  fibrous  roots  have 
a  higher  survival  than  those  with  only 
large  tap  and  long  lateral  roots.  Ac- 
ceptable stock  must  assure  reasonably 
high  survival  on  the  area  where  it  is 
planted.  Critical  soil-moisture  and  cli- 
matic conditions  on  the  planting  site 
may  require  special  nursery  practices 
to  produce  stock  of  required  quality 
or  age  class.  Younger,  less  sturdy  stock 
of  the  same  species  will  do  equally  well 
under  more  favorable  site  conditions. 

Coniferous  stock  should  have  a  ratio 
of  top  to  root,  by  weight,  between  1 
to  1  and  3  to  1.  Those  with  higher 
values  than  3  top  to  1  root  do  not  sur- 
vive well  except  in  favorable  years  and 
locations. 

Other  factors  that  are  used  to  grade 
coniferous  stock  are  height,  length  of 
root,  stem  diameter  at  ground  line,  and 
development  of  winter  buds.  Height 


i68 

varies  from  2J/2  inches  for  some  species 
to  upwards  of  10  inches  for  others. 
Longleaf  pine  is  unique  because  it  does 
not  develop  a  stem  in  the  nursery. 
Roots  of  all  species  are  generally  cut  to 
8  inches  because  it  is  difficult  to  plant 
longer  ones.  Trees  stripped  of  laterals 
and  the  smaller  rootlets  are  not  con- 
sidered plantable  grade. 

STEM  DIAMETER  or  caliper  is  a  good 
indicator  of  grade.  Small,  spindly 
stock,  resulting  from  overcrowding  in 
the  seedbed,  may  meet  the  require- 
ments as  to  height  and  root  length  but 
is  unplantable  because  of  the  small, 
weak  stem.  Generally,  conifers  should 
be  three  thirty-seconds  of  an  inch  or 
more  in  diameter.  Extremely  large 
stock  with  a  caliper  of  more  than  one- 
half  inch  is  inferior  to  smaller  and  bet- 
ter balanced  trees. 

If  the  desired  size  and  other  char- 
acteristics are  not  obtained  the  first 
year,  the  seedlings  remain  in  the  nurs- 
ery for  a  year  or  more.  If  they  do  not 
develop  a  well-balanced  system  of  roots 
in  the  seedbed,  they  are  lifted  and 
transplanted  in  the  nursery.  The  age 
class  is  designated  by  the  number  of 
years  they  remain  in  the  seedbeds  and 
transplant  beds.  Thus,  1-0  indicates 
1-year  seedlings;  1-1  indicates  2-year- 
old  trees,  1  year  in  the  seedbed  and  1 
year  in  the  transplant  bed;  and  2-1 
indicates  3-year-old  trees  that  have  re- 
mained 2  years  in  the  seedbed  and  1 
year  in  transplant  bed.  This  system 
provides  a  ready  designation  of  age 
and  cultural  practice. 

Hardwood  species  have  a  lower  ratio 
of  top  to  root  than  conifers,  averaging 
less  than  1  to  1.  Total  green  weight  and 
caliper  are  a  better  basis  for  determin- 
ing their  quality.  Generally,  those  with 
diameters  ranging  from  two-sixteenths 
to  six-sixteenths  of  an  inch  and  heights 
of  8  to  36  inches  survive  better  than 
smaller  trees. 

MAINTENANCE  of  nursery  buildings, 
grounds,  and  the  equipment  is  ordi- 
narily scheduled  for  the  slack  season. 
Nurseries  accessible  to  the  general  pub- 


Yearbool(  of  Agriculture  1949 


lie  have  many  visitors  and  the  impres- 
sion they  receive  is  influenced  greatly 
by  the  condition  of  the  facilities.  Neat, 
well-maintained  buildings  and  grounds 
add  much  to  the  working  conditions, 
and  properly  maintained  tools  and 
motor  equipment  is  an  incentive  for 
safe,  efficient  work.  A  regular  mainte- 
nance program  reduces  time  lost  when 
nursery  work  is  in  progress. 

The  trend  toward  mechanization  in- 
creases the  investment  in  equipment 
and  overhead  costs.  Salaries  have  in- 
creased sharply,  and  unless  offset  by 
greater  production  the  indirect  charges 
become  excessive.  The  technical  prob- 
lems encountered  in  nursery  work  re- 
quire specialized  training  and  experi- 
ence. A  small  nursery  operated  as  a 
part-time  job  and  with  a  minimum  of 
equipment  usually  is  less  efficient  than 
the  larger  nurseries  with  a  full  comple- 
ment of  equipment  and  a  full-time 
nurseryman.  Smaller  nurseries  near  the 
planting  area  are  more  economical  be- 
cause the  cost  of  transporting  stock 
from  larger  nurseries  may  offset  the 
savings  of  large-scale  production. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  of  new  machin- 
ery and  techniques  is  an  important  fea- 
ture of  all  nursery  work.  Cultivating 
seedlings  with  machinery  results  in  sub- 
stantial savings  over  hand  labor.  Treat- 
ing seedbeds  with  a  selective  herbicide 
before  sowing  helps  cut  weeding  costs. 

Much  nursery  work  is  now  done  by 
women.  Threading  transplant  boards, 
hand  weeding,  and  grading  are  a  few 
of  the  jobs  performed  by  them. 

Cold  storage  for  seed  and  stratifica- 
tion facilities  are  being  installed  at  the 
larger  nurseries. 

The  amount  of  planting  stock  grown 
in  the  United  States  is  increasing. 
During  the  war  years  many  nurseries 
were  closed  but  have  since  reopened. 
New  nurseries  are  being  established 
and  old  ones  expanded.  Now  that  field- 
planting  machines  are  being  used  more 
extensively,  landowners,  both  large 
and  small,  are  planting  their  forest 
lands  and  abandoned  fields  to  trees  at 
an  increasing  rate. 


The  Wind  River  Experimental  Forest 


169 


The  first  important  factor  in  any 
reforestation  job  is  the  production  of 
high-quality  nursery  stock  in  the  quan- 
tity needed  for  the  planting  job.  It  is 
like  the  foundation  of  a  building.  The 
plantations  and  the  planting  job  can 
be  no  better  than  the  nursery  stock  on 
which  they  depend. 

FLOYD  M.  GOSSITT  is  a  graduate  in 
forestry  of  the  University  of  Idaho. 
From  1921  to  1933,  he  was  forest 
ranger  and  junior  forester  in  the  North- 
ern  Rocky  Mountain  Region  of  the 
Forest  Service.  He  worked  on  the  Prai- 
rie States  Forestry  project  from  1934 
to  1936;  since  then  he  has  been  in 
charge  of  planting  and  nurseries  in  the 
Southern  Region. 

G.  A.  RINDT  is  in  charge  of  planting, 
disease  control,  and  timber-stand  im- 


provement in  the  Division  of  Timber 
Management  in  the  North  Pacific 
Region  of  the  Forest  Service.  His 
assignments  have  included  work  on 
the  Manistee  Purchase  Unit,  the 
Emergency  Rubber  Project,  and  the 
Nicolet  National  Forest.  Mr.  Rindt  is 
a  graduate  in  forestry  of  Iowa  State 
College. 

HARRY  A.  GUNNING  is  the  assistant 
director  of  the  United  States  National 
Arboretum  in  Washington,  D.  C.  From 
1919  to  1935  he  was  in  the  Division  of 
Plant  Exploration  and  Introduction  of 
the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils, 
and  Agricultural  Engineering.  From 
1935  to  1948  he  was  chief  of  the  Nur- 
sery Division,  Soil  Conservation  Serv- 
ice. Mr.  Gunning  is  a  graduate  in  hor- 
ticulture from  Kansas  State  Agricul- 
tural College. 


THE  WIND  RIVER  EXPERIMENTAL  FOREST 

LEO  A.  ISAAC,  WILLIAM  E.  BULLARD 


An  experimental  forest  is  an  outdoor 
laboratory,  an  area  set  aside  for  re- 
search in  the  reproduction,  growing, 
and  harvesting  of  forest  crops.  It  cov- 
ers 40  acres,  or  20,000  acres,  enough 
land  so  that  one  can  conduct  funda- 
mental studies  and  extend  the  results 
to  a  commercial  or  pilot-plant  scale. 
New  findings  and  time-tested  methods 
are  tried  out  side  by  side,  and  the  re- 
sults compared  as  the  forest  develops 
and  time  passes. 

One  of  these  outdoor  workshops — 
the  Wind  River  Experimental  Forest 
in  the  Douglas-fir  region — is  in  the 
heart  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  It 
forms  part  of  the  upper  reaches  of  a 
hanging  valley  that  empties  into  the 
Columbia  Gorge  near  Carson,  Wash. 

The  Wind  River  locality  is  the 
cradle  of  forest  research  in  the  north- 
western part  of  the  United  States. 
There,  as  early  as  1910,  some  of  the 
first  cutting  was  done  on  a  national 
forest.  A  year  or  two  later  the  first 
Forest  Service  nursery  was  established, 


the  first  arboretum  started,  and  the 
first  natural  area  in  the  region  was  set 
aside  there  in  1925  to  maintain  in 
perpetuity  virgin-forest  conditions. 

Early  work  in  forest  research  was 
done  in  the  nursery  and  on  nearby 
Columbia  National  Forest  land.  Then, 
in  1932,  some  10,000  acres  surround- 
ing this  center  was  set  aside  as  the 
Wind  River  Experimental  Forest. 

The  tract  is  typical  of  a  vast  forested 
area  at  the  middle  elevations  in  the 
Cascade  Mountains,  where  the  soil  and 
topography  are  such  that  the  area  will 
probably  be  kept  forever  in  forest  pro- 
duction and  not  diverted  for  grazing 
or  other  agricultural  uses.  It  is  a  good 
timber-growing  site — not  the  best,  but 
about  equal  to  the  average  in  the  re- 
gion. Physical  features  of  the  experi- 
mental forest  are  similar  to  those  of 
the  surrounding  country.  The  under- 
lying rocks  are  basalts,  the  peaks  are 
old  lava  vents,  and  some  lava  flows  are 
still  exposed.  The  soils  are  mostly  red- 
brown  shot  loams,  very  porous,  heavily 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


leached,  and  often  containing  a  high 
percentage  of  broken  rock.  Elevations 
range  from  1,000  to  3,500  feet  above 
sea  level.  The  climate,  typical  of  the 
lower  western  slopes  of  the  Cascade 
Mountains,  is  wet,  except  for  the  sum- 
mer months.  Rainfall  averages  87 
inches  a  year,  of  which  1 3  inches  falls 
as  snow.  Nearly  every  night  of  the  year 
relative  humidity  approaches  100  per- 
cent. Temperature  extremes  vary  from 
below  zero  to  over  100°  F.,  and  the 
frost-free  season  is  short.  During  the 
dry,  windy  summers,  the  fire  hazard  is 
great.  Forest  trees  grow  well,  but  field 
crops  do  not. 

The  experimental  forest  consists  of 
many  age  classes  of  timber  grown  up 
after  old  burns  in  the  original  forest 
and  after  some  recent  cuttings.  There 
are  approximately  4,000  acres  of  old- 
growth  Douglas-fir  and  hemlock 
within  the  boundaries.  An  additional 
2,500  acres  of  the  area  was  burned  by 
the  great  Yacolt  forest  fire  of  1902. 
Part  of  that  area  now  supports  some 
small  patches  of  old  growth,  some  scat- 
tered large  old-growth  trees,  and  a 
wide  variety  of  stands  of  natural  regen- 
eration— some  well-stocked  stands  that 
followed  promptly  after  the  burn, 
some  partially  stocked  areas,  and  some 
areas  consisting  mostly  of  brush  with 
occasional  young  trees  growing  in  it. 
About  600  acres  of  this  area  was  re- 
burned  by  the  forest  fires  of  1927  and 
1929;  about  500  acres  of  that  was 
promptly  replanted  and  now  supports 
a  20-year-old  plantation  of  Douglas- 
fir,  which  will  soon  be  large  enough  for 
the  cultural-cutting  operations.  A  few 
miles  away  from  the  main  area  lies  a 
3,500-acre  watershed  of  100-year-old 
Douglas-fir.  The  forest  here  is  ap- 
proaching maturity,  and  is  represent- 
ative of  the  vast,  older  second-growth 
stands  in  the  region. 

Timber  types  vary  by  age  and  com- 
position. The  young  forest  which 
seeded  in  naturally  after  the  great  fire 
of  1902  is  mostly  Douglas-fir,  but  there 
is  a  scattering  of  the  western  hemlock, 
western  white  pine,  western  redcedar, 
and  balsam  firs.  Likewise,  the  100-year- 


old  stand  is  practically  pure  Douglas- 
fir,  with  hemlock  and  cedar  beginning 
to  show  up  in  the  understory.  The  old- 
growth  forest  is  now  in  the  process  of 
transition  from  the  intolerant  even- 
aged  Douglas-fir  to  the  tolerant  climax 
forest  of  hemlock  and  other  shade- 
loving  species.  The  Douglas-firs  are  old, 
but  the  other  species  are  of  all  ages; 
in  addition  to  hemlock,  they  include 
Pacific  silver  fir,  grand  fir,  western 
white  pine,  western  redcedar,  and  Pa- 
cific yew.  Where  the  timber  is  of  mer- 
chantable size,  volumes  range  from 
20,000  to  100,000  board  feet  an  acre. 
One  of  the  important  features  of  the 
experimental  forest  is  the  Wind  River 
natural  area.  This  block  of  1,200  acres 
of  the  old-growth  area  was  set  aside  to 
preserve  in  an  undisturbed  state  for 
scientific  observation  and  study  an  ex- 
ample of  the  virgin  timber  of  the  re- 
gion. Most  of  the  stand  is  Douglas-fir 
300  to  460  years  old;  the  largest  trees 
are  more  than  6  feet  in  diameter  and 
200  feet  tall.  Parts  of  the  stand  are  still 
practically  pure  even-aged  Douglas-fir, 
while  other  parts  are  in  various  stages 
of  transition  from  Douglas-fir  to  the 
climax  forest  of  the  shade-tolerant 
species.  In  places  the  Douglas-fir  has 
entirely  disappeared  and  hemlock  is 
the  dominant  tree.  This  tract  serves  as 
an  undisturbed  check  area  for  adjoin- 
ing stands  that  are  being  placed  under 
management.  It  is  systematically  cov- 
ered with  permanent  sample  plots  on 
which  timber  growth,  mortality,  and 
other  ecological  changes  are  recorded. 

MANY  FOREST-RESEARCH  PROJECTS 
have  been  completed  on  the  experi- 
mental forest  and  many  are  under 
way.  They  vary  from  single  observa- 
tions or  sample  plots  to  commercial- 
size  forest  cutting  operations.  Early 
Douglas-fir  nursery  and  planting  tech- 
niques were  worked  out  there,  and 
many  fundamental  studies  have  been 
made  that  have  shaped  the  silviculture 
of  the  region. 

Seed  of  Douglas-fir  and  its  associates, 
once  thought  to  live  years  in  the  forest 
floor,  was  found  to  germinate  or  die 


The  Wind  River  Experimental  Forest 


171 


mostly  within  a  year  after  it  falls. 
Forests  that  supposedly  grew  from  this 
duff -stored  seed  following  logging  and 
slash  burning  were  found  to  come  from 
seed  brought  in  considerable  distances 
by  the  wind.  Measurements  of  the  seed 
flight  of  Douglas-fir  and  its  associates, 
made  by  releasing  seed  at  tree  heights 
from  a  box  kite  over  snow  fields  and 
also  by  catching  the  natural  seed  fall  in 
seed  traps,  still  stand  as  the  most  ac- 
curate and  complete  records  ever  made 
of  tree-seed  flight. 

Fire  studies  made  there  on  weather 
and  fuel  relationships,  slash  disposal, 
and  so  on  have  formed  much  of  the 
background  for  the  fire-protection 
system  in  this  forest  region. 

Meteorological  and  biological  stud- 
ies that  disclosed  surface  temperatures 
lethal  to  seedlings  (both  from  heat  and 
frost)  and  the  seedling  losses  from  ex- 
cessive drought,  lack  of  cover,  competi- 
tion, and  rodent  damage  explained 
why  seedlings  came  in  thickly  on  some 
areas,  while  others  refused  to  restock. 
These  were  supplemented  by  cone- 
crop  records,  which  showed  that  sev- 
eral years  elapsed  between  medium 
and  heavy  seed  crops. 

Thirty  years  of  life  history,  recorded 
on  sample  plots  after  early  cutting  and 
burning,  shows  the  gradual  decrease  in 
rate  of  restocking  as  the  distance  from 
the  seed  source  of  uncut  timber  in- 
creases. Ten  years  was  required  to 
stock  adequately  the  first  cut-over 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  green  timber, 
and  20  years  for  the  second  on  cool, 
favorable  northerly  exposures ;  the  hot 
southerly  exposures  and  flat  bottoms, 
where  brush  and  grass  competition  was 
heavy,  are  still  irregularly  stocked  or 
nonstocked. 

A  measure  of  the  second  period  in 
the  life  history  of  Douglas-fir  stands 
consists  of  35  years  of  records  on  per- 
manent growth  plots  in  young  stands; 
these  show  an  average  annual  net 
growth  of  645  board  feet  an  acre 
despite  an  annual  loss  of  half  that 
amount  that  occurs  as  these  stands  ap- 
proach and  attain  commercial  size  and 
maturity.  Studies  now  indicate  that 


most  of  the  annual  loss  can  be  saved  by 
light  improvement  cuts. 

Pruning  studies  showed  that  25-  to 
30-year  old  stands  could  be  pruned 
to  clear  the  first  18-foot  log  of  knot- 
producing  branches  with  no  reduction 
of  growth  rate  or  entrance  of  decay 
resulting  from  the  operations.  The 
difference  in  value  between  a  pruned 
and  an  unpruned  tree,  when  projected 
50  years  into  the  future,  was  calculated 
to  equal  several  times  the  cost  of  prun- 
ing plus  3 -percent  compound  interest. 

Spacing- test  plantations  of  2 3 -year- 
old  Douglas-fir  show  volume  growth, 
stem-quality  development,  and  fire 
hazard  for  spacings  from  4  by  4  feet 
to  12  by  12  feet.  They  indicate  that  6 
by  6  feet  to  8  by  8  feet  spacing  should 
give  the  most  satisfactory  combination 
of  quality  and  volume  growth.  The 
widest  spacing  had  the  largest  trees, 
but  those  large  trees  also  had  the  larg- 
est limbs,  which  makes  the  largest  knots 
in  lumber. 

Heredity  plantations  of  Douglas-fir, 
now  35  years  old,  show  a  33-percent 
variation  in  growth  rate  between  the 
best  and  the  poorest  of  13  selected 
strains  of  stock  and  indicate  that  local 
strains  may  not  be  the  best  unless  seed 
is  taken  from  good  trees  in  good  stands. 

A  similar  plantation  of  ponderosa 
pine,  produced  from  seed  from  various 
parts  of  the  Western  States,  shows  that 
trees  of  the  best  strains  are  nearly 
double  the  size  of  the  poorest,  and  also 
that  young  trees  from  limby,  crooked 
parent  stock  or  tall,  clean-boled  parent 
stock  retain  these  parental  character- 
istics when  planted  side  by  side  in  test 
plantations. 

Light  stand-improvement  cuts  in 
100-year-old  stands  reduced  mortality 
losses,  increased  net  growth,  and  made 
possible  the  salvage  of  trees  attacked 
by  bark  beetles  and  Poria  weirii — a 
serious  root  rot  that  complicates  the 
production  of  timber  crops. 

Experimental  partial  cuts  in  over- 
mature old-growth  stands  have  indi- 
cated that  in  most  cases  concentrations 
of  old-growth  trees  might  better  be 
clear-cut.  In  stands  having  an  under- 


172 

story  of  trees  below  commercial  size, 
it  was  possible  sometimes  to  remove  the 
large  old  trees  and  allow  the  younger 
element  to  continue  growth  with  little 
loss  or  damage  until  it  reached  a  size 
that  could  be  harvested.  However,  in- 
jury to  the  reserve  stand  must  be 
avoided.  Studies  at  Wind  River  showed 
that  top,  bole,  or  base  injury  from  log- 
ging or  sunscald  resulted  in  serious  de- 
cay entrance  within  10  years  with  non- 
resinous  species,  such  as  hemlock  and 
the  balsam  firs. 

These  method-of -cutting  studies  are 
being  continued  on  a  larger  scale  in 
both  young-  and  old-growth  stands. 
The  new  work  will  include  tests  of 
measures  to  reduce  loss  from  windfall, 
insects,  and  disease}  to  retard  brush  in- 
vasion, speed  up  restocking,  and  con- 
trol species  composition.  With  the  in- 
crease in  the  demand  for  wood,  studies 
are  developing  in  the  more  complete 
utilization  of  wood  in  logging  opera- 
tions and  in  the  salvage  of  waste  for 
pulp  and  other  special  uses. 

One  of  the  most  highly  valued  fea- 
tures of  the  experimental  forest  is  the 
arboretum.  It  is  the  oldest  proving 
ground  in  the  region  for  the  conifers 
of  the  world  and  now  has  growing 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


groups  of  more  than  1 35  species — prac- 
tically all  that  will  survive  in  that  cli- 
mate. There  students  are  able  to  study 
species  growing  side  by  side  and  collect 
seed  and  specimens. 

LEO  A.  ISAAC  obtained  his  forestry 
training  at  the  University  of  Minne- 
sota. He  has  spent  4  years  in  adminis- 
trative work  on  the  national  forests  and 
24  years  in  forest  research  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest.  His  chief  interest  has  been 
in  silvicultural  research,  and  he  is  the 
author  of  several  publications  in  that 
field.  At  present  he  is  in  charge  of 
silvicultural  research  at  the  Pacific 
Northwest  Forest  and  Range  Experi- 
ment Station  in  Portland,  Oreg. 

WILLIAM  E.  BULLARD  was  graduated 
from  the  University  of  California  in 
1935  with  a  degree  in  forestry.  Since 
then  his  chief  interest  has  been  the  cor- 
relation of  watershed  management 
with  forest  management.  He  spent  6 
years  in  silvicultural  and  flood-control 
research  in  California  and  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  4  war  years  on  the  Guayule 
Rubber  Project  in  California,  and  2 
years  in  forest-management  work  as 
officer  in  charge  of  the  Wind  River 
Experimental  Forest. 


Retarded  <jf owtK 
after  fire 


Accelerated  growth 
alter 


fire  and  thinning  influence  the  growth  of  trees. 


The  Small  Woodland 

CASH  CROPS  FROM  SMALL  FORESTS 

R.  E.  MCARDLE 


A  FARMER  in  Louisiana  was  of- 
fered $500  for  all  the  timber  in 
his  wood  lot.  To  him  it  seemed  a  good 
price,  and  he  needed  the  money.  But 
after  consultation  with  his  county  agri- 
cultural agent  the  farmer  had  a  for- 
ester examine  the  wood  lot.  As  a  result 
of  this  examination,  he  decided  not  to 
sell  all  of  the  timber  in  the  tract.  But, 
instead,  with  the  help  of  the  forester, 
the  farmer  made  thinnings  to  release 
the  crowded  trees  for  faster  growth, 
and  he  made  an  improvement  cut  to  get 
rid  of  defective  trees  and  weed  species 
that  were  taking  up  space  needed  by 
high-value  species.  In  that  way  he  sold 
about  a  third  of  his  timber,  and  he 
got  $1,700  for  it.  Moreover,  5  years 
hence  he  will  be  able  to  make  another 
sale.  If  present  plans  are  carried  out, 
the  wood  lot  will  become  more  and 
more  productive  and  bring  him  a  regu- 
lar income  from  sale  of  products. 

An  Oregon  farmer  was  offered 
$1,500  for  his  timber  provided  no 
restrictions  were  imposed  on  cutting 
Above:  One  value  of  woodlands  is  that  they 
add  to  the  enjoyment  of  farm  life. 


all  trees  the  operator  wanted  to  take. 
On  advice  of  a  forester,  the  owner  had 
the  timber  cruised  and  marked  for  a 
partial  cut.  As  a  result  he  obtained 
$7,500,  and  still  has  an  excellent  for- 
est, which  will  soon  produce  enough 
wood  for  another  cut. 

In  Michigan,  the  owner  of  a  small 
stand  of  oak  thought  it  had  no  value 
until  he  was  offered  $800  for  all  the 
timber  on  the  tract.  After  analyzing 
his  opportunities,  he  sold  a  small  part 
of  the  timber  for  $950,  and  at  the  same 
time  put  his  forest  into  condition  to 
yield  another  income  in  a  few  years. 

A  small  woodland  in  Missouri  has 
furnished  the  extra  cash  needed  to  put 
one  of  the  owner's  daughters  through 
the  State  university;  another  daughter 
is  in  the  university  now,  and  four  boys 
are  in  line  for  similar  education. 

In  Kentucky,  a  landowner  was  of- 
fered $7,000  for  310  trees  selected  by 
the  buyer.  On  advice  of  a  forester, 
however,  only  199  trees  were  marked 
as  mature  and  ready  for  harvest.  Bids 
were  invited  and  those  199  trees  were 
sold  for  $12,600.  Equally  important 

173 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


was  the  fact  that  adequate  growing 
stock  of  the  more  valuable  species, 
properly  spaced  to  obtain  maximum 
growth,  was  left  on  the  land  with  an 
eye  to  future  values. 

In  South  Carolina,  the  owner  of  a 
farm  woodland  was  tempted  to  sell  the 
entire  tract  for  $2,500.  With  a  for- 
ester's help,  he  sold  part  of  the  timber 
for  $7,460  and  has  half  of  his  trees, 
the  best  ones  for  future  growth,  still 
at  work  on  the  land  growing  more 
wood  for  another  harvest. 

These  few  examples  illustrate  how 
a  small  but  ever-increasing  number  of 
farmers  and  other  owners  of  small 
woodlands  are  obtaining  cash  crops. 

Most  owners  of  small  forest  tracts 
do  not  usually  think  of  these  proper- 
ties as  having  possibilities  for  a  regular 
income;  to  them,  the  trees  in  their 
woodlands  might  have  no  particular 
value  except  possibly  for  fuel  wood 
and  fence  posts.  An  offer  of  a  few 
hundred  dollars  for  all  the  timber  in 
a  small  tract  probably  would  strike 
most  such  owners  as  an  unexpected  bit 
of  good  fortune.  Yet  a  small  forest,  even 
one  of  only  50  or  60  acres,  can  be  made 
to  yield  its  owner  good  financial  re- 
turns at  regular  intervals  of  5  or  10 
years,  sometimes  more  frequently. 

The  key  to  forest  profits  is,  of  course, 
good  forest  management.  Good  man- 
agement happily  is  within  the  reach  of 
most  owners  of  small  forest  properties. 
Many,  however,  will  need  technical 
assistance  in  getting  started  in  profit- 
able woodland  management  because 
few  owners  of  small  forests  now  earn 
their  living,  or  even  a  small  part  of  it, 
solely  by  growing  timber.  Timber  pro- 
duction, if  engaged  in  at  all,  is  defi- 
nitely a  side  issue  to  farming,  teaching 
school,  selling  hardware,  banking,  or 
some  other  full-time  job.  Timber  grow- 
ing to  the  great  majority  of  small- 
forest  owners  is  a  new  business. 

The  need  for  technical  help  is  fur- 
ther emphasized  by  the  unfortunate 
fact  that  far  too  many  forest  prop- 
erties have  been  allowed  to  deterio- 
rate. Sometimes  the  cream  has  been 
skimmed  from  the  forest  crop  so  often 


that  there  are  left  only  the  less  desirable 
species,  the  defective  trees  and  those 
too  small  to  yield  a  salable  product. 
Technical  knowledge  is  required  to 
turn  such  deteriorated  properties  into 
fast-growing  forests  well  stocked  with 
high-value  trees.  Experience  with  other 
crops  is,  of  course,  helpful  in  forest 
management.  But  many  aspects  of 
timber  production  and  harvesting  and 
marketing  are  entirely  different  from 
those  of  other  crops. 

In  the  past  5  or  6  years  substantial — 
although  still  far  from  adequate — 
progress  has  been  made  in  providing 
small-forest  owners  with  technical  as- 
sistance in  woodland  management. 
Public  agencies  furnish  most  of  the  as- 
sistance now  available.  This  publicly 
sponsored  forestry  assistance  is  handled 
by  State  agencies  in  cooperation  with 
the  Department  of  Agriculture.  It  is 
intended  for  small-forest  owners  who 
plan  to  do  their  own  forestry  work  and 
includes  two  closely  related  but  dis- 
tinct types  of  assistance :  Education  in 
the  techniques  of  forest  management 
and  marketing  and  in-the-woods  tech- 
nical advice  and  service  to  individual 
forest  owners. 

State  forestry  departments  and  ex- 
tension services,  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, and  a  number  of  private  organi- 
zations sponsor  educational  programs 
that  direct  attention  to  the  prominent 
part  small  forests  have  in  the  Nation's 
wood  supply  and  to  the  profitableness 
of  timber  as  a  cash  crop.  Valuable  as 
mass  educational  activity  of  this  kind 
may  be,  it  cannot,  of  course,  furnish 
detailed  and  specific  instruction  in  the 
techniques  of  woodland  management. 
Such  instruction,  however,  is  included 
in  the  cooperative  Federal-State  pro- 
gram. This  important  aspect  of  edu- 
cation is  under  the  immediate  super- 
vision of  67  State  extension  foresters, 
who  work  through  the  county  agri- 
cultural agents  in  45  States.  Instruction 
in  management  of  woodlands  is  thus 
coordinated  with  existing  public  edu- 
cational facilities  and  with  other  non- 
resident teaching  in  agriculture. 

Extension  foresters  carry  on  their 


Cash  Crops  from  Small  Forests 


175 


educational  work  through  meetings, 
usually  held  in  a  farm  woodland,  of 
fairly  large  groups  of  farmers.  This 
group  instruction  includes  demonstra- 
tions of  good  cutting  practices,  thin- 
ning, pruning,  tree  planting,  log 
scaling,  forest-fire  prevention,  fence- 
post  preservation,  farm  use  of  forest 
products,  and  other  aspects  of  timber 
growing  and  use.  Bulletins  and  leaflets 
are  used  to  supplement  the  field  work. 

Every  forest  property,  however,  has 
peculiarities  that  are  key  factors  in 
determining  the  specific  requirements 
of  forest  management.  This  is  particu- 
larly true  of  small  woodlands,  most  of 
which  have  been  culled  over  so  often 
that  uniformity  of  forest  conditions  is 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  In 
this  important  respect,  tree  crops  are 
totally  unlike  other  crops  with  which 
the  landowner  can  begin  with  bare 
land  every  year  or  two.  The  forest 
owner,  however,  must  start  with  what 
he  happens  to  have  and  must  make 
the  desired  changes  gradually  over  a 
period  of  years.  When,  therefore,  a 
landowner  finds  that  conditions  in  his 
own  woodland  differ  appreciably  from 
those  in  the  example  used  by  the  in- 
structor, he  often  has  difficulty  in  ap- 
plying what  he  has  learned.  It  is  also 
a  common  experience  to  encounter 
problems  not  included  or  not  yet 
reached  in  the  course  of  instruction. 
It  is  then  that  the  individual  land- 
owner needs  competent  technical  help 
in  getting  his  forestry  activities  headed 
in  the  right  direction  so  as  to  avoid 
making  mistakes  that  perhaps  cannot 
be  remedied  for  many  years.  Effective 
assistance  can  be  given  only  after  ex- 
amining the  woodland  itself. 

Such  service  to  individual  small- 
forest  owners  is  the  other  part  of  the 
cooperative  Federal-State  program.  It 
is  provided  by  State  foresters  in  40 
States.  In  some  States,  the  State  for- 
esters also  are  able  to  furnish  timber- 
cruising  and  timber-marking  services 
for  a  moderate  fee  if  the  landowner 
wants  additional  help  beyond  the  day 
or  so  that  can  be  given  without  charge. 
This  type  of  service  fits  in  well  with 


other  operational  work  of  State  for- 
estry departments  in  forest-fire  control, 
insect  and  disease  control,  production 
of  forest  planting  stock,  and  the  like. 
Assistance  of  this  kind  is  provided  in- 
dividual forest  owners  through  173  co- 
operatively employed  farm  foresters, 
each  of  whom  is  assigned  to  a  group  of 
3  or  4  counties.  The  650  counties  now 
having  this  service  are  about  a  third 
of  the  total  number  that  need  it. 

When  assistance  is  requested,  the 
farm  forester  visits  the  woodland  with 
the  owner.  Together  they  discuss  the 
owner's  plans  for  the  area,  taking  into 
account  his  need  for  additional  cleared 
land,  the  desirability  of  reforesting  the 
run-down  or  eroding  fields,  the  owner's 
immediate  financial  requirements  or 
need  of  forest  products  for  home  use. 
The  farm  forester  then  uses  his  tech- 
nical knowledge  and  experience  to  size 
up  the  opportunities  for  the  woodland 
management  on  that  particular  area. 
He  makes  a  simple  management  plan 
that  outlines  timber  cutting,  planting, 
thinnings,  and  protection  of  the  forest 
from  fire,  insects,  and  grazing.  If  the 
landowner  has  timber  ready  for  har- 
vest, the  forester  can  recommend  a 
method  of  cutting,  helps  the  owner  to 
mark  the  trees  to  be  cut,  helps  estimate 
their  volume,  and  advises  the  owner  on 
marketing.  Sometimes,  when  the  job 
justifies  employment  of  a  forester  for 
several  weeks,  the  farm  forester  sug- 
gests the  names  of  qualified  consulting 
foresters.  An  important  aspect  of  the 
farm  forester's  work  is  to  make  a  later 
check-up  visit  to  see  how  the  owner  is 
getting  along.  Through  the  State  for- 
ester, or  directly,  the  farm  foresters 
keep  in  touch  with  the  State  extension 
forester  so  that  individual  assistance 
and  group  instruction  can  be  coordi- 
nated effectively. 

As  might  be  expected,  numerous 
owners  of  small  woodlands  do  not  live 
on  the  area  or  for  some  other  reason 
will  not  do  their  own  woods  work. 
Relatively  little  public  assistance  is  at 
present  available  to  these  absentee 
owners.  Unfortunately,  also,  few  pri- 
vate foresters  are  either  experienced  in 


i76 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


small-owner  problems  or  are  willing 
to  take  over  the  management  of  small 
properties  on  a  part-time  basis.  Many 
of  those  now  engaged  in  this  work 
claim  that  they  cannot  afford  to  work 
with  owners  of  fewer  than  about  500 
acres.  Then,  too,  there  is  the  under- 
standable reluctance  of  landowners  to 
pay  a  fee  for  the  services  of  even  a 
part-time  technician  until  they  have 
proof — on  their  own  lands — that  the 
cost  of  competent  technical  services  is 
fully  justified.  But  in  time  there  will 
be  more  private  foresters  specializing 
in  management  of  small  forest  prop- 
erties, and  absentee  owners,  convinced 
by  results  obtained  on  nearby  proper- 
ties, will  be  willing  to  pay  a  reasonable 
fee  for  technical  service.  Public  for- 
esters encourage  such  developments. 

Important  as  small  forest  holdings 
are — or  can  be — to  their  owners  in 
yielding  a  substantial  extra  income, 
these  small  forests  are  even  more  im- 
portant to  the  Nation.  Much  of  our 
present  output  of  forest  products 
comes  from  small  woodlands.  As  re- 
maining virgin  forests,  mostly  in  large 
holdings,  are  cut,  the  Nation's  depend- 
ence on  small  woodlands  will  increase. 

All  of  the  forest  land  in  public 
ownership  and  all  of  the  land  held  by 
large  sawmill  and  pulp  and  paper  com- 
panies, even  if  managed  for  continu- 
ous timber  production,  will  not  yield 
enough  timber  to  meet  future  national 


needs.  Less  than  half  of  the  country's 
total  acreage  of  commercial  forest  land 
is  in  those  ownership  classes;  the  rest 
is  in  small  holdings.  The  outstanding 
importance  of  small  forests  in  the 
private-forestry  picture  cannot  be  over- 
emphasized; nearly  3  of  every  4  acres 
in  private  ownership  is  in  individual 
holdings  of  less  than  100  acres.  Fur- 
thermore, despite  many  exceptions, 
those  small  woodlands  are  not  being 
managed  for  continuous  forest  pro- 
duction. Only  4  percent  of  the  present 
cutting  on  small  woodlands  is  good 
enough  to  insure  adequate  future  tim- 
ber crops.  Still  more  disturbing  is  the 
fact  that  on  71  of  every  100  acres  of 
small  woodland  recently  cut  over,  no 
plan  was  made  for  another  timber  crop. 
That  is  a  challenge  to  all  of  us. 

R.  E.  McARDLE  is  an  assistant  chief 
of  the  Forest  Service,  in  charge  of 
cooperative  work  in  State  and  private 
forestry.  His  early  life  was  spent  in 
Kentucky  and  Virginia.  He  is  a  gradu- 
ate in  forestry  of  the  University  of 
Michigan.  Among  his  positions  have 
been  assignments  in  the  Forest  Service 
in  the  Pacific  Northwest,  a  term  as 
dean  of  the  School  of  Forestry  at  the 
University  of  Idaho,  director  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Forest  and  Range 
Experiment  Station,  and  director  of 
the  Appalachian  Forest  Experiment 
Station. 


ROOTS  AND  STEMS  AND  DOGWOOD  BOLTS 


A.  G.  HALL 


Good  advice  to  the  owner  of  a  small 
tract  of  woodland  is :  "Stop,  look,  and 
know  before  you  go  into  the  woods 
with  your  ax." 

A  Florida  farmer  thought  he  had  60 
acres  of  quite  worthless  woods — spindly 
pines  and  dogwood  trees — because  he 
had  not  taken  the  time  to  find  out  that 
sound  dogwood  bolts  were  in  demand 
by  manufacturers  of  shuttle  blocks  for 
the  textile  industry.  He  consulted  a 


farm  forester,  fortunately,  before  he 
cleared  his  "worthless"  land  for  pas- 
ture. Instead  of  being  a  liability,  the 
trees  netted  him  $40  a  cord.  Today 
that  farmer  is  in  the  business  of  raising 
dogwood  for  shuttle  blocks. 

Similarly,  individual  walnut  trees, 
sometimes  worth  from  $50  to  several 
hundred  dollars  each,  are  often  saved 
from  the  fuel-wood  pile  by  the  timely 
advice  of  a  county  agent,  extension  for- 


Roots  and  Stems  and  Dogwood  Bolts 


177 


ester,  farm  forester,  or  buyer  of  walnut 
veneer  logs. 

Very  often  the  landowner  has  to  be 
reminded  that  the  plants  of  the  for- 
est— all  plants,  not  just  the  trees — are 
composed  of  many  parts  into  which 
nature  has  placed  special  properties  or 
substances.  The  key  to  successful  utili- 
zation of  these  many  plants  is  to  deter- 
mine to  what  economic  uses  their  spe- 
cial attributes  are  best  adapted  for  the 
greatest  return.  A  man  also  needs  to 
know  the  markets  and  the  best  means 
of  producing  and  harvesting  the  prod- 
ucts for  continuous  crops.  The  owner 
of  large  tracts  can  concentrate  on  one 
or  two  products,  like  sawlogs  and  pulp- 
wood,  but  the  owner  of  a  small 
property  often  must  supplement  the 
income  from  his  main  product  with  the 
income  from  several  minor  products. 

The  best  sources  of  information  are 
the  State  and  Federal  agricultural 
agencies  and  the  trade  associations,  be- 
cause they  are  in  the  business  of  dis- 
covering new  and  improved  uses  of 
forest  products. 

Roots  and  stems  of  plants  may  yield 
food,  fiber,  fuel,  drugs,  dyes,  gums  and 
resins,  and  wood  specialties. 

Leaves  may  contain  oils  and  dyes  or 
special  fibers  for  special  uses.  They 
may  have  decorative  value,  or  they  may 
be  ideal  for  composting. 

The  bark  may  be  a  source  of  cork, 
tannins,  drugs,  fiber,  fuel. 

Flowers,  besides  their  decorative 
value,  may  also  produce  oils. 

The  fruits  are  important  for  food  or 
oils.  They  might  be  marketed  for  their 
seed  or  for  use  as  decorations. 

The  forest-land  owner,  therefore, 
loses  nothing  by  taking  the  time  to  find 
out  the  full  possibilities  of  his  land,  but 
he  stands  to  lose  present  and  future 
values  if  he  makes  a  hasty  move. 

Planning  for  maximum  use  of  a 
wooded  area  requires,  first,  a  complete 
inventory,  not  only  of  the  trees  and 
woody  plants  but  also  of  the  small  herbs 
and  other  vegetation  that  form  the 
forest  understory. 

Few  are  the  woodland  products  that 
do  not  have  some  utility. 

802062° — 49 13 


FROM  THE  ROOTS  come  quite  a  num- 
ber of  products. 

Recently  I  received  a  request  from  a 
New  Jersey  florist  for  a  supply  of  Os- 
munda  fern,  a  fairly  common  plant  in 
the  swamps  and  wet  woods  of  the  East 
and  Northeast.  The  florist  was  seeking 
a  source  of  the  plant  because  he  wanted 
to  use  its  roots  in  the  making  of  com- 
post for  growing  orchids. 

Ginseng,  another  plant  of  the  forest 
floor,  occurs  in  shady,  well-drained  lo- 
cations in  the  hardwood  forests  from 
Maine  to  Minnesota  and  southward 
into  the  mountains  of  the  Garolinas 
and  Georgia.  An  export  trade  in  gin- 
seng has  existed  in  this  country  for 
more  than  a  century;  the  average  an- 
nual value  of  the  ginseng  root  for  the 
Oriental  market  is  about  one  million 
dollars.  Ginseng  is  now  cultivated,  but 
the  wild  product  found  in  the  wood- 
lands is  highly  favored  in  the  trade  and 
brings  the  highest  prices.  Forest  plant- 
ings of  ginseng,  while  slower  growing 
than  those  in  artificial  shade,  are  less 
expensive  to  establish  and  require  less 
attention. 

Sassafras  root  finds  a  limited  sale  at 
roadside  stands  to  persons  to  whom  the 
use  of  a  tonic  of  sassafras  tea  is  tradi- 
tional. This  is  a  pin-money  product. 
But  both  the  root  and  the  stem  are 
used  for  the  extraction  of  oils  for  the 
flavoring  of  root  beers  and  some  pro- 
prietary medicines.  The  oil  is  used  also 
to  produce  an  artificial  "heliotrope" 
for  the  manufacture  of  perfumes. 

The  pitch-laden  wood  of  the  roots 
of  some  of  the  southern  pines,  because 
of  their  high  inflammability,  reach  the 
market  as  "lighter  knots"  or  "lighter" 
wood.  Sure  to  blaze  when  they  are  ex- 
posed to  flame,  they  are  ideal  for  use 
in  fireplaces. 

Stumps  and  roots  of  the  resinous 
species  have  also  found  a  market  by 
the  ton  in  the  South.  A  special  process 
has  been  developed  for  extracting  the 
resin.  And  owners  of  "worked  out"  tur- 
pentine stands  have  been  able  to  real- 
ize a  profit  from  clearing  out  the  dead 
and  dying  trees. 

During  the  Second  World  War,  the 


178 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


impossibility  of  importing  the  foreign 
briar  into  this  country  for  the  manu- 
facture of  smoking  pipes  led  to  a  re- 
vival of  an  old  southern  industry.  In 
North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  pipe 
blocks  were  made  from  laurel  and  rho- 
dodendron burls,  the  large,  abnormal 
growths  of  hard  wood  that  appear  at 
the  root  collar  of  the  shrubs.  At  that 
time,  the  burls  were  sold  for  10  to  12 
dollars  a  ton. 

Similarly,  the  heavy  burl  growth  at 
the  root  collar  of  the  western  manzan- 
ita  was  developed  into  pipe  materials. 
The  market  for  those  products  fell  off 
after  the  war,  but  burl  growth,  because 
of  its  intricate  design  and  generally 
hard  wood,  has  a  limited  market  for 
specialty  items. 

THE  STEMS  yield  items  that  many 
of  us  are  not  aware  of. 

Many  trees,  often  individuals  of  a 
species  rather  than  a  whole  stand,  have 
special  uses  worth  investigating  be- 
fore the  tree  is  consigned  to  the  sawmill 
or  pile  of  fuel  wood.  The  veneer  in- 
dustry is  particularly  interested  in  these 
special  uses.  Frequently  the  butt  log 
of  an  old,  sound  walnut  tree  will  be 
worth  many  times  for  veneer  what  it 
would  bring  as  a  sawlog.  The  prices 
sometimes  realized — running  into  a 
thousand  dollars  or  more  for  one  tree — 
warrant  investigation. 

Other  hardwoods  may  also  find  a 
veneer  market — oak,  yellow-poplar, 
redgum,  maple,  and  the  cottonwood, 
among  them. 

To  bring  the  highest  prices,  veneer 
logs  or  bolts  should  be  straight,  sym- 
metrical, large,  and  free  of  defects. 

Likewise  in  demand  is  eastern  red- 
cedar,  the  tree  from  which  pencils, 
cedar  lining  for  chests,  and  some  insect 
repellents  are  made.  Large  redcedar 
is  eagerly  sought  by  manufacturers  of 
cedar  chests;  and  small  stock — of  the 
fence-post  variety — will  be  purchased 
by  the  pencil-block  companies.  Even 
the  sawdust  of  the  tree,  if  produced  in 
quantity,  is  the  source  of  cedar  oil. 

Baseball  bats  are  made  from  young, 
second-growth  white  ash;  wood  from 


old  trees  is  usually  too  fine-grained  and 
brittle  for  the  purpose.  Hence  the 
owner  of  a  stand  of  young  ash  may 
often  realize  a  considerably  greater  in- 
come from  the  sale  of  ash  bolts  than 
from  logs  for  lumber.  Before  cutting  his 
ash  into  the  short  40-inch  bolts  required 
by  bat  manufacturers,  he  should  check 
with  the  buyers  to  determine  whether 
his  wood  meets  specifications.  About 
750,000  board  feet  of  ash  is  used  annu- 
ally to  keep  baseball  teams  supplied. 

A  somewhat  similar  market  is  the 
one  for  handle  stock.  Good  handles  for 
striking  and  lifting  tools  require  quali- 
ties not  often  found  in  sawed  boards. 
Consequently  they  are  produced  from 
bolts  or  short  logs  of  hickory  and  ash. 
Samples  should  be  sent  to  the  manu- 
facturers before  extensive  harvesting  is 
undertaken. 

Excelsior  bolts  cut  from  aspen,  bass- 
wood,  cottonwood,  white  pine,  buck- 
eye, and  some  other  woods  find  a  ready 
market  as  packing  material.  In  Michi- 
gan alone,  chiefly  in  the  Upper  Penin- 
sula, 49,554  cords  of  excelsior  bolts 
were  marketed  in  1946.  For  the  Lake 
States,  the  total  was  95,463  cords,  twice 
the  amount  in  1936. 

American  farmers  use  an  estimated 
500  million  wooden  fence  posts  annu- 
ally, but  probably  fewer  than  5  per- 
cent of  them  are  given  preservative 
treatment  to  lengthen  their  useful  life. 
For  untreated  posts,  the  more  decay- 
resistant  woods  must  be  used,  but  their 
life  can  be  considerably  extended  by 
simple  treating  methods.  For  the  less 
resistant  species,  treatment  is  neces- 
sary if  satisfactory  use  is  to  be  obtained. 
The  woodland  owner,  then,  will  do 
well  to  establish  his  fence-post  business 
on  a  quality  basis. 

Small  poles,  likewise,  are  a  market- 
able item  in  farming  areas.  And  where 
vegetable  gardening  is  carried  on  in 
areas  with  limited  wood  supply,  the 
woodland  owner  may  also  find  a  mar- 
ket for  small  but  straight  material  for 
bean  poles. 

Sound,  clear  white  oak  is  the  source 
of  tight  cooperage,  the  barrels  used  to 
hold  liquids.  The  supply  of  this  mate- 


Roots  and  Stems  and  Dogwood  Bolts 


179 


rial  has  reached  an  all-time  low,  and 
consequently  the  prices  for  good  coop- 
erage stock  are  at  an  all-time  high. 
While  other  types  of  containers  have 
taken  the  place  of  wooden  ones  for 
some  liquids,  there  are  still  others,  no- 
tably whiskey,  for  which  a  suitable  sub- 
stitute for  wood  has  not  yet  been  found. 
The  owner  of  any  of  the  various  species 
of  white  oak  should  investigate  this 
market. 

Another  little-known  product  of  the 
woodland  is  basket  willow.  The  Amer- 
ican green  willow,  a  tree  of  the  clay 
loam  soils  of  the  East  and  South,  often 
grows  where  few  other  commercial 
products  will  grow — in  lands  subject  to 
flooding  and  on  the  borders  of  lakes, 
streams,  and  rivers.  The  marketable 
product  is  the  rods,  or  young  shoots, 
that  spring  from  well-established  root- 
stocks  or  stumps.  Willow  may  be  prop- 
agated by  setting  out  cuttings  about 
10  inches  long  in  the  early  spring.  The 
cuttings  root  easily  in  the  moist  earth 
and  within  a  few  years  have  developed 
well-rooted  stock  from  which  rods  can 
be  harvested  each  year.  Peeled  willow 
brings  the  highest  prices  in  the  basket 
market.  Before  undertaking  any  exten- 
sive propagation,  the  owner  should  be 
sure  a  local  market  exists,  however;  the 
industry  is  diminishing  in  this  country. 

The  California-laurel,  or  the  Ore- 
gon-myrtle, neither  a  laurel  nor  a  myr- 
tle, belongs  to  a  family  that  includes  the 
eastern  sassafras  and  the  "loblolly  bays" 
of  the  South.  It  grows  from  south- 
western Oregon  to  the  southern  border 
of  California.  Its  beautiful  grain  makes 
it  valuable  for  cabinet  and  finishing 
work.  The  wood,  therefore,  becomes  a 
specialty  item  that  brings  a  better  price 
for  special  uses  than  it  does  as  lumber. 

Many  farmers  use  15  to  20  cords  of 
wood  each  year;  as  a  home-use  prod- 
uct, therefore,  fuel  wood  stands  high 
on  the  list.  For  the  market  it  may  be  a 
profitable  source  of  income.  With  good 
roads  and  easy  transportation,  wood- 
land owners  find  it  profitable  to  haul 
fuel  wood  15  miles  or  more  to  the  city 
markets.  In  most  large  cities,  fireplace 
wood  is  a  luxury  item  that  sells  at  lux- 


ury prices.  Where  the  woodland  pro- 
duces more  fuel  wood  than  the  farmer 
can  use  himself,  the  fuel-wood  market 
provides  an  outlet  for  the  wood  which 
might  otherwise  be  wasted.  In  such 
cases,  it  is  well  for  him  to  establish  a 
steady  year-round  market  and  to  serv- 
ice that  market  with  sound,  high- 
calorie  wood. 

Too  few  wood  sellers  make  a  point 
of  marketing  quality  wood.  Those  who 
do  are  assured  of  a  group  of  satisfied 
customers.  The  fuel  value  of  wood 
varies  considerably;  generally,  it  is 
highest  in  the  heavier  woods.  One 
standard  cord  of  such  wood  as  oak, 
maple,  hickory,  and  beech  is  equal  to 
roughly  a  ton  of  coal  in  heat  value ;  the 
heat  value  of  lighter  woods  such  as 
cedar,  spruce,  soft  pine,  poplar,  and 
basswood  is  about  half  as  much.  Local 
custom  and  uses  determine  the  sizes 
into  which  the  fuel  wood  should  be  cut, 
but  there  is  one  unalterable  standard — 
the  wood  must  be  thoroughly  dry. 
Hence,  the  owner  must  plan  his  work 
so  that  the  wood  is  cut  several  months 
before  he  intends  to  sell  it. 

Cutting  fuel  wood,  if  done  wisely, 
can  be  a  way  to  improve  a  poor  timber 
stand.  Trees  that  should  be  cut  be- 
cause they  will  never  make  good  tim- 
ber or  are  interfering  with  the  growth 
of  others  may  make  excellent  fuel.. 
Tops  and  heavy  limbs  of  trees  cut  for 
other  purposes  often  can  be  converted 
into  cordwood  for  the  market  or  home 
use.  Slabs,  edgings,  and  sawmill  trim- 
mings also  may  have  fuel  value. 

Among  the  other  stem  products  are 
those  derived  from  the  sap  or  liquids 
in  the  trees.  Chief  among  them  is  the 
resin  or  gum  of  the  longleaf  and  slash 
pines  of  the  South.  Operating  a  tur- 
pentine orchard  is  often  a  major  enter- 
prise, but  it  also  is  a  minor  enterprise 
on  thousands  of  woodlands.  If  good 
turpentining  practices  are  followed  on 
the  small  holdings,  as  on  the  large  ones, 
the  producing  life  of  the  tree  can  be 
extended,  and  after  the  tree  has  been 
worked  out  it  will  still  yield  valuable 
products  in  the  form  of  pulpwood, 
fence  posts,  cross  ties,  or  sawlogs. 


i8o 

A  little-known  gum  product  is  that 
produced  by  the  sweetgum  or  redgum 
tree,  one  of  the  most  common  hard- 
woods of  the  South,  although  few 
farmers  or  landowners  have  much  use 
for  it.  Farmers  in  Clarke  County,  Ala., 
however,  have  developed  a  $200,000 
business  in  the  sweet  gum  from  the  tree. 
Known  as  "storax,"  the  gum  is  gath- 
ered much  as  is  the  gum  of  the  naval 
stores  pines  and,  processed,  is  used  for 
adhesives,  salves,  incense,  and  perfume. 

The  production  of  maple  sirup  and 
sugar  is  confined  mostly  to  New  Eng- 
land, New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Maryland,  and  the  Lake  States.  The 
sugar  maple  tree  is  the  best  producer, 
although  red  and  silver  maples,  which 
yield  about  one-half  the  sugar  content 
of  the  sugar  maple,  can  also  be  used. 
For  commercial  operations,  it  is  de- 
sirable to  have  at  least  500  to  1,000 
trees  that  can  be  tapped.  Owners  of 
smaller  numbers  of  sugar  trees,  how- 
ever, can  combine  their  output  for 
processing.  Mature  trees  are  excellent 
sap  producers  as  long  as  they  remain 
vigorous,  even  though  their  rate  of 
growth  may  be  slow.  A  seasonal  opera- 
tion, the  making  of  maple  sirup  em- 
ploys farm  labor  profitably  for  2  to  5 
weeks  each  year  when  the  sap  begins 
to  flow,  generally  from  February  15  to 
April  15.  Drawing  off  the  sap  does 
little  harm  to  the  trees.  Trees  that  have 
been  tapped  for  years  still  can  yield 
good  sawlogs  and  other  wood  products. 
The  sugar  stock  must  be  protected  from 
fire  and  grazing. 

Minor  markets  are  also  found  for 
the  resin  of  the  balsam  fir  and  the  bark 
and  twigs  of  the  black  birch,  from 
which  medicinal  products  are  derived. 

Often  stem  products  involve  the 
whole  plant.  For  example,  in  many 
parts  of  the  country  farmers  and  others 
supplement  their  incomes  by  selling 
large  fern  fronds  and  attractive  weed 
plants  to  florists  for  use  in  bouquets. 

Sphagnum  moss,  because  of  its  good 
water-holding  ability — it  is  much  more 
absorbent  than  cotton — often  finds  a 
ready  market  at  forest  nurseries  and 
gardeners'  supply  houses.  It  is  ideal  for 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


packing  seedlings  for  shipment  and  as 
a  medium  for  seed  germination.  It  is 
a  long-stemmed  moss  that  is  harvested 
in  commercial  quantities  in  Wisconsin 
and  New  Jersey.  Harvesting  is  done  by 
taking  the  massed  moss  from  the  water 
and  permitting  it  to  dry  in  the  sun. 

Spanish  moss,  that  sombre,  dull- 
green  decoration  found  on  trees  in  the 
lowlands  of  the  South,  is  also  a  mar- 
ketable item.  The  moss  clings  to  the 
tree  only  for  support  and  does  the  tree 
no  harm  unless  it  covers  it  so  com- 
pletely that  it  prevents  development  of 
leaves  and  buds.  It  derives  its  living 
from  the  air.  Easily  gathered,  it  finds 
a  market  as  packing  material. 

The  cork  oak  is  a  native  of  the  shores 
of  the  western  Mediterranean,  but  it 
has  been  found  to  thrive  if  planted  in 
the  United  States  in  regions  where  the 
mean  annual  temperature  ranges  from 
50°  to  70°  F.  The  tree  has  several  uses. 
Being  evergreen,  it  makes  a  desirable 
ornamental  tree ;  its  acorns  make  good 
feed  for  hogs;  its  bark  yields  cork, 
which  can  be  stripped  from  healthy 
trees  without  injury  to  the  trees.  The 
tree  is  adaptable  to  many  types  of  soil 
if  drainage  is  good.  It  may  be  grown 
from  acorns  or  from  nursery  stock.  The 
cork  harvest  can  begin  when  trees  are 
13  to  20  years  old.  The  markets  for 
cork  are  good,  and  the  cork-using  in- 
dustry in  this  country  is  encouraging 
the  establishment  of  plantations. 

The  bark  of  western  buckthorn,  or 
cascara  sagrada,  which  ranges  from 
Puget  Sound  southward  into  Lower 
California,  is  used  for  its  medicinal  val- 
ue. In  Oregon  and  Washington,  collec- 
tion of  the  bark  is  often  an  important 
local  industry.  Cut  stumps  generally 
sprout  vigorously,  yielding  additional 
crops  if  conservatively  managed.  The 
wood  is  of  no  commercial  value. 

AMONG  THE  LEAF  PRODUCTS  we  can 
include  Christmas  trees,  because  their 
evergreen  leaves  or  needles  are  of  most 
importance  in  their  sale  and  use. 
Christmas  trees  in  quantity  are  rarely 
the  products  of  a  small  woodland. 
More  and  more,  the  Christmas-tree 


Roots  and  Stems  and  Dogwood  Bolts 


181 


market  is  being  served  by  owners  of 
plantations  who  have  set  the  trees  out 
for  the  express  purpose  of  growing 
Christmas  trees.  A  large  number  also 
come  from  thinnings  in  plantations 
established  for  other  purposes.  The 
Christmas-tree  industry  is  discussed  in 
other  articles  in  this  book.  It  is  well 
here,  however,  to  remind  the  small 
landowner  that  the  Christmas-tree 
market  often  is  an  attractive  one  for 
the  disposal  of  small  evergreens  from 
crowded  plantations  and  from  over- 
stocked natural  seeding  of  fields.  If 
evergreen  timber  harvesting  is  done  at 
the  right  time  of  the  year,  well-formed 
tops  may  be  dressed  up  for  the  Christ- 
mas-tree market. 

Branches  of  evergreen  trees,  notably 
those  of  the  longleaf  pine  of  the  South, 
are  eagerly  sought  for  Christmas  deco- 
ration. To  a  lesser  degree  other  ever- 
green boughs  likewise  find  a  place  in 
the  Christmas  market. 

Needles  of  pine,  spruce,  and  fir  have 
a  fragrance  that  helps  create  a  spe- 
cialty market  for  balsam  pillows.  While 
the  market  is  limited,  it  can  provide 
more  than  pin  money  for  persons  liv- 
ing near  resorts  where  such  pillows  are 
purchased  for  souvenirs  and  gifts. 

In  the  mountain  industries  of  the 
South,  pine  needles  are  used  along 
with  raffia  and  other  weaving  materials 
for  baskets  and  small  hand-woven  ar- 
ticles and  novelties. 

The  leaves  of  the  wintergreen  plant, 
found  growing  in  the  woods  of  the  East 
and  North,  is  one  of  the  sources  of 
wintergreen  flavor,  similar  to  that  of 
the  black  birch  inner  bark.  Most  of 
the  wintergreen  flavoring  is  now  pro- 
duced synthetically,  but  the  natural- 
plant  extract  is  used  to  a  limited  extent. 

The  eucalyptus  tree,  several  species 
of  which  have  been  introduced  on  the 
west  coast,  is  a  multipurpose  tree  suit- 
able for  fuel  wood  and  lumber  in  about 
25  years.  Oil  from  its  leaves  is  used  in 
making  medicines  and  perfumes. 

Leaves  of  the  eastern  white-cedar 
likewise  produce  marketable  oils. 

When  no  other  use  can  be  found  for 
them,  hardwood  leaves  may  be  utilized 


in  nature's  own  fashion  for  compost. 
The  compost  pit  or  pile  may  also  find 
a  market,  especially  if  the  landowner 
is  near  a  city  where  flower  and  vege- 
table gardeners  create  a  demand  for  it. 
Galax  is  an  attractive  evergreen  herb 
which  grows  in  the  open  woods  from 
Virginia  to  Georgia.  Its  leaves  are  used 
by  florists  for  decoration.  Often  over- 
looked by  woodland  owners,  it  can  be 
a  cash  crop  if  harvested  conservatively. 
Its  creeping  rootstocks  make  it  rela- 
tively easy  to  propagate  and  retain  on 
woodland  soils. 

FRUIT  CROPS,  for  our  purpose  here, 
range  from  cones  to  mushrooms. 

Boys  and  girls  of  the  4-H  Clubs  in 
Emanuel  County,  in  Georgia,  earned 
$1,000  in  1948  by  collecting  1,000 
bushels  of  longleaf  pine  cones.  The 
cones  were  sold  to  the  State  Depart- 
ment of  Forestry  for  seed  for  the  for- 
est nursery.  Seed,  particularly  that  of 
conifers,  is  in  great  demand  by  forest- 
tree  nurseries  throughout  the  country. 
As  planting  programs  expand,  the  de- 
mand will  grow.  Markets  are  found  not 
only  at  the  State  nurseries  but  among 
the  private  nurseries  and  others.  The 
woodland  owner  with  a  good  seed  crop 
should  look  to  these  markets,  learn  the 
specifications  for  collecting,  storing, 
and  shipping  cones  and  other  fruit  that 
may  be  in  demand.  The  markets  may 
not  be  found  locally,  but  the  State  for- 
ester or  extension  forester  will  be  able 
to  say  where  they  are. 

Cones  also  can  be  sold  for  decorative 
purposes  and  for  use  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  novelties.  Small  cones,  such  as 
those  of  the  hemlock,  are  tied  into 
wreaths  of  evergreen  material  or  artifi- 
cial greenery  for  Christmas  use.  Larger 
cones,  in  groups  of  three  to  five,  be- 
come wall  decorations.  Others  may 
be  painted,  dyed,  or  otherwise  orna- 
mented for  use  as  Christmas-tree  trim- 
mings and  window  hangings  or  desk 
and  table  novelties.  Craft  shops  are  the 
markets  for  such  materials,  but  the 
woodland  owner  or  his  family  may  de- 
velop a  winter-evening  pastime  into  a 
paying  proposition. 


ite 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Tree  fruits  for  human  food  are  prod- 
ucts of  such  trees  as  the  hazel,  hick- 
ories, pecans,  walnuts,  and,  to  a  lim- 
ited degree,  the  pines.  When  available 
in  quantity,  they  constitute  marketable 
items,  but  even  the  yield  from  an  in- 
dividual tree  often  provides  food  for 
the  landowner. 

In  the  Tennessee  Valley,  the  har- 
vesting of  black  walnuts  for  the  mar- 
ket is  a  major  enterprise  each  fall. 
Around  700,000  pounds  of  walnut  ker- 
nels are  produced  annually  by  farmers 
in  six  counties  in  southwestern  Vir- 
ginia and  in  eastern  Tennessee.  While 
efforts  are  being  made  to  have  land- 
owners plant  and  cultivate  varieties  of 
black  walnuts  of  higher  yield,  the  mar- 
ket for  wild  walnuts  continues  to  exist. 
Walnuts  may  be  sold  in  the  shells  to 
shelling  plants  or  the  meats  can  be  ex- 
tracted by  farm  labor. 

The  persimmon  and  pawpaw  gen- 
erally find  no  market,  but  are  ideal  for 
home  consumption. 

Other  fruits  for  home  consumption 
and  occasionally  for  the  market  are 
mulberries,  wild  blueberries,  huckle- 
berries, raspberries,  blackberries,  and 
(in  the  Northeast  and  Lake  States) 
wild  cranberries.  A  large  amount  of 
blueberries  as  well  as  huckleberries 
come  from  wild  plants,  in  the  Northern 
and  New  England  States  chiefly,  but 
also  from  the  Middle  Atlantic,  Appa- 
lachian, and  Southern  States. 

Wild  grapes  and  wild  cherries  sel- 
dom find  a  market  as  such,  but  those 
fruits  provide  the  sources  for  home- 
made jams  and  jellies  and  wines.  The 
jams  and  jellies  make  good  items  for 
roadside  markets. 

Mistletoes  are  flowering  parasites. 
The  dwarf  mistletoe  of  the  West  is 
very  destructive  of  the  host  pines  on 
which  it  grows,  but  the  larger  mistle- 
toe, used  for  Christmas  decorations 
and  common  in  the  South,  is  less  dam- 
aging to  the  hardwoods  on  which  it 
grows.  The  whole  plant  is  harvested — 
stems  and  leaves,  with  or  without  the 
flowers  or  fruit.  Sprigs  with  fruit  on 
them  generally  bring  the  higher  prices. 

Holly,  a  favorite  Christmas  green, 


provides  a  seasonal  livelihood  for  many 
woodland  owners.  An  attractive  forest 
or  ornamental  tree,  it  can  be  ruined  by 
overzealous  cutting,  although  it  is  a 
hardy  tree — in  its  adapted  range — and 
has  few  insect  and  disease  enemies. 
For  commercial  cuttings,  special  care 
must  be  taken  to  prune  individual  trees 
lightly.  The  crops  should  be  harvested 
with  tree  trimmers — not  an  ax,  saw,  or 
corn  knife.  Cuts  should  be  made  at 
junctions  of  main  and  lateral  branches ; 
the  cuts  should  be  smooth  and  clean. 
Generally,  trees  do  not  produce  ber- 
ries until  they  are  about  10  years  old, 
and  then  only  the  female  ones.  A  spe- 
cial warning  about  holly:  Country 
people  should  cut  holly  only  on  their 
property;  city  people  should  buy  holly 
branches  from  reputable  dealers  who 
can  give  assurance  that  no  vandalism 
was  involved  in  gathering  them. 

Mushrooms  are  classified  as  a  fruit 
crop  because  the  stem  and  cap,  which 
are  harvested  and  eaten,  are  really  the 
fruiting  body  of  a  ground  fungus. 
Mushrooms  are  exceedingly  rapid  in 
growth;  they  spring  up  overnight  fol- 
lowing a  spring  or  fall  rain.  If  they  are 
not  picked  within  24  hours,  they  gen- 
erally start  to  decay.  When  they  occur 
in  small  quantities,  they  provide  food 
for  the  landowner's  table.  In  greater 
amounts,  they  may  be  sold  to  local  mar- 
kets or  provide  another  item  for  the 
roadside  stand.  It  is  important  that  the 
harvester  learn  to  identify  the  poison- 
ous and  nonpoisonous  varieties. 

WE  HAVE  SEEN  (mostly  by  example, 
for  there  are  many  other  salable  for- 
est products)  how  wide  a  scope  a  small 
forest  presents.  By  proper  husbandry, 
its  yields  and  values  can  be  increased. 

No  plant  in  the  forest  is  too  small  to 
be  considered;  no  part  of  the  plant  is 
too  insignificant  to  find  an  attractive 
market  or  home  use.  The  secret  of  suc- 
cess in  the  management  of  small  wood- 
lands may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 
Find  out  what  the  land  is  growing  and 
is  capable  of  growing;  discover  or  de- 
velop a  use  and  market  for  it;  learn 
what  the  plant  needs  for  its  best  devel- 


Cooperatives  and  Small  Woodlands 


183 


opment;  and  practice  intelligent  hus- 
bandry and  conservative  harvesting,  so 
that  continuing  crops  may  be  assured. 

A.  G.  HALL  is  forester  for  the  Amer- 
ican Forestry  Association  and  associate 
editor  of  the  magazine,  American  For- 
ests. Beginning  in  1933,  he  was  em- 
ployed with  the  Forest  Service  and 


with  the  States  of  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey  and,  during  the  war,  with 
the  War  Production  Board  on  prob- 
lems of  lumber  and  lumber  products. 
Since  1945,  with  the  American  For- 
estry Association,  he  has  conducted  a 
department  in  American  Forests  deal- 
ing with  the  problems  of  small-wood- 
land management. 


COOPERATIVES  AND  SMALL  WOODLANDS 

ALLEN  W.  BRATTON 


Seventy-six  cooperatives  in  26  States 
have  attempted  to  solve  some  or  all  of 
the  problems  of  growing,  harvesting, 
processing,  marketing,  and  purchasing 
forest  products.  Mostly  they  have  been 
small,  local  organizations.  Thirty  have 
handled  forest  products  as  the  major 
part  of  their  business.  Pulpwood,  logs, 
fence  posts,  fuel  wood,  and  Christmas 
trees  are  the  products  most  frequently 
handled.  Two  cooperatives  have  proc- 
essed and  marketed  maple  products 
exclusively,  and  one  has  dealt  with 
naval  stores. 

Not  all  of  the  76  cooperatives  are 
now  in  existence.  Several  failed.  Not 
more  than  one  in  every  four  is  active 
and  is  following  its  original  objectives. 
A  few,  established  to  serve  a  special 
and  temporary  service,  have  done  the 
job  and  wound  up  their  businesses. 
Several  are  inactive ;  their  services  may 
be  less  important  now  to  their  members 
than  when  markets  were  harder  for  in- 
dividuals to  find. 

Some  of  the  forest-product  coopera- 
tives, the  pioneers,  have  contributed  to 
better  forest  practices.  They  are  estab- 
lishing invaluable  patterns  for  future 
organizations  that  are  bound  to  spring 
up.  In  that  they  are  marketing  or  pur- 
chasing or  service  groups,  they  follow 
generally  the  pattern  of  agricultural 
cooperatives,  which,  it  is  estimated, 
handle  about  one-fifth  of  the  products 
sold  by  farmers  and  about  one-sixth  of 
the  farmers'  expenditures  for  supplies 
and  equipment,  and  which  number 


more  than  10,000,  have  more  than  5 
million  members,  and  do  a  volume  of 
business  of  over  6  billion  dollars  a  year. 

The  problems  that  the  forest  coop- 
eratives have  tried  to  solve  develop 
from  the  smallness  of  the  small  wood- 
land, which,  as  a  rule,  produces  only  a 
part  of  its  owner's  income.  It  is  usually 
cut-over  at  long  intervals  when  there 
happens  to  be  a  chance  for  a  cash  sale. 
Most  of  the  owners  have  acquired  no 
real  knowledge  of  forest  management. 
They  tend  to  assume  that  the  growth 
of  trees,  like  the  succession  of  the  sea- 
sons, is  something  they  can  do  nothing 
about.  The  woodland  now  does  not 
produce  enough  income  to  justify 
much  effort  in  trying  to  find  out  how 
to  manage  it.  Owners  have  cut  what- 
ever happened  to  grow  on  the  land 
whenever  they  needed  money  or  con- 
sidered the  woodland  ready  to  cut — 
once  or  twice  in  a  lifetime.  More  and 
more  of  their  time  has  gone  elsewhere, 
and  many  of  them  have  lost  the  skills 
of  the  woodsman.  Much  antiquated 
equipment  is  still  in  use  because  mod- 
ern logging  devices  are  too  expensive 
for  small  owners  to  buy  and  operate 
for  their  small  logging  jobs. 

Nearly  all  woodland  owners  are  oc- 
casionally faced  with  the  problem  of 
marketing  products  from  their  lands. 
Though  they  may  cut  timber  for  posts, 
poles,  fuel  wood,  and  lumber,  it  is  rare 
that  surpluses  do  not  develop,  espe- 
cially in  the  managed  woodlands. 
Hardwoods  may  be  abundant  where 


i84 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


softwoods  are  needed,  or  only  fuel- 
wood  material  where  sawlogs  are 
needed  for  lumber.  Specialized  knowl- 
edge and  training  are  required  to  mar- 
ket well  the  products  of  the  forest. 

The  very  fact  that  small  quantities 
are  produced  places  the  seller  at  a  dis- 
advantage, particularly  in  producing 
sawlogs  and  pulpwood  that  are  nor- 
mally marketed  in  large  volume.  The 
owner  whose  woodlands  represent  a 
relatively  minor  factor  in  his  total  busi- 
ness cannot  be  an  expert  in  marketing 
forest  products.  If  the  highly  useful 
service  of  local  sawmills  in  custom  saw- 
ing special  items  is  not  available,  the 
woodland  owner  must  sell  his  logs  and 
purchase  the  needed  lumber  or  other 
products  at  retail.  To  farmers,  this  is 
not  an  unusual  experience,  for  they 
have  long  purchased  supplies  at  retail 
and  sold  products  at  wholesale.  Agri- 
cultural cooperatives  have  been  mak- 
ing changes  in  practices,  however. 

The  forest-products  cooperatives 
generally  may  be  grouped  as  branches 
and  subsidiaries  of  large  agricultural 
cooperatives,  cooperative  stores,  mar- 
keting associations,  processing  cooper- 
atives, special-purpose  cooperatives, 
and  organizations  that  function  as  co- 
operatives. 

SEVERAL  LARGE  agricultural  coopera- 
tives handle  forest  products.  Most  of 
them  are  purchasing  organizations  that 
supply  farmers  with  lumber,  posts, 
boxes,  and  crates  for  agricultural  prod- 
ucts. Large-scale  purchasing  and  in 
some  cases  manufacture  of  agricultural 
containers  by  the  cooperative  mean 
savings  to  members. 

The  large  cooperatives  should  be 
able  to  contribute  much  toward  the 
advancement  of  forestry.  They  can 
short-cut  many  difficulties  faced  by 
small  local  cooperatives  because  of 
their  financial  stability,  established 
educational  programs,  wide  geograph- 
ic coverage,  lower  management  costs, 
and  simplified  organization  proce- 
dures. Those  characteristics  strongly 
favor  the  larger,  established  coopera- 
tives; many  of  the  small  independent 


have    failed    for 


forest    cooperatives 
want  of  them. 

Branches  and  subsidiaries  of  large 
cooperatives  have  some  disadvantages. 
Forest  management,  to  be  scientific 
and  entirely  practical,  requires  special 
training  and  experience.  That  is  not 
always  given  proper  consideration  by 
those  responsible  for  the  policies  and 
business  of  large  cooperatives  con- 
cerned only  in  a  minor  way  with  for- 
est products.  Not  all  of  the  members  of 
the  large  agricultural  cooperatives  are 
likely  to  be  forest-land  owners  and  di- 
rectly interested  in  that  part  of  the 
business — the  dilution  of  interest  on  the 
part  of  both  management  and  mem- 
bers weakens  the  forestry  program. 

Most  cooperatives  have  not  had  a 
firm  policy  in  regard  to  conservative 
cutting  practices.  The  result  has  been 
to  continue  and  even  accelerate  the 
usual  short-sighted  methods  of  exploi- 
tation where  good  markets  develop. 

A  large  agricultural  cooperative  that 
has  made  progress  toward  improving 
forest  practices  is  the  Farmer's  Federa- 
tion of  Asheville,  N.  G.  It  is  a  dual- 
purpose  marketing  and  purchasing  co- 
operative. In  1930,  it  established  a 
forest-products  department  and  then 
opened  a  log  yard  at  each  of  its  17 
warehouses.  It  has  marketed  as  much 
as  1,000  carloads  of  forest  products  a 
year.  The  three  objectives  of  its  forest 
program  are:  To  obtain  agreement 
from  all  landowner-operators  to  give 
full  cooperation  to  State  and  National 
agencies  in  fire  prevention  and  sup- 
pression and  to  adopt  cutting  practices 
based  on  sustained  annual  yields;  to 
get  the  same  agreement  with  operators 
who  are  not  the  landowners  (often 
financed  and  otherwise  assisted  by  the 
association)  ;  and  to  introduce  im- 
proved methods  of  cutting,  logging, 
and  manufacture  of  timber  products 
to  obtain  the  maximum  utilization. 

The  forest-products  department  has 
handled  logs,  posts,  pulpwood,  tannin- 
extract  wood,  chemical  wood,  cross 
ties,  poles,  and  lumber.  Concentration 
yards  make  possible  the  accumulation 
of  truck  and  carload  units  for  market. 


Cooperatives  and  Small  Woodlands 


185 


The  Farmer's  Federation  has  been  suc- 
cessful in  its  program  of  forest-man- 
agement education.  It  has  worked 
closely  with  public  foresters  and  has 
sponsored  forward-looking  programs. 

COOPERATIVE  STORES  are  independ- 
ent associations  that,  incidentally  to 
other  business,  sell  forest  products  for 
members  and,  at  times,  for  non- 
members.  They  have  not  concerned 
themselves  with  the  methods  used  in 
harvesting  forest  products.  They  have 
obtained  better  prices  for  members 
than  individuals  could  command,  but 
the  results  have  been  overcutting  and 
liquidation  of  the  forest  resource. 

The  Rock  Cooperative  Co.,  Inc.,  of 
Rock,  Mich.,  was  organized  in  1913  to 
sell  agricultural  products  and  to  buy 
merchandise.  Later  the  cooperative 
also  undertook  to  market  forest  prod- 
ucts and  to  do  processing.  The  venture 
was  successful  in  marketing  agricul- 
tural products.  The  forest  products 
were  marketed  satisfactorily,  but  be- 
cause no  plan  was  made  to  provide  for 
sustained-yield  management,  the  co- 
operative has  virtually  cut  itself  out  of 
forest  products.  The  cooperative  sold 
$265,613  worth  of  logs  and  pulpwood 
in  1930,  but  sales  in  1943,  a  war  year, 
were  only  $21,000. 

THE  INDEPENDENT  marketing  co- 
operative is  the  type  most  frequently 
organized.  Such  cooperatives  have 
been  formed  primarily  for  collective 
marketing  of  the  forest  products  pro- 
duced by  members  who  are  encour- 
aged to  follow  approved  logging  and 
forestry  practices. 

They  have  enjoyed  a  degree  of  suc- 
cess in  getting  forestry  practiced  by 
members.  The  degree  has  been  limited 
because  none  of  the  cooperatives  has 
reached  an  impressive  proportion  of 
the  woodland  owners  in  the  area  it 
serves.  Such  a  cooperative  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  low  cost  of  organization  and 
operation.  Members  usually  have  a 
unity  of  purpose  as  a  local  organiza- 
tion, dealing  with  a  few  similar  prod- 
ucts and  problems. 


The  small  independent  forest  coop- 
eratives have  found  the  going  rough 
in  times  of  good  markets  for  stumpage. 
In  such  periods,  the  strong  stimulus  of 
a  marketing  service  has  been  needed 
less.  Because  they  are  small,  they  often 
lack  financial  stability  and  cannot  af- 
ford the  services  of  a  skilled,  full-time 
manager.  They  find  it  difficult  to  main- 
tain interest  of  members  during  pe- 
riods between  timber  harvests.  Several 
have  been  organized  without  adequate 
preparation.  Not  all  of  the  small  asso- 
ciations that  are  now  inactive  have 
failed.  Several  have  suspended  opera- 
tions during  the  period  when  markets 
are  good  enough  to  make  this  service 
of  less  current  interest.  These  dormant 
associations  expect  to  operate  again 
"when  times  are  right." 

This  type  of  cooperative  will  prob- 
ably continue  to  be  the  most  popular 
in  this  country.  It  should  be  pointed 
out,  however,  that  the  success  of  the 
small  forest  cooperative  is  sensitive  to 
the  degree  of  knowledge  its  members 
have  of  its  objectives  and  their  appre- 
ciation of  the  value  of  sound  forest 
management;  and  it  depends  on  their 
willingness  to  participate  actively  in 
the  work  of  the  cooperative. 

The  West  Virginia  Forest  Products 
Association,  for  example,  was  estab- 
lished in  1937  to  furnish  complete  for- 
est-management service  to  its  members, 
many  of  whom  are  nonresidents.  The 
association  has  tried  to  relieve  owners 
of  the  many  responsibilities  of  forest- 
land  ownership,  and  especially  the 
technical  aspects  of  managing  forest 
lands.  The  services  offered  include 
inventorying,  marking  and  selling  tim- 
ber, and  supervising  cutting  opera- 
tions. Intensive  management  practices 
are  followed  and  cutting  is  based  upon 
sustained-yield  principles.  The  associa- 
tion has  made  a  healthy  growth.  Dur- 
ing the  year  ended  October  1945,  the 
cooperative  managed  30,000  acres  of 
forest  land  bearing  100  million  board 
feet  of  timber.  It  sold  more  than  a  mil- 
lion feet  of  saw  timber  at  a  fee  of  about 
$1  per  thousand.  Plans  for  the  future 
include  the  ownership  of  some  manu- 


i86 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


facturing  equipment — a  trend  also 
noted  in  other  marketing  cooperatives 
that  have  established  themselves. 

FEW  ATTEMPTS  have  been  made  to 
organize  cooperative  associations  that 
would  provide  the  members  with  proc- 
essing facilities  as  well  as  with  techni- 
cal forestry  service  and  assistance  in 
marketing.  Such,  however,  are  the 
services  offered  by  the  largest  and  old- 
est forest  cooperative. 

Processing  cooperatives  have  several 
advantages.  The  ownership  of  a  plant 
and  equipment  provides  a  focal  point 
of  interest.  Manufacturing  profits  that 
usually  go  to  an  independent  processor 
are  retained  by  the  association.  Scaling 
and  grading  practices,  designed  to  give 
members  a  fair  return  for  products, 
can  be  easily  adopted.  The  volume  of 
business  makes  the  use  of  modern 
equipment  possible  with  the  result 
that  high-quality  products  can  be  man- 
ufactured efficiently.  Members  find  it 
possible  to  buy  materials  they  need  for 
their  own  use  readily  and  at  savings. 
Raw  products  can  be  exchanged  for 
needed  materials  and  the  development 
of  markets  for  all  sizes  and  qualities  of 
material  results  in  better  forest  use. 

Processing  cooperatives  are  faced 
with  more  problems  of  financing  and 
management  than  are  the  simpler 
forms  of  associations.  Considerable 
capital  must  be  raised  to  get  started. 
This  usually  means  borrowing  money 
and  meeting  payments  of  interest  and 
principal.  Management  is  more  com- 
plicated; besides  the  technical  prob- 
lems of  running  a  cooperative,  there 
are  also  the  problems  of  forest  man- 
agement, business  operation,  process- 
ing, and  selling. 

The  Otsego  Forest  Products  Coop- 
erative Association,  Inc.,  of  Coopers- 
town,  N.  Y.,  is  an  example  of  a  forest 
cooperative  that  offers  its  members 
services  ranging  from  forest  manage- 
ment through  the  marketing  of  fin- 
ished products.  Organized  in  1935,  the 
cooperative  was  assisted  through  loans 
from  the  Federal  Government  for  the 
construction  of  a  modern  sawmill  com- 


plete with  dry  kilns,  planer,  resaw,  and 
other  equipment.  It  has  nearly  1,000 
members,  mostly  farmers,  who  own 
31,000  acres  of  woodland,  which  bears 
50  million  board  feet  of  timber. 

The  Otsego  association  manufac- 
tures and  markets  more  than  2  million 
feet  of  lumber  a  year.  Cutting  is  on  a 
sustained-yield  basis.  A  substantial  part 
of  the  production,  especially  the  soft- 
wood products,  goes  back  to  members 
for  use  on  their  farms. 

The  adoption  of  forest  management, 
scientific  log  scaling  and  grading,  mod- 
ern processing,  and  efficient  marketing 
characterizes  the  association.  Through 
these  services  it  is  offering  the  essen- 
tials of  a  sound  forestry  business  not 
previously  available  in  the  Coopers- 
town  area. 

SPECIAL-PURPOSE  cooperatives  have 
been  useful  on  occasions  when  large 
numbers  of  producers,  acting  as  in- 
dividuals, have  found  themselves  at  a 
disadvantage. 

An  illustration  was  the  situation 
created  by  the  hurricane  in  New  Eng- 
land in  1938.  Hundreds  of  woodland 
owners  suddenly  found  they  would 
have  to  dispose  of  timber  that  they  had 
not  intended  to  sell  for  some  time.  A 
special-purpose  cooperative  organized 
in  central  Massachusetts,  the  Peter- 
sham Forest  Products  Cooperative,  did 
a  good  job  of  disposing  of  windthrown 
timber  for  its  members  in  an  orderly 
and  financially  satisfactory  way. 

Another  type  of  cooperative  is  one 
organized  to  market  special  products. 
There  are  at  least  two  that  deal  in 
maple-sugar  products  and  one  that 
handles  naval  stores. 

During  the  war,  the  demand  for  spe- 
cial products,  such  as  black  walnut  for 
gunstocks,  brought  about  the  forma- 
tion of  small  local  pools  in  the  Central 
States.  They  helped  manufacturers  lo- 
cate critically  needed  stumpage  and 
logs  and  helped  members  get  substan- 
tially better  prices  for  their  trees  than 
they  could  get  as  individuals. 

Local  circumstances  dictate  the  or- 
ganization of  special-purpose  coopera- 


Cooperatives  and  Small  Woodlands 


tives.  Usually  an  urgent,  temporary 
situation  has  stimulated  organization. 
They  are  relatively  easy  to  organize. 
Often  they  can  be  a  strong  influence 
in  getting  better  management  prac- 
tices into  the  woods.  Frequently,  how- 
ever, the  situation  that  stimulated  the 
formation  of  the  association  has  not 
been  identified  by  members  with  a  de- 
mand for  technical  guidance  in  for- 
est practices. 

Two  ORGANIZATIONS  that  have  come 
into  being  in  the  Northeast  in  the  past 
few  years  are  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  stimulating  better  forestry.  One 
functions  primarily  as  a  marketing 
group,  the  other  provides  technical 
services  in  growing  and  harvesting  for- 
est products.  Neither  is  legally  consti- 
tuted as  a  true  cooperative,  but  both 
function  much  the  same  as  coopera- 
tives. They  are  carrying  forward  their 
objectives  in  forestry  and  for  that  rea- 
son are  of  special  interest. 

Because  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  do 
not  recognize  forest  products  under  the 
agricultural  cooperative  laws,  a  re- 
cently formed  association  in  that  State 
has  organized  as  a  corporation.  In  so 
doing,  the  organization  has  foregone 
some  of  the  advantages  afforded  by 
agricultural  cooperatives.  The  organ- 
ization is  a  true  cooperative,  however, 
as  it  follows  all  the  principles  in  its  re- 
lations with  patrons  that  distinguish  a 
cooperative  from  a  simple  business 
corporation. 

The  New  England  Forestry  Founda- 
tion, organized  and  incorporated  in 
1944,  is  a  unique  organization  that  had 
its  origin  in  a  need  expressed  by  wood- 
land owners  for  forest-management 
services.  It  has  a  nonprofit  basis,  partly 
endowed  and  partly  financed  from  the 
income  from  its  operations.  It  operates 
through  management  centers  in  charge 
of  foresters.  Six  such  centers,  each  em- 
bracing about  200,000  acres,  were  in 
operation  in  1948. 

The  services  of  the  Foundation  in- 
clude drawing  up  management  plans, 
marking  timber,  and  providing  assist- 
ance in  arranging  logging  and  mar- 


keting of  timber  products.  Of  increas- 
ing importance  is  the  work  of  training 
logging  crews  because  the  Foundation 
has  found,  as  have  others,  that  manage- 
ment plans  are  more  likely  to  be  put 
into  effect  if  work  crews  that  are 
trained  to  do  the  work  in  accordance 
with  cutting  plans  can  be  furnished  the 
owners.  Thus  far,  the  New  England 
Forestry  Foundation  has  undertaken 
work  on  58,000  acres  for  172  clients, 
who  own  118  million  board  feet  of 
timber  that  is  valued  at  $866,000.  The 
Foundation  has  marketed  more  than 
5  million  feet  of  timber  for  owners. 

Associations  that  function  as  coop- 
eratives, yet  are  not  legally  organized 
as  such,  have  an  advantage  because 
they  do  not  have  to  follow  a  number  of 
the  rigid  requirements  demanded  of 
cooperatives.  Their  responsibilities  to 
stockholders  are  different,  and  the  ac- 
counting is  simpler.  The  manager's 
responsibilities  are  restricted  to  a  com- 
paratively small  group,  and  greater 
flexibility  is  possible. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  groups  do 
not  have  certain  important  advantages 
of  cooperatives.  The  interest  of  the 
members  is  apt  to  be  less  than  when 
each  member  has  an  equal  vote  in  the 
affairs  of  the  organization.  The 
chances  for  joining  into  federations  to 
influence  forest  practices  over  wider 
areas  may  not  be  as  good  as  in  the  case 
of  cooperatives. 

MANY  PROBLEMS,  not  all  of  which 
have  been  solved,  have  been  encoun- 
tered by  the  pioneer  forest  cooperatives. 

The  problem  overshadowing  all  the 
others  has  been  in  getting  the  volume 
of  business  needed  in  the  early  oper- 
ating period  to  carry  a  minimum  but 
necessary  overhead.  Failure  to  obtain 
such  a  volume  has  resulted  from  sev- 
eral causes:  Inadequate  and  inaccu- 
rate initial  surveys  of  timber  available 
to  the  cooperative;  inadequate  initial 
financing;  lack  of  qualified  manage- 
ment; and  lack  of  a  thorough  under- 
standing among  organizers  and  early 
members  of  cooperative  principles  and 
sustained-yield  forestry. 


i88 

The  record  of  the  forest  cooperatives 
might  have  been  different  had  not 
general  economic  conditions  taken  a 
sharp  upturn  as  a  result  of  the  Second 
World  War.  The  market  conditions 
that  brought  about  their  organization 
changed  rapidly,  and  the  chief  prob- 
lem and  reason  for  organizing,  that  of 
marketing,  was  wiped  out.  Improved 
markets  for  farm  products  and  a  short 
labor  supply  found  many  small  timber- 
land  owners  spending  less  of  their  ef- 
forts on  harvesting  forest  crops.  The 
important  benefit  of  supplementing 
incomes  by  getting  a  labor  return  (as 
well  as  stumpage)  from  the  wood  lots 
was  lost.  Lost  also  was  the  sustaining 
interest  of  the  members. 

THE  BASIC  PRINCIPLES  of  the  suc- 
cessful organization  and  operation 
have  been  learned  from  the  long  and 
successful  record  of  farm  cooperatives. 

The  experience  records  of  forest 
cooperatives,  though  short  by  compari- 
son, clearly  show  that  the  same 
principles  are  just  as  applicable  and 
important  to  success.  They  boil  down 
to  a  few  fundamentals : 

Membership  must  be  open  to  all 
who  will  actively  participate  in  the  or- 
ganization, and  active  leaders  must  be 
found  who  are  able  and  willing  to  con- 
tribute to  the  benefits  of  all  members. 

There  should  be  a  common  interest 
among  members  in  the  services  offered 
and  products  handled. 

The  principle  of  "one  member,  one 
vote"  and  general  equality  among  the 
members  should  be  followed. 

Cooperatives  are  in  themselves  non- 
profit undertakings  and  must  pursue 
a  course  that  will  render  services  to 
members  at  cost. 

Because  success  depends  on  the  use 
members  make  of  their  organization, 
savings  should  be  distributed  to  mem- 
bers on  the  basis  of  their  patronage. 

Cooperatives  should  operate  in  a 
conservative  manner  and  assume  no 
unusual  risks.  Safe  reserves  must  be 
carried,  and  expansion  or  new  ven- 
tures by  the  cooperative  should  be 
carefully  explored. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Partisan  and  sectarian  differences 
have  no  place  in  cooperatives.  Har- 
mony in  obtaining  objectives  is  a  criti- 
cal issue  and  the  organization  should 
be  viewed  strictly  as  a  business  venture 
for  mutual  economic  benefit. 

There  is  little  chance  for  success  if 
the  cooperative  does  not  carry  on  a  sus- 
tained and  vigorous  program  of  edu- 
cation. Goals  should  be  kept  constantly 
before  the  members  and  efforts  made 
to  teach  better  practices  in  producing 
and  harvesting  forest  products.  Only 
well-informed  members  can  be  good 
members. 

The  cooperative  must  develop  ade- 
quate marketing  facilities  if  it  is  to 
render  full  service  to  members. 

To  warrant  organization,  a  cooper- 
ative, like  any  other  business,  must 
have  a  sufficient  volume  of  business. 
The  long-time  social  and  economic 
benefits  that  can  be  derived  from  forest 
conservation  may  be  considered  as 
desirable  byproducts  of  the  forest-man- 
agement programs  of  forest  coopera- 
tives, but  immediate  economic  consid- 
erations will  determine  the  success  of 
the  cooperative  as  a  business. 

Before  organization  is  undertaken, 
investigation  should  be  made  to  deter- 
mine the  existence  of  satisfactory  local 
markets.  Do  local  plants  adequately 
utilize  the  forest  products  to  be  mar- 
keted? Do  they  follow  practices  that 
assure  a  fair  return  to  producers  and 
encourage  better  forest  management? 
Is  there  a  surplus  of  material  over  and 
above  that  which  can  be  satisfactorily 
handled  through  established  market 
outlets?  If  not,  could  a  cooperative  fill 
the  gaps? 

An  inventory  of  forest  resources  in 
the  area  is  of  great  importance.  Spe- 
cific information  needed  is  where  the 
timber  is  located,  species  available  and 
proportion  of  each,  condition  of  tim- 
ber, and  whether  there  is  a  surplus 
beyond  the  needs  of  the  individual 
owners.  Techniques  using  aerial  photo- 
graphs are  now  available  that  will 
provide  much  of  this  information 
accurately  and  inexpensively. 

It  is  equally  important  to  study  the 


Cooperatives  and  Small  Woodlands 


attitude  of  woodland  owners  toward 
forest  management,  cooperatives,  and 
marketing  problems.  Experience  has 
demonstrated  that  a  poll  of  woodland 
owners'  attitudes  can  supply  useful  in- 
formation. Such  a  poll  can  also  shed 
light  on  the  availability  of  the  forest 
resources  of  the  area.  A  surprising  pro- 
portion of  the  resource  has  generally 
been  found  in  such  small  individual 
holdings  that  operations  would  be  im- 
practical for  anyone  except  an  owner 
who  can  spend  his  own  time  in  harvest- 
ing the  few  products.  Timber  in  estates, 
tied  up  by  legal  restrictions  and  timber 
reserved  for  recreational  use  and  for 
other  special  purposes  may  not  be 
available.  Some  owners  may  not  be  in- 
terested in  forest  management  or  may 
be  antagonistic  toward  cooperatives. 

The  preliminary  surveys  will  show 
whether  a  marketing  organization  is 
really  needed  and  wanted,  and  whether 
adequate  timber  and  a  sufficient  vol- 
ume of  business  are  in  prospect  to  make 
a  go  of  it. 

In  most  cases  of  record,  groups  in- 
terested in  the  formation  of  forest  co- 
operatives have  found  public  assist- 
ance available  in  making  the  necessary 
preliminary  surveys.  The  Department 
of  Agriculture  has  given  help. 

No  categorical  answer  can  be  given 
to  the  question  of  the  type  of  coopera- 
tive to  organize.  The  preliminary  sur- 
veys will  indicate  the  type  needed. 
Financial  and  legal  limitations  will  fur- 
ther influence  a  choice. 

Several  cooperatives  in  the  past  have 
been  able  to  get  loans  from  Federal 
agencies.  Such  loans  have  been  sup- 
plemented by  local  financing  through 
the  sale  of  stock.  Several  cooperatives 
have  had  only  local  financing. 

The  legal  steps  and  organizational 
procedures  are  well  understood  and 
much  has  been  written  on  the  subject. 
Most  States  have  agricultural  coopera- 
tive-marketing laws  that  apply  to  for- 
est products. 

The  minimum  size  of  organization 
that  should  be  considered  is  one  that 
would  support  one  full-time  forester- 
manager.  Cooperatives  that  have  tried 


to  operate  below  this  minimum  have 
had  little  success.  There  is  probably  a 
practical  limit  as  to  the  size  that  a  co- 
operative might  eventually  reach,  but 
the  best  advice  seems  to  be  to  start 
small  and  grow  as  much  as  possible. 
Opinions  have  differed  about  the 
ownership  of  processing  equipment.  It 
seems  this  is  a  matter  governed  by  local 
conditions  and  what  is  needed  to  make 
the  forestry  program  work.  If  equip- 
ment is  needed  and  it  is  the  only  an- 
swer to  the  problem,  then  it  should  be 
planned  for.  Where  satisfactory  proc- 
essing facilities  are  already  available, 
fair-pricing  practices  are  followed,  and 
the  type  of  cooperation  can  be  had  that 
will  promote  better  forestry  on  the 
lands  of  members,  then  it  may  be  that 
the  cooperative  need  only  supply  tech- 
nical and  marketing  services. 

THE    CONTINUED    DEVELOPMENT    of 

forest  cooperatives  is  warranted,  I  be- 
lieve, because  they  have  demonstrated 
enough  success  in  obtaining  better 
markets  and  in  stimulating  interest  in 
better  woodland  management.  Inter- 
est now  is  reviving  in  areas  where  co- 
operatives were  being  considered  just 
before  the  war,  and  a  number  of  new 
groups  are  studying  the  prospects  of 
organizing. 

The  experience  records  cover  a  wide 
enough  variety  of  types  of  forest  co- 
operatives to  meet  the  situation  in  most 
areas  where  there  are  problems  per- 
taining to  ownership  of  small  wood- 
lands. Experiences  of  those  already 
working  with  cooperatives  can  prevent 
those  venturing  into  the  field  from 
making  many  of  the  same  mistakes  if 
they  will  but  seek  advice  and  help. 

Forest  cooperatives  should  not  be 
looked  upon  as  a  solution  to  small 
wood-lot  management  problems  as  a 
whole,  or  even  to  all  of  the  wood-lot 
problems  in  an  area  where  a  successful 
cooperative  operates.  Under  the  most 
favorable  conditions,  it  is  improbable 
that  more  than  25  percent  of  the  own- 
ers in  any  one  area  will  become  mem- 
bers of  a  forest  cooperative.  With 
encouragement,  most  members  will 


190 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


improve  their  management  practices. 
The  activities  of  members  will  also 
favorably  influence  the  management  of 
woodland  by  nonmembers. 

Cooperatives  do  not  offer  much  to 
owners  of  nonproductive  and  depleted 
woodlands.  Strong  organizations  may 
be  able  to  afford  such  owners  some 
help,  but  there  is  a  limit  to  the  amount 
of  help  a  cooperative  can  give  that 
does  not  contribute  to  keeping  the  or- 
ganization financially  strong. 

Forest  cooperatives  have  unrealized 
potentialities  for  improving  forest  con- 
ditions generally.  The  opportunities 
for  success  will  increase  as  landowners 
and  cooperative  managers  gain  ex- 
perience and  as  woodlands  are  made 
more  productive  under  good  manage- 
ment. Their  influence  extends  beyond 
their  members  alone,  for  a  strong  mi- 
nority of  owners  can  set  the  pace  for 


price  levels,  manufacturing  practices, 
grading  and  scaling  practices,  and  for 
forest  practices  in  any  area.  Hand  in 
hand  with  such  influences  go  stabilized 
employment,  increased  income,  and 
a  strengthening  of  the  rural  economy. 

ALLEN  W.  BRATTON  received  his 
bachelor's  degree  in  forestry  from  the 
University  of  Maine  in  1932  and  did 
graduate  work  at  the  University  of 
Massachusetts.  He  entered  the  Forest 
Service  in  1933  and  served  5  years  on 
the  White  Mountain  and  Cumberland 
National  Forests.  In  1940  he  joined 
the  staff  of  the  Northeastern  Forest 
Experiment  Station;  from  1942  to  1948 
he  worked  on  the  problems  of  organi- 
zation and  operation  of  forest  coop- 
eratives, and  was  stationed  in  Coopers- 
town,  N.  Y.  In  1948  he  entered  private 
practice  as  a  consulting  forester. 


>WN>>^;      > 
r>  tf>.iRfaL.*Sfi& 


WINDBREAKS  AND  SHELTERBELTS 


JOSEPH  H.  STOECKELER,  ROSS  A.  WILLIAMS 


In  an  effort  to  determine  the  value 
of  adequate  windbreaks  on  American 
farms,  508  farmers  in  South  Dakota 
and  Nebraska  were  asked  for  their 
ppinions.  They  placed  the  annual  sav- 
ings in  their  fuel  bill  alone  at  $15.85. 

In  another  measure  of  the  value,  the 
Lake  States  Forest  Experiment  Station 
conducted  an  experiment  at  Holdrege, 
Nebr.  Exact  fuel  requirements  were 
recorded  in  identical  test  houses.  One 
was  protected  from  winds;  the  other 
was  exposed  to  the  full  sweep  of  the 
wind.  From  the  experimental  data  it 
was  possible  to  calculate  the  savings  to 
be  expected  under  various  prevailing 
conditions,  if  a  constant  house  tem- 
perature of  70°  F.  were  maintained. 
The  amount  of  fuel  used  was  reduced 
by  22.9  percent. 

Also  the  average  of  the  savings  for 
houses  protected  on  the  north  in  Hol- 
drege and  three  other  localities  in  the 
Great  Plains — Huron,  S.  Dak.,  Dodge 
City,  Kans.,  and  Fargo,  N.  Dak. — was 
20.2  percent.  Assuming  a  10-ton  an- 
nual consumption  of  coal,  this  repre- 
sents a  saving  of  2  tons  of  coal  a  year. 
Under  good  protection,  on  three  sides 
of  a  house,  the  fuel  saving  may  run  as 
high  as  30  percent. 

Dairymen,  livestock  feeders,  and 
breeders  have  rather  positive  ideas  of 
how  the  protection  afforded  by  trees 
reduces  their  feed  bills  and  increases 
their  calf  crops.  Eighty-six  livestock 
feeders  in  Nebraska  and  South  Dakota 
placed  this  average  annual  saving  at 
more  than  $800 ;  62  livestock  breeders 
reported  that  their  savings  amounted 
to  more  than  $500  annually;  53  dairy- 
men placed  their  savings  at  $600. 

Further  study  of  the  subject  was 
made  at  the  Montana  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  at  Havre.  Two 
herds  of  cattle  were  wintered  on  the 
same  rations — one  in  the  protection  of 
trees  and  shrubs,  the  other  in  an  open 
lot  with  some  protection  from  a  shed. 


The  tree-protected  animals  gained 
34.9  more  pounds  each  during  a  mild 
winter,  and  lost  10.6  pounds  less  dur- 
ing a  severe  winter,  than  the  unpro- 
tected herd. 

Another  experiment  conducted  by 
V.  I.  Clark,  superintendent  of  the  ex- 
periment station  at  Ardmore,  S.  Dak., 
involved  the  weighing  of  two  herds  of 
cattle  in  different  pastures — one  pro- 
tected by  the  natural  tree  and  shrub 
growth  along  a  stream,  the  other  with- 
out protection.  They  were  re  weighed 
after  a  3-day  blizzard.  The  animals 
that  had  some  protection  each  lost  an 
average  of  30  pounds  less  than  those 
in  the  exposed  pasture. 

Farm  families  depend  upon  gardens 
for  much  of  their  subsistence,  and  most 
of  them  are  aware  of  the  influence  of  a 
windbreak  in  increasing  the  quality 
and  quantity  of  vegetables  and  fruit 
from  gardens  and  orchards.  In  the 
opinions  of  farmers  interviewed,  the 
increase  was  $67.15  on  323  farms  in 
Nebraska  and  $84.43  on  260  farms  in 
South  Dakota.  A  few  farmers  believed 
the  windbreaks  did  not  increase  the 
production  of  their  gardens. 

W.  P.  Baird,  horticulturist  in  charge 
of  fruit  and  vegetable  investigations  at 
the  Northern  Great  Plains  Field  Sta- 
tion at  Mandan,  N.  Dak.,  says  that  "a 
windbreak  is  on  duty  protecting  the 
fruit  gardens  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  it  is  almost  useless  to  consider 
growing  fruit  on  the  Plains  without 
such  protection." 

So  far  we  have  discussed  windbreaks, 
which  are  the  shorter  and  more  blocky 
plantings  about  farmsteads.  Much  like 
them,  but  more  extensive,  are  the  shel- 
terbelts,  a  term  used  to  denote  com- 
paratively narrow  strip  plantings — 
sometimes  single  rows  of  trees — that 
are  designed  to  protect  fields. 

EXPERIENCE  with  systematic  plant- 
ings of  shelterbelts  to  protect  fields  goes 


192 

back  to  1789,  when  a  group  of  German 
Mennonites,  who  emigrated  to  the 
Russian  Steppes,  began  the  shelterbelts 
that  since  have  been  extended  to  thou- 
sands of  miles.  The  term  "shelterbelt" 
was  used  as  early  as  1833,  so  it  is  appar- 
ent that  some  thought  for  controlling 
wind  erosion  by  use  of  trees  was  in 
existence  over  a  century  ago.  Since  the 
days  of  the  shelterbelt  project,  initiated 
in  the  Great  Plains  some  14  years  ago, 
the  term  has  become  part  of  the  every- 
day language  of  farmers  on  the  Plains. 

Few  tree  planters  were  among  the 
earliest  settlers  of  the  United  States. 
They  came  when  the  westward  migra- 
tion started  to  the  prairies  of  Illinois 
and  the  Great  Plains;  those  pioneers 
realized  that  it  was  going  to  take  more 
than  a  sod  house  to  give  them  the  pro- 
tection to  which  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed in  the  wooded  East.  It  was  not 
surprising,  therefore,  that  a  plantation 
of  trees  often  shared  with  the  garden 
the  first  patch  of  sod  that  was  bro- 
ken. Wildings  collected  along  nearby 
streams  comprised  their  planting  stock. 
We  have  records  of  some  of  these  plant- 
ings in  Nebraska  Territory  as  early  as 
1854;  many  are  still  alive,  monuments 
to  the  courage  of  the  pioneers  and  evi- 
dence of  the  desirability  of  using  hardy, 
native  planting  stock.  Later  immi- 
grants from  Europe  often  brought  tree 
seeds  with  them  from  their  old  homes. 

The  passage  of  the  Homestead  Law 
in  1862  brought  more  settlers  to  the 
Great  Plains  and  the  need  for  more 
tree  planting.  Kansas  was  the  first,  in 
1865,  to  provide  a  tree-bounty  law  in 
efforts  to  encourage  more  planting. 
This  was  followed  in  1869  by  Nebraska 
and  the  Dakota  Territory  which  passed 
tax-exemption  laws  that  favored  tree 
planting.  J.  Sterling  Morton,  third 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  founded  Ar- 
bor Day  and  saw  its  first  official  cele- 
bration in  his  home  State  of  Nebraska 
in  1872.  It  was  primarily  through  his 
encouragement  that  the  Timber  Cul- 
ture Act  was  passed  by  Congress  in 
1873.  Although  it  helped  to  stimulate 
tree  planting,  probably  fewer  than  one- 
third  of  the  trees  established  during 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  time  the  act  was  in  force  can  be 
attributed  directly  to  it. 

It  has  been  the  history  of  tree  plant- 
ing throughout  the  world  that  the 
establishment  of  windbreaks  and  shel- 
terbelts has  not  progressed  fast  enough 
to  keep  pace  with  the  needs  without 
some  assistance  by  the  Government. 
The  thousands  of  miles  of  shelterbelts 
that  now  protect  millions  of  acres  of 
farm  lands  in  Russia;  the  mile  after 
mile  of  tree  strips  in  Jutland,  without 
which  farming  would  be  impossible; 
similar  planting  in  Hungary;  the  18,- 
510  miles  of  tree  belts  planted  in  the 
Great  Plains  shelterbelt  from  North 
Dakota  to  Texas ;  and  the  211  million 
trees  planted  to  shelterbelts  and  wind- 
breaks in  the  Prairie  Provinces  of  Can- 
ada— all  owe  their  success  to  sound 
Government  policies  put  into  effect 
through  well-administered  and  Gov- 
ernment-assisted projects. 

There  was  a  period  in  the  United 
States  after  the  repeal  of  the  Timber 
Culture  Act  in  1891  when  little  public 
encouragement  was  given  to  tree  plant- 
ers. A  renewal  of  interest  was  shown  in 
1904  with  the  passage  of  the  Kincaid 
Act  and  later,  in  1916,  by  the  inclusion 
of  the  demonstrational  tree  planting 
in  the  program  of  the  Northern  Great 
Plains  Field  Station  near  Mandan, 
N.  Dak. 

The  available  records  through  Jan- 
uary 1,  1948,  indicate  that  some 
123,191  miles  of  windbreaks  and  shel- 
terbelts have  been  planted  since  the 
middle  of  the  past  century.  Of  96,596 
miles  planted  through  private  initia- 
tive, 39,400  are  accounted  for  by  sin- 
gle row  Osage-orange  hedges  planted 
between  1865  and  1939  by  farmers  of 
Kansas,  encouraged  by  a  State  bounty. 

The  shelterbelt  project,  sometimes 
referred  to  as  the  Prairie  States  For- 
estry Project,  was  established  in  1934, 
a  time  of  serious  drought,  dust  storms, 
and  depression.  Its  purpose  was  to 
plant  badly  needed  shelterbelts  and  at 
the  same  time  provide  work  for  people 
in  the  drought-stricken  Great  Plains. 

In  the  Great  Plains  between  1935 
and  1942,  18,510  miles  of  field  shelter- 


Windbreaks  and  Shelterbelts 


193 


belts,  not  counting  those  on  farmsteads, 
were  planted  by  the  Forest  Service. 
The  Soil  Conservation  Service  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  (to  which 
the  work  was  transferred  in  1942) 
planted  8,363  miles  between  1934  and 
1949  in  its  program  on  soil  conserva- 
tion districts.  The  Wisconsin  State 
Conservation  Department  furnished 
stock  and,  with  the  Extension  Service, 
was  responsible  for  establishing  5,942 
miles  of  shelterbelts.  In  California,  the 
fruit-tree  growers  planted  2,000  miles 
of  belts  to  protect  citrus  orchards  and 
vineyards.  In  Indiana,  truck  garden- 
ers have  planted  100  miles  on  muck 
land.  Many  more  miles  of  shelterbelts 
for  which  no  published  records  are 
available  probably  have  been  planted 
in  other  States. 

THE  FARM  PLANTINGS  before  1935 
did  not  include  the  large  numbers  that 
could  also  be  classified  as  shelterbelts, 
but  landowners  who  were  fortunate 
enough  to  have  them  in  the  droughty 
1930's  had  proof  of  their  benefits. 
Pioneer  planters  of  shelterbelts  and 
windbreaks  in  the  Great  Plains  had 
little  knowledge  of  how  to  make  trees 
live  and  only  a  meager  knowledge  of 
the  growth  habits  of  the  trees  they  had 
to  use.  It  is  surprising,  in  view  of  those 
handicaps,  that  even  moderate  success 
was  attained. 

Progressive  farmers  and  orchardists 
plant  shelterbelts  for  two  primary  pur- 
poses— to  control  soil  blowing  and  to 
protect  crops.  Some  southern  Great 
Plains  cotton  planters  find  it  neces- 
sary to  replant  two  and  three  times 
on  the  unprotected  fields.  Sugar-beet 
farmers  on  sandy,  irrigated  fields  in 
the  West  frequently  have  a  crop  cut 
off  by  drifting  sand  as  it  emerges  from 
the  ground.  The  small-grain  and  corn 
farmers  have  had  similar  experiences. 
From  the  time  that  crops  are  well  estab- 
lished until  they  are  ready  for  harvest, 
they  are  constantly  subjected  to  dam- 
age or  to  destruction  by  soil  drifting, 
blow-down,  firing  by  hot  winds,  loss 
of  soil  moisture,  or  damage  from  frost 
and  sleet.  Orchards  are  subjected  to 

802062  ° — 49 14 


the  same  damages,  but  the  greatest 
benefits  are  realized  from  protecting 
the  trees  during  the  pollination  stage 
and  preventing  wind  damage  to  the 
ripening  fruit. 

Besides,  properly  located  and  ar- 
ranged shelterbelts  can  do  much  to 
beautify  the  landscape  and  act  as  snow 
fences  in  winter,  thus  helping  to  keep 
open  highways  and  rural  roads. 

Thomas  T.  Wilson,  of  the  Manitoba 
Department  of  Public  Works,  said  that 
planted  snow  traps  can  be  consider- 
ably cheaper  than  the  usual  slat-wire 
snow  fence.  His  data,  based  on  201.6 
miles  of  caragana  hedge,  indicates  a 
prorated  cost  per  mile  for  a  year  of 
about  $100,  assuming  an  average  effec- 
tive life  of  25  years  for  the  planting. 
Prorated  costs  of  slat-wire  snow  fences 
were  about  $225  per  mile  for  a  year, 
assuming  an  average  life  of  20  years 
for  this  type  of  fence.  Hence,  the  cost 
of  the  planted  hedges  is  less  than  half 
that  of  slat-wire  snow  fence.  The  com- 
parison, of  course,  does  not  consider 
the  possible  rental  cost  of  the  land  the 
caragana  hedge  may  occupy,  but  in 
places  where  a  200-foot  right-of-way  is 
owned,  this  question  is  resolved. 

THE  EFFECTS  ON  FIELD  CROPS  are 
less  distinct.  A  survey  among  Nebraska 
farmers  showed  that  29  farmers  rated 
high  the  value  of  field  shelterbelts, 
although  18  had  been  unable  to  ob- 
serve benefits.  The  average  estimated 
gain  in  production  amounted  to  $43  a 
year.  In  South  Dakota,  27  farmers  said 
the  crop  gain  was  $60  a  year  per  farm. 

A  mistake  made  by  some  observers 
is  to  note  only  that  corn  or  small  grains 
growing  at  the  edge  of  a  field  protected 
by  the  belt  is  usually  inferior  to  that 
growing  a  few  rods  out  in  the  field, 
where,  in  fact,  the  greatest  benefit 
nearly  always  occurs.  A  fair  compari- 
son can  be  made  only  between  both 
of  these  zones  and  the  distant  part  of 
the  field  that  has  no  protection.  But 
a  large  number  of  systematic  measure- 
ments throughout  entire  fields  has 
shown  that  sound  comparison  could 
easily  lead  to  differences  of  opinion, 


194 

because  the  ground  near  the  belt  may 
be  substantially  better  or  poorer  than 
that  far  out  in  the  field.  A  farmer  with 
a  shelterbelt  40  years  old  may  not  re- 
member how  the  different  parts  of  the 
field  varied  in  productivity  before  there 
was  a  shelterbelt  there. 

This  variability  of  production  within 
fields  has  made  so  difficult  the  determi- 
nation of  average  shelterbelt  gains  in 
the  fields  measured  from  1935  to  1941 
by  the  Lake  States  Forest  Experiment 
Station  that  the  entire  mass  of  data  is 
being  restudied.  Predictions  as  to  what 
will  be  shown  by  analyses  not  pre- 
viously tried  may  be  erroneous. 

In  general,  however,  it  appears  that 
a  field  protected  by  a  single-row  shel- 
terbelt, equivalent  to  the  Osage-orange 
hedge  so  common  in  Nebraska  and 
Kansas,  will  show  a  net  gain  in  yield 
equivalent  to  the  crop  on  an  area  as 
long  as  the  belt  and  as  wide  as  its 
height,  after  allowance  for  shading  and 
sapping.  Any  belt  of  greater  width  will 
be  profitable  for  protective  purposes 
alone,  then,  provided  its  width  between 
the  outside  stems  does  not  exceed  its 
height. 

While  it  seems  apparent  that  wider 
belts  add  somewhat  to  the  benefits,  it 
is  probable  that  the  narrow  belt  yields 
the  greatest  return  on  the  land  oc- 
cupied, if  the  value  of  the  timber 
products  is  low.  Benefits  arise  from 
several  different  causes,  and  in  con- 
sequence are  unlikely  to  be  the  same 
in  all  directions  from  north-south  and 
east-west  belts.  Areas  west  of  belts  pos- 
sibly benefit  less  than  those  in  other 
directions;  in  northern  parts  of  the 
Plains,  where  the  snowfall  is  heavier, 
greater  benefits  apparently  are  pro- 
duced than  in  the  central  or  southern 
areas. 

Winter  grains  and  other  early  crops 
may  benefit  more  from  the  snow  held 
on  the  field,  near  the  belt,  than  from 
other  causes,  while  corn  possibly  bene- 
fits most  by  protection  from  hot,  drying 
winds.  The  final  results  may  be  some- 
what different  from  these  predictions, 
and  in  any  case  they  apply  only  in  the 
area  from  the  Dakotas  to  Kansas,  and 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


not  to  the  drier  portions  of  those  States 
or  to  better- watered  regions.  Except  for 
1936,  when  only  a  few  measurements 
were  made,  the  period  does  not  include 
any  years  of  serious  drought. 

OTHER  CROPS  besides  wheat  and 
corn  show  good  response  to  shelterbelt 
protection.  An  investigation  of  eight 
cottonfields  in  western  Oklahoma  and 
northern  Texas  showed  an  increase  of 
17.4  percent  above  normal  between  0 
and  5H,  and  7.9  percent  increase  be- 
tween 5H  and  10H  (with  H  represent- 
ing a  horizontal  distance  of  one  tree 
height  from  the  edge  of  the  belt) .  The 
normal  yield  of  cotton  grown  beyond 
the  zone  of  tree  protection  was  288.6 
pounds  of  lint  to  the  acre. 

In  California,  one-  and  two-row 
eucalyptus  windbreaks  are  said  to  be 
effective  in  protecting  citrus  fruits  from 
bruising  and  dropping  for  a  total  dis- 
tance of  5  to  7  times  the  average  height 
of  the  trees.  The  trees  easily  attain 
heights  of  60  to  80  feet  within  10  to 
20  years  after  planting. 

H.  E.  Wahlberg,  of  Orange  County, 
Calif.,  reports  returns  from  20  citrus 
groves  grown  under  windbreak  pro- 
tection as  averaging  $445.48  an  acre. 
On  20  unprotected  citrus  groves,  the 
return  was  only  $271.34  an  acre.  Ac- 
cording to  those  figures,  a  grower  could 
use  1  acre  of  trees  on  a  10-acre  plot 
for  windbreak  purposes  and  still  get 
$1,295.92  more  return  on  the  remain- 
ing 9  acres  than  on  the  unprotected  10. 

Dale  Bumstead,  an  orchardist  near 
Phoenix,  Ariz.,  reported  that  shelter- 
belts  of  eucalyptus  are  important  in 
reducing  cullage  in  his  citrus  fruit.  His 
1946  crop  had  a  cullage  of  18.5  per- 
cent, and  cullage  averaged  19  percent 
for  a  3-year  period.  The  citrus  industry 
reports  that  the  average  cullage  is 
about  50  percent. 

Dr.  Arvil  L.  Stark,  secretary  of  the 
Utah  Horticultural  Society,  is  author- 
ity for  the  statement  that  fruit  will  not 
set  on  the  windward  side  of  trees  when 
windy  conditions  prevail,  because  bees 
will  not  work  in  the  wind.  Shelterbelts, 
by  reducing  winds,  thus  can  create 


Windbreaks  and  Shelterbelts 


Board  barrier,  33  percent  solid 
16  feet  high 


>ISTANCE  LEEWARD  IN  TREE-HEIGHT  L 


Wind  velocity  at  instrument  stations  16  inches  above  the  ground  in  15-mile-per-hour 
wind  blowing  at  right  angles  to  three  types  of  windbreaks:  (1)  A  16-foot  high  board  fence 
of  33  percent  density;  (2)  a  dense  belt  of  green  ash,  290  feet  wide;  (3)  a  thin,  rather  open 
cotton  wood  belt,  165  feet  wide.  The  velocities  are  given  in  percentages  of  wind  velocities 

in  an  open  field  nearby. 


more  favorable  conditions  in  orchards 
for  pollination  by  bees. 

Another  benefit  of  windbreaks  was 
cited  by  F.  L.  Overly,  superintendent 
of  the  Tree  Fruit  Branch  Experiment 
Station  near  Wenatchee,  Wash.  He 
pointed  out  that  spraying  for  insect 
control  results  in  more  even  and  com- 
plete coverage  in  protected  areas  be- 
cause of  lower  wind  velocities.  More- 
over, protected  orchard  trees  do  not 
develop  as  much  lean  or  become  as  lop- 
sided as  those  in  exposed  areas. 

ANYONE  who  has  stood  in  the  pro- 
tection of  a  belt  of  trees  on  a  windy 
day  has  observed  that  the  wind  was 
considerably  reduced  near  the  trees. 
How  much  is  this  reduction  in  wind 
velocity,  and  how  far  does  it  extend? 

The  zone  of  influence  is  most  easily 
shown  graphically.  The  chart  shows 
what  this  effect  is  for  a  15-mile-an- 
hour  wind  for  several  different  types 
of  barriers.  In  this  study,  distances 
were  expressed  in  terms  of  windbreak 
heights,  in  order  to  provide  a  con- 


venient comparison  of  zones  of  influ- 
ence for  the  tree  belts  of  different 
heights;  for  instance,  the  term  3H 
refers  to  a  horizontal  distance  equal 
to  three  times  the  height  of  a  tree  belt. 

It  is  seen  that  the  wind  velocity  near 
a  dense  wide  belt  of  ash  may  be  re- 
duced to  as  low  as  30  percent  of  that 
in  the  open;  for  a  thin  cottonwood 
belt,  it  is  about  66  percent  of  normal 
velocity;  for  a  board  barrier,  it  is  about 
58  percent.  All  three  windbreaks  show 
some  effect  out  to  about  30  times  their 
height,  but  the  effect  beyond  20H  is 
rather  minor. 

The  results  are  substantiated  by 
studies  made  in  other  parts  of  the 
United  States. 

Pioneer  tree  planters,  especially  in 
Nebraska,  planted  east-west  shelter- 
belts  for  protection  of  fields  against 
south  winds.  It  has  often  been  reported 
that  such  protection  may  reduce  the 
drying  power  of  winds,  and  may  at 
times  prevent  the  firing  of  crops  when 
the  temperature  of  southwesterly  winds 
is  excessive. 


196 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


Observation  by  Alba  Briggs  in  July 
1939,  in  York  County  and  adjoining 
areas  in  Nebraska,  showed  a  markedly 
beneficial  effect  in  reducing  the  firing 
of  corn — the  drying  up  of  foliage  in 
hot,  windy  weather.  ^  Benefits  were 
greatest  on  the  north  side  of  belts  and 
to  some  extent  on  the  east  side.  Ob- 
servations on  8  fields  showed  no  dam- 
age out  to  11  to  40  tree  heights,  with 
an  average  of  23  times  the  height  of  the 
trees.  Tree  heights  ranged  from  18  to 
50  feet  and  averaged  about  35  feet.  On 
the  south  side  of  Osage-orange  hedges 
of  18-  to  20-foot  height,  accentuated 
damage  to  the  corn  was  observed  out 
to  5  tree  heights.  On  the  west  side,  the 
adverse  effect  extended  from  30  to  40 
feet  due  to  firing  and  sapping.  These 
observations  were  not  carried  through 
to  assess  values  in  terms  of  actual  final 
crop  yields,  but  they  show  a  similarity 
to  many  of  the  yield  measurements. 

An  8-year-old  shelterbelt  near  Nor- 
folk, Nebr.,  played  an  important  part 
in  helping  its  owner,  Ernest  Fuhram,  to 
win  the  1947  corn-yield  contest  for  his 
county.  His  10-acre  test  plot  made  106 
bushels  of  corn  an  acre.  Mr.  Fuhram 
said,  "  I  had  90  acres  of  corn  north  of 
the  shelterbelt,  including  the  10-acre 
test  plot,  and  it  was  quite  evident  that 
the  protection  the  trees  gave  the  field 
made  a  lot  of  difference  last  year.  The 
best  corn  was  near  the  shelterbelt  and 
the  yield  tapered  off  as  the  distance 
from  the  trees  was  increased." 

In  irrigated  areas,  shelterbelts  can  be 
of  considerable  value  in  reducing  water 
loss  from  evaporation.  From  Scotts 
Bluff  County,  Nebr.,  it  is  reported  that 
in  growing  alfalfa  an  irrigated  field 
protected  by  shelterbelts  required  one 
less  irrigation  a  season  than  unpro- 
tected fields  on  nearby  farms. 

Tree  belts  trap  snow  and  hold  it  on 
agricultural  land,  especially  in  the 
northern  and  central  Great  Plains. 
Hence,  some  measure  of  moisture  con- 
servation is  attained,  because  in  un- 
protected areas  much  of  the  snow  is 
blown  into  gulches,  low  spots,  and  road 
ditches,  where  it  is  of  no  direct  benefit 
to  the  crop.  Good  agronomic  prac- 


tices, such  as  leaving  tall  stubble  over 
winter,  standing  strips  of  cornstalks,  or 
unmowed  sweetclover,  can  also  retain 
much  of  the  snow  on  the  land.  A  com- 
bination of  shelterbelt  planting  and 
strip  cropping  is  undoubtedly  the  best. 
In  a  number  of  soil-moisture  sam- 
plings made  in  the  spring  of  1936, 
there  was  about  4  percent  more  avail- 
able moisture  (or  2.5  inches  of  water) 
in  the  top  4  feet  of  soil  between  the 
tree  belts  and  a  point  four  times  the 
average  tree  height  to  leeward.  This 
additional  moisture,  largely  accumu- 
lated from  snowdrifts  trapped  by  the 
belts,  may  at  times  be  the  difference 
between  a  fair  crop  and  a  complete 
crop  failure. 

IN  DEVELOPING  A  SHELTERBELT,  the 

present-day  tree  planter  can  progress 
with  a  great  deal  of  assurance,  especi- 
ally if  he  will  seek  the  assistance  of  his 
local  State  or  Federal  forester,  county 
agent,  or  district  conservationist. 

Although  many  details  involved  in 
the  successful  establishment  of  a  wind- 
break or  shelterbelt  must  be  worked 
out  to  meet  local  needs,  a  number  of 
fundamental  principles  contribute  to 
success,  irrespective  of  the  locality  or 
conditions  under  which  windbreaks  or 
shelterbelts  may  be  planted. 

Careful  preparation  of  the  site,  good 
planting  with  hardy  stock,  and  thor- 
ough cultivation  are  three  factors  that 
go  hand  in  hand.  When  all  three  are 
well  done,  the  results  are  sometimes 
spectacular,  but  one  cannot  slight  one 
of  them  and  hope  to  make  up  for  it 
by  intensive  application  of  the  others. 

Good  site  preparation  means  thor- 
ough tillage  and,  if  the  soil  is  weedy  or 
dry,  summer  fallowing  for  a  season. 
Some  sites  call  for  subsoiling,  others 
terracing,  contour  planting,  or,  in  the 
drier  regions,  diking  and  building  of 
water-diversion  structures. 

It  is  extremely  important  that  the 
planting  stock  be  grown  from  seed  pro- 
duced in  the  general  locality  in  which 
the  trees  are  to  be  planted.  This  is 
one  of  the  principal  contributing  fac- 
tors to  the  unusual  success  of  the  shel- 


Windbreaks  and  Shelterbelts 


197 


terbelt  planted  in  the  Great  Plains 
during  one  of  the  Nation's  most  severe 
droughts. 

Although  hand  planting  is  still  com- 
mon and  will  probably  continue  to  be 
used  for  small  and  rough  areas,  most 
windbreaks  and  shelterbelts  will  be 
planted  with  machines  in  the  future. 
One  type  of  mechanical  tree  planter 
may  be  constructed  by  the  farmer  or 
his  local  blacksmith  for  as  little  as 
$175.  Others,  capable  of  planting  as 
many  as  1,000  trees  an  hour,  are  avail- 
able through  purchase  from  manufac- 
turers, or  loan  by  the  soil  conservation 
districts  or  other  agencies. 

If  hand  planting  is  done,  we  recom- 
mend a  long-handled,  straight-shanked 
shovel,  such  as  is  common  on  farms  in 
irrigated  areas.  The  planting  job  is 
best  if  done  on  well-prepared,  reason- 
ably moist  ground.  On  sandy  loam  or 
heavy  soils,  a  subsoiler  run  down  the 
row  before  planting  will  loosen  the  soil 
and  speed  up  planting.  Trees  are  car- 
ried in  a  metal  or  wood  carrying  tray 
or  in  a  large  bucket,  and  kept  covered 
with  wet  burlap  and  some  shingle  tow 
or  moss. 

In  using  the  shovel,  the  loose,  dry 
soil  is  scraped  off,  and  the  shovel  blade 
is  sunk  vertically  to  full  depth  with  the 
concave  side  toward  the  planter;  the 
handle  is  pushed  forward  to  break  out 
the  soil  and  the  shovel  pulled  toward 
the  planter  with  the  handle  inclined 
slightly  toward  the  planter;  the  back- 
wall,  away  from  the  planter,  is  made 
vertical  by  a  second  cut  and  the  shovel 
again  drawn  back  and  held  to  keep  the 
soil  from  rolling  into  the  hole;  a  tree 
is  inserted  with  roots  dangling  down- 
ward, the  hole  is  then  half  filled  and 
tamped  with  the  heel,  then  completely 
filled  and  tamped  again.  One  man  can 
plant  from  50  to  120  trees  an  hour  by 
this  method,  depending  on  the  condi- 
tion of  the  soil. 

In  moist  soil,  planting  can  also  be 
done  in  deep,  freshly  opened  furrows. 
In  this  method,  the  tree  is  held  against 
the  vertical  side  of  the  furrow  without 
curling  the  roots  and  enough  soil  is 
scraped  with  the  foot  against  the  roots 


to  hold  the  tree  in  place.  Then  another 
furrow  is  plowed  against  the  trees  and 
the  soil  packed  in  with  the  foot  or  by 
running  the  tractor  tires  over  the  sec- 
ond furrow-slice  and  very  close  to  the 
trees.  A  crew  of  one  with  a  tractor,  as- 
sisted by  two  helpers,  can  plant  about 
350  to  500  trees  an  hour. 

Planting  by  machine  saves  labor  and 
time.  The  planting  machines  consist 
of  a  tractor-drawn  trenching  device 
which  is  mounted  on  a  unicarrier  or 
chassis  and  which  opens  a  narrow  V- 
shaped  trench  about  12  inches  deep,  4 
inches  wide  on  top,  and  about  1/2 
inches  wide  at  the  bottom.  Two  men 
usually  ride  the  machine  and  place  the 
trees  in  the  open  trench,  which  is  then 
mechanically  closed  and  firmed  by 
packing  wheels — all  in  the  same  oper- 
ation. A  production  of  1,000  to  1,200 
trees  an  hour  is  generally  attained  by 
such  machines. 

There  is  a  wide  range  of  climate, 
elevation,  and  soils  in  various  parts  of 
the  United  States  where  windbreaks 
and  shelterbelts  are  desirable.  These 
factors  govern  the  choice  of  trees  and 
shrubs  selected  for  planting.  Some  of 
the  better  species  mentioned  here  are 
used  in  areas  where  this  type  of  tree 
planting  is  desirable. 

The  most  promising  species  for  the 
Great  Plains  include  the  Chinese  elm, 
green  ash,  hackberry,  honeylocust,  cot- 
tonwood,  white  and  golden  willow,  the 
American  elm,  boxelder,  chokecherry, 
Tatarian  honeysuckle,  caragana,  east- 
ern and  Rocky  Mountain  redcedar, 
and  ponderosa  pine.  The  adaptability 
of  these  and  other  species  in  the  vari- 
ous Prairie  and  Plains  States  is  set  forth 
in  tables  in  the  last  section  of  this  book. 

For  northwestern  United  States,  in- 
cluding Idaho  and  the  dry-farming 
areas  of  eastern  Washington  and  Ore- 
gon, the  species  that  have  given  best 
results  in  farm  windbreaks  and  shelter- 
belts  are  green  ash,  black  locust,  honey- 
locust,  the  Chinese  elm,  caragana,  the 
boxelder,  ponderosa  pine,  Austrian 
pine,  and  Colorado  blue  spruce.  On  the 
sites  with  better  moisture  conditions,  as 
in  low  spots  or  irrigated  areas,  the 


198 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


golden  willow,  silver  poplar,  and  the 
native  cottonwoods  do  well. 

In  the  Corn  Belt  region  of  north- 
central  United  States,  the  trees  that 
have  proved  adaptable  are  green  ash, 
American  elm,  black  locust,  honey- 
locust,  hardy  catalpa,  black  walnut, 
the  Russian-olive,  redbud,  honeysuckle, 
Norway  spruce,  white  spruce,  Black 
Hills  spruce,  red  pine,  and  white  pine. 
In  areas  with  considerable  moisture, 
the  golden  willow,  green  willow,  and 
native  cottonwoods  are  recommended. 

In  southwestern  United  States,  the 
citrus-growing  sections  of  Arizona, 
New  Mexico,  and  California,  eucalyp- 
tus (sometimes  known  as  bluegum) 
has  been  used  most  satisfactorily  to  pro- 
tect citrus  groves.  In  California,  Mon- 
terey cypress  has  been  used  to  some 
extent,  while  in  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico,  the  Arizona  cypress  is  planted 
occasionally  with  success. 

In  the  New  England  States,  New 
York,  and  Pennsylvania,  the  planting 
is  usually  confined  to  the  farmstead 
windbreaks,  and  conifers  are  favored, 
including  Norway  and  white  spruce, 
white  pine,  and  red  pine. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
United  States  from  Georgia  westward 
to  eastern  Texas,  there  is  occasionally 
an  area  of  sandy  soil  that  requires  pro- 
tection from  wind  erosion.  Under  such 
conditions  the  native  pine  species, 
especially  loblolly  pine,  makes  a  satis- 
factory quick-growing  shelterbelt. 

Good  composition  in  a  shelterbelt, 
like  good  structural  engineering  in  a 
bridge  or  barn,  improves  its  appear- 
ance and  increases  its  effectiveness. 

For  an  all-purpose  principal  shelter- 
belt  in  the  drier  parts  of  the  United 
States,  one  of  the  most  important  re- 
quirements for  good  composition  is  a 
tight  row  of  shrubs  on  the  windward 
side. 

Shrubs  should  be  combined  with 
conifers,  low,  medium,  and  tall  trees 
to  produce  a  compact  barrier.  Five 
rows  represent  the  minimum  that 
should  be  used  when  maximum  pro- 
tection is  needed;  seven  rows  are 
better. 


The  protection  afforded  by  the  prin- 
cipal shelterbelt  may  be  carried  entirely 
across  the  farm  with  one-,  two-,  and 
three-row  supplemental  belts  at  in- 
tervals of  10  rods  to  20  rods  or  more, 
depending  upon  the  protection  that  is 
needed. 

In  the  citrus-growing  sections  of 
California  and  the  Southwest,  one-  or 
two-row  plantings  of  eucalyptus  or 
cedar  give  good  results.  In  areas  of 
better  rainfall  or  where  experience  has 
shown  that  narrow  belts  will  survive 
(for  example,  on  muck  soils  of  In- 
diana) single-row  plantings  of  willow 
are  satisfactory. 

On  the  sandy  soils  of  central  Wis- 
consin, three-row  belts,  preferably  of 
red  and  jack  pine,  are  recommended. 

THOROUGH  CULTIVATION  is  necessary 
during  the  first  3  to  5  years  of  the  life 
of  the  plantation.  No  amount  of  care- 
ful site  preparation  and  good  planting 
will  compensate  for  neglect.  In  most 
cases,  the  regular  farm  equipment  can 
be  used  in  caring  for  the  belts.  If  the 
equipment  is  too  wide,  some  modifica- 
tion can  be  made  by  the  farmer  or  his 
local  blacksmith.  Usually  a  spacing  of 
12  feet  between  rows  will  require  a 
cultivation  period  of  5  years  or  more, 
depending  on  how  fast  the  trees  grow. 
A  closer  spacing  will  considerably 
shorten  this  period.  As  soon  as  the 


Windbreaks  and  Shelterbelts 


crowns  of  the  trees  come  together 
enough  to  shade  out  grass  and  weeds, 
cultivation  can  be  discontinued,  except 
in  dry  areas  where  rainfall  is  so  scant 
that  continued  cultivation  is  necessary. 

Two  GREAT  ENEMIES  of  trees  are  fire 
and  livestock.  When  fire  occurs,  it  is 
usually  sudden  and  its  destruction  is 
complete ;  it  brings  to  naught  the  years 
of  care.  The  damage  caused  by  live- 
stock is  as  sure  as  fire  in  destroying 
eventually  the  windbreak  or  shelter- 
belt.  Browsing  of  shrubs  and  the  lower 
branches  of  trees  and  young  reproduc- 
tion opens  up  the  stand  to  the  drying 
effect  of  the  winds,  allows  the  snow  to 
blow  through,  and  generally  reduces 
the  effectiveness  of  the  planting.  Con- 
stant trampling  by  stock  so  compacts 
the  soil  that  it  puddles  and  seals  the 
surface,  and  a  smaller  portion  of  the 
precipitation  reaches  the  tree  roots; 
moreover,  the  trampling  may  injure 
the  roots  or  result  in  breakage  or  other 
damage  to  the  stem  of  the  tree. 

Tree  plantings,  if  adequately  pro- 
tected, do  not  demand  frequent  atten- 
tion, but  the  comparatively  simple 
measures  that  are  needed  do  require 
timely  application. 

Pruning  of  shelterbelts  should  ordi- 
narily be  confined  to  the  removal  of 


199 

dead  or  diseased  trees  or  broken  limbs. 
Some  thinning  may  be  desirable  in 
thickly  planted  stands  or  other  special 
circumstances. 

After  a  planting  has  reached  ma- 
turity and  small  openings  begin  to  ap- 
pear in  the  crowns,  underplanting  is 
important  and  will  fill  in  the  gaps. 
Usually  only  very  tolerant  trees,  such 
as  redcedar,  will  succeed  among  the 
older  trees. 

JOSEPH  H.  STOEGKELER  is  in  charge 
of  the  Northern  Lakes  Forest  Research 
Center  at  Rhinelander,  Wis.,  a  branch 
of  the  Lake  States  Forest  Experiment 
Station.  He  has  been  engaged  in  re- 
search in  the  Forest  Service  since  1931. 
From  1935  to  1942,  when  the  Prairie 
States  Forestry  Project  was  pushing 
extensive  shelterbelt  planting  in  the 
Great  Plains,  he  participated  in  the  in- 
vestigations that  provided  the  tech- 
nical standards  for  that  project. 

Ross  A.  WILLIAMS  has  been  chief 
of  the  Division  of  Forestry  for  the 
Northern  Great  Plains  Region  of  the 
Soil  Conservation  Service  at  Lincoln, 
Nebr.,  since  1935.  Previously  he  served 
with  the  Forest  Service  and  taught  at 
the  Ranger  School  of  the  New  York 
State  College  of  Forestry  and  at  Mon- 
tana State  University. 


HEELING  IN 


Dig  V-shaped  trench 
in  moist  shady  place 


3  Cover  roots  with  loose 
moist  soil  and  water 
well 


CARRYING  PLANTING 
STOCK 


Open     bundles 
spread  out  evenly 


4      Complete  filling  in  soi 
and  firm  with  feet 


Keep  roots  covered  with  water, 
removing  one  plant  at  a  time 
as  planting  progresses 


200 


GROWING  BETTER  TIMBER 


ARTHUR  KOEHLER 


The  man  who  grows  trees  for  timber 
will  do  well  to  remember  that  as  the 
twig  is  bent  the  tree  is  inclined.  He  will 
find  that  he  can  guide  natural  processes 
and  improve  on  them.  With  a  purpose 
like  the  one  watchful  parents  and 
teachers  have  with  young  people,  he 
can  straighten  out  deficiencies  in  tree 
growth  by  his  proper  management  of 
young  stands  of  timber,  which,  if  left  to 
follow  their  bent,  make  inferior  wood. 

He  knows  less  about  the  possibilities 
of  improving  on  nature  in  growing 
timber  than  he  does  about  agricultural 
crops.  But  because  many  of  the  pres- 
ent second-growth  stands  still  are  in 
the  formative  stage  and  all  future 
stands  will  be  so,  his  opportunities  for 
improving  the  quality  of  the  wood  in 
such  stands  are  many.  As  a  rule,  second- 
growth  forests  (that  is,  young  forests 
that  develop  after  the  old,  virgin 
growth  is  removed)  are  smaller  when 
they  are  cut,  have  more  taper,  produce 
a  smaller  proportion  of  knot-free  wood, 
furnish  little  quarter-sawed  lumber, 
and  their  individual  boards  vary  more 
in  width  and  density  than  old-growth 
timber. 

Furthermore,  although  intensive  cul- 
tural methods  to  improve  the  quality  of 
the  crop  may  not  be  so  well  justified 
for  forest  as  for  agricultural  products, 
the  difference  in  value  between  timber 
of  poor  quality  and  timber  of  good 
quality  is  so  large  that  net  profit  and 
the  usefulness  of  forest  products  can  be 
enhanced  by  judicious  timber-growing 
practices. 

The  first  question  is:  What  quality 
of  timber  are  we  going  to  want  when 
the  crop  is  mature  in  25  to  100  years? 

Sawlogs  and  veneer  logs  generally 
will  be  the  chief  products,  in  volume 
and  value,  of  commercial  forests  for 
generations  to  come,  because  timber, 
lumber,  and  veneer  have  certain  out- 
standing characteristics  unequaled  by 
other  materials  —  comparatively  low 


cost  of  manufacture,  ease  of  working, 
ease  of  fastening  with  nails,  screws,  and 
glues,  light  weight  coupled  with  ade- 
quate strength  in  appropriate  sizes  for 
many  uses.  It  is  likely  that  coarse-fiber 
products  (insulating  boards,  sheathing 
boards,  hard  boards,  and  papers  for 
fiberboard-box  manufacture)  will  find 
a  wider  future  use  than  now ;  for  them, 
however,  we  should  be  able  to  get  a 
large  part  of  the  raw  material  from 
thinnings,  forest  residues,  low-quality 
wood,  secondary  species,  and  offal  from 
the  major  wood-utilization  processes. 
Timber,  ties,  poles,  and  most  lumber 
and  veneer  products  will  still  require 
natural  wood  of  good  quality. 

What  kind  of  trees  do  we  want  for 
timbers,  lumber,  and  veneer? 

IN  THE  FIRST  PLACE,,  they  must  have 
adequate  size  in  order  to  be  converted 
and  used  profitably.  In  the  future,  that 
size  probably  will  be  somewhere  be- 
tween 12  and  24  inches  in  diameter. 
It  may  not  be  profitable  to  grow  trees 
4  feet  in  diameter  on  a  commercial 
basis  because  it  takes  too  long.  But 
size  is  only  one  consideration.  Fully  as 
important  are  the  form  of  the  tree 
trunk  and  the  defects  and  quality  of 
the  clear  wood  that  it  contains. 

A  valuable  quality  in  trees  for  saw- 
logs  and  veneer  is  straightness  and  up- 
rightness of  the  trunk.  Crookedness  in 
logs  reduces  the  amount  of  lumber  and 
the  maximum  size  of  timbers  that  can 
be  cut  from  them  and  also  causes  warp- 
ing of  sawed  products  in  drying,  dif- 
ficulty in  getting  a  smooth  surface, 
and,  because  of  the  cross  grain  that  ac- 
companies crookedness — low  strength. 

Leaning  tree  trunks  usually  are 
curved  up  or  down.  They  also  produce 
abnormal  wood — in  softwoods,  on  the 
lower  side,  where  it  is  known  as  com- 
pression wood;  in  hardwoods,  on  the 
upper  side,  where  it  is  known  as  tension 
wood.  M.  Y.  Pillow,  in  his  investiga- 


Growing  Better  Timber 


tions  at  the  Forest  Products  Labora- 
tory, found  that  both  types  of  abnormal 
wood  shrink  excessively  and  unevenly 
along  the  grain  in  drying,  so  that  large 
and  small  pieces  alike  are  crooked,  and 
that  they  have  unreliable  strength 
properties.  Compression  wood  becomes 
more  pronounced  the  farther  the  tree 
trunk  leans  and  the  faster  it  grows.  In 
rapidly  growing,  second-growth  soft- 
wood stands  it  is  especially  important 
to  eliminate  trees  that  lean  5°  or  more. 
Less  is  known  about  tension  wood  in 
hardwoods. 

It  is  not  practical  to  straighten  small 
trees  that  are  crooked  or  leaning.  De- 
formed and  inclined  trees  should  be  re- 
moved while  young;  they  will  not  pro- 
duce high-grade  wood. 

Excessive  taper  also  is  objectionable, 
for  obvious  reasons,  in  logs  for  veneer, 
electric-wire  poles,  piling,  railway  ties, 
and  fence  posts. 

Taper  is  governed  by  the  ratio  of 
diameter  to  height  growth. 

ANNUAL  GROWTH  in  height  is  de- 
termined principally  by  the  quality  of 
the  site,  that  is,  climatic  and  soil  con- 
ditions. The  density  of  the  stand  in- 
fluences the  height  growth  only  slightly. 

Growth  in  diameter  is  determined  by 
the  quality  of  the  site  and  the  density 
of  the  stand.  On  a  given  site  the  ratio 
of  diameter  to  height  growth,  or  the 
amount  of  taper,  is  determined  by  the 
growing  space  of  a  tree.  The  faster 
trees  grow  in  diameter,  the  more  taper 
they  will  have.  Open-grown  trees  have 
too  much  taper  for  many  uses.  As  will 
be  seen  later,  growing  space  also  in- 
fluences the  size  and  persistence  of  the 
lower  limbs,  hence  taper  also  is  an  in- 
dex of  the  character  of  the  hidden 
knots  in  a  tree  trunk;  that  is,  the 
greater  the  taper,  the  larger  the  knots. 

Even  when  trees  grow  straight  and 
vertical,  the  grain  in  them — that  is,  the 
direction  of  the  fibers — often  is  not 
parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  stem. 
Various  types  of  distortions  of  the 
fibers,  some  of  them  detrimental  and 
some  advantageous,  may  occur.  Spiral 
grain,  which  is  an  inclined  growth  of 


201 

the  fibers  that  gives  the  trunks  a  twisted 
appearance,  may  occur  in  individual 
trees  of  any  species.  The  twist  may  be 
to  the  right  or  to  the  left;  usually  it  is 
more  pronounced  in  wood  the  farther 
it  is  from  the  center  of  the  trunk.  This 
is  a  point  in  favor  of  second-growth, 
because  the  trees  are  smaller  when 
harvested  than  are  old-growth  trees 
and  consequently  the  maximum  slope 
of  spiral  grain  should  average  less  in 
second-growth  timber. 

SPIRAL  GRAIN  is  consistently  objec- 
tionable. It  causes  poles,  timbers,  ties, 
and  lumber  to  twist  during  drying.  It 
has  a  weakening  effect  when  the  slope 
is  greater  than  1  in  20.  It  causes  chip- 
ping and  roughness  when  lumber  is 
planed  against  the  grain. 

We  do  not  know  the  cause  of  spiral 
grain,  but  we  do  know  that  it  is  not 
caused  by  actual  twisting  of  the  tree 
trunk  by  the  wind  or  otherwise.  Opin- 
ions differ  as  to  whether  spiral  grain 
is  due  to  heredity  or  environment.  It 
seems  to  be  more  severe  in  trees  that 
grow  slowly  under  adverse  conditions, 
as  at  timber  line;  it  may  be  that  slow 
growth  brings  out  more  strongly  any 
hereditary  tendencies  toward  spiral 
grain  that  may  be  present. 

To   BE   ON   THE   SAFE   SIDE,  Seed   for 

forest  planting  should  not  be  collected 
from  trees  that  have  spiral  grain. 
Young  trees  with  spiral  grain  should  be 
removed  from  a  forest  as  soon  as  con- 
venient after  they  are  discovered.  In 
trees  with  stringy  outer  bark,  such  as 
the  cedars,  cypress,  sequoias,  and  wil- 
lows, the  direction  of  the  grain  in  the 
wood  can  be  gaged  by  the  direction  of 
the  fibers  in  the  bark  or  by  bark  ridges. 
Even  in  such  trees  as  pine,  Douglas-fir, 
white  oak,  elm,  ash,  and  the  basswood, 
which  have  scaly  bark  with  pro- 
nounced fissures  and  ridges  after  they 
have  passed  the  young  stage,  spiral 
grain  can  be  detected  by  the  direction 
of  the  ridges  in  the  bark.  In  many  kinds 
of  young  trees  with  smooth  bark,  un- 
fortunately, spiral  grain  cannot  be  de- 
tected by  any  simple  means. 


202 

INTERLOCKED  GRAIN,  that  is,  spiral 
grain  that  reverses  in  direction  from 
right  to  left  and  back  every  few  years, 
is  hereditary,  because  it  occurs  almost 
universally  in  certain  species,  notably 
sweetgum,  black  tupelo,  and  many  of 
the  tropical  species.  It  produces  a 
beautiful  ribbon  figure  in  quarter- 
sawed  lumber  and  quarter-sliced  ve- 
neer, especially  in  species  in  which  the 
wood  has  a  high  natural  luster,  such  as 
mahogany,  Philippine  lauan,  and  Afri- 
can sapele.  But  it  also  causes  lumber, 
especially  plain-sawed  boards,  to  warp 
in  drying,  and  makes  planing  difficult, 
because  the  knives  must  cut  against 
the  grain  in  part  of  the  board  no  mat- 
ter which  way  it  is  planed.  Wood  with 
interlocked  grain  is  difficult  to  split, 
although  for  driveway  planking  and 
large  rollers,  such  as  those  used  for 
house  moving,  that  is  an  advantage. 

Other  types  of  distorted  grain  that 
occur  in  occasional  trees  are  wavy, 
curly,  and  bird's-eye  grain,  all  of  which 
are  considered  ornamental  and  in- 
crease the  value  of  the  trees  in  which 
they  are  found.  Unfortunately,  they 
cannot  be  detected  easily  without  mu- 
tilating the  young  trees,  although  a 
limited  amount  of  research  indicates 
that,  if  the  outer  bark  is  removed  over 
a  small  area  of  the  stem,  the  pattern 
of  the  grain  is  revealed  by  the  fibers 
in  the  inner  bark,  which  follow  the 
same  course  as  the  wood  fibers.  Cut- 
ting into  but  not  through  the  inner 
bark  in  spots  does  not  damage  the  tree. 

The  profits  from  growing  trees  cer- 
tainly could  be  increased  if  wood  of 
desirable  types  of  figure  could  be  pro- 
duced at  will.  Apparently  successful 
experiments  are  being  made  in  Fin- 
land in  growing  figured  birch.  If,  as 
in  the  case  of  walnut,  a  delicious  nut 
with  a  thin  shell  could  be  produced 
in  addition  to  figured  wood,  there  need 
be  little  question  as  to  whether  the 
financial  outcome  of  growing  such 
timber  would  be  plus  or  minus.  Prob- 
lems of  that  kind  require  a  great  deal 
of  special  study  for  a  long  period,  but, 
like  all  research,  it  need  not  be  re- 
peated once  it  is  done  thoroughly. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


KNOTS,  the  most  common  defects 
in  lumber,  are  the  bases  of  live  and 
dead  branches  imbedded  in  the  grow- 
ing tree  trunk.  They  affect  the  appear- 
ance, smoothness,  strength,  tightness, 
finishing,  and  other  properties  of  lum- 
ber and  veneer.  Lumber  without  knots 
is  worth  three  or  four  times  as  much 
as  knotty  lumber,  except  where  the 
knots  are  such  that  they  are  consid- 
ered ornamental.  The  parts  of  knots 
that  are  produced  by  limbs  while 
green,  known  as  intergrown  knots,  are 
not  so  detrimental  as  those  produced 
by  limbs  that  persist  after  death,  which 
often  are  discolored,  even  partly  de- 
cayed, and  loose. 

The  development  of  knots  in  trees 
can  be  reduced  in  two  ways.  One 
way  is  to  maintain  stand  conditions 
crowded  enough  while  the  trees  are 
young  that  the  lower  branches  will  die 
and  break  off  while  they  and  the  tree 
trunk  are  still  small  in  diameter.  In 
such  trees  the  knots  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  trunk,  especially  the  intergrown 
parts,  as  a  rule  will  be  shorter. 

The  dead  branches  often  persist  for 
an  extraordinarily  long  time  in  some 
species,  notably  eastern  and  western 
white  pines,  sugar  pine,  red  pine,  pon- 
derosa  pine,  Douglas-fir,  and  Engel- 
mann  spruce.  They  may  hang  on  after 
death  for  50  to  150  years  or  more  be- 
fore they  break  off,  leaving  longer 
dead  knots  than  intergrown  knots  in 
the  lower  portion  of  tree  trunks  from 
stands  that  are  fairly  well-stocked.  In 
such  species,  practically  no  knot-free 
lumber  can  be  produced  naturally  in  a 
commercially  reasonable  length  of 
time,  75  to  125  years. 

A  better  way  to  produce  knot-free 
lumber  is  to  prune  young  timber  trees. 
Whether  it  pays  to  prune  forest  trees 
depends  on  the  market  value  of  differ- 
ent grades  of  lumber  of  a  particular 
species  when  the  wood  is  harvested  and 
on  the  original  cost  of  pruning  and  the 
number  of  years  over  which  the  cost 
must  be  carried.  But  because  the  dif- 
ference in  value  of  knot-free  and  knot- 
ty lumber  from  virgin  timber  is  large 
and  unpruned  second-growth  timber 


Growing  Better  Timber 


203 


will  have  less  knot-free  lumber  than 
old-growth  timber,  it  is  reasonable  to 
expect  that  clear,  second-growth  lum- 
ber will  be  at  a  high  premium.  If 
forest  trees  are  pruned,  the  stand  can 
be  kept  more  open  without  danger  of 
the  trees  becoming  too  limby,  and 
hence  individual  trees  will  grow  faster 
and  produce  merchantable  timber  in  a 
shorter  time. 

Less  is  known  about  the  advisability 
of  pruning  hardwood  trees.  Decay 
seems  to  enter  the  trees  through  the  cut 
branches  more  readily,  especially  in 
some  species,  or  new  sprouts  may  de- 
velop along  the  trunk.  More  research 
is  needed  on  this  subject,  but  for  both 
softwoods  and  hardwoods  the  trees 
should  be  pruned  while  small  because 
the  cost  of  pruning  is  less,  small  branch 
stubs  will  heal  over  more  rapidly,  small 
knots  do  not  degrade  lumber  so  much 
as  large  knots,  and  more  knot-free  lum- 
ber will  be  produced.  Pruning  is  of 
most  value  for  trees  that  are  left  to 
grow  to  sawlog  size.  Although  pruning 
of  trees  grown  for  poles  and  pulpwood 
also  would  be  advantageous  from  a 
utility  standpoint,  its  over-all  economic 
benefits  are  more  questionable. 

An  interesting  result  of  the  study  of 
the  knots  in  Douglas-fir  at  the  Forest 
Products  Laboratory  was  that  the  trees 
growing  on  one  of  the  poorer  sites  in 
Oregon,  where  growth  in  height  and 
diameter  was  at  a  comparatively  slow 
rate,  had  smaller,  albeit  more  numer- 
ous, knots  than  trees  growing  on  one 
of  the  better  sites.  Because  size  of  knots 
is  a  more  important  factor  than  num- 
ber in  the  commercial  grading  of  com- 
mon lumber,  the  poorer  site  produced 
a  higher  grade  of  lumber  on  the  aver- 
age than  did  the  better  site.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  the  manufacture  of  pon- 
derosa  pine  box  veneer  and  shocks, 
some  mills  make  a  practice  of  cutting 
out  clear  bolts  between  knot  whorls. 
In  that  case,  trees  from  the  better  sites, 
which  grow  faster  in  height  and  there- 
fore have  a  longer  distance  between 
knot  whorls,  have  the  advantage  over 
trees  from  poor  sites. 

The  apparent  inconsistency  that  bet- 


ter wood  sometimes  is  produced  on  the 
poorer  sites  is  explained  by  the  fact 
that  sites  are  classified  on  the  basis  of 
the  volume  of  wood  they  can  produce 
per  acre  per  year,  regardless  of  quality. 
Even  in  straight,  vertical,  straight- 
grained  trees,  the  quality  of  the  clear 
wood  of  each  species  may  vary  consid- 
erably, in  accordance  with  the  condi- 
tions under  which  the  trees  grew. 

SLOWNESS  OR  RAPIDITY  of  growth  of 
a  tree  influences  greatly  the  properties 
and  usefulness  of  the  wood  produced 
by  it.  In  general,  when  softwood  trees 
grow  rapidly  or  slowly  they  produce 
lighter  and  weaker  wood  than  when 
the  rate  of  growth  is  more  moderate. 
This  does  not  necessarily  mean  inferior 
wood,  because  wood  of  light  weight 
may  have  advantages  where  strength 
is  not  essential.  Hardwood  trees  also 
usually  produce  light  and  weak  wood 
when  growing  slowly,  but  rapid  growth, 
as  a  general  rule,  results  in  heavier  and 
stronger  wood  than  does  a  more  mod- 
erate growth. 

In  second-growth  timber  that  has 
come  up  on  cut-over  or  burned-over 
lands  and  in  most  plantations,  the  trees 
grow  rapidly  while  young  because  they 
have  abundant  growing  space.  Later, 
as  they  become  larger  and  crowd  each 
other,  they  slow  down.  Consequently, 
the  annual  rings  of  growth  are  wide  at 
the  center  and  narrow  near  the  bark. 
Such  uneven  rate  of  growth  is  objec- 
tionable from  several  standpoints, 
especially  for  lumber  from  small  trees 
in  which  the  narrow  and  wide-ringed 
parts  cannot  be  easily  segregated  on 
account  of  their  small  size.  The  inner 
wide-ringed  wood  and  the  outer  nar- 
row-ringed wood  may  differ  in  density 
and  strength.  When  used  for  flooring, 
they  wear  unevenly;  they  have  differ- 
ent machining  and  gluing  properties; 
even  their  pulping  characteristics  are 
different. 

Wood  of  rapid  growth  in  some  of 
the  pines  shrinks  excessively  along  the 
grain.  The  result  is  crooking  of  lumber 
and  dimension  stock  when  it  is  com- 
bined with  wood  of  slower  growth. 


204 

That,  however,  does  not  seem  to  be  the 
case  in  Douglas-fir,  much  of  which  is 
wide-ringed  at  the  center  because  of 
having  come  up  in  the  open  after  fire, 
storm,  or  cutting. 

Benson  H.  Paul,  who  is  working  at 
the  Forest  Products  Laboratory  on  the 
relation  of  growth  conditions  to  wood 
quality,  found  that  a  reduction  in 
growth  is  particularly  objectionable  in 
hardwoods  used  for  purposes  where 
strength  is  essential,  as  with  hickory 
and  ash  for  tool  handles.  If  the  rate 
of  growth  is  slowed  down  from,  say,  5 
to  17  rings  an  inch  from  youth  to  ma- 
turity, the  outer,  slowly  grown  part  is 
apt  to  be  exceptionally  low  in  tough- 
ness— in  fact,  more  so  than  if  the  rate 
of  growth  had  not  been  rapid  in  youth. 

A  tree  of  more  uniform  rate  of 
growth  is  more  desirable  for  most  lum- 
ber uses  than  one  that  shows  wide 
variation  in  width  of  annual  rings. 

Old-growth  Appalachian  oak  and 
yellow-poplar  have  a  reputation  for 
being  soft-textured  because  of  their 
slow  or  moderate  growth  rates  in  dense 
stands  and  under  soil  and  climatic  con- 
ditions not  so  conducive  for  rapid 
growth  as  in  the  Mississippi  Delta. 
The  indications  are  that  second-growth 
oak  and  yellow-poplar  from  the  same 
region,  because  of  their  more  rapid 
growth,  will  not  be  so  soft-textured. 

Some  species  of  trees,  when  grown 
in  swamps  that  are  under  water  much 
of  the  year,  as  in  the  lower  Mississippi 
Valley,  usually  have  enlarged  butts 
that  extend  6  to  10  feet  above  ground 
and  contain  wood  that  is  much  softer 
than  the  normal  wood  higher  in  the 
trunk.  This  swell-butted  material  is  of 
inferior  quality,  but  it  occupies  a  rela- 
tively large  percentage  of  the  volume 
of  the  trunk  in  water  tupelo,  ash,  and 
baldcypress.  On  the  other  hand,  some 
species  of  oaks  and  cedar  elm,  which 
grow  well  under  the  same  conditions, 
do  not  produce  swelled  butts  having 
lightweight  wood.  This  is  an  important 
point  to  consider  in  reforesting  such 
bottom  lands. 

Observations  on  pines  growing  in 
the  sands  of  western  Florida  and  Ne- 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


braska  show  that  strong,  dense  wood 
will  not  be  produced  in  trees  that  have 
inadequate  soil  moisture  during  the 
summer  when  the  strength-giving  sum- 
mer wood  is  formed.  The  light  wood 
produced  in  trees  growing  under  such 
conditions  has  advantages,  however, 
for  uses  that  do  not  require  high 
strength  because  the  wood  is  easily 
handled,  easily  worked,  and  does  not 
shrink  and  swell  so  much  as  denser 
wood  of  the  same  species.  It  is  import- 
ant to  know,  however,  that  dense  and 
strong  yellow  pine  cannot  be  produced 
under  adverse  growing  conditions  in 
summer. 

Experience  and  laboratory  tests  have 
shown  large  variations  in  wood  quality 
in  each  species  of  timber.  Considering 
the  differences  that  may  occur  even  in 
the  same  tree,  it  is  evident  that  en- 
vironment is  responsible  for  much  of 
the  variation. 

HEREDITY  also  has  an  important  role. 
There  are  indications  that  straight- 
ness  of  trunk,  limbiness,  straight  grain, 
figured  wood,  and  rapid  growth  are 
hereditary,  as  well  as  resistance  to  dis- 
ease, cold,  and  drought.  Therefore,  in 
order  to  get  the  largest  return  from 
timber  growing,  seed  trees  should  be 
selected  with  an  eye  to  quality;  young 
trees  of  inferior  quality  should  be  elim- 
inated early  in  a  growing  stand,  and 
trees  retained  for  the  final  crop  should 
be  given  cultural  treatment  that  will 
insure  wood  of  desirable  characteristics 
as  far  as  is  economically  feasible. 

A  compromise  must  usually  be  made 
between  quantity  and  quality.  The 
highest  returns  often  are  not  obtained 
by  growing  trees  either  as  quickly  as 
possible  in  fairly  open  stands  or  at  a 
slow  and  uniform  rate  in  dense  stands 
to  produce  wood  of  better  quality.  The 
peak  in  profits  usually  lies  somewhere 
between  the  two  extremes  of  growth. 
Nor  may  it  be  economical  to  elimi- 
nate all  the  defective  trees  and  plant 
pedigreed  seedlings  in  their  place. 
Quality,  however,  should  always  be 
kept  in  mind  in  managing  forests  for 
wood  production. 


Growing  Better  Timber 


205 


To  SUMMARIZE  :  The  owner  or  man- 
ager of  a  tract  of  young  timber  can  do 
certain  things  to  improve  its  value  and 
usefulness  when  merchantable,  but 
obviously  it  is  not  practical  to  culti- 
vate, fertilize,  irrigate,  and  graft  for- 
est trees,  as  is  done  with  horticultural 
and  agricultural  crops. 

A  forester  can  control  several  fac- 
tors, by  means  of  which  he  can 
straighten  out  his  forest  so  that  it  will 
produce  greater  returns  than  if  left 
alone. 

The  more  important  of  these  factors 
are: 

1 .  Choice  of  species.  The  growth  of 
the  more  desirable  species  can  be  en- 
couraged by  planting  them  and  elimi- 
nating  the   less   desirable   ones.    The 
choice  must  be  based  on  what  will 
grow  well  in  the  area  concerned  and 
what  the  probable  future  value  will 
be  for  the  kind,  quantity,  and  quality 
of  timber  he  expects  to  produce.  The 
usefulness  of  a  species  should  not  be 
based  entirely  on  the  reputation  of 
the  old-growth  timber,  because  second- 
growth  may  be  materially  different  in 
some  respects. 

2.  Density  of  stand.  By  maintaining 
fully  stocked  stands  as  far  as  possible, 
the  maximum  volume  of  wood  will  be 
produced  on  an  acre  each  year,  but 
the  forester  still  has  some  leeway  in 
the  matter.    In   a    moderately   dense 


stand,  there  will  be  fewer  trees  to  the 
acre,  but  the  trees  will  grow  faster  and 
mature  earlier  than  in  a  dense  stand. 
The  wood,  however,  may  be  of  poorer 
or  better  quality,  depending  on  the 
kind  and  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  to 
be  used.  Ash  wood  grown  for  handles, 
for  example,  will  be  stronger  the  more 
open  the  stand,  but  oak  grown  for  fur- 
niture will  be  softer  and  more  stable  in 
the  denser  stands. 

3.  Improvement  cutting.  The  poor 
and  defective  trees  should  be  cut  as 
soon  as  they  interfere  with  the  growth 
of  trees  of  better  form  and  values. 

4.  Tree  injuries.  Injuries  to  trees  by 
fire,  disease,  insects,  man,  and  beast 
should  be  kept  at  a  minimum. 

5.  Pruning.  The  crop  trees  should  be 
pruned  while  young. 

As  the  old-growth  timber  becomes 
scarcer  and  the  second-growth  occu- 
pies more  and  more  land  and  as  people 
invest  more  money  in  forest  land  with 
the  expectation  of  reaping  profits  some 
years  hence,  the  incentive  to  grow  bet- 
ter timber  will  increase.  It  is  too  bad 
that  so  little  is  known  as  yet  as  to  the 
effect  different  sites  and  different  types 
of  forest  management  have  on  the 
quality  of  the  wood  in  different  species. 
But  some  progress  is  being  made.  Un- 
like agricultural  crops,  it  often  takes 
many  years  to  get  usable  results  in  ex- 
perimenting with  forest  trees.  Foresters 
are  asking  for  information  we  should 
have  started  20  years  ago  to  get. 

One  thing  is  sure :  The  best  kind  of 
timber  that  it  is  economically  practical 
to  produce  in  second-growth  stands 
will  not  be  had  unless  man  tends  the 
forests  properly,  just  as  he  has  learned 
to  do  with  his  fields  and  gardens. 

ARTHUR  KOEHLER  was  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Michigan  for- 
estry school  in  1911.  He  has  the  master 
of  science  degree  from  the  University 
of  Wisconsin.  He  has  carried  on  re- 
search in  wood  structure  and  identifi- 
cation of  wood  at  the  Forest  Products 
Laboratory  since  1911,  and  was  in 
charge  of  the  Division  of  Silvicultural 
Relations  from  1927  to  1948. 


206 


THE  JOB  OF  PLANTING  TREES:  A  SURVEY 

PHILIP  C.  WAKELEY,  G.  WILLARD  JONES 


The  planting  of  forests  has  been  go- 
ing on  for  a  long  time  in  Europe,  India, 
South  Africa,  Australia,  and  New  Zea- 
land. In  the  United  States,  the  first  few 
scattered  plantations  were  started  60  to 
70  years  ago  in  New  England,  New 
York,  and  Pennsylvania.  The  first  large 
plantings  date  from  about  1900,  but 
for  a  generation  thereafter  planting 
went  slowly.  By  the  end  of  1934,  the 
total  planted  area  was  only  about  2l/$ 
million  acres. 

The  establishment  of  the  Tennessee 
Valley  Authority,  the  Prairie  States 
Forestry  Project,  and  the  Soil  Conser- 
vation Service  and  the  expansion  of 
the  national  forest  and  State  nursery 
and  planting  programs  extended  public 
and  farm  planting  from  1935  on,  ex- 
cept during  the  war  years. 

By  the  end  of  1948,  nearly  5  million 
acres  had  been  planted  successfully  in 
the  United  States — 46  percent  of  it  by 
farmers  and  private  landowners,  7  per- 
cent by  industrial  organizations,  19 
percent  by  States,  counties,  and  mu- 
nicipalities, and  28  percent  by  Federal 
agencies.  Planting  has  been  most  exten- 
sive in  the  Lake  States,  the  South, 
New  York,  Nebraska,  Pennsylvania, 
Iowa,  and  Kansas.  Only  Rhode  Is- 
land, Delaware,  Arizona,  Nevada,  and 
Wyoming — which  are  either  small  or 
relatively  dry-climate  States — report 
fewer  than  10,000  acres  each  as  suc- 
cessfully planted.  In  1948  the  demand 
on  State  and  industrial  nurseries  ex- 
ceeded all  records. 

Many  individuals  have  been  work- 
ing on  seed,  nursery,  and  planting 
problems:  T.  E.  Maki,  a  forester,  per- 
fected a  method  of  testing  pine  cones 
for  ripeness  by  floating  them  in  oil,  thus 
saving  thousands  of  dollars  formerly 
wasted  on  immature  cones.  Raymond 
G.  Rietz,  a  heating  engineer,  designed 
cone-drying  kilns  and  worked  out  safe 
kiln  schedules  for  extracting  pine  seed 
from  the  cones.  Lela  V.  Barton,  a 


botanist,  made  important  discoveries 
having  to  do  with  storing  tree  seed  and 
increasing  and  speeding  up  its  germi- 
nation in  the  nursery.  S.  A.  Wilde,  a 
soil  scientist,  developed  special  fer- 
tilizer and  compost  treatments  for  for- 
est nurseries  in  the  Lake  States.  Carl 
Hartley,  a  forest  pathologist,  developed 
methods  for  preventing  nursery  seed- 
lings from  damping-off.  Joseph  H. 
Stoeckeler,  E.  J.  Eliason,  and  Floyd 
M.  Cossitt,  foresters,  evolved  a  highly 
economical  way  to  weed  seedbeds  of 
pine  by  spraying  them  with  dry-clean- 
ing fluid. 

The  planting  bar  most  widely  used 
in  the  South  was  designed  by  three  for- 
esters, a  ranger,  a  tool-company  offi- 
cial, and  a  boy  in  the  Civilian  Con- 
servation Corps.  Professional  foresters, 
implement  manufacturers,  and  State 
forestry  and  pulp-company  technicians 
have  developed  practicable  tree-plant- 
ing machines.  Hundreds  of  others  also 
have  made  contributions. 

The  techniques  of  planting  are  still 
advancing  rapidly.  Today  persons  who 
want  to  grow  trees  have  a  better  chance 
of  success  than  ever  before. 

Successful  planting  depends  on 
sound  information,  good  judgment, 
and  careful  work.  Indeed,  a  conspicu- 
ous aspect  of  planting  in  America  has 
been  the  outstanding  success  of  many 
beginners  who  have  observed  local 
conditions  carefully,  compared  in- 
formation and  suggestions  from  sev- 
eral sources,  and  intelligently  chosen 
methods  to  fit  their  particular  needs. 

A  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE  is  that, 

on  any  given  site,  native  species  do 
better  than  those  brought  in  from  an- 
other country  or  region.  When  species 
are  planted  out  of  their  natural  range, 
they  are  more  susceptible  to  disease, 
insects,  and  damage  from  frost  and  ice 
than  are  native  species.  Douglas-fir, 
when  planted  in  northwestern  Oregon 


The  Job  of  Planting  Trees:  A  Survey 


207 


where  it  is  native,  for  example,  attains 
18  inches  in  diameter  and  50  to  60  feet 
in  height  in  35  years.  In  the  Lake 
States,  it  does  not  grow  nearly  so  high. 

Special  purposes  sometimes  justify 
exceptions  to  the  rule  of  native  species. 

Scotch  pine,  which  is  native  to  west- 
ern Europe,  can  be  planted  confidently 
in  Indiana  or  Ohio  for  Christmas  trees, 
and  white  spruce  makes  a  good  orna- 
mental or  windbreak  in  North  Dakota. 

The  species  planted  vary  with  re- 
gions. On  the  national  forests,  for  ex- 
ample, slash  and  longleaf  pines  are 
most  widely  planted  in  the  Gulf  States ; 
loblolly  pine  in  the  Central  Atlantic 
Coast  States;  shortleaf  pine  in  the 
Ozarks;  red,  white,  and  jack  pines  and 
white  spruce  in  the  Lake  States  and  the 
Northeast;  Douglas-fir,  Port-Orford- 
cedar,  and  ponderosa  pine  in  the  Pa- 
cific Northwest;  ponderosa  pine  and 
the  western  white  pine  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains;  and  ponderosa  pine  and 
Jeffrey  pine  in  California.  The  same 
species  are  generally  planted  on  similar 
State,  municipal,  and  private  lands. 

In  the  Great  Plains  region,  eastern 
redcedar  and  Rocky  Mountain  juniper 
are  the  favored  conifers.  The  boxelder, 
green  ash,  American  elm,  hackberry, 
the  black  locust,  Siberian  elm,  honey- 
locust,  and  catalpa  are  the  most-fa- 
vored hardwoods. 

In  the  Northeast,  eastern  white  pine 
and  red  pine  are  favored  species,  sup- 
plemented by  some  Scotch  pine,  Nor- 
way spruce,  white  spruce,  and  jack 
pine,  and  small  quantities  of  Euro- 
pean larch  and  several  hardwoods. 

People  often  ask  why  conifers  are 
usually  planted  on  worn-out  and  aban- 
doned farm  land  that  once  supported 
fine  hardwood  forests.  The  answer  is 
that  cropping  and  fires  have  destroyed 
the  humus  that  covered  the  old  forest 
floor,  lowered  soil  fertility  and  mois- 
ture-holding capacity,  and  compacted 
the  subsoil.  Hence,  it  is  usually  neces- 
sary to  make  the  first  crop  conifers, 
which  build  up  the  soil  until  the  native 
hardwoods  gradually  reestablish  them- 
selves, often  from  seeds  brought  in  by 
birds,  rodents,  or  the  wind. 


MOST  PLANTATIONS  are  made  with 
nursery-grown  seedlings.  The  rapid 
first-year  growth  of  southern  pines 
makes  it  possible  to  use  seedlings  10  to 
15  months  old  and  as  they  come  from 
the  beds  in  which  they  were  sown. 
Hardwoods  are  also  planted  as  1 -year- 
old  seedlings,  especially  in  the  Central 
States  and  the  Great  Plains.  Use  of 
such  young  stock  helps  keep  down  the 
planting  costs. 

Jack  pine  2  years  in  the  nursery  bed 
is  favored  in  the  Lake  States  and 
2-year-old  Douglas-fir  and  Port-Or- 
ford-cedar  in  Oregon. 

Most  other  conifers  are  transplanted 
at  least  once  before  they  leave  the  nurs- 
ery. Transplanting  is  the  most  expen- 
sive of  all  nursery  operations,  but  it 
greatly  improves  hardiness  and  root 
system  of  the  seedling  and  thus  gives 
it  a  better  chance  to  survive  when 
planted  out. 

The  digging,  packing,  and  transport- 
ing of  wilding  seedlings  usually  in- 
volves considerable  expense,  quite  often 
more  than  the  cost  of  an  equal  number 
of  nursery-grown  seedlings.  The  mor- 
tality sustained  in  transplanted  wild- 
ings is  quite  frequently  severe.  For 
those  reasons,  we  do  not  recommend 
the  use  of  wildings  for  planting.  Expe- 
rience has  proved  that  the  premium 
stock  produced  under  controlled  nurs- 
ery conditions  to  meet  approved  speci- 
fications is  usually  less  expensive  than 
seedlings  secured  from  areas  near  to 
the  plantation. 

To  give  planted  trees  their  best 
chance  to  live  and  grow,  some  kind  of 
tilling  is  usually  needed  to  remove  sod 
and  brush  from  the  planting  site. 

The  several  kinds  include  scalping 
the  spots  at  proper  intervals  with  a 
mattock,  plowing  shallow  furrows  6  to 
8  feet  apart,  or  using  a  heavy  disk  to 
eliminate  brush  and  churn  up  and  ex- 
pose mineral  soil.  On  the  Great  Plains, 
thorough  summer  fallowing  of  the  soil 
has  been  found  necessary  before  plant- 
ing of  shelterbelt  trees.  In  planting  for 
erosion  control,  gully  banks  must  some- 
times be  plowed  in,  gully  channels 
dammed,  and  slopes  mulched.  Open 


208 

sand  plains,  however,  and  much  of  the 
cut-over  longleaf  pine  lands  require  no 
preparation;  on  other  longleaf  pine 
lands  a  single  burn  a  year  before  plant- 
ing may  be  enough. 

Tilling  is  important,  particularly 
when  planting  wild  lands  in  the  north 
where  the  planting  sites  are  usually 
overgrown  with  heavy  sod  and  dense 
brush.  By  removing  this  vegetation, 
competition  for  the  young  trees  for 
moisture,  light,  and  soil  nutrients  is 
greatly  reduced.  The  cost  of  prepar- 
ing the  site  will  vary  with  density  of 
the  vegetation  and  the  kind  of  tilling 
that  is  done.  For  large  plantations 
double-buster  plows  drawn  by  crawler- 
type  tractors  are  frequently  used.  Fur- 
rows in  which  the  trees  are  to  be 
planted  are  plowed  at  intervals  to  give 
desired  spacing  of  the  trees.  This  type 
of  site  preparation  is  efficient  and  eco- 
nomical. Heavy  tractor-drawn  disks 
have  proved  to  be  effective  in  prepar- 
ing difficult  sites  of  heavy  brush,  but 
the  cost  is  correspondingly  greater.  For 
small  or  wood-lot  plantations,  scalping 
spots  with  a  mattock  or  grub  hoe,  al- 
though laborious,  is  more  practical 
than  plowing  or  disking  because  it  does 
not  require  heavy  and  expensive  equip- 
ment. 

The  most  frequently  used  hand 
planting  tool  is  probably  the  grub  hoe 
or  mattock.  On  some  sites  it  is  used  to 
make  a  slit  just  large  enough  for  the 
roots.  Where  transplants  or  especially 
well-rooted  seedlings  are  used,  how- 
ever, it  is  usually  better  (even  though 
slower  and  more  expensive)  to  dig  a 
hole  in  which  the  roots  can  be  well 
spread. 

Throughout  most  of  the  South  where 
the  soil  is  sandy  loam  and  relatively 
free  from  stones  and  where  slit  plant- 
ing is  successful,  a  planting  bar  with  a 
10-inch  wedge-shaped  blade  is  used  for 
1 -year-old  stock.  The  same  is  true  for 
seedling  stock  in  parts  of  the  Lake 
States.  Technique  with  these  bars  was 
brought  to  a  high  peak  of  efficiency  by 
the  Civilian  Conservation  Corps  plant- 
ing crews.  Crack  planting  teams  had 
no  trouble  in  setting  300  trees  a  man- 


Yearbool(  of  Agriculture  1949 


hour;  even  average  crews  set  about  160 
a  man-hour.  A  man  planting  in  holes 
with  a  mattock  does  well  to  plant  65  to 
80  trees  an  hour. 

Planting  machines  have  now  been 
improved  and  are  in  use  to  reduce 
costs,  labor,  and  time.  Two  or  three 
men  (one  on  the  tractor  and  one  on 
the  planter,  or  two  alternating  as 
planter  and  follow-up  man  to  replant 
trees  set  too  high)  can  set  1,250  to 
1,750  trees  an  hour.  Different  ma- 
chines have  been  developed  for  the 
sand  plains  of  the  Lake  States  and  the 
bunchgrass-covered,  shallow,  sandy 
loams  with  stiff  subsoils  of  the  southern 
pine  region.  Some  of  the  machines 
work  well  in  fairly  heavy  brush.  None 
has  yet  been  adapted  to  hilly  or  rocky 
land,  however,  or  to  areas  cluttered 
with  logs  and  tops. 

Machine  planting  is  becoming  pop- 
ular in  the  Lake  States  region  among 
farmers  who  have  small  fields  which 
they  desire  to  plant  to  a  productive 
crop.  The  areas  usually  include  worn- 
out  fields  that  have  been  cropped  for 
many  years  and  require  a  minimum  of 
tilling  to  place  them  in  shape  for  plant- 
ing trees.  Planting  by  machine  is  a  rela- 
tively simple  operation.  It  involves 
making  a  deep  narrow  slit  in  the  soil  in 
which  the  tree  is  inserted  as  the  ma- 
chine moves  forward.  The  opening  is 
closed  and  the  soil  firmly  packed 
around  the  roots  of  the  tree  by  small 
rolling  packing  wheels,  which  follow 
closely  behind  the  trencher. 

How  closely  to  space  the  trees  de- 
pends on  the  purpose  of  the  plantation. 
The  closer  the  spacing,  the  more  trees 
are  needed  to  the  acre  and  the  more 
they  cost  to  produce,  transport,  and 
plant.  Closely  spaced  trees  must  be 
thinned  early,  or  they  will  crowd  each 
other  severely  and  fall  off  in  growth 
rate.  These  facts  have  led  to  the  use  of 
wide  spacings,  with  trees  8,  10,  16,  or 
even  20  feet  apart  each  way.  Trees  so 
spaced  reach  merchantable  size  at  the 
earliest  possible  age,  although  their 
quality  and  their  total  volume  per  acre 
in  the  early  years  are  often  low. 

On  the  other  hand,  closely  spaced 


The  Job  of  Planting  Trees:  A  Survey 


209 


trees  use  the  ground  more  fully  during 
the  early  years  of  the  plantation,  stop 
erosion  sooner,  produce  more  wood  on 
an  acre,  allow  higher  mortality  with- 
out the  need  of  replanting,  shed  their 
lower  branches  sooner,  and  permit  a 
wider  choice  of  trees  in  thinning. 
Many  costs  of  growing  timber,  such  as 
fire  protection  and  taxes,  are  incurred 
by  the  acre,  but  practically  all  profits 
accrue  by  the  tree.  Therefore,  within 
limits,  the  more  trees  to  the  acre  the 
better. 

A  spacing  of  6  by  6  feet  (1,210  trees 
an  acre)  has  always  been  popular. 
Spacings  of  5  by  6,  5  by  5  ( 1,742  trees 
an  acre),  and  4  by  6  are  increasing  in 
use,  especially  with  larger  markets  for 
small  products  and  the  development  of 
machine  planting.  At  these  spacings, 
trees  generally  grow  well  until  some 
can  be  thinned  out  and  sold  for  pulp- 
wood,  fence  posts,  or  small  poles,  or 
used  for  fuel.  The  rest  are  left  to  grow 
until  they  again  become  crowded, 
when  more  are  sold.  Except  for  special 
purposes,  however,  spacings  closer  than 
4  by  6  feet  cannot  be  recommended. 
Costs  are  too  high,  and  growth  may 
fall  off  too  soon. 

SOME  OF  THE  EARLIER  plantations 
are  now  old  enough  to  show  that 
planted  forests  are  economically  sound. 
Earnings  of  $24.60  an  acre  are  re- 
ported from  thinnings  on  a  30-year- 
old  red  pine  plantation  established  in 
northern  Wisconsin  by  the  State  in 
1913.  The  sale  of  Christmas  trees  from 
thinnings  in  6-  to  9-year-old  red  and 
jack  pine  plantations  in  the  Lower 
Peninsula  of  Michigan  brought  an 
average  of  $80  an  acre — and  as  high  as 
$122  an  acre  (200  trees  an  acre  at 
61  cents  each) . 

A  paper  company  in  Wisconsin  has 
planted  18,000  acres,  and  each  year 
plants  several  thousand  acres  more. 
Seven  other  forest  industries  in  Wis- 
consin had  planted  18,700,000  trees  on 
18,600  acres,  as  of  April  22,  1947,  and 
had  dedicated  300,625  acres  to  perma- 
nent forests.  In  the  Pacific  Northwest, 
extensive  planted  areas  are  already  un- 

802062°— 49 15 


der  management  in  a  tree-farm  move- 
ment, which  is  growing  rapidly. 

About  75  million  acres  of  forest  land 
in  the  United  States  were  classified  in 
1946  as  poorly  stocked  seedling  or 
sapling  areas,  or  as  deforested.  Forest 
restoration  on  such  idle  lands  com- 
monly requires  planting,  although 
under  fire  protection  a  portion  will 
gradually  restock  naturally.  Several 
million  acres  more  of  partly  stocked 
land  will  give  larger  and  quicker  re- 
turns if  interplanted ;  additional  mil- 
lions of  acres  of  submarginal  farm  land 
should  be  planted  to  trees. 

How  much  of  this  area  Government 
agencies,  industry,  and  farm  and  other 
private  owners  will  manage  to  plant 
is  hard  to  predict.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  job  needs  to  be  tackled  on  a  far 
larger  scale  than  in  the  past. 

One  goal  might  be  for  small  owners 
to  do  their  part  of  the  job  by  planting 
a  billion  trees  a  year,  or  20  million 
acres  in  20  years ;  planting  on  large  pri- 
vate holdings  and  on  public  lands 
might  add  10  million  acres  to  this  goal. 
We  believe,  however,  that  the  goal 
might  well  be  much  higher — 90  million 
to  100  million. 

However  we  gage  the  job  ahead,  it 
represents  a  tremendous  undertaking, 
neither  technically  simple  nor  cheap. 
It  is,  however,  a  constructive  effort, 
one  in  which  many  individuals  can 
contribute  to  the  lightening  of  the  gen- 
eral load  at  profit  to  themselves. 

PHILIP  C.  WAKELEY,  a  native  of 
New  Jersey,  has  degrees  in  forestry 
from  Cornell  University.  He  has  been 
employed  by  the  Southern  Forest  Ex- 
periment Station  since  1924,  and  has 
been  in  charge  of  seed,  nursery,  and 
planting  research.  He  has  written  sev- 
eral technical  publications  on  aspects 
of  forest  regeneration. 

G.  WILLARD  JONES,  a  forester  in  the 
Forest  Service,  is  in  charge  of  reforesta- 
tion in  the  Lake  States  region.  For  the 
past  32  years  he  has  been  engaged  in 
nursery  production  and  field- planting 
work  in  the  Northern  Rocky  Mountain 
and  Lake  States  regions. 


210 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

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211 


PLANTING  A  SMALL  SOUTHERN  WOODLAND 


W.  R.  HINE 


The  man  who  wants  to  plant  a  small 
woodland  in  the  South  should  first 
make  up  his  mind  on  several  points. 
Growing  timber  is  a  long-time  project. 
It  requires  good  judgment  in  weighing 
the  several  factors.  It  requires  careful 
long-range  planning  and  a  disposition 
to  abide  by  decisions  made.  It  is  well  to 
reach  sound  conclusions  at  the  start. 

Wise  land  management  dictates  that 
each  field  should  be  devoted  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  is  best  suited.  Land 
suited  to  the  production  of  food  crops 
normally  should  be  used  for  such  crops. 
Similarly,  pasture  land  should  be  de- 
voted to  growing  livestock,  and  land 
that  is  better  suited  to  growing  trees, 
including  worn-out  and  eroded  land, 
might  properly  be  devoted  to  growing 
a  timber  crop. 

Common  sense  suggests  that  plant- 
ing be  done  only  on  land  that  will  not 
restock  satisfactorily  within  a  reason- 
able time.  Many  forest  acres,  though 
bare  of  seed  trees,  will  reseed  naturally 
from  the  surrounding  woods,  and  the 
young  trees  will  grow  if  protected  from 
fire,  trampling,  or  grazing  as  may  be 
necessary.  A  good  stand  of  loblolly  pine, 
for  example,  will  adequately  reseed  the 
surrounding  area  to  a  distance  of  400 
feet  or  more.  Many  landowners  have 
planted,  only  to  find  in  3  to  5  years  that 
seedlings  from  nearby  trees  restocked 
the  area,  rendering  planting  unneces- 
sary. 

Potential  forest  land  that  is  not  re- 
stocking to  trees  adequately  or  in  a 
reasonable  length  of  time  should  be 
planted.  Adequate  stocking  means  at 
least  500  commercially  valuable  seed- 
lings, fairly  well  distributed  per  acre. 
Young  trees  in  stands  with  fewer  than 
500  an  acre  at  the  start  often  grow  up 
excessively  limby  and  produce  only 
low-grade  products.  Poorly  stocked 
stands  grow  less  volume  for  a  given 
area  than  well-stocked  stands.  A  rea- 
sonable length  of  time  to  wait  for 


natural  reseeding  depends  on  the  cost 
of  planting  and  the  value  of  the  an- 
nual growth  of  forest  products.  If,  for 
example,  it  costs  $8  to  plant  an  acre 
of  loblolly  pine,  which  will  grow  at  the 
rate  of  1  %  cords  an  acre  a  year,  worth, 
say,  $3  a  cord,  then  an  owner  would  be 
better  off  financially  if  he  planted  in 
preference  to  waiting  more  than  3  years 
for  nature  to  reseed. 

An  owner  will  want  to  consider  what 
kind  of  trees  to  plant  and  this  involves 
a  number  of  factors.  A  point  of  first 
importance  will  be  the  market  value  of 
products  grown. 

While  nearly  any  sound  tree  of  good 
form  is  marketable  when  timber  is  in 
urgent  demand,  some  species  are  diffi- 
cult to  market  when  demand  falls  off. 
Pines  are  generally  in  demand.  They 
are  closely  utilized,  bring  good  prices, 
and  grow  more  volume  per  acre  than 
hardwoods.  Slash  pine  and  longleaf 
pine,  in  addition  to  their  general  use- 
fulness for  wood  products,  also  pro- 
duce turpentine  and  rosin.  Hardwoods 
present  more  of  a  marketing  problem. 
They  are  more  limited  in  their  useful- 
ness and  hence  may  not  sell  so  readily. 
Some  species,  as  the  hickories,  are  often 
difficult  to  market.  An  occasional  spe- 
cies, such  as  blackjack  oak,  is  seldom 
marketable  at  all.  This  difference  in 
utility  is  the  basis  for  one  of  the  South' s 
most  difficult  forest-management  prob- 
lems. Everywhere  pines  are  cut  heavily, 
and  the  less  productive,  less  valuable 
hardwoods  are  left  in  possession  of  the 
soil.  Most  planters  prefer  pine  or  other 
softwoods. 

Some  owners  may  plant  for  a  special 
product,  as  fence  posts.  For  that  pur- 
pose they  want  such  durable  species 
as  black  locust,  or  redcedar,  Osage- 
orange,  or  catalpa. 

The  ability  of  a  species  to  ward  off 
the  hazards  of  a  locality  is  a  point  for 
consideration  in  selection.  Fire  has 
been  the  scourge  of  southern  forests. 


212 

Longleaf  pine  develops  a  skirt  of 
needles,  which  protects  the  bud  and 
growing  tissue  inside  the  bark.  Long- 
leaf  will  survive  fires  that  kill  other 
pines  and  hardwoods.  Shortleaf  has 
the  rare  quality  among  pines  of  being 
able  to  sprout  after  its  top  has  been 
killed  back  by  fire. 

SEEDLING  DISEASES  are  also  impor- 
tant. Longleaf  is  highly  susceptible  to 
brown  spot  needle  disease  (Scirrhia 
acicola),  which  in  some  localities  may 
prevent  seedlings  from  attaining  height 
growth.  Slash  pine  or  loblolly  pine  may 
be  substituted.  Each  within  its  range, 
and  on  the  suitable  sites,  will  grow  up 
without  any  serious  interference  from 
brown  spot.  Shortleaf  pine  in  the  west- 
ern Gulf  States  is  severely  stunted  by 
the  LeConte  sawfly  (Neodipnon  Le- 
Contei),  but  loblolly  is  relatively  un- 
injured by  this  insect.  Shortleaf  pine 
suffers  heavy  losses  over  part  of  its 
range  from  a  disease  called  littleleaf. 
Loblolly,  on  similar  sites,  is  relatively 
free  of  this  disease.  Longleaf  may  prove 
an  even  better  substitute. 

A  longleaf  plantation  may  be  wiped 
out  by  native  hogs  which  graze  on  the 
roots.  While  other  pines  may  be  killed 
by  hog  grazing,  the  damage  is  not 
usually  serious.  Hardwood  seedlings 
may  be  injured  by  grazing  and  tram- 
pling by  cattle.  Pine  seedlings  suffer  less 
than  hardwoods,  but  neither  will  sur- 
vive heavy  grazing. 

TREES  FOR  PLANTING  should  be 
native  to  the  locality.  Exotic  trees  or 
strains  of  trees  from  distant  sources 
have  no  place  in  the  small  woodland 
until  proved  by  public  agencies. 
Species  from  distant  sources  almost 
invariably  prove  less  successful  than 
local  trees.  For  example,  slash  pine  is 
an  excellent  species  in  its  native  range 
along  the  Coastal  Plain  of  the  South- 
eastern States,  but  it  suffers  breakage 
from  snow  and  ice  when  planted  north 
of  its  range.  Strains  of  loblolly  pine 
planted  100  or  more  miles  from  the 
parent  trees  sometimes  suffer  a  higher 
rate  of  infection  with  stem  canker 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


(Cronartium  fusiform)  than  the  local 
trees  that  belong  to  the  same  species. 

Species  should  be  adapted  to  soil 
and  moisture  conditions  of  the  area  to 
be  planted.  Longleaf  pine  will  grow  on 
the  most  difficult  dry,  deep  sandy 
ridges  within  the  natural  range  and 
make  excellent  timber.  Loblolly  pine 
on  the  same  site  is  often  so  heavily 
infected  with  stem  canker  that  the 
trees  must  be  salvaged  early  for  pulp- 
wood  or  be  lost  through  decay  and 
death.  Some  pine  will  serve  for  almost 
any  dry,  eroded,  or  less  fertile  area. 
Loblolly  pine,  within  its  natural  range, 
is  especially  effective  in  reclaiming 
eroded  soils  and  gradually  rebuilding 
them.  Pines  grow  well  in  good  soil,  too. 

Hardwoods  generally  require  the 
more  fertile,  well-watered  soils  with 
good  drainage.  Black  locust,  for  exam- 
ple, will  grow  rapidly  on  good,  well- 
watered  soils,  but  will  fail  completely 
on  poor  soil  or  dry  sites.  Commercially 
valuable  hardwoods,  such  as  white 
oak,  walnut,  black  cherry,  and  yellow- 
poplar,  likewise  require  soils  equal  in 
fertility  to  those  on  good  agricultural 
lands,  but  occasionally  a  landowner 
has  an  odd  corner  of  such  land  that 
will  make  a  better  return  with  a  crop 
of  good  hardwood  trees  than  with  an- 
nual crops. 

The  discussion  thus  far  suggests 
that  the  tree  planter  will  encounter 
many  problems  on  which  he  may  need 
the  counsel  of  an  expert.  Each  plant- 
ing area  presents  its  own  special  set  of 
conditions  and  problems.  Many  of 
them  require  decisions  on  a  technical 
basis.  Technical  help  is  available  for 
those  who  wish  it.  The  State  forester, 
the  local  forester  for  any  public 
agency,  or  the  county  agent  will  gladly 
give  advice  on  request.  The  forester 
will  go  over  the  property  with  the 
owner  and  discuss  whatever  questions 
may  arise.  He  will  explain  why  species 
succeed  or  fail  under  varying  condi- 
tions. He  will  discuss  the  relative  values 
of  different  species  and  present  facts 
on  rate  of  timber  growth,  markets,  and 
cash  returns.  The  owner  may  then 
weigh  the  facts  he  has  obtained  from 


Planting  a  Small  Southern  Woodland 


213 


his  own  observations,  from  the  for- 
ester, and  from  others,  and  reach  his 
own  conclusions. 

SPACING s  vary  from  as  close  as  3  by 
3  feet  to  10  by  10  feet,  and  even  wider. 

Narrower  spacings,  say  5  by  5  feet 
and  closer,  are  usually  intended  for 
erosion-control  purposes  or  Christmas- 
tree  culture.  The  primary  objective  is 
to  get  the  ground  protected  from  rain 
and  washing  as  soon  as  practicable. 

Intermediate  spacings,  6  by  6  feet 
to  8  by  8  feet,  are  primarily  for  timber 
production. 

Wide  spacings,  10  by  10  feet  and 
wider,  are  sometimes  used  for  the  pro- 
duction of  naval  stores. 

Close  spacings  grow  more  wood  per 
unit  of  area  than  wide  spacings  because 
trees  use  the  soil  moisture  and  sunlight 
more  completely. 

C.  H.  Coulter,  the  State  forester  of 
Florida,  reported  a  growth  of  34.8 
cords  to  the  acre  on  a  13 -year-old  slash 
pine  plantation  spaced  8  by  8  feet,  and 
20.2  cords  for  one  planted  12  by  12. 

Closely  planted  trees,  however,  must 
be  kept  thinned  so  as  to  retain  a  third 
or  more  of  the  length  of  the  stem  in 
green  crown;  otherwise,  the  produc- 
tion of  wood  will  slow  down.  Many 
planters  who  desire  to  grow  wood  prod- 
ucts space  the  trees  so  that  the  first 
thinning  will  be  made  when  a  sub- 
stantial proportion  of  the  trees  reach 
the  size  for  the  product  desired.  Thus 
an  owner  in  the  South  who  plans  to 
make  his  first  thinning  for  a  pulpwood 
market  might  plant  on  a  6-  by  6-foot 
spacing  or  thereabouts.  His  first  thin- 
ning would  be  made  at  the  end  of  15 
to  25  years,  depending  on  the  soil. 

Men  of  the  Forest  Service  planted 
2  acres  on  an  abandoned  field  on  the 
Apalachicola  National  Forest  in  Flor- 
ida on  a  6-  by  6-foot  spacing  using  3- 
year-old  wild  slash  pine  seedlings.  Pulp- 
wood  was  the  first  in  the  series  of 
expected  products.  Exceptionally  rapid 
growth  made  it  necessary  to  thin  the 
planted  stand  11  years  after  planting. 
The  cut  on  a  selective  basis  removed  16 
cords  an  acre  and  left  22  cords  an  acre. 


Numerous  plantings  at  that  spacing 
have  been  thinned  profitably  at  15  and 
20  years  of  age. 

An  owner  who  plans  to  make  his 
first  thinning  for  saw  timber  would 
choose  a  wider  spacing,  say  8  by  8 
feet,  and  expect  to  thin  at  30  to  40 
years.  The  first  sawlogs  from  planted 
stands  in  the  South  have  not  yet  been 
cut,  although  Jim  Fowler,  M.  L.  Shaw, 
and  others  have  some  trees  of  sawlog 
size  in  stands  20  years  of  age. 

A  naval  stores  operator  who  plants 
slash  or  longleaf  pine  might  prefer  a 
wide  spacing  so  as  to  produce  long, 
large,  green  crowns  for  the  maximum 
production  of  gum.  C.  W.  Sinclair,  of 
Madison  County,  Fla.,  was  able  to 
turpentine  90  trees  an  acre,  all  9  inches 
or  larger  in  diameter,  at  13  years  on  a 
12-  by  18-foot  spacing.  Most  foresters 
recommend  a  moderately  close  spacing 
to  assure  fairly  complete  utilization  of 
the  site  and  also  to  assure  the  natural 
pruning  of  branches.  The  products 
such  as  pulpwood,  naval  stores,  poles, 
and  sawlogs  would  be  harvested  as  they 
became  available. 

PLANTING  ON  LANDS  that  have  been 
cultivated  is  usually  done  without 
special  preparation  of  the  planting  site. 
Plantings  on  cut-over  forest  land  may 
likewise  be  made  without  prior  prep- 
aration of  the  site,  other  than  perhaps 
burning  off  the  accumulated  grass, 
weeds,  and  brush.  Removal  of  such 
trash  exposes  the  bare  soil  and  makes 
the  planting  operations  more  conven- 
ient. Competition  for  the  young  trees 
is  reduced,  and  the  fire  hazard  is  tem- 
porarily eliminated.  Loosening  the  soil 
in  cut-over  forest  land  likewise  aids 
seedling  growth.  Seedlings  almost  in- 
variably grow  better  in  loosened  soil — 
as  evidenced  by  their  growth  along 
road  banks.  Mr.  Coulter  found  that 
seedlings  on  an  old  field  grew  substan- 
tially better  than  trees  on  adjacent  un- 
broken forest  soil.  Earl  Porter,  of  the 
International  Paper  Co.,  found  that 
woods  soils,  broken  with  a  heavy 
harrow  3  months  before  planting,  pro- 
duced trees  that  at  the  end  of  4/2  years 


214 

were  70  percent  taller  than  those  on 
soils  not  harrowed. 

At  least  three  ways  of  planting  de- 
serve consideration.  They  are  direct 
seeding,  planting  with  wild  seedlings, 
and  planting  with  nursery  seedlings. 

It  is  possible  to  reforest  by  sowing 
or  planting  seed  directly  on  prepared 
ground,  and  there  are  examples  of 
satisfactory  stands  obtained  by  this 
method.  T.  J.  Fountain,  of  Taylor 
County,  Ga.,  prepared  a  100-acre  field 
as  if  he  were  going  to  plant  water- 
melons. He  sowed  it  to  longleaf  pine 
seed.  Each  seed  was  planted  by  hand, 
deep  enough  to  cover  the  seed,  but 
with  the  wing  sticking  out  in  the  breeze. 
Contrary  to  the  customary  habit  of 
waiting  several  years  before  starting 
height  growth,  many  of  Mr.  Foun- 
tain's longleaf  seedlings  grew  several 
inches  the  first  season.  He  now  has  a 
near-perfect  15-year-old  longleaf  stand 
with  trees  35  feet  tall  and  6  to  7  inches 
in  diameter  at  breast  height.  On  the 
other  hand,  many  capable  people  have 
failed  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  a  stand 
by  direct  seeding.  Until  sure-fire  meth- 
ods for  successful  direct  seeding  are 
worked  out,  it  is  cheaper  in  the  long 
run  to  plant  high-grade,  nursery-grown 
seedlings. 

Plantings  may  be  made  with  wild 
seedlings,  which  grow  naturally  in  old 
fields  or  along  road  banks  or  borrow 
pits.  Wild  seedlings  6  inches  to  12 
inches  tall  can  be  lifted  and  trans- 
planted during  the  dormant  season — 
late  fall  and  winter. 

One  notable  planting  with  wild 
stock  was  made  in  1928  by  M.  L.  Shaw, 
on  worn-out  farm  land  in  Clinch 
County,  Ga.  With  help  from  his 
father  and  hired  hands,  he  planted  72 
acres  with  wild  slash  pine  seedlings  dug 
up  in  the  forest.  He  used  a  10  by  10 
spacing.  He  replanted  the  fail  places  in 
1929  and  1930.  His  pines,  thinned  for 
pulpwood  in  1942,  yielded  8.6  cords 
an  acre,  or  $20  an  acre,  at  the  end  of 
14  years.  In  1947,  he  started  turpen- 
tining 5,000  trees  on  a  selective  basis, 
chipping  only  crowded  trees  and  those 
of  poor  form.  He  cut  the  turpentined 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


trees  in  1948,  and  they  yielded  500 
cords  of  pulpwood.  Prior  to  the  cut- 
ting in  1948,  the  stand  had  28  cords 
to  the  acre  and  about  275  trees  7  to  13 
inches  in  diameter.  Total  growth  for 
20  years  was  36  cords  an  acre.  The 
land,  originally  worth  $2  an  acre,  has 
already  produced  $44  worth  of  pulp- 
wood  and  now  has  a  well-stocked  stand 
of  saw-timber  trees. 

The  wild  seedlings  are  recommended 
only  in  exceptional  cases.  They  are 
rarely  available  close  by  in  the  quan- 
tity needed  and  of  the  right  size  for 
transplanting.  They  are  generally  not 
so  well  developed  in  root  and  top  as 
nursery-grown  stock,  and  hence  would 
not  be  so  uniformly  successful  where 
equivalent  care  was  given.  Expert  and 
careful  handling  is  required  in  lifting 
and  transporting  wild  seedlings.  The 
cost  might  easily  exceed  the  cost  of 
nursery-grown  stock,  and  an  inex- 
perienced planter  might  have  greater 
losses  with  wild  stock  than  with  nurs- 
ery-grown stock.  Nevertheless,  if  a  man 
knows  how  to  handle  wild  seedlings 
and  takes  all  the  necessary  care,  they 
should  prove  satisfactory. 

Planting  should  be  done  in  the  dor- 
mant season,  after  the  hardwood  leaves 
drop  in  the  fall  and  before  new  growth 
shows  in  the  spring.  Trees  should  not 
be  planted  in  frozen  ground.  Seed- 
lings showing  new  growth  are  likely  to 
fail  under  ordinary  handling.  Of 
course,  it  is  possible  with  small  seed- 
lings, excellent  care,  and  plenty  of 
rain,  to  transplant  at  any  season  of  the 
year  when  the  ground  is  not  frozen. 

The  solution  for  most  small-wood- 
land owners  is  to  purchase  nursery- 
grown  seedlings  from  a  State  forest- 
tree  nursery.  Any  publicly  employed 
forester,  State  or  Federal,  or  any  county 
agent  will  assist  a  landowner  to  place 
his  order  and  get  any  information  he 
may  need  about  planting.  Trees  from 
the  State  nursery  are  grown  to  the  size 
that  gives  the  best  success  when  trans- 
planted, and  only  healthy,  vigorous, 
well-developed  trees  are  sold.  Trees 
come  properly  wrapped  and  ready  for 
planting.  If  the  trees  are  handled  care- 


Planting  a  Small  Southern  Woodland 


215 


fully  and  planted  properly,  according 
to  directions  received  with  the  seed- 
lings, an  owner  should  be  rewarded 
with  a  successful  plantation,  provided 
rainfall  is  adequate. 

Woodland  owners  will  do  well  to 
order  their  seedlings  well  in  advance  of 
the  time  of  planting.  State  forest  nurs- 
eries strive  to  raise  enough  seedlings  to 
supply  the  demand.  Sound  public 
financing  suggests  that  they  plan  to 
grow  no  more  than  they  sell.  In  the 
South,  about  20  months  elapses  from 
the  time  plans  are  laid  and  seed  col- 
lected until  the  seedlings  are  lifted 
from  the  nursery.  Seedlings  may  not  be 
held  over  in  southern  nurseries  through 
a  second  growing  season  because  they 
become  too  large  for  economical  trans- 
planting. The  State  can  therefore  do  a 
better  job  of  nursery-production  plan- 
ning if  orders  are  placed  about  1/2 
years  ahead  of  the  date  when  the  owner 
wishes  to  plant.  Of  course,  the  State 
may  be  able  to  fill  small  orders  placed 
only  a  few  months  ahead  of  the  date 
of  planting. 

Planning  ahead  is  sound  business  for 
the  planter  also.  It  enables  him  to  take 
proper  care  of  the  seedlings,  make  ade- 
quate preparation  of  the  planting  site, 
and  arrange  for  the  necessary  labor. 

Seedlings  should  be  planted  prompt- 
ly after  receipt  from  the  nursery.  If 
planting  is  necessarily  delayed  for  a  day 
or  two,  seedlings  may  be  stored  in  a 
cool,  dry  place  in  the  package  as  re- 
ceived from  the  State  nursery.  If  seed- 
lings are  received  unwrapped,  as  in  a 
truckload  shipment,  or  if  the  delay  in 
planting  may  extend  to  several  days, 
seedlings  should  be  heeled-in.  The 
heel-in  site  should  be  cool,  well- 
drained,  and  shaded  from  the  sun. 

Trees  are  heeled-in  in  long  trenches. 
The  trench  made  with  a  shovel  or 
spade  is  dug  deep  enough  to  accom- 
modate the  full  length  of  the  tree  roots. 
One  side  of  the  trench,  the  upper  side, 
if  on  an  incline,  is  sloped.  Trees  are 
spaced  out  on  the  sloped  side  thinly 
so  that  some  roots  of  each  tree  touch 
the  slope.  Loose  dirt  is  shoveled  over 
the  roots,  all  of  which  should  be  cov- 


ered. Soil  is  then  firmed  lightly  and  the 
trees  are  watered.  Trees  are  lifted  from 
the  heel-in  bed  as  needed ;  the  remain- 
ing trees  are  kept  well  watered  until 
planted. 

Tree  roots  must  be  kept  moist  and 
sheltered  from  the  sun  and  the  wind. 
Seedlings  are  transported  in  a  bucket 
or  another  watertight  container.  Wet 
moss  or  sawdust  should  cover  the  roots 
at  all  times,  and  the  trees  should  be 
taken  from  the  container  one  at  a  time 
as  needed  and  promptly  planted. 

TOOLS  USED  IN  HAND  PLANTING  are 

simple  and  inexpensive.  The  mattock 
and  spade  are  still  used  where  the  soil 
is  thin;  with  them,  special  care  is 
necessary  to  provide  enough  dirt  to 
cover  the  roots  properly. 

Newer  tools  have  been  designed  for 
use  where  the  soil  is  loose  and  deep. 
One,  the  planting  dibble,  is  a  long, 
wedge-shaped  bar  that  is  fastened  to  a 
handle.  It  is  used  to  make  a  slit  in  the 
ground  deep  enough  to  take  the  roots 
without  doubling  them  back.  The 
seedling  is  placed  in  the  hole.  Its  roots 
are  spread  as  much  as  possible  to  in- 
sure individual  contact  with  the  soil. 
The  tree  is  set  in  the  soil  at  the  ap- 
proximate depth  that  it  grew  in  the 
nursery.  After  proper  setting,  the  seed- 
ling is  firmed  in,  and  the  hole  closed 
with  the  same  tool.  Distance  between 
rows  is  measured  off  and  the  end  of 
the  row  is  marked  with  a  flag  as  a  guide 
to  the  planter.  Spacing  along  the  rows 
is  measured  by  pacing. 

For  larger  plantations,  planting  ma- 
chines drawn  by  tractors  are  now  used. 
One  type  of  planting  machine  opens  a 
narrow  slit  in  the  soil  with  a  trencher 
plow.  The  slit  is  held  open  by  two 
parallel  iron  runners  long  enough  to 
permit  the  insertion  of  a  seedling. 
After  that,  the  slit  is  closed  and  firmed 
about  the  seedling  roots  by  two  rolling 
wheels,  which  press  the  soil  from  either 
side.  Other  types  work  similarly  with 
slight  variations. 

Planting  costs  may  vary,  and  average 
estimates  have  little  value  for  a  given 
prospective  planting. 


2l6 

Pine  seedlings  from  State  nurseries 
in  the  South  cost  $2  to  $3.50  a  thou- 
sand; hardwoods  cost  $3  to  $10.  Else- 
where seedlings  may  sell  for  as  much 
as  $25  or  more,  depending  on  the  cost 
of  production. 

Costs  for  planting  in  the  field  like- 
wise vary  with  wage  scales  and  the  ease 
or  difficulty  of  planting.  Planting  pine 
seedlings  on  average  abandoned  fields 
or  on  cut-over  forests  with  reasonably 
loose  soil  should  require  approximately 
1 1/2  man-days  an  acre.  This  estimate  is 
based  on  planting  908  trees  on  a 
6-  by  8-foot  spacing  and  assumes  plant- 
ing at  the  rate  of  600  seedlings  per 
man-day,  which  is  not  difficult  for  ex- 
perienced planters. 

Planting  with  the  recently  developed 
planting  machines  is  much  faster.  Two 
men  with  a  track-type  tractor  and  a 
planting  machine  can  plant,  in  clay 
soils  and  light  oak  stands,  12,000  to 
15,000  trees  in  an  8-hour  day.  In  sandy 
soils,  a  farm-type  wheel  tractor  and 
machine  can  do  as  well.  The  same 
number  of  seedlings  an  acre  can  be 
planted  by  machine  at  one-third  to 
one-half  the  cost  of  hand  planting. 

Although  planting  by  hand  will  con- 
tinue to  be  more  practical  for  most 
small  owners  for  some  time  to  come, 
custom-machine  planting  is  already 
available.  In  some  localities  public- 
spirited  citizens  or  institutions  will  lend 
planting  machines  free  to  planters. 
Machines  offer  important  possibilities 
for  an  expanded  program  of  planting. 

SATISFACTORY  SURVIVAL  and  growth 
in  planted  stands  are  relatively  easy  to 
obtain  if  good  judgment  is  used  in  the 
selection  of  species  and  areas  to  be 
planted  and  if  proper  care  is  given  in 
planting  and  protecting  the  plantation. 

Thousands  of  farmers  who  had  never 
planted  trees  before  have  obtained  a 
satisfactory  survival.  Donald  Brewster, 
a  consulting  forester,  reported  success- 
ful survival  of  91  percent  of  1.4  million 
slash  pine  trees  from  the  Florida  State 
Nursery  that  farmers  planted  during  a 
10-year  period.  General  observations 
over  the  South  indicate  that  this  is  not 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


too  high  to  expect  for  slash,  loblolly, 
and  the  shortleaf  pines  if  due  care  is 
exercised. 

But  planting  as  a  business  venture  is 
not  without  its  hazards.  An  extended 
period  of  dry  weather  in  the  first  year 
of  planting  may  kill  the  seedlings  be- 
fore they  become  established.  Such 
losses  are  not  uncommon,  particularly 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  It  may  be 
repeated  that  little  can  be  done  about 
the  weather,  but  the  woodland  owner 
with  many  acres  to  plant  can  arrange 
to  spread  the  job  over  several  years. 
The  loss  for  a  dry  year  will  thus  not  be 
so  great  as  if  he  had  planted  the  entire 
area  in  that  one  year. 

A  more  serious  threat  to  plantations 
is  fire.  Most  planted  trees  are  easily 
killed  by  fire  in  their  early  years.  Even 
longleaf  pine  may  be  killed  by  repeated 
severe  fires.  Many  owners  burn  over 
the  planting  site  before  planting.  This 
eliminates  the  accumulated  fuel  and 
the  chances  for  a  serious  fire  at  least 
until  the  following  fall.  The  careful 
owner  will  plow  firebreaks  6  feet  or 
wider,  cleared  of  all  inflammable  ma- 
terial down  into  the  bare  soil,  around 
the  plantation.  If  the  plantation  is 
large,  it  should  be  broken  up  into 
blocks  of  20  or  40  acres  with  additional 
firebreaks.  Some  owners  burn  their 
southern  pine  plantations  as  an  insur- 
ance against  disastrous  losses.  Burning 
must  be  done  under  carefully  con- 
trolled conditions  or  the  fire  set  by  the 
owner  may  be  as  disastrous  as  wildfire. 

If  trees  are  killed  by  fire  before  they 
reach  merchantable  size,  there  is,  of 
course,  nothing  to  salvage.  However, 
Mrs.  Hugh  Mayes,  of  Leon  County, 
Fla.,  had  a  severe  fire  in  a  53-acre  field 
of  10-year-old  slash  pine.  About  one- 
half  the  trees  were  killed.  She  sold  the 
fire-killed  pine  trees  as  pulpwood  for 
enough  to  pay  all  planting  and  carry- 
ing costs.  The  remaining  trees,  though 
temporarily  slowed  down  in  growth, 
recovered  in  3  or  4  years  and  are  now 
growing  nicely. 

Grazing  by  domestic  stock  provides 
a  definite  hazard  to  planted  trees.  Cat- 
tle graze  closely  such  hardwood  trees 


Planting  a  Small  Southern  Woodland 


217 


as  white  oak,  yellow-poplar,  and  ash, 
which  are  frequently  used  in  plantings. 
Trampling  by  cattle  packs  clay  soils 
and  makes  both  seedling  survival  and 
growth  difficult.  Cattle  often  ride  down 
young  trees  to  graze  on  them  or  brush 
off  the  flies.  Light  grazing  by  cattle  in 
pine  stands  may  not  do  great  harm, 
but  it  will  not  help  the  plantation. 
Sheep  seriously  interfere  with  the 
growth  of  young  longleaf  seedlings  by 
nipping  the  buds.  Hogs  will  destroy  a 
plantation  of  longleaf  by  grazing  the 
roots.  The  plantation  should  be  pro- 
tected, as  necessary,  from  livestock  by 
fencing. 

Planted  trees  are  susceptible  to  the 
same  diseases  and  attacks  by  insects  as 
are  trees  in  natural  stands  of  the  same 
species.  Longleaf  pine  that  is  held  back 
from  making  height  growth  by  brown 
spot  may  be  released  by  careful  burn- 
ing. The  flames  check  the  spread  of  the 
disease  for  a  year  or  two,  allowing  the 
longleaf  pine  to  make  height  growth 
and  get  above  the  zone  of  dangerous 
infection.  Loblolly  pine  and  slash  pine 
are  especially  susceptible  to  stem  can- 
ker. Careful  culling  of  seedlings  at  the 
nurseries  has  greatly  reduced  the 
chances  that  the  planter  will  receive 
infected  trees.  However,  infection  may 
occur  on  the  growing  tips  of  trees  of 
any  size  when  the  pollen  is  flying  in 
the  spring.  About  the  only  known  prac- 
tical remedy  in  planted  stands  is  to 
thin  out  the  infected  trees.  They  are 
easily  recognized  by  the  masses  of 
orange  spots  in  the  spring  and  by  the 
swollen,  distorted  trunk  and  limbs. 
Thinning  is  usually  delayed  until  the 
cut  products  may  be  used  on  the  place 
or  sold.  Hardwood  trees  are  subject  to 
various  rots  which  enter  from  an  in- 
jury, as  from  fire  or  logging  damage. 
Diseased  trees  should  be  removed. 

Pine  plantations  suffer  somewhat 
from  insect  attacks.  Occasionally  these 
are  serious,  but,  over  the  South  as  a 
whole,  insects  do  relatively  little  dam- 
age to  plantations.  This  is  probably  be- 
cause the  trees  in  plantations  are  usu- 
ally well  spaced,  affording  each  room 
for  healthy  development. 


Some  loss  to  plantations  results  from 
the  southern  pine  beetles.  Losses  oc- 
cur when  the  trees  are  severely  injured 
as  by  lightning,  fire,  or  extended  dry 
weather.  Pink  pitch  tubes  building  up 
on  the  bark,  small  black  beetles  work- 
ing in  the  cambium  layer  just  under 
the  bark,  and  yellowing  or  browning 
needles  in  the  dying  trees  give  warn- 
ing of  the  presence  of  the  southern 
pine  beetle.  The  remedy  is  to  remove 
and  utilize  or  burn  the  trees  that  show 
evidence  of  beetle  activity.  Rain  in 
normal  quantity  will  restore  the  ability 
of  the  trees  to  drown  out  the  insects 
with  resin  if  the  insect  damage  has  not 
progressed  too  far.  It  also  serves  to 
check  the  spread  of  infestations. 

The  LeConte  sawfly  sometimes  strips 
needles  from  the  young  pines.  Dam- 
age is  especially  severe  in  southern 
Arkansas  and  northern  Louisiana, 
where  shortleaf  trees  may  be  held  back 
for  several  years.  Many  trees  are  killed. 
The  tip  moth  (Rhyacionia  frustrates) 
damages  both  shortleaf  and  loblolly 
by  tunnelling  in  and  killing  the  young, 
tender  growing  tips. 

It  is  hardly  practical  to  attempt  to 
kill  the  insects  in  small  plantations. 
DDT  would  probably  prove  effective 
if  it  could  be  applied  economically. 
The  extent  and  severity  of  attacks  vary 
from  year  to  year,  and  in  time  the 
stands  grow  to  a  height  ( usually  about 
7  feet)  above  which  injury  from  either 
insect  is  of  little  consequence. 

Planters  attempt  to  minimize  the 
possibility  of  loss  by  using  two  or  more 
species.  The  severity  of  attack  usually 
varies  with  different  species  and  hence 
two  species  assure  a  better  chance  of 
success.  Close  spacing  allows  for  some 
loss  of  trees. 

PLANTINGS  BY  THE  SMALL  OWNERS 
have  been  fairly  successful  despite  nat- 
ural hazards  and  normal  run  of  human 
failings.  Coulter,  who  kept  careful 
records  for  15  years  on  plantings  with 
seedlings  from  the  Florida  State  Nurs- 
ery, reports  80  percent  of  all  plant- 
ings successful.  Other  State  foresters 
throughout  the  country  report  success 


2l8 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


in  75  percent  of  all  plantings  under 
the  Federal-State  cooperative  program. 

Mrs.  A.  M.  E.  Brown,  of  Columbia 
County,  Fla.,  was  56  years  old  in  1930 
when  she  planted  her  first  pine  trees. 
Her  42-acre  field  had  failed  repeatedly 
when  it  was  planted  to  the  usual  crops 
of  cotton  and  corn.  The  county  agent 
suggested  she  try  a  tree  crop,  and  the 
forester  from  the  State  forester's  office 
recommended  slash  pine,  native  to  her 
farm.  When  Mrs.  Brown  reached  70 
years  of  age  and  the  trees  were  14  years 
old,  she  had  one-third  of  them  cut  for 
pulpwood.  The  trees  had  grown  at  the 
rate  of  2  cords  an  acre  a  year.  Receipts 
from  the  sale  of  pulpwood  repaid  all 
expenditures  on  the  plantation  and 
gave  her  a  net  return  of  $900.  The 
plantation  is  ready  for  a  second  thin- 
ning in  1949,  with  an  expected  yield  of 
another  10  cords  an  acre. 

Mrs.  Brown  and  her  42  acres  of 
planted  woodland  are  important  be- 
cause they  are  representative  of  1,600,- 
000  woodland  owners  throughout  the 
South  and  the  122,000,000  acres  that 
they  own;  their  average  holding  is  74 
acres  of  woodland.  Among  these  small 
ownerships  are  some  20  million  acres 
in  need  of  planting,  or  roughly  1 1  per- 
cent of  the  total  commercial  forest  area. 

Another  example  is  James  Fowler,  a 
farmer  in  Treutlen  County,  Ga.,  who 
has  "culled"  his  farm  lands  for  more 
than  20  years.  As  parts  of  his  fields 
failed  to  produce  satisfactory  crops 
under  cultivation,  he  planted  them  to 
trees.  He  had  5,200  acres  in  planted 
stands  in  1949.  He  began  turpentining 
in  1937,  when  his  earliest  planted  trees 
were  11  years  old.  Those  trees,  with 
the  first  turpentine  faces  worked  out, 
now  have  the  second  or  back  face  in 
operation.  He  has  150,000  planted  pine 
trees  that  are  being  worked  for  turpen- 
tine and  300,000  more  of  proper  size. 

Distribution  of  planting  stock  to 
small  owners  by  State  forest  nurseries 
has  increased  from  630,000  seedlings 
in  1926  to  96  million  in  1947.  A  grand 
total  of  approximately  800,000  acres 
has  been  successfully  planted  by  south- 
ern small-woodland  owners  in  the  past 


two  decades.  Many  thousands  of  own- 
ers have  proved  to  themselves  and  their 
neighbors  that  tree  planting  is  prac- 
tical and  profitable.  Many  more  land- 
owners are  interested  and  ready  to 
plant  when  the  seedlings  are  available. 
The  two  State  forest-tree  nurseries  in 
Georgia  grew  18  million  trees  in  1947; 
the  landowners  applied  for  34  million 
seedlings. 

The  South  is  making  but  little  actual 
headway  on  its  goal  of  replanting  the 
millions  of  acres  in  small  private  wood- 
lands that  need  replanting.  In  1947, 
some  40,000  acres  in  farm  and  other 
small  holdings  were  planted.  At  any 
such  rate,  hundreds  of  years  will  be 
required  to  plant  the  idle  or  partially 
restocked  potentially  productive  forest 
land  of  the  South.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
to  the  area  that  needs  replanting,  many 
thousand  acres  are  added  each  year 
through  erosion  and  soil  depletion  in 
crop  and  pasture  lands  and  through 
overcutting  and  fire  in  forest  lands. 

Congress  recognized  the  importance 
of  the  problem  when  it  passed  the 
Clarke-McNary  Act  and  the  Norris- 
Doxey  Act,  which  provide  for  Federal 
assistance  to  State  forestry  agencies  in 
the  production  and  distribution  to 
farm-woodland  owners  of  forest-tree 
planting  stock.  All  Southern  States  co- 
operate in  this  work  with  the  Federal 
Government.  The  total  annual  Fed- 
eral appropriation  to  twelve  Southern 
States  under  the  two  acts  for  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  planting  stock 
amounts  to  $33,600.  The  program  is 
supervised  in  each  State  by  the  State 
forest  service.  The  States  produce  seed- 
lings and  sell  them  to  woodland  owners 
at  the  approximate  cost  of  production. 
State  workers  also  furnish  advice  on 
planting.  While  the  Federal  participa- 
tion is  limited  to  farmers,  the  States 
serve  farm  and  nonfarm,  large  and 
small  owner  alike,  assuming  the  extra 
cost  for  nonfarmers  from  State  funds. 

W.  R.  HINE  is  in  charge  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Information  and  Education  of 
the  Southern  Region  of  the  Forest 
Service. 


HOW  TO  CARE  FOR  YOUR  SMALL  FOREST 


M.  M.  BRYAN 


To  care  for  your  small  forest,  know 
first  your  goal. 

A  good  small  forest  has  needles, 
leaves,  twigs,  and  small  branches  on 
the  ground,  a  mat  that  absorbs  water 
and  keeps  the  soil  from  washing  away. 
Under  the  litter  is  a  layer  of  humus, 
usually  dark-colored  and  rich  looking. 

A  good  woodland  has  no  damaged 
and  diseased  trees.  Poorly  formed  and 
overripe  trees  have  been  cut  out,  so 
that  good  ones  have  room  to  grow. 
Remaining  are  well-formed  trees  that 
are  suited  to  the  locality,  the  soil,  and 
the  climate,  and  that  will  make  high- 
quality  products. 

The  forest  floor  has  little  sunlight: 
If  all  trees  are  the  same  age,  grass  and 
young  trees  cannot  grow  under  them 
because  there  is  no  sunlight;  in  a 
mixed-age  forest,  there  will  be  little 
trees  just  sprouting,  seedlings  of  vari- 
ous sizes,  and  large,  mature,  or  nearly 
mature,  trees.  If  your  forest  is  in  the 
West  or  South,  it  may  be  more  open, 
and  may  even  have  some  grass  or 
plants  under  the  trees. 

The  good  forest  has  enough  good 
trees,  neither  too  many  nor  too  few. 
If  your  goal  is  to  grow  Christmas  trees, 
the  ground  will  be  covered.  If  you  are 
a  turpentine  farmer,  a  few  hundred 
trees  per  acre  are  right. 

No  matter  what  forest  product  is 
being  grown,  the  crowns  of  the  trees 
will  be  full  and  healthy;  about  a  third 
of  the  total  height  of  each  tree  will 
have  branches  and  leaves.  If  the  trees 
are  all  about  the  same  age,  the  canopy 
will  be  closed  in  the  form  of  a  ceiling. 
If  the  trees  are  of  all  ages,  there  will 
be  no  continuous  ceiling  of  foliage. 

Trees  close  together  usually  grow 
tall  and  straight.  They  are  trying  to  get 
light.  Lack  of  sunlight  on  the  lower 
branches  causes  them  to  die  and  break 
off.  Thus,  a  healthy  tree  prunes  itself 
and  produces  clean  and  straight  logs, 
without  too  much  difference  in  size 


between  the  butt  and  the  top  of  the 
last  log. 

Wildfire  and  grazing  animals  have 
no  place  in  a  good  forest.  In  some 
western  and  southern  forests,  a  little 
grazing  is  possible.  Hogs  are  kept  out. 

Several  rules  of  good  management 
will  help  you  grow  good  trees. 

1.  Make  improvement  cuttings;  re- 
move the  undesirable  trees  so  that  the 
better  ones  can  grow  faster.  Usually 
several  improvement  cuttings  are  made 
before  the  final  product  is  harvested. 

Often  the  products  removed  will 
pay:  Fuel  wood  can  be  cut  from  the 
poorer  trees,  railroad  ties  from  short, 
forked  trees,  and  even  some  sawlogs 
for  home  use.  The  good  trees  that  are 
left  are  called  the  crop  trees. 

If  each  acre  is  adequately  covered 
or  fully  stocked  with  the  better  hard- 
wood trees,  the  forest  should  grow  from 
J/2  to  1  cord  of  wood  a  year  on  each 
acre.  In  the  small  forest  of  good  pine, 
growth  will  average  from  1  to  2  cords 
an  acre  a  year — perhaps  more  in  the 
South, 

2.  Thinnings  should  be  made  when- 
ever  the   tops   of   the   trees   become 
crowded  or  when  many  dying  branches 
appear — an  indication  that  the  trees 
want  more  room  to  grow.  Often  young 
seedlings  become  crowded;  when  they 
are  thinned,  firewood,  pulpwood,  bean 
and  tobacco  poles,  and  fence  posts  can 
be  removed.  In  a  few  years  another 
thinning  can  be  made  to  yield  mine 
timbers,  small  poles,  pulpwood,  rail- 
road ties,  more  fence  posts,  and  a  few 
sawlogs. 

Weed  trees  should  be  cut.  Blackgum, 
chokecherry,  scrub  oak,  or  other  less 
valuable  trees  may  crowd  out  better 
trees. 

Thinning  also  removes  the  excess  of 
young  trees;  often  the  unwanted  small 
trees  can  be  cut  about  halfway  down 
and  the  tops  bent  over.  They  continue 
to  live  and,  by  shading  the  ground, 


22O 

make  the  better  trees  grow  tall  and 
straight. 

When  to  thin  is  important.  Usually 
thinning  is  needed : 

(a)  In  young,  fully  stocked  stands 
when  about  15  to  20  years  old; 

(b)  in  the  young  stands  that  have 
stopped  growing  or  become  stagnated ; 

(c)  when  the  crowns  of  young  trees 
are  crowded  and  many  dead  branches 
occur; 

(d)  when  an  interval  of  5  to   1 
years  has  passed  between  thinnings  and 
the  trees  again  crowd  each  other. 

How  to  thin  is  sometimes  more  diffi- 
cult than  knowing  when  to  thin. 

A  single  thinning  should  not  remove 
more  than  one-quarter  of  the  volume 
in  a  stand. 

Yellow-poplar,  cottonwood,  sweet- 
gum,  loblolly  pine,  slash  pine,  and  any 
fast-growing  trees  can  be  thinned  more 
heavily  than  trees  such  as  white  oak, 
basswood,  and  ash. 

For  southern  pines  and  hardwoods 
the  rule  of  thumb  called  D+6  is  often 
used.  For  example,  the  diameter  at 
breast  height  of  one  healthy  tree  is  10 
inches  and  the  diameter  of  the  other 
healthy  tree  is  6  inches.  Added  together 
and  divided  by  2,  the  average  diameter 
of  the  two  crop  trees  is  8  inches;  8 
inches  considered  as  8  feet,  plus  6, 
equals  14  feet,  the  proper  spacing  be- 
tween crop  trees  of  this  size. 

In  the  West,  the  rule  D  +  4  can  be 
used  for  spacing  crop  trees  of  pon- 
derosa  pine.  Other  species  may  require 
different  spacing  and  local  advice  may 
be  needed  in  such  cases. 

Good  sense  is  needed  in  thinning 
the  small  forest.  Following  a  rule  may 
result  in  thinning  a  clump  of  6  to  10 
good  trees  to  only  2  or  3,  when  actually 
it  might  be  better  to  cut  only  2  or  3 
trees,  which  will  give  the  clump  plenty 
of  room  to  grow. 

When  a  fast-growing  young  tree  is 
directly  under  a  mature  tree  that  is 
soon  to  be  cut,  the  young  tree  should 
be  left  for  a  future  cutting. 

Consider  each  tree  individually  and 
determine  its  chances  of  growing  into 
good  timber. 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


3.  Liberation  and  salvage  cuttings 
are  part  of  the  care.  Wolf  trees — large, 
branchy  individuals  with  spreading 
crowns — often  keep  down  the  more 
desirable  little  trees  that  should  be 
growing  for  the  future.  Forked,  knotty, 
crooked,  and  other  poorly  formed  trees 
also  take  up  space  needed  by  better 
seedlings  and  saplings.  Diseased,  rot- 
ting, as  well  as  insect-infested  trees  will 
probably  die  before  they  can  be  cut 
into  fuel  wood  or  fence  posts;  they 
should  be  removed  by  poisoning  or  by 
girdling  with  an  ax. 

The  undesirable  hardwood  trees  and 
sprouts  can  be  poisoned  successfully 
with  Animate  ( the  trade  name  for  am- 
monium sulfamate) .  This  poison  can 
be  applied  close  to  the  base  of  the  tree. 
Chip  out  small  cups  in  the  tree  trunk 
with  an  ax  at  6-inch  intervals  around 
the  tree.  Place  2  level  tablespoonfuls  of 
Ammate  crystals  in  each  cup  for  trees 
4  inches  in  diameter  and  over.  For 
trees  under  4  inches  in  diameter,  1 
tablespoonful  a  cut  is  enough.  Leave 
the  trees  to  die;  they  should  not  be 
girdled  or  cut  down  because  sprouting 
might  occur.  After  a  year,  it  is  gen- 
erally safe  to  cut  the  tree  down  if  you 
want  to.  Use  the  poison  in  late  sum- 
mer or  early  fall.  A  32.5-percent  water 
solution  of  Ammate  sprayed  on  green 
leaves  will  kill  small  trees  and  sprouts 
of  undesirable  species,  such  as  black- 
jack oak. 

Other  poisons,  obtainable  from  seed 
houses,  are  used  for  killing  undesirable 
trees  and  shrubs  like  the  persimmon, 
blackgum,  and  sweetgum. 

Vines  growing  on  trees  kill  them  by 
shading  or  bending.  Protect  the  crop 
trees  by  cutting  the  vines  off  at  the 
ground. 

Usually  it  is  best  to  make  a  libera- 
tion cutting  in  early  summer;  sprouts 
from  fresh  stumps  are  less  likely  to  ap- 
pear then ;  and,  it  is  easier  to  see  which 
trees  to  cut. 

Salvage  cutting  means  removing  the 
overripe  trees  that  are  growing  too 
slowly  to  be  profitable.  Overripe  trees 
are  usually  recognized  by  their  light- 
colored  bark,  flattened  crowns,  and 


How  to  Care  for  Your  Small  Forest 


221 


thin  foliage.  They  should  be  cut  and 
made  into  useful  products  before  they 
are  attacked  by  insects,  disease,  or  are 
otherwise  damaged.  The  thrifty,  fast- 
growing  trees  that  are  damaged  by  fire, 
insects,  disease,  winds,  or  lightning 
should  be  salvaged  while  the  wood  is 
still  usable. 

4.  Pruning  the  trees  frequently  in- 
creases their  value. 

In  considering  whether  to  prune, 
you  should  determine  whether  or  not 
better  prices  will  be  received  for  the 
product  to  be  harvested. 

Local  advice  may  be  helpful  and 
certainly  is  needed  if  any  question 
arises  as  to  the  best  time  for  pruning 
and  how  to  go  about  it. 

Prune  only  the  vigorous  and  healthy 
crop  trees. 

Select  about  200  to  225  such  trees 
on  each  acre. 

Prune  trees  the  first  time  when  they 
are  from  4  to  6  inches  in  diameter. 
Cuts  heal  rapidly  on  these  young  trees 
and  the  knots  will  be  small. 

Prune  in  early  spring  just  before 
the  growing  season  begins. 

Make  clean  cuts  close  to  the  trunk 
of  the  tree.  A  long  stub  may  rot  and 
later  cause  the  tree  to  decay  or  be  at- 
tacked by  insects. 

At  any  one  pruning,  remove  no  more 
than  the  lower  third  of  the  branches 
that  make  up  the  live  crown  of  the  tree. 

Removal  of  too  many  live  limbs  will 
slow  down  the  growth  of  the  tree  for 
several  years. 

After  the  trees  have  grown  larger, 
another  pruning  up  to  16  feet  in 
height  or  for  two  clear  logs  may  be 
desirable. 

The  best  tool  to  use  is  a  pruning  saw 
with  a  12-  to  18-inch  blade,  3/2  to  5/2 
points  to  the  inch.  A  ladder  and  hand 
saw  can  be  used  for  the  high  branches. 
Some  prefer  a  pruning  saw  fastened  to 
a  long  pole.  Do  not  use  an  ax. 

Work  safely;  a  falling  limb  is  dan- 
gerous ;  ladders  should  be  firmly  placed 
against  the  tree. 

HARVEST  CUTTINGS  are  made  to  get 
cash  from  sales  of  products  or  to  get 


material  for  home  use.  The  way  harvest 
cuttings  are  made  determines  whether 
the  small  forest  is  to  provide  continuous 
crops  of  trees,  either  annually  or  at 
intervals  of  5,  10,  15  years  or  longer. 
There  are  four  types  of  harvest  cut- 
tings. 

1.  Clear  cutting  is  the  removal  of 
everything  of  any  value. 

The  small  forest  should  not  be  cut 
in  the  way  unless  it  is  being  cleared 
for  pasture  or  crops.  Many  years  will 
elapse  before  clear-cut  land  will  pro- 
vide cash  returns  or  a  crop  of  timber 
that  can  provide  products  for  home 
needs.  Sometimes  undesirable  trees 
seed  in  on  the  cleared  land  and  the 
next  crop  of  trees  is  less  salable  or  has 
no  value  at  all.  Often  the  cleared  wood- 
land must  be  planted — usually  a  costly 
matter.  Generally,  the  long-time  cash 
income  from  woodland  that  has  been 
clear-cut  will  be  smaller  than  under 
any  other  method. 

Some  species  of  trees  that  grow  in 
even-aged  stands  are  best  harvested  by 
clear  cutting.  The  area  can  then  be 
replanted  with  the  same  type  of  trees 
that  were  cut  and  a  new  stand  obtained. 

Local  advice  should  be  sought  be- 
fore clear  cutting  a  small  forest  of  a 
particular  species. 

2.  The  seed-tree  method  is  adapt- 
able to  certain  even-aged  small  forests. 
By  this  method,  at  least   10  healthy, 
vigorous  trees  that  average  10  to  12 
inches  in   diameter  at  breast  height 
should  be  left  on  each  acre.  The  only 
advantage  of  seed-tree  cutting  over 
clear  cutting  is  that  the  area  may  not 
need  to  be  planted.  If  this  method  is 
used,  it  is  usually  best  to  leave  the  seed 
trees  in  groups.  Often  strips  of  trees 
are    left    standing    to    provide    seed. 
Cutting  in  strips,  however,  is  usually 
practiced  in  large  forest  areas. 

3.  The    diameter-limit    method    is 
often  used  in  the  harvest  cutting.  All 
trees  above  a  certain  diameter  at  breast 
height,  10  to  12  inches  in  pine  and  16  to 
18  inches  in  hardwood,  may  be  cut. 
This  method  has  the  fault  that  all  the 
poorly   formed,   weak,    diseased,   and 
slow-growing  trees  under  the  desired 


222 

diameter  limit  are  left  in  the  woods  to 
take  up  room.  Also,  all  healthy,  fast- 
growing  trees  above  the  diameter  limit 
are  cut  at  a  time  when  they  are  produc- 
ing the  greatest  amount  of  high-quality 
wood. 

The  method  should  be  used  only 
when  the  owner  of  the  small  forest  has 
little  time  to  spend  in  supervising  the 
harvest  of  his  forest. 

These  three  methods — clear  cutting, 
seed-tree  cutting,  and  diameter-limit 
cutting — are  of  little  use  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  small  forest.  They  may 
be  recommended  for  particular  for- 
ests, but  generally  they  will  ruin  the 
productive  capacity  of  the  small  forest 
for  many  years. 

4.  Selective  cutting,  the  best  meth- 
od of  harvesting  woodland  products 
in  a  mixed-aged  forest,  is  a  combina- 
tion of  stand-improvement  cutting  and 
harvest  cutting;  it  has  many  advan- 
tages also  in  even-aged  stands. 

Selective  cutting  should  be  made 
whenever  there  are  trees  that  are  ready 
for  harvest.  The  following  are  guides 
to  help  the  owner  in  the  selection  of 
trees  for  cutting: 

(a)  Gut  the  mature  trees;  they  are 
ripe  and  have  stopped  growing. 

(b)  Select  the  less  desirable  species 
and  any  damaged,  crooked,  limby,  or 
diseased  trees;   this  gives   the  better 
trees  more  room  to  develop. 

(c)  If  there  are  too  many  young, 
healthy   trees  in   parts   of   the   small 
forest,  cut  several  of  them  so  that  the 
others  can  grow  faster. 

All  trees  selected  for  cutting  should 
be  marked:  Paint  is  the  best;  it  is 
easy  to  see;  it  can  be  removed  in  case 
of  an  error;  it  does  not  injure  the  tree. 
(An  ax  or  hatchet  blaze  may  cause  blue 
stain  or  open  the  tree  to  insect  attack.) 
An  old  paint  brush  on  a  long  stick 
makes  the  marking  easy.  Medium-blue, 
yellow,  and  white  paint  show  up  well 
in  the  woods.  Whitewash  can  also  be 
used,  but  both  whitewash  and  paint 
should  be  worked  into  the  bark  so  that 
the  mark  will  remain  on  the  tree  for 
the  longest  possible  time.  Often  an  old 
sock  filled  with  lime  will  make  a  good 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


mark  if  the  cutting  is  to  follow  in  a 
short  time.  If  paint  is  used  in  a  spray 
gun,  it  should  be  thinned  with  kero- 
sene. It  is  often  economical  to  use  sur- 
plus paint  that  collects  around  the  farm 
for  marking  timber. 

Put  at  least  two  marks  on  each  tree 
to  be  cut.  One  should  be  at  breast 
height  and  the  other  just  above  the 
ground  line ;  the  mark  on  the  stump  is 
used  to  check  the  cutting  after  it  has 
been  completed.  Put  both  marks  on 
the  same  side  of  the  tree  and  mark  the 
trees  on  the  side  where  the  cutters  or 
buyers  usually  enter  the  forest — it  saves 
time  that  would  be  spent  running 
around  hunting  the  marked  trees. 

A  defective  or  cull  tree  should  be 
marked  differently  from  the  trees  to  be 
cut  for  salable  products.  An  X  mark  or 
two  dots  or  some  other  symbol  will  in- 
dicate that  it  is  to  be  cut  for  fuel  wood, 
just  girdled,  or  poisoned  and  left  there 
to  die.  The  young,  thrifty,  straight, 
vigorous,  full-crowned  crop  trees  to  be 
left  for  a  future  cut  should  have  no 
marks  at  all  on  them. 

An  owner  of  a  small  woodland  who 
is  practicing  selective  cutting  for  the 
first  time  may  find  it  difficult  at  first 
to  mark  the  trees  to  be  cut.  A  careful 
study  of  individual  trees,  advice  or  as- 
sistance from  the  local  forester,  and 
practice  will  make  the  job  progressively 
easier. 

PERPETUATION  OF  THE  SMALL  FOR- 
EST is  usually  taken  care  of  by  nature 
if  the  owner  protects  it  from  fire,  graz- 
ing, and  other  damage. 

If  the  trees  are  of  mixed  age,  the 
older  ones  produce  seed  and  the  spaces 
opened  up  by  selective  cutting  will  be 
covered  in  a  few  years  with  small  seed- 
lings. 

Trees  that  are  all  the  same  age  and 
about  the  same  size  can  be  harvested  in 
a  series  of  three  cuttings. 

The  first  cutting  will  take  out  the 
larger  trees,  the  ones  that  are  mature 
and  ready  for  harvest,  and  any  others 
that  need  to  be  cut.  Open  spaces  occur 
where  the  trees  have  been  removed; 
the  material  on  the  forest  floor  rots 


How  to  Care  for  Your  Small  forest 


223 


faster  and  the  mineral  soil  is  some- 
times exposed.  The  remaining  crop 
trees,  the  larger  ones,  develop  larger 
crowns  and  produce  more  seed. 

The  second  cutting  removes  a  few 
more  trees  during  the  winter  and  just 
after  a  heavy  seed  crop.  The  open 
spaces  seed  in  with  a  heavy  crop  of 
seedlings,  and  the  forest  is  on  its  way 
to  adequate  restocking. 

Both  of  the  cuttings  should  be  light 
enough  so  that  grass  and  weeds  will 
not  come  in  on  the  open  spaces. 

After  the  seedlings  become  estab- 
lished and  can  get  along  without  the 
protection  of  the  older  trees,  the  last 
of  the  old  trees  can  be  cut. 

This  method  of  harvesting  an  even- 
aged  small  forest  takes  advantage  of 
natural  seeding  and  should  result  in  a 
crop  of  young  trees  of  the  species  de- 
sired. 

There  are  particular  kinds  of  trees 
in  even-aged  stands  that  can  best  be 
harvested  by  the  seed-tree  method.  If 
yours  is  an  even-aged  forest,  and  a  local 
forester  advises  clear  cutting  so  that 
the  species  you  have  can  again  be 
grown  in  the  area,  2  or  3  years  can  be 
saved  by  replanting  the  cut-over  area 
with  trees  from  the  State  nursery. 

Often  a  small  forest  that  has  been 
heavily  burned  or  pastured  will  reseed 
itself  if  livestock  and  fire  are  kept  out 
after  the  young  seedlings  start  growing. 
If  the  ground  has  been  packed  or  is 
covered  with  a  heavy  sod,  hogs  may  be 
turned  in  before  the  seeds  fall.  The 
hogs  will  root  up  the  ground  and  pre- 
pare a  seedbed.  After  the  seeds  fall  or 
are  blown  in  on  the  area,  all  grazing 
should  be  restricted  until  the  young 
seedlings  become  well  established. 

The  small  forest  can  sometimes  be 
perpetuated  from  sprouts  from  unin- 
jured clean  stumps  that  remain  after 
cutting.  Most  of  the  hardwoods,  except 
basswood,  do  not  sprout  satisfactorily 
after  the  tree  has  reached  60  years. 
Most  of  the  cone-bearing  trees  do  not 
sprout;  exceptions  are  young  shortleaf 
and  pitch  pines.  Trees  cut  during  win- 
ter or  early  in  the  spring  usually  pro- 
duce the  best  sprouts,  and  there  is  less 


likelihood  of  any  injury  the  following 
winter.  Sprouts  from  trees  that  have 
been  cut  in  the  summer  often  are  killed 
by  the  next  winter's  frost. 

WHERE  TO  PLANT  TREES  is  import- 
ant. Planting  is  often  desirable  as  a 
means  for  perpetuating  small  forests  or 
of  starting  a  new  forest,  and  trees  of  a 
useful  variety  successfully  started  on 
the  right  land  are  almost  sure  to  re- 
turn a  profit. 

1.  Plant  trees  on  land  that  has  little 
or  no  other  use  on  the  farm.  Areas  that 
are  too  small  for  growing  crops  are 
often  used  to  grow  a  few  trees  that  will 
be  valuable  for  home  use. 

2.  Understocked  or  sick  forest  areas 
that  are  not  reseeding  naturally  can  be 
planted. 

3.  Small  forests  that  have  been  cut 
over  and  that  are  not  reseeding  satis- 
factorily should  be  planted. 

4.  If  land  has  been  cut  up  or  ruined 
by  erosion,  the  forest-tree  seedlings  will 
often  hold  it  in  place  and  produce  a 
valuable  crop  in  years  to  come. 

5.  If  a  small  forest  is  filled  with 
trees  of  no  value,  such  as  scrub  oak  or 
other  worthless  varieties,  it  can  be  torn 
up  with  land-clearing  equipment  and 
planted  with  trees  that  will  have  a 
future  value. 

6.  Often  the  worn-out,  rocky,  or 
hilly  land  on  a  farm  can  be  planted  to 
trees,  not  only  for  the  protection  they 
afford  the  land,  but  to  provide  a  home 
for  wildlife,  to  beautify  the  farm,  and 
to  grow  a  few  fence  posts  or  timbers 
for  home  use. 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  land  that 
has  been  abandoned  or  considered  use- 
less will  often  grow  a  crop  of  trees. 

WHAT  TO  PLANT:  Look  around  the 
community  or  general  area  where  your 
land  is  located ;  see  what  kinds  of  trees 
are  growing  best  and  plant  that  type 
on  your  land.  It  is  also  good  business 
to  plant  species  of  trees  that  grow  fast 
and  develop  salable  products  in  a  few 
years;  however,  a  fast-growing  tree 
that  will  not  produce  a  salable  product 
should  not  be  planted. 


224 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


Hardwoods  usually  require  better 
soils  than  conifers.  Hardwoods  need 
plenty  of  water  and  if  the  soil  is  of  a 
type  that  absorbs  water  readily  so  the 
tree  roots  can  get  it  without  difficulty, 
a  hardwood  plantation  is  usually  suc- 
cessful. Hardwoods  grow  best  in  a  deep, 
loose,  crumbly  type  of  soil,  where  the 
roots  have  plenty  of  room  to  develop 
and  where  the  subsoil  is  of  the  type 
that  permits  good  root  development. 

Conifers  often  will  grow  in  soils  that 
are  unsuitable  for  the  hardwoods  and 
where  the  available  water  is  less  than 
that  required  by  hardwood  seedlings. 
Generally  they  will  grow  even  if  not 
cultivated  after  planting.  The  roots 
are  often  shorter — another  reason  for 
better  survival.  For  these  reasons  coni- 
fers are  often  the  best  species  for  worn- 
out,  heavily  gullied  fields,  abandoned 
pastures  that  are  to  be  converted  to 
woodland,  the  sandy  areas,  and  areas 
where  the  soil  is  heavy  or  has  a  tend- 
ency to  be  cloddy  or  has  a  hardpan 
underneath. 

Some  general  suggestions  on  the  im- 
portant species  to  plant  if  your  land  is 
in  the  South: 

1.  White  pine  at  most  elevations  in 
the  mountains. 

2.  Loblolly   pine   on   most   soils   at 
lower  elevations. 

3.  Shortleaf  pine  in  the  same  areas 
as  loblolly  pine,  except  on  drier  soils. 

4.  Slash  pine  on  the  sandy  loam  soils 
with  plenty  of  moisture.  Longleaf  pine 
grows  best  on  dry,  sandy  soil,  on  sandy 
ridges,  and  on  sandy  loam  soils. 

5.  Walnut  on  good  soils  and  on  rich 
bottoms.  Other  hardwoods,  such  as  the 
locusts,  that  are  planted  for  fence  posts 
grew  best  if  planted  on  the  better  soils. 

6.  Yellow-poplar  on  good  soils.  In 
parts  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and 
South  Carolina,  particularly  the  Pied- 
mont area,  Virginia  pine  is  sometimes 
planted  on  the  poorest  soils.  Loblolly 
pine,  shortleaf  pine,  and  redcedar  are 
also  desirable  species  to  plant  on  poor 
to  moderate  soils. 

In  the  Southern  Appalachian  Moun- 
tain region,  these  species  can  be  planted : 
1.  Virginia   pine,    redcedar,   short- 


leaf  pine,  and  pitch  pine  on  poor  soils. 

2.  White  pine  on  moderate  soils. 

3.  White  ash,  yellow-poplar,  and  the 
black  locust  on  still  better  soils. 

4.  Black  walnut  on  the  best  land. 
A  number  of  different  species  should 

be  considered  if  you  live  in  the  Central 
States : 

1.  Jack  pine  on  the  poorest  soils. 
Shortleaf  and  pitch  pine  can  also  be 
planted  on  some  of  the  worst  loca- 
tions. On  medium  soils,  Norway  spruce, 
red  pine,  white  pine,  red  oak,  cotton- 
wood,  and  white  ash  will  grow. 

2.  Black  walnut  and  yellow-poplar 
on  the  best  land,  and  black  locust  on 
land  not  quite  so  good. 

If  you  land  is  in  the  Lake  States  or 
New  England,  the  following  species  are 
often  planted : 

1.  Jack  pine  or  Scotch  pine  on  the 
worst  land. 

2.  White   spruce,    Norway   spruce, 
and  white  pine  on  fairly  good  soil. 

3.  Yellow-poplar,  white  ash,  red  and 
white  oak  are  suitable  for  the  best 
soils. 

Seedlings  generally  are  more  satis- 
factory than  seed  for  starting  a  plan- 
tation or  in  regenerating  forest  areas. 
Birds  and  rodents  often  cause  a  direct 
seeding  of  conifers  to  fail.  Tree  seeds 
do  not  germinate  in  extremely  dry 
years.  A  few  of  the  pines  will  grow  from 
seed  if  they  are  planted  within  their 
natural  ranges.  Walnut,  oak,  hickory, 
and  other  nut  trees  are  often  started 
from  seed.  The  nuts  should  be  planted 
in  holes  and  covered  firmly  with  soil  to 
a  depth  of  about  the  width  of  the  seed. 
Walnuts,  hickory  nuts,  and  acorns  can 
be  planted  in  the  spring  after  the 
ground  has  become  soft  enough  to 
work  or  after  the  frost  has  disappeared. 
Generally,  it  is  better  to  plant  these 
seeds  in  the  fall,  even  though  there  is  a 
danger  that  hogs  or  rodents  will  dig 
them  up  for  food  during  the  winter. 

In  small  plantings  it  is  unwise  to 
broadcast  tree  seed.  Instead,  a  number 
of  seeds  can  be  planted  in  a  small  spot 
that  has  been  cleaned  of  grass  or  other 
litter.  Ten  to  fifteen  seeds  can  be  dis- 
tributed over  this  small  area  and  then 


How  to  Care  for  Your  Small  Forest 


225 


covered  with  about  one-eighth  inch  of 
soil.  The  cleared  patches  for  seeding 
can  be  4  to  6  inches  in  size.  If  there 
is  danger  of  erosion,  a  light  mulch  can 
be  placed  over  the  seeded  spots,  in 
which  case  the  seeds  do  not  need  to 
be  covered  with  soil.  Seeds  of  pine 
should  be  sown  in  the  fall  for  best 
results. 

IN  PLANTING  THE  SEEDLINGS,  these 

points  may  be  helpful: 

1.  Seedlings  planted  in  the  fall  be- 
fore frost  usually  get  a  good  start.  If 
there  is  danger  of  frost-heaving,  the 
seedlings  may  be  planted  in  the  spring 
just  after  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground. 

2.  Seedlings  should  not  be  planted 
if  they  are  still  growing,  that  is,  late 
in  the  spring  or  in  summer. 

3.  Some  State   nurseries   send  out 
trees  for  planting  that  have  been  kept 
dormant  in  cold  storage.  If  this  prac- 
tice   has    proved    successful    in    your 
locality,   you   can  plant  seedlings   at 
times  when  other  work  is  not  pressing. 

4.  Seedlings  are  planted,  as  a  rule, 
with  the  spacing  of  6  by  6  feet  or  8  by 
8  feet.  Some  seedlings  that  tolerate 
shade  do  best  if  planted  close  together. 
Others  require  more  room.  Approxi- 
mately 1,000  trees  to  the  acre  is  a  satis- 
factory stocking  once  the  plantation  has 
become  established. 

5.  Trees  that  grow  rapidly  can  be 
spaced  more  widely  than  slow-growing 
species.  If  the  soil  is  poor,  more  trees 
can  be  planted  to  allow  for  loss. 

6.  Sometimes  the  tree  seedlings  are 
planted  in  furrows  to  conserve  moisture 
and  prevent  erosion. 

The  number  of  trees  to  the  acre  for 
specific  spacings  is:  5  by  5  feet,  1,742 
trees;  6  by  6  feet,  1,210  trees;  6  by 
8  feet,  908  trees;  8  by  8  feet,  680  trees. 

Often  it  is  desirable  to  plant  several 
species  in  the  same  plantation  to  in- 
sure against  damage  by  insects  or 
disease,  against  failure  of  one  species 
on  the  particular  soil,  and  against  the 
possibility  that  one  species  will  grow 
into  a  crop  of  no  value.  Trees  that 
stand  much  shade  can  be  grown  with 
those  that  require  much  sunlight. 

802062' 


It  is  not  advisable  to  plant  any  fast- 
growing  seedlings  in  a  mixture  that 
grows  slowly. 

Seedlings  for  planting  on  the  farm 
and  in  the  small  forest  can  be  obtained 
from  the  State  forest-tree  nurseries, 
which  sell  tree  seedlings  at  cost  or  less ; 
county  agents  and  local  foresters  have 
the  order  blanks.  Orders  for  the  seed- 
lings should  be  placed  early. 

Ordinarily  it  is  not  wise  to  plant 
tree  seedlings  that  have  been  obtained 
from  great  distances. 

Many  seedlings  die  because  they  are 
improperly  handled  after  they  have 
been  received  from  the  nursery. 

If  the  time,  labor,  and  money  in- 
vested in  planting  seedlings  are  not  to 
be  lost: 

1.  Keep   the   tree   seedlings   moist, 
particularly  the  roots. 

2.  Keep  in  the  shade  until  planted. 

3.  A  cool,  well- ventilated  place  for 
storage  is  important. 

4.  Place  the  roots  of  the  seedlings  in 
moist  soil  or  sand  if  planting  is  delayed 
for  several  days. 

Of  the  several  methods  of  planting, 
the  one  most  suitable  for  the  particular 
soil  or  area  involved  should  be  deter- 
mined before  the  seedlings  are  taken 
from  the  heel-in  bed  or  from  their 
place  of  storage. 

Slit  planting  means  placing  the 
seedling  in  the  soil  in  a  slit  that  has 
been  made  by  a  grub  hoe,  mattock,  or 
spade.  Planting  bars,  a  special  tool  for 
making  the  slits,  work  well  in  light  or 
medium  soils  where  there  is  little  debris 
or  other  trash  on  the  land. 

On  rocky  or  trashy  land,  a  hole  can 
be  dug  and  the  tree  seedling  planted 
J4  to  1/2  inch  deeper  than  it  grew  in 
the  nursery.  Usually  there  is  a  mark 
on  the  stem  that  shows  how  deep  it 
grew.  The  roots  should  be  carefully 
placed  so  that  they  are  not  bent  or 
crowded.  If  the  hole  is  shallow  and 
the  seedling  roots  are  doubled  back  or 
restricted  in  any  way,  the  seedling 
might  die.  The  soil  should  be  firmly 
packed  around  the  roots  of  the  seed- 
ling— not  too  tightly  but  enough  to 
remove  the  air  pockets. 


226 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Where  the  soil  is  dry,  watering  often 
means  the  difference  between  success 
or  failure  of  a  planting. 

Tree-planting  machines  are  avail- 
able in  many  States.  In  some  localities 
they  can  be  rented  from  the  State  for- 
estry agencies  or  private  owners;  in 
other  places  they  are  available  on  loan 
from  soil  conservation  districts,  or  other 
local  organizations. 

It  is  often  profitable  to  cultivate  tree 
seedlings,  particularly  for  the  first  2  or 
3  years  after  planting. 

Seeds  and  grass  often  kill  hardwood 
seedlings  and,  in  the  Plain  States  (on 
the  prairies),  the  shelterbelts  or  wind- 
breaks must  be  cultivated  to  insure 
their  establishment.  Some  pines,  nota- 
bly slash  and  loblolly,  however,  react 
unfavorably  to  cultivation  and  are 
more  subject  to  disease  if  cultivated. 

THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  SMALL  FOREST 

are  many.  Some  of  them  can  be  highly 
destructive. 

A  wildfire,  in  a  few  minutes,  can 
destroy  the  work  of  a  lifetime  in  build- 
ing up  a  stand  of  valuable  timber;  each 
year  owners  of  small  forests  lose  more 
than  15  million  dollars  because  of  fire. 
Most  of  these  fires  are  man-made. 

Get  in  touch  with  the  nearest  for- 
ester promptly  if  there  is  any  indication 
that  insects  or  disease  are  in  your 
forest.  Improvement  cuttings,  the  re- 
moval of  infested  trees  when  a  selective 
cutting  is  made,  and  the  application  of 
the  best  principles  of  forest  manage- 
ment are  enough  in  most  cases  to  keep 
the  small  forest  in  a  healthy  condition 
and  prevent  serious  damage,  unless  a 
general  epidemic  hits  the  locality. 

About  grazing  the  small-forest,  the 
owner  should  remember: 

1.  High-quality   timber   should   be 
grown  on  land  maintained  for  that 
purpose. 

2.  Good  cattle  and  good  pasture  go 
together.  A  fence  between  the  forest 
land  and  the  pasture  land  insures  that 
neither  the  trees  nor  the  cattle  will 
suffer  from  interference  by  the  other. 

Many  well-managed  small  forests 
are  damaged  during  a  logging  opera- 


tion— the  falling  trees  may  be  thrown 
against  the  crop  trees  or  careless  skid- 
ding may  tear  the  bark  from  their 
trunks. 

The  skid  trails  should  be  carefully 
located.  A  skid  trail  or  road  running 
up  and  down  hill  in  a  small  forest  often 
develops  into  a  large  gully  and  pours 
water  into  fields  below.  With  some 
species,  a  border  of  trees  should  be  left 
around  the  small  forest  after  a  cutting 
operation  to  protect  it  from  heavy 
winds. 

Often  crop  trees  are  exposed  to  ex- 
cessive breakage  from  ice  and  snow — a 
sign  that  cutting  has  been  too  heavy 
and  that  trees  should  be  left  in  clumps 
until  they  become  wind-firm  or  are 
removed. 

AN  ACCURATE  MEASUREMENT  of  the 

timber  one  has  for  sale  must  be  made 
before  a  profitable  sale  can  be  made. 

Knowing  how  much  one  has  to  sell 
from  the  small  forest  is  just  as  im- 
portant as  knowing  what  to  sell. 

The  owner  should  know  the  general 
specifications  of  the  different  timber 
products  so  that  the  returns  from  one 
product  can  be  compared  with  the 
value  of  another. 

Integrated  use  assures  greater  re- 
turns. Each  tree  should  be  carefully 
considered  and  cut  into  products  that 
will  bring  the  greatest  return.  A  ma- 
ture tree  might  yield  two  valuable  saw- 
logs  from  the  butt,  several  cross  ties 
above  that  part  cut  for  sawlogs,  some 
pulpwood  from  the  larger  limbs,  and 
firewood  from  the  top.  Nothing  is 
wasted  if  this  integrated  utilization 
method  is  used  in  sizing  up  each  tree 
before  it  is  cut. 

It  may  be  more  profitable  for  the 
owner  to  do  his  own  cutting  when 
integrated  utilization  is  involved,  be- 
cause many  timber  operators  do  not 
handle  more  than  one  product  at  a 
single  cutting. 

Some  advantages  of  integrated  uti- 
lization are: 

•1.  Care  can  be  exercised  so  that 
each  tree  will  be  cut  properly. 

2.  The  owner  or  his  employees  can 


How  to  Care  for  Your  Small  Forest 


227 


closely  supervise  the  cutting  operation. 

3.  Each  tree  can  be  sized  up  before 
it  is  cut  and  the  particular  products 
can  be  determined. 

4.  The   numerous   products  which 
result  from  integrated  cutting  will  re- 
turn greater  profits.  Pulpwood  can  be 
sold  to  pulpwood  contractors,  sawlogs 
to  a  local  sawmill,  and,  in  many  locali- 
ties, fuel  wood  brings  a  good  price. 

5.  The    owner    can    make    several 
cuttings,  taking  out  specific  products 
each  time.  Poles  and  piling  can  be  re- 
moved   from    the   pine    forest,    after 
which  sawlogs  can  be  cut.  The  last 
cutting  can  consist  of  pulpwood  from 
the  tops  and  smaller  trees  that  are 
marked.  The  same  is  true  if  hardwoods 
are  being  cut.  Sawlogs  or  veneer  bolts 
come  first,  cross  ties  next,  and  perhaps 
a  sizable  cutting  of  fuel  wood  from  the 
tops. 

If  repeated  cuttings  are  being  made, 
care  should  be  exercised  or  the  small 
forest  may  be  cut  too  heavily.  Also,  the 
high-quality  products  may  be  creamed 
off  and  the  value  of  the  forest  for 
future  harvests  greatly  reduced. 

The  various  products  cut  from  the 
small  forest  are  measured  differently. 

Firewood  is  usually  sold  by  the  cord 
or  rick. 

Pulpwood  is  measured  in  cords,  pens, 
or  units. 

Poles,  piling,  and  mine  timbers  are 
measured  by  the  running  foot  of  length. 

Fence  posts,  ties,  and  small  poles  are 
sold  by  the  piece  or  unit. 

Sawlogs  are  sold  by  board  feet  meas- 
ure. A  piece  of  lumber  1  inch  thick, 
12  inches  wide,  and  12  inches  long  is 
a  board  foot  (a  square  foot  of  lumber 
1  inch  thick) . 

MEASURING  THE  BOARD-FOOT  con- 
tent of  a  log  is  not  difficult : 

1 .  Secure  a  log-scale  stick  from  your 
county  agent  or  local  forester.  This 
stick  has  the  board-foot  contents  of 
various  sized  logs  marked  upon  it.  By 
holding  the  stick  at  the  small  end  of 
the  log  across  the  average  diameter, 
the  contents  can  be  read  direct. 

If  a  log-scale  stick  is  not  available, 


three  steps  can  be  followed  in  measur- 
ing a  log: 

(a)  Using  a  ruler  or  a  yardstick, 
measure  the  average  diameter  of  the 
log  inside  the  bark  at  the  small  end. 
If  the  log  is  not  round,  measure  the 
shortest  and  the  longest  diameter,  add 
them  together,  and  divide  by  two;  this 
will  give  the  average  for  the  log  being 
measured. 

(b)  Measure  the  length  of  the  log 
to  the  nearest  foot.  Allow  2  or  3  inches 
for  trimming  off  the  battered  ends  at 
the  time  it  is  sawed  into  some  product. 

(<;)  From  a  log-scale  table,  deter- 
mine the  board  feet  in  a  log  of  the 
diameter  and  length  that  you  have 
measured. 

Three  tables  are  in  wide  use  for  de- 
termining the  scale  of  logs.  The  Doyle 
(which  is  used  almost  exclusively,  par- 
ticularly in  the  South),  the  Interna- 
tional, and  the  Scribner  decimal  G. 
It  is  best  to  scale  logs  from  the  small 
forest  according  to  whichever  rule  is 
legal  in  your  State  or  has  been  gen- 
erally accepted  by  buyer  and  seller. 

If  many  small  logs  are  to  be  sold, 
the  International  scale  is  considered 
the  most  accurate.  The  Doyle  rule  gives 
too  low  a  measurement  for  logs  under 
28  inches  in  diameter.  The  Scribner 
decimal  G  rule  is  used  in  national  for- 
ests and  in  many  localities  throughout 
the  country. 

If  the  logs  have  many  defects,  some 
deduction  should  be  made  from  the 
scale.  Common  defects  are  rot,  cat 
faces,  ingrown  bark,  worm  holes,  check, 
shake,  and  pitch  ring.  Also,  crooked  or 
twisted  logs  resulting  from  spiral  grain 
reduce  the  value  of  logs  intended  for 
high-quality  lumber.  First-grade  logs 
have  few  or  no  defects;  the  number 
and  kind  of  defects  and  the  size  of  the 
log  determine  the  other  grades.  An 
owner  can  learn  a  great  deal  by  watch- 
ing logs  being  sawed  up  at  the  mill. 
Certain  defects  or  flaws  soon  become 
apparent.  In  scaling,  then,  he  can  esti- 
mate how  much  wood  is  wasted  by  the 
defect  and  deduct  it  from  the  board 
feet  shown  in  the  log  table. 

As  yet   there   are  no  uniform   log 


228 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


grade  rules;  grading  methods  or  sys- 
tems are  different  throughout  the 
country.  Individual  mills  often  have 
grading  rules  of  their  own.  Prices,  of 
course,  depend  on  grades,  and  a  top- 
grade  sawlog  always  has  a  higher 
value  than  a  lower-grade  log. 

Selling  logs  by  grade  is  more  profit- 
able  than  selling  them  ungraded,  but 
grading  is  so  difficult  for  some  prod- 
ucts, particularly  sawlogs,  that  advice 
of  a  forester  is  generally  necessary  if  ad- 
vantage is  to  be  taken  of  this  practice. 

ESTIMATING  STANDING  TIMBER  re- 
quires training  and  practice.  It  is  easier 
to  find  the  board  feet  in  a  sawlog  than 
in  a  tree  before  it  is  cut.  If  the  small- 
woodland  owner  is  going  to  sell  his 
trees  on  the  stump  or  ask  for  bids  for 
his  standing  timber,  he  must  measure 
the  trees  to  determine  how  much  he 
has  to  sell. 

The  owner  should  also  have  a 
measurement  of  his  trees  for  compari- 
son with  the  measurement  that  a 
timber  operator  or  timber  buyer  may 
have  made  at  some  different  time.  The 
chances  of  losing  money  on  a  timber 
sale  are  much  less  if  the  owner  makes 
his  own  estimate  of  the  amount  and 
kind  of  products  he  has  to  sell. 

Three  steps  to  follow  in  measuring 
a  tree  are : 

1.  With     home-made     calipers,     a 
carpenter's    square,    or    a    yardstick, 
measure  the  diameter  of  the  tree  in 
inches  at  breast  height — 4/2  feet  above 
the  ground. 

2.  Stand  back  from  the  tree  and  esti- 
mate how  many  usable   16-foot  logs 
can  be  cut  from  it.  A  pole  1 7  feet  high 
(having  a  1-foot  allowance  for  stump 
height)    will  be  helpful  in  deciding 
the  number  of  16-foot  logs. 

3.  Using  the  tree-scale  tables,  find 
the  volume  of  the  tree  in  board  feet. 
If  the  tree  is  18  inches  in  diameter  and 
2/>  merchantable  logs  can  be  cut  from 
it,  there  will  be  206  board  feet  in  the 
tree  by  the  Doyle  rule,  or  292  board 
feet  by  the  International  rule.  As  in 
scaling  logs,   the  Doyle  rule  gives  a 
lower  volume  than  the  International. 


These  tables  are  made  up  from  aver- 
ages from  the  actual  measurements  of 
many  trees.  The  local  forester  can  ad- 
vise the  landowner  on  the  proper  table 
to  use  in  his  area  and  will  have  copies 
of  it.  (See  also  pages  851-853.) 

Tree-measuring  sticks  may  also  be 
available  from  the  county  agent,  the 
local  forester,  or  the  State  extension 
forester.  The  tree-measurement  stick 
will  save  time,  and  the  volume  of  the 
tree  in  board  feet  according  to  the 
number  of  16-foot  usable  logs  can  be 
read  direct. 

On  the  small  forests  of  50  to  100 
acres,  all  the  trees  that  are  to  be  sold 
should  be  counted  and  marked.  As  the 
trees  are  marked  and  counted,  the 
volume  of  every  tenth  tree  should  be 
measured.  After  all  the  trees  have 
been  counted,  add  the  volume  of  all 
the  trees  that  have  been  measured, 
multiply  this  total  volume  by  10,  and 
you  will  have  the  estimated  volume  of 
your  entire  stand. 

If  the  woodland  is  small,  the  best 
way  to  get  a  good  estimate  of  the 
volume  of  the  standing  trees  is  to 
measure  every  tree.  The  sum  of  these 
measurements  is  the  estimate  of  the 
number  of  board  feet  in  that  part  of 
the  stand  that  is  to  be  cut,  or  in  the 
entire  forest  if  all  of  the  trees  are 
measured. 

In  the  larger  forests,  one  can  esti- 
mate the  volume  of  the  entire  stand 
by  measuring  only  sample  plots.  It  is 
important  in  making  such  an  estimate 
to  obtain  a  fair  sampling,  or  the  sam- 
ples should  represent  the  average  in 
the  best  or  worst  part  of  the  woodland. 
Usually  samples  of  a  quarter  or  a  fifth 
of  an  acre  in  size  are  easier  to  work 
with.  Sometimes  1-acre  plots  are  used 
(1  acre  is  a  208-foot  square).  One- 
quarter  of  an  acre  is  a  104-foot  square, 
or  118  feet  in  diameter,  if  round. 
Round  plots  are  easier  to  measure  and 
to  use  in  timber  estimating  than  square 
plots. 

Time  will  be  saved  if  the  trees  are 
marked  for  cutting  at  the  same  time 
they  are  measured  for  board-feet  con- 
tent. Foresters  sometimes  recommend 


How  to  Care  for  Your  Small  Forest 


229 


a  timber  cruise,  which  provides  vol- 
ume, growth  data,  and  other  informa- 
tion that  is  used  in  preparing  a  plan 
for  the  small  forest. 

Pulpwood  is  measured  differently 
from  sawlogs  or  standing  trees.  The 
local  pulpwood  buyer,  county  agent,  or 
local  forester  will  have  specifications 
or  know  where  to  get  them.  Since  dif- 
ferent mills  have  different  require- 
ments as  to  length,  it  is  always  wise  to 
get  complete  information  before  cut- 
ting begins  or  a  sale  is  made. 

PULPWOOD  MAY  BE  SOLD  from  your 
small  woodland  in  a  number  of  ways : 

1.  Pulpwood  trees  can  be  sold  on 
the  stump  and  harvested  by  local  con- 
tractors or  agents  of  a  company. 

2.  The  owner  can  cut  the  pulpwood 
and  sell  it  to  the  same  individuals. 

3.  Pulpwood  also  can  be  cut  by  the 
owner,  and  hauled  and  loaded  on  the 
railroad  car  for  shipment  to  the  pulp 
mill.    In   this   way,   the   pulpwood   is 
measured  on  the  car  after  it  is  de- 
livered to  the  plant.  Some  owners  cut 
and  deliver  pulpwood  to  the  railroad 
siding,  where  it  is  measured  while  still 
on  the  truck  or  after  it  is  piled. 

The  standard  cord  is  the  most  com- 
mon unit  of  measurement  for  pulp- 
wood,  but  it  is  also  measured  in  pens 
or  units.  A  standard  cord  is  a  stack  of 
pulpwood  4  feet  high,  4  feet  wide,  and 
8  feet  long.  It  equals  128  cubic  feet. 
It  contains  about  90  cubic  feet  of  solid 
wood  and  bark,  the  remainder  of  the 
stack  being  air  spaces.  Freshly  cut 
pulpwood  is  often  piled  3  to  4  inches 
higher  than  the  required  4  feet  to  al- 
low for  shrinkage  when  the  wood  dries. 

Pens  are  hollow  cribs  of  pulpwood 
about  6  feet  high. 

The  unit  is  often  called  the  long 
cord,  and  results  from  the  practice  of 
many  mills  wanting  wood  in  lengths 
varying  from  4^4  feet  up  to  8  feet.  A 
stack  of  pulpwood,  in  any  of  these 
lengths,  4  feet  high  and  8  feet  across 
the  front  is  called  a  unit.  In  any  one 
unit  the  sticks  should  all  be  the  same 
length.  Since  the  units  are  made  up 
of  longer  sticks  than  the  4-foot  wood 


in  a  standard  cord,  the  units  contain 
a  greater  volume  of  solid  wood.  A 
standard  cord  of  4-foot  pulpwood  con- 
tains 90  cubic  feet  of  solid  wood;  a 
unit  of  5-foot  pulpwood  contains  113 
cubic  feet  of  solid  wood.  A  unit  of  6- 
foot  pulpwood  contains  136  cubic  feet 
of  solid  wood. 

You  should  be  familiar  with  these 
various  units  of  measure  for  pulpwood 
so  that  you  do  not  by  mistake  sell  a 
unit  of  wood  for  the  price  of  a  stand- 
ard cord. 

Often  you  will  lose  if  you  sell  your 
pulpwood  in  pens,  because  the  pens 
are  usually  built  up  with  sticks  of 
pulpwood  of  varying  sizes.  Buyers  gen- 
erally require  five  pens  of  wood  for  a 
standard  cord  or  one  unit.  Five  pens 
of  pulpwood  that  have  been  cut  4  feet 
long  and  in  which  the  sticks  are  all  6 
inches  in  diameter  will  equal  a  stand- 
ard cord,  or  approximately  one  unit 
of  5 -foot  wood.  But  five  pens  of  pulp- 
wood  12  inches  in  diameter  equals  2 
cords  or  2  units.  A  woodland  owner 
in  this  second  case  will  lose  a  cord  or 
a  unit  of  wood  if  the  buyer  takes  five 
pens. 

Always  measure  pulpwood  in  cords 
or  units,  and  sell  it  in  the  same  way. 

SOME  OF  THE  OTHER  PRODUCTS  that 
the  small-forest  owner  can  sell  are: 

Railroad  ties. — Because  most  ties 
are  now  treated  with  chemicals  to  pre- 
vent decay,  practically  all  tree  species 
in  the  small  forest  can  be  cut  for  ties. 

Poles  and  piling  are  cut  from  south- 
ern pines,  eastern  white-cedar,  Doug- 
las-fir,  and  oak.  Usually  only  the  best 
trees  will  yield  high-grade  poles  and 
piling.  Specifications  vary,  and  nothing 
should  be  cut  until  the  owner  knows 
what  sizes  he  can  sell  and  how  to  cut 
them.  The  local  buyer  or  forester  will 
have  this  information. 

Veneer  logs  are  used  to  make  crates, 
boxes,  and  baskets,  and  the  fancy 
veneer  logs  or  bolts  are  used  in  making 
fine  furniture.  Black  walnut,  basswood, 
black  cherry,  the  yellow  birch,  maple, 
yellow-poplar,  the  sycamore,  sweetgum, 
blackgum,  tupelo,  beech,  elm,  and  cot- 


230 

tonwood  in  the  small  forest  often  yield 
veneer  logs.  Specifications  differ  for 
the  individual  plants  and  no  cutting 
should  be  done  until  the  specifications 
are  known.  Valuable  timber  can  be 
wasted  and  left  in  the  woods  by  im- 
proper cutting  of  this  product. 

Mine  timbers  include  props,  lagging 
caps,  sills,  and  ties.  Specifications  differ 
for  each  and  it  is  best  to  see  the  buyer 
before  cutting  any  type  of  mine 
timbers. 

Bolts  and  billets  are  short  lengths  of 
logs  used  for  making  handles,  spokes, 
cooperage,  excelsior,  woodenware,  and 
many  other  small  products.  Ash,  hick- 
ory, beech,  birch,  maple,  and  oak  are 
used  for  ax,  hammer,  hoe,  rake,  and 
shovel  handles.  Aspen,  cottonwood, 
basswood,  willow,  yellow-poplar,  and 
southern  pines  are  used  for  excelsior. 
Whiskey  barrel  staves  are  made  from 
white  oak  bolts.  Other  barrels  are  made 
from  staves  of  ash,  beech,  birch,  maple, 
basswood,  elm,  and  sweetgum.  Each 
plant  has  its  own  specifications.  The 
forest  owner  should  find  out  what  the 
plant  will  buy  and  how  the  product  is 
measured — whether  in  cords,  board 
measure,  pieces,  or  the  running  foot. 

Fuel  wood  has  value  for  home  use 
because  a  standard  cord  of  longleaf 
pine,  hickory,  oak,  beech,  rock  elm, 
hard  maple,  the  black  locust,  or  sweet 
birch,  if  dry,  will  give  as  much  heat  as 
200  gallons  of  fuel  oil  or  a  ton  of  the 
best  coal.  The  heavier  woods  will 
weigh  about  2  tons  a  cord.  Two  cords 
of  the  lighter  woods  (the  white  pine, 
spruce,  cedar,  redwood,  poplar,  cy- 
press, basswood)  will  give  as  much  heat 
as  a  ton  of  hard  coal.  Heat  value  is  in- 
creased if  the  fuel  wood  has  been  cut 
early  and  allowed  to  dry.  Fuel  wood 
can  be  cut  from  trees  that  are  unsuit- 
able for  any  other  use  and  from  limbs 
of  trees  that  have  been  removed  for 
other  purposes. 

SELL  YOUR  FOREST  PRODUCTS  FOR  A 
PROFIT.  That  is  the  reward  for  good 
forest  management. 

Each  time  the  management  practices 
are  improved  on  the  small  forest,  each 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


time  a  better  method  of  selling  is  prac- 
ticed, the  owner  receives  more  cash. 

FOUR  PRINCIPLES  to  help  in  making 
profitable  sales  are: 

1.  Sell  only  measured  amounts  of 
timber.  Other  products  from  farm  and 
industry  are  sold  by  exact  measure- 
ment :  Bushels  of  corn,  pounds  of  beef, 
tons  of  coal,  and  gallons  of  oil.  When 
the  forest  owner  sells  his  timber  on  the 
stump  for  a  lump  sum  to  the  first  buyer 
who  comes  along  with  an  offer,  the  sale 
usually  returns  a  large  profit  to  the 
buyer. 

Intelligent  selling  is  based  on  know- 
ing what  one  has  to  sell,  both  as  to 
the  amount  and  quality.  It  requires 
thought,  care,  and  experience.  Advice 
from  a  forester  may  be  needed  until 
the  woodland  owner  is  confident  he 
can  go  it  alone. 

2.  Harvest  your  own  timber  if  it  is 
possible. 

If  cutting  and  selling  the  converted 
products  such  as  sawlogs,  pulpwood, 
veneer  logs,  poles,  and  so  forth,  is  a 
possibility,  a  little  rough  figuring  will 
determine  whether  or  not  it  will  be 
profitable : 

(a)  Estimate  the  sale  value  of  the 
timber  on  the  stump. 

(b)  Determine   harvesting   costs — 
cutting,  logging,  hauling  the  product 
to  market,  and  so  on.  The  purchase  of 
saws,  tools,  miscellaneous  supplies,  a 
truck,  and  other  operating  equipment, 
loss  by  depreciation,  and  the  wages  of 
hired  help  and  labor  all  are  harvesting 
costs. 

(c)  Estimate  the  sale  value  of  the 
forest  products  you  plan  to  cut. 

(d)  From  the  sale  value,  subtract 
the  stumpage  value  and  the  harvesting 
costs. 

(e)  What  remains  is  the  owner's 
wages  and  profit. 

Generally  there  is  a  profit  in  har- 
vesting one's  own  timber.  Also,  greater 
care  can  be  exercised  in  protecting  the 
remaining  crop  trees  from  damage. 

3.  Find  the  most  profitable  market, 
both  for  sale  of  the  trees  on  the  stump 
and  the  converted  products. 


How  to  Care  for  Your  Small  Forest 


231 


A  little  effort  often  uncovers  numer- 
ous outlets  for  forest  products: 

(a)  Ask  your  neighbors;  they  may 
have  just  made  a  sale. 

(b)  The  county  agent  often  will 
know. 

(c)  The  local  forester  will  have  a 
list  of  markets  and  prices  and  often 
knows  of  markets  elsewhere. 

(d)  Look    for    advertisements    in 
your  local  paper  or  get  a  copy  of  a 
lumber  trade  journal. 

(e)  You  may  run  an  advertisement 
locally  or  in  a  metropolitan  paper  or 
trade  journal. 

(/)  Write  several  of  the  wood-using 
industries.  They  furnish  specifications 
and  prices,  and  often  their  buyer  will 
call  if  requested. 

Fuel  wood  is  needed  by  packing 
houses,  bakeries,  lime-kilns,  brickmak- 
ers,  and  tobacco  growers.  Highway 
departments  use  piling,  bridge  timbers, 
and  posts.  Railroads  need  ties  and 
heavy  timbers.  Mining  companies  and 
telegraph  companies  want  poles.  Paper 
companies  buy  pulp  wood.  Veneer  logs, 
sawlogs,  and  bolts  and  billets  can  be 
sold  to  woodworking  plants.  Plants 
that  make  wine  and  whiskey  barrels 
are  ever  on  the  lookout  for  high-grade 
white  oak. 

4.  Marketing  converted  products 
brings  the  greatest  profit. 

Long,  high-quality  logs  can  be  sold 
to  mills  that  cut  large  timbers  on  spe- 
cial order.  Lower-quality,  short  logs 
can  be  taken  to  a  small  mill  that  cuts 
lumber.  Good  white  oak  often  will 
produce  valuable  stave  bolts  from  the 
butt  cuts,  while  the  rest  of  the  tree  can 
be  sold  as  sawlogs.  Large,  high-grade 
logs  of  other  species  such  as  sweetgum, 
yellow-poplar,  walnut,  and  so  on,  can 
be  sold  separately  as  veneer  logs  for  a 
high  price.  Tall,  straight  trees  can  be 
cut  into  poles  or  piling  and  sold  at  a 
premium. 

Always  before  creaming-off  the  best 
trees  in  a  small  forest  for  the  products 
that  bring  the  highest  prices,  be  sure 
you  can  sell  for  a  fair  price  the  less 
valuable  trees  that  need  to  be  cut. 
Often  a  small  forest  is  high-graded  and 


then  no  one  will  buy  the  lower-quality 
timber  that  remains. 

The  owner  of  a  small  forest  who 
sells  converted  products  must  use  skill 
and  care  in  turning  them  out.  All 
profit  may  be  lost  if  many  logs,  poles, 
posts,  timbers,  or  piling  are  rejected 
by  the  buyer. 

If  the  owner  does  the  cutting  him- 
self, greater  care  can  be  exercised.  If 
a  contractor  is  hired  to  do  the  work, 
the  owner  should  personally  supervise 
the  cutting  operation. 

GETTING  BIDS  ON  STANDING  TIMBER 
or  converted  forest  products  is  good 
business. 

The  points  to  tell  the  prospective 
bidder  about  your  standing  timber  are: 

The  location  and  size  of  the  wood- 
land in  acres. 

The  estimated  amount  for  sale  in 
board  feet,  cords,  or  other  measure- 
ments. 

The  kinds  of  trees  for  sale. 

The  quality  of  the  timber  and  its 
size  range  in  diameter  and  height. 

Whether  logging  will  be  hard  or 
easy  due  to  rough  ground,  hills,  or  deep 
ravines. 

Accessibility  to  roads,  railroads,  and 
paved  highways. 

Whether  the  trees  are  old  growth 
or  second  growth. 

Whether  the  trees  are  forest  grown 
or  came  in  on  old  fields. 

Prospective  bidders  on  products  you 
have  cut  will  want  to  know: 

Kind  of  product. 

Amount  for  sale,  such  as  number  of 
cross  ties,  poles,  posts,  and  so  on. 

Quality  of  the  converted  products. 

Grade — if  possible. 

Lengths,  and  other  sizes  needed  to 
explain  the  product. 

Location  of  products. 

Kinds  of  timber  in  the  products: 
Hickory,  walnut,  oak. 

General  items  to  include  in  all  let- 
ters asking  for  bids,  on  stumpage  or 
converted  products,  are: 

Owner's  name  and  address. 

Conditions  of  sale  as  to  payment, 
and  so  on. 


232 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


When  the  timber  or  converted  prod- 
ucts may  be  examined. 

The  right  to  reject  any  and  all  bids. 

Generally  the  highest  bid  is  the  one 
to  accept,  but  if  the  market  is  distant 
and  transportation  costs  high,  a  lower 
bid  from  a  nearer  market  may  be  more 
profitable.  Grading  rules  must  be  con- 
sidered. Also,  liberal  scaling  under  a 
low-value  rule  may  offset  high  prices 
under  a  precise  rule.  The  reliability  of 
the  buyer  must  be  considered. 

SALES  CONTRACTS  are  good  insur- 
ance. A  written  agreement  setting  forth 
details  of  a  sale  of  stumpage  or  con- 
verted products,  signed  by  the  buyer 
and  the  seller,  will  avoid  misunder- 
standing. 

In  every  agreement  covering  the  sale 
of  stumpage,  either  verbal  or  written, 
the  following  items  should  be  specified 
precisely: 

Description  of  the  sale  area. 

Estimate  of  amount  of  timber  to  be 
cut. 

Kind  of  trees  and  approximate  sizes. 

Sale  price  and  provisions  for  pay- 
ment before  and  during  cutting. 

Guarantee  of  title  to  timber. 

What  trees  are  to  be  cut — those 
marked  with  paint  or  blazed,  the 
diameter  limit,  and  so  on. 

Definition  of  merchantable  trees. 

Time  limit  sale  is  to  run ;  when  cut- 
ting and  removal  of  timber  will  stop. 

Place  and  method  of  measuring — 
log  rule  to  use. 

Protection  of  forest  from  fire  and 
logging  damage. 

Right  of  entrance  and  exit  to  the 
forest. 

Payment  of  taxes. 

Method  for  settlement  of  any  dis- 
agreements that  may  arise. 

A  performance  bond,  particularly  in 
larger  sales. 

When  converted  products  are  sold, 
all  agreements,  written  or  oral,  should 
state  the  method  of  measuring  and 
grading,  quantity  to  be  delivered,  mer- 
chantability limits,  rate  of  delivery  to 
a  specified  point  such  as  a  railroad 
siding,  loaded  on  car,  and  so  on,  time 


limit  for  delivery  or  to  fulfill  contract, 
and  the  time  and  method  of  payment. 

A  timber-sale  agreement  takes  little 
time  and  effort  and  will  result  in  ac- 
cord between  buyer  and  seller. 

Future  sales  are  easier  where  past 
sales  have  been  satisfactory  to  both 
parties. 

M.  M.  BRYAN  grew  up  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  his  grandfather  and  his 
great-grandfather  had  been  active  in 
logging,  lumbering,  and  sawmilling. 
He  is  a  graduate  in  forestry  of  Pennsyl- 
vania State  College.  His  work  in  the 
Forest  Service  has  included  timber- 
stand-improvement  work,  timber  sur- 
veys on  the  national  forests,  land 
acquisition,  assignments  as  ranger  and 
forest  supervisor,  flood-control  surveys, 
and  State  and  private  forestry.  He  now 
is  chief  of  the  Woodland  Management 
Section  in  the  Division  of  Cooperative 
Forest  Management.  Much  of  the  in- 
formation in  this  article  is  based  on  a 
bulletin,  Managing  the  Small  Forest, 
by  Mr.  Bryan  and  other  men  in  the 
Department  of  Agriculture. 


Direction 
of  fall 


Saw  cut 


Undercut 


Wed9 


This  diagram  illustrates  the  felling  of  a 
tree.  Two  cuts  are  made  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  tree;  the  undercut  guides  the  direc- 
tion of  fall.  (See  page  241.) 

The  drawings  on  the  following  pages  show 

some  of  the  methods  and  tools  used  in 

forest  operations. 


How  to  Care  for  Your  Small  Forest 


233 


DIBBLE  PLANTING 

Dibble  or  planting  bar 


Insert  dibble  and  push  for- 
ward to   upright  position. 


Insert  dibble  2  inches  from  plant — pull 
back  .to   firm   soil  at  bottom  of  roots. 


••-':  "• ,       : 


Fill  in  last  hole  by  scrap- 
ing soil  with  shoe. 


Root  collar 


Remove  dibble  and  place 
seedling  with  root  collar 
at  ground  level. 


li|:||S^::::~ 


Push    dibble    forward    to 
firm  soil  at  top  of  roots. 


Pack    soil    firmly    around 
seedling. 


MATTOCK  PLANTING 


Insert  mattock — lift  handle 
and  pull  back. 


Fill  in  around  seedling  by 
scraping  soil  with  shoe. 


Root  collar 


Place  seedling  at  correct  depth, 
packing  roots  with   moist  soil. 


0 


Pack    soil    firmly    around 
seedling. 


Yearboof^  of  Agriculture  1949 


HOW  THiNNiNG  UNDESIRABLE  TREES  IMPROVES  THE  FOREST 


Prune ' 
to  about 
of  total 


How  to  Care  for  Your  Small  Forest 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


237 


HARVESTING  THE  SMALL  FOREST 


ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER 


Harvesting  the  woodland  crop,  or 
logging,  is  the  last  stage  in  the  pro- 
duction of  the  crop.  It  is  like  the  final 
step  in  producing  potatoes  or  doing 
farm  chores,  such  as  milking.  A  farmer 
does  not  sell  his  potatoes  while  they 
are  in  the  ground  or  the  milk  while  it 
is  in  the  cow.  By  doing  his  own  harvest- 
ing or  chores,  he  is  selling  his  services. 

In  the  South,  for  instance,  about 
one-half  the  value  of  some  harvested 
forest  products,  such  as  sawlogs,  is  rep- 
resented by  the  standing  tree — hence 
one-half  comes  about  through  logging 
and  hauling.  In  other  words,  harvest- 
ing doubles  the  sawlog  returns  from 
the  woodlands. 

Owners  of  small  woods  who  do  their 
own  logging  are  apt  to  practice  good 
forestry.  When  one  does  his  own  log- 
ging according  to  a  sound  plan,  he  will 
exercise  more  care  to  get  better  utili- 
zation, avoid  damage  to  future  crop 
trees,  leave  the  area  in  better  shape  for 
forthcoming  operations,  and — more 
than  likely — protect  his  woodland  from 
fire,  insects,  and  diseases. 

Logging  generally  can  be  done  in 
slack  seasons.  Often  it  is  a  welcome 
change  from  other  farm  work.  It  can 
fit  in  nicely  with  a  balanced  farm  pro- 
gram. Usually  winter  is  the  best  season 
for  the  woods  work :  Snow,  frost,  and 
frozen  ground  facilitate  skidding  and 
hauling,  although  they  increase  the  ac- 
cident rate  and,  for  products  that  must 
be  peeled,  cold  is  a  handicap. 

Logging  is  hard  work,  but  it  is  sur- 
prising how  some  jobs  can  be  made 
easier  by  planning,  how  quickly  experi- 
ence makes  one  more  efficient  in  the 
use  of  tools  and  equipment,  and  how 
much  effort  is  saved  by  keeping  tools 
sharp.  In  fact,  farmers  often  say  that 
after  a  day  or  two  in  the  woods  they 
enjoy  the  work.  The  hardest  part  is 
to  get  started — and,  after  starting,  to 
remember  that  experienced  woods 
workers  usually  take  breathers,  or  rest 


periods,  equal  to  5  percent  of  the  work- 
day. 

Before  he  starts  his  tree  harvest,  the 
owner  should  know  the  outlets  for  the 
crop.  If  they  are  to  be  marketed,  the 
products  should  be  contracted  for  by 
written  agreement.  It  is  worth  while  to 
inquire  about  the  products  in  demand, 
and  study  the  logging  of  those  products 
as  to  quantity  and  quality,  with  the 
equipment  available.  Also,  before  start- 
ing, it  is  well  to  mark  the  trees  to  be 
cut  with  paint,  crayon,  or  lime  spots. 
In  marking,  the  owner  should  bear  in 
mind  that  it  usually  costs  more  per 
cord  or  per  thousand  board  feet  to  log 
small  trees  than  it  does  large  ones,  but 
in  time  the  owner  will  learn  which  are 
the  profitable  tree  sizes  and  species  and 
how  long  it  takes  trees  to  grow  to  a 
profitable  logging  size.  It  is  a  good  idea 
likewise  to  consult  a  local  forester  or 
the  county  agent.  They  will  know  local 
conditions  and  markets  and  be  able  to 
advise  on  the  practicability  of  doing 
the  logging  one's  self  or  letting  it  out 
on  contract.  If  any  help  is  to  be  hired, 
they  can  give  good  advice  on  the  going 
wages,  the  phases  of  the  work  that 
have  been  declared  too  hazardous  for 
under-age  workers,  and  the  workmen's 
compensation  requirements. 

Mechanical  equipment,  such  as 
power  saws,  wood  splitters,  and  tree 
planters,  has  helped  make  some  of  the 
work  easier. 

As  with  other  types  of  farm  work, 
scarcity  of  help  has  led  to  increased 
mechanization  in  woodland  operations 
in  order  to  maintain  production.  In 
logging,  however,  mechanization  has 
not  materially  lowered  the  production 
costs  on  the  smaller  operations. 

Many  small  operators  have  aban- 
doned the  use  of  the  power  chain  saw, 
because  they  have  found  it  more  ex- 
pensive than  hand  tools.  The  two-man 
gas  saw  is  too  costly  to  use  on  inter- 
mittent, low-production  jobs  in  the 


238 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


small  timber.  To  be  economical,  it 
requires  enough  timber  to  keep  a  crew 
of  three  to  five  men  busy.  One-man 
power  chain  saws,  now  on  the  market, 
promise  to  be  better  suited  to  use  on 
small  jobs  in  small  timber.  If  one  owner 
of  a  small  woodland  cannot  afford  to 
buy  mechanized  equipment,  he  might 
go  in  with  other  owners  and  purchase 
it  jointly.  Or,  equipment  is  available 
sometimes  on  a  custom  basis,  the  same 
as  threshing  machines  and  corn  pickers. 
Another  possibility  is  to  trade  labor  or 
arrange  through  a  service  type  of  log- 
ging ring,  operated  on  a  fee  basis  not 
unlike  the  spray  rings  employed  in 
horticulture,  for  some  of  the  work. 

But  even  with  ordinary  tools,  the 
work  is  made  easier  by  using  one's  head, 
keeping  the  tools  sharp  and  in  safe 
working  condition,  planning  the  log- 
ging work  and  lay-out,  and  taking  ad- 
vantage of  gravity. 

Three  steps  are  involved  in  log- 
ging, but  the  ways  of  doing  the  work 
in  the  suggested  steps  will  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  woodland  and  the  prod- 
uct harvested.  The  steps  are : 

1.  Felling  (or  falling)  the  tree  and 
preparing  the  products,  which  in- 
cludes : 

a.  Limbing  the  tree; 

b.  Bucking  it  into  product  size; 

c.  Peeling,  splitting,  and  hewing 

the  products,  when  required ; 

d.  Slash  disposal,  if  necessary. 
The  essential  tools  and  equipment 

for  this  step  are: 

Fiberboard  safety  helmet. 
Ax. 
Saw. 
Wedge. 
Hammer. 
Measuring  stick. 
Coal  oil. 
Saw  file. 
Whetstone. 

The  optional  tools  are: 
Peavey,  or  cant  hook. 
Log  jack. 
Pulp  hook. 
Peeling  tools. 
Tie-making  tools. 
Wood  splitters. 


2.  Skidding  products  from  stump  to 
skidway,  landing,  or  assembly  point. 

The  essential  tools  and  equipment 
are: 

Skidding  chain. 

Peavey. 

Power  (animal  or  machine). 

Rigging. 

Ax. 

The  optional  tools  and  equipment 
are: 

Tongs  or  grapple  hooks. 

Skid  sled. 

Skid  pan,  etc. 

Extra  rigging. 

Wagon. 

Log  cart. 

3.  Loading  the  products  on  wagon 
or  truck   (and  perhaps  unloading  at 
the  destination). 

The  essential  tools  and  equipment 
are: 

Peavey,  or  cant  hook. 

Cross-haul  line. 

Pole  skids. 

Power  (animal  or  machine). 

Rigging. 

Wagon  or  truck  or  sled. 
The  optional  tools  and  equipment 
are: 

Loader  or  jammer. 

Pulp  hook. 

Block  and  tackle. 

One  should  be  careful,  so  as  to  avoid 
accidents.  The  most  common  accidents 
in  the  woods  are  due  to  axes,  saws, 
suspended  broken  branches,  and  being 
on  the  downhill  side  of  rolling  logs. 
Even  in  lifting  there  is  a  right  and 
wrong  way.  Properly  done,  the  arms 
and  back  are  kept  straight  and  the  legs 
bent,  so  that  the  lifting  is  done  with 
the  leg  muscles.  Wherever  possible,  di- 
rect lifting  should  be  avoided  and  use 
made  of  a  peavey  or  pole.  A  fiberboard 
safety  helmet,  a  part  of  the  essential 
equipment,  protects  the  head  from  fall- 
ing limbs,  or,  in  woods  language,  the 
widow  makers. 

THE  AX  is  probably  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all  logging  tools.  It  is  in  use 
about  one-half  of  the  woodsman's 
working  time.  For  that  reason,  if  any 


Harvesting  the  Small  Forest 


239 


choice  is  possible,  one  should  give  care- 
ful consideration  to  its  selection — to  fit 
the  ax  to  the  work  contemplated. 

Of  a  hundred  patterns  and  sizes,  a 
few  pointers  to  consider  are : 

The  wider  blades  are  better  suited 
for  softwoods  ( the  evergreens )  and  the 
narrower  blades  for  hardwoods. 

The  handle  should  be  of  straight 
grain,  smooth,  free  of  defects,  and  lined 
up  in  the  same  plane  as  the  cutting 
edge  of  the  head,  with  the  head  well 
down  on  the  shoulder.  Rough  handles 
raise  blisters. 

The  weight,  single  or  double  bit,  and 
hang  will  vary  according  to  preference 
and  use.  An  ax  weighing  from  3  to  4 
pounds  is  about  the  right  weight. 

Properly  forged  and  tempered  steel 
axheads  are  usually  found  in  the  better 
axes. 

For  productive  and  safe  work,  the  ax 
should  be  kept  sharp.  The  user  must 
have  good  footing  with  a  firm  grip  on 
the  handle.  Room  is  needed  to  swing 
the  ax.  The  most  common  obstructions, 
low  limbs  and  brush,  should  be  re- 
moved. 

The  ax  should  be  carried  at  one's 
side,  with  the  hand  just  behind  the 
axhead.  One-fourth  of  the  accidents 
in  the  woods  are  attributed  to  ax  cuts. 
A  single-bitted  ax  is  somewhat  less  dan- 
gerous to  use  than  a  double-bitted  one. 

The  ax  should  be  kept  in  a  safe  place 
when  not  in  use — such  as  standing 
against  a  tree  or  stump,  with  the  han- 
dle up.  It  is  unwise  to  use  the  side  of 
an  ax  for  a  sledge  hammer  in  wedg- 
ing; a  sledge  hammer  or  mall  should  be 
used  for  wedging. 

A  SAW  is  used  about  a  third  of  a 
woodsman's  working  time.  The  one- 
and  two-man  crosscut  saws  in  5y2-  to 
6-foot  lengths  are  the  most  common. 

The  bow  saw,  3  to  4  feet  long,  with 
a  tapered  saw  blade  held  under  ten- 
sion, and  easily  operated  by  one  man, 
is  well  adapted  for  timber  up  to  a  foot 
in  diameter,  such  as  pulpwood,  fuel 
wood,  fence  posts,  poles,  and  the 
smaller  sawlogs. 

A  smaller  bow  saw  is  handy  for  sev- 


ering limbs,  treetops,  and  working  in 
post-size  material. 

For  large  timber,  the  length  of  the 
saw  should  be  about  twice  the  diam- 
eter of  the  largest  material  to  be  cut, 
so  that  one  can  use  long,  straight 
strokes  and  bring  out  the  accumulated 
sawdust  in  the  gullets. 

The  tooth  pattern  varies  with  the 
species  of  wood  to  be  cut  and  condi- 
tion of  the  wood,  its  seasoning,  whether 
it  is  frozen,  and  so  on.  A  narrow, 
curved  crosscut  saw  is  better  suited  to 
wedging  in  smaller  timber  than  the 
wide,  straight-backed  type. 

A  properly  sharpened  saw  makes 
shavings,  not  sawdust.  As  with  the  ax, 
there  is  no  substitute  for  practice,  either 
in  using  the  saw  or  in  fitting  it. 

It  is  best  to  carry  the  crosscut  saw 
with  only  one  handle  attached.  The 
blade  should  be  over  the  shoulder  with 
the  teeth  out.  One  should  be  sure  no 
one  is  following  close  behind.  If  nec- 
essary to  carry  the  saw  at  one's  side, 
the  teeth  should  be  kept  up  so  the  saw 
can  be  thrown  aside  in  case  of  a  fall. 
The  bow  saw  can  be  slung  over  the 
shoulder,  teeth  to  the  rear.  Either  type 
can  be  protected  by  a  piece  of  garden 
or  fire  hose,  slit  lengthwise,  and  tied 
over  the  teeth.  Burlap  offers  some  pro- 
tection. The  saw  should  be  kept  in  a 
safe  place  when  it  is  not  in  use.  Saw- 
tooth injuries  are  usually  serious. 

Power  saws  are  finding  a  place  in 
larger  operations  and  on  a  custom  basis 
on  small  jobs.  Plans  for  home-made 
types  of  crosscut  power  saws  suitable 
for  bucking  logs  will  be  sent  by  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  on  request. 

METAL  WEDGES,  preferably  of  un- 
tempered  steel,  are  useful  for  falling, 
bucking,  and  splitting.  They  should 
be  driven  with  a  sledge  hammer  or 
mall,  not  with  the  side  of  an  ax.  They 
are  of  various  sizes  and  shapes.  They 
are  cumbersome  to  carry  around  and 
easily  misplaced,  but  are  indispensable. 
A  wedge  with  a  badly  mushroomed 
head  is  dangerous,  because  metal  frag- 
ments may  fly  off  when  it  is  struck. 

Steel  wedges  are  not  recommended 


240 


yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


for  use  with  a  power  saw — rather, 
wooden  or  specially  made  wedges  of 
soft  metals,  aluminum  or  magnesium. 

Wedges  made  of  shock-resistant,  sea- 
soned woods,  such  as  ash,  beech,  birch, 
dogwood,  gum,  hickory,  ironwood, 
maple,  oak,  or  persimmon,  are  satis- 
factory and  often  can  be  made  lo- 
cally— even  on  the  logging  job.  Satis- 
factory dimensions  of  wedges  are  4 
inches  wide  and  7  inches  long,  with  a 
thickness  and  taper  comparable  to  that 
of  metal  wedges. 

Explosive  wedges  sometimes  are  very 
helpful  for  splitting  large  logs,  but  only 
an  experienced  person  should  use  them. 

A  hammer  weighing  4  or  5  pounds 
is  recommended  for  driving  wedges.  A 
large  nail  driven  into  the  eye  of  the 
hammerhead,  and  sharpened  spikelike, 
permits  the  hammer  to  be  stuck  into  a 
log,  so  that  one  can  keep  track  of  it. 

For  pitchy  woods,  such  as  pine  and 
spruce,  coal  oil  is  essential  for  cleaning 
the  saw  blade  to  prevent  sticking.  It  is 
best  applied  from  a  flat  bottle,  a  size 
convenient  to  carry  in  a  trouser  pocket. 

Another  essential  tool  is  an  8-foot, 
straight,  measuring  stick  made  from 
a  board  or  a  sapling,  with  1-foot  mark- 
ings plainly  indicated.  It  saves  time  in 
measuring  off  the  proper  lengths  of 
felled  trees.  A  hook  on  one  end  facili- 
tates its  use.  The  specified  trimming 
allowance  ( 3  or  4  inches  for  most  saw- 
logs)  may  be  added  by  eye,  but  one 
should  be  careful  not  to  cut  off  the  end 
of  the  measuring  stick  when  making 
a  mark  with  the  ax.  An  inch  or  two 
short  may  place  the  log  into  the  next 
shorter  length  class,  thus  wasting  wood 
and  lowering  the  selling  price. 

A  good  file  with  a  handle  is  easy  to 
carry  in  the  woods  and  can  be  used  to 
sharpen  tools  during  rest  periods.  Some 
woodsmen  prefer  to  use  a  whetstone 
for  sharpening  their  axes. 

THE  OPTIONAL  EQUIPMENT  includes 
the  peavey,  or  cant  hook,  which  is  cum- 
bersome to  carry  about  the  woods  but 
is  helpful  in  rolling  or  prying  logs,  ties, 
and  bolts,  and  in  bucking,  skidding, 
loading,  and  unloading. 


It  takes  no  special  skill  to  use  the 
peavey  for  prying,  but  there  is  a  knack 
in  using  it  for  loading,  unloading,  and 
rolling  logs.  The  beginner  should  first 
learn  to  use  the  peavey  from  behind  the 
log  or  bolt. 

A  log  jack — an  adaptation  of  the 
cant  hook — is  a  tool  used  in  raising  the 
log  being  sawed  a  few  inches  off 
the  ground  so  as  to  avoid  sawing  into 
the  ground,  or  to  keep  the  saw  from 
binding. 

A  handy  tool  for  getting  hold  of 
short  bolts  or  pulpwood  is  the  pulp 
hook,  which  resembles  the  common 
hay  hook.  Injuries  while  using  the 
pulp  hook  usually  come  from  missing 
the  wood  and  striking  the  leg  instead. 

A  half  dozen  hand  tools  and  several 
types  of  machines  for  removing  the 
bark  of  forest  products  are  on  the  mar- 
ket. The  common  hand  tools  are  tim- 
ber shaves,  peeling  spuds,  a  garden 
spade,  or  merely  an  automobile  spring 
leaf.  The  type  to  be  used  depends 
chiefly  on  the  size  of  timber,  the  species, 
and  the  season  of  the  year.  For  peeling 
timber  the  size  of  pulpwood  and  posts, 
a  support,  or  shaving  "horse,"  can  be 
conveniently  made. 

There  are  several  mechanical  peel- 
ing machines.  Some  shave  the  bark  off 
with  revolving  cutter  heads;  others 
knock  the  bark  off  with  a  fast-revolv- 
ing, short-chain  length  or  hammers. 

The  broadax  is  of  standard  design. 
It  is  used  in  hewing  building  logs  and 
ties.  Skill  in  handling  it  comes  through 
practice.  It  is  heavy  and  hazardous  to 
use. 

Farm-made  machines  for  splitting 
wood  have  proved  successful  in  the 
Lake  States  and  North  Central  States. 
There  are  two  general  types.  One  uses 
a  fly  wheel,  3  or  4  feet  in  diameter,  to 
which  a  splitting  wedge  is  attached. 
The  other  has  a  wedge  welded  to  a 
moving  piston  head.  The  first  seems  to 
be  the  more  versatile;  splitting  a  cord 
of  stove  wood  an  hour  with  it  is  not 
unusual.  More  than  300  machines  of 
this  type  are  in  use  by  farmers  in 
North  Dakota. 

So  much  for  the  kinds  of  tools  and 


Harvesting  the  Small  Forest 


equipment  used  in  the  first  step  of  log- 
ging— felling  the  trees.  Some  sugges- 
tions about  the  operation  follow. 

FELLING  TREES  is  hazardous  and  dif- 
ficult. More  men  lose  their  lives  while 
felling  trees  than  on  any  other  woods 
job,  because  tree  fallers  have  a  tend- 
ency to  take  chances  instead  of  pre- 
cautions. A  beginner  would  profit  by 
working  with  an  experienced  faller. 

The  tools  best  adapted  to  a  particu- 
lar felling  job  depend  on  the  species, 
size,  and  character  of  the  timber.  A 
two-man  crew  works  to  good  advan- 
tage for  timber  of  average  size. 

In  felling,  a  common  logging  waste 
occurs  by  leaving  high  stumps,  for  usu- 
ally the  best  grade  of  lumber  is  cut  from 
the  stump  portion  of  the  tree.  Low 
stumps  save  wood  and  mean  less  ob- 
structions in  the  skidding  operations 
to  follow.  For  trees  up  to  20  inches  in 
diameter,  stump  heights  should  be  kept 
to  8  inches  or  less,  and  12  inches  for 
larger  trees. 

To  determine  the  direction  of  fall 
for  a  tree,  one  must  consider  the  lean 
of  the  tree;  wind  movement;  slope  of 
the  ground,  and  subsequent  skidding; 
openings  on  the  ground ;  possible  dam- 
age to  other  trees,  including  future 
crops ;  soundness  of  the  tree  at  the  cut ; 
and  the  ground  cover  (rocks  and  logs) . 
Felling  should  be  done  with  a  thought 
to  skidding.  The  object  is  to  fell  the 
tree  without  breaking  it  or  damaging 
other  trees  and  to  drop  it  in  a  spot 
from  where  it  can  be  easily  skidded. 

Brush  and  limbs  that  interfere  with 
use  of  the  tools  should  be  removed 
first.  A  quick  get-away  route  should 
be  determined  before  the  tree  starts 
to  fall.  Trees  dropped  uphill  on  steep 
slopes  are  especially  dangerous,  for  they 
are  apt  to  slide. 

IN  FELLING,  two  cuts  are  made  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  tree,  the  undercut 
and  the  main  saw  cut.  The  undercut 
is  made  with  a  saw  on  the  side  the 
tree  will  fall,  and  into  about  one-third 
the  diameter.  A  wedge-shaped  section 
is  then  chopped  out  to  form  the  under- 

802062°— 49 17 


241 

cut.  Properly  done,  the  undercut 
guides  the  direction  of  fall.  The  main 
saw  cut  is  then  made  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  tree,  slightly  above  the  base 
of  the  undercut.  When  the  saw  begins 
to  bind,  it  is  time  to  use  a  wedge.  Be- 
fore the  final  cut  is  completed,  sound 
plenty  of  warning  to  all  in  the  vicinity 
by  yelling  "t-i-m-b-e-r."  Sometimes  a 
15-  to  20-foot  pry  pole  (never  an  ax) 
against  the  tree  is  an  aid  in  felling  it. 
As  the  tree  starts  to  the  ground,  with- 
draw the  saw  and  quickly  move  to  a 
safe  distance;  stand  facing  the  falling 
tree  and  watch  the  top,  preferably 
from  behind  a  large  tree.  Do  not  try  to 
carry  tools,  but  be  on  the  lookout  for 
widow  makers.  Trees  with  unbalanced 
crowns,  with  excessive  lean  and  defec- 
tive trunks,  and  so  on,  often  give  diffi- 
culty and  occasionally  get  hung  up  in 
neighboring  trees.  Then  one  must  use 
his  ingenuity  to  free  them  and,  in  doing 
so,  the  utmost  in  care  and  alertness  is 
demanded. 

LIMBING  AND  BUCKING  is  done  when 
the  tree  is  down.  To  facilitate  handling 
and  skidding,  the  limbs  should  be  cut 
flush  with  the  stem. 

Limbing  is  done  mostly  with  an  ax; 
that,  too,  can  be  a  dangerous  job  if  the 
ax  is  used  improperly.  As  a  precaution 
against  injury  when  swinging  an  ax, 
overhead  branches  should  be  removed. 
The  chopper  should  work  with  his  feet 
on  the  ground  (not  standing  on  a  log 
or  limb)  and  cut  the  branches  on  the 
opposite  side,  thus  swinging  the  ax 
away  from  the  body. 

Bucking — that  is,  cutting  up — the 
tree  is  an  exacting  job.  In  bucking,  the 
logger  largely  determines  the  grade  of 
each  product  by  separating  the  high- 
value  sections  from  those  of  low  value. 
Proper  bucking  permits  cutting  out 
defects,  eliminating  crooked  portions, 
and  the  like.  The  entire  merchantable 
tree  length  should  be  considered  and 
measured  carefully,  and  allowances 
made  for  any  necessary  trimming. 

Bucking  trees  into  sawlogs  and  ve- 
neer logs  is  more  difficult  and  more 
involved  than  making  pulpwood  or 


242 

fuel  wood.  Bucking  usually  requires 
from  one-tenth  to  one-fifth  of  a  log- 
ger's time. 

In  the  woods,  the  under  limbs  often 
are  left  on  to  furnish  support  in  buck- 
ing. Blocking  may  be  necessary  to  prop 
ends  of  the  logs  to  avoid  pinching  the 
saw  or  to  keep  the  wood  from  splitting. 
Such  a  prop  is  called  a  "dutchman." 
Sometimes  sawing  is  done  on  the  un- 
der side  to  avoid  pinching  the  saw.  A 
peavey,  or  log  jack,  comes  in  handy  to 
put  the  pieces  into  sawing  positions. 
Working  alone,  the  bucker  should 
work  on  the  upper  side  of  logs,  or  block 
them  to  prevent  rolling. 

When  the  main  tree  stem  is  to  be 
made  into  a  variety  of  products  (saw- 
logs,  pulpwood,  piling,  fuel  wood,  and 
posts)  according  to  the  utilization  and 
markets,  the  terms  "integrated  log- 
ging" or  "integrated  utilization"  are 
used.  That  is  often  accomplished  by 
skidding  the  entire  merchantable  length 
to  the  skidway,  landing,  or  assembly 
point,  and  doing  the  bucking  there. 

It  is  helpful  to  have  the  stem  off 
the  ground  during  bucking;  that  is 
done  at  the  skidway  or  the  landing  by 
rolling  the  material  on  skid  poles. 

If  the  log  has  to  be  peeled,  the  bark 
is  most  easily  removed  in  spring  and 
early  summer,  immediately  after  fell- 
ing. Some  of  the  products  from  which 
bark  is  removed  are  fence  posts,  poles, 
piling,  ties,  building  logs,  and,  some- 
times, pulpwood.  The  type  of  peeling 
tool  to  be  used  depends  on  the  species 
of  wood,  size  of  timber,  and  season  of 
year.  Some  of  the  peeling  machines 
now  available  are  rather  costly  and  are 
not  adapted  to  small  jobs.  Occasionally 
peeling  is  done  to  recover  the  bark  for 
industrial  uses. 

Splitting  is  usually  necessary  for 
fuel  wood,  stave  bolts,  large  fence  posts, 
and  the  like.  Splitting  mauls,  wedges, 
and  hammers  are  used.  For  stove- 
length  fuel  wood,  portable  splitting 
machines,  previously  mentioned,  are 
efficient.  Outlets  and  markets  for  prod- 
ucts to  be  split  should  be  well  known 
or  contracted  for  before  performing 
the  work. 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Railroad  ties  made  in  the  woods  are 
usually  fashioned  with  a  broadax  and 
cut  to  specification. 

The  slash — limbs,  tops,  and  debris — 
accumulated  from  the  felling  and  limb- 
ing operations  may  have  to  be  gotten 
out  of  the  way  of  the  skidding  opera- 
tions. They  should  be  left  so  as  not  to 
be  a  serious  fire  hazard  or  a  handicap 
to  the  remaining  trees  or  seedlings.  In 
general,  slash  should  be  chopped  to 
lie  flat  on  the  ground  so  it  will  decay 
more  rapidly.  Under  certain  condi- 
tions, it  should  be  piled  and  burned. 

THE  SKIDDING  EQUIPMENT  needed  to 
move  products  from  the  stump  to  an 
assembly  point  depends  on  the  size, 
length  of  product,  skidding  distance, 
lay  of  the  land,  soil  conditions,  season 
of  year,  and  how  the  logs  were  felled. 

Animals  or  machines  supply  the 
draft  power  needed  to  move  the  prod- 
ucts from  the  stump  to  skidding  termi- 
nal— skidway,  landing,  or  the  assembly 
point.  Often  a  horse  or  a  mule  can 
handle  small  products  economically 
over  short  distances  of  several  hundred 
feet.  Large  material  and  longer  hauls 
require  a  team  or  tractor. 

A  peavey,  to  pry  and  lift  log  ends 
and  roll  the  products  at  the  skidway, 
landing,  or  assembly  point,  makes  the 
lifting  work  easier. 

A  12-  to  15-foot  skidding  chain  or 
wire-rope  choker  (with  a  slip  hook  to 
circle  and  hold  the  log  and  attach  the 
free  end  to  the  rigging  of  the  draft 
power)  makes  up  the  necessary  skid- 
ding outfit.  Log  tongs  and  grapple 
hooks  can  be  considered  optional. 

Extra  items,  which  it  may  pay  to 
buy,  include  various  skidding  aids  such 
as  skidding  pans,  the  yarding  sleds, 
wheeled  bummers,  the  logging  scoots, 
wagons,  and  log  carts. 

SKIDDING,  OR  YARDING,  is  the  first 
movement  of  products  from  the  stump. 
Usually  they  are  dragged  over  the 
ground  to  the  skidway,  landing,  or  as- 
sembly point. 

It  pays  to  give  considerable  thought 
to  skidding  in  order  to  do  the  job  eco- 


Harvesting  the  Small  Forest 


243 


nomically  and  with  little  damage  to 
the  future  woods  crop.  Careful  plan- 
ning means  less  delay.  Under  normal 
operations  it  has  been  estimated  that 
delay  time  takes  up  40  percent  of  the 
working  day.  Poorly  constructed  skid 
roads  account  for  15  percent  of  this. 
Battered  rocks,  mud  holes,  as  well  as 
broomed  stumps  are  unnecessary  ob- 
structions in  the  skid  trail.  Obviously 
skid  trails  should  be  wide  enough  for 
the  draft  power  and  products  to  clear 
on  curves.  Strategic  location  of  skid- 
way  sites  and  skidway  construction  also 
are  important  to  loading  and  hauling. 

Dragging  over  the  ground  is  called 
ground  skidding.  Teamsters  should 
always  work  on  the  uphill  side  of  the 
log  and  never  attempt  to  ride  a  log 
being  skidded.  There  is  danger  of  being 
struck  or  crushed  by  the  logs  as  they 
are  dragged  through  the  woods.  The 
danger  is  greatest  when  curves  and 
roughness  of  the  skid  trail  may  cause 
the  logs  to  roll  or  swing  unexpectedly. 

For  pulpwood,  posts,  and  fuel  wood 
(where  roads  are  suitable),  it  is  often 
practicable  to  load  right  on  the  means 
of  final  transportation  and  eliminate 
the  skidway  stop.  This  is  called  "hot" 
logging. 

For  ground  skidding  small  logs  and 
poles,  where  a  single  horse  or  mule  with 
harness  and  rigging  is  the  draft  power, 
a  skidding  chain  with  a  slip  hook  is 
about  all  that  is  needed.  For  large  tim- 
ber that  requires  a  team  of  horses  or 
tractor,  some  additional  equipment  is 
needed:  Skidding  tongs,  grab  chains 
or  "dogs,"  and  a  hammer  to  drive  the 
"dogs"  or  hooks  into  the  wood  and  re- 
move them  at  the  destination. 

Pulling  logs  by  the  small  ends  and 
beveling  or  nosing  them  with  an  ax 
helps  in  skidding.  Maintaining  skid 
trails  and  roads  in  good  shape  usually 
reduces  skidding  costs.  Especially  for 
animal  skidding  the  trails  should  be 
arranged  to  take  advantage  of  gentle 
slopes.  Large  logs  that  slide  too  fast 
can  be  snubbed  by  wrapping  chains 
around  them. 

The  construction  of  the  skidding  ter- 
minals, the  skidways,  rollways,  and 


landings,  affects  the  output  of  skidding 
and  later  loading  out  of  the  products. 
At  least  two  long,  straight  logs  or  skids, 
strong  enough  to  support  the  logs, 
poles,  and  piling,  are  necessary.  They 
are  slightly  inclined  to  make  the  roll- 
ing toward  the  loading  point  easy. 
When  it  is  necessary,  the  logs,  poles, 
and  other  products  can  be  piled  or 
decked  on  skidways  by  using  skid  poles 
and  peaveys.  Care  must  be  taken  to  pre- 
vent the  pieces  from  rolling  and  in- 
juring the  workers. 

If  the  volume  of  timber,  ground  con- 
ditions, and  skidding  distance  warrant, 
equipment  might  well  be  provided  for 
raising  the  front  end  of  the  log  off  the 
ground.  A  sled,  known  as  the  go-devil, 
or  even  a  wooden  crotch,  is  used  for 
the  purpose.  They  can  be  made  in  the 
workshop. 

Another  handy  device  to  prevent 
logs  from  nosing  in  the  ground  is  a 
pan,  which  can  be  made  of  boiler  plate. 
The  front  end  of  the  log  rests  on  the 
pan.  Yarding  sleds,  drays,  logging 
scoots,  log  carts,  and  wheeled  bum- 
mers are  other  types  of  equipment  for 
more  distant  skidding  to  keep  the  front 
ends  of  logs  off  the  ground.  Plans  for 
making  all  these  can  be  had  from  the 
Department  of  Agriculture.  Equip- 
ment for  skidding  large  timber  over 
greater  distances  usually  includes  fac- 
tory-made mechanical  or  hydraulic 
log  carts,  arches,  and  logging  sulkies; 
all  of  them  require  the  high-powered 
tractors.  The  jeep  has  also  been  put 
into  service  for  logging  small  tracts.  A 
logger  in  Indiana  put  an  A-frame  arch 
skidding-unit  trailer  mounted  on  dual 
wheels  on  his  jeep,  attached  a  crosscut- 
saw  rack  on  the  left  rear  fender,  and 
installed  a  rack  for  a  power  chain  saw 
over  the  right  front  fender. 

Some  savings  in  logging  costs  are 
realized  by  skidding  long  logs,  even  the 
entire  tree  length  to  a  merchantable 
top.  That  requires  rather  straight  skid 
trails,  more  power,  and  generally  uni- 
form ground  conditions.  At  the  skid- 
way,  roadside,  or  mill,  the  long  pieces 
are  cut  into  proper  lengths  more  ad- 
vantageously and  economically  than 


244 

in  the  woods.  Also,  power  saws  are 
more  effective  under  such  situations. 

FOR    LOADING   AND    UNLOADING,    the 

third  step,  the  essential  tools  and 
equipment  include  the  peavey,  cross- 
haul  line,  pole  skids,  draft  power,  rig- 
ging, and  the  conveyance.  The  draft 
power,  animal  or  machine,  has  been 
mentioned;  so  has  the  peavey. 

A  cross-haul  line  is  a  %-inch  chain, 
or  chain  and  cable  combination,  30  to 
40  feet  long,  usually  crotched  and  with 
grab  hooks  in  the  free  ends.  Pole  skids 
are  made  on  the  job  from  pole-size 
material.  Loading  requires  little  more 
in  the  way  of  tools  and  equipment  than 
is  necessary  for  skidding. 

Loaders  or  jammers  are  of  various 
designs,  some  of  which  can  be  made  in 
the  home  workshop.  Plans  for  a  simple 
one,  easily  moved,  call  for  a  substan- 
tial skid  base  and  an  A-frame  boom 
structure  of  timbers,  the  necessary 
cable,  blocks,  guy  lines,  and  hooks. 

Three  methods  are  economically 
suited  for  loading  out  skidways  of  logs, 
poles,  piling,  and  comparable  round 
material  on  small  jobs.  They  are  roll- 
ing by  hand,  cross  hauling,  and  moving 
with  loader  or  jammer.  The  latter  two 
require  draft  power.  A  loading  crew 
usually  consists  of  two  or  three  men. 

The  simplest  loading  possible  is  from 
a  skidway  so  located  as  to  permit 
gravity  loading  onto  the  conveyance. 
Two  skid  poles,  readily  fashioned  on 
the  job,  are  set  to  permit  rolling  the 
round  pieces  onto  the  truck,  wagon,  or 
sled.  Round  pieces,  if  they  are  not  too 
large,  can  also  be  rolled  up  by  hand 
on  skids  from  the  ground  level,  but  the 
job  is  easier  with  draft  power  and 
cross-haul  line. 

The  A-frame  jammer  is  worth  mak- 
ing if  there  is  much  loading  out  to  be 
done  from  the  ground  level.  With  this 
method  there  is  less  chance  that  rolling 
logs  will  injure  workmen. 

Conveyor-type  loaders,  not  unlike 
those  built  to  raise  bales  of  hay  from 
the  ground  to  a  wagon,  can  be  used  to 
good  advantage  for  small  forest  prod- 
ucts. Load  capacity  is  reduced  if  pieces 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


are  not  piled  on  the  vehicle.  Special 
types  of  loaders  have  been  made  to 
handle  products  in  bundles  or  pack- 
ages. Such  package  loading  of  pulp- 
wood  has  cut  down  loading  costs  on 
larger  operations.  The  loaders  are  op- 
erated by  a  hydraulic  lift  arrangement, 
or  the  package  is  raised  by  a  crane. 
Unloading  is  usually  done  likewise. 

Special  loading  devices  have  been 
made  according  to  the  products,  such 
as  end  loading  of  a  truck  for  long  poles 
and  piling.  Other  types  of  loaders  and 
unloaders,  using  booms  and  cranes, 
both  swing  and  fixed,  are  designed  for 
handling  large  volumes. 

Wagons,  trucks,  and  sleds,  depend- 
ing on  available  equipment  and  season 
of  year,  are  the  usual  types  of  convey- 
ances for  moving  timber.  Trucks  are 
generally  used  for  long  distances.  The 
average  wagon  is  not  built  to  trans- 
port heavy  logs,  nor  for  distances 
greater  than  a  quarter-mile.  A  tractor- 
trailer  combination,  such  as  might  be 
available  on  some  farms,  is  satisfactory. 
The  load  must  be  properly  blocked, 
balanced,  and  securely  wrapped  with 
chains  to  keep  it  intact  during  transit. 

It  is  not  unusual  for  an  owner  of  a 
small  woodland  tract  to  sell  his  forest 
products  at  the  skidway  or  roadside 
and  thus  eliminate  the  loading  and 
hauling.  It  hardly  pays  to  buy  special 
equipment  and  conveyances  for  the 
purpose,  and  the  ordinary  vehicles 
found  on  the  farm  are  usually  too  light 
for  sawlogs,  poles,  and  piling.  As  men- 
tioned, many  products,  such  as  pulp- 
wood,  fuel  wood,  distillation  wood, 
fence  posts,  and  stave  bolts  are  loaded 
by  hand  at  the  stump  or  landing.  This 
limits  the  size  of  the  sticks.  A  pulp  hook 
is  an  aid  to  loading  such  small  pieces. 

Most  unloading  of  short  pieces  is 
still  done  by  hand.  A  dump  truck 
sometimes  is  used.  Sawlogs,  poles,  and 
piling  are  often  removed  from  convey- 
ances by  quick  release  devices  so  that 
the  load  readily  rolls  off. 

ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER  is  an  extension 
forester  in  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture. 


If)]  3TJV 


Christmas  Trees 


THE  TRADITION 

ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER 


TRIMMED  Christmas  trees  were 
first  used  in  the  United  States  ap- 
parently during  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, when  Hessian  soldiers  softened 
their  homesickness  with  them.  In  a  de- 
scription of  Christmas  festivities  at 
Fort  Dearborn,  111.,  in  1804  mention 
is  made  of  a  Christmas  tree. 

The  idea  and  the  tradition  spread 
widely  through  the  young  land:  We 
read  that  people  in  Cambridge,  Mass., 
put  up  Christmas  trees  in  1832;  in 
Philadelphia,  2  years  later;  Cincinnati, 
in  1835;  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  1840;  Rich- 
mond and  Williamsburg,  in  Virginia, 
1846;  Wooster,  Ohio,  1847;  and  Cleve- 
land, 1851. 

At  first,  the  trimmings,  if  any,  con- 
sisted mostly  of  small  tufts  of  cotton 
and  strings  of  popcorn  and  cranberries. 
Other  decorations  were  flowers,  repli- 
cas of  foodstuffs,  paper  ornamentSj 
and  the  like — no  factory-made  orna- 


The  illustration  above,  drawn  from  a  photo- 
graph, shows  an  aspect  of  the  Christmas- 
tree  harvest. 


ments,  tinsel,  electric  lights,  or  baubles. 

Some  historians  trace  the  custom  of 
lighting  the  Christmas  tree  to  Martin 
Luther  ( 1483-1546) .  The  story  is  told 
that  he  was  strolling  through  the  coun- 
tryside alone  one  Christmas  Eve  under 
a  brilliant  starlit  sky,  and  his  thoughts 
turned  to  the  nativity  of  the  Christ 
Child.  He  was  awed  by  the  beauty  of 
the  heavens  and  the  wintry  landscape : 
The  blue  light  on  the  low  hills  outside 
Weimar,  and  on  the  evergreens,  the 
snow  flakes  sparkling  in  the  moonlight. 
Returning  home,  he  told  his  family 
about  it  and  attempted  to  reproduce 
the  glory  of  the  outdoors.  To  a  small 
evergreen  tree  he  attached  some  lighted 
candles  so  as  to  portray  the  reflection 
of  the  starry  heaven. 

Apparently  candles  did  not  come 
into  wide  use  at  once.  Mention  of  the 
Christmas-tree  custom  in  Strasbourg 
a  century  later  did  not  include  lights. 
In  fact,  at  first,  the  use  of  lights  on  a 
tree  was  considered  ridiculous  and  re- 
ferred to  as  "child's  play."  For  two 
centuries  following  Luther,  the  Christ- 

245 


246 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


mas-tree  custom  appears  to  have  been 
confined  to  the  Rhine  River  district. 
From  1700  on,  when  the  lights  were 
accepted  as  part  of  the  decorations, 
the  Christmas  tree  was  well  on  its  way 
to  becoming  an  accepted  custom  in 
Germany,  and  during  the  Revolution 
the  tradition  of  the  Christmas  tree 
bridged  the  Atlantic. 

Finland  is  said  to  have  accepted 
the  custom  in  about  1800,  Denmark 
1810,  Sweden  1820,  and  Norway  about 
1830.  From  the  Scandinavian  coun- 
tries the  custom  spread  to  France  and 
England  about  1840.  Records  show 
that  35,000  Christmas  trees  were  sold 
in  Paris  in  1890. 

Some  persons  trace  the  origin  of  the 
Christmas  tree  to  an  earlier  period. 
Even  before  the  Christian  era,  trees 
and  boughs  were  used  for  ceremonials. 
Egyptians,  when  they  observed  the 
winter  solstice,  brought  green  date 
palms  into  their  homes  as  a  symbol  of 
"life  triumphant  over  death."  When 
the  Romans  observed  the  feast  of  Sat- 
urn, a  part  of  the  ceremony  was  to  raise 
an  evergreen  bough.  The  early  Scandi- 
navians are  said  to  have  done  homage 
to  the  fir  tree.  To  the  Druids,  sprigs  of 
evergreen  in  the  house  meant  eternal 
life;  to  the  Norsemen,  they  symbolized 
the  revival  of  the  sun  god  Balder.  To 
the  superstitious,  the  branches  of  ever- 
greens placed  over  the  door  would 
keep  out  witches,  ghosts,  and  the  evil 
spirits. 

This  does  not  mean  that  our  present 
Christmas-tree  custom  might  perforce 
have  evolved  from  paganism,  any  more 
than  did  some  of  the  present-day  use  of 
greenery  in  rituals.  Trees  and  branches 
can  be  made  purposeful  as  well  as 
symbolic.  The  decorated  Christmas 
tree  has  become  an  accepted  tradition 
during  yuletide,  and  Christmas  would 
be  incomplete  without  it. 

Through  the  years  the  tradition  has 
become  so  well  established  that  two- 
thirds  of  all  American  homes  now  fol- 
low the  custom.  The  Christmas  tree  is 
a  symbol  of  a  living  Christmas  spirit 
and  brings  into  our  lives  the  fragrance 
and  freshness  of  the  forest. 


Just  how  Christmas-tree  decorations 
other  than  lights  developed  is  vague. 
It  may  be  that  tufts  of  cotton  and 
strings  of  popcorn  were  used  on  the 
branches  as  a  substitute  for  snow  in 
the  manner  Martin  Luther  used  can- 
dles to  represent  lights  on  the  snow- 
flecked  evergreens.  Fruit,  such  as 
apples,  was  easy  to  attach  to  the  trees 
and  provided  color,  as  did  strings  of 
cranberries.  Pictures  or  models  of  f  ood- 
stufls,  such  as  hams  and  bacons,  were 
once  used  as  substitutes  for  the  real 
items  too  heavy  for  slender  branches. 

The  suggestion  has  been  made  that 
the  idea  of  decorating  trees  is  an  out- 
growth of  a  practice  adopted  by  early 
dwellers  of  the  forest.  Certain  food- 
stuffs were  hung  in  trees  to  get  them 
out  of  reach  of  prowling  animals.  On 
the  other  hand,  trees  were  worshiped 
by  many,  and  gifts  of  food  were  often 
hung  in  the  branches  as  offerings  or 
sacrifices  to  the  deities.  Such  giving 
was  a  Christian  trait;  thus  the  gifts 
were  hung  in  "Christian  trees" — or 
Christmas  trees. 

The  fir  seems  to  be  the  tree  most 
commonly  mentioned  in  reviewing  the 
evolution  of  the  Christmas  tree.  The 
fact  that  the  twigs  of  the  balsam  fir 
resemble  crosses  more  than  do  other 
evergreens  may  have  had  something 
to  do  with  it.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
may  be  that  the  word  "fir"  was  used 
to  designate  a  number  of  evergreens 
before  botanical  nomenclature  was 
well  known,  for  even  today  many  peo- 
ple, unable  to  identify  the  various  ever- 
greens, speak  of  them  as  "firs." 

Also,  it  seems  that  extracts  from  the 
fir,  especially  balsam  fir,  were  used  for 
medicinal  purposes;  probably  for  that 
reason  it  was  widely  sought  after  and 
used.  Certainly  the  perfume  of  the 
balsam  is  one  of  its  outstanding  fea- 
tures. At  any  rate,  if  the  fir  tree  pre- 
dominated as  the  early  Christmas  tree, 
then  our  forefathers  selected  wisely, 
for  the  fir  is  the  favorite  of  today. 

Many  people  are  troubled  about 
cutting  evergreens  for  Christmas  trees. 
President  Theodore  Roosevelt,  as  a 
conservationist,  felt  so  keenly  about  the 


The  Tradition 


247 


matter,  for  example,  that  he  used  to 
forbid  their  use  in  the  White  House.  He 
called  it  wasteful.  One  year,  however, 
his  sons  Archie  and  Quentin  smuggled 
one  in  and  set  it  up  in  Archie's  room. 
The  President's  friend  and  advisor  on 
conservation  measures,  Gifford  Pin- 
chot,  assured  him  that  the  supervised 
and  proper  harvesting  of  Christmas 
trees  was  good  for  the  forests.  From 
then  on  the  White  House  had  a  tree. 

Those  who  object  to  the  cutting  of 
Christmas  trees  might  well  remember 
that  forestry  looks  not  only  to  the  per- 
petuation but  also  to  the  wise  use  of 
woodlands.  By  careful  selection  of 
trees  to  be  cut,  it  is  possible  to  obtain 
evergreen  trees  without  harming  the 
forest — often,  indeed,  with  positive 
benefit  to  it,  just  as  it  is  possible  to 
thin  out  stands  of  young  trees  for  fuel 
and  obtain  faster  growth  and  greater 
returns  in  saw  timber  from  the  remain- 
ing trees.  Actually,  if  properly  di- 
rected, there  is  no  reason  why  the  joy 
associated  with  the  Christmas  ever- 
green may  not  be  a  means  of  arousing 
in  the  minds  of  children  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  beauty  and  usefulness  of 
trees;  and  keen  appreciation  of  the 
beauty  and  usefulness  of  trees  is  a  long 
step  toward  the  will  to  plant  and  care 
for  them. 

LIVING  CHRISTMAS  TREES,  fittingly 
decorated  and  lighted,  can  become  the 
center  of  outdoor  community  interest 
and  seasonal  celebrations.  Smaller 
spruces,  firs,  or  hemlocks  planted  in 
tubs  or  similar  containers  make  excel- 
lent living  Christmas  trees  for  homes. 
They  especially  appeal  to  children  and, 
because  they  remain  alive,  keep  the  fire 
hazard  to  a  minimum.  Then  the  plant- 
ing of  the  live  Christmas  tree  near  the 
home  on  New  Year's  Day  (if  weather 
and  soil  permit)  serves  as  a  fitting  cere- 
mony to  end  the  holiday  week.  If  kept 
watered  and  reasonable  care  is  taken 
in  transplanting,  the  tree  is  almost 
sure  to  grow.  In  fact,  the  same  tree  may 
be  used  for  two  or  more  successive 
Christmases  before  it  grows  too  large 
to  be  easily  handled. 


WHEN  ITS  PURPOSE  is  SERVED,  the 
tree  should  be  disposed  of  properly.  A 
Twelfth  Night  ceremony,  in  which  the 
Christmas  trees,  wreaths,  and  boughs 
are  collected  from  the  several  homes 
and  burned  in  a  blaze  of  glory,  is  ob- 
served in  some  American  cities — a  fit- 
ting end  for  a  tree  of  tradition  and 
sentiment  and  much  better  than  dis- 
carding it  on  a  backyard  trash  heap. 

The  basis  for  the  custom  may  derive 
from  the  time  when  the  early  Chris- 
tians celebrated  the  feast  of  the  Nativity 
of  Christ  for  12  days,  placing  special 
emphasis  on  the  last  or  Twelfth  Day. 

The  community  burning  of  the 
trees,  which  appears  to  have  originated 
in  Germany,  was  instituted  to  com- 
memorate the  light  of  the  Star  of  Beth- 
lehem, which  guided  the  Three  Wise 
Men  to  where  the  infant  Christ  lay  in 
the  manger.  Through  the  centuries 
various  peoples  have  observed  the  cus- 
tom in  various  ways;  often  rites  to  in- 
sure better  crops  were  involved. 

ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER,  after  gradua- 
tion from  the  University  of  Idaho., 
School  of  Forestry,  was  employed  as  a 
logging  engineer  and  logging-camp 
foreman.  Before  joining  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  as  an  extension 
forester,  he  taught  forestry  subjects, 
including  logging,  at  the  University  of 
Idaho. 


248 


CHRISTMAS  TREES— THE  INDUSTRY 


ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER 


Nearly  all  species  of  evergreens  are 
used  for  Christmas  trees.  Availability, 
cost,  and  sentiment  are  among  the 
points  that  most  people  have  in  mind 
when  they  buy  Christmas  trees.  Other 
attributes  that  make  a  tree  desirable 
are  its  retention  of  needles  or  foliage 
after  it  is  cut,  especially  when  it  is 
placed  indoors ;  its  pyramidal,  compact 
shape;  ample  nonprickly,  deep-green 
foliage ;  limb  strength  sufficient  to  sup- 
port the  ornaments  and  electric  lights; 
pliable  branches  (so  that  they  can 
be  tied  compactly  for  shipment) ;  and 
fragrance. 

The  States  bordering  Canada,  ex- 
cept North  Dakota,  produce  most  of 
our  Christmas  trees. 

Recent  estimates  of  the  cut  of  the 
Christmas  trees  in  1 1  Northeastern  and 
Middle  Atlantic  States  were  6,428,000; 
3  Lake  States,  5,200,000;  the  5  Central 
States,  207,500;  14  Southern  States, 
3,163,500;  4  Prairie  States,  5,000;  6 
southern  Rocky  Mountain  States,  150,- 
000;  5  Pacific  Coast  and  Northwest 
States,  6,296,400— a  total  of  21,450,- 
400  trees. 

Montana,  the  only  State  to  report 
production  figures  over  a  period  of 
years,  in  one  season  shipped  trees  to  3 1 
States,  among  them  Illinois,  545,000 
trees;  Iowa,  285,000;  Kansas,  180,000; 
Missouri,  175,000;  Texas,  150,000; 
Nebraska,  145,000;  Minnesota,  135,- 
000;  Oklahoma,  110,000;  Washington, 
100,000;  California,  90,000;  New  York 
and  Maryland,  5,000  each.  Even  Cuba 
received  a  supply  of  Montana-grown 
evergreens.  Under  normal  conditions, 
Montana  can  probably  maintain  an  an- 
nual output  of  3  million  trees,  which 
it  reached  in  1943, 1946,  and  1948. 

Most  of  the  21,450,400  trees  har- 
vested came  from  privately  owned 
lands.  About  13  percent  were  cut  from 
public  lands— Federal,  State,  and 
county.  Of  the  87  percent  from  private 
lands,  the  numbers  of  trees  from  farm 


woodland  and  from  nonfarm  or  indus- 
trial lands  are  about  equally  divided. 
In  Montana,  during  a  recent  year,  83 
percent  of  the  trees  were  cut  from  pri- 
vately owned  woodlands,  10  percent 
from  Federal  lands,  and  7  percent  from 
State  lands.  In  the  Northeastern  States, 
most  of  the  trees  are  taken  from  nat- 
urally forested  areas  or  from  pasture 
lands  upon  which  the  trees  encroached. 
Of  the  13  percent  from  public  lands, 
about  1  million  trees  come  from  na- 
tional forests,  1.5  million  from  State 
and  county  lands,  and  a  small  number 
from  other  Federal  lands.  Established 
plantations  yield  approximately  1.5 
million  trees  a  year. 

More  than  5  million  trees  are  im- 
ported annually.  In  1947,  the  figure 
was  6,808,158  trees,  valued  at  $1,- 
909,167.  Nearly  all  of  the  trees  are 
shipped  in  from  Canada,  but  a  few 
have  been  imported  from  Newfound- 
land, Labrador,  and  the  Dominican 
Republic.  Some  tree  dealers  in  the 
United  States  own  or  lease  forested 
areas  in  Canada  for  cutting  Christmas 
trees. 

Thus  the  total  number  of  Christmas 
trees  distributed  in  the  United  States 
is  about  28  million. 

About  half  the  trees  are  shipped  by 
rail  and  half  by  highway.  A  few  are 
moved  over  water — even  fewer  are 
shipped  by  air. 

The  most  common  size  of  tree  is  5 
to  7  feet,  for  homes;  but  the  trees 
range  from  a  foot  or  two,  for  tables, 
to  those  20  feet  or  more  tall,  which  are 
used  in  schools,  churches,  business 
houses,  hotels,  and  so  on.  One  of  the 
largest  Christmas  trees  ever  brought 
in  from  the  forest  was  placed  in  Persh- 
ing  Square  in  Los  Angeles  for  Christ- 
mas 1948.  It  was  a  67-year-old  white 
fir  that  measured  96  feet,  2  inches  tall. 
Trees  30  to  70  feet  high  can  be 
"made"  by  attaching  short  sections  of 
water  pipes,  spoke  fashion,  to  a  tele- 


Christmas  Trees — The  Industry 


249 


phone  pole  and  fitting  small  trees  into 
the  pipes.  The  pipes  are  welded  to 
heavy  metal  bands ;  the  bands,  in  turn, 
are  bolted  to  the  pole  at  intervals. 

Supply  and  demand,  the  species,  and 
the  degree  to  which  the  trees  possess 
the  desired  characteristics  determine 
prices.  On  the  basis  of  prices  reported 
in  various  sections  of  the  country,  the 
trees  produced  in  a  recent  year  would 
make  a  20-  to  50-million  dollar  indus- 
try, according  to  whether  values  are 
based  on  the  wholesale  or  retail  prices 
quoted.  An  estimate  of  6  million  dol- 
lars has  been  placed  on  the  value  of 
the  trees  at  the  roadside  or  the  railroad 
siding.  A  carload  of  trees  on  a  rail  siding 
in  Montana  represents  an  estimated 
80  to  100  man-hours  of  work. 

The  3  months  before  Christmas  are 
the  busy  ones  in  the  industry.  In  sum- 
mer and  early  fall,  the  trees  are  lo- 
cated, the  contracts  are  let,  the  mar- 
kets canvassed  to  obtain  estimates  on 
demand,  woods  labor  hired,  and  plans 
laid  for  transportation.  The  trees  later 
are  selected,  cut,  moved  to  the  woods 
concentration  yard,  and  then  sorted, 
graded,  often  tagged,  bundled,  butt- 
trimmed,  hauled  to  a  shipping  center, 
and  then  transported  to  markets. 

A  typical  large  operation  will  find 
the  harvesting  crews  in  the  woods  by 
October,  and  occasionally  even  earlier. 
Ax,  hatchet,  or  pruning  saw  are  the 
common  tools  used  to  sever  the  stems. 
The  trees  are  carried  or  dragged  by 
hand  (or  occasionally  hauled  by  horse 
or  tractor)  to  the  concentration  yard  in 
the  woods.  One  man  can  cut  and  yard 
about  200  trees  a  day.  A  wooden  frame 
is  used  to  hold  the  trees  while  they  are 
tied  into  bundles  to  aid  shipping  and 
to  prevent  excessive  drying.  A  bundle 
may  contain  10  or  12  trees  of  4  feet  or 
less,  or  one  large  tree.  In  the  rack,  the 
butt  ends  of  the  trees  are  squared  to 
present  a  neat  appearance,  facilitate 
handling,  and  make  the  ends  ready 
for  use  in  stands.  After  cutting  and 
before  leaving  the  woods,  the  trees  are 
kept  as  cool  and  damp  as  possible,  but 
they  must  be  hauled  out  before  deep 
snow  becomes  a  handicap.  An  operator 


in  Minnesota  harvests  almost  the  year 
around  by  placing  the  trees  in  cold 
storage  as  soon  as  possible  after  cutting 
and  processing. 

From  the  concentration  yards,  the 
bundles  of  trees  are  loaded  on  trucks 
or  sleds  for  their  journey  from  the 
woods  to  the  rail-  or  truck-shipping 
points.  The  trees  shipped  by  rail  are 
usually  loaded  into  boxcars  or  flat  cars. 
A  carload  varies  from  1,000  to  4,000 
trees.  A  3-ton  truck  can  haul  from  500 
to  1,200  trees. 

Farmers  contribute  trees  and  labor 
to  the  industry.  In  Montana,  the  sale 
of  wild-grown  Christmas  trees  adds 
nearly  a  million  dollars  annually  to 
the  farm  income.  Farmers  favor  this 
forest  crop  because  of  the  good  re- 
turns for  their  labor,  short  rotation, 
low  capital  investment,  and  the  fact 
that  the  harvest  season  interferes  little 
with  other  farming  activities.  Farmers 
who  cannot  market  their  own  trees 
often  sell  them  to  contractors  at  road- 
side or  rail  siding. 

Several  Christmas-tree  companies 
handle  most  of  the  cut  and  distribu- 
tion of  Christmas  trees.  Company  rep- 
resentatives contract  with  woodland 
owners  or  growers  for  roadside  or  rail- 
road-siding delivery. 

Problems  of  marketing  include  the 
impermanence  of  some  operators  and 
trespass  by  irresponsible  persons  who, 
in  years  when  the  venture  looks  profit- 
able, remove  trees  without  permission. 
Some  States  now  have  rigid  trespass 
laws.  Another  problem:  Christmas 
trees  sometimes  are  not  cut  according 
to  good  forest  practices.  Indiscriminate 
cutting  leaves  trees  of  poor  quality. 

In  some  States  an  effort  has  been 
made  to  develop  standardized  grade 
classifications  with  graduated  prices. 
Careful  grading  could  result  in  utiliz- 
ing trees  that  are  not  perfectly  sym- 
metrical. For  example,  a  tree  to  be 
placed  against  a  wall  or  in  a  corner 
need  not  be  full  on  all  sides. 

Trees  cut  from  national  forests  may 
bear  a  tag  with  the  following  state- 
ment: "This  tree  brings  a  Christmas 
message  from  the  great  outdoors.  Its 


250 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


THE    ESTIMATED  ANNUAL    PRODUCTION    OF 
CHRISTMAS   TREES    BY   SPECIES,    UNITED 

STATES 

Estimated      Percentage 
Species  production        of  total 


Number 

Percent 

Balsam  fir  

6,435,000 

30 

Douglas-fir  

5,  830,  500 

27 

Black  spruce  

2,  363,  ooo 

II 

Redcedar  

2,  128,  545 

10 

I,  990,  200 

5 

Scotch  pine  

806,  925 

3 

Southern  pine  

652,  550 

3 

Red  spruce  

594,  160 

3 

Virginia  pine  

370,000 

2 

White  fir  

335-000 

2 

303.400 

I 

Red  fir  

165,000 

C) 

Red  pine  

156,000 

(0 

Alpine  fir  

148.450 

0) 

White  pine  

45.640 

(') 

34,  980 

0) 

Arizona  cypress  

19,  980 

(0 

Jack  pine  

15,000 

0) 

Colorado  blue  spruce  .  .  . 

9.540 

(0 

3.150 

(0 

Hemlock  

1,  600 

0) 

Juniper  

810 

(0 

Engelmann  spruce  

300 

(0 

Miscellaneous  pines  .... 

8,670 

0) 

Not  identified  

32,000 

0) 

Total.. 

21,  4^0,400 

i  Less  than  I  percent. 

cutting  was  not  destructive  but  gave 
needed  room  for  neighboring  trees  to 
grow  faster  and  better.  It  was  cut 
under  the  supervision  of  the  U.  S.  For- 
est Service  on  the — National  Forest." 
Many  Christmas-tree  growers  and 
producers  attach  tags  to  trees  to  indi- 
cate species  and  height  class.  This  is  a 
means  also  of  identifying  the  places 
where  the  trees  were  grown  and  can 
be  an  aid  in  stamping  out  trespass  and 
theft.  Minnesota  requires  that  a  ven- 
der's tag  be  attached  to  every  Christ- 
mas tree  sold  in  the  State. 


Because  the  trees  begin  to  lose  mois- 
ture as  soon  as  they  are  cut,  no  more 
time  than  necessary  should  elapse  be- 
tween cutting  and  use  to  avoid  dis- 
coloring and  falling  of  the  needles.  As 
soon  as  a  tree  is  obtained,  it  should  be 
stored  in  a  cool,  shady  place  with  the 
butt  end  placed  in  water  and  the 
branches  sprinkled  daily.  A  fresh  diag- 
onal butt  cut  about  an  inch  above  the 
original  cut  will  aid  the  absorption  of 
water.  It  is  surprising  how  much  mois- 
ture an  evergreen  will  absorb  when  the 
butt  is  placed  in  water.  As  the  moisture 
evaporates  through  the  foliage,  the  air 
becomes  redolent  of  the  forest. 
( Lighted  candles  or  other  open  flames 
should  never  be  used  on  or  about 
Christmas  trees.  All  possible  precau- 
tions against  fire  are  necessary,  includ- 
ing the  checking  of  electric  lights  and 
connections  and  avoiding  combustible 
decorations  and  flammable  reflectors 
for  the  colored  lights.  Overloading  the 
electric  circuits  and  accumulations  of 
wrapping  paper  under  the  tree  are 
other  common  fire  hazards.) 

Outdoor  living  Christmas  trees  are 
becoming  increasingly  popular  for  one 
can  use  such  an  evergreen  as  part  of 
the  home  landscaping.  Some  commu- 
nities encourage  outdoor  tree  decora- 
tions by  providing  prizes  for  the 
best-decorated  home  tree.  Probably  the 
best-known  outdoor  living  Christmas 
tree  is  the  one  lighted  and  dedicated 
annually  by  the  President  in  Wash- 
ington. This  Christmas  Eve  program 
was  first  begun  in  1923,  and  a  living 
tree  has  been  used  since  1924.  Throngs 
gather  around  an  evergreen  on  the 
White  House  lawn  to  participate. 

In  the  years  in  which  there  appears 
to  be  a  surplus  of  Christmas  trees  on 
some  markets  of  the  country,  the  ques- 
tion is  raised  whether  the  tradition  is 
not  a  wasteful  one.  It  would  be  de- 
sirable to  balance  supply  with  demand, 
but  that  is  difficult.  In  this  respect  the 
marketing  of  Christmas  trees  shares 
the  same  hazards  as  many  other  semi- 
perishable  commodities.  Some  of  the 
larger  dealers,  when  they  find  one  city 
market  oversupplied,  quickly  reship 


The  Farmer  and  Christmas  Trees 


251 


quantities  to  other  markets  reported 
in  short  supply. 

A  fully  stocked  timber  stand  may 
mature  less  than  100  trees  an  acre,  all 
that  are  left  of  an  original  stand  of 
5,000  to  10,000  seedlings  established 
by  nature.  These  surplus  seedlings  are 
desirable  to  provide  competition  for 
the  final  crop  trees.  Such  competition 
is  nature's  way  of  pruning  side  limbs 
and  ultimately  growing  high-quality 
lumber,  for  knots  in  lumber  are  caused 
by  limbs.  A  reasonably  well-stocked 
stand  of  young  Christmas  trees  estab- 
lished by  nature  can  produce,  under 
management,  at  least  50  trees  an  acre 
annually.  Many  young  forest  stands 
are  so  thick  that  thinnings  are  neces- 
sary to  assure  satisfactory  growth  of 
timber.  Thinnings  release  the  final 
crop  of  trees  so  they  can  make  their 
best  growth.  Actually  a  properly  super- 
vised harvest  of  Christmas  trees  proves 
beneficial  to  the  remaining  stand. 

Evergreens  on  the  poorer  forest  soils 
grow  more  slowly.  This  slow  growth 
usually  produces  good-quality  Christ- 
mas trees — trees  that  are  denser  and 


more  symmetrical.  On  many  forested 
areas,  the  Christmas-tree  crop  is  the 
only  practicable  one.  On  some  such 
areas  the  trees  grow  satisfactorily  for 
15  to  25  years,  then  stagnate  and,  if 
they  are  not  cut  for  Christmas  trees, 
they  likely  will  not  be  utilized  at  all. 
On  certain  State  lands  in  Minnesota, 
up  to  750,000  trees  are  cut  annually 
under  such  a  management  plan. 

Even  though  some  trees  grow  larger 
than  the  usual  Christmas-tree  sizes, 
the  utilization  can  be  complete.  For 
example,  this  is  how  a  Michigan 
Christmas-tree  grower  markets  trees  a 
foot  or  more  in  diameter.  The  tops 
provide  a  well-shaped  Christmas  tree, 
often  with  a  good  cluster  of  cones,  and 
such  trees  command  a  premium  on  the 
market.  The  main  stem  or  trunk  of  the 
tree  is  made  into  a  building  log  or 
timber,  with  the  smaller  cuts  suitable 
for  building  rafters.  The  green  foliage 
of  the  side  limbs  is  tied  into  bundles 
and  provides  material  for  wreaths. 
Thus,  usually  the  entire  tree  is  utilized. 
On  some  operations  the  main  stem  may 
go  into  pulpwood. 


THE  FARMER  AND  CHRISTMAS  TREES 

ARTHUR  M.    SOWDER 


Many  farmers  are  finding  that 
Christmas  trees  are  a  profitable  crop. 
A  Christmas-tree  plantation  fits  in  well 
with  good  land  utilization  and  aids  in 
the  conservation  of  soil  and  moisture — 
a  good  way  to  salvage  an  eroded  hill- 
side or  gully  or  to  make  use  of  rocky 
land  or  an  idle  corner.  Some  planta- 
tions are  only  part  of  an  acre  in  size. 

Most  of  the  Christmas  trees  used  in 
the  United  States  are  cut  from  areas 
where  the  trees  have  grown  naturally. 
However,  the  number  of  trees  har- 
vested from  plantations  is  increasing 
annually.  About  100,000  acres  of  plan- 
tations are  now  devoted  to  growing 
Christmas  trees  in  this  country.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  acreage  is  owned  by 
farmers.  Pennsylvania  has  nearly  40,- 


000  acres  in  Christmas-tree  production. 

Each  plantation-grown  tree  can  be 
given  plenty  of  space  to  grow  into  a 
symmetrical  tree,  in  contrast  to  un- 
cared  for  wild  trees  in  crowded  or 
dense  stands.  However,  merely  plant- 
ing the  tree  and  expecting  to  return  in 
a  few  years  and  reap  a  harvest  cannot 
be  depended  upon.  A  well-shaped  tree, 
grown  under  adequate  spacing  condi- 
tions, with  uniform  distance  between 
whorls  or  branches  and  fully  shaped, 
will  command  the  best  price.  Christmas 
trees  respond  to  intensive  manage- 
ment. Returns  can  normally  be  ex- 
pected in  8  to  10  years  after  planting. 

Things  to  consider  in  selecting  a 
Christmas-tree  planting  site  are  value 
of  the  land,  soil  and  climate,  location 


252 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  site  with  respect  to  market  centers, 
accessibility,  and  the  existing  vegeta- 
tive cover. 

A  PROSPECTIVE  GROWER  of  Christmas 
trees  should  give  careful  considera- 
tion to  the  selection  of  species.  While 
most  evergreens  are  used  for  Christmas 
trees,  yet  some  command  better  mar- 
ket prices  than  others.  There  appears 
to  be  no  best  all-around  Christmas 
tree.  Desirable  characteristics  are : 

1.  Retention  of  needles  between  the 
time  of  cutting  and  through  the  Christ- 
mas holidays. 

2.  Full,  symmetrical  shape. 

3.  Limb  strength  adequate  to  sup- 
port ornaments  and  electric  lights. 

4.  Sufficient  nonprickly  foliage  with 
a  healthy  green  color. 

5.  Fragrant  odor. 

6.  Pliable  branches  that  are  not  too 
brittle  so  they  can  be  tied  compactly 
for  shipment,  yet  regain  their  shape 
when  released. 

Desirable  species  to  be  considered 
for  farm  plantings  are :  Norway  spruce 
(Picea  excelsa),  Douglas-fir  (Pseudot- 
suga  taxifolia) ,  Scotch  pine  (Pinus 
sylvestris) ,  the  balsam  fir  (Abies  bal- 
samea),  white  spruce  (Picea  glauca), 
red  pine  (Pinus  resinosa) ,  eastern  red- 
cedar  (Juniperus  virginiana) ,  the  Col- 
orado blue  spruce  (Picea  pungens), 
grand  fir  (Abies  concolor) ,  and  Fraser 
fir  (Abies  fraseri). 

First  consideration  should  be  given, 
however,  to  matching  the  species  with 
the  local  climate  and  planting  site — 
that  is,  soil,  moisture,  slope,  and  ex- 
posure. In  the  selection  of  species,  a 
good  guide  is  to  observe  what  ever- 
greens are  growing  satisfactorily  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  proposed  planting.  Low 
ground  could  well  be  a  frost  pocket 
and  may  prove  detrimental  to  new 
growth.  Well-drained  and  relatively 
poor  soils  are  satisfactory,  provided 
they  are  not  too  thin.  The  soil  should 
not  be  the  best  nor  yet  the  poorest. 
Good  soil  may  make  the  trees  grow 
tall  and  spindly.  Evergreens  generally 
are  not  adapted  to  alkali  soils.  Avoid 
wet,  heavy  clays,  coarse  sands,  and 


gravel.  Christmas  trees  can  be  a  profit- 
able poor-field  crop.  If  soil  prepara- 
tion is  necessary,  it  should  be  done  well 
in  advance  of  planting. 

THE  PLANTING  STOCK  can  usually 
be  obtained  from  public  and  private 
nurseries,  and  names  and  addresses  can 
be  had  from  the  Forest  Service,  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Washington  25,  D.  C. 

Only  good,  healthy,  graded  seed- 
lings and  transplants  are  worth  plant- 
ing. Transplants  may  cost  more  but 
should  reach  marketable  size  a  year  or 
so  earlier.  The  growing  of  planting 
stock  from  seed  is  not  an  easy  under- 
taking and  means  a  year  or  two  of 
waiting.  Some  farmers  obtain  seedlings 
and  line  them  out  in  transplant  rows 
near  the  planting  site  for  a  year  or 
two.  Where  wild  evergreen  seedlings, 
such  as  balsam  fir,  are  available,  they 
can  often  be  used  for  planting  stock. 

Many  Christmas-tree  growers  pre- 
fer a  4-  by  4-foot  spacing — that  is,  4 
feet  between  trees  in  the  row  and  4  feet 
between  rows.  It  is  practicable  to  plant 
evergreens  with  a  3-  by  3-foot  spacing 
with  the  expectation  of  removing  every 
other  one  as  the  trees  develop. 

The  tree  sizes  most  in  demand  by  the 
Christmas  trade  are  those  6  to  8  feet 
high;  that  size  is  best  grown  when  the 
trees  have  been  thinned  to  about  a 
6-foot  spacing. 

Number  of  trees  re- 
Spacing  in  feet  quired  per  acre 

3  by  3 4,840 

4  by  4 2,  720 

5  by  5 1,  740 

6  by  6 1,210 

7  by  7 890 

8  by  8 680 

If  the  growing  of  Christmas  trees  is 
to  be  tied  in  with  the  production  of 
wood  products  such  as  fence  posts, 
pulpwood,  or  sawlogs,  then  wider  spac- 
ing is  necessary  as  the  trees  develop. 

PLANTING  MAY  BE  DONE  in  the 
spring  or  fall  when  the  trees  are  dor- 
mant. Spring  planting  is  usually  more 
successful — just  as  soon  as  the  frost  is 


The  'Farmer  and  Christmas  Trees 


253 


out  of  the  ground  and  before  growth 
starts. 

In  handling  the  small  trees,  the  roots 
should  never  be  allowed  to  dry  out. 
The  package  of  trees  should  be  soaked 
with  water  as  soon  as  received  and  the 
trees  planted  as  soon  as  possible.  If  the 
trees  are  not  planted  promptly,  they 
may  be  stored  for  a  day  or  two  in  a  cool, 
damp  place  with  the  package  wety 
soaked  with  water.  If  it  is  necessary  to 
delay  planting  as  much  as  10  days,  the 
small  trees  should  be  heeled-in  by  lin- 
ing them  out  in  a  cool,  moist,  shady 
place;  one  should  make  sure  the  roots 
are  thoroughly  watered. 

Two-man  crews  (or  a  man  and  a 
strong  boy)  are  satisfactory  for  plant- 
ing Christmas  trees — one  man  digs  the 
hole,  preferably  with  a  mattock  or  grub 
hoe,  and  fills  in  the  soil,  while  the  other 
carries  the  planting  stock  in  a  bucket 
of  water  and  inserts  the  tree.  It  pays  to 
use  extra  care  in  planting  to  insure  a 
good  stand  and  thus  avoid  replanting. 

If  some  woody  vegetation — such  as 
brush — covers  the  planting  site,  it  is 
imperative  that  it  be  removed  before 
planting.  The  small  trees  should  be  set 
the  same  depth  as  they  grew  in  the 
nursery  with  the  roots  well  spread  out 
in  the  planting  holes.  The  roots  should 
never  be  allowed  to  dry  out,  hence 
moist  soil  should  be  firmly  packed 
about  the  roots  at  the  time  of  plant- 
ing. Air  pockets  about  the  roots  should 
be  avoided  and  firming  the  soil  with 
the  heel  will  prevent  this. 

An  80-percent  survival  is  considered 
satisfactory.  It  may  be  necessary  to  re- 
place any  small  trees  that  do  not  sur- 
vive the  first  year  or  two.  Where  dif- 
ferent species  are  planted  on  an  area, 
it  is  not  desirable  to  alternate  rows  by 
species ;  it  is  better  to  plant  each  species 
in  a  group  or  block. 

Weeds,  grass,  and  brush  should  not 
be  allowed  to  handicap  the  small  trees. 
In  areas  of  limited  rainfall  during  the 
growing  season,  two  or  three  cultiva- 
tions each  summer  may  be  necessary  to 
eliminate  competition  of  weeds  and 
grasses.  Weed  growth  around  the  trees 
may  keep  the  lower  branches  from  de- 


veloping. Later  on,  weed  removal  by 
mowing  is  usually  adequate  and  will 
not  disturb  the  lateral  tree  roots  near 
the  surface. 

Pruning  Christmas  trees  to  shape 
them  is  usually  time  well  spent.  It  en- 
hances the  value  of  the  trees  and  re- 
duces the  number  of  cull  trees.  Some 
growers  plan  to  prune  each  tree  several 
times  before  it  is  harvested.  One  man 
can  prune  about  50  trees  an  hour.  A 
few  pruning  suggestions  are: 

1 .  Keep  terminal  growth  to  about  a 
foot  per  year. 

2.  Keep  the  lower  and  the  lateral 
branches  pruned  so  that  the  tree  will 
grow  to  a  conical  and  uniform  shape. 

3.  Begin  pruning  a  tree  just  as  soon 
as  the  leader  develops  a  length  out  of 
proportion  to  the  laterals,  which  may 
be  when  it  is  2  or  3  years  old. 

4.  For  pines,  pruning  must  be  done 
in  early  summer.   For  short-needled 
evergreens,  such  as  spruces  and  firs, 
pruning  may  be  done  at  any  time. 

5.  Sharp  pruning  shears  do  the  best 
job. 

6.  Pruning  usually  should  not  be 
done  the  year  that  the  tree  is  to  be 
harvested. 

A  grower  of  Christmas  trees  is  con- 
fronted with  many  hazards.  Probably 
the  greatest  is  fire — and  most  fires  are 
due  to  carelessness.  Other  handicaps 
are  tree  and  insect  diseases;  rodents 
and  rabbits;  brush  and  hardwood 
seedlings;  adverse  weather,  such  as 
drought,  unseasonable  frosts,  hail, 
heavy  snow,  and  wind;  animals  (both 
domestic  and  wild — by  browsing, 
trampling,  and  occasionally  rubbing)  ; 
and  thievery. 

AMONG  THE  MANY  RECORDS  of  suc- 
cessful Christmas-tree  enterprises  is  one 
from  a  grower  in  Ohio  who  planted 
12,000  trees  on  4  acres  in  1927.  Nine 
years  later  he  began  harvesting  the 
crop.  At  the  end  of  another  9  years 
he  had  cut  2,000  trees  and  received 
$1,200  for  the  stumpage,  thus  aver- 
aging 60  cents  a  tree,  or  $300  an  acre. 
He  reported  that  the  Christmas  trees 
alone  yielded  slightly  more  than  7-per- 


254 

cent  compound  interest  net,  and  that 
he  has  left  a  good  stand  of  potential 
saw  timber. 

An  annual  average  harvest  of  600 
trees  from  a  15-acre  tract  in  New  York 
State  over  a  15-year  period  has  grossed 
the  owner  a  total  of  $7,000  on  a  com- 
bination retail  and  wholesale  basis. 
This  grower  estimates  it  costs  him  30 
cents  per  tree  to  plant,  prune,  harvest, 
and  market,  or  a  total  of  $2,700,  leav- 
ing a  net  return  of  $4,300. 

Evergreen  trees  are  often  planted 
primarily  for  soil  protection,  the  re- 
turns from  Christmas  trees  being  in- 
cidental. In  Ottawa  County,  Mich., 
for  example,  the  sandy  soil  supported 
a  fine  stand  of  virgin  pine  timber  in 
the  1880's.  Logging  operations  and 
subsequent  fires  denuded  the  soil,  and 
the  sand  started  blowing  to  adjacent 
croplands.  The  county  agricultural 
agent  encouraged  the  farmers  to  plant 
trees  to  keep  the  sandy  soil  in  place. 
Scotch  pine,  white  spruce,  and  Nor- 
way spruce  seedlings  were  supplied  to 
farm  cooperators  at  low  cost  and  were 
planted  at  the  rate  of  about  1,200  trees 
to  the  acre.  In  4  to  8  years  the  trees 
found  a  ready  market  as  Christmas 
trees.  In  one  year,  the  farmers  realized 
more  than  $50,000  from  the  sale  of 
70,000  evergreens.  The  next  year  more 
than  200,000  trees  were  removed,  and 
the  farmers  received  more  than  $100,- 
000  for  them.  The  1948  returns  totaled 
nearly  $300,000.  A  dense  growth  of 
trees  was  left  to  prevent  soil  blowing, 
and  more  Christmas  trees  are  in  pros- 
pect. Later,  as  the  trees  grow  larger, 
a  pulpwood  harvest  will  be  made,  the 
treetops  to  be  sold  for  Christmas  deco- 
rations. Still  later  as  the  remaining 
trees  reach  pulpwood  and  sawlog  size, 
they  will  be  converted  into  lumber. 

A   FAIRLY   NEW   PRACTICE  in   ChriSt- 

mas-tree  farming,  especially  with  the 
well-managed  plantations,  is  stump 
culture.  In  general,  this  method  is  prac- 
ticable before  the  stems  get  too  large 
(up  to  6  inches  stump  diameter)  or 
trees  become  too  old  (up  to  15  or  50 
years) .  When  Christmas  trees  are  sev- 


of  Agriculture  1949 


ered  above  live-branch  whorls,  the 
uppermost  remaining  limbs,  or  newly 
developed  adventitious  buds,  form  new 
leaders.  Eliminating  all  but  one,  two, 
or  possibly  three  such  leaders,  after  at 
least  one  year's  growth,  may  cause  those 
left  to  grow  into  satisfactory  Christmas 
trees  called  turn-ups.  The  root  system 
of  such  a  stump  tree  is  usually  ade- 
quate to  produce  suitable  trees  in  a 
shorter  period  than  the  original  crop 
tree.  However,  when  trees  are  growing 
too  close  together,  the  understory 
trees  may  undergo  severe  root  and 
crown  competition  from  these  stump 
trees,  which  then  become  wolf  trees. 
Usually  four  or  five  individual  trees 
can  be  grown  in  the  space  occupied 
by  one  such  stump  or  wolf  tree.  Stump 
culture  is  best  adapted  for  trees  grow- 
ing in  openings.  Careful  pruning  at- 
tention must  be  given  to  the  trees  pro- 
duced through  this  rather  exacting 
practice. 

The  appearance  of  a  Christmas  tree 
on  the  market  is  important.  Best  prices 
are  paid  for  well-shaped,  freshly  cut 
trees.  When  cut,  the  butt  should  be 
trimmed  off  neatly.  Many  people  like 
to  obtain  a  freshly  cut  tree  and  like  to 
make  their  own  selection  from  among 
growing  trees.  This  is  an  advantage  for 
Christmas-tree  plantations  established 
close  to  market  centers. 

A  curved  pruning  saw  has  been 
found  to  be  an  efficient  tool  for  cutting 
Christmas  trees.  Trees  not  harvested 
one  year  can  be  held  over  to  the  next 
or  left  to  grow  into  larger  trees  for 
forest  products.  A  grower  should  not 
harvest  large  quantities  of  Christmas 
trees  unless  a  market  is  assured;  even 
better,  the  trees  should  be  sold  under 
written  contract.  Cooperative  harvest- 
ing and  marketing  offers  good  possi- 
bilities. Branches  trimmed  to  shape  up 
harvested  trees  as  well  as  those  from 
culled  trees  usually  find  a  ready  market 
as  wreaths  or  table  and  mantle  decora- 
tions. 

ARTHUR  M.  SOWDER  is  an  extension 
forester  in  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture. 


•J 
*JSfit  fan- 


Company  Forests 


LARGE  PRIVATE  HOLDINGS  IN  THE  NORTH 

HARDY  L.  SHIRLEY 


T7ORESTRY  on  large  private  prop- 
JD  erties  has  made  gratifying  progress 
in  the  Northern  States  during  the  past 
two  decades.  The  effect  is  becoming 
visible  in  the  woods  and  mill,  in  the 
factory  and  office.  Companies  have 
doubled  and  trebled  the  number  of 
foresters  they  employ;  foresters  them- 
selves have  risen  to  positions  in  which 
their  opinions  count  on  policies  govern- 
ing forest-land  acquisitions,  cutting 
practices,  sustained-yield  operations, 
wood  processing,  and  the  long-term 
plans  for  future  timber  supplies. 

Change  is  entering  the  woods  in 
other  ways.  The  old-time  lumberjack 
is  slowly  giving  way  to  the  mechani- 
cally skilled  timber  worker  who  can 
handle  power  chain  saws,  power  skid- 
ders,  bulldozers,  mechanical  loaders, 
trailer  trucks,  and  new  road-building 
equipment.  The  trained  personnel 
now  have  demanded  improved  logging 

Pictured  above:  Single  tong  loading  with  a 
mobile  crane  in  the  west  coast  fir  region. 


camps  and  better  living  standards  for 
woods  workers.  Officials  of  companies 
that  follow  good  practices  on  their  own 
land  have  sought  to  spread  good  forest 
practices  to  all  timberlands  that  fur- 
nish products  to  their  mills. 

The  reasons  for  the  better  forestry 
are  many.  Outstanding  has  been  the 
wartime  shortages  of  saw  timber,  pulp- 
wood,  mine  timbers,  and  other  prod- 
ucts. More  important  is  the  growing 
realization  that  intelligently  applied 
forestry  pays.  Pulp  companies  particu- 
larly have  been  quick  to  react  to  their 
changed  situation.  Canada  has  placed 
restrictions  on  the  export  of  pulpwood 
to  the  United  States  in  order  to  safe- 
guard supplies  for  her  own  mills.  In 
New  York  State  alone  from  1917  to 
1940  a  total  of  69  pulp-  and  paper-man- 
ufacturing plants  closed.  Twenty-one 
new  high-capacity  mills  were  estab- 
lished during  the  period  to  increase 
paper  capacity  from  5,022  to  6,487  tons 
a  day,  but  pulp  capacity  declined.  A 

255 


256 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


net  decrease  of  39  paper  mills  and  56 
pulp  mills  occurred.  The  New  York 
State  Department  of  Commerce  at- 
tributes this  decline  primarily  to  the 
scarcity  and  high  price  of  pulpwood. 

Pulpwood  is  now  being  transported 
long  distances.  Some  mills  in  the  Lake 
States  haul  spruce  from  Colorado  and 
Montana,  Pennsylvania  mills  haul 
from  New  Brunswick  and  Virginia, 
and  New  York  mills  from  Ontario, 
northern  New  Hampshire,  and  the 
Maritime  Provinces  of  Canada.  A  mill 
in  the  southern  White  Mountains  of 
New  Hampshire  recently  purchased 
pulp  lands  along  the  northern  bound- 
ary of  Maine  where  the  wood  must  be 
floated  down  the  St.  John  River  to  a 
railhead,  then  hauled  some  375  miles 
to  their  mill.  Coal-mining  companies 
also  are  concerned.  To  insure  a  per- 
manent supply  of  mine  timbers,  com- 
panies are  acquiring  and  managing 
forest  land.  Spool  manufacturers,  ve- 
neer makers,  roofing-felt  companies,  as 
well  as  lumber  companies,  likewise  are 
seeking  dependable  supplies  of  timber. 

The  beginnings  of  large-scale  pri- 
vate forestry  in  the  North  date  back 
more  than  100  years  to  the  large  in- 
dividual and  family  holdings  built  up 
as  permanent  timberland  investment 
properties  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
New  York,  and  other  Northern  States. 
Management  plans  were  seldom  pre- 
pared, but  agents  for  the  owners  sold 
cutting  rights,  collected  the  money, 
and  distributed  it  among  the  several 
owners.  Forestry  entered  the  operation 
only  in  that  the  land  was  held  perma- 
nently for  timber  crops  rather  than 
abandoned  or  sold  after  the  first  har- 
vest; a  few  individual  owners  actually 
insisted  on  applying  minimum-diam- 
eter cutting  limits. 

Other  private  forestry  programs 
have  been  functioning  for  two  decades 
or  even  more  in  the  North.  Outstand- 
ing successes  and  some  discouraging 
failures  have  occurred.  Obstacles  that 
caused  abandonment  of  past  forestry 
programs  still  persist  to  plague  future 
forest  enterprise.  The  good  and  the  bad 
must  both  be  weighed  before  future 


trends  can  be  predicted  with  assurance. 

Much  cause  for  optimism  exists,  but 
only  a  good  beginning  has  been  made. 
Scarcity  is  a  dominant  factor  in  spur- 
ring forestry  action.  So  far,  however, 
effort  has  been  concentrated  more  on 
acquiring  extensive  holdings  than  on 
building  up  high-yielding  capacity  on 
the  land.  A  few  intensively  managed 
properties  are  yielding  timber  volume 
and  dollar  profits  at  two  to  five  times 
the  average  return  per  acre. 

The  North,  as  considered  here,  in- 
cludes all  States  north  of  the  southern 
boundaries  of  Maryland,  West  Vir- 
ginia, Kentucky,  and  Missouri,  and 
east  of  the  western  boundaries  of  Iowa 
and  Minnesota.  My  discussion  is  con- 
fined primarily  to  large  timberland 
holdings,  those  of  50,000  acres  or  more, 
but  a  few  smaller  holdings  are  men- 
tioned to  show  important  develop- 
ments in  private  forestry.  All  types  of 
ownerships  are  included — whether  the 
land  is  held  by  milling  companies  for 
their  supplies,  by  investors,  or  by  those 
interested  in  subsurface  rights. 

OWNERSHIP  of  large  forest  holdings 
in  the  North  is  distributed  among  in- 
dividual owners,  families,  investment 
companies,  pulp  and  paper  compa- 
nies, lumber  companies,  mining  com- 
panies, and  some  others. 

The  large  private  holdings  are  con- 
centrated in  Maine,  which  has  31 
owners  who  control  more  than  half 
the  total  area  in  large  holdings  in  the 
North.  Protection  of  forests  against 
fire  is  good  in  almost  all  cases.  The 
exceptions  are  the  forests  owned  by 
coal-mining  companies,  where  hazards 
are  high,  local  interest  low,  and  public 
cooperation  in  fire  protection  meager. 
The  degree  of  protection  attained, 
however,  is  determined  more  by  the 
work  of  the  State  fire-control  organi- 
zations than  by  special  effort  of  indi- 
vidual owners.  The  companies  that 
have  their  own  fire-control  organiza- 
tions are  the  exception  in  the  North. 

The  cutting  practices  currently  ap- 
plied over  most  of  the  large  holdings 
leave  much  to  be  desired.  Many  prop- 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


257 


erties  that  are  operated  on  essentially 
a  sustained-yield  basis  have  cutting 
standards  best  designated  as  "chopper's 
choice."  Some  companies  attempt  to 
apply  diameter  limits  and  a  few  mark 
trees  before  cutting.  Where  only  exten- 
sive management  is  practiced,  marking 
of  individual  trees  is  not  always  essen- 
tial— particularly  in  areas  and  stands 
that  are  subject  to  windthrow  and 
among  tree  species,  such  as  aspen  and 
jack  pine,  that  have  relatively  short 
lives.  Yellow  birch,  although  subject 
neither  to  windfall  nor  early  decadence 
in  a  closed  forest,  declines  in  vigor  on 
areas  selectively  logged.  Over  much  of 
northern  Maine,  where  roads  are  lack- 
ing, hardwoods  are  still  unmerchant- 
able. Serious  losses  are  occurring  from 
birch  dieback  and  beech  scale.  The 
death  of  old  trees  will,  however,  release 
spruce  and  balsam  fir  that  will  produce 
a  valuable  crop. 

CASE  STUDIES  of  a  few  owners  will 
be  presented.  Those  selected  are  not 
the  only  ones  with  good  forestry  pro- 
grams, nor  have  they  necessarily  the 
best  programs.  Some  were  selected  be- 
cause they  have  some  distinctive  fea- 
ture in  their  program.  Information  has 
been  gained  from  published  articles, 
letters,  interviews  with  company  for- 
esters, and  conversations  with  other 
persons  familiar  with  the  programs. 

The  first  group  of  examples  includes 
the  individual,  family,  and  investment 
holdings. 

That  type  of  large  forest  holdings  is 
found  primarily  in  the  unorganized 
towns  of  Maine,  where  the  remoteness 
and  lack  of  transportation  restrict  op- 
erations to  extensive,  rather  than  inten- 
sive, forestry. 

The  Coe  and  Pingree  estate,  built  up 
in  the  late  nineteenth  century,  at  one 
time  included  more  than  a  million 
acres.  The  founder,  David  Pingree,  in- 
sisted on  restricted  cutting  of  spruce  to 
trees  14  inches  in  diameter  and  larger. 
The  practice  was  abandoned  soon  after 
the  turn  of  the  century,  when  pulp- 
wood  cutting  came  to  the  fore.  The 
heirs  still  own  a  large  area  of  the  land. 


Management  practices  today  are  on  an 
extensive  basis,  but  the  property  con- 
tinues to  yield  periodically  a  substan- 
tial income  to  its  owners. 

Gifford  Pinchot  and  Henry  S. 
Graves,  among  the  first  Americans  to 
be  trained  scientifically  as  foresters, 
drew  up  management  plans  in  1898  for 
Nehasane  Park  and  the  Whitney  Pre- 
serve, two  Adirondack  properties  that 
were  held  primarily  for  recreation. 
The  owners,  however,  early  became 
interested  in  scientific  forestry  as  a 
means  of  making  the  properties  self- 
supporting. 

Careful  timber  estimates  were  made, 
type  maps  were  prepared,  and  con- 
tracts for  cutting  spruce  trees  to  a  10- 
inch  diameter  limit  were  drawn  up. 
The  white  pine,  considered  overma- 
ture, and  cherry  were  cut  without  re- 
strictions. Other  hardwoods  were  not 
merchantable.  Yield  studies  indicated 
that  a  cut  of  the  same  intensity  could 
be  had  again  at  the  end  of  36  years. 
Nehasane  Park  was  logged  first  in  1898 
and  1899  and  again  in  1915  to  1930. 
A  third  cutting  is  now  under  way.  It 
is  difficult  to  make  an  accurate  com- 
parison between  actual  yields  and  an- 
ticipated yields.  In  the  first  place,  the 
management  plan  as  prepared  by  Mr. 
Graves  was  not  fully  carried  out.  The 
cutting  intervals  were  shorter  than  he 
had  expected  and  the  diameter  limits 
were  lowered.  Furthermore,  defective 
hardwoods  were  not  removed  and  they 
expanded  following  the  removal  of 
merchantable  trees.  The  volume  of 
softwood  and  the  quality  of  hardwood 
declined  because  of  logging  practices. 

Operations  on  the  Whitney  Preserve 
have  always  been  somewhat  more  con- 
servative, and  the  forest  is  somewhat 
better  in  quality.  On  the  whole,  both 
properties  have  fared  better  than  aver- 
age Adirondack  land.  Gutting  policies 
have  varied  with  markets,  however, 
and  the  economic  requirements  of  the 
owners  more  than  they  have  with  the 
silvicultural  requirements  of  the  for- 
est. Neither  property  can  be  considered 
an  ideal  example  of  applied  forest 
management,  but  the  properties  have 


802062° — 49- 


-18 


in 


258 

returned  substantial  incomes 
past  and  give  every  promise  of  con- 
tinuing to  do  so  in  the  years  ahead. 
Because  much  of  the  hardwood  timber 
is  now  merchantable  for  pulpwopd 
and  because  prices  of  timber  have  in- 
creased decidedly  during  the  50  years, 
today's  cash  income  from  the  property 
equals  that  of  the  past,  even  though 
the  volumes  being  harvested  now  are 
considerably  less. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

the  hazards,  makes  it  possible  for  the  group 
owners  to  enjoy  income  at  short  in- 
tervals, and  enables  them  to  draw  up 
satisfactory  contracts  with  companies 
interested  in  purchasing  timber.  On  the 
other  hand,  as  the  equity  of  each  indi- 
vidual diminishes  because  of  increase 
number  of  heirs,  interest  likewise 


THE  DEAD  RIVER  co.  and  the  East- 
ern Corp.,  manufacturers  of  paper,  re- 
cently concluded  a  10-year  renewable 
management  agreement  on  a  sizable 
acreage  of  land.  It  requires  diameter 
cutting  limits  as  follows:  Balsam  fir, 
6  inches;  spruce  and  hemlock,  10 
inches;  pine,  10  inches  for  pulpwood 
and  12  inches  for  sawlogs.  Large  pine 
and  large  hardwoods  suitable  for  saw 
timber,  veneer,  and  novelties  are  re- 
served by  the  Dead  River  Co.  Cutting 
may  not  exceed  three-fourths  of  the 
calculated  growth  over  any  5-year  pe- 
riod. Areas  are  selected  for  cutting  with 
regard  to  maturity,  protection  of  for- 
ests against  fire,  insects,  and  disease, 
and  in  a  manner  that  will  insure  rea- 
sonable silvicultural  control.  Past  man- 
agement of  the  Dead  River  Co.  hold- 
ings has  been  conservative,  so  that  the 
properties  cut  over  now  contain  more 
timber  than  when  acquired. 

The  properties  are  to  be  developed 
intensively  by  building  all-year  gravel 
roads  and  encouraging  industries  that 
are  necessary  to  get  high  returns  from 
the  properties.  Complete  utilization 
from  the  land  is  possible  through  mar- 
kets for  all  commercial  species  that 
are  growing  on  the  land. 

A  FEW  OTHER  estate  and  investment 
holdings  have  access  to  diversified  mar- 
kets and  the  benefits  of  management 
by  a  trained  forester.  They  are  the  ex- 
ception rather  than  the  rule.  The  gen- 
eral practice  when  the  original  owner 
died  has  been  to  divide  the  equity  but 
leave  the  physical  property  intact. 

Divided  ownership  spreads  the  risk 
from  fire,  insect  damage,  and  other 


in 

diminishes.  Diffused  ownership  makes 
agreement  on  one  single-management 
policy  difficult.  In  the  long  run,  indi- 
vidual heirs  interested  in  the  greatest 
current  income  or  interested  in  liqui- 
dating the  property  tend  to  make  their 
weight  count  at  the  expense  of  those 
willing  to  manage  the  land  as  a  long- 
time investment  property. 

Group  owners  have  been  obliged  to 
place  management  responsibilities  on  a 
single  individual  who  acted  as  agent  for 
all.  These  agents  were  often  lawyers, 
retired  judges,  real  estate  dealers,  or 
individual  members  of  the  family,  most 
of  whom  had  no  knowledge  of  forestry. 
Consequently,  sales  and  cutting  prac- 
tices were  left  largely  to  the  discretion 
of  the  buyer  of  timber.  Before  1900, 
these  were  mostly  lumbermen  inter- 
ested in  spruce  saw  timber;  cutting  was 
therefore  confined  to  saw-timber  trees. 

Thereafter,  extensive  pulp  opera- 
tions brought  progressively  more  dras- 
tic cuttings.  The  removal  of  softwood 
without  cutting  hardwoods  has  led  to 
serious  deterioration.  Investment  prop- 
erties have  been  particularly  suscep- 
tible to  such  deterioration  because  they 
lay  in  the  unorganized  towns  of  Maine, 
where  few  roads  have  been  built.  Only 
timber  that  could  be  driven  down  the 
streams  was  merchantable. 

Family-type  holdings  are  gradually 
being  acquired  by  pulp  companies.  A 
few  of  the  larger  holdings  may  per- 
sist for  some  decades  to  come,  but  they 
will  be  the  exception  rather  than  the 
rule.  Stability  of  long-term  manage- 
ment objectives  appears  to  be  out  of 
the  question  for  most  such  properties. 
Owners  generally  are  unwilling  to  de- 
velop the  properties  intensively  by 
building  roads,  erecting  homes  for  for- 
est workers,  and  encouraging  such 
industries  as  are  necessary  to  get  high 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


259 


returns  from  the  timber  property.  That 
may  be  due  in  part  to  reluctance  to  see 
organized  towns  develop  that  will  un- 
doubtedly increase  the  tax  rate  on  the 
forest  holdings.  Special  taxes  have  been 
levied  in  the  unorganized  towns  to  pro- 
vide good  protection  against  fire,  but 
many  owners  have  resisted  attempts  to 
open  up  the  land  for  development. 

As  interest  in  forestry  began  to  de- 
velop in  the  early  1900's,  men  with 
training  in  forestry  offered  their  serv- 
ices to  the  owners  on  a  consulting  basis. 
A  few  firms  of  consulting  foresters  are 
well  established  and  deal  chiefly  with 
family-type  holdings.  They  have  un- 
doubtedly been  a  stabilizing  influence 
in  this  type  of  ownership. 

Family  and  investment  holdings  also 
played  a  considerable  role  in  forest  his- 
tory in  the  Lake  States,  but  there  the 
speculators,  lumber  companies,  and 
others  who  were  interested  more  in 
short-  than  long-term  management 
gained  control.  Because  fires  and  other 
hazards  were  greater,  and  agricultural 
values  more  promising  in  the  Lake 
States  than  in  the  Northeast,  perma- 
nent holdings  of  the  land  for  forest  pro- 
duction was  given  little  consideration. 
Throughout  the  other  Northern  States, 
permanent  holdings  of  timberland  in 
large  blocks  on  strictly  an  investment 
basis  was  essentially  unknown. 

LUMBER  COMPANIES  are  one  of  the 
less  important  groups  of  large  tim- 
berland holders  in  the  North.  The 
practice  in  the  past  was  chiefly  to  cut 
the  land  clean  of  all  timber  of  mer- 
chantable size  and  to  sell  the  land  to 
others,  or  allow  it  to  revert  to  the  pub- 
lic for  taxes.  Some  areas  stripped  for 
saw  timber  were  cut  over  immediately 
thereafter  for  pulpwood  and  chemical 
wood.  Such  a  practice  in  western 
Pennsylvania  caused  extensive  decline 
in  forest  productivity — especially  if 
fire  followed.  Aspen,  pin  cherry,  and 
gray  birch  that  seeded  in  after  fire  pro- 
duced no  real  values.  Scrub  oak  was 
even  less  useful.  All  hindered  valuable 
seedlings.  On  areas  having  poor  air 
drainage,  there  developed  permanent 


frost  pockets  covered  with  grass,  ferns, 
or  low  brush. 

Lumber  companies,  by  and  large, 
and  certain  other  timber  industries, 
have  an  indifferent  record.  When  con- 
ditions are  favorable,  they  may  initiate 
progressive  forestry  measures,  only  to 
drop  them  later.  Two  large  lumber 
companies  recently  dropped  their  pro- 
grams entirely.  Others  that  adopted 
selective  cutting  are  not  on  the  sus- 
tained-yield basis.  In  some  companies, 
which  do  have  good  programs,  only 
one  or  two  persons  in  the  management 
are  convinced  of  its  necessity.  Indiffer- 
ence, conviction  that  forestry  will  not 
pay,  even  spirited  opposition  to  selec- 
tive logging  for  saw  timber  and  veneer 
are  still  reported  to  be  widespread  in 
the  industry. 

An  outstanding  exception  among 
the  northern  lumber  companies  is  the 
Goodman  Lumber  Company,  of  Good- 
man, Wis.  Organized  about  1906,  the 
company  for  20  years  made  little  effort 
to  practice  forestry.  By  1920  it  became 
evident  that  the  land  was  not  well 
suited  to  agriculture  and  the  enact- 
ment of  the  Wisconsin  Forest  Crop 
Law,  substituting  a  10-percent  sever- 
ance tax  for  the  annual  property  tax, 
turned  Mr.  Goodman's  attention  to 
forestry.  State  protection  of  forest  land 
against  fire  also  improved. 

The  company  began  its  first  cycle  of 
selective  cutting  in  1927.  Cutting  was 
restricted  to  35  to  55  percent  of  the 
merchantable  volume;  trees  of  me- 
dium size,  but  still  capable  of  vigorous 
growth,  were  left.  This  first  cycle  of 
selective  cutting  was  completed  in 
1944.  Plans  for  the  second  cutting 
cycle  were  outlined  by  Robert  Martin 
in  an  article  published  in  the  Journal 
of  Forestry  in  1945.  The  interval  be- 
tween cuts  is  being  reduced  from  1 7  to 
10  years.  The  volume  to  be  removed  in 
the  second  cycle  will  be  10  to  20  per- 
cent, or  a  minimum  of  2,000  board 
feet.  An  extensive  road  system  and 
improved  utilization  has  made  this 
possible.  Sustained  yield  is  now  the 
rule.  Lands  cut  over  in  1927  and  later 
are  increasing  in  the  volume  of  prod- 


260 

ucts  that  can  be  harvested  for  chemi- 
cal wood,  pulpwood,  veneer  bolts,  and 
sawlogs. 

Today,  after  37  years  of  operation, 
timber  reserves  are  substantially  equal 
to  the  initial  forest  capital  with  which 
the  company  was  launched.  With  re- 
striction of  sawlogs  cut,  the  company 
erected  a  wood-chemical  plant,  veneer 
mill,  shingle  mill,  and  pulp  mill  for 
roofing  felt  to  use  the  wood  in  defec- 
tive trees,  treetops,  and  young  trees  cut 
in  thinnings.  In  this  way  the  work  vol- 
ume has  been  maintained.  The  better 
grades  of  lumber  are  kiln-dried  for 
special  uses. 

Timber  growth  and  yield  is  now  de- 
termined on  the  basis  of  tree-vigor 
classes.  Integrated  utilization  and  mar- 
keting have  been  so  coordinated  that 
tree  marking  for  best  silviculture  is 
identical  with  tree  marking  for  finan- 
cial return.  Officials  of  the  company 
are  convinced  that  by  selective  cutting 
and  integrated  utilization,  the  income 
from  operations  during  the  past  20 
years  has  been  as  high  as  the  income 
would  have  been  from  the  liquidation 
cutting.  The  property  now,  however, 
is  valuable  as  a  going  enterprise  and 
can  continue  indefinitely  to  yield  cur- 
rent high  returns  in  terms  of  output. 
Employment,  good  will,  and  the  tax 
base  also  are  permanent. 

Much  more  efficient  utilization  has 
doubled  the  number  of  man-hours  of 
work  per  unit  of  timber  cut.  The  com- 
pany is  today  a  good  example  of  inte- 
grated utilization  for  a  relatively  small 
operation.  The  company  built  a  town 
with  stores,  schools,  churches,  and 
homes  for  its  employees.  A  modern 
village  with  desirable  living  conditions 
is  important,  because  skilled  workers 
in  forests  and  conversion  plants  are 
essential  for  the  success  of  integrated 
utilization  and  good  forestry  practice. 
Good  forest  management  has  also  de- 
veloped on  the  farm  woodlands  adja- 
cent to  Goodman,  because  the  owners 
are  assured  a  continuing,  nearby  mar- 
ket for  their  forest  products. 

A  few  other  lumber  companies  have 
tried  to  follow  a  forestry  program. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  VonPlaten-Fox  Go.  of  northern 
Michigan  is  one.  Its  ownership  is  less 
concentrated,  and  some  difficulties  have 
been  encountered  in  getting  all  owners 
to  subscribe  to  a  long-term  manage- 
ment program. 

The  Patten  Timber  Company  and 
the  Ford  Motor  Company  in  Michi- 
gan and  the  Roddis  Lumber  and  Ve- 
neer Company  of  Wisconsin  also  have 
been  practicing  selective  cutting. 

Although  it  is  not  strictly  a  lumber 
company,  the  Draper  Corporation, 
manufacturers  of  spools  and  textile 
machinery,  have  acquired  substantial 
areas  of  forest  land  and  are  engaged  in 
organizing  it  for  sustained-yield  for- 
estry. Because  many  of  the  company's 
products  are  made  from  wood  turn- 
ings, it  is  possible  for  them  to  use  timber 
in  relatively  small  sizes.  Their  program 
is  still  new,  but  promises  to  be  one  of 
the  more  intensive  forestry  efforts  in 
the  North. 

MINING  COMPANIES  of  necessity  own 
considerable  areas  of  forest  land  to 
control  subsurface  rights.  The  average 
company,  however,  owns  considerably 
fewer  than  50,000  acres,  and  pays  little 
attention  ordinarily  to  the  timber  the 
land  supports.  Timbers  are  essential 
for  deep-mining  operations,  but  most 
companies  have  chosen  to  buy  from 
others  the  timber  they  need  for  mine 
ties,  props,  lagging,  and  other  pur- 
poses, rather  than  to  grow  it  on  com- 
pany lands.  As  local  props  become 
scarce,  however,  companies  turn  their 
attention  to  their  own  forest  lands. 
Some  employ  foresters  and  have 
started  forestry  programs.  A  few  have 
had  programs  of  sorts  under  way  for 
30  or  40  years,  but  have  not  followed 
them  with  vigor  or  steadfastness  of 
purpose. 

One  West  Virginia  company  that 
has  a  large  holding  of  coal  land  now 
has  a  broad  forestry  program.  Timber 
is  being  leased  separately  from  coal. 
Diameter  limits  for  cutting  are  speci- 
fied and  are  varied  to  favor  the  species 
that  are  best  for  mine  props  and  lum- 
ber. Close  utilization  and  concentra- 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


261 


tion  on  defective  materials  is  favored. 
The  company's  forester  estimates  that 
the  program  now  under  way  will  dou- 
ble the  yield  of  timber  on  lands  to 
which  it  applies.  Land  covered  by  old 
leases  remain  unaffected. 

Other  coal  companies  likewise  have 
forestry  programs,  some  of  which  have 
been  under  way  for  5  years  or  more. 
Some  include  good  cutting  practices. 
Others  have  had  desultory  programs 
with  little  net  results  to  show  for  their 
operations.  The  common  picture  is  in- 
difference toward  surface  values  on  the 
part  of  both  companies  and  miners. 
Fires  have  been  frequent  and  disas- 
trous, and  much  of  the  land  supports 
meager  growth. 

Copper-  and  iron-mining  companies 
in  the  Lake  States  have  forestry  pro- 
grams. One,  the  Cleveland  Cliffs  Iron 
Company,  first  became  interested  some 
25  years  ago  and  has  gradually  im- 
proved its  practice  since.  The  Cop- 
per Ranger  Company  in  Michigan  and 
the  Oliver  Iron  Mining  Company  in 
Minnesota  have  adopted  progressive 
programs. 

Although  they  do  not  manage  forest 
land  as  such  and  are  not  strictly  mining 
companies,  oil  and  natural  gas  com- 
panies influence  forest  practice  in  re- 
gions where  they  operate  wells.  Sub- 
surface rights  have  been  leased  over 
extensive  forest  areas.  Those  rights 
permit  the  companies  to  enter  the 
land,  erect  equipment,  drill  wells,  and 
operate  pumping  stations  and  pipe 
lines.  Timber  is  cleared  from  the  vicin- 
ity of  wells.  In  western  Pennsylvania, 
where  wells  have  long  been  operated, 
a  system  known  as  "five  spotting"  has 
been  in  use.  Four  wells  are  drilled  in  a 
square,  with  a  fifth  in  the  center.  Water 
is  pumped  down  the  corner  wells  to 
help  force  oil  from  the  center  one. 
In  many  fields  a  regular  pattern  of 
wells  occupies  the  land  to  the  serious 
detriment  of  forestry  operations.  Both 
public  and  private  forestry  is  impeded 
by  "five  spotting"  on  forest  land. 

WOOD-CHEMICAL  COMPANIES  have 
had  an  unstable  record.  Started  at  the 


turn  of  the  century  primarily  to  manu- 
facture charcoal,  wood  alcohol,  and 
acetic  acid,  they  grew  to  substantial 
importance  during  the  First  World 
War.  They  operated  in  New  York, 
western  Pennsylvania,  the  Lake  States, 
the  Appalachians,  and  other  regions. 
New  processes  for  making  synthetic 
methanol  and  acetic  acid  and  a  declin- 
ing demand  for  charcoal  brought  on 
hard  times.  During  the  late  1920's  and 
1930's,  plant  after  plant  dropped  out. 
The  few  that  remained  enjoyed  a  new 
prosperity  during  the  Second  World 
War,  but  now  are  again  on  the  decline. 
With  such  a  background,  it  is  small 
wonder  that  wood-chemical  companies 
have  shown  little  interest  in  forestry. 

Certain  companies,  however,  have 
been  outstanding.  One  owns  about 
enough  land  to  supply  its  needs.  It  cuts 
over  the  property  at  about  30-year  in- 
tervals and  removes  all  material  of 
chemical-wood  size.  Reproduction  is 
prompt,  and  operations  are  essentially 
on  a  sustaining  basis.  The  forest  pro- 
duces only  chemical  wood,  most  of  it 
from  sprout  growth. 

A  second  company,  affiliated  with  a 
large  chemical  concern,  employs  for- 
esters and  operates  essentially  on  a 
sustained-yield  program.  A  vigorous 
research  program  has  uncovered  a 
number  of  derivatives  from  the  crude 
wood  tar  that  remains  after  removing 
wood  alcohol  and  acetic  acid.  The  out- 
look for  the  company's  future  forestry 
program  is  bright.  Less  promising  is 
the  outlook  for  a  group  of  companies 
in  western  Pennsylvania,  few  of  which 
have  ever  had  a  forestry  program.  In 
fact,  the  majority  own  no  land  and 
purchase  chemical  wood  from  jobbers 
and  individual  operators. 

The  Gray  Chemical  Company  oper- 
ated on  a  different  pattern.  Land  suf- 
ficient to  supply  half  the  company's 
needs  was  acquired.  Additional  wood 
was  purchased  from  local  farmers  and 
other  landowners;  the  company  was 
careful  to  provide  them  a  steady  mar- 
ket for  their  wood.  A  permanent  labor 
force  was  built  up  of  independent 
farmers,  company  loggers,  and  others 


262 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


who  regularly  cut  timber  for  company 
use.  The  company  bought  run-down 
farms  and  fixed  up  homes  for  cutters 
and  truckers  who  supplied  wood  for 
the  plant.  A  sawmill  was  purchased  to 
break  down  trunks  from  decadent  trees 
into  sizes  suitable  for  use  in  the  com- 
pany retorts.  Good  logs  were  sawed 
into  lumber.  Research  to  diversify 
products  was  sponsored.  Activated  car- 
bon and  other  high-priced  products 
stabilized  company  income. 

Company  lands  were  initially  clear- 
cut  at  about  40  years  of  age.  The  prac- 
tice was  changed  to  partial  cutting  so 
as  to  increase  yield  and  to  favor  saw 
timber  that  might  further  lend  stabil- 
ity to  operations.  Stockholdings  were 
distributed  among  company  officials 
and  others  in  an  effort  to  build  up 
community  interest  in  the  operation. 
During  the  peak  of  wartime  activities, 
outside  interests  purchased  the  plant 
and  five  others  in  the  vicinity.  The  new 
management  has  dropped  the  com- 
pany's forestry  program. 

AMONG  THE  RAILWAY  COMPANIES, 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  owns  a  sub- 
stantial area  of  forest  land  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, from  which  it  obtains  water  for 
its  engines.  Lands  to  be  cut  are  desig- 
nated by  the  company  forester  and  cut 
on  a  diameter-limit  basis.  Manage- 
ment is  conservative. 

The  Western  Maryland  Railway  has 
cooperated  with  the  West  Virginia 
Pulp  and  Paper  Company  in  sponsor- 
ing a  program  of  conservative  selective 
cutting  on  company  lands.  The  objec- 
tive has  been  to  increase  returns  from 
the  timber,  which  is  sold  to  the  West 
Virginia  Company,  and  to  increase 
stability  of  employment  for  local  resi- 
dents. The  companies  join  forces  to 
convince  local  cutters  that  they  can 
prolong  their  jobs  by  following  good 
forestry  practices.  The  program  has 
been  successful. 

A  few  other  railways,  notably  the 
New  York  Central  and  the  Norfolk  & 
Western  Railway,  engage  in  forest- 
land  management  through  subsidiary 
coal  companies. 


PULP  AND  PAPER  COMPANIES  lead  all 
others  in  forestry  in  the  North.  They 
control  the  largest  area  of  land,  em- 
ploy the  most  foresters,  and  have  the 
greatest  financial  stake  in  sustained- 
yield  forestry.  Their  programs  date 
from  the  turn  of  the  century.  Exten- 
sive forestry  has  characterized  opera- 
tions in  remote  areas  of  northern 
Maine,  the  Adirondacks,  and  the  Lake 
States.  Intensive  forestry  programs 
exist  on  some  accessible  lands. 

George  Amidon,  of  the  Minnesota 
and  Ontario  Paper  Company,  at  the 
1947  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Ameri- 
can Foresters,  reported  substantial 
progress  in  forestry  by  the  pulpwood 
industry  in  the  Lake  States,  where 
there  are  112  pulp  and  paper  mills. 
Foresters  were  employed  by  35  per- 
cent of  the  mills  in  1937  and  by  59 
percent  in  1947;  27  foresters  were  em- 
ployed in  1937  and  130  in  1947.  The 
total  land  owned  was  about  a  million 
acres  in  1937  and  1,900,000  acres  in 
1947.  Most  of  the  mills  reported  that 
they  are  attempting  to  manage  their 
lands  on  a  sustained-yield  basis.  The 
pulpwood  cut  from  the  lands  aver- 
ages only  one-twelfth  of  a  cord  annu- 
ally. In  time  this  might  be  increased 
to  a  third,  or  even  one-half  cord  as 
the  lands  are  restored  to  high  produc- 
tivity. About  a  third  of  the  mills  have 
planting  programs  under  way  that  will 
help  restore  the  lands.  The  mills  are 
also  carrying  on  other  activities,  such 
as  research  on  little-used  species,  co- 
operation with  State  and  Federal  Gov- 
ernments in  forest  protection,  and 
demonstrations  of  good  forest  prac- 
tices among  small  owners. 

The  Great  Northern  Paper  Com- 
pany, in  Maine,  which  began  acquir- 
ing lands  before  1900,  has  followed  an 
extensive  forestry  program,  which  has 
involved  special  improvements  along 
streams  to  facilitate  driving  and  long 
cutting  cycles  on  essentially  a  sus- 
tained-yield basis.  Only  spruce  and 
fir  have  been  cut  on  the  remote  lands. 
The  company,  experienced  in  river 
driving,  probably  drives  more  pulp- 
wood  than  any  other  in  the  country. 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


263 


The  Brown  Company  owns  large 
areas  of  land  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  Past  operations,  on  an  exten- 
sive basis,  resembled  those  of  other 
owners  of  remote  areas.  In  1940  or  so, 
the  company  became  concerned  about 
its  future  timber  supply.  An  aerial 
photo  survey  was  made  of  its  own  lands 
and  of  other  lands  tributary  to  the 
mills  at  Berlin,  N.  H.  Reassured  by  the 
results,  the  company  built  a  new  sul- 
fate  mill.  Additional  foresters  were 
employed  in  the  woodlands  depart- 
ment, and  mechanical  skidders,  log- 
ging arches,  portable  cut-off  saws  and 
pulpwood  loaders,  bulldozers,  as  well 
as  mechanical  road-building  equip- 
ment were  introduced.  New  portable 
camps  were  erected  to  provide  greater 
comfort  for  loggers. 

The  company  is  committed  to  long- 
term  sustained-yield  operations.  Im- 
proved cutting  practices  are  being  in- 
troduced. Foresters  in  key  positions  in 
the  company  have  a  high  degree  of 
authority  over  the  timber-management 
policies.  The  Brown  Company  cooper- 
ates with  other  companies  in  the  area 
in  an  effort  to  build  up  an  over-all 
sustained-yield  program  that  embraces 
all  companies  that  purchase  timber  in 
the  same  area. 

The  Hollingsworth  and  Whitney 
Company  owns  large  areas  of  land  in 
Maine.  A  forestry  program  has  been 
under  way  for  a  number  of  years.  Re- 
cently the  company  made  an  aerial  sur- 
vey of  its  lands  as  a  basis  for  a  broad 
management  plan.  Forestry  practices 
are  being  improved  on  present  hold- 
ings and  additional  land  is  being  ac- 
quired. By  talks  and  motion  pictures 
at  schools  and  granges,  good  forestry  is 
promoted  among  farmers  and  other 
small-woodland  owners. 

More  than  20  years  ago,  the  Oxford 
Paper  Company  was  sponsor  of  a  tree- 
breeding  program  to  develop  rapidly 
growing  aspen  hybrids  for  book  paper. 
Fast-growing  hybrids  were  produced, 
but  the  company  learned  that  it  could 
use  native  hardwoods  in  place  of  aspen. 
Pulp  and  paper  and  other  northern 
companies  have  shown  an  interest  in 


the  aspen  hybrids,  however,  and  have 
set  out  plantations. 

The  Nekoosa-Edwards  Paper  Com- 
pany, the  Consolidated  Water  Power 
and  Paper  Company,  and  other  firms 
in  the  vicinity  of  Wisconsin  Rapids, 
Wis.,  have  active  forestry  programs. 

The  Nekoosa-Edwards  program, 
which  dates  from  1926,  has  featured 
plantings  on  abandoned  farm  land. 
The  company  operates  its  own  nursery, 
in  which  operations  are  highly  mecha- 
nized. Field  planting  by  machine  has 
reduced  costs  by  one-half  and  has  in- 
creased survival  of  seedlings.  Every 
year  for  20  years  some  planting  has 
been  done  by  the  company.  The 
planted  area  totals  1 7,000  acres,  and  is 
an  outstanding  venture  in  forest  plant- 
ing. The  company's  cutting  practices 
are  on  a  conservative  basis.  The  com- 
pany owns  about  110,000  acres  and  is 
acquiring  more  land  so  that  mill  needs 
can  be  met  entirely  from  its  own  hold- 
ings. Its  own  fire-control  organization 
includes  tank  trucks,  tool  caches,  and 
trained  fire  fighters.  Fire  losses  since 
1926  have  been  restricted  to  137  acres. 

The  Consolidated  Water  Power  and 
Paper  Company  owns  and  manages 
160,000  acres.  In  the  past  15  years  it 
has  planted  7,000  acres  of  open  land, 
with  varying  success,  and  now  has  un- 
der way  experiments  with  direct  seed- 
ing. The  company  prefers  to  buy  well- 
stocked  lands  and  follows  a  diversified 
plan  in  procurement  of  raw  material. 
Part  of  the  needs  is  met  from  company 
lands,  part  from  county  forests  and 
national  forests,  and  part  from  local 
farmers  and  other  owners  of  pulpwood. 

The  Finch-Pruyn  Company  in  New 
York  has  pioneered  in  forestry  in  the 
Adirondacks.  Spruce  and  fir  are  cut  on 
company  land  and  driven  down  the 
Hudson  River  to  the  company's  mill  at 
Glens  Falls.  The  land  has  been  under 
forest  management  for  37  years;  the 
sustained-yield  cutting  budget  was 
based  on  a  growth  rate  of  two-tenths 
cord  an  acre  a  year.  For  a  long  time, 
all  trees  to  be  cut  were  marked  under 
the  supervision  of  foresters,  spruce  to 
a  variable  limit  of  8  to  9  inches  in 


264 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


diameter  and  balsam  fir  to  a  limit  of 
6  to  7  inches. 

Marking  was  abandoned  during  the 
war  because  their  young  foresters  left 
for  military  service.  The  control  of  cut- 
ting was  taken  over  by  the  operating 
superintendent  and  his  staff.  Since  the 
war,  the  forestry  and  operating  divi- 
sions have  been  closely  integrated,  and 
foresters  are  gradually  replacing  the 
old-style  operators.  Despite  a  consider- 
able forestry  effort,  the  company  has 
found  that  growth  has  not  come  up  to 
expectations;  the  average  rate  is  esti- 
mated at  just  under  one-tenth  cord  an 
acre  a  year.  To  arrest  further  liquida- 
tion of  their  own  growing  stock,  the 
firm  now  buys  pulpwood  from  other 
owners.  Growth  on  special  company 
study  plots  has  averaged  about  one- 
half  cord  a  year;  that  fact  emphasizes 
the  importance  of  proper  stocking. 
Thought  is  now  being  given  to  meth- 
ods to  correct  the  slow  recovery  of  ma- 
ture stands  following  cutting  and  meas- 
ures to  improve  rate  of  growth. 

The  New  York  and  Pennsylvania 
Company,  Inc.,  manufacturers  of  pulp 
and  paper,  and  its  subsidiary,  the  Arm- 
strong Forest  Company,  for  more  than 
50  years  have  managed  their  timber- 
lands  in  Pennsylvania  for  continued 
growth  of  pulpwood.  The  first  com- 
pany forester  was  employed  in  1907. 
Pulpwood  has  been  produced  with  an 
eye  always  on  the  maintenance  of  for- 
est growth.  The  company's  forestry 
program  includes  planting  of  bare 
lands,  an  intensively  developed  pri- 
mary and  secondary  road  system  to 
make  possible  frequent  light  cuts,  in- 
tegrated utilization  of  pulpwood  and 
saw  timber,  a  system  of  permanent 
cutting  plots  to  furnish  guides  to  better 
practice,  a  training  program  for  wood 
cutters  to  improve  the  quality  of  their 
work,  efforts  to  devise  new  logging 
techniques  and  equipment,  and  other 
activities  deemed  valuable  in  improv- 
ing the  output  from  company  lands. 

The  West  Virginia  Pulp  and  Paper 
Company  obtains  the  bulk  of  the  wood 
used  at  its  mills  in  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland,  and  Virginia  from 


farmers  and  other  suppliers  over  wide 
areas.  Recognizing  that  the  mills  can- 
not continue  to  produce  and  meet  their 
heavy  expenses  unless  the  wood  supply 
is  secure,  the  company  for  many  years 
has  taken  an  active  interest  in  protec- 
tion of  the  forests  from  fire  and  has 
lent  support  to  the  efforts  of  public 
agencies  to  reduce  the  number  and 
size  of  fires  in  the  woods.  The  next 
natural  step  is  to  encourage  improve- 
ment of  woodlands  through  applica- 
tion of  forestry  principles  by  those  who 
supply  the  wood.  The  company  nat- 
urally wants  to  see  the  cutters  handle 
the  woodlands  so  they  will  produce 
year  after  year,  with  steady  em- 
ployment for  themselves  and  their 
equipment.  At  some  of  the  mills  the 
company  has  distributed  booklets  that 
explain  details  of  economical  and  safe 
production,  care  of  roads,  and  simple 
methods  of  getting  improved  growth 
on  the  forest  land.  Since  a  profitable 
market  is  furnished  for  large  quantities 
of  wood  that  has  no  value  for  lumber, 
progress  is  being  made  toward  estab- 
lishment of  full  production  on  the 
areas  where  wood  is  being  cut. 

The  Eastern  Pulpwood  Company 
has  acquired  large  areas  of  forest  land 
in  Maine  and  New  Brunswick.  Origi- 
nally the  land  was  held  as  a  timber  re- 
serve, while  pulpwood  was  procured 
from  outside  sources.  Company  lands 
are  now  being  cut  on  a  conservative 
basis  with  sustained  yield  in  mind. 
Balsam  fir  is  cut  to  a  lower  diameter 
than  spruce  in  an  effort  to  reduce  dam- 
age from  spruce  budworm,  at  present 
a  serious  threat  to  Maine  softwoods. 

The  International  Paper  Company 
owns  more  than  a  million  acres,  ac- 
quired mostly  about  1898,  in  New 
York,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Maine.  Timber  cut  from  the  lands 
has  furnished  a  large  part  of  the  com- 
pany's pulp  requirements;  the  rest 
comes  from  open-market  purchases 
and  from  Canada.  When  a  timber  in- 
ventory and  growth  studies  on  the 
American  holdings  are  completed,  the 
company  plans  to  draw  up  a  manage- 
ment system  to  guide  operations  for 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


265 


many  years  to  come.  Lack  of  complete 
information  on  the  company's  forest 
capital  and  particularly  on  growth  rate 
has  precluded  certainty  as  to  sustained 
yield. 

A  special  feature  of  the  program  is 
the  Phillips  Brook  management  area  in 
northern  New  Hampshire — a  23,000- 
acre  tract  in  a  single-stream  valley,  on 
which  an  intensive  forestry  pilot  oper- 
ation is  under  way.  From  the  demon- 
stration area,  on  which  every  effort  is 
being  made  to  employ  the  best  for- 
estry practices,  company  officials  hope 
to  glean  information  to  guide  their 
own  work  and  other  forestry  work  in 
the  Northeast. 

Of  special  interest  are  the  companies 
that  make  pulp  for  roofing  felt,  floor 
coverings,  and  wall  boards.  They  be- 
came important  users  of  wood  pulp 
only  after  the  other  pulp  and  paper 
companies  were  well  established.  Be- 
cause they  can  pulp  small-sized  wood 
with  the  bark  on,  they  have  a  competi- 
tive advantage  over  companies  that  re- 
quire peeled  wood.  Nevertheless,  some 
of  them  have  started  a  land-acquisition 
program.  Their  activities  increase  the 
opportunities  for  integrated  utilization 
in  the  territory  tributary  to  their  mills. 

Forestry  programs  are  also  under 
way  on  lands  controlled  by  the  Kim- 
berley-Clark  Corporation,  Tomahawk 
Kraft  Company,  Mosinee  Paper  Com- 
pany, Minnesota  and  Ontario  Paper 
Company,  Northwest  Paper  Company, 
the  Mead  Corporation,  St.  Regis  Pa- 
per Company,  Penobscot  Development 
Company,  and  others.  In  fact,  interest 
in  management  for  continuous  pro- 
duction is  characteristic  of  most  pulp 
and  paper  companies,  regardless  of 
whether  they  own  and  operate  their 
own  land  or  purchase  timber  from 
other  owners. 

PROFESSIONAL  FORESTERS  own  and 
operate  a  few  fair-sized  forest  proper- 
ties. The  Luther  forest  in  New  York 
State  and  the  Watson  forest  property 
in  Michigan  are  examples. 

The  Luther  property  was  acquired 
some  50  years  ago  by  retaining  lands 


after  lumbering  and  by  buying  and 
planting  abandoned  farm  land.  Grad- 
ually, more  than  6,000  acres  were  ac- 
quired. Bare  land  that  made  up  half 
the  area  has  been  planted  to  pine, 
spruce,  and  other  species.  Some  of  the 
original  lots  have  been  logged  three 
times,  and  the  plantations  have  come 
into  yield.  The  operation  is  probably 
the  most  intensive  to  be  found  on  any 
medium-  to  large-sized  forest  property 
in  the  United  States.  Present  opera- 
tions are  confined  entirely  to  thinning 
plantations;  some  plantations  have 
been  thinned  twice,  and  several  have 
already  returned  in  income  far  more 
than  their  original  costs.  A  few  show 
handsome  profits  above  original  costs, 
yet  are  just  now  entering  the  period 
of  most  rapid  growth.  All  timber  har- 
vesting has  paid  its  way.  Some  trees 
have  been  cut  for  fuel  wood,  some  for 
pulpwood,  some  for  lumber  that  has 
been  sawed  on  the  property,  and  a  sub- 
stantial amount  has  been  sold  in  ran- 
dom lengths  for  cooperage. 

The  present  owner,  the  son  of  the 
original  owner,  feels  that  he  could  not 
manage  his  property  successfully  with- 
out carrying  on  his  own  logging  and 
marketing  operations.  Most  of  the  tim- 
ber he  sells  now  and  most  of  what  he 
has  sold  in  the  past  would  have  no 
stumpage  value.  It  gains  in  value  only 
as  he  finds  an  outlet  for  wood  that  will 
bring  him  a  return  above  harvesting 
costs.  The  work  is  well  organized, 
properly  mechanized,  and  provides 
year-round  employment  for  about  10 
men.  The  property  is  a  successful  ex- 
ample of  a  profitable  private  forest 
that  was  started  on  bare  land.  The 
owner  has  kept  a  careful  record  of  ex- 
penses and  knows  that  the  property  is 
yielding  him  a  fair  interest  on  his  in- 
vestment above  all  expenditures  and  is 
accumulating  forest  capital  that  will 
make  his  future  harvests  progressively 
more  valuable. 

The  Watson  property,  of  26,000 
acres  in  upper  Michigan,  has  been 
gradually  built  up  over  25  years. 
Started  originally  as  a  partnership,  it 
is  now  in  the  hands  of  one  owner. 


266 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Most  of  it  was  cut-over  land  acquired 
from  the  county  tax  sales  and  outright 
purchases  from  lumber  companies  and 
others  after  it  had  been  logged  off. 
Swamp  and  swamp-border  types  pre- 
dominate, running  heavily  to  balsam 
fir,  spruce,  northern  white-cedar,  and 
aspen.  To  provide  ample  permanent 
employment  for  his  50  workmen  while 
growing  stock  is  being  built  up,  stump- 
age  is  purchased  from  other  land- 
owners. A  special  effort  is  made  to 
provide  continuous  yearlong  employ- 
ment by  purchasing  both  upland  and 
lowland  and  by  having  a  good  distribu- 
tion of  types  and  size  classes.  Current 
cutting  is  estimated  to  be  about  25 
percent  less  than  the  growth. 

The  example  of  these  men  should 
be  of  particular  value  to  others  inter- 
ested in  family  or  corporate  holdings. 
Both  have  found  it  necessary  to  do 
their  own  logging.  Both  recognize  that 
permanent  markets  are  essential  for 
continued  operations.  Both  believe  in 
relatively  intensive  forestry.  Both  won- 
der how  they  can  maintain  continuity 
of  management  beyond  their  own  life- 
times. Inheritance  taxes  alone  can  de- 
stroy each  property  by  wiping  out 
working  capital  or  forcing  heavy  cuts 
that  upset  sustained-yield  operations 
and  the  year-round  business  that  de- 
pends thereon.  Dispersal  of  the  prop- 
erty among  heirs  might  prove  equally 
disastrous.  Their  practice  of  accumu- 
lating capital  in  growing  stock  on  the 
ground  makes  both  operations  highly 
vulnerable  to  inheritance  taxes  and 
division.  Both  are  examples  of  the 
premise  that  foresters  are  exception- 
ally well  equipped  to  own  and  man- 
age timberland. 

Foresters  differ  from  most  other 
owners  of  forest  lands  in  their  attitude 
toward  capital  investment.  Foresters 
recognize  that  their  investment  can 
usually  be  built  up  most  readily  by  cut- 
ting less  than  current  growth  and  by 
saving  the  best-formed  and  most  vigor- 
ous trees  as  growing  stock.  In  this  way 
yield  per  acre  increases  in  volume  and 
value  without  increasing  the  outlay  for 
roads,  protection,  and  maintenance. 


Other  investors,  not  realizing  the  effi- 
ciency of  such  a  program,  are  more 
likely  to  cut  heavily  and  to  invest  their 
extra  earnings  in  additional  land  and 
thus  assume  all  the  burdens  that  go 
with  care  of  the  land.  Only  foresters, 
in  my  opinion,  seem  to  appreciate  the 
need  to  balance  purchases  of  new  land 
against  increased  efforts  on  existing 
holdings. 

Several  other  foresters  are  managing 
their  own  timberlands.  Areas  of  1,000 
to  10,000  acres  are  owned  by  Ned 
Bryant,  Harry  Clark,  John  Kiernan, 
Sterling  Wagner,  and  several  others. 
The  Wagner  property  is  of  special  in- 
terest in  that  it  combines  saw-timber, 
fuel-wood,  and  mine-prop  operations 
with  a  resort  business  in  the  forest. 

OWNERSHIP  of  large  forest  proper- 
ties in  the  North  has  changed  appreci- 
ably during  the  past  two  decades.  Pulp 
and  paper  companies  are  the  strongest 
and  most  stable  owners.  The  large  in- 
vestments in  pulp  and  paper  mills  can 
be  liquidated  only  over  long  periods 
of  time  and  make  necessary  a  con- 
tinuous supply  of  timber.  Many  of  the 
companies  are  enlarging  their  hold- 
ings. Others  are  attempting  to  stimu- 
late good  forest  practices  on  the  part 
of  private  owners  who  control  land 
tributary  to  their  mills. 

BECAUSE  FEW  LUMBER  COMPANIES 
were  responsible  owners  of  forest  land 
in  the  past,  few  are  important  timber 
owners  today.  Lumber  companies  face 
several  difficulties.  They  have  last 
call  on  the  timber.  Fuel  wood,  chemi- 
cal wood,  pulpwood,  mine  timbers, 
posts,  poles,  ties,  and  many  other  prod- 
ucts can  all  be  cut  from  trees  before 
they  reach  saw-timber  size.  Though 
the  sawlogs  bring  a  higher  price  than 
the  smaller  material,  many  owners  sell 
when  their  timber  first  becomes  mar- 
ketable. Moreover,  less  than  half  the 
merchantable  material  harvestable 
throughout  a  rotation  is  likely  to  be  of 
sawlog  size.  Unless  a  lumber  company 
operates  subsidiary  plants  to  process 
small  material,  as  the  Goodman  Lum- 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


267 


her  Company  has  done,  or  develops  an 
outside  market,  it  does  not  enjoy  the 
full  fruits  of  the  land.  Integrated  use, 
rather  than  single  use,  is  essential  for 
efficient  management. 

Sawmill  operations  in  the  North  are 
mostly  small  enterprises,  often  con- 
ducted by  men  of  limited  experience 
in  the  lumber  business.  Few  large  saw- 
timber  tracts  now  exist.  Small-saw- 
mill operators  have  neither  the  capital 
nor  stability  to  engage  in  long-time 
forestry  ventures.  Furthermore,  the 
lumber  market  fluctuates  violently  in 
price  levels.  Sawmill  men  are  particu- 
larly vulnerable  to  business  declines 
in  periods  of  depression.  Bulkiness  and 
weight  of  the  product  further  militates 
against  building  up  a  stable,  long-term 
enterprise  in  a  region  of  small  land 
holdings  and  heavily  exploited  forests. 
The  lumber  companies  that  I  men- 
tioned earlier  that  do  have  good  for- 
estry programs  are  exceptional  rather 
than  characteristic  of  the  industry  in 
general.  It  will  be  a  long  time  before 
lumber  companies  as  such  become  an 
important  factor  in  forest-land  man- 
agement in  the  North. 

The  wood-chemical  companies  have 
shown  a  high  degree  of  variability  with 
the  changing  times.  I  believe  they  can- 
not be  looked  to  as  important  timber- 
land  owners  of  the  future.  Few  of 
them  have  shown  the  foresight  to  man- 
age their  forest  properties  for  inte- 
grated yield  of  the  forest  products. 

Mining  companies,  utility  compa- 
nies, and  water  companies  in  the  long 
run  should  become  stable  owners  and 
operators  of  forest  land.  They  are 
obliged  to  own  the  land  anyhow,  they 
enjoy  an  income  from  their  mining  or 
other  operations,  and  there  is  little 
reason,  economic  or  otherwise,  for 
them  not  to  do  a  good  job  of  forest 
management.  That  many  of  them  have 
failed  to  do  so  in  the  past  is  attributed 
primarily  to  lack  of  interest  rather  than 
lack  of  financial  ability. 

Individual  family  ownerships  and 
investment  owners  as  a  group  tend  to 
relinquish  their  property  to  pulp  com- 
panies and  others  that  have  a  greater 


stake  in  yield  from  forest  lands.  They 
are  subjected  to  the  vicissitudes  of  in- 
heritance taxes,  property  taxes  unad- 
justed to  yield  from  the  land,  and  to 
division  of  equity  upon  the  death  of 
the  original  owner.  It  seems  almost 
impossible  to  expect,  under  the  exist- 
ing laws  and  economic  forces,  that  any 
form  of  individual  ownership  can  en- 
joy stability  beyond  the  life  of  the 
owner.  Without  this  stability  it  is  im- 
possible to  maintain  a  permanently  pro- 
ductive forest  property. 

Properties  owned  by  individual  for- 
esters are  new  and,  indeed,  promising. 
But  they  are  subject  to  the  weaknesses 
of  any  other  type  of  individual  owner- 
ship. They  are  subject  to  overextension 
of  credit  and  other  financial  difficulties 
that  may  force  liquidation,  and  they 
are  likely  to  be  dismembered  as  a  re- 
sult of  inheritance  taxes  or  division  of 
property  after  the  original  owner  dies. 

No  type  of  private  ownership  in  the 
United  States  at  present  is  such  that 
it  guarantees  permanently  good  forest 
practice  on  the  land.  Pulp  companies, 
lumber  companies,  individual  private 
owners,  mining  companies,  and  others 
have  all  started  forestry  programs  and 
abandoned  them  later  because  of  var- 
ious circumstances.  No  private  for- 
estry program  in  the  North  can  be 
considered  permanent  under  existing 
economic  conditions.  The  stronger  cor- 
porations, on  the  whole,  seem  to  be 
more  responsible  owners  and  the  ones 
that  are  gradually  getting  control  of 
more  and  more  forest  lands.  Present 
economic  trends  point  to  an  increasing 
concentration  of  timberland  owner- 
ship in  the  hands  of  a  few  large  com- 
panies and  public  agencies. 

A  CITIZEN  may  rightly  ask  how  ef- 
fectively the  large  private  forest  hold- 
ings meet  the  public  interest  in  good 
protection  of  the  land  against  fire,  in- 
sects, and  disease  outbreaks,  protect 
the  watershed  values,  insure  sustained 
yield  and  a  steady  employment,  open 
lands  to  recreational  use  by  the  public, 
and  spread  economic  opportunity. 

The  points  are  taken  up  one  by  one. 


268 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Large  private-forest  holders  in  the 
North  appreciate  the  importance  of 
good  fire  control  and  support  State 
efforts  to  this  end.  A  few  have  their 
own  fire-control  organizations.  The 
critical  1947  fire  season  in  Maine 
caused  staggering  losses  in  organized 
towns  in  southern  Maine,  where  pro- 
tection was  under  the  supervision  of 
local  fire  wardens.  Lacking  specific 
authority,  and  without  time  to  organize 
the  towns,  the  forest  commissioner 
could  give  only  limited  help.  When  an 
appeal  was  made  to  him,  he  augmented 
local  forces  and  helped  bring  in  Fed- 
eral aid.  At  the  same  time,  the  State 
organization  protected  all  unorganized 
towns  in  northern  Maine  and  losses 
were  insignificant.  Large  landowners 
who  had  insisted  on  a  good  protective 
system  deserve  some  of  the  credit  for 
the  efficient  performance  where  the 
State  was  free  to  act. 

Control  of  forest-insect  pests  and 
diseases  has  been  largely  a  public  func- 
tion, but  private  landowners  have 
cooperated  by  making  their  lands 
available  for  experimental  use  and  by 
supporting  public  agencies  in  their 
control  program. 

The  large  forest  holdings  furnish 
relatively  good  watershed  and  soil  pro- 
tection. Throughout  the  North,  fire 
control  is  one  of  the  most  effective 
methods  of  reducing  flood  runoff  and 
protecting  the  soil.  Local  damage  due 
to  heavy  cutting,  downhill  skidding, 
and  mountain  roads  has  resulted  in 
erosion  and  some  watershed  deteriora- 
tion, but  that  is  a  local  rather  than 
widespread  condition. 

More  critical  is  clear  cutting  that 
results  in  serious  frost  damage.  Such 
damage  is  not  uncommon  in  the  Alle- 
gheny plateau,  sections  of  the  Adiron- 
dacks,  and  other  regions  where  clear 
cutting  may  expose  land  surfaces  that 
are  subject  to  poor  air  drainage.  Once 
all  the  timber  cover  is  removed,  a  frost 
pocket  develops  that  may  persist  for 
decades  before  a  forest  cover  can  be 
reestablished.  Weather  records  taken 
in  frost  pockets  show  that  they  are  defi- 
nitely cooler  than  surrounding  lands  on 


TOTAL  AREA  OF  LARGE  FOREST  HOLDINGS 
IN  THE  NORTH  AND  AVERAGE  PERCENT- 
AGE OF  FOREST  LAND  BURNED  EACH 
YEAR,  BY  STATES,  1941-45.  DATA  ARE 
BASED  ON  REAPPRAISAL  OF  THE  FOREST 
SITUATION,  1946 

Total 
Land  in      forest  area 

large  burned 

State  holdings        annually 

Acres  Percent 

Kentucky 197, 033  1. 20 

Maine 8,618,092  .10 

Michigan 2,371,353  .10 

Minnesota 335,  128  .  2O 

Missouri 319,000  2.  IO 

New  Hampshire 484,689  .24 

New  York 888,310  .20 

Pennsylvania 104, 407  . 49 

Vermont 278, 254  . 05 

West  Virginia 445,672  1.40 

Wisconsin 579, 743  . 06 


Total. 


14,621,681   


clear  nights  when  heat  loss  through 
earth  radiation  is  rapid. 

A  number  of  large  holdings  are  op- 
erated on  an  extensive  sustained-yield 
basis.  Sustained  yield  often  is  followed 
where  cutting  standards  are  far  from 
the  best  that  might  be  used,  although 
companies  that  practice  poor  silvicul- 
ture obviously  are  obliged  to  own  and 
protect  more  land  than  they  otherwise 
would  require.  Community  sustained 
yield  is  a  strong  objective  of  pulp  and 
paper  companies  that  must  protect 
large  investments.  It  is  also  the  ob- 
jective of  the  Goodman  Lumber 
Company,  the  Luther  and  Watson 
managements,  and  the  Western  Mary- 
land Railway. 

Relatively  little  progress  has  been 
made,  however,  toward  building  up 
community,  county,  and  State  sus- 
tained-yield forestry  throughout  the 
North.  Beginnings  are  being  made  in 
Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and  Wis- 
consin. Industries  have  taken  the  lead 
over  public  agencies  in  sponsoring 
such  programs.  Integrated  sustained 
use  of  all  products  of  the  forest  should 
be  the  objective,  and  vastly  greater 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


269 


public  leadership  should  be  directed 
toward  that  end. 

Most  large  private  holdings  in  the 
North  are  open  to  public  fishing,  hunt- 
ing, trapping,  and  camping.  A  property 
in  the  Pocono  region  of  Pennsylvania 
is  operated  jointly  for  timber,  fishing, 
hunting,  and  recreation.  The  owner  of 
the  2,500-acre  property  has  fenced  it 
against  trespass;  he  stocks  the  streams 
for  fishing,  and  furnishes  special  hunt- 
ing privileges  to  guests  at  his  lodge.  He 
operates  his  own  sawmill  and  cuts 
enough  timber  to  supply  the  needs  of 
his  resort  and  offers  some  timber  for 
sale.  It  is  one  of  the  few  forests  oper- 
ated by  a  forester  to  return  income 
from  each  resource  the  property  af- 
fords. A  similar  property  in  the  Gat- 
skills  is  managed  as  a  recreational  area 
tributary  to  a  large  resort  hotel.  The 
timber  is  cut  on  a  sustained-yield  basis 
and  the  wood  used  primarily  for  fuel 
for  the  furnaces  and  fireplaces  of  the 
hotel. 

Some  of  the  owners  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks  are  leasing  hunting  and  trapping 
rights  to  game  clubs  and  other  sports- 
men. The  public  generally  opposes 
restrictions  on  hunting  on  large  pri- 
vate properties  lest  the  poor  man  be 
excluded.  Many  large  companies  ap- 
preciate that  viewpoint,  and  have  al- 
lowed use  of  their  lands  for  recreation. 
Many  require  permits  so  they  can  reg- 
ulate use  to  some  extent,  but  most 
impose  no  restrictions.  Perhaps,  as 
pressure  of  population  and  hunting  in- 
crease, more  and  more  owners  of  large 
holdings  will  lease  hunting  and  trap- 
ping rights. 

Cherished  by  all  Americans  is  the 
belief  that  our  country  is  a  land  in 
which  the  energetic  man  with  limited 
resources  can  build  his  own  independ- 
ent business  enterprise.  The  rise  of 
giant  corporations  in  recent  decades 
has  restricted  the  fields  of  endeavor 
open  to  small  business.  The  forest- 
products  industries  have  occupied  a  big 
position  in  our  small-business  economy 
in  the  past.  Has  concentration  of  forest 
ownership  in  the  North  adversely  af- 
fected opportunities  for  small  business? 


Pulp  and  paper  companies,  to  be  sure, 
have  acquired  large  holdings,  but  of  the 
1 70  million  acres  of  commercial  forest 
land  in  the  North,  large  ownerships 
control  but  15  million  acres,  9  percent. 
Ample  opportunity  still  exists  for 
anyone  so  minded  to  acquire  and  man- 
age his  own  forest  property,  provided 
he  have  modest  capital  resources  at 
his  command.  To  the  extent  that  large 
holdings  stabilize  industries  and  mar- 
ket outlets,  the  small  owner  is  favorably 
served  by  their  existence.  Moreover, 
the  policies  of  many  large  holders  is 
to  encourage  good  practice  on  the 
nearby  lands.  Large  owners,  as  a  rule, 
seek  full  development  and  use  of  their 
property,  thereby  expanding  rather 
than  restricting  economic  opportunity. 
Of  course,  to  the  extent  that  they  con- 
done poor  cutting  practices  in  their 
own  lands  and  on  the  lands  of  others 
that  they  operate,  resources  to  support 
additional  forest  industries  are  thereby 
diminished. 

SPECIAL  PROBLEMS  beset  private 
owners  of  forests — taxes,  fluctuating  or 
inadequate  markets,  and  depleted 
forests,  among  them. 

The  general  property  tax  unques- 
tionably works  heavy  hardship  on 
some  owners.  Sometimes  taxes  are  so 
high  they  absorb  all  income  from  the 
property  in  the  form  of  timber  growth. 
Rarely  is  the  property  tax  adjusted  to 
the  income  that  might  be  expected 
from  the  land.  Paul  E.  Malone,  in 
a  study  of  forest  taxation  in  Hancock 
County,  Maine,  found  that  small  prop- 
erties tend  to  be  taxed  at  a  higher  rate 
an  acre  than  large  properties;  improve- 
ments on  the  land  show  a  low  rate  of 
increase  in  tax  with  increase  in  value; 
assessment  practices  and  local  tax  rates 
vary  widely  so  that  little  relationship 
exists  between  timber  yield  and  the  tax. 

In  three  towns  in  Hancock  County, 
Maine,  taxes  per  acre  varied  thus: 

Area 

1  to  9  More  than 

acres  1}000  acres 

Amherst $0.  10  $0.  09 

Eastbrook .21  .11 

Franklin .49  .08 


270 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


CHARACTER  OF  TIMBER  CUTTING  PRACTICES  ON  LARGE  PRIVATE  HOLDINGS  IN  THE  NORTH. 
DATA    ARE    BASED   ON    REAPPRAISAL  OF   THE    FOREST    SITUATION,  1946 

Acreage  in  properties  being 
cut   under  practices   that 


Ownership  class 


Land  owned      Good        Fair        Poor 


Acres 


Percent    Percent    Percent 


Family  and  investment 

Pulp  companies 

Lumber,  veneer,  and  cooperage  companies 

Mining  companies  (coal) 

Mining  companies  (iron) 

Other..  


Total 14, 685, 681 


3,444.047 
7.625,932 
2,015,315 

10 

9 
8 

74 
76 

23 

6 

i6 

15 
69 

Q4. 

932,  682 
114,000 

5 

64 

IOO 

62 


29 


Few  assessors  make  any  attempt  to 
adjust  the  assessment  with  changes  in 
soil  productivity  or  changes  in  the  de- 
gree of  timber  stocking.  These  two 
differences  alone  determine  whether  a 
property  can  return  income.  In  all  or- 
ganized towns  of  Maine,  property  taxes 
on  forest  land  are  considered  to  be  so 
high  as  to  preclude  large  timber  hold- 
ings. Consequently,  few  of  the  large 
timberland  holders  own  any  appreci- 
able acreage  in  the  organized  towns. 

Several  States,  among  them  Minne- 
sota, Wisconsin,  Michigan,  and  New 
York,  have  adopted  forest-crop  laws 
that  enable  the  landowner  to  defer  the 
major  part  of  his  current  tax  and  to 
pay  the  rest  by  yield  tax  when  the  tim- 
ber is  harvested.  The  total  land  area 
in  the  North  under  such  classification 
probably  does  not  exceed  a  million 
acres.  In  New  York,  only  two  large 
properties,  the  Luther  property  and 
the  Fisher  property,  are  under  the 
yield-tax  law.  The  Goodman  property 
is  a  large  one  in  Wisconsin  under  such 
a  law.  The  fact  that  these  laws  have 
not  been  more  widely  used  is  an  in- 
dication that  many  owners  do  not  find 
the  forest  property  tax  too  burdensome. 
The  laws  may  act  as  a  deterrent  to  ex- 
cessive valuation  by  assessment  officers. 

The  inheritance  tax  is  a  handicap 
to  individual  owners,  especially  when 
most  of  their  capital  is  tied  up  in  the 
standing  timber  on  their  land.  When 
a  private-forest  owner  builds  up  a  val- 


uable sustained-yield  property,  he  nat- 
urally would  like  to  have  the  property 
continued  and  would  like  his  heirs  to 
enjoy  the  benefits  from  it.  An  inherit- 
ance tax,  which  must  be  met  in  a  single 
payment,  can  wreck  such  holdings. 
Distributing  the  period  over  which 
such  payments  may  be  made  to  10 
years  or  longer  would  enable  a  large 
number  of  such  properties  to  be  main- 
tained. State  and  Federal  Govern- 
ments might  well  give  consideration 
as  to  how  this  particular  problem  can 
be  met. 

The  Federal  income-tax  law  defi- 
nitely favors  the  forest  owner  by  mak- 
ing it  possible  for  him  to  list  timber 
harvested  as  a  long-term  capital  gain. 
In  this  way  his  tax  on  timber  growth 
need  never  exceed  25  percent  however 
high  his  tax  may  be  on  current  income. 
Few  timberland  owners  appear  to  ap- 
preciate the  investment  opportunities 
such  a  tax  law  affords. 

Another  handicap  is  the  relative  lack 
of  skilled  woods  workers,  particularly 
workmen  who  will  cut  conservatively. 
Operators  have  sometimes  been  ob- 
liged to  abandon  conservative  cutting 
methods  because  the  wood  choppers 
refused  to  cut  trees  on  a  selective  basis. 
Cutters  have  refused  to  cut  selectively 
(even  though  their  own  income  on  a 
piece-work  basis  would  be  higher  if 
they  did  so)  until  they  were  given  con- 
vincing demonstrations.  Intensive 
training  is  needed  to  increase  the 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


271 


worker's  efficiency  and  his  safety.  The 
accident  rate  in  logging  and  lumber- 
ing is  high,  but  good  safety  programs 
and  proper  training  can  reduce  the 
rate.  Training  in  safety  will  pay  worker 
and  operator. 

In  certain  States,  notably  New  York, 
workmen's  compensation  insurance  is 
considered  a  serious  deterrent  to  good 
forest  practices.  The  rate  is  about  14 
percent  of  the  pay  roll;  for  those  that 
have  a  serious  accident,  it  is  37  per- 
cent. Obviously,  operators  who  are 
obliged  to  pay  that  big  a  part  of  their 
pay  roll  in  insurance  are  under  an  ex- 
treme handicap  in  all  their  work.  Re- 
cently several  adjustments  have  been 
made  to  reduce  the  burden,  but  cor- 
rection can  come  only  with  accident 
reduction. 

Poor  growing  stock  is  an  outstanding 
difficulty.  It  takes  time  to  convert  a 
forest  that  has  been  repeatedly  high- 
graded  into  a  valuable  timber-produc- 
ing property.  Weed  species,  defective 
or  valueless  trees,  and  worthless  shrubs 
prevent  the  establishment  of  good  sec- 
ond-growth timber  on  many  areas. 
Even  where  second  growth  is  well  es- 
tablished, the  merchantable  stands  are 
often  too  scattered  to  permit  building 
up  a  property  that  can  be  managed 
efficiently.  Until  well-organized  timber 
properties  have  a  value  considerably 
above  their  liquidation  value,  few  land- 
owners will  make  the  effort  required  to 
build  up  high-yielding,  well-managed 
forest  properties.  Only  a  few  people 
seem  to  have  the  necessary  vision  and 
patience  to  invest  their  capital  in  build- 
ing up  such  valuable  forests. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  obstacle  facing 
the  private  timberland  owner  in  the 
North  is  disorganized  and  fluctuating 
markets.  The  statement  appears  para- 
doxical, because  the  North  consumes 
far  more  wood  than  it  grows.  But  tim- 
ber depletion  has  led  to  a  scarcity  of 
dependable  wood  processors.  Many 
owners  are  serviced  only  by  small,  in- 
efficient, portable  mill  owners.  Lack- 
ing experience  and  capital,  they  saw 
boards  varying  in  thickness,  realize 
a  poor-grade  outturn,  improperly  pile 


and  season  the  lumber,  and  fail  to  get 
top  prices.  They  are  obliged  therefore 
to  buy  their  logs  and  stumpage  cheaply. 
Trade  channels  also  are  poorly  devel- 
oped. From  New  York,  small-dimen- 
sion beech  is  shipped  to  Wisconsin  for 
processing,  and  to  Massachusetts  for 
furniture  squares,  wood  turnings,  and 
cooperage.  Yet  New  York  imports  a 
large  amount  of  wood,  and  has  local 
use  for  all  that  can  be  grown.  Many 
owners  have  felt  that  they  must  acquire 
their  own  processing  plants  if  they  are 
to  have  a  ready  market  for  all  prod- 
ucts of  the  forest.  This  is  true  of  at 
least  one  of  the  investment  properties 
in  Maine,  the  Luther  forest  holding, 
and  others. 

A    NUMBER    OF    COOPERATIVES    have 

been  organized  to  improve  markets. 
Outstanding  is  the  Otsego  Forest  Prod- 
ucts Cooperative  Association,  which 
handles  logging,  milling,  seasoning,  fin- 
ishing, and  lumber  sales,  and  thereby 
gains  the  advantages  that  accrue  from 
converting  stumpage  into  more  readily 
marketable  commodities.  A  steady 
market  has  been  maintained  during 
periods  when  local  sawmills  hesitated 
to  purchase  timber.  Other  associations, 
organized  on  the  cooperative  principle 
but  with  more  restricted  fields  of  op- 
eration, service  timberland  owners  of 
the  section.  Their  influence  on  markets 
is  only  local,  however,  and  for  the 
North  as  a  whole  is  minor.  They  do 
indicate  one  possible  means  of  offset- 
ting uncertain  markets,  nevertheless. 

Two  other  types  of  associations  have 
been  formed  to  meet  the  specific 
marketing  difficulties  of  private  tim- 
berland owners.  Gonnwood,  with  head- 
quarters in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  was 
organized  to  promote  forestry  by  aid- 
ing owners  in  harvesting,  marketing, 
and  processing  forest  products.  Any 
producer  of  forest  products  who  makes 
sales  through  the  corporation  is  a  par- 
ticipating member,  and  those  who 
have  subscribed  for  stock  are  voting 
members.  Each  voting  member  has 
one  vote.  After  setting  aside  legal  re- 
serves, dividends  on  stock  may  be  up 


272 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


to  6  percent  and  the  remainder  of  the 
surplus,  if  any,  is  distributed  on  the 
basis  of  patronage.  The  corporation 
has  successfully  developed  new  mar- 
kets for  Connecticut  forest  products 
and  thereby  has  helped  owners  to  sell 
timber.  The  company  employs  its  own 
forester  and  manager.  The  manage- 
ment hopes  to  obtain  exclusive  con- 
tracts with  good  market  outlets,  so 
that  it  can  be  in  a  position  to  demand 
good  forest  practices  from  persons  who 
use  its  services.  Sustained  yield  is  ad- 
vocated. In  1947,  the  corporation 
handled  more  than  $70,000  worth  of 
business  for  its  members. 

THE  NEW  ENGLAND  FORESTRY 
FOUNDATION,  with  headquarters  in 
Boston,  represents  another  effort  to  get 
private  forests  under  management.  It 
is  a  nonprofit  corporation  set  up  to  give 
complete  forestry  service  to  woodland 
owners  at  cost.  Work  is  conducted 
through  management  centers,  each  in 
charge  of  a  trained  forester.  Forestry, 
crews  are  organized  and  trained  to 
work  as  private  operators  under  con- 
tract on  the  lands  of  its  clients.  These 
crews,  called  forestry  companies,  do  all 
kinds  of  silvicultural  work  as  well  as 
logging.  All  operations  are  under  the 
direct  supervision  of  a  management 
forester. 

The  foundation  now  has  six  man- 
agement centers  in  three  States,  eight 
full-time  foresters,  and  three  crews. 
It  has  more  than  70,000  acres  under 
management,  which  contain  well  above 
a  million  dollars  worth  of  stumpage. 
The  organization  is  still  in  the  forma- 
tive stage,  and  must  raise  funds  pri- 
vately for  training  foresters  and  for  the 
overhead  of  organizing  centers.  It 
estimates  that  it  will  be  completely 
self-supporting  when  it  has  20  or  25 
centers. 

Both  organizations  and  several  co- 
operatives have  tried  to  fill  the  gap 
that  exists  between  what  is  feasible  to 
do  on  the  land  and  what  operators 
are  willing  to  do.  None  is  organized 
primarily  to  make  money  for  the  stock- 
holders or  for  timber  processors;  their 


task,  rather,  is  to  promote  good  mar- 
kets and,  through  them,  good  forestry. 

THE  TREE-FARM  MOVEMENT,  under 
the  leadership  of  the  American  Forest 
Products  Industries  and  the  State  for- 
estry organizations,  is  getting  started. 

Wisconsin  has  seven  tree  farms  that 
cover  420,476  acres.  Called  industrial 
forests,  they  include  some  of  the  best 
and  most  intensively  managed  forests 
in  the  country.  Among  them  are  those 
of  the  Goodman  Lumber  Company, 
Nekoosa-Edwards  Company,  and  the 
National  Container  Corporation. 

Agencies  in  Michigan  and  Minne- 
sota are  interested  in  joining  this  tree- 
growing  endeavor. 

In  the  Central  States,  Ohio  has  eight 
tree  farms  that  total  1,563  acres.  In 
Missouri,  Illinois,  Kentucky,  and  In- 
diana, arrangements  are  being  made 
to  undertake  the  program. 

In  the  East,  Pennsylvania  (with  11 
units  and  1,563  acres)  and  New  Jersey 
(with  7  units  and  9,151  acres)  have 
tree  farms  in  operation.  West  Virginia 
and  Massachusetts  started  tree-farm 
projects  in  1948. 

SEVERAL  ADVANTAGES  can  be  listed  as 
reasons  why  the  northern  section  offers 
opportunities  for  forestry: 

1.  The  wide  variety  of  species  that 
possess  high  technical  qualities,  among 
them  the  valuable  hardwoods  like  yel- 
low birch,  black  cherry,  black  walnut, 
white  ash,  yellow-poplar,  sugar  maple. 

2.  Some  of  the  best  softwood  trees  to 
be    found    anywhere    in    the    United 
States — white  pine,  white  spruce,  red 
spruce,   black  spruce,   red  pine,  and 
the  less- valuable  but  prolific  jack  pine, 
Virginia  pine,  shortleaf  pine,  balsam 
fir,  and  hemlock. 

3.  An  intensively  industrialized  sec- 
tion, which  offers  potential  markets  for 
all  types  and  sizes  of  forest  products. 

4.  A  climate  conducive  to  good  for- 
est management,  and  fire-control  or- 
ganizations that  have  good  records. 

5.  Accessible  forest  land.  Except  in 
northern  Maine  and  the  Adirondacks, 
most  of  the  northern  forest  land  has 


Large  Private  Holdings  in  the  North 


good  primary  and  secondary  roads;  a 
high  percentage  of  the  timber  that  is 
grown  can  be  marketed. 

6.  Land  values  in  keeping  with  pro- 
ductivity. Probably  forest  land  is  as 
reasonably  priced  now  in  the  North 
as  in  any  other  section  of  the  country; 
it  is  possible  therefore  for  owners  seri- 
ously interested  in  undertaking  inten- 
sive forestry  to  purchase  forest  lands 
at  prices  that  are  not  excessive,  in  view 
of  the  income  that  may  be  expected. 

7.  Manageable   insect   and   disease 
problems.  The  North  has  had  several 
devastating    attacks    by    forest-insect 
pests  and  diseases — the  chestnut  blight, 
the  spruce  budworm,  larch  sawfly,  Le- 
Conte  sawfly,  forest  tent  caterpillar, 
white  pine  blister  rust,  gypsy  moth, 
beech  scale,  birch  dieback,  white-pine 
weevil,  and  others.  Only  the  chestnut 
blight  has  eliminated  a  species,  and 
even  in  that  case  forest  recovery  was 
rapid  through  quick  expansion  of  asso- 
ciated   forest    trees.    Modern    control 
techniques  and  good  management  can 
keep  losses  moderate,  and  easy  access 
permits  salvaging  of  damaged  timber. 

8.  Forests  that  respond  rapidly  to 
good  management.  Only  foresters  of 
long  experience  in  managing  a  specific 
forest  area  can  fully  appreciate  the 
point.  An  outstanding  example  is  the 
Pack  Demonstration  Forest  at  War- 
rensburg,  N.  Y. — a  property  built  up 
of  abandoned  farms.  For  more  than 
20  years  the  forest  has  largely  paid  its 
own  way  through  receipts  from  timber 
harvested  and  processed.  Capital  val- 
ues in  terms  of  stumpage  meanwhile 
have  been  accruing  annually  at  the 
rate  of  $2  an  acre.  The  property  now 
supports  one  family  for  each  200  acres 
of  land,  with  only  one-half  the  growth 
being  harvested.  Agriculture  in  much 
of  New  York  can  do  little  better. 

9.  High  prices  for  timber.  On  record 
are  prices  for  ash  and  oak  stumpage  as 
high  as  $35  and  $65  a  thousand  board 
feet;  white  oak  of  stave  quality  has 
brought  $100.   The  ordinary  run  of 
timber  in  the  North  normally  sells  for 
higher  prices  than  comparable  quali- 
ties in  the  West  and  South. 

802062°— 49 19 


273 

THE  OUTLOOK  for  private  forestry  in 
the  North  appears  bright,  considering 
the  progress  of  the  past  10  or  15  years. 
Forest  lands  are  gradually  being  con- 
solidated into  stronger  and  more  per- 
manent hands.  Pulp  and  paper  com- 
panies particularly  are  taking  over 
large  areas  of  the  valuable  timber- 
growing  land  tributary  to  their  mills. 
A  few  progressive  lumber  companies 
and  some  private  foresters  and  invest- 
ors have  undertaken  intensive  forestry 
programs  on  lands  they  hold.  Fores- 
ters are  achieving  places  of  high 
prominence  in  the  timber-operating 
companies  of  the  North  and  they  are 
encouraging  their  companies  to  prac- 
tice good  forestry  on  the  land  they  own 
and  on  lands  near  their  operations. 

Difficulties  exist,  to  be  sure.  Progress 
has  not  all  been  permanent.  Com- 
panies and  private  individuals  that 
started  out  bravely  on  a  good  forest 
program  have  abandoned  it  for  one 
reason  or  another  and  have  reverted  to 
the  indifferent  practices  of  the  past. 
The  number  of  new  operators  that  are 
taking  up  forestry,  however,  exceeds 
those  that  are  dropping  out.  The 
movement  is  in  the  right  direction. 
High-quality  timber  is  scarce  through- 
out the  North.  Operators  pay  high 
prices  for  it.  The  increased  importance 
of  veneers,  wood  turnings,  and  other 
novelty  products  that  bring  high  prices 
and  yet  can  be  made  from  timber  in 
relatively  small  sizes  has  improved  po- 
tential market  outlets  for  managed 
forests.  Markets  for  pole-sized  timber 
such  as  would  be  taken  out  in  thin- 
nings and  for  low-grade  hardwoods 
that  should  be  removed  in  improve- 
ment cuttings  remain  spotty.  Until 
these  can  be  stabilized  in  each  im- 
portant timber-producing  locality,  for- 
estry is  not  on  a  secure  basis. 

The  trends  in  forest-land  ownership 
may  or  may  not  be  considered  desir- 
able. Gradually  forest  land  is  drifting 
into  the  hands  of  large  owners,  pri- 
marily pulp  and  paper  companies.  A 
large  volume  of  timber  still  exists  in 
the  hands  of  farmers  and  other  small 
owners.  These  lands  are  mostly  too 


274 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


scattered  for  a  large  holder  to  consoli- 
date them  for  profitable  management. 

Disorganized  markets,  difficulties  in 
selling  to  responsible  operators,  heavy 
taxes,  and  workmen's  compensation  in- 
surance militate  against  a  small  tim- 
berland  owner  in  the  North.  Equally 
difficult  is  the  lack  of  good-quality 
growing  stock  on  the  land. 

The  public  has  already  taken  many 
steps  to  encourage  better  forest  prac- 
tice in  the  North.  Good  fire  control, 
forest  tax  laws,  service  to  private  own- 
ers in  forest  management  and  market- 
ing have  been  introduced  by  many 
States.  These  have  been  supplemented 
by  the  educational  and  service  pro- 
grams promoted  by  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment through  State  foresters  and 
extension  foresters.  Research  aimed  at 
helping  private  owners  is  being  ex- 
tended and  broadened.  Yet  the  public 
needs  to  go  further  than  it  has  to  en- 
courage full  development. 

A  few  pioneers,  such  as  Luther  and 
Watson,  are  doing  outstanding  work. 
More  should  be  encouraged  and  the 
difficulties  that  beset  them  minimized. 
It  is  most  important  that  outstand- 
ing leaders  in  the  North  recognize  the 
problems  they  must  face.  They  are  tak- 
ing progressive  steps  to  meet  them.  The 
progressive  thinking  that  has  led  to 
State  forest  practice  acts,  to  State  aid 
in  management  and  marketing,  and  to 
starting  organizations  such  as  Conn- 
wood,  the  New  England  Forestry  Foun- 
dation, and  programs  of  experimental 
and  demonstration  forests  is  perhaps 
the  best  guarantee  of  a  bright  future 
for  private  forestry  in  the  North. 

HARDY  L.  SHIRLEY  is  assistant  dean, 
the  New  York  State  College  of  For- 
estry at  Syracuse  University. 

The  following  furnished  material  for 
his  article:  Herman  Work  and  W.  R. 
Gingerich,  West  Virginia  Pulp  and 
Paper  Company;  James  G.  McClellan, 
American  Forest  Products  Industries, 
Inc.;  Harris  A.  Reynolds,  New  Eng- 
land Forestry  Foundation;  Ralph  C. 
Hawley,  Connwood,  Inc.;  Russell  Wat- 
son, Manistique,  Mich.;  F.  G.  Kilp, 


Nekoosa-Edwards  Paper  Company; 
Karl  A.  Swenning,  Hollingsworth  and 
Whitney  Company;  C.  S.  Herr,  Brown 
Company;  William  Hilton,  Great 
Northern  Paper  Company;  Robert 
Lyman,  formerly  with  the  Gray  Chemi- 
cal Company;  George  T.  Carlisle, 
Prentiss  and  Carlisle  Company,  Inc.; 
George  C.  Sawyer,  Houlton,  Maine; 
David  H.  Hanaburgh,  consulting  for- 
ester, Buchanan,  N.  Y.;  Lyman  A.  Bee- 
man,  Finch  Pruyn  Paper  Company; 
C.  O.  Brown,  International  Paper 
Company;  L.  ].  Freedman,  Penobscot 
Development  Company;  R.  B.  Good- 
man, Goodman  Lumber  Company;  D. 
B.  Demeritt,  Dead  River  Company; 
E.  O.  Ehrhart,  Armstrong  Forest  Com- 
pany; T.  F.  Luther,  The  Luther  For- 
est; D.  B.  Bonebreak,  Pocahontas  Land 
Corporation;  E.  B.  Moore,  New  Jersey 
Department  of  Conservation;  Harold 
Round,  Pennsylvania  Railroad;  A.  A. 
Maxwell,  Ruberoid  Company;  George 
Amidon,  Minnesota  and  Ontario  Paper 
Company;  and  E.  B.  Hurst,  Consoli- 
dated Water  Power  and  Paper  Co. 


A  blazed  tree  on  an  old  military  trail  in 
Coeur  d'Alene  National  Forest,  Idaho. 


275 


PRIVATE  FORESTRY  IN  THE  WEST 


CHAS.  L.  TEBBE,  H.  J.  ANDREWS 


One-third  of  all  existing  saw  timber 
in  the  United  States  is  in  the  western 
half  of  Oregon  and  Washington.  The 
entire  West,  with  only  one-fourth  of 
the  commercial  forest  land,  supports 
two-thirds  of  the  saw-timber  volume. 
Some  of  the  implications  are  at  once 
apparent. 

First  of  all  is  the  growing  dependence 
on  the  West  for  national  requirements 
of  forest  products.  Western  lumber 
production  has  increased  nearly  50 
percent  since  1938.  The  number  of 
sawmills  has  more  than  doubled.  Pulp- 
mill  capacities  are  being  expanded. 
Hitherto  inaccessible  areas  are  being 
operated.  The  country  is  getting  its 
quality  products  in  increasing  amount 
from  the  virgin  old-growth  timber  of 
the  West. 

Heretofore  the  East  has  provided  the 
bulk  of  the  national  production  ( 55  to 
60  percent  since  1929) ,  but  it  has  done 
that  at  the  expense  of  its  growing  stock, 
and  the  size  of  the  timber  harvested 
has  steadily  declined. 

The  cutting  and  management  prac- 
tices used  in  harvesting  the  old-growth 
timber  in  the  West  must  be  such  as  to 
insure  that  a  new  crop  of  trees  will  be 
grown  to  replace  the  old  forest  after 
it  is  cut. 

Responsibility  for  continued  pro- 
ductivity is  shared  by  Federal,  State, 
and  county  governments  and  private 
owners,  because  all  of  them  own  or  con- 
trol timberland.  Nearly  40  percent  of 
western  commercial  forest  land  and 
timber,  however,  is  in  private  hands. 
Generally  speaking,  this  includes  the 
best  and  most  accessible  timber  and  the 
most  productive  sites.  It  is  also  the 
scene  of  the  greatest  logging  activity. 
About  72  percent  of  the  14  billion  feet 
produced  in  the  West  in  1946  came 
from  private  lands.  The  kind  of  for- 
estry practiced  there  during  the  initial 
cutting  will  determine  in  large  meas- 
ure the  character,  the  scale,  and  the 


value  of  the  contribution  western  tim- 
berlands  can  make  in  the  future. 

THE     FIRST     MAJOR     REQUIREMENT 

that  must  be  met  if  we  are  to  achieve 
sustained  yield  is  to  have  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  merchantable  second- 
growth  timber  available  to  fill  our 
needs  by  the  time  the  virgin  forests 
have  been  cut.  That  means  we  must 
keep  the  cut-over  lands  fully  produc- 
tive and  budget  the  cut  of  old  growth 
so  that  the  timber  supply  in  an  area 
will  not  be  exhausted  before  a  new  crop 
of  trees  has  grown  to  usable  size. 

If  it  takes  100  years  for  trees  to  at- 
tain sawlog  size,  it  is  obvious  that  an 
owner  must  not  remove  more  than  one- 
hundredth  of  his  timber  inventory 
each  year;  otherwise  there  will  come  a 
time  when  sustained  yield  will  be  dis- 
rupted. For  example,  if  he  clear-cuts 
his  entire  forest  property  at  the  rate  of 
one-fiftieth  of  his  supply,  at  the  end 
of  50  years  he  will  have  no  trees  older 
than  50  years;  if  he  uses  the  individ- 
ual-tree selection  system,  the  reserved 
trees  will  have  to  be  cut  before  they 
have  had  time  to  put  on  enough 
growth  to  offset  the  amount  cut.  Each 
year  the  owner  will  be  decreasing  his 
capital  instead  of  operating  on  the 
interest. 

Gutting  practices  that  will  maintain 
productivity  of  forest  land  are  a  second 
prerequisite  to  sustained  yield  and  to 
stabilized  industry  and  communities. 
Many  years  of  research  and  experience 
have  defined  cutting  practices  for  most 
timber  types.  They  are  relatively  easy 
to  put  into  practice,  especially  in  the 
well-stocked  stands  in  the  West.  A  little 
effort  before  logging  and  during  log- 
ging will  save  more  young  trees  and 
insure  more  prompt  regeneration  than 
will  many  times  the  effort  expended  in 
planting  or  other  rehabilitation  meas- 
ures taken  after  a  destructive  logging 
operation. 


276 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Finally,  if  we  are  going  to  grow  trees 
and  manage  forests,  we  must  protect 
them  from  fire,  insects,  disease. 

Of  the  three  requirements,  volume 
control,  to  insure  continuity  of  pro- 
duction, is  now  the  greatest  problem. 
In  large  measure  the  pattern  is  already 
set,  for,  despite  the  shorter  history  and 
large  timber  inventory  of  the  West,  the 
forest-products  industry  here  is  by  no 
means  in  its  infancy.  Development  of 
private  lands  has  been  rapid. 

The  largest  sawmills  in  the  world 
are  here.  In  Oregon  and  Washington, 
1,200  sawmills  annually  produce  as 
much  lumber  as  do  37,000  sawmills  in 
the  East  and  South.  Amortization  of 
large-plant  investments  usually  neces- 
sitates a  large  annual  production.  Even 
where  this  is  not  the  case,  a  mill  that 
is  designed  to  turn  out  100,  200,  or 
300  thousand  feet  of  lumber  each  day 
cannot  be  operated  economically  on 
much  less.  When  a  plant  or  group  of 
plants  is  once  installed,  therefore,  tim- 
ber requirements  become  inflexible, 
except  within  narrow  limits.  If  the  ag- 
gregate plant  capacity  is  not  geared 
to  the  capacity  of  the  tributary  land 
to  grow  timber,  an  excessive  rate  of 
cutting,  ultimate  timber  shortage,  and 
curtailed  production  are  inevitable. 
Excess  installed  capacity  was  the  fault 
most  commonly  committed  in  the  early 
days  by  many  of  the  older  plants. 

More  important  for  the  future  is  the 
character  of  plant  installation  now 
being  made  in  hitherto  undeveloped 
areas,  in  southwest  Oregon  and  north- 
west California,  for  example.  If, 
somehow,  the  lessons  learned  from 
experience  were  brought  to  bear  on  the 
pattern  of  mill  installation  in  the  new 
areas,  volume  control,  sustained  yield, 
and  stabilized  communities  and  pay 
rolls  would  be  assured.  But  that  does 
not  appear  to  be  in  prospect.  We  are 
in  a  fair  way  to  repeat  the  mistake  that 
led  to  transitory  sawmills  elsewhere. 

An  illustration  is  in  Lane  County, 
Oreg.,  where  the  wealth  of  timber  was 
so  great  that  the  sustained-yield  ca- 
pacity was  estimated  a  few  years  ago 
at  832  million  board  feet  annually.  In 


1938  some  86  sawmills  consumed 
about  376  million  board  feet  of  logs,  a 
moderate  cut  in  view  of  the  allowable 
cut  under  sustained  yield.  By  1943  the 
number  of  plants  had  increased  to  128, 
and  they  consumed  879  million  board 
feet  of  logs,  somewhat  more  than  the 
sustained-yield  limitations.  In  1944  the 
cut  was  875  million  feet;  in  1946,  204 
mills  cut  955  million  feet  of  timber. 

In  other  areas  also  the  pressures  to 
overdevelop  are  tremendous.  Commu- 
nities want  to  grow;  usually  they  wel- 
come all  mills  that  can  possibly  get  a 
foothold  in  the  territory.  Nearly  al- 
ways small  holdings  are  available  for 
purchase,  and  afford  new  operators  a 
chance  to  start.  New  plants  go  up  m 
the  expectation  of  getting  more  private 
and  Government  timber,  and  before 
long  the  cutting  exceeds  the  sustained- 
yield  capacity. 

In  the  absence  of  control  over  the 
volume  of  timber  cut,  everything  pos- 
sible should  be  done  to  minimize  the 
shock  of  the  impending  timber  short- 
age and  to  shorten  its  duration.  Every- 
thing depends  then  on  keeping  lands 
fully  productive  and  on  adopting  good 
practices  in  cutting  and  utilization. 

Of  the  12  Western  States,  California, 
Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  and  New 
Mexico  have  regulatory  laws  govern- 
ing cutting  practices  on  private  lands. 
The  laws  vary  in  regard  to  forestry  re- 
quirements and  administration.  They 
are  more  effective  in  some  States  than 
in  others,  and  within  States  the  require- 
ments in  some  timber  types  are  more 
satisfactory  from  the  standpoint  of  as- 
suring continued  productivity  than  in 
other  timber  types.  They  establish 
minimum  requirements — a  floor  below 
which  operators  may  not  go.  They  do 
not  assure  sustained  yield.  It  takes  vol- 
ume control  as  well  as  good  cutting 
practices  to  do  that.  A  maximum  for- 
est productivity  can  only  result  from 
more  intensive  practices,  which  de- 
pend, to  a  large  extent,  on  individual 
private  initiative.  Notable  progress  has 
been  made,  but  universal  adoption  of 
the  best  cutting  practices  is  hampered 
by  several  factors. 


Private  Forestry  in  the  West 


277 


Probably  the  basic  explanation  is  no 
different  here  than  it  is  elsewhere — the 
adoption  of  forestry  practices  means  a 
break  with  the  traditional  way  of 
doing  things.  But  a  few  factors  are 
peculiar  to  the  West:  Western  forest 
properties  are  characteristically  moun- 
tainous and  relatively  inaccessible, 
larger,  uninhabited,  and  valuable 
chiefly  for  growing  trees.  Usually  the 
properties  are  owned  by  the  opera- 
tors— mill  operators  or  logging  con- 
tractors. The  timber  in  the  virgin 
forest  is  large,  heavy  equipment  is 
required,  and  roads  that  cost  $20,000 
or  more  a  mile  sometimes  must  be  built 
and  maintained  to  move  the  timber. 
Such  are  the  factors  that  have  discour- 
aged frequent  returns  to  an  area  to 
make  successive  light  cuts,  to  salvage 
dying  trees,  to  recover  the  values  in 
trees  left  for  seed.  The  tendency  has 
been  to  remove  all  possible  value  and 
volume  at  the  time  of  the  first  cut  (in 
order  to  reduce  the  fixed  per-acre  cost 
to  a  minimum)  and  be  done  with  the 
area  indefinitely. 

Another  difficulty  stems  from  the 
fact  that  most  operators  do  not  own 
sufficient  timber  for  the  plants  whose 
amortization  and  inflexible  log  require- 
ments dictate  high-level  production. 
They  cannot  or  will  not  curtail  the  cut 
sufficiently  to  prolong  their  life  until 
their  own  and  the  neighboring  cut-over 
lands  produce  another  forest  of  usable 
size.  If  that  were  done,  then  the  proper 
cutting  practices,  the  leaving  of  enough 
reserve  stands,  and  other  forestry 
measures  would  be  matters  of  immedi- 
ate self-interest. 

A  survey  in  1945  attempted  to  ap- 
praise the  treatment  that  was  accorded 
all  forest  land  then  being  operated.  If 
it  were  repeated  now,  it  would  doubt- 
less show  improvement,  but  in  1945  the 
results  left  little  doubt  as  to  the  urgency 
of  the  need  for  better  forestry  prac- 
tices. Five  ratings  were  used:  High 
order,  good,  fair,  poor,  and  destruc- 
tive. In  each  instance,  the  basis  of  rat- 
ings was  productivity  of  the  land  after 
cutting.  A  high-order  rating  required 
the  best  type  of  cutting  to  assure  quan- 


tity and  quality  yields  consistent  with 
the  full  productive  capacity  of  the 
land.  A  destructive  rating  was  applied 
to  land  without  timber  values  and  with- 
out means  for  natural  reproduction. 

The  cutting  practices  on  all  western 
private  timberlands  rated  good  and 
better  on  5  percent  of  the  28,340,000 
acres;  fair  on  34  percent;  poor  on  50 
percent ;  and  destructive  on  1 1  percent. 

Under  the  rating  system  that  was 
used,  the  39  percent  of  operating  area 
rated  at  least  fair  was  a  measure  of 
definite  accomplishment.  It  indicated 
that  much  of  the  area  received  forestry 
treatment  about  as  intensive  as  was 
practicable,  considering  current  eco- 
nomic feasibility.  But  because  the 
criterion  was  productivity  of  the  land 
after  cutting,  regardless  of  economic 
or  other  conditions,  the  fact  that  61 
percent  of  the  cutting  was  in  poor  or 
destructive  classifications  was  indica- 
tive of  the  job  ahead. 

SIGNS  OF  PROGRESS,  however,  are 
at  hand.  Western  operators  have  dealt 
successfully  with  the  problems  of  har- 
vesting big  timber  in  inaccessible  coun- 
try far  from  market.  They  have  forged 
ahead  in  the  development  of  superb 
plants  and  facilities.  Logging  tractors, 
heavy-duty  logging  trucks,  and  road- 
building  machinery  have  set  the  pace 
for  other  sections  of  the  country.  In 
the  mills  that  account  for  most  of  the 
production,  precision  equipment  and 
perfection  of  manufacturing  processes 
produce  products  of  high  quality. 

Efficiency  of  operation  enables  west- 
ern operators  to  compete  in  eastern 
markets  despite  the  higher  wage  and 
freight  rates. 

Also,  there  is  a  growing  conscious- 
ness of  the  need  for  forestry  and  of 
the  opportunities  in  that  field.  Only  a 
few  years  ago  forestry  and  its  termi- 
nology were  the  stock  in  trade  of  a 
few  professional  foresters.  Now  nearly 
every  logger  knows  about  forestry. 

In  1947  some  212  foresters  were  em- 
ployed by  the  private  timber  companies 
in  the  Douglas-fir  region;  44  private 
consulting  forestry  firms  employed  75 


278  Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 

foresters,  who  worked  with  companies      sibilities  is  the  integration  of  the  forest- 
that  did  not  have  their  own  profes-      products  industry— the  installation  of 

a  variety  of  wood-using  plants  in  con- 
junction with  the  ordinary  single-pur- 
sawmill.   The   availability   of 


not  have  their  own 
sional  help;  more  than  130  foresters 
were  employed  by  the  lumber  industry 
in  California,  and  a  smaller  but 
growing  number  of  foresters  worked 
in  Idaho  and  other  Western  States. 

Another  indicator  of  better  days 
ahead  is  the  belated  but  nonetheless 
remarkable  increase  in  many  parts  of 
the  West  in  the  selling  price  of  young 
timber  and  reproducing  lands.  Only 
a  few  years  ago  such  land  was  accorded 
little  or  no  value.  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  it  reverted  to  the 
States  and  counties  for  taxes.  Whether 
bare  or  well  stocked  with  reproduction 
or  poles,  it  all  brought  the  same  price, 
practically  nothing.  So,  owners  were 
denied  the  incentive  they  might  have 
had  to  keep  their  lands  productive. 
Now  that  has  changed.  Many  a  tract 
that  was  abandoned  for  taxes  has  since 
been  bought  back  (frequently  by  the 
original  owner)  for  $4  to  $12  or  more 
an  acre. 

Protection  against  fire  is  being  im- 
proved through  Federal,  State,  and 
private  cooperation.  Almost  all  pri- 
vate forest  land  in  the  Western  States 
is  now  under  protection.  While  serious 
losses  continue  to  be  sustained,  size  and 
frequency  of  fires  have  been  reduced. 

Many  lumber  and  pulp  and  paper 
companies  are  augmenting  their  hold- 
ings and  are  consolidating  ownerships. 
They  are  buying  virgin  timber  to  pro- 
long their  life  in  old-growth  timber 
and  delay  the  day  of  their  dependence 
on  second  growth.  They  are  buying 
second-growth  timber  and  reproducing 
lands  to  increase  ultimate  growth  and 
to  improve  their  distribution  of  age 
classes.  This  large-scale  purchase  of 
reproducing  land  is  one  of  the  best  in- 
dications of  the  serious  intent  of  some 
operators  to  practice  forestry  and  to 
stay  in  business  permanently. 

A  parallel  movement  is  the  growth 
and  development  of  tree  farming.  The 
first  tree  farm  was  established  in  the 
West  in  1941.  It  was  the  forerunner  of 
what  has  become  a  national  program. 

A  new  development  with  great  pos- 


pose  sawmill,  me  avaiiaointy  01  a 
sawmill  to  use  sawlogs,  a  veneer  plant 
for  peeler  logs,  a  pulp  plant  for  pulp 
species,  fiberboard  mills,  pressed-log 
plants,  bark-conversion  plants,  and 
others  to  utilize  waste,  in  an  integrated 
type  of  industry,  gives  the  forest  man- 
ager an  outlet  for  all  that  the  forest 
grows.  There  is  less  compulsion  to  di- 
rect the  plans  and  cutting  of  the  woods 
department  to  conform  to  the  par- 
ticular sizes,  grades,  and  species  of  lum- 
ber that  are  in  big  demand  at  the  time. 
The  forest  manager  can  cut  the  trees 
and  the  areas  that  need  to  be  cut  for 
silvicultural  reasons.  Each  product  of 
the  forest  is  put  to  its  highest  use,  with 
resultant  wider  margins  and  increased 
funds  with  which  to  intensify  forest 
practices.  In  at  least  one  instance  both 
the  raw  material  and  the  various  utili- 
zation processes  are  in  one  ownership. 
In  others  a  single  timber  property  sup- 
plies plants  of  diversified  ownership. 

GHAS.  L.  TEBBE  is  director  of  the 
Northern  Rocky  Mountain  Forest  and 
Range  Experiment  Station.  He  entered 
the  Forest  Service  in  1934  and  became 
assistant  regional  forester  of  the  North 
Pacific  Region  in  1940.  After  gradua- 
tion in  forestry  from  the  University  of 
California,  he  worked  for  a  number 
of  years  in  western  forest  industry  and 
spent  2  years  developing  large  forest 
properties  in  the  Philippine  Islands. 

H.  J.  ANDREWS  has  worked  in  the 
North  Pacific  Region  of  the  Forest 
Service  for  11  years,  first  as  assistant 
regional  forester  and  since  1943  as  re- 
gional forester.  He  was  in  charge  of 
forest  surveys  conducted  by  the  Pacific 
Northwest  Forest  Experiment  Station 
from  1930  to  1938.  Mr.  Andrews  has 
been  employed  by  lumber  companies 
in  the  South,  by  the  Michigan  Depart- 
ment of  Conservation,  and  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  forest  school  faculties  of  the 
University  of  Michigan  and  Iowa  State 
College. 


279 


FORESTRY  ON  LARGE  OWNERSHIPS  IN  THE  SOUTH 


J.  HERBERT  STONE,  CHARLES  F.  EVANS,  W.  R.  HINE 


In  few  places  and  in  few  times  has 
interest  in  growing  trees  as  a  commer- 
cial crop  been  greater  than  it  is  now 
among  the  owners  of  large  private  for- 
ests in  the  South. 

The  reasons  for  this  upsurge  are 
many.  So  are  the  evidences  of  it.  Pulp 
companies,  sawmill  owners,  investment 
corporations,  and  the  larger  woodland 
owners  are  aware  that  trees  have  great 
market  value.  Prices  obtained  are  high 
and  supplies  are  limited.  Public  forests 
have  demonstrated  over  and  over  that 
timber  is  a  crop  that  grows.  Many  for- 
est industries  are  placing  their  holdings 
under  good  forest  management;  in- 
stead of  trying  to  sell  cut-over  land, 
they  are  buying  additional  areas  of 
forest  land;  they  are  teaching  forest 
management  to  their  employees  and  to 
small  owners  from  whom  they  buy  for- 
est products.  Businessmen  in  the  other 
fields,  educators,  legislators,  and  lead- 
ers in  thought  and  action  generally  are 
taking  an  interest  in  the  movement; 
they  also  have  learned  that  timber  is 
one  of  the  South's  great  resources. 

Between  the  Potomac  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
prairies  of  Texas  and  Oklahoma  are 
183  million  acres  of  forest  and  potential 
forest  land — 40  percent  of  the  com- 
mercial forest  land  of  the  country.  Soil 
and  climate,  except  in  limited  areas, 
are  favorable  for  tree  growth. 

FOUR  MAJOR  TOPOGRAPHIC  REGIONS 

are  recognized:  The  mountains,  the 
Piedmont,  the  Coastal  Plains,  and  the 
Delta. 

In  the  mountains,  the  forests  are 
made  up  principally  of  hardwood 
trees,  oaks,  yellow-poplar,  cherry,  and 
others.  The  white  pine  and  hemlock 
occur,  mixed  with  the  better  hard- 
woods in  the  moist  coves.  Spruce  grows 
on  some  of  the  higher,  colder  ridges. 
Shortleaf  pine  and  some  other  pines 
mix  with  the  hardwood  species  on  the 


lower  mountain  slopes.  Rainfall  ranges 
from  60  to  100  inches  a  year.  The 
rough  and  steep  topography  makes  for 
difficult  and  expensive  logging. 

A  substantial  part  of  the  mountain 
forest  area  is  in  public  ownership,  ac- 
quired for  the  purpose  of  controlling 
the  rain  and  snow  that  fall  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  navigable  streams.  Some 
large  areas  remain  in  private  owner- 
ship. The  rest  is  in  small  ownerships, 
strips  of  forest  land  running  from  the 
crop  and  pasture  land  in  the  valley  up 
the  slope  to  the  ridge.  Relatively  slow 
growth  and  higher  costs  of  logging 
make  the  mountain  region  a  little  less 
attractive  to  private  forest  enterprise 
than  the  other  regions. 

The  Piedmont  forests  are  a  mixture 
of  southern  pines  and  upland  hard- 
woods. The  more  prolific  light-seeded 
pines  have  reclaimed  large  areas  aban- 
doned by  agriculture.  At  one  time  or 
another,  90  percent  of  the  Piedmont 
has  been  under  cultivation.  Hard- 
woods, however,  come  in  under  the 
pines,  and  often  with  or  without  the 
help  of  man,  reclaim  the  area.  Therein 
lies  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems. 

Rainfall  in  the  Piedmont  averages 
about  60  inches  annually.  The  topog- 
raphy is  rolling;  logging  is  relatively 
easy  and  inexpensive.  The  heavy  rain- 
fall, frequently  in  severe  downpours, 
and  an  credible  soil,  require  especial 
care  in  locating  log  and  skid  roads  and 
drainage  to  avoid  soil  depletion  and 
damage  to  the  water  resource.  Forest 
holdings  in  the  Piedmont  are  mostly 
small  and  held  as  part  of  the  farm. 

On  the  Coastal  Plains,  forests  are 
predominantly  pine,  including  the  long- 
leaf,  slash,  loblolly,  and  shortleaf.  Also 
included  are  the  bottom-land  hard- 
woods along  the  many  rivers  and  the 
cypress  and  tupelo  in  the  swamps. 

Rainfall  is  heavy — usually  averag- 
ing about  60  inches  along  the  Gulf 
coast  but  dropping  off  gradually  from 


280 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  Mississippi  westward  to  the  treeless 
prairies.  Logging  is  relatively  easy  and 
inexpensive,  except  in  the  swamps  and 
deeper  river  bottoms  and  except  dur- 
ing periods  of  prolonged  rain.  Tree 
growth  is  generally  rapid.  The  large 
private  holdings  of  the  South  are 
mostly  located  in  the  Coastal  Plains 
along  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  in  the  rolling  uplands 
of  Texas,  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  and 
Mississippi.  A  warm  climate,  abund- 
ant rainfall,  and  a  long  growing  season 
assure  excellent  conditions  for  both 
the  establishment  and  growth  of  trees. 
Most  soils  are  reasonably  well  drained 
and  can  store  water  and  plant  nutri- 
ents. Throughout  the  region,  trees  are 
the  paying  crop  for  57  percent  of  the 
land.  With  proper  attention,  this  could 
be  one  of  the  most  productive  timber 
regions  anywhere. 

The  Delta  province  is  that  area 
of  fertile  flood  plain  lying  along  the 
Mississippi  River  and  stretching  from 
southern  Missouri  to  the  Gulf.  It  em- 
braces about  32  million  acres. 

The  forest  is  composed  largely  of 
hardwood  species  and  growth  is  rapid. 
Annual  floods  are  the  rule  in  this  area, 
but  the  water  does  not  remain  on  the 
land  long  enough  to  affect  adversely 
growth  or  the  regeneration.  The  con- 
dition of  annual  floods  is,  however,  an 
obstacle  to  logging.  The  logging  must 
be  done  in  the  summer  and  early  fall. 
Some  years  this  period  is  shortened 
materially  by  the  summer  rains.  The 
heavy,  large-sized  timber  that  is  ob- 
tained from  the  Delta  forests  requires 
a  heavier  and  more  expensive  type  of 
logging  equipment  than  is  ordinarily 
needed  in  the  pine  forests  of  the  South. 

There  are  wide  variations  in  the 
fertility  of  the  Delta  soils.  Many  of 
them,  however,  are  quite  fertile  and 
clearing  for  agriculture  has  been  going 
on  in  the  past.  There  may  be  some  ad- 
ditional clearing  in  the  future  for  this 
purpose.  However,  it  seems  probable 
that  40  to  50  percent  of  the  area  will 
remain  in  forests.  Ownerships  are 
medium  to  large.  There  are  a  number 
of  sawmills  with  ownerships  in  excess 


of  50,000  acres.  Large  farms  or  plan- 
tations are  more  typical  of  the  area 
than  small  ownerships,  and  many  of 
these  plantations  include  forest  areas 
in  excess  of  1,000  acres. 

The  Delta  is  a  productive  timber 
area  and  tree  crops  can  be  made  an 
increasingly  important  part  of  the 
local  economy  with  good  management. 
From  the  standpoint  of  forest  prac- 
tices, it  is  an  area  where  the  forest  is 
least  understood  by  foresters,  and  yet 
forests  can  furnish  substantial  employ- 
ment and  income  to  the  people  and 
forest  products  to  the  Nation.  This 
source  of  employment  looms  more  im- 
portant as  the  mechanization  of  cot- 
ton production  on  the  farms  increases. 

FOREST  INDUSTRIES  are  second  only 
to  agriculture  in  their  contribution  to 
the  economy  of  the  South.  With  a 
product  estimated  to  be  worth  more 
than  2  billion  dollars  annually,  the  in- 
dustry serves  every  citizen.  It  provides 
nearly  every  owner,  large  or  small, 
with  a  market  for  forest  products. 
Wood  cutters,  truck  drivers,  railroad 
men,  sawmill  hands,  and  many  others 
earn  wages  handling  forest  products. 
The  butcher,  the  banker,  and  the  doc- 
tor serve  the  people  who  handle  the 
forest  products.  In  nearly  every  com- 
munity, operating  units  of  the  forest 
industry  employ  workers,  buy  prod- 
ucts, pay  taxes.  The  contribution  is  so 
general  and  so  long-continued  that 
most  people  assume  it  will  always  be 
with  us,  not  realizing  that  the  timber 
resources  on  which  this  vast  industry 
depends  might  play  out. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  South  felt  the  effect  of 
the  Nation's  expansion.  Large  mills 
were  constructed.  They  mowed  down 
the  virgin  timber  on  a  liquidation  basis. 
The  financial  arrangements  of  that 
day  were  predicated  on  the  rapid  and 
the  complete  removal  of  the  standing 
trees;  the  concept  of  timber  as  a  crop 
was  neither  understood  nor  accepted 
by  the  industry.  Gradually,  the  original 
stands  were  cut  over  and,  by  1935,  the 
virgin  timber  had  been  cut. 


Forestry  on  Large  Ownerships  in  the  South 


281 


Hundreds  of  big  mills  had  to  quit. 
Smaller  mills  that  cut  smaller  trees  and 
required  less  volume  a  day  took  over. 
They  cut  the  remnants  and  the  second 
growth  that  had  reached  merchantable 
size  since  the  first  operation.  In  1944, 
we  still  had  18,000  sawmills,  which  cut 
12.6  billion  board  feet,  or  38  percent  of 
the  country's  lumber  for  that  year. 

Most  of  them  are  quite  small.  Eighty- 
two  percent  of  the  mills  produce  less 
than  1  million  board  feet  a  year,  16 
percent  produce  1  to  5  million,  2  per- 
cent produce  5  million  or  more.  The 
sawmill  industry  brings  in  l*/2  billion 
dollars  of  the  South's  total  income. 

The  gum  naval  stores  is  one  of  the 
oldest  industries.  At  its  peak  in  1908—9, 
it  produced  nearly  2  million  drums  of 
gum  rosin;  in  1946—47,  about  a  third 
that  much  was  produced  because  other 
sources  of  turpentine  and  rosin  had 
been  developed  through  destructive 
distillation  of  longleaf  pine  stumps  and 
the  recovery  from  pulp-mill  wastes. 

The  pulp  industry  is  our  newest  large 
forest  industry.  The  first  permanent 
pulp  mill  in  the  South  was  built  by 
the  Carolina  Fibre  Co.  at  Hartsville, 
S.  C.,  in  1891.  Growth  of  the  industry 
was  slow  until  the  early  1930's  but  has 
been  rapid  for  the  past  15  years.  Today, 
one-half  the  pulp  and  one-third  of  the 
paper  of  the  United  States  is  produced 
in  the  South.  Some  50  mills  utilize  8 
million  cords  of  wood  annually.  The 
industry  is  still  expanding. 

Thus  far,  the  industry  has  concen- 
trated on  production  of  kraft  paper. 
The  difficulty  of  obtaining  pulp  and 
the  pulpwood  for  the  manufacture  of 
paper  for  newsprint  and  other  light- 
colored  papers,  however,  is  causing  the 
industry  to  consider  the  South's  possi- 
bilities in  those  fields  also.  The  first 
newsprint  mill  in  the  South,  built  by 
the  Southland  Paper  Co.  at  Lufkin, 
Tex.,  started  production  in  1940.  A 
second  mill  was  started  in  1948. 

The  pulp  and  paper  industry  has 
stimulated  business  in  the  South.  Com- 
munities where  pulp  mills  have  been 
built  have  prospered.  The  industry  has 
invested  more  than  a  billion  dollars  and 


manufactures  products  that  add  500 
million  dollars  to  the  income  of  the 
region.  An  estimated  100,000  persons 
are  employed  directly  in  the  produc- 
tion, transportation,  and  manufacture 
of  wood  pulp. 

Many  other  products  are  obtained 
from  the  forests  and  form  an  important 
part  of  the  raw  material  for  the  forest 
industry — poles,  piling,  cross  ties,  fence 
posts,  fuel  wood,  pipe  bowls,  handles, 
and  furniture  among  them.  Each  is  im- 
portant :  Fuel  wood  is  the  only  heating 
material  available  to  millions  of  south- 
erners, and  is  especially  important  to 
many  tobacco  farmers,  who  use  it  to 
cure  tobacco.  More  oil  is  being  used 
for  heating,  but  the  trend  may  be 
halted  by  limitations  in  the  oil  supply 
and  through  improvements  in  wood- 
burning  equipment.  Mines  must  have 
wood  props.  Electric  companies  must 
have  wooden  poles.  Railroads  must 
have  wooden  cross  ties.  Chemistry  is 
transforming  wood  into  clothing,  cattle 
feed,  plastics,  and  many  other  new 
products.  All  point  up  the  fact  that  the 
welfare  of  the  cities  of  the  South  is 
closely  keyed  to  the  proper  manage- 
ment of  the  timber  resource;  more 
wood  products  mean  more  industry, 
more  industry  means  more  pay  rolls, 
more  pay  rolls  mean  more  business  for 
the  cities. 

FOREST  LANDS  in  the  South  require 
protection  from  uncontrolled  fire.  They 
should  be  so  managed  that  succeeding 
cuts  of  forest  products  will  maintain 
and  build  up  the  growing  stock  of  trees 
for  the  production  of  continuous  crops 
of  forest  products.  A  survey  in  1945, 
made  by  State  and  Federal  foresters, 
shows  how  the  forest  lands  are  being 
protected  and  managed.  On  large  own- 
erships (holdings  of  more  than  5,000 
acres ) ,  fire  protection  was  rated  as  ade- 
quate on  38  percent  and  inadequate  or 
nonexistent  on  the  rest;  cutting  prac- 
tices were  considered  good  on  32  per- 
cent, fair  on  26  percent,  and  poor  on 
42  percent.  On  holdings  of  fewer  than 
5,000  acres,  fire  protection  was  rated 
as  adequate  on  42  percent  and  inade- 


282 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


quate  on  the  rest;  cutting  practices 
were  good  on  2  percent,  only  fair  on  24 
percent,  and  poor  on  74  percent. 

Although  large  holdings  as  a  rule  are 
more  exposed  to  fire  and  the  fires  that 
start  there  are  not  so  easily  controlled, 
the  owners  of  large  holdings  are  doing 
about  as  well  as  the  owners  of  small 
holdings  in  controlling  fires.  Large 
holdings  likewise  show  a  substantially 
better  job  in  harvesting  practices  than 
the  small  private  holdings. 

Less  than  25  years  ago,  thousands  of 
forest  fires  annually  burned  millions  of 
acres  in  the  South.  The  risk  of  losing 
the  accumulated  growth  of  many  years 
through  a  single  fire  kept  prudent  men 
from  attempting  to  practice  forest 
management.  But  with  Federal  and 
State  help,  under  the  Weeks  Law  and 
later  under  the  Clarke-McNary  Law, 
protection  of  the  forest  lands  became 
feasible,  and  gradually  the  larger  hold- 
ings were  placed  under  organized  pro- 
tection under  State  supervision.  Today 
80  percent  of  the  larger  holdings  are 
under  organized  protection,  although 
as  yet  not  all  are  adequately  protected. 
Many  of  the  larger  owners,  recognizing 
the  need  for  more  intensive  protection, 
have  supplemented  the  States'  efforts 
with  extra  men,  tools,  tractors,  plows. 

Seventeen  million  acres  of  large  pri- 
vate holdings  were  rated  in  1944  as 
receiving  adequate  protection  from 
forest  fires.  For  areas  in  the  loblolly- 
shortleaf-hardwood  type,  that  means  a 
burn  of  less  than  1  percent  annually 
over  a  5-year  period.  While  forest  fires 
remain  an  ever-present  threat,  and 
continue  to  take  a  toll  in  wasted  timber 
growth  running  into  millions  of  dollars 
annually,  the  fire  problem  has  been 
solved  to  the  point  where  a  large  owner 
is  reasonably  sure  that  he  can  grow  a 
paying  forest  crop,  provided  he  pays 
the  cost  of  protection,  5  to  10  cents  an 
acre  annually,  and  carries  out  the 
practices  now  recommended. 

One-third  of  the  larger  owners  fol- 
lowed good  cutting  practices  in  1944 — 
meaning  that  the  owner  selected  the 
trees  to  be  cut  from  his  woods  and  left 
trees  in  adequate  number  to  assure 


reasonable  stocking  and  improved  suc- 
ceeding stands.  More  than  3  million 
acres  on  large  ownerships  showed  a 
high  order  of  forest-management  prac- 
tice. 

The  Grossett  Lumber  Co.,  of  Cros- 
sett,  Ark.,  illustrates  how  many  owner- 
ships follow  sound  cutting  practices. 
The  company  is  now  cooperating  with 
the  Arkansas  Forestry  Commission  in 
organized  protection  of  its  500,000 
acres  under  the  Clarke-McNary  Law. 
Besides  the  fire  crews  and  equipment 
available  throughout  the  regular  State 
organization,  the  company  provides 
extra  crews  and  equipment,  as  needed, 
to  the  State's  chief  of  fire  control.  The 
trees  cut  from  the  forest  are  closely 
utilized  in  an  integrated  set  of  plants 
that  produce  lumber,  pulp,  chemicals, 
and  lesser  products.  Nonmerchantable 
trees  are  destroyed  by  girdling  or  poi- 
soning. Bare  and  nonrestocking  lands 
are  replanted  to  trees.  Foresters  direct 
all  woods  operations;  a  forester  is  in 
charge  of  each  block  of  50,000  acres. 

The  more  than  5  million  acres  that 
the  pulp  companies  own  in  the  South 
are  under  organized  fire  control ;  more 
than  three-fourths  are  being  cut  ac- 
cording to  good  or  better  cutting  prac- 
tices, and  the  rest  is  cut  so  as  to  assure 
continuous  crops  of  pulpwood. 

THE  PULP  AND  PAPER  INDUSTRY  USCS 

less  than  10  percent  of  the  timber  taken 
from  the  southern  forests ;  the  demand 
for  wood  has  already  brought  the  sev- 
eral pulp  companies  in  competition 
with  each  other  and  with  other  seg- 
ments of  the  forest  industry.  In  order 
to  assure  adequate  supplies  of  wood,  all 
pulp  companies  have  acquired  a  sub- 
stantial portion  of  the  necessary  forest 
acreage.  Some  are  undoubtedly  in  a 
position  to  grow  their  needs ;  others  are 
not,  and  the  pulp  industry  as  a  whole 
is  not.  Prices  of  forest  lands  have  risen 
materially,  and  the  remaining  large 
blocks  of  forest  land  are  strongly  held. 
A  large  part  of  the  forest  land,  par- 
ticularly that  included  in  the  61  mil- 
lion acres  of  farm  ownership,  is  not 
available  for  purchase. 


Forestry  on  Large  Ownerships  in  the  South 


283 


Several  of  the  pulp  companies  are 
taking  steps  to  bring  all  their  acreage 
into  full  production.  A  new  practice  is 
to  rid  their  lands  of  worthless  trees  by 
girdling  in  order  to  permit  good  young 
trees  to  grow.  The  process,  which  costs 
generally  from  $1  to  $5  an  acre,  is  less 
expensive  than  planting  an  equal  area. 
The  industry  planted  19  million  trees 
on  fee  lands  in  1947-48,  and  furnished 
7  million  seedlings  free  to  growers  of 
pulpwood.  Many  companies  are  plant- 
ing their  idle  lands  as  fast  as  seedlings 
can  be  grown  in  their  own  or  in  State 
nurseries.  An  example  is  the  Gaylord 
Container  Corp.,  which  has  more  than 
50,000  acres  in  plantations. 

The  pulp  industry  also  encourages 
other  private  owners  to  put  their  forest 
lands  under  good  management.  For  ex- 
ample, the  Southern  Kraft  Division  of 
the  International  Paper  Co.  employs 
in  the  South  many  foresters  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  some  of  whom  supervise  the 
cutting  and  forest-improvement  opera- 
tions on  company  lands,  while  the 
others  assist  private  owners  from  whom 
the  company  buys  pulpwood. 

The  Southern  Pulpwood  Conserva- 
tion Association,  whose  membership 
includes  the  leading  pulp  companies  of 
the  South,  carries  on  a  campaign  to 
promote  good  forest  practice  by  its 
member  mills  and  by  the  owners  from 
whom  the  industry  buys  wood.  The 
association  employs  three  foresters  to 
advise  and  assist  pulpwood  contractors 
and  small-woodland  owners  in  better 
cutting  practices.  Member  mills  now 
employ  18  foresters  to  promote  better 
practices  in  their  own  territory. 

The  heavy  demand  for  wood  has 
worked  in  two  ways.  The  favorable 
market  for  pulpwood,  small  sawlogs, 
and  other  small  products  has  shortened 
the  period  an  owner  must  wait  for  his 
returns  and  created  a  market  for  small 
trees.  On  the  other  hand,  the  market 
for  such  small  material  has  led  many 
owners  to  cut  far  more  heavily  than 
before.  Where  the  owner  does  not  cut 
conservatively,  the  net  result  is  to  re- 
duce his  over-all  return  and  to  reduce 
the  total  volume  of  wood  products. 


LARGE  SAWMILL  HOLDINGS  are  often 
under  conservative  forest  management. 
About  90  percent  of  the  holdings  are 
under  organized  protection  from  forest 
fire  and  about  one-half  are  managed 
according  to  good  or  better  cutting 
practices.  The  Urania  Lumber  Co., 
which  in  the  early  1900Js  pioneered  in 
the  practice  of  forestry,  has  succeeded 
so  well  in  its  management  that  its  mill, 
instead  of  cutting  out  as  did  many  of  its 
contemporaries,  must  be  materially  en- 
larged to  harvest  its  current  annual 
growth.  Other  examples  from  all  over 
the  South  could  be  cited;  altogether, 
some  8  million  acres  of  forest  lands  in 
sawmill  ownership  were  reported  as 
under  good  or  better  management  in 
1945;  on  several  million  acres  more, 
practices  have  improved  since  1945. 

In  the  Delta  hardwoods  the  Ander- 
son Tully  Lumber  Company  of  Mem- 
phis owns  more  than  200,000  acres  on 
which  good  forestry  is  being  practiced. 
The  company  is  looking  to  sustained 
operation. 

But  the  sawmill  industry  as  a  whole 
is  not  so  well  off.  On  one-half  of  the 
sawmill  ownership  in  1945  cutting 
practice  was  fair  or  poor — an  inade- 
quate stand,  or  perhaps  only  seedlings 
and  seed  trees  were  left.  The  sawmill 
industry  draws  on  the  entire  South  for 
its  timber.  The  South  was  obliged  to 
cut  24.9  percent  more  timber  of  saw- 
log  size  in  1944  than  it  grew  in  that 
year.  Standing  saw-timber  resources 
have  been  declining  for  many  years. 
The  sawmill  industry  and  other  indus- 
tries that  use  trees  9  inches  in  diameter 
and  larger  at  4J/2  feet  from  the  ground 
face  a  situation  of  declining  timber 
supplies.  Greater  progress  than  we 
have  thus  far  made  is  necessary  if  we 
are  to  continue  to  hold  the  industry  on 
its  present  scale. 

The  naval  stores  industry  likewise  is 
making  progress  in  the  practice  of  bet- 
ter forest  management.  Seventy-nine 
percent  of  the  industry,  based  on  num- 
ber of  working  faces,  is  cooperating 
under  the  Naval  Stores  Conservation 
Program,  which  requires  conservative 
chipping  practices.  Many  operators 


284 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


have  adopted  even  more  progressive 
measures  than  are  required  in  the  pro- 
gram and  are  chipping  only  a  part  of 
the  operable  stand,  leaving  some  trees 
to  grow  to  an  even  larger,  more  profit- 
able size.  Nonrestocking  stands  are  now 
being  planted. 

There  is  a  growing  recognition  of  the 
interdependence  of  one  industry  on  an- 
other. Certain  pulp  companies  sell  trees 
of  sawlog  size  to  the  lumber  industry. 
The  lumber  industry  and  the  naval 
stores  industry  sell  thinning  and  tops 
to  the  pulp  industry,  and  the  naval 
stores  industry  has  an  opportunity  to 
turpentine  a  portion  of  the  trees  used 
by  both  the  sawmills  and  pulp  mills 
prior  to  harvest. 

NONFOREST-INDUSTRY  OWNERS  hold 

about  40  percent  of  the  forest  land  in 
large  holdings ;  they  include  investment 
holdings,  mining  companies,  railroads, 
oil  companies,  game  clubs,  and  indi- 
viduals. Timber  growing  is  a  secondary 
interest  for  most  of  them.  Ownership 
there  is  more  likely  to  change  than 
where  the  land  is  held  by  forest  in- 
dustries. As  a  result,  policies  affecting 
the  timber  resource  vary  greatly  and, 
on  the  whole,  the  timber  resource  is 
less  well  protected  and  managed. 

Even  in  this  group  there  is  progress 
in  forest  management.  The  increasing 
value  of  stumpage  has  brought  added 
returns  and  established  higher  values 
for  land.  The  Tennessee  Goal  &  Iron 
Co.,  recognizing  an  increased  value  for 
the  mine  props  and  other  products  used 
in  its  mining  operations,  has  had  its 
land  under  protection  and  manage- 
ment for  a  number  of  years.  The  At- 
lantic Coast  Line  Railroad  recently 
placed  100,000  acres  of  land  in  south 
Florida  under  protection  and  good 
management.  Game  clubs  have  found 
that,  through  a  reasonable  compro- 
mise, timber  can  be  grown  and  har- 
vested on  lands  devoted  primarily  to 
game.  Investment  companies  have  fre- 
quently found  that  the  timber,  long 
overlooked,  has  managed  to  produce 
a  crop  of  real  value,  one  that  will  re- 
quire consideration  in  the  future  policy 


of  management.  Several  investment 
companies  have  made  agreements  pro- 
viding for  orderly  cutting. 

THE  OUTLOOK  for  private  forestry 
on  large  ownerships  in  the  South  is 
bright.  Markets  for  forest  products  are 
strong  and  bid  fair  to  continue  so  for 
some  years.  The  South  is  entering  a 
period  of  industrial  expansion  and 
needs  much  lumber  for  construction. 
The  pulp  industry,  which  already  pro- 
duces half  the  Nation's  pulp  from 
southern  trees,  is  still  expanding. 
Makers  of  furniture  also  are  moving 
into  the  South.  Not  only  must  the 
South  supply  its  own  needs,  it  must 
continue  to  supply  forest  products  for 
other  users. 

The  South  offers  good  prospects  for 
timber  growing  as  a  business.  A  warm 
climate,  long  growing  season,  and 
ample  rainfall  assure  excellent  growth 
where  soil  and  drainage  are  good.  The 
species  grown  mostly  are  softwoods, 
which  make  up  90  percent  of  the  wood 
in  commerce.  Logging  is  a  relatively 
simple  engineering  operation  and  costs 
are  low.  The  South  has  a  good  trans- 
portation system  and  the  timber  is 
readily  accessible  to  world  markets. 

SOME  PROBLEMS  must  be  faced.  The 
first  is  fire,  but  we  think  the  day  of  fire 
control  throughout  the  South  will  not 
long  be  delayed.  State  legislatures  are 
increasing  the  appropriations  for  the 
work.  Three  of  1 2  Southern  States  have 
authorized  State-wide  fire  control. 

Another  problem  is  regeneration  of 
stands.  Regeneration  through  natural 
seeding  is  generally  well  assured  if 
ample  seed  trees  of  the  right  species 
are  left,  but  over  much  of  the  loblolly- 
shortleaf-hardwood  type,  less  desirable 
hardwoods  often  claim  the  soil  after 
cutting,  and  tend  to  exclude  the  higher- 
yielding  pines.  That  is  especially  true 
in  the  Piedmont  area.  Killing  through 
girdling  is  a  practical  answer  for  a  part 
of  the  region,  but  in  some  areas,  the 
best  answer  has  not  yet  been  found. 
Meanwhile,  good  hardwoods  make  a 
desirable  crop. 


Forestry  on  Large  Ownerships  in  the  South 


285 


Again,  hogs  or  sheep  destroy  all  re- 
production over  large  areas  of  longleaf 
pine  lands.  The  problem  has  now 
been  solved  on  some  areas,  with  satis- 
factory returns  to  the  owner,  through 
fencing  and  planting. 

Some  areas  have  been  so  severely  cut 
over  as  to  preclude  restocking  from  the 
remaining  trees.  Artificial  reforestation 
with  machines  now  does  a  satisfactory 
job  at  a  reasonable  cost.  Several  large 
owners,  as  well  as  many  smaller  ones, 
who  planted  15  and  20  years  ago  have 
already  harvested  thinnings  enough  to 
repay  all  costs  to  date  and  have  excel- 
lent stands  for  future  growth. 

Perhaps  the  most  universal  problem 
is  to  increase  the  stocking  of  high-qual- 
ity trees.  The  timber  stands  today  are 
second-growth.  They  have  sprung  up 
untended.  They  are  a  mixture  of  trees 
of  good  form  and  trees  of  poor  form; 
crowded  trees  and  trees  with  too  much 
space  for  proper  development ;  diseased 
or  scarred  trees  and  healthy,  uninjured 
trees.  The  greatest  single  task  is  to  im- 
prove those  stands  systematically.  It 
will  take  several  cuts  over  the  years. 

More  skilled  forest  managers  are 
needed.  They  can  help  landowners  to 
increase  average  rates  of  about  150 
board  feet  an  acre  a  year  to  400  board 
feet  an  acre  on  good  land.  Skilled  man- 
agement can  be  expected  to  increase 
the  quality  also. 

While  the  prospect  for  improved 
forest  management  on  large  private 
ownerships  is  bright,  there  is  no  basis 
for  complacency.  No  large  segment  of 
the  forest  industry  owns  enough  land  to 
supply  its  own  needs  for  forest  prod- 
ucts. Currently,  the  South  is  cutting  25 
percent  more  timber  of  sawlog  size 
than  is  being  grown.  The  sawmill  in- 
dustry, with  less  than  10  percent  of  the 
forest  land,  cannot  hope  to  produce 
more  than  a  fraction  of  its  timber  re- 
quirements, even  if  all  its  holdings 
were  under  intensive  management. 
While  individual  mills  or  companies 
may  be  able  to  grow  their  own  needs, 
the  forest  industry  as  a  whole  is  de- 
pendent on  the  122  million  acres  in 
small  private  holdings. 


If  the  present  trend  of  overcutting 
and  deterioration  continues,  we  may 
expect  a  pinching  off  of  the  industries 
using  sawlog-size  trees.  It  is  possible 
that  the  same  trend  continued  may  cur- 
tail operations  even  for  the  industries 
using  the  smaller-sized  trees.  Certainly 
there  will  be  much  keener  competition. 
Shortage  of  timber  supplies  and  un- 
reasonably high  prices  for  forest  prod- 
ucts will  lead  to  the  use  of  substitutes. 
Both  tend  to  reduce  and  curtail  the 
forest  industry  and  its  services  to  the 
South  and  the  Nation. 

Large  ownerships  can  serve  their 
own  interests  and  the  interests  of  the 
areas  from  which  they  draw  forest 
products  by  placing  their  own  holdings 
under  high-order  protection  and  man- 
agement. Through  their  work,  they 
can  lead  others  to  an  appreciation  of 
good  forest  practices.  Second,  and  per- 
haps of  more  significance,  they  should 
follow  good  forestry  practices  when 
cutting  forest  products  from  the  lands 
of  others.  Finally,  in  the  interest  of  as- 
suring ample  supplies  of  wood  as  a 
basic  raw  material,  large-forest  owners 
should  support  programs  of  education 
and  service  that  are  designed  to  help 
the  1,500,000  owners  of  the  small- 
woodland  tracts  on  which  the  industry 
depends  for  75  percent  of  its  raw  forest 
products. 

J.  HERBERT  STONE  is  regional  for- 
ester in  charge  of  Forest  Service  activ- 
ities, except  research,  in  the  Southern 
Region.  He  is  a  native  of  Connecticut 
and  holds  degrees  in  forestry  from  Yale 
University. 

CHARLES  F.  EVANS,  a  native  of  Wis- 
consin, is  assistant  regional  forester  in 
charge  of  cooperative  forestry  work  in 
the  Southern  Region  of  the  Forest 
Service.  Mr.  Evans  holds  degrees  from 
the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  Yale 
University. 

W.  R.  HINE  is  in  charge  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Information  and  Education  of 
the  Southern  Region  of  the  Forest 
Service.  He  is  a  native  of  New  York 
and  holds  a  degree  in  forestry  from 
Cornell  University. 


286 


NAVAL  STORES:  THE  INDUSTRY 


JAY  WARD 


Naval  stores  are  the  derivatives  of 
the  crude  gum — oleoresin — that  comes 
from  living  pine  trees,  pine  stumps, 
and  dead  lightwood.  Some  are  byprod- 
ucts from  sulfate  pulp  mills.  The  term 
is  limited  generally  to  turpentine  and 
rosin,  but  it  can  be  said  to  cover  pine 
tar,  pine  oil,  and  rosin  oils.  In  the  trade, 
the  product  from  living  pine  trees  is 
known  as  gum  naval  stores;  the  prod- 
uct from  stumps,  lightwood,  and  pulp 
mills  is  called  wood  naval  stores.  In 
Colonial  days,  gum  was  cooked  down 
to  a  thick  tar  and  used  to  preserve  the 
ropes  and  calk  the  seams  of  the  ships — 
and  from  that  we  got  the  name  "naval 
stores"  for  the  products  used  now  in  a 
hundred  ways  unconnected  with  ships. 

The  gum  naval  stores  industry,  at  its 
peak  in  1908-9,  produced  750,000  bar- 
rels (50  gallons  each)  of  gum  spirits  of 
turpentine  and  1,998,400  drums  of  gum 
rosin  (520  pounds  net  weight  each). 
The  United  States  in  normal  times  sup- 
plies the  world  with  one-half  its  needs 
for  turpentine  and  rosin.  Since  1938, 
the  production  of  gum  naval  stores  has 
fallen  off  considerably.  The  industry  in 
1947-48  produced  294,028  barrels  of 
turpentine  and  828,128  drums  of  rosin, 
bringing  a  total  return  to  the  South  of 
39  million  dollars. 

The  naval  stores  industry  is  rooted 
in  antiquity.  It  antedates  the  Christian 
era  in  the  Mediterranean  countries. 
Early  historians  wrote  of  the  process 
then  used:  How  the  natives  gathered 
the  resins  or  gums  of  the  trees  in  that 
region  and  cooked  them  in  open  pots 
until  a  thick  pitch  was  left  in  the  bot- 
tom; how  they  stretched  fleecy  sheep- 
skins over  the  tops  of  the  pots  to  catch 
the  oily  vapors  that  arose  from  the 
boiling  gum,  and  then  wrung  out  the 
wet  fleece  to  recover  the  oils ;  and  how 
the  oils  were  used  in  many  products, 
one  of  which  was  for  varnish  for  mum- 
mies. Genesis  records  that  Noah  was 
commanded  by  the  Lord :  "Make  thee 


an  ark  of  gopher  wood;  rooms  shalt 
thou  make  in  the  ark,  and  shalt  pitch 
it  within  and  without  with  pitch." 

When  Columbus  discovered  Amer- 
ica, the  center  of  production  in  Europe 
extended  from  Scandinavia  through 
the  Baltic  countries.  From  them  came 
quantities  of  tar  and  pitch  for  use  by 
the  fleets  of  wooden  sailing  vessels  of 
all  the  European  nations.  King  Phillip 
of  Spain  drew  from  this  source  for 
his  Spanish  Armada.  Queen  Elizabeth 
drew  from  it  for  her  British  fleet.  One 
of  the  basic  commodities  sought  by  the 
Europeans  in  the  New  World  was  a 
source  of  naval  stores  for  their  ships. 

Turpentining  is  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  picturesque  of  American  in- 
dustries. The  production  of  tar,  pitch, 
rosin,  and  turpentine  started  when 
the  first  settlers  landed  on  the  Atlan- 
tic coast.  The  report  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh's  first  expedition  to  America  in 
1584  referred  to  "the  great  forests  of 
pine  of  species  unknown  to  Europe 
until  found  in  the  New  World."  The 
report  of  the  second  expedition  men- 
tioned once  again  "the  trees  that 
yielded  pitch,  tar,  rosin,  and  turpen- 
tine in  great  store." 

In  1608  eight  Dutchmen  were  sent 
to  Virginia  to  make  pitch,  tar,  soap, 
and  rosin.  Two  years  earlier,  in  1606, 
the  French  were  drawing  turpentine 
gum  from  the  trees  of  Nova  Scotia.  In 
The  Maine  Woods,  Thoreau  told  about 
the  tar  burners  of  New  England.  One 
of  the  earliest  acts  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  was  to  request  in  1628  that 
"men  skylful  in  the  making  of  pitch" 
be  sent  to  them  from  England.  The 
Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay  Col- 
onies produced  great  quantities  of  tar 
and  pitch  from  their  beginning  as 
colonies,  as  did  all  the  other  North 
Atlantic  colonies  from  Maine  to  New 
Jersey.  The  first  tar  burners  in  New 
England  and  later  on  in  North  Caro- 
lina used  the  dead  and  down  wood,  or, 


Naval  Stores:  The  Industry 


287 


the  dead  down  lightwood,  which  they 
found  in  large  quantities  in  the  virgin 
forests  all  about  them. 

Colonists  began  coming  in  large 
numbers  to  North  Carolina  about 
1665,  and  tar  burning,  a  practice  which 
until  then  had  been  a  New  England 
monopoly,  began  to  take  hold  quickly. 
The  new  settlers  in  North  Carolina, 
moreover,  soon  discovered  that  the 
abundant  growth  of  southern  yellow, 
or  longleaf,  pine  was  a  more  prolific 
source  of  gum  than  the  pitch  pine  of 
New  England.  By  1700  the  production 
of  naval  stores  was  an  important  part 
of  the  economy  of  North  Carolina.  As 
in  New  England,  gum,  tar,  and  pitch 
became  established  as  accepted  media 
of  exchange  in  the  payment  of  rent  and 
public  dues. 

So  important  did  England  consider 
her  source  of  naval  stores  in  the  Col- 
onies that  bounties  and  premiums 
were  paid  to  producers  to  stimulate 
production  and  improve  the  quality  of 
the  products.  The  bounties,  which  were 
designed  to  equalize  the  heavy  freight 
costs  across  the  Atlantic  in  competi- 
tion with  the  Scandinavian  and  other 
European  producers,  continued  to  be 
paid  until  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  In  1728  the  British  Navi- 
gation Acts  prohibited  the  Colonies 
from  shipping  direct  to  any  foreign 
country  pitch,  tar,  and  the  crude  gum, 
along  with  other  specified  commodi- 
ties. The  laws  required  the  routing  of 
such  commodities  through  English 
ports.  Measures  for  the  regulation  of 
the  industry  and  for  the  payment  of 
bounties  were  introduced  by  the  Royal 
Governor  of  North  Carolina:  In  1735, 
providing  for  inspection  of  the  opera- 
tions; in  1736,  prohibiting  the  en- 
croachment of  tar  burners  on  crown 
lands;  and  in  1764,  regulating  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  all  tar,  pitch, 
and  turpentine  barreled  and  sold,  even 
requiring  the  producer's  brand  on  all 
barrels. 

When  the  Colonies  became  a  Nation 
that  was  trying  to  establish  itself  in 
world  affairs  and  build  up  trade  with 
other  nations,  naval  stores  had  a  signifi- 


cant role  in  merchant  shipping.  Naval 
stores  served  as  a  tribute  with  which 
we  bought  partial  safety  for  our  vessels 
on  the  seas,  especially  in  the  Barbary 
States  of  North  Africa.  In  1815  the 
States,  with  force,  overcame  the  pirates 
of  Tripoli,  Tunis,  and  Algiers,  and 
ceased  paying  the  tribute. 

THE  AREA  OF  PRODUCTION  of  gum 
naval  stores  has  shifted  through  the 
years.  The  first  change  from  New  Eng- 
land southward  came  about  when  it 
was  found  that  the  longleaf  pine  trees 
were  better  yielders  than  the  pitch  pine 
of  New  England.  In  1850,  North  Caro- 
lina and  South  Carolina  accounted  for 
more  than  95  percent  of  the  total 
American  production.  The  Carolinas 
did  not  keep  up  this  yield,  and  in  1947 
they  accounted  for  less  than  half  of  1 
percent  of  the  total  production.  The 
shift  was  brought  about  by  the  clear 
cutting  of  the  virgin  stands  in  those 
States  without  leaving  enough  seed 
trees  for  reproduction.  Such  exploita- 
tion of  the  virgin  forests  continued 
southward  and  westward  through  all 
the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States 
into  eastern  Texas. 

As  late  as  1920,  it  was  generally 
thought  and  officially  predicted  that 
within  another  10  years  gum  produc- 
tion in  this  country  would  be  practi- 
cally at  an  end.  That  belief,  probably 
more  than  anything  else,  gave  rise  to 
the  development  of  the  wood  naval 
stores  industry.  Nature,  however,  has 
confounded  the  experts ;  instead  of  the 
failure  of  reforestation  in  the  deep 
South,  second-growth  longleaf  and 
slash  pines  have  abounded  to  an  extent 
that  indicates  that  the  production  of 
gum  naval  stores  can  continue  indefi- 
nitely. The  major  part  of  our  pro- 
duction the  past  several  years  has  come 
from  about  150  counties  in  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  and  Louisiana.  Southern 
Georgia  and  northern  Florida  produce 
more  than  90  percent  of  the  total. 

During  the  seventeenth  and  eight- 
eenth centuries,  the  crude  gum  was 
gathered  in  the  woods,  shipped  to  the 


288 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


eastern  seaports  of  Wilmington,  Phila- 
delphia, and  New  York,  and  forwarded 
to  England  for  distillation.  The  tech- 
nique in  the  woods  consisted  in  what 
is  known  as  the  "boxing"  system.  By 
that  system,  a  cavity  or  "box"  was  cut 
into  the  base  of  the  tree  to  catch  and 
hold  the  crude  gum  as  it  flowed  down 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  after  scarification 
or  "chipping,"  which,  then  as  now,  was 
performed  with  a  chipping  tool  or  hack 
on  each  tree  or  "face"  weekly  from 
about  March  15  until  October  or  No- 
vember. The  boxing  type  of  operation 
continued  until  the  early  part  of  the 
twentieth  century.  It  was  then  found 
that,  because  of  the  smaller  diameter 
of  the  second-growth  pines,  some  im- 
provements would  have  to  be  made. 

Experiments  conducted  in  1901  and 
1902  by  Dr.  Charles  H.  Herty  led  to 
the  adoption  of  the  cup  and  gutter 
system,  which  is  still  being  used.  Ante- 
dating the  work  of  Dr.  Herty,  W.  W. 
Ashe  conducted  experiments  at  Bla- 
denboro,  N.  C.,  in  1894  in  an  effort  to 
demonstrate  the  advantages  of  using 
cups  and  gutters  over  the  practice  of 
boxing  the  trees. 

The  crude  cast-iron  retorts  that  were 
used  in  the  early  distillation  process 
gave  a  poor  quality  of  product  because 
of  the  reaction  from  the  iron  and  be- 
cause no  water  was  added  to  the  gum. 
About  1834  copper-pot  stills  were  in- 
troduced. They  were  partly  enclosed  by 
brick  work  and  the  heat  was  applied 
directly  from  wood  fires.  Water  was 
added  to  the  gum;  when  heat  was  ap- 
plied a  separation  of  the  gum  took 
place.  The  condensed  vapors  produced 
the  turpentine,  and  the  residue  in  the 
still  produced  rosin.  The  turpentine, 
combined  with  water,  was  drawn  off 
from  the  still  and  was  passed  through 
a  simple  dehydrator  that  contained 
rock  salt.  After  this  separation,  the  tur- 
pentine was  run  into  barrels  or  tank 
cars  for  shipment,  or  into  large  tanks 
for  storage.  The  melted  rosin  was  then 
drawn  off  from  the  base  of  the  still  and 
passed  through  the  wire  strainers  and 
layers  of  cotton  batting  attached  to  the 
wire  screen.  The  rosin,  still  hot,  was 


packed  in  barrels  or  drums,  or  in  thick 
paper  bags  for  marketing. 

A  naval  stores  experiment  station 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  was  established  at 
Olustee,  Fla.,  in  1932.  The  station 
has  developed  better  gum-distillation 
methods  and  has  done  much  to  foster 
the  establishment  of  large  central  dis- 
tillation plants,  an  idea  that  originated 
with  McGarvey  Gline,  a  former  direc- 
tor of  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory. 
The  first  central  plant  was  completed 
by  the  Glidden  Co.,  in  1934,  in  Jack- 
sonville, Fla.  In  1948  about  30  such 
plants,  strategically  located  through 
the  naval  stores  belt,  processed  more 
than  80  percent  of  all  the  gum.  They 
have  displaced  all  but  about  100  of  the 
small  old-time  backwoods  fire  stills, 
about  1,300  of  which  were  scattered 
throughout  the  piney  woods  in  1933. 

CENTRAL  DISTILLATION  means  a  more 
uniform  product,  better  packaging, 
and  improved  facilities  for  distribu- 
tion. The  central  plants,  by  providing 
a  ready  cash  market,  have  opened  the 
way  for  the  smaller  owner  of  timber  to 
work  his  own  timber  rather  than  lease 
it  to  the  old-time  large  commercial 
operators.  The  owner  thus  gets  a  better 
profit  from  this  byproduct  of  his  forest. 
Forest  conservation  is  another  result. 

The  change  to  central  distillation 
has  had  a  part  also  in  breaking  down 
the  old  factorage  system  of  financing. 
Because  working  out  a  turpentine  place 
took  many  years,  an  operator  rarely 
could  get  credit  from  the  commercial 
banks.  Usually  the  large  amounts  of 
money  required  to  set  up  and  maintain 
a  commercial  turpentine  operation 
were  supplied  by  a  few  large  quasi- 
banking  institutions  known  as  factors, 
who  extended  credit  for  the  payment 
of  leases  on  turpentine  timber  (usually 
for  a  minimum  of  4  years) ,  for  the  pur- 
chase of  livestock,  trucks,  cups,  tins, 
and  for  advances  to  pay  wages. 

Most  of  the  factors  also  operated 
wholesale  grocery  and  supply  depart- 
ments from  which  food,  stock  feed, 
clothing,  and  other  supplies  were  fur- 


Naval  Stores:  The  Industry 


289 


nished  to  the  operator.  In  turn,  the  op- 
erator would  set  up  his  own  commis- 
sary, from  which  he  would  dole  out 
rations  to  his  woods  and  still  workers. 
The  factors  were  protected  by  a  blan- 
ket mortgage  and  usually  by  an  insur- 
ance policy  on  the  life  of  the  operator. 
The  operator  had  to  deliver  all  the 
turpentine  and  rosin  he  produced  to 
the  factor  as  his  selling  agent.  The  de- 
liveries were  usually  made  to  a  storage 
yard,  where  the  operator  would  get  a 
warehouse  receipt  to  be  turned  over  to 
the  factor. 

Although  the  factor  charged  a  liberal 
commission  and  initial  storage  and  in- 
surance charges,  his  services  as  sales 
agent  were  often  simply  paper  trans- 
actions. Under  this  system  the  factors 
had  a  controlling  influence  on  the  en- 
tire gum  naval  stores  industry.  Their 
profits  were  large,  but  the  risks  they 
took  were  great  and  many  bad-debt 
losses  were  incurred.  This  feudalistic 
pattern  of  financing  was  bitterly  criti- 
cized, but  it  seemed  to  be  the  only 
system  that  could  be  devised  under  the 
circumstances;  without  it,  the  industry 
hardly  could  have  survived. 

Tar  burning,  which  was  practiced  in 
New  England,  prevails  in  a  few  places 
in  South  Carolina,  Florida,  and  Louisi- 
ana, the  methods  there  being  much  the 
same  as  in  Colonial  times.  Lightwood 
is  stacked  and  covered  with  dirt  (and 
sometimes  with  sheet  iron)  to  make  a 
kiln.  A  hole  is  dug  in  the  firm  ground, 
or,  sometimes,  a  concrete  base  is  pro- 
vided for  catching  the  pine  tar  that 
flows  from  the  slowly  burning  timbers. 
A  residue  of  charcoal  is  left. 

The  process  has  an  improved,  mod- 
ern counterpart  in  destructive  distilla- 
tion, in  which  the  wood — pine  stumps 
and  dead  down  lightwood — is  placed 
in  a  retort.  Heat  applied  to  the  retort 
gives  both  a  light  oil  distillate  and  a 
heavy  oil  or  pine  tar  oil  distillate.  The 
light  oil  distillate  is  refined  to  make 
DD  wood  turpentine,  dipentene,  and 
pine  oil;  the  heavy  oil  distillate  is  re- 
fined to  produce  various  types  of  oils 
to  meet  specific  needs  for  insecticides, 
plasticizers,  soaps,  pharmaceuticals. 

802062°— 49 20 


In  the  steam-solvent  process,  the 
stumps  are  hogged,  or  ground,  and 
placed  in  heated  digesters.  Live  steam 
is  introduced  and  the  more  volatile 
components  are  carried  off  and  con- 
densed. Later  they  are  refined  by  frac- 
tional distillation  into  steam-distilled 
wood  turpentine  and  pine  oil.  The 
remaining  shredded  resinous  wood  is 
treated  with  a  mineral-oil  solvent, 
which  dissolves  the  rosin  and  the  high- 
boiling  liquid  products.  The  solution 
is  clarified  and  the  solvent  is  evapo- 
rated, leaving  a  residue  of  wood  rosin. 
The  extracted  wood  is  used  for  fuel  or 
paper  pulp.  A  variation  of  the  steam- 
solvent  process  consists  of  first  extract- 
ing the  turpentine,  rosin,  and  pine  oil 
with  a  suitable  solvent,  and  then  sepa- 
rating those  products  by  fractional  dis- 
tillation with  steam. 

Sulfate  wood  turpentine  is  recovered 
by  condensing  the  vapors  that  are  re- 
leased from  the  pulping  digesters  in  the 
production  of  pulp  from  pine  wood  by 
the  sulfate  process  of  making  paper. 
The  crude  byproduct  is  heavily  con- 
taminated with  sulfur  compounds, 
which  are  removed  by  chemical  treat- 
ment and  fractional  distillation.  The 
refined  byproduct  is  marketed  as  sul- 
fate wood  turpentine.  The  spent  cook- 
ing liquor  obtained  in  this  method  of 
making  paper  pulp,  commonly  called 
black  liquor,  is  treated  to  recover  a 
mixture  of  fatty  and  resin  acids  known 
as  tall  oil  or  liquid  rosin. 

OF  10,000-ODD  PRODUCERS  of  gum, 
more  than  7,000  are  small  gum  farmers 
who  work  less  than  one  crop  of  turpen- 
tine faces  on  farm  wood  lots  (a  crop 
consists  of  10,000  faces).  Fewer  than 
2  percent  are  commercial  operators 
who  work  more  than  10  crops.  In  1947 
only  55  operated  more  than  20  crops. 

The  old-time  commercial  operator 
worked  leased  timber  almost  exclu- 
sively; sometimes  in  the  past  a  turpen- 
tining operation  would  be  made  up  of 
leased  timber  from  as  many  as  300  or 
400  separate  owners.  Most  of  these 
larger  producers'  operations  are  now 
confined  to  large  corporately  owned 


290 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


tracts.  One  of  the  largest  of  these  tracts 
in  the  naval  stores  belt,  for  instance,  is 
the  Suwanee  Forest  of  the  Superior 
Pine  Products  Co.,  at  Fargo,  Ga.  The 
tract  contains  209,000  acres  of  timber, 
which  has  been  efficiently  managed  for 
more  than  20  years.  The  naval  stores 
operations  on  the  tract  have  been  con- 
ducted by  Harley  Langdale,  of  Val- 
dosta,  Ga.  Besides  this  acreage,  Judge 
Langdale  works  other  leased  lands  and 
fee-owned  lands,  and  is  regarded  as  the 
largest  producer  of  gum  naval  stores. 

More  than  20  years  ago  the  Sessoms 
Land  &  Lumber  Co.  acquired  a  tract 
of  about  80,000  acres  in  Clinch  and 
adjoining  counties  of  Georgia.  Among 
those  who  joined  Alex  K.  Sessoms,  of 
Cogdell,  Ga.,  in  establishing  this  tim- 
ber-management unit  was  Austin  Gary 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  to 
whom  goes  great  credit  for  developing 
good  forestry  practices  in  the  naval 
stores  belt.  The  tract  has  been  operated 
for  naval  stores  by  three  brothers,  Rob- 
ert, Gordon,  and  Clarence  Newton, 
who  are  the  third  generation  of  New- 
tons  to  engage  in  the  industry,  and  who 
now  operate  three  large  units  in 
Georgia  and  one  in  Mississippi. 

Another  large  holding  is  that  of  the 
Tennessee  Coal  &  Iron  Co.  in  southern 
Alabama.  For  several  years  it  has  been 
operated  on  a  lease  basis  by  the  Stall- 
worth  family  of  Mobile. 

Another  firm  that  has  managed  ex- 
pertly large  timber  holdings  is  the 
Brunswick-Peninsula  Corp.,  of  Bruns- 
wick, Ga.  It  was  founded  by  the  late 
R.  E.  Benedict,  a  professional  forester 
who  had  worked  for  the  Forest  Service 
and  the  Canadian  Forestry  Commis- 
sion, and  M.  L.  Rue,  who  is  now  the 
head  of  the  enterprise.  They  purchased 
110,000  acres  of  timberland  25  years 
ago  in  Glynn,  Wayne,  Brantley,  Ware, 
and  Clinch  Counties  in  Georgia  with 
the  main  aim  of  producing  naval  stores. 

Among  others  who  also  have  con- 
tributed toward  improved  conditions 
in  the  industry  are  W.  B.  Gillican,  of 
Homerville,  Ga.,  who,  in  a  lifetime  as- 
sociation with  it,  has  exerted  a  whole- 
some influence  on  practically  every 


phase  of  the  industry;  Turpentine  and 
Rosin  Factors,  Inc.,  of  Jacksonville, 
Fla.,  which  for  many  years  has  been 
a  large  factorage  house  and  which  has 
since  become  a  large  distributor  of  tur- 
pentine in  convenient  and  attractive 
containers;  the  factorage-dealer  con- 
cerns of  Taylor,  Lowenstein  &  Co.,  of 
Mobile,  Ala.,  and  the  Peninsula-Lur- 
ton  Co.,  of  Pensacola,  Fla.,  which  oper- 
ate central  distillation  plants;  the 
Columbia  Naval  Stores  Co.,  of  Savan- 
nah, Ga.,  which  for  many  years  was  a 
large  dealer  organization  and  now 
operates  several  central  distillation 
plants;  James  Fowler,  of  Soperton,  Ga., 
who  started  planting  forest  trees  on  his 
14,000-acre  cropland  plantation  in 
1925  and  is  now  a  foremost  individual 
planter  of  tree  seedlings ;  and  the  Gillis 
family,  also  of  Soperton  and  among 
the  pioneers  in  forest-tree  planting. 

Each  of  the  pulp  mills  established  in 
the  South  in  the  past  several  years  has 
acquired  large  tracts  of  timber  to  in- 
sure a  continuing  supply  of  pulpwood. 
The  holdings  range  from  50,000  to 
600,000  acres.  It  is  believed  that  the 
firms  plan  to  lease  the  properties  to  ex- 
perienced turpentine  operators,  who 
will  manage  them  properly,  before  final 
harvesting.  In  that  way  the  forests  will 
serve  the  multiple  purpose  of  providing 
naval  stores,  poles,  piling,  and  lumber, 
besides  pulpwood ;  complete  utilization 
of  the  timberlands  will  lessen  the  waste 
that  would  result  from  their  use  as  a 
single-crop  operation. 

The  gum  naval  stores  industry  has 
always  been  generally  classified  as  a 
low-wage  industry.  In  public  hearings 
in  1933  it  was  brought  out  that  the 
average  worker's  income  was  less  than 
$6  a  week.  As  late  as  1940,  the  average 
wage  of  chippers  was  $7.50  a  week; 
in  1948  it  was  about  $32. 

Besides  the  increase  in  earnings,  im- 
provements have  been  made  in  the  past 
several  years  in  the  living  quarters  fur- 
nished the  turpentine  woods  workers. 
Instead  of  miserable  cabins  with  only 
clapboard  shutters  for  windows,  many 
workers  now  live  in  better  cabins  that 
have  glass  windows  and  electricity. 


Naval  Stores:  The  Forests 


291 


MANY  OF  THE  IMPROVEMENTS  in  the 
methods  of  production,  processing,  and 
marketing  gum  naval  stores  have  re- 
sulted from  experimental  and  research 
work  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Besides  the  ones  I  have  mentioned, 
better  chipping  methods  have  come 
from  demonstrations  that  the  narrower 
and  lighter  streaks  will  produce  just  as 
much  gum  and  will  help  conserve  tim- 
ber. A  method  has  been  developed  for 
the  application  of  acid  stimulants  to 
freshly  streaked  turpentine  faces  to 
prolong  the  gum  flow.  With  that  de- 
velopment came  a  bark-chipping  hack 
and  a  satisfactory  device  for  the  appli- 
cation of  acid.  Other  experiments  look 
to  greater  mechanization  in  turpentin- 
ing practices.  Another  project  now  in 
progress  seeks  to  develop  a  high-yield- 
ing strain  of  turpentine  pines.  Under 
Federal-State  cooperation,  nurseries 
have  been  established  to  provide  plant- 


ing stock;  from  the  nurseries  in  the 
naval  stores  belt,  many  millions  of  seed- 
lings have  been  supplied  to  owners  of 
turpentine  timber.  Interest  is  increasing 
in  the  establishment  of  planted  turpen- 
tine orchards. 

JAY  WARD,  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
came  to  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture as  a  marketing  specialist  with  the 
Agricultural  Adjustment  Administra- 
tion in  1933.  From  1936  until  his  re- 
tirement in  October  1948,  he  was  in 
charge  of  the  Naval  Stores  Conserva- 
tion Program,  which  was  set  up  in  1936 
under  the  Soil  Conservation  and  Do- 
mestic Allotment  Act  and  adminis- 
tered by  the  Forest  Service.  A  graduate 
of  Benton  College  of  Law  at  St.  Louis, 
he  practiced  law  in  Missouri  and  en- 
gaged in  various  business  enterprises 
before  entering  the  employ  of  the  Fed- 
eral  Government. 


NAVAL  STORES:  THE  FORESTS 

CARL  E.  OSTROM,  JOHN  W.  SQUIRES 


The  naval  stores  belt  extends  across 
the  Coastal  Plain  from  the  Savannah 
River  to  the  Mississippi.  It  is  a  favored 
section  for  growing  forest  crops.  Each 
acre  of  pineland  can  produce  wood 
products,  gum  naval  stores,  and  forage. 
Although  the  soils  in  most  of  the  area 
are  relatively  poor  for  field  crops,  the 
long  growing  season  insures  growth  of 
trees.  The  level  topography  makes  al- 
most every  acre  of  dry  land  accessible 
for  the  easy  removal  of  products.  Tree 
planting  is  cheaper  and  easier  than 
elsewhere  in  the  country. 

Forests  occupy  nearly  three-fourths 
of  the  land  area  in  the  belt.  Forest 
activities  dominate  the  lives  of  scores  of 
counties  and  towns,  especially  in  the 
continuous  forest  areas  of  the  "flat- 
woods,"  or  lower  Coastal  Plain  near 
the  coast.  Rail  and  road  traffic  runs 
heavily  to  pulpwood,  logs,  poles,  gum 
barrels,  rosin  drums,  and  stump  wood. 
Agricultural  crops  mostly  are  of  minor 


importance.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
rural  people  work  in  the  woods,  and  get 
much  of  their  fuel  and  meat  from 
them. 

People  in  the  area  are  especially 
aware  of  the  importance  of  forests  to 
the  future  of  the  South.  Residents  who 
have  watched  slash  pine  stands  or  plan- 
tations spring  up  under  protection  are 
convinced  of  the  importance  of  pine 
forests  to  the  future  of  their  communi- 
ties. Nevertheless,  it  is  quite  clear  that 
these  pine  forests  are  producing  less 
than  half  as  much  as  they  could.  It 
is  obvious  that  doubling  the  size  of  the 
forest  industries  is  the  biggest  thing 
that  could  happen  in  sections  where 
forests  already  provide  the  greatest 
source  of  income. 

The  first  steps  in  doubling  the  forest 
production  in  the  naval  stores  belt  are 
the  rather  elementary  ones  of  fire  pro- 
tection and  tree  planting.  The  size  of 
that  task  is  shown  in  figures  for  Florida, 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


which  contains  half  of  the  44  million 
acres  of  forest  land  in  the  naval  stores 
belt.  In  Florida,  one-half  of  the  land 
is  still  without  fire  protection  and  some 
3  million  acres  are  in  need  of  planting. 
Fire  protection  and  stocking  are  some- 
what better  in  the  naval  stores  section 
of  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi. 
Forest  management  in  the  region  is 
of  great  complexity.  The  forester  does 
not  merely  harvest  ripe  trees;  he  main- 
tains the  flow  of  a  wide  variety  of  prod- 
ucts— naval  stores,  pulpwood,  ties,  logs, 
poles,  piling,  cattle.  For  localized  areas 
in  the  southern  pine  region,  particular- 
ly in  the  heavy  rough  of  Florida,  to  get 
protection  he  usually  must  burn  the 
underbrush  every  few  years,  and  the 
burning,  turpentining,  timber  cutting, 
and  grazing  all  must  be  scheduled 
as  to  time  and  location  so  that  the 
owner  will  realize  the  maximum  net 
income  from  his  forest  property. 

FOREST  MANAGEMENT  in  the  area  is 
still  dominated  by  naval  stores  but  less 
than  before.  The  first  efforts  at  turpen- 
tining second-growth  trees  several  dec- 
ades ago  were  often  ruinous.  A  descrip- 
tion of  an  operation  in  1911  says  that 
trees  as  small  as  5  inches  in  diameter 
were  turpentined,  as  many  "faces" 
were  placed  on  each  tree  as  the  space 
would  allow  and  the  faces  were  started 
high  enough  to  avoid  any  bending 
over,  and  the  wounds  or  "streaks"  were 
an  inch  in  depth  and  height.  After  5 
years  about  half  the  trees  were  dead. 
The  timber  was  cut  and  the  area  was 
abandoned. 

Foresters  and  leaders  of  the  naval 
stores  industry,  seriously  alarmed  over 
the  threat  to  future  timber  supplies 
caused  by  the  premature  and  careless 
turpentining,  in  1924  sent  a  commis- 
sion to  France  and  Spain  to  study  the 
methods  used  there. 

This  constructive  attitude  and  tech- 
nical improvements  developed  by  early 
research  workers  brought  considerable 
progress  in  conservation.  Substitution 
of  the  cup  for  the  "box"  chopped  in 
the  base  of  the  tree  reduced  windthrow 
and  damage  to  the  trees  by  surface 


fires.  It  also  reduced  waste  of  gum  and 
improved  its  quality.  Conversion  of  the 
industry  to  more  conservative  chipping 
practices  gave  higher  sustained  pro- 
duction of  gum,  lowered  mortality  and 
windthrow,  and  increased  the  working 
life  of  the  surviving  trees.  The  practices 
were  demonstrated  on  a  large  scale  in 
national  forests  in  Florida,  where  pro- 
visions written  into  the  leases  required 
producers  to  use  methods  that  reduced 
damage  to  the  trees  and  also  gave  the 
highest  yields  of  gum  over  a  period  of 
several  years. 

The  Naval  Stores  Conservation  Pro- 
gram established  in  1936  provided  for 
a  conservation  payment  per  face  to  pro- 
ducers who  meet  the  standards  of  good 
practice  established  by  foresters  and 
representatives  of  the  industry.  It  has 
been  an  effective  instrument  for  the 
introduction  of  improved  methods  of 
turpentining,  among  them  a  provision 
to  prohibit  tapping  of  trees  under  9 
inches.  Now  only  a  small  fraction  of 
all  trees  tapped  are  smaller  than  the 
recommended  size. 

The  improvements  in  woods  practice 
went  a  long  way  toward  remedying 
unnecessary  wastefulness  and  destruc- 
tion of  individual  trees.  But  one  im- 
provement only  paves  the  way  for 
others.  There  remain  at  least  two 
major  opportunities  for  improvement 
in  turpentining  practices — raising  the 
low  output  per  man  in  harvesting  of 
crude  gum  and  better  integration  of 
turpentining  with  timber  production 
through  systems  of  selective  cupping  in 
place  of  the  diameter-limit  system. 

The  output  per  man  is  considerably 
less  than  it  was  a  century  ago.  In  to- 
day's scattered  stands,  which  average 
about  20  or  30  working  trees  to  the 
acre,  the  turpentine  laborer  spends 
nearly  two-thirds  of  his  time  walking 
from  tree  to  tree  and  only  one-third  of 
his  time  in  productive  work.  Each 
chipper  now  tends  fewer  faces  than  his 
predecessors  did  in  the  more  fully 
stocked  virgin  forest.  Furthermore,  the 
average  turpentined  tree  is  only  10  or 
11  inches  in  diameter;  and  the  yield 
per  tree  is  consequently  much  lower 


Naval  Stores:  The  Forests 


293 


than  from  the  larger,  old-growth  trees. 

During  the  decades  in  which  pro- 
duction per  tree,  per  acre,  and  per 
man  were  declining  in  the  turpentine 
woods,  efficiency  in  the  use  of  labor 
and  introduction  of  mechanical  devices 
were  advancing  steadily  in  the  indus- 
tries that  compete  with  naval  stores  for 
markets  and  manpower.  Those  indus- 
tries captured  more  and  more  of  the 
gum  naval  stores  market.  Gum  naval 
stores  producers  were  unable  to  keep 
enough  workers  in  the  woods  to  meet 
production  goals  during  the  war  and 
the  industry  may  continue  to  lose 
ground  in  the  postwar  competition 
unless  improvements  in  technique  and 
equipment  are  successful  in  raising  the 
efficiency  of  production.  Since  most  of 
the  labor  is  expended  in  producing  raw 
gum  in  the  woods  and  little  is  needed  in 
processing  it,  more  efficient  methods  of 
gum  extraction  and  harvesting  are 
obviously  needed.  For  example,  it  is 
necessary  in  the  traditional  methods  of 
turpentining  to  visit  each  tree  40  times 
a  season  to  produce  a  yield  of  8  or  9 
pounds  of  crude  gum  or  oleoresin. 

Recent  research  has  centered  on  sev- 
eral improvements  that  give  promise 
of  correcting  as  rapidly  as  possible  the 
inefficiency  of  gum  harvesting. 

APPLICATION  OF  ACID  to  the  streak 
to  stimulate  the  flow  of  gum  is  the  most 
promising  new  technique  that  has  been 
developed  since  the  introduction  of  the 
cup  several  decades  ago.  Experiments 
at  the  Lake  City  Branch  of  the  South- 
eastern Forest  Experiment  Station 
have  demonstrated  that  streaks  sprayed 
with  sulfuric  acid  yield  50  to  100  per- 
cent more  gum  than  untreated  streaks. 

Treatment  with  sulfuric  acid  also  ex- 
tends the  normal  period  of  gum  flow 
after  chipping.  As  a  result,  the  streaks 
chipped  every  2  weeks  and  sprayed 
with  acid  produce  as  much  gum  per 
season  as  untreated  streaks  applied  at 
the  usual  weekly  interval.  Although  the 
additional  work  of  spraying  acid  slows 
down  the  chipper  to  about  90  percent 
of  his  usual  speed,  the  longer  chipping 
interval  permits  him  to  work  up  to  80 


percent  more  timber  with  no  sacrifice 
in  yield  per  tree.  In  that  way  a  chipper 
can  increase  his  production  for  the 
season  by  80  percent.  If  the  interval  of 
chipping  and  acid  treatment  is  in- 
creased to  3  weeks,  the  yield  per  tree  is 
somewhat  less,  but  the  greater  number 
of  trees  that  are  worked  under  this  sys- 
tem enables  a  chipper  approximately  to 
double  his  output  of  gum  for  the  year. 
Chemical  stimulation  may  also  help 
to  save  a  portion  of  the  butt  log  for 
timber  production.  Doubling  the  cus- 
tomary chipping  interval  and  applying 
acid  provides  approximately  normal 
annual  gum  yields  while  proceeding 
only  a  little  more  than  one-half  as  high 
up  the  tree.  Or,  in  trees  designated  for 
thinning  or  harvest  cutting,  the  usual 
total  yield  for  the  normal  5-  or  6-year 
life  of  a  face  can  be  obtained  in  a 
shorter  period  of  years  by  chipping  at 
the  customary  interval  but  applying 
acid  in  addition.  Although  sulfuric  acid 
has  a  greater  effect  on  prolongation  of 
gum  flow  than  any  chemical  that  has 
yet  been  tried,  it  is  corrosive  and  must 
be  handled  with  caution.  Research  men 
are  bending  every  effort  to  find  a  gum- 
flow  stimulant  that  will  be  nearly  as 
easy  to  handle  as  water. 

A  NEW  SYSTEM  OF  CHIPPING  involves 

cutting  to  the  usual  height  of  one-half 
inch  but  only  to  the  depth  of  the  outer 
surface  of  the  wood.  If  acid  is  applied, 
the  method  gives  just  as  much  gum  as 
does  application  of  acid  with  the  tra- 
ditional method  of  chipping  one-half 
inch  into  the  wood.  The  new  technique 
of  "bark  chipping"  is  now  in  its  fifth 
year  of  use  by  selected  cooperators  in 
the  industry.  It  requires  less  physical 
effort  than  the  standard  method,  is 
easier  to  teach  to  new  workers,  and 
leaves  the  butt  of  the  tree  in  better  con- 
dition for  utilization.  The  spread  of 
this  new  method  depends  on  the  ac- 
ceptance of  chemical  stimulation,  for, 
without  application  of  acid,  the  yield 
is  less  than  for  the  traditional  chipping. 
A  new  type  of  tool,  or  hack,  has  been 
developed  for  bark  chipping.  This  new 
method  of  taking  off  only  the  bark  pro- 


294 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


vides  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
equipment  research  to  develop  a  me- 
chanical hack.  Although  there  is  always 
room  for  improving  the  equipment 
used  in  bark  chipping  and  acid  treat- 
ment, the  major  drawback  to  use  of 
the  new  techniques  by  untrained  labor- 
ers is  the  shortage  of  men  to  show  them 
how.  Leaders  of  the  industry  are  re- 
ceptive, but  the  solitary  chipper  in  the 
turpentine  woods  is  the  man  who  must 
be  trained  in  the  new  methods  of  work. 

RESEARCH  ON  THE  EQUIPMENT  and 
mechanization  has  been  started  in  re- 
sponse to  a  plea  from  industry.  The 
mechanization  of  competing  industries, 
such  as  the  harvesting  of  pulpwood  and 
of  pine  stumps  for  wood  naval  stores, 
has  left  the  gum  naval  stores  industry 
behind.  Except  for  the  introduction  of 
bark  chipping  and  acid  treatment,  the 
hand  methods  used  in  producing  crude 
gum  have  been  unchanged  for  decades. 

The  first  step  in  the  research  was 
to  meet  the  rather  rigorous  needs  for 
a  shatterproof,  acidproof,  one-hand 
spray  device  for  applying  sulfuric  acid. 
This  need  appears  to  have  been  met 
for  the  present  by  the  introduction  of 
a  sprayer  having  a  bottle  made  of  rub- 
berlike  plastic.  A  simple  squeeze  on  the 
bottle  delivers  a  spray  with  a  minimum 
of  manipulation.  Research  has  been 
started  on  a  combined  chipping  and 
spraying  device  that  will  add  further 
to  the  simplicity  of  acid  treatment  of 
the  faces. 

The  development  of  strains  of  pine 
of  superior  gum-yielding  capacity, 
grown  in  adequately  stocked  planta- 
tions, is  expected  to  bring  the  greatest 
improvement  in  the  long  run  in  effi- 
ciency of  gum  harvesting.  The  parallel 
between  the  possibilities  of  such  planta- 
tions of  southern  pines  and  existing 
plantations  of  superior  strains  of  rub- 
ber and  fruit  trees  is  evident. 

Research  on  the  selection,  vegetative 
propagation,  and  selective  breeding  of 
high-yielding  naval  stores  pines  was 
started  several  years  ago.  Select  strains 
thus  far  isolated  promise  to  provide  at 
least  two  times  the  present  yield  per 


tree;  they  could  be  grown  in  planta- 
tions containing  200  or  more  workable 
trees  to  the  acre  in  place  of  the  present 
average  of  20  or  30  faces  to  the  acre  in 
wild  stands.  Improvements  in  growth 
rate  and  other  tree  characteristics  can 
also  be  expected  from  research  in  this 
field. 

In  respect  to  the  timber  supplies  and 
methods  of  processing  and  marketing, 
the  industry  is  now  in  a  favorable  posi- 
tion to  progress.  The  chief  problems 
in  the  production  phase  are  to  raise 
the  efficiency  of  gum  harvesting  by 
improvements  of  techniques,  to  grow 
adequately  stocked  forests,  and  to  fit 
turpentining  into  its  proper  place  in 
good  forest  management. 

PROGRESS  IN  TIMBER  MANAGEMENT 
has  been  spotty.  By  far  the  largest  part 
of  the  original  58  million  acres  in  the 
naval  stores  belt  was  covered  with 
stands  of  longleaf  pine,  intermingled 
with  slash  pine  in  the  ponds  and  low 
places.  After  the  exploitation  of  the  old 
growth,  new  stands  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  belt  had  a  great  deal  more  slash 
pine  and  will  have  more  and  more  as 
fire  protection  is  extended.  On  the 
driest  soils,  where  longleaf  pine  oc- 
curred with  low-quality  oaks,  the  oaks 
are  now  taking  over.  The  longleaf  pine 
was  culled  out  of  these  stands,  and 
often  did  not  reproduce  itself.  On  the 
better  soils  in  the  western  part,  longleaf 
pine  is  most  at  home  and  will  continue 
to  be  the  major  crop. 

The  first  logging,  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  belt,  was  not  very  close,  and 
enough  seed  trees  were  usually  left  to 
provide  for  restocking.  The  western 
and  southern  parts  were  logged  later 
with  large  equipment.  They  were  cut 
much  closer,  were  often  burned,  and 
vast  areas  did  not  reseed.  They  still 
present  a  tremendous  planting  job. 

However,  it  is  the  wise  management 
of  the  crop  of  second  growth  that  is 
the  major  topic  of  this  discussion. 

Where  fires  are  controlled  and  a  seed 
source  is  present,  slash  pine  seeds  in  at 
a  surprisingly  rapid  rate.  A  dense  young 
stand  of  slash  pine  usually  benefits 


Naval  Stores:  The  Forests 


295 


from  early  thinning  when  the  trees 
are  just  an  inch  or  two  in  diameter.  If 
the  stand  is  thinned  to  600  to  800  trees 
an  acre,  the  trees  will  reach  cordwood 
size  more  rapidly,  and  entrance  into 
the  stand  with  trucks  or  pulpwood  saws 
for  thinning  will  be  greatly  facilitated. 
Thinning  such  stands  mechanically 
with  a  heavy  brush-cutting  roller  has 
been  tried  by  the  National  Turpentine 
&  Pulpwood  Corp.,  of  Jacksonville, 
Fla.,  but  it  is  too  early  to  assess  the 
results. 

Longleaf  pine  ordinarily  seeds  in  less 
densely  than  slash  pine,  and  also  shows 
more  graduation  in  size  of  tree,  so  that 
early  thinnings  are  usually  unnecessary. 

When  a  good  stand  of  turpentine 
pines  gets  to  pulpwood  size,  the  struggle 
for  its  diversion  to  one  of  many  uses 
begins.  In  former  days,  when  the  aver- 
age stand  was  perhaps  20  turpentine 
trees  to  the  acre  and  there  was  no  mar- 
ket for  thinnings,  there  was  not  much 
point  in  turpentining  only  selected 
trees.  Hence  the  custom  arose  of  tur- 
pentining all  the  trees  that  were  large 
enough  to  provide  a  reasonable  flow 
of  gum.  The  custom  was  also  due  to  the 
circumstance  that  most  naval  stores 
producers  then  owned  their  own  tur- 
pentine stills,  and  were  chiefly  inter- 
ested in  producing  enough  gum  to  keep 
these  stills  in  operation. 

The  whole  pattern  of  forestry  has 
changed  since  the  diameter-limit  sys- 
tem came  to  be  the  custom.  We  now 
have  many  plantations  and  dense  nat- 
ural stands  of  slash  pine.  There  will  be 
many  more  in  the  future.  We  now  have 
excellent  markets  for  thinnings,  so  that 
there  is  no  need  to  cut  all  or  nothing. 
Furthermore,  the  recent  conversion 
from  hundreds  of  small  direct-fire  stills 
in  the  woods  to  a  few  dozen  large 
central  processing  plants  has  provided 
a  ready  market  for  gum  produced  by 
independent  operators  and  gum  farm- 
ers. The  latter  usually  own  the  land  and 
have  no  compulsion  to  exploit  their 
timber  too  heavily  for  naval  stores. 

All  of  these  changes  have  made  the 
time  ripe  for  greater  emphasis  on  good 
timber-management  practices  in  the 


naval  stores  region.  The  most  essential 
change  is  to  get  away  from  the  custom 
of  turpentining  every  tree  in  the  stand 
as  soon  as  it  reaches  9  inches  in  diam- 
eter. Any  properly  stocked  naval  stores 
stand  will  need  thinning  or  other  sil- 
vicultural  treatment  at  various  times 
if  it  is  not  to  be  liquidated  at  an  early 
age.  In  any  such  treatment,  the  trees 
to  be  cut  are  determined  on  the  basis 
of  spacing,  form,  and  size.  Diameter- 
limit  cupping  overlooks  spacing  and 
form  and  selects  on  a  basis  of  entirely 
inadequate  information  the  trees  to  be 
cupped  and  cut. 

When  a  properly  stocked  naval 
stores  forest  is  ready  for  cupping,  a 
decision  must  be  made  on  the  type  of 
management  that  will  best  suit  the 
needs  of  the  owner.  The  decision 
arrived  at  will  depend  on  the  owner's 
circumstances,  but  ordinarily  he  will 
be  interested  in  maximum  sustained  in- 
come per  acre  from  the  integrated  pro- 
duction of  wood  and  gum. 

An  improvement  cut  is  the  first  step. 
If  the  trees  to  come  out  in  the  improve- 
ment cut  have  already  been  turpen- 
tined, the  cut  is  made  immediately,  for 
these  "worked-out"  trees  do  not  pay 
their  way  in  timber  growth  and  should 
be  removed. 

If  the  improvement  cut  is  in  untur- 
pentined  trees,  and  if  there  are  enough 
of  them  per  acre,  those  large  enough 
should  be  turpentined  before  they  are 
removed.  Crooked,  forked,  and  excess 
trees  to  be  removed  in  a  thinning  will 
yield  just  as  much  gum  as  the  best 
timber  trees  that  will  usually  be  re- 
served for  later  turpentining. 

Where  the  stand  is  in  good  condition 
the  first  cutting  will  be  a  thinning. 
The  poorest  quality  trees  in  all  crown 
classes  are  removed,  plus  the  addi- 
tional trees  that  should  come  out  to 
provide  best  spacing  of  the  remaining 
stand. 

Since  the  trees  (at  least  the  larger 
ones)  that  are  to  come  out  in  a  thin- 
ning are  ordinarily  to  be  turpentined 
before  removal,  the  selection  of  the 
trees  must  be  done  anywhere  from  2  to 
10  years  in  advance  of  the  cutting.  The 


296 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


length  of  this  period  should  depend  on 
the  time  at  which  the  stand  will  need 
thinning.  If  no  thinning  will  be  re- 
quired for  10  or  20  years,  then  two  or 
even  three  faces  can  be  worked  one 
after  another  on  each  marked  tree.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  the  stand  is  over- 
crowded and  needs  thinning  soon,  the 
trees  can  be  turpentined  heavily  with 
the  use  of  acid  on  one  wide  or  two 
standard  faces  for  1  to  3  years  before 
they  are  removed.  The  number  of  well- 
stocked  natural  and  planted  stands  is 
increasing  rapidly,  and  these  new  tech- 
niques for  rapid  turpentining  in  ad- 
vance of  thinning  in  crowded  stands 
should  become  increasingly  applicable. 

The  best  guide  to  the  need  for  thin- 
ning in  a  southern  pine  stand  is  the 
proportion  of  the  total  height  of  the 
tree  that  is  occupied  by  live  crown. 
The  stand  should  be  so  managed  as 
to  keep  this  proportion  between  30  and 
40  percent  for  wood  production  and 
perhaps  somewhat  nearer  50  percent 
for  maximum  gum  production. 

The  optimum  density  to  be  main- 
tained under  management  in  naval 
stores  stands  of  different  ages  and  on 
different  soils  has  not  yet  been  deter- 
mined. A  rule  of  thumb  for  selecting 
trees  for  cupping  3  to  5  years  in  ad- 
vance of  thinning  is  to  leave  between 
the  reserved  trees  a  space  equal  in  feet 
to  twice  the  average  tree  diameter  in 
inches.  Thus  the  space  between  an  8- 
and  a  12-inch  tree  would  be  about  20 
feet  (10X2),  which  is  also  equal  to 
the  sum  of  the  two  diameters  in  inches. 

Where  selective  cupping  results  in 
tapping  a  smaller  number  of  trees  per 
acre,  it  results  in  some  increase  in  cur- 
rent production  costs.  However,  a 
stand  that  is  dense  enough  for  a  thin- 
ning will  ordinarily  provide  an  accept- 
able number  of  trees  for  turpentining, 
just  as  it  would  for  selective  cutting. 
If  a  loss  of  efficiency  is  occasioned  by 
wider  spacing  in  a  given  selective  cup- 
ping, it  should  be  repaid  with  interest 
in  the  second  cupping  cycle,  when  the 
next  trees  to  be  tapped  will  be  con- 
siderably larger  in  diameter.  A  12-inch 
tree  yields  50  percent  more  gum  than 


a  9-inch  tree,  although  the  increased 
cost  of  turpentining  per  tree  is  negli- 
gible. On  the  Osceola  National  Forest 
northeastern  Florida,  the  plan  of 


n 


management  calls  for  three  successive 
cycles  of  turpentining  before  the  stand 
is  removed.  In  each  cycle,  those  trees 
are  turpentined  which  a  forester  has 
marked  to  come  out  in  the  next  thin- 
ning or  other  cutting. 

In  understocked  stands,  where  thin- 
ning is  not  needed,  the  owner  has  a 
choice  of  deferring  any  turpentining 
until  the  trees  are  larger  and  denser,  or 
cutting  off  the  stand  and  replanting  it, 
or  marking  it  for  a  seed-tree  cutting  to 
get  reproduction.  The  important  pre- 
caution is  that  he  should  not  simply  cup 
every  tree  over  9  inches  without  know- 
ing what  his  next  step  in  stand  manage- 
ment is  to  be. 

The  regeneration  of  the  even-aged 
stands  of  slash  pine  is  no  problem  as 
long  as  there  is  sufficient  seed  source. 
In  longleaf  pine,  regeneration  by  natu- 
ral means  is  a  good  deal  less  certain.  In 
Florida  the  preference  is  toward  leav- 
ing longleaf  seed  trees  in  groups.  Long- 
leaf  pine  seedlings  need  sizable  open- 
ings wherein  to  become  established. 

Repeated  and  untimely  fires  are  the 
worst  enemy  of  reproduction,  and 
many  areas  with  a  seed  source  restock 
rapidly  as  soon  as  they  are  brought 
under  protection.  Other  areas  may 
have  so  much  vegetative  growth  that 
reproduction  is  facilitated  by  using 
carefully  controlled  fire  to  burn  off  the 
accumulated  "rough"  in  advance  of 
seedfall. 

Improvements  in  planting  machines 
and  the  shift  to  more  intensive  forestry 
will  probably  result  in  a  great  increase 
in  forest  planting  in  the  naval  stores 
belt.  In  the  future  the  problem  of 
"nonrestocking  lands"  ought  to  vanish. 

BURNING  THE  WOODS  to  improve  the 
forage  is  common  practice  in  the  naval 
stores  area.  In  the  open-range  sections, 
where  the  law  allows  unrestricted  graz- 
ing of  unfenced  land,  the  landowner 
either  has  to  burn  his  land  or  expect 
others  to  burn  it  for  him.  If  the  land 


Naval  Stores:  The  Forests 


297 


does  go  unburned  for  10  or  15  years, 
the  accumulated  herbaceous  and  the 
shrubby  fuels,  draped  with  large  quan- 
tities of  dead  pine  needles,  make  an 
extremely  hot  and  destructive  fire. 

The  cheapest  way  to  control  this  fire 
hazard  is  by  carefully  controlled  or  pre- 
scribed burning  whenever  it  is  needed. 
Such  burning  provides  the  necessary 
fire  protection  and  forage  and  makes 
the  area  much  more  accessible  and  at- 
tractive to  naval  stores  and  timber 
operators.  Deliberate  burning  is  con- 
trary to  everything  that  foresters 
taught  in  the  recent  past,  but  the  prac- 
tice of  prescribed  burning  has  so  many 
advantages  in  large  portions  of  the  re- 
gion that  a  whole  technique  for  it  has 
been  perfected  and  put  into  use  in  the 
past  few  years,  particularly  in  the  na- 
tional forests  of  Florida  in  the  flatwoods 
section.  The  technique  is  described  in 
publications  of  the  Southern  Forest  Ex- 
periment Station  and  in  an  article  by 
John  W.  Squires  in  the  Journal  of 
Forestry  for  November  1947. 

The  chief  purposes  of  prescribed 
burning  are  usually  to  reduce  the  fire 
hazard  or  to  prepare  the  seedbed  for 
longleaf  pine,  but  it  has  several  other 
uses.  It  may  control  disease  (such  as 
brown  spot  needle  blight  in  longleaf 
pine) ,  improve  the  range,  or  hold  back 
undesirable  vegetation. 

The  first  step  is  to  examine  the  tract 
and  decide  which  places  are  to  be 
burned  in  a  given  year.  The  purpose 
and  type  of  burn  should  be  clearly  de- 
fined in  advance,  and,  on  large  areas, 
maps  should  be  prepared  of  the  part  to 
be  burned.  On  a  large  tract,  the  blocks 
to  be  burned  must  be  selected  in  such 
a  way  as  to  protect  other  areas  from 
wildfires  coming  in  from  the  outside. 
The  burning  should  be  planned  so  that 
it  provides  fresh  forage  where  it  is  most 
needed  in  range  management.  It  must 
also  be  made  to  fit  in  as  well  as  possible 
with  current  naval  stores  operation. 
Burning  should  be  done  just  before  the 
installation  of  new  faces.  Otherwise 
raking  of  the  litter  away  from  the  tur- 
pentined trees  is  usually  essential  to 
prevent  burning  of  inflammable  faces. 


In  slash  pine  areas  particularly,  it 
is  important  to  postpone  burning  on 
reproducing  areas  until  the  young 
stand  becomes  well  established.  Even 
in  larger  stands,  the  interval  between 
burns  must  be  flexible  if  fire  is  to  be 
integrated  properly  with  other  forest 
uses.  Experience  in  the  Florida  flat- 
woods  indicates  that  perhaps  one- 
seventh  of  the  gross  acreage  of  a  large 
tract  will  be  burned  in  a  given  year. 

After  the  selection  of  areas  to  be 
burned,  fire  lines  are  plowed  at  inter- 
vals of  about  600  or  700  feet  at  right 
angles  to  the  particular  wind  direction 
that  is  preferred  for  burning.  The  fire 
is  set  with  a  drip  torch  on  the  down- 
wind side  of  the  strip,  so  that  the  fire 
backs  through  the  area  against  the 
wind.  In  Florida,  the  fires  are  usually 
set  a  day  or  two  after  a  rain  when  there 
is  a  northerly  wind  of  3  to  10  miles 
an  hour. 

Burning  always  does  some  damage. 
The  proper  technique  of  prescribed 
burning  results  in  the  lowest  sum  of 
costs  plus  damages.  On  large  areas  this 
sum  should  amount  to  about  21  cents 
an  acre  for  one  burn,  or  perhaps  3  cents 
an  acre  a  year  when  prorated  to  the 
gross  acreage  of  the  property. 

Although  the  techniques  of  burning 
have  been  worked  out,  there  is  still 
much  to  be  learned  about  fitting  the 
burning  into  an  integrated  pattern  of 
timber  management,  turpentining,  and 
grazing. 

CATTLE  GRAZING  is  more  important 
in  the  rather  open  stands  of  the  naval 
stores  region  than  in  any  other  forest 
region  in  the  East.  Florida,  which  con- 
tains most  of  the  forest  land  in  the 
naval  stores  region,  has  more  beef  cattle 
than  any  other  southern  State  east  of 
the  Mississippi;  many  of  the  cattle 
graze  on  forest  range.  The  cattle  in- 
dustry in  Florida  returns  48  million 
dollars  annually — more  than  the  gum 
naval  stores  industry  brings  to  the 
whole  naval  stores  belt. 

It  is  recognized  that  cattle  grazing 
ordinarily  has  no  detrimental  effects 
on  timber  production  in  the  turpentine 


298 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


belt,  and  actually  is  helpful  in  reducing 
the  fire  hazard.  As  a  practical  matter 
of  fact,  if  an  owner  does  not  graze 
cattle  on  his  own  land  in  the  open 
range  country,  someone  else  will. 

But  despite  the  recognized  place  of 
grazing  in  the  management  of  naval 
stores  forests,  a  great  deal  remains  to  be 
learned  about  integrating  grazing  with 
other  uses  of  the  land.  Present  herd- 
management  practice  is  rather  primi- 
tive. The  cattle  are  usually  grazed 
yearlong  on  the  forest  range,  whereas 
the  forage  in  winter  is  not  sufficiently 
nutritious  to  meet  minimum  needs  of 
the  animals.  The  results  are  small  calf 
crops,  low  calf  weights,  and  high  death 
losses. 

Research  has  shown  the  nutritive 
value  of  the  forest  range  at  each  season 
of  the  year,  and  has  indicated  the  kind, 
amount,  and  timing  of  supplemental 
feeding  that  is  necessary  for  good 
health  of  cattle  on  Coastal  Plain  ranges. 
Research  has  also  shown  that  forest 
range  cattle  need  yearlong  mineral  sup- 
plements, especially  phosphorus.  This 
is  provided  by  a  mixture  of  2  parts 
steamed  bonemeal  to  1  part  salt. 

Supplemental  feeding  may  be  pro- 
vided in  the  form  of  concentrates,  such 
as  cottonseed  meal,  or  by  making  im- 
proved pasture  available  at  seasons 
when  the  nutrient  content  of  the  native 
forage  is  low. 

Where  feasible,  good  herd-manage- 
ment practices  should  be  instituted  to 
maintain  the  quality  of  the  herd  and 
to  limit  calving  to  the  best  time  of  the 
year.  Cross  fences  are  necessary  for 
proper  control  of  the  herd  and  proper 
use  of  the  range,  but  on  poor  land  it 
may  be  difficult  to  demonstrate  the 
soundness  of  such  an  investment. 

THE  PRESSURE  OF  DIFFERENT  USES 

on  the  forest  land  here  has  been  heavy. 
A  decade  or  two  ago  the  mortality  and 
loss  of  growth  resulting  from  turpen- 
tining was  as  great  as  the  total  amount 
of  the  pine  lumber  harvested.  In 
Florida  if  it  had  not  been  for  repeated 
forest  fires — usually  associated  with 
grazing — which  killed  out  the  young 


growth  and  perpetuated  understocked 
stands,  the  State  could  be  producing 
twice  as  much  timber  as  it  now  does. 

In  northeastern  Florida,  by  far  the 
best-timbered  section  of  the  State,  the 
average  growing  stock  is  less  than  5 
cords  an  acre,  and  the  growth  is  one- 
sixth  cord  an  acre  a  year.  The  average 
saw-timber  growth  is  47  board  feet  an 
acre  a  year,  and  the  saw-timber  stand 
is  being  cut  a  good  deal  faster  than  it 
is  growing. 

The  various  pressures  on  the  land  for 
wood,  grass,  and  gum  cannot  simply  be 
removed.  They  must  be  integrated  in 
sound  systems  of  forest-land  manage- 
ment. Turpentining  must  be  done  with 
a  view  to  stand  improvement  and  tim- 
ber production.  Grazing  fires  must  be 
converted  into  systems  of  prescribed 
burning  for  forest  protection.  The 
whole  complex  must  be  worked  into 
a  management  pattern  that  takes  ad- 
vantage of  those  pressures  on  the  land 
for  profit. 

It  is  the  multiple  profit  from  wood, 
gum,  and  grass  that  Capt.  I.  F.  Eld- 
redge,  a  forester,  had  in  mind  when  he 
said:  "Nowhere  in  the  United  States 
are  silvicultural  and  economic  condi- 
tions more  favorable  for  intensive  in- 
dustrial forestry  management  than  in 
the  naval  stores  belt  of  the  Southeast." 

CARL  E.  OSTROM  is  in  charge  of  the 
Lake  City  Branch  of  the  Southeastern 
Forest  Experiment  Station.  Since  1934 
he  has  been  employed  at  several  of  the 
regional  forest  experiment  stations.  His 
work  has  consisted  of  research  in  silvi- 
culture and  regeneration  in  the  North- 
east and  the  Northwest  and  research  in 
naval  stores  production  in  the  South- 
east. 

JOHN  W.  SQUIRES  is  supervisor  of 
national  forests  in  Mississippi.  As  a  boy 
he  lived  in  Louisiana,  and  later,  in  the 
employ  of  the  Forest  Service,  he  was 
stationed  in  Georgia,  Florida,  and  Mis- 
sissippi. As  supervisor  of  the  national 
forests  in  Florida,  he  cooperated  with 
the  experiment  station  at  Lake  City  on 
the  correlation  of  prescribed  burning, 
naval  stores,  and  grazing  activities. 


The  National  Forests 


THE  PEOPLE'S  PROPERTY 

C.  M.  GRANGER 


THE  PEOPLE  of  the  United  States 
own  180  million  acres  in  national 
forests.  A  third  of  the  Nation's  com- 
mercial timber,  a  sixth  of  its  commer- 
cial timberland,  a  large  part  of  the 
summer  ranges  for  western  livestock, 
and  70  percent  of  the  big  game  of  the 
West  are  on  that  land — and  nearly  all 
the  important  sources  of  western  water 
and  most  of  the  recreation  areas. 

There  are  national  forests  in  38 
States,  Alaska,  and  Puerto  Rico;  there 
are  purchase  units — the  seeds  of  na- 
tional forests — in  two  other  States. 
Within  the  outer  boundaries  of  the  for- 
ests are  nearly  230  million  acres,  of 
which  the  Nation  owns  180  million. 

The  national  forests  are  adminis- 
tered by  the  Forest  Service  under  the 
general  direction  of  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture.  Other  bureaus  in  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  and  elsewhere 
in  the  Government  furnish  technical 
advice  on  special  problems,  such  as  the 
control  of  insects  and  tree  diseases  and 
forecasting  of  fire  weather. 

The  drawing  at  the  top  of  this  page  shows 
the  entrance  to  a  national  forest. 


Most  of  the  national  forest  areas  and 
resources  are  in  the  West,  but  the  for- 
ests east  of  the  Great  Plains  have  great 
local  and  regional  importance  because 
of  their  resources  and  their  value  as 
demonstration  areas  for  working  out 
the  solution  to  forest  problems. 

The  national  forests  came  into  be- 
ing in  1891  when  the  people  of  the 
United  States  decided  to  stop  giving 
away  the  Nation's  timberland  as  fast  as 
they  could  and  keep  some  of  it  per- 
manently as  the  people's  forests,  and 
Congress  adopted  an  act  that  empow- 
ered the  President  to  set  aside  forest 
reserves  for  the  purpose  of  "securing 
favorable  conditions  of  waterflows, 
and  to  furnish  a  continuous  supply  of 
timber  for  the  use  and  necessities  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States." 

Beginning  with  Benjamin  Harrison, 
the  various  Presidents  have  established 
national  forests  by  proclamation  under 
the  act,  but  most  of  the  national  forests 
were  proclaimed  by  three  Presidents — 
Harrison,  Cleveland,  and  Theodore 
Roosevelt. 

The  only  large  areas  of  public  land 

299 


300  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

left  in  1891  were  in  the  West.  But  the 
value  of  permanent  Federal  forests  was 
recognized  in  the  East,  so  in  1911  the 
Weeks  Law  was  enacted  to  authorize 
purchase  by  the  Federal  Government 
of  lands  necessary  to  the  protection  of 
the  flow  of  navigable  streams.  The 
Clarke-McNary  Act  of  1924  enlarged 
the  policy  of  the  Weeks  Law  to  include 
the  purchase  of  lands  on  the  watersheds 
of  navigable  streams  for  timber  pro- 
duction. Under  those  acts,  most  of  the 
national  forests  east  of  the  Mississippi 
have  been  established. 

The  national  forests  are  truly  na- 
tional in  both  purpose  and  value.  Many 
States  do  not  produce  enough  timber 
or  the  right  kind  for  their  own  needs, 
and  the  national  forests  help  to  supply 
them.  Water  for  irrigation,  power,  and 
domestic  purposes  in  many  cases  is  sup- 
plied by  streams  that  rise  far  away  in 
national  forests  in  other  States.  The 
lamb  chop  served  in  Chicago  may  have 
come  from  Wyoming's  high  ranges  in 
the  national  forests.  Many  people  from 
the  Midwestern  Plains  spend  their  va- 
cations in  the  cool  national  forests  in 
the  West.  Twenty-five  percent  of  the 
gross  revenues  from  the  sale  of  national 
forest  timber  and  other  commercial 
uses  is  paid  to  the  States  for  distribu- 
tion to  the  counties  in  which  the  na- 
tional forests  lie,  to  be  used  for  roads 
and  schools.  The  fund  is  a  large  part 
of  the  revenue  of  many  counties.  An- 
other 10  percent  is  made  available  to 
the  Forest  Service  to  pay  part  of  the 
cost  of  building  and  maintaining  roads 
and  trails  in  the  national  forests. 

The  forests  yield  a  sizable  income. 
For  the  fiscal  year  that  ended  in  June 
1948,  it  was  more  than  25  million 
dollars.  The  sum  reflects  the  greater 
demand  for  timber  from  the  national 
forests;  in  1940  the  income  was  $5,- 
860,000.  In  that  year,  income  was  48 
percent  of  the  fund  appropriated  for 
the  protection  and  management  of  the 
national  forests;  in  1948  it  was  almost 
100  percent. 

The  national  forests  are  forests  in  the 
larger  sense.  They  are  not  just  areas 
covered  with  trees;  they  are  a  com- 


posite of  trees,  brush,  grass,  water,  wild- 
life, scenery.  Each  of  these  elements  has 
its  own  value;  together  they  give  the 
forest  a  value  much  greater  than  that 
of  a  producer  of  wood. 

By  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  Ag- 
riculture, when  the  national  forests 
were  placed  under  his  administration 
in  1905,  "All  land  is  to  be  devoted  to 
its  most  productive  use  for  the  perma- 
nent good  of  the  whole  people,  and 
not  for  the  temporary  benefit  of  indi- 
viduals or  companies  .  .  .  and  where 
conflicting  interests  must  be  reconciled 
the  question  will  always  be  decided 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  greatest 
good  of  the  greatest  number  in  the 
long  run." 

The  national  forests  are  managed 
on  the  principle  of  multiple  use,  a 
simple  enough  concept  that  often  is 
hard  to  apply  because  of  the  impact  of 
one  use  on  another  and  the  striving  of 
groups  interested  in  one  use  to  get  pri- 
ority for  that  one  use.  The  essence  of 
multiple-use  management  is  to  make 
each  area  yield  the  maximum  number 
of  benefits  and  to  fit  each  use  to  the 
other.  Exclusive  right-of-way  is  given 
to  one  use  only  when  that  use  is  clearly 
dominant. 

Thus,  timber-cutting  practices  may 
have  to  be  varied  from  those  designed 
solely  for  wood  production  in  order  to 
increase  water  yield  or  stabilize  water 
flows.  Similar  variations  occur  where 
recreation  or  scenic  values  are  impor- 
tant. Some  openings  must  be  left  or 
made  in  forests  and  forest  plantations 
to  benefit  the  wildlife.  Grazing  in  the 
South  may  be  fostered  without  hurting 
timber  production  by  proper  manage- 
ment. Grazing  and  wildlife  use  must 
here  and  there  be  adjusted  to  each 
other.  And  so  on. 

Public  understanding  and  support  of 
the  multiple-use  plan  of  management 
has  grown  in  late  years.  When  some 
stockmen  proposed  that  lands  used  for 
grazing  in  the  national  forests  be  sold 
to  the  holders  of  grazing  permits, 
many  people  protested  and  gave  vigor- 
ous endorsement  of  the  multiple  value 
of  the  national  forests. 


The  Peoples  Property 


301 


No  user  of  the  national  forest  gets 
any  vested  right  in  the  property.  Each 
use  has  a  limited  duration.  Privileges 
to  use  are  just  that — privileges,  and 
not  rights  above  those  of  all  the  people, 
who  own  the  forests. 

The  national  forests,  exclusive  of 
those  in  Alaska  and  Puerto  Rico,  con- 
tain 518,417  million  board  feet  of  tim- 
ber, which  is  32  percent  of  the  Nation's 
total.  The  timber  is  managed  on  the 
basis  of  sustained  yield — the  cut  is  re- 
stricted to  the  sustained  productive  ca- 
pacity of  the  management  unit.  The 
system  gives  stability  of  supply  of  forest 
products,  employment,  and  tax  base,  or 
its  equivalent. 

The  timber  is  sold  to  help  supply 
the  local,  regional,  and  national  needs. 
About  25,000  sales  are  made  each  year. 
They  range  from  a  few  dollars'  worth 
to  large  sales  that  involve  100  million 
board  feet  or  more  and  are  valued  at 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  Tim- 
ber for  domestic  use  is  granted  free  in 
small  quantities  to  certain  classes  of 
local  users,  including  farmers.  Many 
farmers  make  an  off-season  business  of 
buying  and  cutting  stumpage  and  sell- 
ing the  products. 

Timber  cutting  is  now  proceeding  at 
the  rate  of  nearly  4  billion  feet  a  year, 
an  increase  from  about  1*4  billion  in 
1939.  The  national  forests  now  supply 
10  percent  or  more  of  the  national  lum- 
ber cut,  plus  large  quantities  of  poles, 
posts,  mining  timbers,  railroad  ties, 
pulpwood,  fuel  wood,  and  Christmas 
trees. 

With  the  sharp  reduction  in  private 
stumpage,  the  demand  for  national  for- 
est timber  is  steadily  increasing.  The 
policy  is  to  make  it  available  just  as 
fast  as  possible,  subject  to  sustained- 
yield  limitations.  Needed  are  an  ex- 
panded system  of  access  roads,  better 
timber  inventories,  management  plans 
to  insure  orderly  sustained-yield  mar- 
keting. That  achieved,  it  is  estimated 
that  the  annual  cut  could  be  increased 
to  about  6  billion  board  feet.  As  forest 
management  becomes  more  intensive, 
including  reforestation  of  about  3*4 
million  acres  of  burned  areas  and  blank 


spots,  the  annual  cut  can  be  further  in- 
creased. 

Of  great  potential  importance  is  the 
national  forest  timber  in  southeastern 
Alaska — 78  billion  board  feet,  mostly 
hemlock  and  spruce,  which  is  partic- 
ularly suited  to  pulp  and  paper  manu- 
facture. It  will  support  a  cut  of  about 
a  billion  board  feet  a  year,  which,  if 
converted  into  newsprint,  would  supply 
about  one-fourth  of  the  Nation's  needs. 
Encouraging  indications  are  at  hand 
that  large-scale  pulp  operations  in 
Alaska  may  soon  be  initiated  under 
favorable  long-term  contracts.  A  pre- 
liminary award  of  one  such  contract 
has  already  been  made. 

Puerto  Rico  has  a  small  national 
forest.  In  that  wood-hungry  country, 
every  tree  in  the  national  forest  has 
great  value,  especially  for  charcoal,  the 
universal  fuel. 

The  Sustained- Yield  Unit  Act  of 
March  29,  1944,  which  provides  for  co- 
operative sustained-yield  units,  affords 
a  means  of  combining  the  management 
of  private  and  public  timber  under  cer- 
tain conditions  so  as  to  insure  good  for- 
estry and  sustained-yield  practice  on 
areas  of  private  forests  where  short- 
term  liquidation  or  inadequate  supply 
for  sustained  yield  would  otherwise 
jeopardize  community  stability.  We  are 
giving  effect  to  this  law  as  fast  as  prac- 
ticable. One  large  unit  has  already  been 
established  under  a  100-year  coopera- 
tive agreement.  About  100  applica- 
tions, formal  and  informal,  were  on  file 
for  processing  in  1948. 

The  existence  of  the  national  forests 
provides  assurance  of  continuity  of  tim- 
ber supply  in  varying  measure  to  many 
communities  and  consumers.  National 
forest  timber  cannot  fully  replace  dis- 
appearing or  curtailed  private  supplies 
of  stumpage,  but  in  many  situations  it 
can  greatly  reduce  the  adverse  conse- 
quences of  private  liquidation. 

NEARLY  THE  WHOLE  irrigated  agri- 
cultural system  in  the  West  depends  on 
water  from  streams  that  rise  in  the  na- 
tional forests,  or  from  underground 
sources  mainly  fed  from  national  forest 


302 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


watersheds.  Almost  every  city  in  the 
mountain  and  coastal  West  derives  its 
water  supply  from  those  streams,  either 
direct  or  through  underground  sources. 
All  power  developments  are  on  streams 
that  rise  in  the  national  forests. 

The  national  forests  occupy  less  of 
the  watershed  area  in  the  eastern  half 
of  the  country,  but  do  include  some  of 
the  important  watersheds. 

Mismanaged  forest  and  range  land 
can  and  does  have  large  adverse  effect 
on  water  flows  in  the  form  of  floods, 
erosion,  and  diminished  supply.  Some 
of  the  largest  reservoirs  in  the  West  are 
silting  up  at  a  rate  that  will  seriously 
diminish  their  storage  capacity  in  less 
than  two  generations.  This  silting  is 
due  in  considerable  part  to  misuse  of 
range  lands  outside  the  national  for- 
ests. The  obvious  serious  consequences 
of  forest  and  range  denudation  gives 
complete  validity  to  conservation  poli- 
cies in  effect  on  the  national  forests — 
even  if  water  alone  were  involved. 

SOME  GRAZING  of  cattle,  sheep,  and 
horses  is  allowed  on  nearly  every  na- 
tional forest,  but  it  is  in  the  West  that 
this  resource  and  its  use  assumes  major 
proportions.  The  national  forest  range 
is  mostly  summer  range  and  comple- 
ments home  ranches  or  ranges  that  pro- 
vide pasturages  the  rest  of  the  year. 
Some  southwest  ranges  are  yearlong. 

National  forest  ranges  in  1947  sup- 
ported 1,247,000  cattle  and  horses 
(mostly  cattle)  and  3,409,000  sheep. 
There  were  21,798  paid  permits  and 
6,762  free  permits,  the  latter  for  small 
numbers  of  milk  cows  or  horses  needed 
for  domestic  purposes.  The  average 
paid  permit  in  the  western  forests  was 
for  67  head  of  cattle  and  horses;  that 
for  sheep,  1,073  head.  Most  permits  run 
for  10  years. 

More  than  800  local  advisory  boards, 
the  representatives  of  permit  holders, 
help  fix  policies  and  programs  and  give 
advice  on  range  administration. 

As  with  timber,  the  policy  is  to  man- 
age the  ranges  on  a  sustained-yield 
basis.  Stocking  must  be  adjusted  to 
grazing  capacity.  Unfortunately  many 


ranges  are  overstocked,  for  several  rea- 
sons, in  spite  of  substantial  reductions 
over  a  long  period.  About  half  of  the 
10,000  range  allotments  require  fur- 
ther adjustments.  They  range  all  the 
way  from  minor  changes  in  methods  of 
management  to  heavy  reductions  in 
the  numbers  of  livestock  and,  in  a  few 
cases,  total  closure  to  grazing  use. 

Before  reductions  are  made,  it  is  the 
policy  to  discuss  the  matter  with  the 
permit  holder,  give  him  a  chance  to 
ride  the  range  with  the  forest  officer, 
and,  if  the  cut  is  heavy,  to  spread  it 
over  several  years. 

Reliance  is  not  placed  on  reductions 
alone  to  relieve  the  overgrazed  ranges. 
Employed  also  is  better  management  of 
the  stock  on  the  range,  more  range  im- 
provements to  facilitate  management 
(fences,  water  developments,  and  the 
like),  reseeding,  and  the  reduction  of 
rodent  damage  and  poisonous  weeds, 
which  prevent  full  use  of  some  ranges. 

The  established  fees  for  grazing  use 
are  based  on  a  comparison  of  the  value 
of  national  forest  ranges  with  what 
stockmen  pay  for  private  and  other 
publicly  owned  ranges,  but  with  liberal 
discounts  that  bring  the  national  forest 
fees  well  below  those  paid  for  other 
comparable  ranges.  Fees  are  adjusted 
each  year  according  to  the  market  price 
of  livestock  the  preceding  year  in  11 
Western  States. 

In  earlier  years,  the  policy  was  to  en- 
courage rather  liberal  redistribution  of 
the  grazing  privilege  to  accommodate 
new  applicants  or  increase  the  permits 
of  those  who  were  permitted  num- 
bers too  small  to  make  anything  like  a 
stable  enterprise.  In  the  interest  of  sta- 
bility of  established  enterprise,  the  pol- 
icy has  been  modified  so  that  for  many 
years  there  has  been  little  redistribu- 
tion, and  none  is  contemplated  during 
the  10-year  permit  period,  that  began 
in  1946,  except  such  as  may  be  possible 
through  limited  reductions  in  permits 
when  an  outfit  sells  out  and  the  prefer- 
ence is  transferred  to  a  successor. 

WILDLIFE  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
major  resources  of  the  national  forests, 


The  People's  Property 


one  that  should  be  given  the  proper 
share  of  attention.  In  the  West,  this  in- 
volves principally  good  management  of 
game  populations  already  existing;  in 
the  South,  it  is  a  matter  of  building  up 
the  resource. 

Unfortunately,  in  many  places  in  the 
West  and  in  the  national  forests  in  the 
Lake  States,  populations  of  deer  and 
elk  have  outgrown  their  food  supplies, 
and  the  first  job  is  to  reduce  the  num- 
bers to  the  carrying  capacity  of  the 
range.  Progress  is  being  made  as  under- 
standing grows  that  wildlife  must  be 
managed  much  like  any  other  crop. 

THE  PRIMARY  INTEREST  of  many  mil- 
lions of  people  in  the  national  forests  is 
related  to  opportunities  for  recreation. 

So,  more  than  4,500  camps  and  pic- 
nic areas  have  been  provided.  Many 
places  have  been  developed  for  swim- 
ming and  boating.  About  240  win- 
ter-sports areas  have  been  fitted  up. 
Resorts  to  accommodate  transient  vis- 
itors are  permitted  in  many  places. 
Organization  camps  to  facilitate  low- 
cost  vacations  are  featured.  About  12,- 
000  summer  homes  are  under  permit. 

FOREST  WILDERNESSES  are  an  im- 
portant and  unique  feature  of  many 
national  forests.  Their  purpose  is  to 
preserve  wild  land  in  its  primitive  con- 
dition, without  roads  or  other  man- 
made  installations  not  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  their  protection. 

The  77  wilderness  areas  range  in  size 
from  1,800,000  to  5,000  acres.  Alto- 
gether they  cover  about  14  million 
acres.  In  them  one  can  go  afoot  or  on 
horseback,  get  far  away  from  the  usual 
evidences  of  civilization,  and  see  coun- 
try as  it  was  when  the  white  man  came. 

Interest  in  preserving  the  integrity 
of  these  wilderness  areas  has  grown 
amazingly.  For  example:  In  1940  a 
hearing  was  held  on  a  proposal  to  make 
a  reservoir  (for  irrigation)  out  of  Lake 
Solitude  in  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  in 
Wyoming.  Few  seemed  to  care  that 
the  proposed  reservoir  would  destroy 
the  beauty  of  Lake  Solitude.  The  plan 
was  deferred  because  of  the  war,  but 


303 

was  brought  up  again  at  another  hear- 
ing in  1948.  Then  the  preponderance 
of  expressed  sentiment  favored  leaving 
Lake  Solitude  in  its  primitive  state  as 
one  of  the  outstanding  features  of  the 
wilderness  area. 

THE  MISCELLANEOUS  USES  of  the 
forests  make  an  almost  endless  list. 
There  are  apiaries  and  fox  farms ;  arti- 
ficial fish  ponds,  where  trout  are  raised 
for  market;  cabins  for  skiing  clubs; 
mineral  springs  for  the  ailing;  trappers' 
cabins;  and  branding  corrals  and 
counting  pens  used  by  the  stockmen. 
Altogether,  nearly  100  different  sorts 
of  uses  are  under  permit — a  total  of 
44,000  permits  that  cover  more  than 
2  million  acres  and  bring  in  around 
$700,000  each  year  to  the  Treasury. 

APPROPRIATIONS  for  the  purchase  of 
land  for  national  forests  have  been 
made  almost  every  year  since  the  en- 
actment of  the  Weeks  Law  in  1911. 
Congress  enacted  a  general  forest-ex- 
change law,  under  which  the  Forest 
Service  may  acquire  forest  land  within 
the  forest  boundaries  by  exchanging 
for  it  other  national  forest  land  or 
national  forest  timber. 

A  number  of  other  bills  authorize  the 
use  of  part  of  the  receipts  from  the 
national  forests  to  acquire  land  within 
the  boundaries.  This  type  of  legislation, 
as  with  the  forest-exchange  acts,  is 
based  on  a  desire  to  consolidate  in  pub- 
lic ownership  most  of  the  privately 
owned  land  within  the  national  forest 
boundaries.  To  further  the  acquisition 
of  such  land,  some  counties  forego 
their  share  of  the  so-called  25-percent 
fund  from  the  part  of  the  receipts  that 
is  used  to  buy  the  land.  Some  com- 
munities in  Utah  have  established  and 
financed  a  special  organization  to  buy 
certain  private  lands  on  their  water- 
sheds and  turn  them  over  for  adminis- 
tration as  part  of  the  national  forests. 

The  principal  purpose  of  acquisition 
by  these  various  means  is  to  place  in 
Government  ownership — that  is,  own- 
ership by  all  citizens — the  forest  lands 
in  or  near  the  national  forests  that  will 


304 

not  be  given  suitable  treatment  in  pri- 
vate ownership  or  that  would  otherwise 
best  promote  the  public  interest  by  be- 
ing publicly  owned — vital  watersheds, 
for  instance,  or  lands  needed  to  round 
out  timber-management  units. 

EFFECTIVE  PROTECTION  of  the  forests 
against  fire,  insects,  and  tree  diseases  is 
mandatory.  To  that  end,  a  highly  de- 
veloped fire-control  organization  in  the 
national  forests  utilizes  many  devices 
to  detect  and  suppress  forest  fires — 
airplanes,  helicopters,  parachutes,  and 
many  more  that  are  less  spectacular. 
We  dare  not  sit  back  and  feel  secure 
because  of  them,  however.  Man-caused 
fires  are  the  principal  source  of  trou- 
ble for  the  whole  country,  and  every 
citizen  has  a  responsibility  to  help 
stamp  out  this  kind  of  carelessness.  It 
is  the  citizen's  forests  that  burn.  Tree- 
killing  insects  and  diseases  take  a  heavy 
toll  of  timber  or  young  growth  each 
year.  Against  them,  too,  we  must  or- 
ganize forces  and  campaigns ;  they  may 
strike  here  today  and  there  tomorrow. 

To  protect  and  use  the  national 
forests,  a  network  of  roads,  trails,  tele- 
phone lines,  radio  channels,  fire  lookout 
towers,  and  other  physical  improve- 
ments is  necessary.  Much  of  it  has  been 
installed,  but  more  is  needed — particu- 
larly the  additional  roads  needed  to 
open  up  the  remaining  large  areas  of 
inaccessible  timber.  When  that  is  done, 
the  rate  of  cutting  on  the  forests  could 
be  increased  at  least  50  percent. 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


A  bulwark  behind  the  national  for- 
ests, as  with  other  forests,  is  research, 
which  has  pointed  the  way  to  the  best 
forestry  practices  in  all  important  as- 
pects of  the  undertaking.  Research 
men  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
and  in  other  agencies  of  the  Govern- 
ment have  contributed  fruitfully  to  the 
struggle  to  combat  fires,  insects,  and 
diseases;  to  the  techniques  of  manag- 
ing the  timber  as  a  crop  and  in  utiliz- 
ing it  most  effectively;  to  the  conserva- 
tive use  and  renewal  of  forest  ranges; 
to  the  safeguarding  of  watersheds ;  and 
in  many  other  fields. 

Much  remains  to  be  done  before  we 
can  feel  that  the  national  forests — this 
"everyman's  empire" — are  handled 
most  frugally  and  most  fruitfully.  To 
say  that  is  not  an  admission  of  failure ; 
it  is  a  way  of  saying  how  great  is  the 
obligation  to  preserve,  protect,  and  de- 
velop these  properties  that  all  Ameri- 
can citizens  own. 

G.  M.  GRANGER  is  assistant  chief  of 
the  Forest  Service,  in  charge  of  national 
forest  administration.  He  is  a  native  of 
Michigan  and  a  graduate  in  forestry  of 
Michigan  Agricultural  College.  He  en- 
tered the  Forest  Service  in  1907,  and 
has  served  successively  as  forest  assist- 
ant, deputy  supervisor,  and  forest 
supervisor  on  national  forests  in  Cali- 
fornia, Colorado,  and  Wyoming,  as 
assistant  regional  forester  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Region,  and  as  regional  for- 
ester for  the  Pacific  Northwest. 


APPALACHIAN  COMEBACK 


M.  A.  MATTOON 


Like  a  strong  backbone,  the  Appa- 
lachians extend  southward  from  New 
England.  They  are  America's  oldest 
mountains,  the  home  of  sturdy  people, 
the  sites  of  some  of  the  newer  national 
forests.  How  the  forests  and  the  people 
are  joined  for  mutual  benefit  is  the 
theme  of  this  article. 

People  first  saw  the  forests  in  the 


early  days  when  Britain,  Holland, 
France,  and  Spain  were  sending  col- 
onists to  our  eastern  seaboard,  and  in- 
trepid men  like  Spottswood,  Boone, 
and  Sevier,  lured  by  tales  of  opportuni- 
ties in  the  great  valley  beyond  the 
mountains,  scaled  the  Blue  Ridge  and 
beheld  range  after  range,  hills  and 
peaks,  as  far  as  eye  could  see.  It  was 


Appalachian  Comeback^ 


305 


the  domain  of  the  Cherokee,  the  Sen- 
eca, the  Gatawba.  In  the  blue  haze, 
the  forest  stretched  unbroken,  chiefly 
hardwood,  with  great  expanses  of  oak, 
chestnut,  yellow-poplar,  cherry,  beech, 
maple,  ash,  white  pine,  hemlock,  and, 
at  higher  elevations,  spruce,  and  fir. 

The  forests  were  first  used  by  the 
men  who  pushed  on  through  the  moun- 
tains and  into  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 
As  the  little  bands  threaded  the  wilder- 
ness trails,  some  saw  their  opportunity 
en  route  and  stayed  behind.  They  made 
clearings  in  the  rich  bottom  lands  at 
the  forks  of  streams  and  reared  their 
families  there.  Later  new  homesteads 
were  carved  from  the  wilderness 
further  "up  the  creek."  The  popula- 
tion grew,  and  people  tended  land, 
turned  out  stock,  and  hunted.  Villages 
grew  into  towns  that  were  built  with 
wood  from  the  forest.  The  great  pop- 
lars, pines,  and  oaks  within  easy  reach 
of  mountain  watercourses  were  rafted 
to  distant  sawmills  for  use  by  the  grow- 
ing Nation  outside  this  fastness. 

The  big  forest  still  stood  in  its  silent 
grandeur,  however;  so  far,  there  had 
been  only  a  nibbling  at  its  edges  or  a 
little  hole  here  and  there  cleared  for 
pasture  or  a  deadening  in  which  to 
grow  corn  for  the  family  at  the  head 
of  a  creek.  It  was  an  immensely  rich 
timber  world  that  contained  the  finest 
hardwood  that  ever  stood;  a  country 
of  endless  beauty,  one  in  which  its  iso- 
lated folk  passed  on  to  their  descend- 
ants of  today  words  and  songs  little 
changed  from  those  of  Elizabethan 
England. 

During  and  after  the  Civil  War,  the 
railroads  began  to  string  the  little  vil- 
lages together.  Railroads  crept  up  the 
valleys  slowly  in  search  of  the  almost 
unlimited  supplies  of  coal.  Oil  brought 
them  into  the  Pennsylvania  highlands. 
As  the  little  balloon-stacked  engines 
rocked  over  the  slender  rails,  the  whis- 
tle warned  of  approaching  doom.  With 
assured  rail  shipment  to  the  outside, 
where  an  expanding  Nation  demanded 
and  got  what  it  needed,  the  stage  was 
set  for  the  coming  of  the  big  sawmills 
into  the  mountains.  They  came,  slowly 

802062° — 49 21 


at  first,  and  then  with  logging  railroads 
of  their  own,  like  locusts.  Handsome 
timber  in  increasing  amounts  fell  to 
the  ax,  but  there  always  seemed  to  be 
more.  Sawmill  towns  sprang  up  in  their 
temporary  ugliness,  thrived,  and  van- 
ished as  the  cutting  moved  on.  Fire 
raged  on  the  heels  of  loggers,  and 
devastation  over  large  areas  seemed 
certain.  When  Europe  burst  into  the 
horror  of  warfare  in  1914,  demands  on 
the  forest  mounted  and  reconstruction 
saw  no  let-up.  So  the  large  sawmills, 
accompanied  by  many  little  sawmills, 
marched  across  the  face  of  the  remain- 
ing Appalachian  wilderness,  and  its 
big  timber  disappeared.  Today,  after 
the  Second  World  War,  a  host  of  little 
mills  is  picking  up  the  scraps  and  eat- 
ing into  thrifty  young  timber  that  will 
be  needed  in  the  future. 

And  the  people  in  this  mountain 
country?  Little  farms  are  strung  along 
the  stream  bottoms  and  at  the  heads  of 
the  creeks.  But  the  country  has  changed 
and  young  folk  like  to  hear  tell  of  the 
days  that  were.  Most  recognize  that  an 
enormous  forest  restoration  task  is 
ahead.  Not  so  many  realize  that  it  has 
already  been  started. 

SHORTLY  AFTER  THE  TURN  of  the 
century,  a  few  far-seeing  men  in  New 
England  and  the  South  noticed  the 
disappearing  forests,  the  damage  to 
soil  and  young  timber  from  fire,  the 
effect  on  stream  flow  and  the  purity 
of  water  supplies.  They  saw  that  those 
things  were  not  good.  After  years  of 
work  with  an  apathetic  public,  success 
crowned  their  efforts,  and  in  1911  the 
Congress  enacted  legislation  whereby  it 
became  possible  for  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment to  purchase  areas  of  wild  lands 
on  the  headwaters  of  the  navigable 
rivers,  and  the  chain  of  national  forests 
in  the  Appalachians  was  born. 

Purchase  of  land  has  been  going  on 
through  the  years  until  now  there  are 
about  6  million  acres  in  public  owner- 
ship under  well-organized  protection 
against  fire,  and  managed  so  that  the 
remaining  resources  can  be  conserved, 
improved,  and  made  to  serve  the  needs 


306 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  local  people  in  greater  abundance. 

This,  of  course,  cannot  be  done  in 
completeness  overnight.  It  is  a  long- 
time task  that  carries  over  several  gen- 
erations, because  recovery  of  the  dam- 
aged soil  and  the  regrowth  of  the  forest 
takes  time.  But  there  is  much  that 
skilled  management  can  do  to  guide 
and  aid  nature  in  the  restoration  proc- 
ess, and  even  in  its  depleted  condition 
the  forest  can  contribute  useful  prod- 
ucts by  the  removal  of  trees  which  will 
improve  growing  conditions  for  those 
left  to  comprise  the  new  forest.  The 
guiding  policy  in  the  management  of 
the  timber  resource  on  these  national 
forests,  then,  is  one  of  improvement, 
of  rebuilding  the  growing  stock,  of  at- 
taining a  maximum  production  from 
the  soil  through  wise  use. 

When  the  white  man  first  came  to 
this  country,  the  forest  was  in  virgin 
condition.  Decay  and  mortality  in  old 
trees  offset  growth.  Immense  wealth 
was  stored  in  the  old  timber,  but  the 
forest  produced  little.  A  productive 
forest  is  a  growing  forest  and  one  in 
which  the  trees  should  be  used  as  they 
reach  maturity.  Now  that  the  country 
is  settled  and  demands  for  wood  in- 
crease, the  new  forest  must  become  a 
wood-producing  factory  instead  of  the 
immense  storehouse  of  timber  first 
seen  by  the  pioneers. 

Forests  are  restored  by  growth.  If 
depletion  is  to  be  gradually  changed  to 
full  production,  the  drain  upon  the 
forest  must  be  less  than  growth.  In 
this  process  the  national  forest  ranger 
is  guided  by  the  general  concept  that 
the  trees  that  offer  the  best  chance  for 
rapid  growth  and  high  value  shall  be 
allowed  to  develop  fully  by  removing 
those  that  are  defective,  of  poor  form, 
or  with  other  undesirable  qualities. 

Many  species  of  trees  grow  in  the 
Appalachian  national  forests,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  trace  the  uses  into  which 
some  of  them  are  processed. 

The  larger  pines  and  hemlocks  are 
turned  into  lumber  that  finds  its  way 
into  farm-building  construction  and 
repair  nearby.  Tops  and  small  trees  go 
into  pulpwood.  Most  of  the  chestnut 


is  cut  into  cordwood  and  trucked  to 
nearby  mills  that  produce  tanning  ex- 
tract; the  spent  chips  are  made  into 
paper.  Hemlock  and  chestnut  oak  bark 
is  also  a  tanning  agent.  Locust  is 
made  into  fence  posts  and  some  is 
turned  into  insulator  pins  for  tele- 
phone and  telegraph  lines.  Choice  ash 
goes  into  ball  bats,  snow  shoes,  tennis 
rackets,  and  tool  handles.  The  oaks  are 
widely  used  for  flooring,  general  con- 
struction, and  furniture.  Especially 
choice  logs  of  the  yellow-poplar,  oak, 
beech,  birch,  and  maple  are  turned 
for  veneer.  Dimension  stock  in  great 
variety  is  made  from  most  hardwoods. 
The  chief  outlet  for  spruce  and  fir  is  in 
pulpwood. 

The  raw  materials  for  some  of  these 
products  are  sometimes  shipped  long 
distances,  but  usually  the  processing 
plants  are  within  easy  trucking  dis- 
tance of  the  forest  by  reason  of  good 
highways  and  the  development  of  the 
forest  road  system.  Many  local  indus- 
tries derive  a  large  part  of  their  raw 
materials  from  the  forests  and,  by  and 
large,  it  is  the  people  who  live  within 
them  or  nearby  who  furnish  these  raw 
materials. 

Because  of  early  indiscriminate  cut- 
ting and  fire,  the  forest  is  not  suited  to 
large-scale  harvesting  operations  today. 
The  volume  of  timber  to  the  acre  is  too 
light  to  support  the  heavy  investments 
necessary  to  large  enterprises.  Mer- 
chantable timber  is  scattered  and  often 
composed  of  remnants  inaccessible  to 
the  big  logging  jobs  of  the  past.  Much 
of  the  area  is  in  young  timber  in  the 
sapling  stage  or  of  pole  size.  Con- 
sequently, sales  of  timber  involve 
relatively  small  amounts  in  each 
transaction  and  are  directed  toward 
utilizing  the  remnants  of  overmature, 
decadent,  old  growth  for  sawlogs  and 
veneer  stock  or  into  thinning  or  im- 
provement-cutting operations  in  young 
timber  for  pulpwood,  chemical  wood, 
and  other  cordwood  products.  Success- 
ful management  requires  the  execution 
of  numerous  small  sales  scattered  over 
wide  areas.  Fortunately,  this  fits  well 
into  the  pattern  of  local  population, 


Appalachian  Comeback^ 


307 


both  as  to  location  and  financial  ability. 

The  result  is  a  system  of  small  sales 
to  many  people  with  limited  resources 
who  can  and  prefer  to  become  timber 
operators,  each  in  his  own  right  rather 
than  leave  the  home  and  work  for 
someone  else.  Such  opportunity  is  in 
harmony  with  the  ingrown  indepen- 
dence and  self-sufficiency  of  mountain 
folk.  Many  of  those  who  live  on  their 
native  acres  farm  during  the  growing 
season  and  get  out  timber  from  the 
forests  after  the  crops  are  in.  Conse- 
quently, there  is  a  growing  clientele  of 
farmer-loggers  who  readily  augment 
their  cash  income  by  timber  work  and 
still  stay  near  their  own  firesides. 

This  interdependence  is  still  further 
sealed  by  the  fact  that  the  protection 
of  the  forest  from  fire  is  not  only  the 
Government's  business  but  the  concern 
of  local  residents,  and  they  automati- 
cally become  the  core  of  the  fire-con- 
trol organization.  This  works  for  close 
relationship  between  the  local  forest 
ranger  and  the  people  in  his  district. 
It  is  interesting  that  these  purchasers 
of  timber  return  again  and  again,  and 
on  some  ranger  districts  as  many  as 
500  small  sales  of  timber  are  made  in 
a  single  year.  Often  the  ranger  has  a 
sizable  waiting  list.  There  are  45  ranger 
districts  in  the  1 1  national  forests  in  the 
Appalachians. 

The  local  small  operator  of  national 
forest  timber  is  not  always  a  farmer. 
Many  are  in  the  wood-processing  bus- 
iness as  their  major  vocation.  Some 
small  lumber  producers  operate  one  or 
more  small  sawmills.  Others  log  ties 
and  mine  timbers  or  cordwood  for  local 
markets  on  a  year-round  basis.  Local 
residents  get  much  of  their  fuel  wood 
from  dead  material  free  of  charge  from 
the  national  forest. 

The  district  ranger  knows  from  his 
inventory  of  the  timber  the  areas  that 
need  treatment  for  improvement  of  the 
forest,  either  through  the  harvesting  of 
mature  and  decadent  trees  or  the  thin- 
ning of  young  stands  so  as  to  increase 
growth.  His  yearly  plan  of  work  in- 
cludes the  sale  of  the  trees  on  such 
areas,  and  it  is  geared  to  the  needs  of 


his  people.  Within  the  allowable  an- 
nual cut  of  his  district,  prescribed  by 
the  long-range  timber-management 
plans  and  the  limitations  of  the  avail- 
able administrative  time  and  money, 
the  annual  sales  program  forms  a  large 
part  of  his  work.  While  he  may  have 
some  large  sales  of  timber  to  the  larger 
operating  companies,  much  of  his  time 
and  effort  is  taken  up  with  the  making 
and  administration  of  small  sales. 

To  ILLUSTRATE  the  handling  of  a 
sale  and  its  place  in  the  local  economy, 
let  us  consider  the  case  of  the  owner 
of  a  mountain  farm  that  is  near  the 
Blue  Ridge  and  almost  surrounded  by 
forest.  The  farmer  and  his  boys  had 
finished  their  fall  work.  He  had  a 
small  sawmill,  a  tractor  for  power,  and 
a  truck.  He  needed  lumber  for  repair 
of  his  buildings ;  a  neighbor  had  spoken 
about  building  a  new  barn,  the  big 
yard  in  town  would  take  any  lumber 
he  could  bring  in,  and  a  paper  mill 
not  far  away  was  buying  pulpwood. 
The  farmer  had  a  market  for  all  wood 
he  could  harvest;  he  knew  of  a  patch 
of  old-growth  timber  a  mile  above  his 
house  on  the  national  forest  and  of  a 
young  stand  of  pole-sized  trees  that 
would  make  pulpwood. 

He  went  to  see  the  ranger,  who  con- 
sulted his  maps  and  records,  and  then 
examined  the  timber.  The  ranger  saw 
that  some  of  the  older  trees  were  ready 
to  be  cut,  and  he  laid  out  the  boundary 
of  the  timber  that  could  be  sold.  He 
selected  the  trees  that  should  be  cut 
and  those  that,  by  reason  of  thrift  and 
quality,  should  be  left  for  future 
growth.  Those  to  be  cut  were  marked, 
the  volume  of  each  was  tallied,  and 
the  stumpage  value  was  calculated, 
based  on  the  difference  between  the 
sale  value  of  the  lumber  and  the  cost 
of  producing  it,  less  a  proper  allow- 
ance to  the  farmer  for  profit  and  risk. 

Because  the  amount  due  the  Gov- 
ernment was  less  than  $500,  no  public 
advertisement  was  required,  and  the 
sale  contract  was  drawn  up  at  once. 
The  farmer  elected  to  pay  for  the  trees 
in  lump  sum.  He  mailed  his  remittance 


308 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


and  soon  after  signed  the  contract. 
Matters  were  cleared  so  he  and  the 
boys  could  start  logging.  The  timber 
would  not  run  his  mill  all  winter,  but 
he  could  keep  it  busy  with  the  logs  his 
neighbors  brought  in  from  their  own 
lands  or  had  purchased  from  forest 
property,  as  he  had.  Also,  the  ranger 
had  told  him  of  a  larger  tract  of  tim- 
ber farther  away;  it  would  be  adver- 
tised shortly,  and  the  farmer  planned 
to  bid  on  that. 

The  stand  of  pole-sized  timber  had 
been  marked  when  the  ranger  was 
working  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
marking  was  designed  to  thin  out  the 
area  and  give  the  best  trees  a  better 
chance  to  grow.  He  estimated  that  100 
cords  could  be  cut.  The  farmer's  boys 
wanted  to  do  it,  but  the  stumpage 
would  cost  them  about  $200.  Because 
they  did  not  have  the  money  to  pay  for 
it  all  at  once,  they  paid  $50  when  they 
signed  the  contract  and  arranged  to  pay 
the  rest  in  installments  when  25  cords 
were  cut  and  stacked  for  measurement 
by  the  ranger.  A  hundred  cords  meant 
50  trips  for  the  farm  truck  to  the  paper 
mill,  where  they  got  about  $15  a  cord. 

SOMETIMES  SUCH  SALES  to  people 
in  the  locality  are  as  small  as  a  single 
tree,  which  can  be  split  into  shingles 
to  cover  a  cow  shed  or  a  few  stringers 
for  a  bridge.  Sometimes  the  sales  are 
for  a  few  fence  posts,  sills,  and  various 
farm  needs.  Again,  the  sales  might  be 
up  to  5  million  board  feet.  For  the 
seven  Appalachian  national  forests 
from  Virginia  and  Kentucky  north,  the 
average  size  of  timber  sales  is  fewer 
than  50,000  board  feet  and  less  than 
60  acres  in  area. 

For  a  given  volume  of  timber  to  be 
cut  annually  on  a  sustained-production 
basis,  the  cost  of  administration  per 
thousand  board  feet  is  higher  when 
many  small  transactions  comprise  the 
annual  cutting  budget.  Nevertheless, 
the  small  sale  in  the  Appalachians  helps 
the  local  people  and  is  useful  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  forest  itself.  Much 
study  has  been  given  to  techniques  and 
methods  of  preparing  and  administer- 


ing this  type  of  timber  sale  to  insure 
good  forestry  practice  at  the  least  cost 
and  still  meet  the  obligations  to  local 
forest  users. 

For  example,  the  scaling  of  logs  or 
the  measurement  of  cordwood  in  small 
amounts  as  produced  by  many  small 
operators  scattered  over  a  wide  terri- 
tory, whenever  the  producer  needs  such 
service,  takes  a  great  deal  of  time  and 
travel.  Through  training  and  practice, 
forest  rangers  can  accurately  measure 
the  amounts  of  usable  products  in  the 
standing  tree  and  at  the  same  time 
mark  the  trees  to  be  cut.  The  necessity 
for  scaling  after  cutting  at  frequent  in- 
tervals is  eliminated,  and  considerable 
time  is  saved.  In  such  sales,  the  op- 
erator is  purchasing  the  merchantable 
contents  of  a  specified  number  of  stand- 
ing trees  estimated  to  contain  a  given 
number  of  thousands  of  board  feet  or 
cords  of  wood,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Purchasers  prefer  the  tree-measure- 
ment method  for  several  reasons,  chief 
among  which  is  the  elimination  of  op- 
erating delays  caused  by  the  inability  of 
a  busy  forest  officer  to  scale  or  measure 
just  when  the  purchaser  is  ready  to  saw 
the  logs  or  haul  the  wood.  The  ranger 
frequently  checks  the  accuracy  of  his 
tree  measurement  by  comparing  his  es- 
timate with  the  outturn  from  selected 
trees  or  with  the  purchaser's  own  meas- 
urement of  what  he  has  cut  from  a 
given  sale. 

Timber  may  be  paid  for  in  install- 
ments in  advance  of  cutting,  a  practice 
that  is  universal  for  larger  sales  in  order 
to  reduce  the  part  of  the  purchaser's 
operating  capital  that  is  tied  up  in 
uncut  stumpage.  For  small  sales  it  is 
practical  to  require  payment  for  stump- 
age  in  lump  sum,  thereby  reducing  the 
cost  connected  with  securing  large 
numbers  of  small  payments  and  the 
accounting  work  connected  with  them. 
Sales  on  a  lump-sum  payment  basis  are 
increasing  in  number,  but  in  making 
small  sales  the  forest  officer  takes  into 
account  the  prospective  purchaser's 
ability  to  pay. 

Throughout  the  chain  of  Appalach- 
ian national  forests,  from  Maine  to 


The  AuSable  Cooperative 


309 


Georgia,  between  50,000  and  10,000  of 
these  small  sales  are  made  annually  to 
local  people.  The  total  enterprise  is 
far-reaching  in  its  benefits.  It  will  con- 
tinue through  the  years.  The  contri- 
butions to  the  well-being  of  many 
country  people  and  to  the  stabilization 
of  local  industries  and  communities 
are  substantial.  By  the  same  token, 
those  people  working  with  their  Gov- 
ernment, but  not  for  it,  observe  the 
gradual  reclothing  of  the  devastated 
slopes  of  their  native  mountains  and 
the  progress  toward  restoration  of  the 
basic  resource  that  nature  placed  there 
in  the  beginning.  They  feel  they  have 
a  part  in  the  process.  No  other  residents 
have  a  greater  interest  in  the  control 


of  forest  fires,  in  the  rehabilitation  of 
fish  and  game,  or  in  other  associated 
benefits  of  well-managed  forest  prop- 
erty than  those  who  make  all  or  a 
part  of  their  living  from  the  products 
harvested  from  it. 

M.  A.  MATTOON  is  the  assistant 
regional  forester  in  charge  of  timber, 
range,  and  wildlife  management  in  the 
Eastern  Region  of  the  Forest  Service. 
After  4  years  as  forester  in  the  Pisgah 
National  Forest  in  North  Carolina,  he 
was  supervisor,  successively,  of  the 
Cherokee  National  Forest  in  Tennes- 
see and  Georgia;  Pisgah  National  For- 
est; and  White  Mountain  National 
Forest  in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine. 


THE  AUSABLE  COOPERATIVE 

JOHN  E.  FRANSON 


The  Huron  National  Forest  is  in  the 
east-central  part  of  the  Lower  Michi- 
gan Peninsula.  It  embraces  some  of  the 
land  that  grew  the  famous  Michigan 
white  pine.  The  present  annual  cut  in 
the  forest  consists  largely  of  jack  pine 
in  scattered  blocks  of  poor  stocking 
and  quality.  The  best  blocks  of  this  re- 
maining timber  were  sold  in  the  1930's 
to  large  pulpwood  operators.  Between 
1938  and  1940,  several  blocks  of  the 
remaining  jack  pine  were  advertised 
for  sale  on  the  Tawas  District.  But — 
for  a  significant  reason  that  gives  point 
to  this  article — no  bids  were  received 
on  those  offers. 

In  an  effort  to  harvest  the  mature 
timber  and  to  establish  a  group  of  local 
experienced  cutters  who  would  receive 
the  benefit  of  part-time  employment  to 
supplement  their  farm  income,  men  in 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  consid- 
ered the  possibility  of  forming  a  co- 
operative. One  was  established  in  1940, 
the  AuSable  Forest  Products  Associa- 
tion, a  nonprofit  organization,  which 
was  incorporated  under  the  State  laws 
as  a  timber-marketing  cooperative  and 
whose  membership  is  restricted  to  resi- 


dents within  or  near  the  Huron  Na- 
tional Forest. 

Before  then,  the  timber  had  been 
sold  by  bid  to  contractors — the  so- 
called  "gyppo"  operators.  Those  con- 
tractors had  recruited  transient  labor, 
some  with  families,  others  single,  who 
would  move  to  the  woods  and  there 
live  in  shacks  or  huts  with  poor  sanita- 
tion and  unsatisfactory  social  condi- 
tions. Wages  paid  to  cutters  were  low ; 
failure  of  the  contractor  to  live  up  to 
the  usual  codes  of  conduct  made  local 
laborers  refuse  to  work  at  pulpwood 
cutting;  and  county  officials  held  the 
operations  to  be  liabilities  because  of 
the  added  drain  on  their  meager  re- 
sources. When  the  work  was  finished, 
some  cutters  and  their  families  re- 
mained to  become  public  charges. 
Worse,  the  sales  to  large  operators  ne- 
gated the  previously  favorable  public 
relationship  with  local  residents  and 
authorities;  the  large  advertised  sales 
were  more  economical  to  administer, 
but  citizens  strongly  objected  to  them 
and  officials  had  to  spend  considerable 
time  in  attempting  to  justify  them. 

For  those  reasons,   and  others,  no 


3io 

bids  had  been  received  on  the  Tawas 
Ranger  District,  even  though  the  mini- 
mum stumpage  was  only  75  cents  a 
standard  cord.  Prospective  bidders 
stated  the  timber  was  too  scattered,  of 
poor  form,  and  too  difficult  to  haul  be- 
cause of  plantation  furrows.  Repeated 
sale  offers  brought  no  better  response, 
but  the  job  of  disposing  of  3,600  cords 
of  jack  pine  a  year  remained. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  men  in  the 
intermingled  small  farming  communi- 
ties in  the  forest  area  needed  more 
money.  Also,  to  help  them,  work  in  the 
woods  needed  to  be  integrated  with  the 
spare  time  of  the  farm  labor,  rather 
than  used  at  the  will  of  the  contractors. 

This  need  for  employment  was  rec- 
ognized in  the  preliminary  discussions, 
and  it  was  thought  a  cooperative  might 
be  the  solution:  Individuals  in  a  co- 
operative would  not  be  too  interested 
in  the  size  of  blocks  of  timber  as  long 
as  a  cord  or  two  could  be  easily  ricked 
together;  a  marketing  agency  could 
overcome  the  objections  of  the  pulp 
companies,  who  would  not  deal  with 
an  operator  who  might  have  only  10  or 
20  cords  to  sell,  and  wages  would  tend 
to  be  higher  without  a  trader  or  con- 
tractor who  would  take  his  commis- 
sion and  profits  and  reduce  unfairly 
the  margin  for  cutting  and  stumpage. 
A  marketing  cooperative,  moreover, 
would  employ  local  labor;  stumpage 
would  be  at  an  appraised  rate,  and  any 
money  remaining  after  expenses  would 
be  returned  to  the  cutters  as  patronage 
refunds;  and  the  serious  objections  of 
local  governing  bodies  would  be  elimi- 
nated. 

Three  meetings  were  held  in  the 
communities  to  explain  the  workings  of 
a  cooperative  and  to  determine  the  at- 
titudes on  such  an  organization.  The 
men  who  attended  the  meetings  ex- 
pressed themselves  in  favor.  The  larger 
paper  companies  agreed  to  buy  the  out- 
put of  the  association.  By-laws  and  arti- 
cles of  incorporation  were  drafted 
and  approved  and  recorded  by  the 
Michigan  Corporation  and  Securities 
Commission.  The  Farm  Security  Ad- 
ministration (now  the  Farmers  Home 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Administration)  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  approved  a  $3,000  unse- 
cured loan. 

Individuals  then  began  cutting  on  a 
sale  of  $500  or  less,  the  amount  that 
is  within  the  ranger's  authorization. 
When  one  man's  output  was  measured, 
the  cooperative  paid  him  the  agreed 
price  with  money  from  the  loan.  The 
first  year's  cut  amounted  to  400  cords 
of  peeled  jack  pine,  valued  at  $3,200 
on  the  railroad  cars. 

The  cut  in  the  second  year,  which 
amounted  to  about  $15,000,  consisted 
of  jack  pine  pulp  and  sawbolts  and 
aspen  pulpwood.  The  third  year's  oper- 
ation was  reduced  to  about  $1,000 
because  exceptionally  heavy  snow  im- 
peded winter  operations.  The  fourth 
year,  however,  100  participating  mem- 
bers sold  timber  worth  $40,000. 

The  first  3  years,  the  ranger  was 
the  elected  secretary-treasurer  of  the 
cooperative,  but  when  the  volume  of 
business  reached  $40,000,  a  part-time 
secretary-treasurer  was  hired  by  the 
board  of  directors  to  keep  the  accounts, 
bill  freight  cars,  and  do  the  general 
clerical  work.  The  ranger  still  admin- 
istered sales,  scaling,  and  hiring  of 
truckers.  In  1946,  a  full-time  secretary- 
treasurer,  experienced  in  woods  work, 
was  hired  to  handle  administration. 

The  cooperative  now  does  an  annual 
business  of  about  $100,000,  has  retired 
the  $3,000  loan,  and  has  $20,000  in 
working  capital  of  undeclared  patron- 
age dividends.  About  25  cutters  and  6 
truckers  depend  upon  the  cooperative 
for  most  of  their  livelihood.  About  75 
part-time  cutters  and  truckers  earn 
supplemental  income.  A  comparison  of 
wages  indicates  the  cooperative  pays 
the  highest  wage  rate  for  comparable 
jobs  in  the  vicinity,  and  about  25  per- 
cent higher  rates  than  pulp  contrac- 
tors. Deep  snow,  which  once  stopped 
work,  is  now  plowed  by  county  em- 
ployees and  paid  for  by  the  association 
at  standard  wages.  Stumpage  rates  and 
the  value  of  the  product  both  have  in- 
creased. Bad  social  conditions  in  the 
woods  have  been  eliminated;  objec- 
tions and  concern  about  conditions 


Evolution  of  Management  on  Chippewa 


have  given  way  to  cooperation  among 
residents  in  other  phases  of  forest  ad- 
ministration, such  as  forest-fire  control. 

Because  most  of  the  timber  has  been 
cut  from  national  forest  lands,  encour- 
agement is  given  to  adding  output  from 
privately  owned  wood  lots  and  other 
timberlands.  Because  the  contracts  re- 
quire the  use  of  good  forest  practices  as 
a  condition  of  marketing,  productivity 
of  the  forested  acreage  is  improving. 
A  further  requirement  is  that  the  par- 
ticipants cannot  employ  others  to  work 
for  them;  members  of  a  family  or 
neighbors,  therefore,  usually  work  to- 
gether on  a  partnership  basis,  and  no- 
body can  form  a  group  of  undesirable 
"gyppo"  operators  that  could  circum- 
vent the  primary  purpose. 

The  area  is  fortunate  in  that  the  only 
equipment  necessary  for  cutting  is  an 
ax  and  a  buck  saw. 

The  AuSable  Forest  Products  Asso- 


ciation has  proved  to  be  good  business 
for  its  members,  companies  that  buy 
its  products,  and  the  public  agencies 
whose  work  it  furthers.  Similar  coop- 
eratives possibly  can  be  successful  in 
places  where  the  following  conditions 
exist:  The  product  to  be  harvested  is 
of  low  value  with  little  margin  for 
profit  and  risk;  the  annual  cut  is  rela- 
tively small,  so  that  the  total  margin 
does  not  attract  large  operators;  some 
agency  is  at  hand  to  aid  the  organiza- 
tion during  its  formative  years;  local 
experienced  wood  cutters  are  avail- 
able; only  a  small  investment  per  per- 
son is  required;  and  a  local  individual 
or  organization  is  willing  to  lend  money 
under  strict  supervision  at  5  or  6  per- 
cent interest. 

JOHN  E.  FRANSON  is  forest  ranger 
on  the  Lower  Michigan  National  For- 
est, with  headquarters  at  East  Tawas. 


EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT  ON  CHIPPEWA 


H.  BASIL    WALES 


The  great  pineries  of  the  Lake 
States  helped  tremendously  in  the  in- 
dustrial and  agricultural  development 
of  the  Midwest.  But  because  sawmills 
were  operated  on  the  basis  of  cut-out- 
and-quit,  timber  was  harvested  with- 
out thought  of  the  future ;  stands  were 
cut  over  and  burned  without  giving 
heed  to  the  new  crop  that  otherwise 
would  have  followed.  The  sawmills  on 
the  pine  stands  in  the  Lake  States  were 
on  their  way  out  by  1900,  with  little 
prospects  of  future  production  of  the 
prized  pine  construction  lumber. 

The  story  of  the  Chippewa  National 
Forest  illustrates  what  could  have  been 
done  throughout  the  Lake  States  to  in- 
sure future  productivity  and  how  the 
crude  measures  to  secure  a  new  forest 
developed  into  extensive  management 
and  then  intensive  management. 

At  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury some  of  the  best  pine  timber  that 
remained  in  the  Lake  States  was  on 


Indian  reservations  in  Minnesota.  Pres- 
sure by  lumbermen  for  more  timber  to 
clear  cut  and  the  pressure  by  women's 
clubs  and  other  organizations  to  save 
the  timber  by  placing  it  in  a  national 
park  finally  led  to  a  compromise.  Con- 

fress  instructed  the  Secretary  of  the 
nterior  to  sell  timber  on  Indian  reser- 
vations and  hold  the  money  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Indians. 

The  Morris  Act  of  1902  included  a 
feature  unique  among  land  laws  in 
that  5  percent  of  the  timber  stand  on 
certain  lands  in  north-central  Minne- 
sota was  to  be  reserved  from  cutting 
and  held  for  seed-tree  purposes — as  the 
pinelands  were  cut  over,  they  were  to 
be  dedicated  to  forestry.  Thus,  one  of 
the  first  large-scale  efforts  in  forest 
management  in  this  country  was  a  har- 
vest of  virgin  white  pine  and  red  pine, 
with  a  provision  for  regeneration  of  the 
stand.  Nearly  200,000  acres  of  such 
forestry  lands  were  to  be  selected  and 


3I2 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  timber  sold.  The  law  directed  also 
that  timber  on  the  islands  of  Gass  Lake 
and  Leech  Lake,  and  on  Sugar  Point 
and  Pine  Point  that  extend  into  Leech 
Lake,  and  on  a  unit  equivalent  to  10 
sections  of  pine  timber  be  reserved 
from  sale. 

The  law  was  amended  in  1908  to 
create  the  Minnesota  National  Forest 
within  definite  boundaries,  including 
the  forestry  lands  and  all  other  lands 
except  individual  Indian  allotments 
(which  had  already  been  made)  and 
swampland  which  was  claimed  by  the 
State  of  Minnesota  under  the  acts  of 
1850  and  1860.  The  amendment  raised 
the  seed-tree  reservation  on  the  pine 
areas  remaining  to  be  sold  to  10  per- 
cent of  the  stand. 

Not  all  the  land  within  the  exterior 
boundaries  of  the  Minnesota  National 
Forest  supported  merchantable  white 
pine  and  red  pine.  Areas  of  heavy  soil 
carried  mixed  hardwoods — the  sugar 
maple,  basswood,  yellow  birch,  oak, 
and  others.  There  were  also  areas  of 
aspen,  with  other  species  in  mixture, 
and  second-growth  stands  of  jack  pine 
and  red  pine.  Those  areas  of  second 
growth  are  probably  explained  in  the 
accounts  of  aged  Indians  of  the  "fire  of 
two  summers,"  which  burned  in  north- 
ern Minnesota  and  which,  according  to 
ring  counts,  occurred  in  the  early 
1860's.  The  second-growth  pine  was 
too  small  to  be  merchantable  under  the 
terms  of  the  Interior  Department  sales ; 
other  species  were  small  and  valueless, 
besides. 

Thus  a  new  national  forest  was  born. 
It  was  comprised  of  about  190,000 
acres,  which  included  some  10  sections 
of  virgin  white  pine  and  red  pine,  about 
3  townships  of  second  growth  (which 
followed  the  early  fire),  a  township  of 
hardwoods  and  other  valueless  species, 
and  the  cut-over  land  that  had  stand- 
ing seed  trees  among  the  stumps. 

EARLY  RECORDS  indicate  that  the 
seed  trees  were  relatively  wind-firm 
and  stood  up  well  despite  some  heavy 
winds.  Post-logging  decadence,  in- 
duced by  the  sudden  opening  of  the 


stand  and  consequent  drying  of  the 
soil,  was  prominent  and  cumulative. 

In  1930,  seed  trees,  particularly  of 
white  pine,  had  all  but  disappeared 
from  many  parts  of  the  cut-over  area. 
Red  pine  seed  trees  were  more  promi- 
nent, especially  in  the  part  of  the 
forest  that  was  cut  over  in  the  later 
years  of  the  harvest,  but  decadence  was 
evident  among  them,  too.  Nevertheless, 
the  red  pine  trees  showed  good  diame- 
ter growth. 

Many  foresters  have  studied  regen- 
eration of  the  pine  stand  following 
cutting.  All  seem  to  agree  that  about 
two-thirds  of  the  reproduction  was  pres- 
ent as  small  seedlings  when  cutting 
was  done.  Good  seed  yields  occurred  in 
1904,  1910,  1914,  1917,  and  in  1920 
within  the  cutting  period,  and  since 
then  in  1924,  1927,  1930,  1937,  and 
1943.  There  has  been  considerable 
seed  fall,  but  apparently  the  conditions 
were  not  right  for  the  successful  estab- 
lishment of  pine. 

FOR  THE  SUCCESSFUL  ESTABLISH- 
MENT of  a  new  forest  of  red  pine  or 
white  pine,  a  good  seed  fall,  exposed 
mineral  soil  obtained  by  summer  log- 
ging, and  favorable  weather  conditions 
for  a  year  or  two  following  germination 
of  the  seed  seem  to  be  required.  If  the 
seed  finds  a  favorable  seedbed,  a  hot, 
dry  sun  may  kill  the  tender  seedlings. 
The  establishment  of  grass,  weeds, 
bracken,  brush,  or  low-value  hard- 
woods is  another  deterrent. 

Despite  the  adverse  situations,  pos- 
sibly one-third  of  the  established  red 
pine  second  growth  has  come  in  as  a 
result  of  the  preservation  of  seed  trees. 
On  good  white  pine  sites,  white  pine 
reproduction  often  is  conspicuously 
absent.  That  does  not  mean  that  seed- 
lings of  white  pine  were  not  present  at 
the  time  of  logging  or  did  not  come  in 
later,  but,  rather,  that  such  seedlings 
generally  could  not  survive.  White  pine 
sites  are  generally  more  moist  and  more 
fertile  than  those  of  red  pine  and  hence 
are  quickly  reclothed  by  nature  with 
dense  competing  vegetation.  The  white 
pine  is  relatively  tolerant  of  shade,  but 


Evolution  of  Management  on  Chippewa 


dense  shade  will  kill  the  young  seed- 
lings. White  pine  is  a  favorite  food  of 
the  snowshoe  hare,  which  builds  up  to 
tremendous  populations  at  cyclic  inter- 
vals. The  hare  is  regarded  as  the  final 
adverse  factor  in  precluding  the  nat- 
ural regeneration  of  white  pine  over 
most  of  this  particular  project  area. 

Under  the  terms  of  the  timber-sale 
contract,  slash  had  to  be  piled  and 
burned.  That  was  a  new  and  rather 
onerous  requirement  to  the  purchasers, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  leaving 
slash  as  it  fell.  Much  established  re- 
production, therefore,  was  lost  by  the 
careless  burning  of  slash.  The  burned 
places  usually  came  back  to  weeds, 
grass,  or  aspen,  although  if  jack  pine 
trees  remained  in  the  stand,  the  heat  of 
the  fires  caused  the  serotinous  cones  to 
open  and  disperse  seed;  consequently, 
jack  pine  became  established  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  along  with  red  pine. 

The  seed-tree  method  of  obtaining 
regeneration  cannot  be  said  to  be  fully 
successful.  But  that  method — plus  a 
reasonable  success  in  fire  protection 
and  the  fact  that  seedlings  were  al- 
ready established  when  the  logging  was 
done — brought  in  a  substantial  acre- 
age of  second-growth  red  pine,  consid- 
erable jack  pine,  and  some  white  pine. 

UPON  COMPLETION  of  the  logging 
and  milling,  the  sawmill  at  Cass  Lake, 
which  had  bought  most  of  the  mer- 
chantable timber,  blew  its  whistle  for 
the  last  time — another  big  mill  had 
exhausted  its  accessible  timber  supply, 
just  as  hundreds  of  other  mills  had 
done;  it  had  cut-out-and-quit. 

That,  however,  was  quite  a  differ- 
ent quitting.  Not  so  much  devastation 
was  left  behind.  Slash  had  been  dis- 
posed of  to  reduce  the  hazard  of  slash 
fires.  Much  of  the  area  was  covered 
with  young  seedlings.  Other  parts  had 
reforested  naturally  to  jack  pine  and 
aspen.  There  were  older  age  classes  of 
jack  pine,  aspen,  and  other  hard- 
woods, even  if  nobody  wanted  to  buy 
them. 

After  all  the  merchantable  pine  had 
been  cut  in  1923,  the  forest  was  largely 


313 

on  a  custodial  basis.  Protection  against 
fire  was  the  main  item,  although  the 
men  in  charge  tried  to  develop  new 
markets  for  the  little-used  aspen  and 
the  overmature  jack  pine.  They  estab- 
lished a  forest-tree  nursery  that  had  an 
annual  production  of  about  a  million 
2-year  seedlings,  but  planting  was  not 
eminently  successful.  A  box  mill  came 
in  to  utilize  jack  pine  lumber  for  box 
and  crating  production,  but  it  did  not 
last  long.  It  was  succeeded  by  a  more 
adequately  financed  company,  which 
produced  box  lumber  for  shipment  to 
their  main  box  plant  at  Cloquet,  Minn. 
It  put  in  a  small  box  unit  to  fur- 
nish supplemental  employment  to  a 
stranded  people.  A  few  other  sales 
were  made,  and  a  couple  of  small  port- 
able mills  were  brought  in  to  work  in 
the  hardwoods. 

In  cooperation  with  the  University 
of  Minnesota,  the  Lake  States  Forest 
Experiment  Station  was  established  in 
1926  to  investigate  forestry  problems  in 
the  Lake  States.  Raphael  Zon,  the  di- 
rector, recognized  the  opportunity  and 
the  necessity  of  solving  the  problems 
connected  with  the  reestablishment  of 
a  new  forest.  He  established  plots  for 
the  study  of  release  and  thinning  and, 
in  the  older  stands,  plots  for  the  study 
of  growth  and  reproduction. 

SUCH  WAS  THE  SITUATION  in  1930 
in  the  new  national  forest  that  now  is 
called,  through  Presidential  proclama- 
tion, the  Chippewa  National  Forest. 

It  had  been  discovered  that  aspen, 
which  has  no  odor  to  taint  food  prod- 
ucts, was  suitable  for  box  lumber.  The 
aspen  that  followed  the  fire  of  two 
summers  had  reached  maturity,  and  a 
sale  of  some  40  million  board  feet, 
about  two-thirds  aspen,  to  be  cut  over 
a  period  of  12  years,  was  advertised.  It 
was  bid  in  at  a  dollar  a  thousand  board 
feet;  other  species  and  products  like- 
wise were  priced  low.  The  purchaser 
contracted  to  deliver  at  least  3  million 
feet  of  aspen  to  the  box  mill  at  Cass 
Lake  each  winter. 

Logging  operations  started  in  the  fall 
with  a  crew  large  enough  to  deck  the 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


minimum  required  delivery  by  the 
middle  of  February.  Hauling  started 
as  soon  as  the  ground  was  frozen  solid. 
The  product  was  delivered  in  100-inch 
and  200-inch  lengths. 

The  long  lengths  were  recut  to  100 
inches,  and  the  bolts  went  up  the  bull 
chain  through  a  circular  saw,  which 
split  the  logs  in  half.  The  halves  were 
then  sent  through  a  horizontal  band 
saw,  which  took  off  a  board  from  the 
flat  side.  The  slab  was  returned  by  mov- 
ing chains  for  additional  runs  through 
the  band.  The  mill  procedure  is  men- 
tioned because  it  is  said  to  be  the  first 
mill  built  on  that  principle. 

The  sale  of  aspen  opened  a  new 
market  for  a  previously  unused  species 
that  forest  devastation  and  fire  had 
made  available  in  large  volume 
throughout  the  Lake  States.  The  sale 
also  seemed  to  mark  the  transition 
point  from  a  custodial  and  protective 
job  to  one  of  active  management  of  the 
resource,  extensive  at  first  but  gradu- 
ally moving  forward  to  a  high  degree 
of  intensity.  The  logging  operation 
continued  throughout  the  depression, 
and,  when  the  Gloquet  sawmill  closed 
because  of  timber  exhaustion,  the  main 
box  plant  was  moved  to  Cass  Lake  to 
augment  facilities  there.  The  mill  now 
uses  other  species  as  well  as  aspen. 

Although  the  use  of  aspen  for  box 
lumber  augured  well  for  the  future,  it 
was  not  possible  to  extend  sales  ap- 
preciably during  the  depression.  Only 
low-value  material  was  available,  and 
most  of  it  was  relatively  inaccessible. 
Markets  and  accessibility  control  the 
intensity  of  management  which  may 
be  given  a  forest  stand.  Extensive  man- 
agement could  be  applied  only  on  the 
areas  where  sales  could  be  made. 

Plans  for  the  future  could  be  devel- 
oped, however.  Timber  surveys  were 
made,  and  preliminary  plans  were  de- 
veloped for  the  management  of  the 
timber  stand,  particularly  the  hard- 
woods, aspen,  and  matured  jack  pine. 
Two  experimental  forests,  the  Pike 
Bay  and  Cut  Foot,  were  established  in 
the  early  1930's  for  use  by  the  Lake 
States  Forest  Experiment  Station,  and 


a  resident  forester  was  appointed  to 
conduct  research  into  the  problems  of 
silvicultural  management  in  the  forest. 
The  causes  of  failure  of  the  planting 
efforts  were  worked  out,  and  silvicul- 
tural research  was  intensified. 

Guiding  data  were  thus  at  hand 
when  the  Civilian  Conservation  Corps 
was  created  in  1933  and  when  other 
emergency  relief  programs  were  in- 
augurated. There  were  seven  200-man 
CCC  camps  located  in  strategic  work 
areas.  The  camps  were  primarily  for 
the  employment  of  young  men,  but 
because  of  widespread  unemployment 
and  the  need  of  trained  strawbosses, 
up  to  10  percent  of  the  enrollment  was 
recruited  from  local  people  who  had 
worked  on  various  forest  operations. 
The  program  enabled  the  foresters  in 
charge  to  give  cultural  treatment  to 
young  stands  and  to  develop  physical 
improvements  on  the  forest  far  beyond 
their  hopes  and  anticipations. 

Because  of  the  studies  that  had  been 
made  in  handling  young  stands,  the 
CCC  boys  were  put  to  work  on  stand 
improvement  earlier  and  with  greater 
assurance  than  elsewhere  in  the  region. 
The  continuance  of  the  CCC's  from 
1933  to  1942,  together  with  labor  as- 
signed from  other  relief  programs,  en- 
abled foresters  in  charge  to  accomplish 
nearly  all  the  noncommercial  stand- 
improvement  work  that  needed  atten- 
tion at  the  time.  Seedling  and  sapling 
stands  were  given  release  from  over- 
topping brush,  aspen,  and  other  low- 
value  species.  Dense  stands  of  saplings 
were  thinned,  and  about  300  potential 
final-crop  trees  an  acre  were  given 
their  first  pruning.  To  a  limited  ex- 
tent, some  older  stands  that  were  ap- 
proaching minimum  commercial  size 
were  also  given  treatment  by  cutting 
out  suppressed  trees  and  trees  of  poor 
form.  This  left  a  stand  of  thrifty,  well- 
formed  trees  with  more  room  to  grow. 
Fuel  wood  was  salvaged  for  use  in  the 
camps,  and  some  was  sold  in  an  ex- 
tremely limited  market.  Young  plan- 
tations were  combed  over  to  find  the 
weak  trees  still  living  but  suppressed 
by  the  heavy  growth  of  brush;  they 


Evolution  of  Management  on  Chippewa 


315 


were  released  to  the  full  sunlight  by 
cutting  away  the  brush,  and  made  a 
remarkable  recovery. 

The  large,  new  Lydick  Nursery, 
with  a  capacity  of  10  to  12  million 
seedlings  and  transplants,  was  started 
in  the  spring  of  1934  in  order  that 
the  areas  made  unproductive  by  fire  or 
the  rapid  invasion  of  brush  might  be 
planted.  The  physical  development  of 
the  protective  and  administrative  im- 
provements was  also  under  way.  A  bet- 
ter road  system,  that  made  accessible 
all  parts  of  the  forest,  was  planned  and 
started.  Old  woods  roads  were  cleared 
and  improved  to  serve  as  fire  ways  and 
to  enable  work  crews  to  be  transported 
closer  to  the  job. 

In  1935  the  Ghippewa  National 
Forest  was  enlarged  by  the  establish- 
ment of  the  north  and  south  Chippewa 
Purchase  Units  under  the  Clarke-Mc- 
Nary  Law  of  1924.  That  action  added 
greatly  to  the  job  load,  because  many 
different  problems  were  involved — 
land  examination  and  appraisal  and 
negotiations  for  purchase.  The  land 
within  the  purchase  units  had  been 
largely  cut  over  and  repeatedly  burned, 
although  isolated  areas  protected  by 
lakes  and  swamps  had  escaped  fire. 
The  original  forest  area  appeared  as  an 
oasis  of  pine  in  a  sea  of  forest  devasta- 
tion. Also,  in  the  purchase  units,  many 
isolated  settlers  were  struggling  for  a 
livelihood  on  land  poorly  adapted  to 
agriculture.  On  areas  of  better  soil 
were  sparsely  settled  farm  communi- 
ties. Destruction  of  the  forest  had  de- 
prived the  settlers  of  an  opportunity  of 
earning  a  supplemental  income  in  the 
woods. 

From  the  standpoint  of  forest  man- 
agement, one  had  to  start  from  scratch 
to  restore  and  build  up  forest  pro- 
ductivity. The  CCC  program  helped 
greatly.  At  first  the  job  was  one  of 
establishing  protection  facilities — look- 
out towers,  communication  lines,  and 
roads — for  more  rapid  transportation 
for  fire-fighting  crews. 

As  land  was  purchased,  the  process 
of  restoring  the  forest  became  a  more 
important  part  of  the  program.  By  the 


time  that  title  was  established,  suitable 
planting  stock  was  available  at  the  new 
nursery.  Release,  thinning,  and  prun- 
ing operations  were  also  undertaken  in 
the  limited  areas  of  purchased  land, 
where  sapling  stands  had  survived  fire. 
At  the  same  time,  other  resource  values 
were  enhanced.  The  camp  work  plans 
included  projects  for  the  protection 
and  the  administration  of  the  forest, 
recreational  development,  and  better 
food  and  habitat  for  wildlife.  Land  use 
plans  were  prepared  to  strengthen  the 
agricultural  communities  through  the 
transfer  of  settlers  from  poor  and  iso- 
lated tracts. 

By  1936  the  need  for  experienced 
men  in  the  camps  was  greatly  reduced, 
because,  with  training  and  experience, 
the  young  men  developed  qualities  of 
leadership.  The  local  men  were  gradu- 
ally released;  unfortunately,  they  were 
thrown  out  of  employment,  so  that 
most  of  the  residents  within  or  near  the 
enlarged  forest  were  again  in  distress- 
ing circumstances. 

The  upsurge  of  recovery  in  1937, 
however,  seemed  to  offer  the  opportu- 
nity for  employment  in  the  harvest  of 
wood  products  from  the  forest.  Good 
results  came  from  a  campaign  to  lo- 
cate markets  for  the  class  of  material 
available  that  could  be  removed  on  a 
stand-improvement  and  salvage  basis. 
By  1939,  according  to  the  late  G.  E. 
Knutson,  the  forest  supervisor,  not  a 
man  within  the  forest  area,  able  and 
willing  to  work,  was  on  the  county  re- 
lief rolls.  The  markets,  however,  were 
rather  far  from  the  forest  and  the  re- 
turns were  somewhat  less  than  they 
would  otherwise  have  been. 

In  April  1940,  a  severe  glaze  storm 
wreaked  havoc  in  some  of  the  treated 
stands  in  the  original  forest  area,  with 
lesser  damage  over  a  larger  area.  In 
early  August  a  70-mile  hurricane  swept 
a  patchy  20-mile  swath  across  the  unit. 
After  each  storm  the  CGC  boys  opened 
roads  and  repaired  telephone  lines.  At 
about  the  same  time  an  epidemic  of  the 
jack  pine  form  of  the  spruce  budworm 
appeared  to  be  killing  overmature  jack 
pine  in  a  large  area. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Salvage  of  the  material  about  to  be 
lost  made  it  necessary  to  find  larger 
markets.  Each  forest  officer  fell  to. 
Paper  companies  agreed  to  buy  up 
to  10,000  cords  of  peeled  pulpwood; 
the  timber-sale  purchasers  had  to  be 
trained  in  the  art  of  peeling.  An  owner 
of  a  chain  of  retail  lumber  yards  was 
induced  to  bring  in  a  portable  saw- 
mill. A  number  of  other  mills  followed. 
In  the  next  2  years,  some  35  million 
feet  of  sawlogs  and  20,000  cords  of 
pulpwood  were  salvaged.  Intensive 
management  required  that  the  "holes" 
in  the  forest  be  made  productive.  The 
presence  of  a  large  labor  supply  in  the 
remaining  CGG  camps,  plus  an  abun- 
dance of  trees  in  the  nursery,  made  that 
possible.  Now,  9  years  after  the  two 
devastating  storms,  one  hardly  knows 
where  the  storms  hit. 

The  war's  heavy  demands  for  wood 
products  opened  the  markets  for  all 
classes  of  material,  even  material  that 
had  been  unmerchantable.  The  forest 
was  ready,  and  the  men  in  charge  made 
the  most  of  the  opportunity  to  make 
light,  partial  cuts  that  placed  the  for- 
est in  a  better  growing  condition  and 
at  the  same  time  supplied  the  wood 
urgently  needed  in  the  war.  The  best 
part  is  that  the  amount  of  growing 
stock  has  not  been  depleted ;  today  the 
volume  is  larger  than  before  the  de- 
pression and  even  before  the  Second 
World  War. 

INTENSIVE  MANAGEMENT — the  ap- 
plication of  silvicultural  practice  to  the 
forest  stand  in  full  measure — includes 
cultural  work  in  young  stands  below 
commercial  size,  planting  of  nonpro- 
ductive areas,  and  improvement  and 
harvest  cuts  on  a  commercial  basis. 
Management  within  the  original  forest 
area  has  evolved  to  a  high  degree  of 
intensity  and  is  well  on  its  way  within 
the  purchase-unit  additions. 

In  the  Chippewa  National  Forest, 
light  commercial  cuts  are  practicable 
as  soon  as  the  trees  are  30  to  35  years 
old.  Additional  light  cuts  can  be  made 
at  10-year  intervals;  each  time  the  area 
is  left  in  a  thrifty  growing  condition  so 


that  maximum  productivity  is  assured. 

While  the  CCC  is  no  longer  avail- 
able for  work  in  young  stands  below 
commercial  size,  the  Knutson-Vanden- 
berg  Law  is  something  of  a  substitute. 
The  law  authorizes  the  collection  of 
money,  in  addition  to  stumpage,  to 
place  timber-sale  areas  in  good  produc- 
tive condition.  It  is  not  practicable  to 
require  the  purchaser  to  do  all  the  work 
that  should  be  done.  He  removes  only 
trees  which  "have  served  their  pur- 
pose in  the  stand,"  and  which  will  yield 
merchantable  products.  Some  fill-in 
planting  may  be  needed  on  parts  of  the 
area  to  get  full  stocking.  Trees  below 
commercial  size  may  need  thinning  or 
release.  Other  trees  may  need  pruning 
so  that  they  may  produce  clear  lumber. 

The  sales  of  timber  on  the  Chippewa 
Forest  show  a  steady  upward  trend. 
Within  or  near  the  enlarged  forest  are 
37  sawmills  that  depend  to  varying 
degrees  on  national  forest  timber.  Six 
additional  sawmills,  located  at  more 
distant  points,  draw  somewhat  on  the 
forest.  The  annual  production  of  those 
mills  is  about  30  million  board  feet. 
About  one-fourth  of  the  raw  material 
comes  from  the  national  forest.  A  much 
larger  volume  is  shipped  to  more  dis- 
tant points  for  conversion. 

A  wide  diversion  of  species  as  well 
as  products  comes  out  of  the  enlarged 
forest.  Sawlogs,  box  bolts,  and  ties, 
which  go  through  the  sawmills,  ap- 
proximate 7,714,000  board  feet  an- 
nually. Other  products  represent  an 
equivalent  of  about  15,000,000  feet 
more.  We  figure  that  the  timber  har- 
vested in  1947  represents  1 15,000  man- 
days  of  employment  in  the  woods  and 
in  the  primary  milling  process.  It  is  not 
desirable  as  yet  to  cut  the  full  annual 
growth.  Growing  stock  must  be  built 
up  to  a  maximum.  As  this  point  is 
reached  in  different  areas  the  annual 
cut  can  be  increased. 

In  1947  the  counties  in  which  the 
forest  is  located  received  4  cents  an 
acre  for  each  acre  of  national  forest 
land,  under  the  act  of  May  23,  1908, 
which  provides  for  the  return  of  25 
percent  of  the  total  receipts  on  a  na- 


Evolution  of  Management  on  Chippewa 


3*7 


tional  forest.  An  additional  1.6  cents 
an  acre  was  returned  to  the  Forest 
Service  for  road  and  trail  construction. 

Larger  payments  to  the  counties  will 
be  made  in  the  future  as  the  timber 
grows  into  more  valuable  products. 
In  30-  to  40-year  stands,  light  cuts  of 
timber  on  a  stand-improvement  basis 
bring  in  relatively  low  returns,  but  they 
can  be  handled  at  a  profit  to  the  Gov- 
ernment and  to  the  purchaser  as  well. 
For  example,  in  1947,  on  a  37-acre 
tract  of  40-year-old  red  pine  mixed 
with  40-  to  60-year-old  jack  pine,  33.03 
cords  of  jack  pine  box  bolts,  15.23 
cords  of  pulpwood,  and  2,500  board 
feet  of  red  pine  were  cut  to  bring  the 
Government  an  average  stumpage  re- 
turn of  $5.14  an  acre;  the  operator 
made  $8.23  a  day  after  expenses  for 
cutting,  skidding,  and  hauling.  A  per 
acre  average  of  only  1.25  cords  and 
67  board  feet  was  harvested.  Another 
sale  in  the  same  general  locality  aver- 
aged only  1.16  cords  an  acre  and  gave 
a  stumpage  return  of  $3.71  an  acre. 
The  lightly  cut  stands  are  now  in  a  po- 
sition to  make  maximum  growth. 

In  contrast  to  those  low  returns  from 
improvement  cuts  in  young  stands  is 
the  average  per  acre  receipt  from  two 
sales  made  in  1945  in  an  80-year-old 
red  pine  and  jack  pine  stand.  From  an 
area  of  252  acres,  422,000  board  feet 
of  jack  pine,  36,500  board  feet  of  red 
pine,  202  pieces  of  red  pine  piling,  and 
417.4  cords  of  mixed  pine  pulpwood, 
that  had  a  total  stumpage  value  of 
$6,880.13,  were  cut.  Of  this  area,  150 
acres  had  been  given  a  light  improve- 
ment cut  5  years  before,  at  which  time 
$1,158.12  was  received  for  stumpage. 
The  average  return  was  $3 1 .90  an  acre. 
Stumpage  values  on  the  two  sales  in 
1945  averaged  $12  a  thousand  board 
feet  for  jack  pine  sawlogs,  $13  a  thou- 
sand board  feet  for  red  pine  sawlogs, 
7  to  14  cents  a  linear  foot  for  piling, 
and  $1.50  a  cord  for  pulpwood.  After 
the  cutting,  an  average  of  185  thrifty 
trees  remained  to  the  acre;  their  vol- 
ume was  10,800  board  feet  and  4.4 
cords  of  pulpwood.  The  trees  will  con- 
tinue to  grow  in  volume  and  value. 


Truly,  intensive  management  has 
evolved  in  the  Chippewa  Forest,  es- 
pecially in  the  original  forest  area. 
Timber  can  be  harvested  in  increasing 
amounts  at  higher  values.  Yet  the  pic- 
ture is  not  wholly  bright.  Only  589,1 17 
acres  out  of  a  gross  area  of  1,313,656 
acres  are  in  Federal  ownership  and 
thus  susceptible  to  intensive  manage- 
ment as  a  part  of  the  national  forest.  A 
considerable  mileage  of  roads  remains 
to  be  constructed  or  improved,  par- 
ticularly in  the  purchase-unit  addition. 

With  the  passing  of  CCG  and  other 
emergency  programs,  it  has  been  necr 
essary  to  discontinue  most  of  the  road 
construction  as  well  as  the  noncom- 
mercial stand-improvement  operations 
and  to  reduce  the  reforestation  pro- 
gram to  about  20  percent  of  what  it 
should  be.  The  large  nursery  invest- 
ment at  Cass  Lake  is  wholly  inactive. 
The  production  of  seedlings  for  Chip- 
pewa Forest  had  to  be  concentrated 
at  another  nursery  to  reduce  overhead 
costs  to  a  minimum. 

The  Knutson-Vandenberg  Act  is 
helpful,  because  it  provides  funds  for 
stand-betterment  work,  including  fill- 
in  planting  on  timber-sale  areas.  It 
does  not,  however,  help  any  in  bringing 
about  a  productive  timber  stand  on 
areas  where  sales  are  not  practicable. 

That  plantations  will  pay  their  way 
is  shown  by  data  taken  more  or  less  at 
random  in  the  many  plantations  estab- 
lished in  the  forest.  The  figures  used 
are  average. 

In  the  spring  of  1937  one  178-acre 
plantation  of  jack  and  red  pines  was 
established  with  1,564  trees  to  the  acre, 
at  a  cost  of  $19.19  an  acre.  Ten  years 
later  1,400  trees  were  making  fine 
growth.  The  height  of  the  dominant 
trees  was  23  feet,  and  the  trees  were 
just  reaching  minimum  pulpwood  size. 
The  stand  contained  2.18  cords  to  the 
acre,  worth  $4.  In  another  10  years, 
the  first  partial  cut  can  be  made  to  give 
the  best  trees  more  growing  space. 

In  the  fall  of  1934  an  experimental 
plantation  of  jack  pine  was  made  in 
the  Pike  Bay  Experimental  Forest  to 
determine  the  feasibility  of  converting 


318 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


brush  and  the  low-value  hardwoods  to 
conifers.  Two-year  seedlings  were  used. 
The  original  spacing  between  trees  was 
5  feet  by  6  feet  (1,452  trees  to  the 
acre) ,  but  the  plantation  went  through 
a  severe  drought  in  1936  and  300  fence 
posts  were  harvested  in  1945.  In  1947, 
nevertheless,  1,176  trees  were  still 
growing  on  an  acre.  Because  of  the 
experimental  nature  of  the  plantation, 
the  cost  was  high — $33  an  acre.  Al- 
ready there  are  6.7  cords  of  pulpwood, 
worth  about  $13,  available,  although 
half  of  the  trees  are  still  less  than  mini- 
mum pulpwood  size.  The  next  cut 
should  be  made  about  1955  to  thin  the 
stand. 

A  1923  red  pine  plantation,  6  feet 
by  6  feet  in  spacing,  has  820  trees  an 
acre  left;  the  merchantable  volume  is 
1,390  board  feet  and  24.2  cords,  worth 
about  $60  if  clear-cut  now.  The  den- 
sity of  the  stand  suggests  the  desir- 
ability of  making  a  thinning  that  will 
yield  box  bolts  and  pulpwood.  While 
the  actual  cost  of  establishment  is  miss- 
ing, it  would  appear  that  a  light  cut 
would  yield  a  stumpage  return  suffi- 
cient to  pay  the  initial  cost  of  es- 
tablishment as  well  as  the  essential 
pruning  of  thrifty  crop  trees. 

The  market  demand  is  steady  for  all 
products  from  pulpwood  size  up.  A 
market  must  be  developed  for  salvage 
material  just  under  pulpwood  size.  The 
young  stands  that  were  given  release 
and  thinning  in  the  early  days  of  the 
depression  period  have  now  grown  to  a 
point  where  a  commercial  improve- 
ment cut  is  desirable  to  keep  the  stand 
growing  steadily  at  an  even  rate. 
Much  of  the  material  which  should  be 
removed  is  too  small  for  pulpwood. 

An  effort  is  being  made  to  mecha- 
nize operations  in  the  woods,  so  that 
the  material  can  be  handled  economi- 
cally as  posts  to  supply  a  market  in  the 
Great  Plains.  A  trial  sale  was  made  in 
1947  on  16  acres  of  red  pine,  which  had 
been  thinned  in  1934  at  23  years  of 
age.  The  tract  was  marked  on  a  strict 
improvement  basis,  and  all  thrifty  well- 
formed  trees  were  left  with  more  room 
to  grow.  It  yielded  2,500  posts,  26.1 


cords  of  pulpwood,  and  7.8  cords  of 
box  bolts.  As  the  purchaser  found  the 
cost  of  hand  peeling  posts  too  high  to 
allow  fair  profit,  he  crowded  as  much 
of  the  larger  post  material  to  pulpwood 
as  he  could. 

The  stumpage  return  to  the  Govern- 
ment averaged  $6.80  an  acre.  The 
purchaser  hired  all  the  work  of  felling, 
peeling,  skidding,  and  hauling,  yet 
made  $  1 .40  an  hour  for  his  own  time  in 
giving  supervision  to  the  operation. 
Had  an  adequate  post-peeling  ma- 
chine been  available,  the  production 
of  posts  probably  would  have  been 
more  economical.  Such  machines  are 
being  manufactured  and  the  securing 
of  several  to  be  operated  on  a  custom 
basis  will  be  another  advance  in  in- 
tensive management.  Jack  pine,  aspen, 
and  other  species,  as  well  as  red  pine, 
should  be  suitable  for  fence  posts  if 
treated. 

The  market  for  fence  posts  will  be 
limited  by  the  capacity  of  pressure- 
treating  plants,  which  already  have  full 
schedules  of  railroad  ties,  poles,  piling, 
and  other  timber.  Additional  treating 
capacity  close  to  the  forest  is  needed. 

A  semichemical  plant  for  the  pro- 
duction of  boards  and  container  ma- 
terial, and  one  that  can  use  the  small 
material  of  most  species  with  the  bark 
on,  would  be  a  welcome  addition.  Like- 
wise, additional  plants  for  processing 
and  remanufacture  will  add  much 
towards  further  intensity  of  manage- 
ment. The  installation  of  a  concentra- 
tion yard  and  finishing  plant  at  Deer 
River  as  a  project  of  the  Iron  Range 
Resources  and  Rehabilitation  Com- 
mission was  undertaken  in  1948. 

WHEN  THE  PRESENT  MANAGEMENT 
plans  were  prepared  in  the  early  1930's, 
they  were  based  on  rather  crude  data 
as  to  volume.  Growth  calculations 
failed  to  take  into  consideration  the 
better  growth  resulting  from  stand- 
improvement  work.  Moreover,  the 
allowable  cut  did  not  consider  fully  the 
market  opportunities  that  have  since 
developed,  especially  for  the  small  ma- 
terial. The  present  prescribed  allow- 


Forestry  in  the  Elac\  Hills 


able  cut  is  believed  to  be  too  conserva- 
tive. To  correct  this,  and  to  have  a 
more  substantial  basis  for  intensive 
management,  a  new  inventory  was 
started  in  1948. 

The  entire  forest  was  photographed 
from  the  air  in  1947.  The  mapping  of 
types  was  subsequently  begun,  and  the 
inventory  developed  through  an  in- 
tensive system  of  sample  plots  on  a 
statistically  accurate  basis.  Attention 
was  given  to  redetermining  the  growth 
rate.  We  believe  that  the  new  type  of 
maps,  inventory,  and  growth  data  will 
produce  a  management  plan  that  will 
prescribe  a  greatly  increased  allowable 
annual  cut.  Further  attention  can  then 
be  given  to  market  requirements  and 
development,  and  action  can  be  taken 
to  insure  full  employment  and  com- 
munity stability. 

The  process  of  rebuilding  a  fully  pro- 
ductive forest  is  not  completed  but  is 


319 

well  under  way.  The  value  of  good 
management  has  been  demonstrated 
and  will  become  even  more  apparent 
as  the  trees  grow  toward  maturity. 

H.  BASIL  WALES  entered  the  Forest 
Service  in  1911,  immediately  after 
graduation  from  Michigan  State  Col- 
lege. After  19  years  in  the  Southwest 
in  various  capacities,  he  was  promoted 
to  his  present  position  as  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Timber  Management  in 
the  North  Central  Region.  Since  1930 
he  has  guided  forest  rehabilitation  on 
the  12  national  forest  administration 
units  in  that  region  and  has  developed 
preliminary  management  plans  to  di- 
rect stand-improvement  and  harvest 
cuts.  He  directed  the  establishment  of 
more  than  700,000  acres  of  successful 
plantations,  some  of  which  are  now 
ready  for  the  first  thinning  on  a  com- 
mercial basis. 


FORESTRY  IN  THE  BLACK  HILLS 

ARTHUR  F.  C.  HOFFMAN,  THEODORE  KRUEGER 


On  the  western  edge  of  the  Great 
Plains,  separated  from  the  massive 
Rocky  Mountains  by  long  stretches  of 
prairie,  lie  two  of  our  national  forests, 
the  Black  Hills  and  the  Harney. 

Huddled  along  the  State  line  be- 
tween Wyoming  and  South  Dakota — 
with  all  but  a  thumb  in  the  southwest- 
ern quarter  of  South  Dakota — this 
island  of  timber  extends  about  40  miles 
from  east  to  west,  and  120  miles  from 
north  to  south.  Its  gross  area  is  1,524,- 
797  acres,  all  but  20  percent  (311,756 
acres)  of  which  is  owned  by  the  Fed- 
eral Government. 

Its  altitude  ranges  from  3,500  to 
7,240  feet  (at  Harney  Peak),  but  most 
of  the  forest  exhibits  a  rolling  topog- 
raphy. There  are,  however,  some  fairly 
deep  canyons  on  the  lower  ends  of  the 
main  drainages  and  some  plateaus  that 
have  precipitous  sides.  Its  generally 
high  situation  subjects  the  forest  to  ex- 
tremes of  weather — severe  hail  storms, 


unseasonable  freezes,  tornadoes,  and 
heavy  rains  and  snows.  A  favorable 
factor  for  tree  and  forage  growth  is 
that  the  period  of  heaviest  precipita- 
tion is  in  May  and  June,  when  more 
than  15  inches  of  rain  may  fall,  al- 
though the  average  is  usually  about 
8  inches. 

Fauna  and  flora  of  East  and  West 
meet  on  the  Black  Hills  and  Harney 
National  Forests — more  simply  named 
the  Black  Hills  National  Forest  or  the 
Black  Hills.  The  commercial  timber 
stand  is  95  percent  ponderosa  pine  and 
about  5  percent  western  white  spruce 
(Picea  glauca  var.  albertiana) .  A  small 
area  contains  lodgepole  pine.  The 
total  stand  of  coniferous  timber  is  es- 
timated to  be  2,346  million  feet,  board 
measure.  The  average  tree  contains 
about  250  board  feet,  and  the  average 
stand  is  a  little  over  5,000  board  feet 
an  acre.  The  few  hardwoods  here  have 
rather  low  economic  importance: 


320 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Paper  birch,  the  boxelder,  cottonwood, 
aspen,  ironwood,  and  bur  oak. 

The  spruce  grows  in  the  higher  alti- 
tudes on  the  northern  and  western 
slopes  and  in  the  draws  and  gulches.  A 
narrow  stringer  of  grassland  lies  in  the 
gulch  bottoms.  The  remainder  of  the 
forest  is  the  natural  site  for  the  pine. 

Wherever  seed  trees  exist,  natural 
reproduction  does  occur  rapidly  and 
surely;  planting  and  seeding  are  neces- 
sary only  in  places  where  fire  com- 
pletely killed  the  stand.  The  young 
growth  invariably  comes  in  so  thick 
that  it  is  called  dog-hair  stands,  and 
must  be  thinned  to  relieve  the  over- 
crowded condition.  Up  to  1948,  266,- 
000  acres  had  been  thinned. 

IN  SETTLEMENT  AND  USE,  the  Black 
Hills  area  is  new  country.  It  was  con- 
sidered to  be  Sioux  Indian  land  until 
the  gold  stampede  to  the  southern  hills 
began  in  1875.  Agitation  followed  to 
open  the  area  to  settlers.  On  February 
28,  1877,  President  Grant  signed  an 
act  that  excluded  the  Black  Hills  from 
the  Indian  reservation  and  legally 
opened  the  country.  Settlement  and 
mining  activities  had  already  started, 
however,  and  most  of  the  camps  and 
towns  were  established  by  1876. 

Unregulated  cutting  of  the  timber 
started  at  once  to  provide  material  for 
buildings  and  mines  at  Lead,  Dead- 
wood,  Rochford,  Carbonate,  Mystic, 
Galena,  Sturgis,  and  Rapid  City.  Port- 
able sawmills  operated  at  most  of  these 
places,  and  a  string  of  them  extended 
along  the  eastern  side  of  the  forest  from 
Sturgis  to  Black  Hawk.  Cutting  was 
also  done  on  Rapid  Creek  to  supply 
Rapid  City. 

At  first,  utilization  of  the  forest  was 
poor.  Little  action  was  taken  to  pre- 
vent forest  fires  until  a  series  of  large 
fires  convinced  settlers  and  miners  that 
the  timber  supply  would  have  to  be 
more  wisely  used.  Utilization  began  to 
be  somewhat  closer,  probably  because 
within  the  decade  a  large  demand  had 
developed  for  mine  timbers,  ties,  fuel, 
and  for  lumber  and  heavy  timbers. 

No  consideration  was  given  then  to 


the  future  of  the  resource,  however, 
and  clear  cutting  was  the  rule  until 
about  the  turn  of  the  century. 

By  1897,  enough  of  the  residents 
realized  that  better  care  of  the  timber- 
lands  was  necessary  to  assure  adequate 
future  supplies  of  timber  and  forage, 
and  they  petitioned  the  Government 
to  make  a  forest  reserve  of  the  area.  In 
1897,  President  Cleveland  withdrew 
all  land  in  the  Black  Hills  from  entry; 
on  September  19,  1898,  the  Black  Hills 
Forest  Reserve  was  placed  under  ad- 
ministration. It  was  later  divided  into 
two  units  for  administrative  purposes 
and  renamed  the  Black  Hills  National 
Forest  and  Harney  National  Forest. 

Applications  to  purchase  timber 
were  received  by  the  supervisor  almost 
immediately.  The  first  one  was  from 
the  Homestake  Mining  Company, 
which  for  some  time  had  been  cutting 
timber  in  this  area.  The  resulting  sale, 
the  first  one  made  on  any  national 
forest  in  the  United  States,  is  familiarly 
known  as  Case  1.  The  company  has 
continued  to  be  a  heavy  purchaser  of 
national  forest  timber. 

The  conditions  of  sale  and  cutting 
for  Case  1,  compared  with  those  now 
in  effect,  are  of  historic  interest,  as 
showing  the  initial  step  in  the  develop- 
ing of  silvicultural  practices  on  the 
forest. 

Offered  in  Case  1  were  15,519,300 
board  feet  of  saw  timber  and  5,100 
cords  of  wood  from  the  tops  of  live 
trees,  at  a  minimum  of  $1  a  thousand 
board  feet  and  25  cents  for  a  cord. 
Standing  dead  timber  was  offered  for 
50  cents  a  thousand  feet  and  down 
dead  timber  for  15  cents  a  cord.  The 
timber  to  be  sold  was  called  Norway 
pine  but  was  actually  ponderosa  pine. 
In  comparison,  the  advertised  mini- 
mum stumpage  price  in  the  same  local- 
ity had  increased  in  1948,  in  one  case 
at  least,  to  $17.37  a  thousand  board 
feet. 

Eight  contracts  were  let  for  the  eight 
sections  of  land  comprising  the  sale 
area.  Cutting  started  at  Christmas  in 
1899.  Cutting  the  first  year  was  to  a 
strict  8-inch-diameter  limit,  which  pro- 


Forestry  in  the  Elac\  Hills 


321 


duced  an  average  of  about  5,000  board 
feet  an  acre.  Later,  at  the  request  of 
the  Forest  Service,  the  method  of  cut- 
ting was  modified  so  that  not  more 
than  two  of  the  larger  trees  were  left 
on  an  acre  for  seed  trees.  One  of  the 
requirements  of  the  contract  was  that 
the  slash  be  piled  by  the  operator  after 
all  tops  had  been  made  into  cordwood. 
In  general,  however,  the  slash  was 
poorly  piled;  on  the  less  accessible 
places,  where  the  cordwood  was  hard 
to  get  out,  the  purchaser's  contractors 
followed  the  practice  of  covering  the 
trimmed  tops  with  slash. 

Before  the  cutting  was  completed 
and  the  case  closed  in  April  1908,  four 
extensions  of  time  had  been  granted. 
The  total  cut  was  less  than  the  esti- 
mated volume  by  almost  a  million 
board  feet,  but,  because  of  the  removal 
of  practically  all  of  the  reserve  stand, 
the  area  will  not  be  ready  for  a  second 
cut  for  many  more  years. 

A  survey  showed  that  actually  an 
average  stand  of  only  482  board  feet 
had  been  left  per  acre  when  the  cut 
was  made.  In  1924,  the  average  stand 
per  acre  had  increased  to  2,611  board 
feet.  This  indicates  how  rapidly  the 
volume  increases  when  heavy  cuttings 
are  made,  but  is  no  argument  for  cut- 
ting as  heavy  as  that  originally  done  in 
the  Case  1  area. 

When  the  forest  was  established,  it 
was  thought  that  local  demands  would 
be  sufficient  to  use  the  entire  allow- 
able cut.  In  the  beginning,  the  lumber- 
ing and  timber  industry  grew  at  the 
same  rate  as  the  mining  industry  de- 
veloped. Actually,  for  many  years,  the 
size  of  the  timber  industry  was  lim- 
ited by  local  demand. 

The  Homestake  Mine  is  still  the 
largest  single  user  of  local  timber  on 
the  Black  Hills  National  Forest.  The 
company  has  purchased  large  holdings 
of  timberland  that  were  in  private  own- 
ership to  supplement  timber  available 
to  them  from  the  national  forest. 

Railroads  also  used  a  great  deal  of 
the  Black  Hills  timber.  The  agricul- 
tural areas  surrounding  the  national 
forest  developed  at  about  the  same 


rate  as  the  mining  industry,  which  pro- 
vided a  market  for  the  agricultural 
products;  farmers,  too,  were  users  of 
the  products  of  the  timber. 

A  sawmill,  now  known  as  the  War- 
ren Lamb  Mill,  was  established  in 
Rapid  City  in  1907.  The  expanding 
lumber  industry  needed  outside  mar- 
kets to  absorb  the  production  that  ex- 
ceeded local  needs,  but  the  ban  on 
interstate  shipping  of  any  except  fire- 
or  insect-killed  timber  restricted  the 
growth  of  the  lumbering  industry, 
until  1912.  In  that  year  it  was  lifted. 

Thereafter  the  industry  was  free  to 
expand  and  was  limited  only  by  the 
size  of  the  allowable  cut  provided  for 
by  the  management  plans.  The  volume 
of  timber  cut  varied  in  accordance 
with  business  conditions :  It  was  up  in 
good  times  and  down  in  times  of  de- 
pression, but  through  the  years  more 
stability  was  evidenced  in  this  industry 
than  in  some  other  industries,  such  as 
farming  and  livestock  raising. 

To  date  an  estimated  2,800  million 
board  feet  of  timber  has  been  cut  from 
the  areas  in  the  Black  Hills.  Of  that 
amount,  about  1/2  billion  feet  were 
cut  in  the  old  mining  days  from  1876 
to  1898,  before  the  national  forest  was 
created.  Between  1908  and  1948,  the 
cut  was  1,084,923,000  board  feet. 

The  average  annual  cut  of  40  mil- 
lion feet  since  1942  has  furnished  140,- 
000  man-days  of  labor  a  year  in  woods 
and  mills. to  local  people. 

BLACK  HILLS  TIMBER  has  always  had 
a  high  cull  factor  (15  to  35  percent) . 
The  timber  cuts  out  mostly  low  grades 
of  lumber.  Eventually,  lumber  from 
the  Northwest  was  shipped  into  the 
Black  Hills  territory  and  competed 
strongly  with  local  lumber.  The  larger 
mills  developed  new  markets  by  be- 
coming a  supplier  of  special  products 
that  could  be  made  from  low-grade 
lumber — boxes  and  crates  for  the  meat- 
packing industry,  grain  doors,  table 
tops  made  by  gluing  together  small 
pieces  of  lumber,  and  shipping  crates 
for  refrigerators.  Utilization  of  a  high 
percentage  of  the  log  became  general. 


802062C 


-22 


322 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


When  the  forest  was  established  and 
cutting  of  timber  started  under  gov- 
ernment supervision,  it  was  not  super- 
vised by  trained  foresters.  Young  men 
who  later  occupied  responsible  posi- 
tions in  the  Forest  Service,  however, 
started  their  early  work  and  gained 
experience  on  this  forest.  The  develop- 
ment of  proper  methods  of  cutting, 
slash  disposal,  and  fire  protection  were 
started  and  gradually  improved. 

Before  the  establishment  of  the  na- 
tional forests,  most  of  the  timber  cut- 
ting was  in  the  accessible  stands.  The 
sawmill  operators  took  as  many  or  as 
few  of  the  trees  as  they  wanted  and 
converted  them  into  mine  timbers,  ties, 
lumber,  or  cordwood.  They  passed  up 
the  diseased,  the  deformed,  and  the 
limby  trees,  and  those  on  steep  or  rocky 
slopes.  Consequently,  the  stand  was 
left  in  poor  silvicultural  condition, 
cluttered  with  slash,  and  extremely 
vulnerable  to  damage  by  fire.  Poor 
trees  occupied  space  needed  for  grow- 
ing better  trees. 

Federal  foresters  imposed  regula- 
tions that  were  intended  to  stop  such 
wasteful  cutting.  Much  experimental 
marking  was  done.  Foresters  developed 
a  progressive  intensification  of  cutting 
practices — from  clear  cutting  to  diam- 
eter limit,  selection  cutting,  and  the 
present  shelterwood  system.  Records 
show  that  the  latter  system  was  origi- 
nally advocated  by  some  early-day  for- 
esters. More  recently  the  tendency  has 
been  away  from  heavy  cuts  to  light 
cuts  at  shorter  intervals. 

In  the  first  rules  for  marking  that 
were  prepared  for  the  forest,  emphasis 
was  placed  on  the  need  to  insure  nat- 
ural reproduction  in  case  of  fire.  As  in- 
surance, it  was  the  policy  to  leave  two, 
three,  or  four  seed  trees  on  an  acre. 
The  first  marking  rules  apparently 
were  based  on  the  idea  that  a  second 
cut  would  not  be  made  within  80  years 
or  more. 

Clear  cutting  with  seed  trees  is  good 
under  some  conditions,  but  experience 
taught  foresters  that  other  methods 
were  better  in  the  Black  Hills.  By  1913 
they  could  use  a  selection  system  by 


which,  in  certain  areas,  some  trees  with 
good  growth  possibilities  could  be  left 
for  a  second  cut.  The  interval  between 
cuts  thus  could  be  shortened. 

In  the  Black  Hills,  good  progress 
has  been  made  toward  achieving  the 
objective  of  forestry — to  produce  and 
use  all  the  timber  that  the  soil  on  the 
area  will  grow.  The  ideal  never  is 
reached  in  large  areas  of  rough  land, 
such  as  national  forests;  economic 
considerations  have  a  powerful  in- 
fluence, and  other  uses  of  the  forest 
must  be  coordinated  with  timber  pro- 
duction. However,  selective  cutting  has 
developed  through  the  years.  The  de- 
mand for  timber  has  continued.  Better 
roads  have  been  built.  Logging  meth- 
ods and  equipment  have  been  im- 
proved. By  1926,  forest  practices  had 
developed  to  the  extent  that  the  selec- 
tion system  was  applied  universally  in 
the  Black  Hills.  The  initial  cut  in  vir- 
gin stands  was  lighter.  The  more 
thrifty  trees — amounting  to  1,500  to 
2,000  or  more  board  feet  an  acre — 
were  left  for  future  cuts.  Under  those 
conditions,  shorter  intervals  between 
cuts  became  practicable. 

The  establishment  of  reproduction 
in  the  Black  Hills  requires  no  special 
effort  when  proper  cutting  practices 
are  followed.  Present  marking  rules 
are  based  on  the  idea  of  harvesting  the 
mature  crop  trees  and  the  develop- 
ment of  silvicultural  conditions  favor- 
able to  the  maximum  growth  of  the 
reserve  stands.  Cutting  cycles  are  be- 
ing shortened  and  cuts  per  acre  are 
made  lighter.  This  is  possible  through 
the  development  of  the  access-road  sys- 
tem, by  which  the  stands  are  made 
more  accessible  to  cutting  and  to  favor- 
able markets  for  sawlogs  and  other 
timber  products. 

PRESENT  MANAGEMENT  PLANS  are 
predicated  upon  cutting  cycles  of  30 
to  35  years.  They  will  be  shorter  in  the 
future,  however,  as  more  intensive  for- 
estry becomes  economically  practica- 
ble. Subject  to  variations  in  existing 
mature  stands,  the  aim  is  to  leave  re- 
serve stands  averaging  2,000  to  3,000 


Forestry  in  the  Black,  Hills 


323 


board  feet,  net  scale,  an  acre.  One  of 
the  basic  principles  of  the  present 
marking  policy  is  that  the  rate  of 
growth  of  a  reserve  tree  depends  on 
the  amount  of  release  that  results  from 
cutting  adjacent  trees  and  on  the  age 
and  vigor  of  the  individual  tree  that 
is  left. 

The  preparation  of  plans  for  man- 
agement of  the  timber  resource  was 
started  soon  after  the  forest  was  estab- 
lished, but  the  plans  were  incomplete 
and  ineffective,  due  in  part  to  the  lack 
of  definite  information  on  rate  of  an- 
nual growth  and  amount  of  timber  on 
the  forest.  By  1923,  however,  enough 
basic  information  was  available  to  per- 
mit better  planning. 

The  plan  made  in  1925  for  the  Nemo 
working  circle  was  typical  of  all  plans 
applied  here  until  1937  to  1948,  when 
the  plans  were  completely  revised.  The 
Nemo  plan  provided  for  a  rotation  of 
140  years  and  4  cutting  cycles  of  35 
years  each.  It  was  thought  that  one 
could  remove  70  percent  of  the  volume 
of  the  stand  in  trees  that  were  10  inches 
or  more  in  diameter  at  breast  height. 

Later  timber  surveys,  which  now 
cover  the  entire  forest  except  a  small 
part  of  the  southern  end,  have  made 
available  more  reliable  information  on 
volume  and  classes  of  timber.  Subse- 
quent research  has  provided  better 
information  on  rates  of  growth.  Conse- 
quently, it  has  been  possible  to  prepare 
better  and  more  effective  timber-man- 
agement plans.  The  most  outstanding 
change  in  the  latest  plan  is  the  short- 
ening of  the  cutting  cycle  to  30  years. 

Since  1898  there  has  been  regula- 
tion of  allowable  cut  of  timber  on  the 
forest.  In  the  beginning,  because  the 
information  was  lacking  about  total 
volume  of  timber  and  rate  of  growth, 
cutting  budgets  were  based  largely  on 
guess.  From  the  time  they  were  first 
assigned  to  the  Black  Hills,  foresters 
were  aware  of  the  need  for  instituting 
scientific  forestry  practices  in  the  han- 
dling of  the  resources.  They  received 
support  from  most  of  the  people,  and 
eventually  convinced  at  least  the  tim- 
ber-using industries  that  regulation  of 


cutting  and  protection  of  the  timber 
stand  were  imperative  if  those  indus- 
tries were  to  survive.  Heavy  demand 
for  the  timber  makes  it  possible  to  ob- 
serve the  principles  of  regulated  cut- 
ting in  that  the  amount  to  be  cut,  as 
well  as  the  units  that  are  to  be  cut,  can 
be  actually  controlled. 

The  total  annual,  allowable  sus- 
tained-yield cut  for  the  two  forests  is 
36  million  board  feet  of  saw  timber. 
In  addition,  a  large  volume  is  avail- 
able as  cordwood,  fence  posts,  poles, 
and  so  on,  taken  largely  from  thinnings. 

Annual  growth  is  now  considered 
sufficient  to  justify  an  annual  cut  of 
that  volume,  and  little  change  will  be 
necessary  unless  insects,  fires,  or  tor- 
nadoes cause  heavy  losses.  The  volume 
of  timber  cut  each  year  may  exceed  or 
may  not  equal  the  allowable  amount, 
but  the  volume  must  be  in  agreement 
with  the  allowable  amount  over  a  10- 
year  period. 

The  local  timber  operators  are  famil- 
iar with  these  important  management 
plans,  and  know  they  must  be  observed. 
During  the  Second  World  War,  some 
operators  tried  to  get  an  increase  in 
the  allowable  annual  cut,  with  the  un- 
derstanding that,  after  the  war,  a  cor- 
responding reduction  of  cut  would  be 
made.  They  changed  their  minds,  how- 
ever, when  they  were  shown  that  eco- 
nomic depression  would  result  after 
the  war  if  the  normal  activity  of  the 
timber  industry  were  to  be  reduced 
substantially. 

During  the  time  of  the  Emergency 
Relief  Administration,  National  In- 
dustrial Recovery  Administration,  and 
the  Civilian  Conservation  Corps,  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  dense  young  stands 
were  thinned  and  some  pruning  of 
crop  trees  was  done.  The  work  was  ex- 
pensive because  only  a  small  part  of 
the  material  that  was  removed  could 
be  sold.  During  the  war,  the  demand 
for  fence-post  material  was  heavy,  and 
it  became  possible  to  get  young  post- 
size  stands  thinned  without  cost  to  the 
Government.  Better  yet,  the  material 
brought  some  revenue  to  the  Treasury. 
The  post  industry  has  been  rather  well 


324 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


stabilized,  and  each  year  a  sizable  acre- 
age is  thinned  by  the  post  operators. 
The  largest  of  these  operators  has  a 
pressure-treating  plant  at  Deadwood, 
which  peels,  treats,  and  ships  up  to  50 
cars  of  treated  posts  monthly.  Some 
thinning  also  is  done  annually  on  tim- 
ber-sale areas  under  provisions  of  the 
Knutson-Vandenberg  Law.  Still,  areas 
of  natural  reproduction  will  always 
exist  and  they  will  have  to  be  thinned 
at  the  right  time  so  that  supply  of  post 
material  will  be  assured.  Research 
work  is  in  progress  to  determine  the 
allowable  annual  cut  for  post-timber 
stands. 

WHEN  UTILIZATION  of  the  timber  in 
the  Black  Hills  was  started,  the  only 
method  of  hauling  and  skidding  was  by 
horse  and  oxen.  Roads  were  poor  and 
poorly  drained.  They  deteriorated  rap- 
idly when  maintenance  was  discontin- 
ued; the  sections  that  were  on  steep 
grades  soon  became  unusable. 

When  it  was  necessary  to  go  farther 
back  into  the  woods,  railroads  were 
built  to  haul  logs  and  lumber.  Then 
came  motortrucks.  The  Homestake 
Mining  Company  used  trucks  that 
pulled  two  trailers;  this  combination 
could  haul  average  loads  of  14  thou- 
sand board  feet  of  logs  from  the  woods 
to  the  mill.  The  industry  improved  its 
transportation  system  as  rapidly  as  the 
manufacturers  of  vehicles  developed 
better  trucks  and  tractors.  All  logs  now 
are  transported  on  trucks,  and  most  of 
the  skidding  is  done  by  tractors.  The 
size  of  the  trucks  varies  from  ll/z  tons 
to  capacities  of  7,000  board  feet. 
Truck  hauling  is  so  efficient  that  it  has 
entirely  replaced  railroad  logging. 

Better  roads  on  the  forest  are  nec- 
essary. Because  the  trend  in  manage- 
ment plans  is  to  provide  for  shorter 
cutting  cycles,  more  permanent  roads 
are  needed  so  that  plans  can  be  for- 
mulated for  timber  cutting  on  areas 
where  cutting  has  to  be  done  or  where 
cutting  should  be  done  to  salvage  in- 
sect-infested or  the  windthrown  trees. 
Also,  it  is  more  economical  to  have 
roads  of  a  permanent  type :  They  save 


cost  of  rebuilding  each  time  an  area 
is  logged  and  make  possible  the  haul- 
ing of  larger  loads  or  the  use  of  smaller 
trucks. 

The  degree  of  utilization  of  timber 
that  has  been  cut  on  the  forest  has 
varied  usually  with  the  general  changes 
in  economic  conditions.  In  the  early 
days  there  was  close  utilization  because 
of  the  need  for  lumber,  mine  timbers, 
and  fuel;  later,  the  selling  price  of 
timber  products  determined  largely 
how  much  of  the  tree  could  be  used. 
Because  there  is  such  a  large  percent- 
age of  defect  in  the  Black  Hills  timber 
and  because  the  allowable  cut  has  been 
less  than  the  demand  much  of  the 
time,  foresters  and  efficient  operators 
alike  have  concentrated  on  developing 
markets  and  uses  for  low-grade  lumber 
and  on  methods  for  getting  more  out 
of  each  log.  The  necessary  length  of 
haul  from  the  woods  to  the  market 
caused  costs  of  operation  to  go  up;  so, 
it  became  necessary  either  to  leave 
more  of  the  tree  in  the  woods  or  to 
find  a  way  to  make  a  profit  from  all 
that  was  hauled  to  the  market. 

One  way  that  the  yield  of  the  log 
was  increased  was  by  the  use  of  resaws, 
which  enabled  the  mills  to  get  mer- 
chantable material  from  most  of  the 
slab.  Markets  were  developed  for  short 
and  narrow  boards,  which  were  glued 
together  to  make  table  tops.  It  be- 
came possible  to  dispose  of  small  pieces 
for  use  in  making  boxes  and  crates, 
and  a  market  was  found  for  short- 
length  moldings.  There  is  still  a  good 
market  for  fuel,  so  little  material  now 
goes  to  the  refuse  burner. 

The  demand  for  Black  Hills  timber 
will  apparently  always  be  larger  than 
the  allowable  cut.  Unless  future  costs 
become  excessive,  even  more  intensive 
utilization  than  is  obtained  at  present 
should  be  in  order. 

INTENSIVE  FORESTRY  in  the  Black 
Hills  depends  directly  on  the  protec- 
tion that  can  be  given  the  forest. 

It  has  suffered  much  damage  from 
fires,  four  of  which  have  burned  over 
80,000  acres.  Damage  by  insects  has 


Forestry  in  the  Elac\  Hills 


325 


been  great  in  some  years;  from  1895 
to  1909,  approximately  l*/2  billion  feet 
of  timber  on  the  western  side  of  the 
forest  was  destroyed  by  the  Black 
Hills  beetle  (Dendroctonus  ponderosae 
Hopk.).  Another  large  infestation  of 
the  beetle  started  in  1946,  and  it  be- 
came necessary  to  initiate  a  large-scale 
control  project,  which  in  1948  treated 
46,000  insect-infested  trees  and  for 
which  Congress  made  a  special  appro- 
priation of  $235,000. 

In  1893,  fires  destroyed  the  timber 
on  large  areas  on  the  drainages  of  the 
Elk,  Iron,  and  Polo  Greeks.  Other 
large  fires  were  the  McVey,  in  1939, 
which  burned  21,857  acres;  the  Roch- 
ford,  in  1931,  which  burned  21,590 
acres;  and  the  Lost  Gulch,  Moskee, 
Buskala,  Matt,  Victoria,  Black  Fox, 
Beaver,  and  Bearlodge  fires,  each  of 
which  denuded  large  areas.  Between 
1909  and  1947, 92,760  acres  of  national 
forest  land  were  burned  over  by  4,130 
fires  and  about  28,000  acres  of  private 
land  burned  in  the  Black  Hills. 

We  have  to  cut  losses  from  fires.  In 
this  day  of  better  methods  of  hauling 
men  and  equipment,  better  communi- 
cation systems,  and  better  fire  equip- 
ment, the  annual  loss  from  fire  should 
be  much  lower.  A  hopeful  sign  is  that 
more  and  more  people  are  becoming 
increasingly  aware  of  how  dangerous 
it  is  to  be  careless  with  matches  in  or 
near  forests,  and  how  close  is  the  re- 
lationship between  fire  control  and 
timber  management  on  the  Black  Hills. 
If  the  protection  job  is  ineffective,  the 
resource-management  plan  is  upset; 
so,  also,  are  the  plans  of  every  opera- 
tion that  depends  upon  the  forest  for 
its  raw  material. 

On  the  areas  where  the  loss  from  in- 
sect damage  occurred,  natural  repro- 
duction took  place  so  that  artificial 
reforestation  has  been  unnecessary. 
But  many  of  the  fires  completely  killed 
everything  on  large  areas,  and  plant- 
ing or  seeding,  or  both,  has  been  nec- 
essary to  start  another  stand  of  timber. 

The  first  reforestation  work  done  on 
the  Black  Hills  was  in  1905,  on  what 
was  called  the  Guster  Peak  Experi- 


ment Area.  Forty  acres  were  success- 
fully established  by  the  broadcast  and 
the  corn-planter  methods.  Since  then, 
10,946  acres  have  been  planted;  9,570 
acres  more  have  been  seeded.  At  the 
end  of  1948,  13,472  acres  had  been 
reforested.  The  present  plan  is  to  plant 
a  million  trees  a  year  for  at  least  10 
years. 

The  care,  protection,  and  utilization 
of  the  timber  always  will  be  the  most 
important  work  of  those  who  are  in 
charge  of  the  forest — activities  that 
protect  the  watershed  and  provide  a 
stable  supply  of  raw  material  for  the 
lumber  and  timber  industry.  But  many 
people  think  more  and  oftener  of  the 
other  uses  that  are  made  of  the  forest. 

The  Black  Hills  National  Forest 
probably  has  as  great  a  variety  of  uses 
as  any  in  the  Nation.  It  is  all  acces- 
sible and  all  used,  and  there  is  little 
friction  among  the  various  classes  of 
users.  South  Dakotans  have  deep  loy- 
alty for  the  forest  and  have  great  and 
helpful  interest  in  what  is  being  done 
on  it. 

Grazing  is  one  use.  The  average 
number  of  stock  grazed  under  permit 
between  1943  and  1948  was  27,435 
head  of  cattle  and  horses  and  28,262 
sheep.  The  stock  graze  mostly  in  the 
gulches  and  stream  bottoms,  on  the 
stringers  of  bluegrass  range,  on  old- 
burn  areas,  and  on  some  of  the  exposed 
ridge  tops.  Most  of  the  682  holders  of 
grazing  permits  live  on  small  to  me- 
dium-sized farms  inside  the  forest 
boundaries.  These  men  are  deeply  con- 
scious of  fire  hazard;  they  are  always 
the  first  to  arrive  at  the  fires  that  do 
start;  they  are  the  backbone  of  the 
first  attack  crews.  They  know  they  are 
protecting  their  own  as  well  as  public 
property. 

The  use  of  the  forests  for  recreation 
is  constantly  increasing.  A  large  in- 
dustry has  grown  up  to  take  care  of 
tourists.  The  forest  officers  consider 
the  recreation  feature  of  the  forest  a 
resource  in  itself  and  actively  protect 
it  as  such.  Out-of-State  visitors  to  the 
forests  come  mostly  from  the  Middle 
West.  Many  others  from  more  distant 


326 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


regions  stop  on  their  way  to  the  North- 
west. The  chambers  of  commerce  and 
other  groups  whose  function  is  to  serve 
the  guests  are  aware  of  the  value  of 
the  tourist  business  and  the  importance 
of  keeping  the  forest  in  good  shape. 

On  the  forest  are  five  camps  for 
church  organizations,  camps  for  Boy 
Scouts  and  Girl  Scouts,  a  YWGA  camp, 
and  health  camps.  Two  Government- 
owned  camps  are  used  by  4-H  Clubs 
and  other  groups  of  young  people.  Sev- 
eral colleges  and  universities  conduct 
summer  field  work  in  the  forest,  which 
is  an  exceptionally  good  area  for  the 
study  of  geology,  mining,  botany,  for- 
estry, ornithology,  and  other  sciences. 
Among  the  institutions  that  have  done 
such  work  are  Dartmouth  College, 
Smith  College,  South  Dakota  School 
of  Mines,  Spearfish  State  Teachers 
College,  and  Princeton  University. 

The  streams  are  not  large  or  numer- 
ous and  fishing  is  somewhat  limited. 
The  forests  have  many  mule  deer  and 
whitetail  deer,  but  only  a  few  elk. 

Mining  is  important  in  the  region. 
The  Homestake  Mining  Company's 
mine  at  Lead,  established  in  1876,  is 
the  largest  producer  of  gold  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  The  industry 
uses  large  volumes  of  timber  products, 
and  its  employees  make  full  use  of  the 


recreational  facilities  of  the  forest.  The 
mining  companies  and  their  employees 
are  also  willing  fire  fighters  and  pro- 
tectors of  the  forest. 

Three  hydroelectric  power  plants 
use  water  that  originates  on  the  forest. 

The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Black  Hills  National 
Forest  was  observed  on  September  19, 
1948,  on  the  place  and  date  of  the  first 
timber  sale.  Much  progress  has  been 
made  in  forestry  since  that  date,  but 
much  remains  to  be  done. 

ARTHUR  F.  C.  HOFFMAN,  a  forester, 
joined  the  Forest  Service  in  1910  as 
field  assistant  on  the  White  River  Na- 
tional Forest  in  Colorado.  Beginning 
in  1917,  he  was  successively  supervisor 
of  the  San  Juan,  Montezuma,  and  Rio 
Grande  National  Forests,  all  in  Colo- 
rado, and  supervisor  of  the  Black  Hills 
National  Forest,  with  headquarters  at 
Deadwood,  S.  Dak.  He  retired  from 
the  Forest  Service  in  1948. 

THEODORE  KRUEGER  is  staff  assistant 
in  timber  management  in  the  office  of 
the  regional  forester  in  Denver.  He  was 
supervisor  of  the  Black  Hills  National 
Forest  from  1930  to  1938,  when  much 
of  the  work  of  improving  the  timber  by 
thinning  and  opening  the  stands  and 
building  access  roads  was  done. 


TAMING  A  WILD  FOREST 

JOHN  R.  BRUCKART 


The  Douglas-fir  region  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  Oregon  and  Washington 
covers  some  55,000  square  miles. 
Five-sixths  of  it  is  forest  land  and  one- 
sixth  is  farm  land.  On  the  forest  land 
stands  one-third  of  the  saw  timber 
remaining  in  the  United  States.  Two- 
fifths  of  that  saw  timber  is  in  the 
national  forests,  which  make  up  16,000 
square  miles  of  the  most  isolated  forest 
land  in  western  Oregon  and  Washing- 
ton. The  saw  timber  is  mainly  Douglas- 
fir,  with  some  hemlock,  cedar,  and 
true  firs. 


The  Willamette  National  Forest,  in 
west-central  Oregon,  is  one  of  these 
Douglas-fir  forests.  Forest  manage- 
ment on  the  Willamette  has  several 
unique  aspects,  but  otherwise  it  typi- 
fies forest  management  on  the  other 
national  forests  of  the  Douglas-fir 
region. 

In  1893,  when  President  Grover 
Cleveland  established  the  4,883,000- 
acre  Cascade  Range  Forest  Reserve, 
he  included  within  its  boundaries  the 
1,819,483  acres  that  are  now  the  Wil- 
lamette National  Forest.  The  forest  was 


Taming  a  Wild  Forest 


327 


created  in  its  present  form  in  1933, 
when  the  Santiam  National  Forest 
(created  in  1911)  and  the  Cascade 
National  Forest  (created  as  such  in 
1908)  were  combined. 

At  the  time  of  President  Cleveland's 
proclamation,  and  for  20  years  there- 
after, the  territory  was  the  real  un- 
tamed, wild,  virgin  forest — practically 
as  untouched  by  man  as  it  had  been  in 
1804  when  Lewis  and  Clark  first  ex- 
plored the  Oregon  country.  Indeed, 
practically  the  only  change  had  been 
the  one  inflicted  by  fires.  Trees  that 
had  sprouted  from  seed  at  the  time  of 
William  the  Conqueror  still  flourished 
as  primeval  giants  in  the  humid  valleys 
and  canyons ;  deer  wandered  over  trails 
that  Indians  had  always  used  for  hunt- 
ing and  fishing;  the  white  man's  only 
marks  on  the  wilderness  were  three 
wagon  trails  through  Cascade  Moun- 
tain passes  and  three  small  settlements. 

As  in  the  rest  of  the  Douglas-fir 
region,  the  forest  reached  mile  on  mile 
across  mountains  and  canyons.  The 
mantle  of  trees  was  unbroken  but  for 
the  ghosts  of  past  fires.  The  stately 
Douglas-fir  was  king,  and  the  king's 
girth  was  so  large  that  a  10-foot  meas- 
ure would  not  cover  the  distance  across 
a  fallen  giant's  stump.  Many  of  the 
trees  were  clear  of  branches  to  150  feet 
above  the  ground.  As  the  timber  ap- 
proached higher  elevations  at  the  Cas- 
cade summit,  the  Douglas-fir  grew 
smaller  in  size  and  gradually  merged 
with  upper-slope  and  subalpine  types — 
mountain  hemlock,  alpine  and  silver 
fir,  and  Engelmann  spruce,  which  now 
are  valuable  chiefly  for  watershed  pro- 
tection and  recreation  and  as  a  reser- 
voir of  pulp  for  the  future. 

So  vast  was  the  forest  that  the  first 
national  forest  administrators  them- 
selves did  not  know  how  much  resource 
had  been  put  in  their  custody  or  what 
the  growth  habits  of  the  trees  were. 
Whatever  was  known  in  those  days  of 
the  art  of  forest  management  could 
hardly  apply  to  those  forests.  The  tech- 
niques and  doctrines  of  forest  manage- 
ment had  been  devised  for  European 
forests,  and  seemingly  no  common  de- 


nominator, whether  economic  or  physi- 
cal, was  at  hand  for  managing  forests 
that  differed  as  much  as  these  did  from 
European  forests.  The  only  logical 
thing  that  the  early  rangers  and  super- 
visors could  do  was  to  use  their  own 
judgment,  and  to  wait  and  see  what 
would  happen. 

Things  did  begin  to  happen.  Timber 
claims  and  homestead  entries  brought 
people  to  the  more  accessible  parts  of 
the  forest.  Their  activities  and  the  dry 
summers  and  the  lightning  storms  soon 
made  it  apparent  that  something  would 
have  to  be  done  about  forest  fires  or 
there  would  be  no  forest  left  to  admin- 
ister. It  was  apparent  also  that  the  bulk 
of  the  forest  land  was  valuable  princi- 
pally for  protecting  the  watersheds  and 
for  growing  timber,  but  that  streams 
and  lakes  should  be  preserved  for  fish- 
ing and  recreation  and  the  alpine 
meadows  near  the  summit  could  be 
used  for  grazing  cattle  and  sheep. 

THE  FIRST  MANAGEMENT  PROCE- 
DURES developed  on  the  Willamette 
National  Forest  were  for  fire  protec- 
tion. The  reason  was  simple:  If  fire 
were  not  kept  out  of  the  forest,  there 
would  be  no  need  to  devise  complicated 
sustained-yield  plans.  Fires  here  were 
endemic — a  recurring  phenomenon. 
Since  the  beginning  of  time,  lightning 
had  struck  the  high  ridges  and  fires 
had  burned  unchecked  until  autumn 
rains  put  them  out.  In  wet  years,  the 
fires  were  small.  In  dry  years,  the  fires 
were  catastrophic.  In  the  high  coun- 
try, when  fires  did  not  occur  naturally, 
the  Indians  set  their  own  fires  once  in 
a  while  in  the  belief  that  old  burns 
made  the  best  grounds  for  hunting  and 
huckleberry  picking.  Even  the  early 
miners  and  settlers  considered  it  proper 
to  touch  off  a  few  thousand  acres  of 
forest  land  if  they  thought  any  personal 
advantage  would  accrue. 

In  1902  Forest  Examiner  Fred  G. 
Plummer  looked  over  the  part  of  the 
reserve  that  is  now  the  Willamette  Na- 
tional Forest  and  said:  "From  all 
points  on  the  .  .  .  divide  the  views 
are  grand.  On  a  clear  day  the  pano- 


328 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


rama  extends  from  Mount  St.  Helens, 
in  Washington,  to  Diamond  Peak,  and 
includes  10  snow-capped  mountains, 
with  hundreds  of  lesser  peaks.  The 
middle  ground  is  of  lakes,  meadows, 
cinder  cones,  and  rivers  of  lava,  and 
the  foreground  would  be  in  perfect 
keeping  with  the  picture  if  it  were  not 
too  frequently  an  unsightly  burn." 

He  estimated  that  10  percent  of  the 
area  was  covered  by  new  burns  and 
that  probably  90  percent  of  the  entire 
forest  at  some  remote  period  had  suf- 
fered from  fires,  of  which  traces  still 
remained. 

In  the  beginning  men  were  lacking 
to  do  the  job.  Among  the  first  super- 
visors were  men  like  Gy  Bingham,  a 
westerner  who  combined  the  positions 
of  county  judge  and  sheriff  with  his 
Government  work,  and  Tom  Sherrard, 
a  young  easterner  who  had  studied  for- 
estry in  Europe.  Each  field  man  had 
about  500,000  acres  to  protect  from 
fire  or  trespass.  On  such  large  areas 
one  man  could  do  little  in  serious  fire 
situations  except  to  put  out  small  fires 
and  report  the  acreage  burned  over  by 
the  larger  fires. 

The  forests  in  the  Douglas-fir  region 
always  have  been  uniquely  susceptible 
to  bad  fires.  The  dry  summers,  the  pre- 
dominance of  resinous  trees,  and  the 
great  volume  of  inflammable  material 
on  the  ground  create  an  acute  hazard 
all  through  the  summer.  The  increas- 
ing use  of  the  forest  by  travelers,  vaca- 
tioners, loggers,  and  settlers  has  in- 
creased the  chances  of  man-caused 
fires.  Lightning  storms  can  easily  ignite 
the  material ;  in  critical  fire  weather,  a 
spark  from  a  logging  donkey,  a  burning 
match,  or  the  cigarette  of  a  passerby 
can  set  off  a  conflagration. 

Several  bad  fire  years  have  occurred 
on  the  Willamette  National  Forest 
since  it  was  created.  One  of  the  worst 
was  in  1919,  when  several  fires  burned 
over  about  31,000  acres. 

Through  the  years  a  systematic  fire- 
protection  organization  has  been  de- 
veloped. The  number  of  smokechasers 
was  increased.  Lookout  cabins  were 
built.  The  back  country  was  made 


more  accessible  by  new  trails  and 
roads.  New  fire-fighting  tools  were  de- 
veloped. Portable  pumps  and  hose  that 
could  be  carried  by  men  or  pack  ani- 
mals were  used.  Dropping  men  and 
supplies  from  airplanes  was  then  tried. 
Agreements  were  made  with  hundreds 
of  experienced  loggers,  sawmill  work- 
ers, and  other  local  cooperators  for 
getting  trained  fire  fighters  in  a  hurry. 

The  effect  of  the  organization  is  evi- 
dent from  the  record  for  the  5  years 
from  1943  to  1948.  During  the  period 
(when,  it  is  true,  the  weather  was  fa- 
vorable for  fire  fighting) ,  391  fires  were 
started  on  the  forest,  practically  all  by 
lightning,  but  the  area  burned  aver- 
aged only  139  acres  each  year. 

Another  step  came  in  the  techniques 
of  burning  logging  slash.  Fire  experts 
agree  that  slash  from  logging  is  the 
most  dangerous  type  of  fuel.  As  a  re- 
sult of  a  series  of  large  fires  in  slash,  for 
many  years  the  controlled  burning  of 
the  slash  was  considered  necessary. 
The  early  logger  was  not  particularly 
skillful  in  his  burning  techniques,  how- 
ever; it  was  not  unusual  for  a  slash- 
burning  fire  to  get  out  of  control. 
Through  experience,  men  learned  that 
in  this  region  slash  could  be  burned 
safely  only  at  certain  periods  of  the 
year — usually  after  the  first  heavy  fall 
rains — and  then  only  by  using  careful 
burning  procedures.  It  has  become 
standard  practice  to  postpone  burning 
until  fuel  under  the  green  timber  is 
wet  (usually  after  2]/2  to  5  inches  of 
rainfall)  ;  to  start  burning  in  the  after- 
noons so  that  fires  will  die  down  during 
the  night;  to  burn  downhill  on  steep 
slopes.  Thus  fire  hazard  is  reduced 
with  a  minimum  of  damage  to  the  for- 
est. Recently  improved  cutting  prac- 
tices, such  as  partial  cutting  or  area 
selection,  have  tended  to  simplify  the 
slash-burning  problem  by  breaking  up 
slash  areas  into  small  segments. 

THE  HEADWATERS  of  the  Middle 
Fork  Willamette,  McKenzie,  and  San- 
tiam  Rivers  are  within  the  Willamette 
forest.  All  are  major  contributors  to 
the  flow  of  the  Willamette  River,  whose 


Taming  a  Wild  Forest 


waters  are  important  to  agriculture  and 
industry  in  Oregon. 

The  management  of  the  national 
forest  is  planned  to  safeguard  the  water 
yields,  through  maintenance  of  an  ade- 
quate forest  cover.  Protection  from  fire, 
regulation  of  timber  harvesting,  and 
control  of  grazing  help  to  maintain  and 
improve  watershed  conditions. 

THE  SELLING  of  timber  to  private 
logging  operators  and  sawmills  started 
early  in  the  history  of  the  Willamette 
National  Forest.  The  first  sale  was  one 
for  14  million  board  feet  to  J.  B.  Hills 
of  Oakridge,  in  1905.  Between  1905 
and  1940  the  timber  business  increased 
at  a  comparatively  modest  rate.  Recre- 
ation and  fire  protection  were  still  the 
main  items  of  business.  The  average  cut 
on  the  entire  forest  for  the  35  years  was 
about  33  million  board  feet  a  year,  and 
was  mostly  on  the  accessible  Oakridge- 
Westfir  area  on  the  southern  end  of  the 
forest  and  on  the  Detroit-North  San- 
tiam  area  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
forest.  The  first  timber  sales  on  three  of 
the  six  ranger  districts  on  the  forest 
were  not  made  until  after  1940. 

In  the  Willamette  Valley  logging  has 
changed  from  a  primitive  form  to  a 
highly  mechanized  operation  within 
the  span  of  a  single  generation.  Early- 
day  bull  teams  gave  way  to  steam  don- 
key logging;  steam  donkeys,  in  turn, 
were  supplanted  by  trucks  and  tractors. 
Old-timers  now  high  in  lumbering  cir- 
cles, like  Faye  Abrams  of  Springfield 
and  H.  J.  Cox  of  Eugene,  can  remem- 
ber when  they  logged  with  bull  teams 
and  horse  teams  and  how  they  later 
switched  to  steam  donkey,  chutes,  and 
skid  roads. 

Early  logging  in  the  Douglas-fir  re- 
gion was  primitive.  Bull  teams,  made 
famous  by  the  legends  of  Paul  Bun- 
yan's  Blue  Ox,  were  the  primary  log- 
ging machines  until  nearly  1900.  The 
early  1900's  saw  the  coming  of  power 
logging — the  emergence  of  the  steam 
donkey  as  the  principal  logging  ma- 
chine. Several  years  later,  high-lead 
logging  was  developed.  In  high-lead 
logging,  a  lumberjack  had  to  cut  off 


329 

the  top  of  a  tall  tree,  called  a  spar 
tree.  Logs  were  hauled  to  the  landing 
by  a  long  cable  rigged  to  the  top  of 
the  spar  tree.  By  hauling  in  the  cable, 
the  donkey  engine  dragged  the  largest 
logs  to  a  common  pile,  sometimes 
called  a  "cold  deck,"  from  which  point 
the  logs  were  skidded  by  another  ma- 
chine along  a  chute  or  a  skid  road  to 
be  loaded  on  the  railroad  or  dumped 
into  the  river.  River  driving  was  com- 
mon on  the  Willamette  and  McKenzie 
Rivers  in  the  early  1900's. 

The  method  was  destructive  to  trees 
left  standing.  Any  standing  tree  in  the 
path  of  a  load  of  logs  on  its  way  to  the 
landing  would  promptly  be  knocked 
flat,  for  steam  donkeys  were  powerful 
engines. 

Despite  the  use  of  cheaper  river 
driving  close  to  rivers,  the  logging  rail- 
road reached  its  peak  as  a  logging  tool 
at  about  the  same  time  as  the  steam 
donkey.  The  first  large  timber  sales 
made  on  the  Willamette  were  logged 
with  donkey  and  railroad,  a  method  so 
expensive  that  much  of  the  timbered 
country  was  considered  inoperable  be- 
cause of  the  rugged  topography. 

Because  of  its  rough  terrain  and  be- 
cause a  huge  volume  of  privately 
owned  timber  was  readily  accessible  to 
water  transportation  in  the  Puget 
Sound,  Grays  Harbor,  and  Columbia 
River  territories,  only  a  moderate 
amount  of  cutting  of  Willamette  Na- 
tional Forest  timber  was  made  for 
nearly  40  years  after  the  first  timber 
sale  was  made. 

The  boom  in  truck  and  tractor  log- 
ging in  the  late  1930's  and  the  greater 
demand  for  lumber  as  war  approached 
gave  impetus  to  the  spurt  in  timber 
sales  that  started  in  1940  when  56 
million  board  feet  were  cut  and  in- 
creased to  207  million  in  1948. 

Another  advance  came  in  1933, 
when  an  analysis  of  the  resources  of 
the  Douglas-fir  region  by  the  Pacific 
Northwest  Forest  and  Range  Experi- 
ment Station  was  finished.  From  it 
came  more  definite  information  about 
what  was  actually  on  the  ground — an 
inventory  of  timber  types  and  depend- 


330 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


able  estimates  of  board-foot  volumes; 
a  framework  on  which  to  base  future 
plans  for  timber  cutting  and  from 
which  the  allowable  annual  sustained- 
yield  cut  could  be  calculated.  On  the 
basis  of  forest-management  formulas 
the  allowable  annual  cut  was  deter- 
mined to  be  323  million  board  feet,  the 
amount  that  the  land  could  grow  if  it 
is  kept  fully  productive. 

With  the  allowable  cut  determined, 
still  another  problem  remained — what 
methods  of  cutting  would  most  effec- 
tively keep  the  lands  productive. 

The  Forest  Service  always  has  re- 
served the  right  on  its  timber  sales  to 
require  that,  as  a  fire-prevention  meas- 
ure, the  slash  be  burned;  that  no  mer- 
chantable logs  be  left  in  the  woods  after 
logging;  that  stumps  be  cut  low  to  keep 
from  wasting  timber;  and  that  seed 
trees  be  left  to  reseed  cut-over  areas. 

Until  recently,  however,  extensive 
areas  of  clear  cutting  were  common  on 
national  forest  timber  sales,  with  the 
provision  that  seed  trees  be  left.  The 
seed-tree  method  of  providing  for  re- 
stocking of  young  trees  left  something 
to  be  desired,  it  was  found,  because  lone 
Douglas-fir  trees  are  easily  blown  down 
by  strong  winter  winds  that  periodically 
buffet  the  Pacific  coast.  The  cut-over 
land,  with  no  seed  source,  consequently 
often  grew  up  to  brush  instead  of  to 
young  fir  trees. 

The  development  of  truck  and  trac- 
tor logging  made  it  possible  to  reduce 
the  size  of  clear-cutting  areas  and  still 
not  make  the  logging  cost  too  high  to 
permit  cutting. 

Truck  and  tractor  logging  is  a  flex- 
ible mode  of  operation.  It  made  pos- 
sible sales  to  small  operators,  who  could 
afford  to  log  timber  only  where  a  lim- 
ited capital  investment  in  logging 
equipment  and  development  was  re- 
quired. Tracts  of  timber  not  large 
enough  to  justify  building  an  expen- 
sive logging  railroad  could  be  opened. 

The  first  cruisers  who  had  scouted 
the  forest  observed  that  most  of  the 
timber  volume  on  the  Willamette  was 
in  old-growth,  overmature  stands  of 
Douglas-fir.  Later  cruises  and  the  pub- 


lication of  the  systematic  resource  sur- 
vey confirmed  their  observations.  True, 
in  certain  localities  there  were  exten- 
sive stands  of  second-growth,  the  sequel 
to  large  fires  that  had  devastated  vast 
areas  along  the  Cascades  in  the  nine- 
teenth century.  But  far  the  greater  part 
of  the  volume  was  in  overmature,  stag- 
nant stands — stands  that  were  losing  as 
many  board  feet  each  year  from  decay, 
disease,  and  windthrow  as  they  were 
adding  through  new  growth.  The  worst 
of  it  was  that  losses  were  in  the  slow- 
growing  and  high-quality  "yellow  fir," 
from  which  most  of  the  valuable  clear 
lumber  and  plywood  is  produced  in  this 
region.  The  first  need,  then,  was  to  con- 
vert the  overmature  timber  to  a  grow- 
ing condition — to  utilize  the  old  trees 
and  to  harvest  the  trees  that  were  likely 
to  be  windthrown. 

To  accomplish  their  purpose,  for- 
esters needed  a  logging  system  that 
would  have  four  characteristics:  It 
had  to  bypass  growing  parts  of  a  stand 
but  cut  the  overmature  trees,  so  as  to 
convert  the  stagnant  forest  into  a  grow- 
ing forest  in  the  shortest  time.  It  had 
to  extend  the  transportation  system 
over  the  entire  forest  more  quickly,  so 
as  to  make  possible  the  salvage  of  wind- 
falls and  the  fire-killed  or  insect-killed 
trees,  and  the  profitable  thinning  of 
young  stands  at  a  later  date.  It  had  to 
leave  a  large  part  of  the  timber  as  a 
reserve  to  provide  for  natural  repro- 
duction and  preserve  the  values  of  wa- 
tershed protection,  recreation,  and 
scenery.  It  had  to  avoid  creating  ex- 
tensive areas  of  slash  accumulation. 

That  ideal  logging  system  is  the  one 
to  use  in  converting  forest  manage- 
ment from  a  virgin-timber  basis  to  a 
vigorously  growing,  second-growth  ba- 
sis in  about  100  years — the  rotation 
(that  is,  the  number  of  years  required 
to  mature  a  crop  of  timber)  in  which 
Douglas-fir  forests  produce  a  maxi- 
mum volume  of  wood. 

A  FOREST  usually  consists  of  trees  of 
different  sizes;  sometimes  the  age  of 
trees  on  a  single  acre  can  vary  widely. 
Some  trees  are  vigorous  and  fast  grow- 


Taming  a  Wild  Forest 


331 


ing;  others  are  weak  and  may  live  only 
a  short  time.  Foresters  study  the  com- 
position of  timber  stands  and  develop 
cutting  practices  to  fit  particular  con- 
ditions. 

Some  forests — such  as  those  com- 
posed chiefly  of  ponderosa  pine — 
respond  well  to  partial  cutting,  or 
selective  logging.  Trees  marked  for 
cutting  are  those  that  are  economically 
ripe  and  those  that  are  weakened  by 
insects,  disease,  or  fire.  The  younger, 
healthy  trees  are  left  for  further 
growth.  Thus,  the  poor-risk  and  ma- 
ture trees  are  removed  over  the  whole 
area;  a  full  forest  cover  is  left,  with 
only  small  openings.  In  these,  the 
young  trees  become  established,  and 
the  production  of  future  timber  crops 
is  uninterrupted. 

Selective  logging  has  been  done  in 
Douglas-fir  forests.  The  results  have 
not  always  been  good.  It  is  difficult  to 
remove  large  trees  from  these  dense 
stands  without  serious  injury  to  some 
of  the  trees  which  it  is  planned  to  leave. 
Loss  from  windfall  may  be  serious.  On 
some  stands,  careful  application  will 
produce  desirable  results,  but  often  it 
is  not  practicable  to  cut  the  old-growth 
Douglas-fir  stands  on  the  basis  of  se- 
lecting individual  trees  to  be  removed. 
That  is  very  true  on  steep  slopes. 

Another  key  reason  for  not  using  the 
true  selective-logging  system  in  old- 
growth  Douglas-fir  hinges  upon  a  char- 
acteristic of  Douglas-fir  seedlings :  The 
young  trees  will  not  tolerate  shade. 
Unless  the  openings  made  by  logging 
are  one-half  acre  or  larger  in  size, 
Douglas-fir  seedlings  will  not  thrive 
and  the  Douglas-fir  stand  will  not  re- 
produce itself.  And  if  enough  trees  are 
logged  selectively  to  open  the  stand 
sufficiently  to  insure  Douglas-fir  re- 
production, the  danger  of  serious  wind- 
fall becomes  excessive. 

Workers  in  the  Douglas-fir  region 
therefore  turned  to  other  means  of 
accomplishing  the  same  purposes — 
area  selection,  which  also  is  termed 
patch  cutting,  logging  by  staggered 
settings,  or  clear  cutting  by  small 
blocks.  Whatever  the  name,  the  prin- 


ciple was  the  same — to  clear-cut  small 
areas  of  timber  and  to  leave  reserve  or 
seed  strips  surrounding  the  cut-over 
areas.  Leaving  solid  reserve  strips 
seemed  to  eliminate  most  of  the  danger 
of  windthrow.  After  the  cutting  units, 
as  the  blocks  to  be  cut  over  were  called, 
were  clear-cut,  enough  light  could  get 
to  the  ground  to  favor  the  natural  re- 
seeding  and  survival  of  Douglas-fir 
seedlings  rather  than  those  of  minor 
species.  Patch  cutting,  or  area  selec- 
tion, met  the  other  requirements  of  the 
ideal  Douglas-fir  silvicultural  system. 
It  made  less  fire  hazard.  It  tended  to 
minimize  damage  to  watersheds,  scenic 
beauty,  and  wildlife.  It  favored  salvage 
logging.  The  more  they  tried  it,  the 
better  the  foresters  liked  it. 

As  the  patch-cutting  idea  developed, 
methods  of  laying  out  logging  units 
improved.  At  first,  no  one  knew  what 
was  the  proper  size  for  the  cutting 
patches.  Foresters  laid  out  units  as 
large  as  120  to  200  acres,  but  patches 
of  that  size  did  not  seem  to  reseed  com- 
pletely from  green  timber  around  the 
fringes;  it  has  since  been  necessary  to 
plant  some  of  those  cut-over  areas  in 
order  to  assure  satisfactory  stocking  of 
new  trees.  The  policy  now  is  to  have 
cutting  patches  that  average  from  40 
to  100  acres  each,  with  no  part  of  the 
cut-over  area  further  than  1,000  feet 
from  green  timber.  With  logging  units 
this  small,  it  seems  that  natural  re- 
stocking will  be  assured  in  most  cases. 

As  additional  insurance,  the  timber- 
sale  policy  now  is  to  assess  a  coopera- 
tive deposit,  under  the  Knutson-Van- 
denberg  Act,  to  provide  for  planting 
and  stand-improvement  work  on  the 
sale  area  after  logging  is  completed. 
If  a  logged-over  area  has  not  restocked 
naturally  after  5  years,  it  is  replanted. 

Under  the  area-selection  system,  the 
reserve  timber — often  designated  as 
seed  strips — is  left  standing  until  the 
cut-over  patches  are  covered  with  trees 
and  until  those  new  trees  are  old 
enough  to  bear  seed.  Then  the  second 
and  third  cuts  can  be  made  to  complete 
logging  of  the  mature  timber. 

Patch  cutting  involves  certain  diffi- 


332 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


culties.  Because  it  is  essentially  a  clear- 
cutting  system,  the  only  way  to  get 
good  forestry  is  in  the  lay-out  of  the 
logging  plan.  The  designation  of  which 
timber  is  to  be  cut  and  which  is  to 
be  left,  the  size  and  location  of  the 
cut-and-leave  areas,  and  the  location 
of  roads  and  spar  trees  all  limit  the 
practices,  good  or  bad,  that  will  be 
used  in  logging.  Improper  lay-outs  and 
poor  road  locations  increase  logging 
costs;  the  result  is  lower  stumpage 
prices  for  the  standing  timber  and  a 
tendency  toward  poor  forest  practices. 

The  areas  that  will  not  be  cut  in  the 
original  patches  should  also  be  con- 
sidered carefully  since  their  lay-out, 
when  they,  in  turn,  are  logged  some- 
time in  the  future,  also  depends  on  the 
original  location  of  roads  and  cutting 
areas.  The  men  who  do  this  planning 
must  be  good  foresters  and  good  prac- 
tical logging  engineers. 

In  order  to  lay  out  a  system  of  patch 
cutting  intelligently,  a  great  deal  of 
engineering  work  is  needed  before  a 
timber  sale  is  made.  A  road  system 
over  which  the  timber  cut  in  the  first 
cutting  cycle  can  be  hauled  must  be 
located,  with  the  thought  in  mind  that 
the  same  road  might  be  used  in  mak- 
ing the  second  cut  20  or  40  years  later 
and  that  salvage  cuts  may  be  made  at 
other  times. 

To  locate  the  road  system  and  lay 
out  the  proposed  cutting  units  in  a 
logical  and  practical  manner  requires 
a  good  topographic  map  such  as  for- 
est cruisers  usually  make  when  they 
measure  standing  timber  to  determine 
how  many  board  feet  of  lumber  can 
be  cut  from  the  timber.  Also  essential 
is  a  map  that  shows  the  kind  of  trees 
and  kind  of  stand  of  timber  that  is  on 
the  ground. 

Proper  planning  in  advance  is  im- 
portant because  the  lay-out  deter- 
mines to  a  large  extent  the  cost  of 
logging.  For  example,  timber  on  gen- 
tle slopes  ordinarily  should  be  tractor- 
logged.  In  order  to  log  with  tractors, 
the  truck  roads  that  tap  any  cutting 
area  must  be  located  below  the  unit 
because  it  is  much  more  economical  for 


tractors  to  drag  heavy  loads  downhill. 
On  the  other  hand,  high-lead  logging 
on  steep  ground  is  most  economical 
when  the  logs  are  pulled  uphill,  be- 
cause the  logs  tend  to  hang  up  and 
become  tangled  with  stumps  when 
they  are  pulled  downhill.  Therefore, 
roads  should  be  located  above  "high- 
lead  shows"  but  below  "cat  shows." 

The  ideal  now  on  the  Willamette 
National  Forest  is  to  keep  the  work  of 
cruising,  mapping,  and  road  location  at 
least  5  years  ahead  of  the  logging  oper- 
ations. The  use  of  aerial  photographs — 
which  show  streams  and  ridges  exactly 
as  they  are  on  the  ground,  or,  if  they 
are  of  large  enough  scale,  even  the  in- 
dividual trees  on  the  ground — may 
eliminate  much  of  the  field  work  that 
is  necessary  in  making  logging  plans. 

Although  the  allowable  annual  cut 
of  the  Willamette  National  Forest  un- 
der sustained-yield  management  has 
been  set  at  323  million  board  feet,  the 
actual  cut  in  1940  was  only  56  million 
board  feet.  By  1948,  it  had  been  in- 
creased to  207  million  board  feet,  still 
more  than  100  million  feet  short  of  the 
allowable  goal.  It  is  desirable  to  reach 
this  goal  quickly  in  order  to  convert  all 
of  the  forest  land  that  is  available  for 
cutting  to  a  growing  instead  of  a  stag- 
nant condition  as  soon  as  possible 
without  impairing  the  sustained-yield 
capacity  of  the  forest.  Planners  expect 
that  by  1952  the  Willamette  will  reach 
an  annual  cut  of  323  million  board  feet 
and  maintain  that  figure  as  a  perma- 
nent annual  cut — a  production  that 
will  last  as  long  as  the  forest  lasts. 

Timber  on  the  Willamette  National 
Forest  is  naturally  tributary  to  three 
Oregon  counties:  Lane,  Linn,  and 
Marion.  The  greater  part  would  go  to 
Lane  and  Linn  Counties,  in  each  of 
which  is  cut  annually  an  average  of 
about  a  billion  board  feet  of  timber, 
mostly  on  private  land. 

Sustained-yield  capacities  of  public 
and  private  lands  have  been  estimated 
as  about  400  million  feet  for  Linn 
County  and  800  million  feet  for  Lane 
County.  Private  timber,  which  ac- 
counts for  about  50  percent  of  the  total 


Taming  a  Wild  Forest 


333 


supply,  now  is  being  cut  two  to  three 
times  as  fast  as  it  can  grow  anew. 

As  the  supply  of  private  timber  is 
cut  out,  the  Willamette  timber  will  be 
called  upon  more  and  more  to  support 
a  number  of  communities  that  depend 
on  it,  among  them  Eugene,  Springfield, 
Sweet  Home,  and  Lebanon.  The  fact 
that  this  public  timber  is  being  cut  on 
a  sustained-yield  basis  will  be  a  factor 
in  the  stability  of  the  communities. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  Willa- 
mette timber  will  provide  employment 
directly  for  some  5,000  persons  when 
cutting  does  reach  the  sustained-yield 
level;  many  thousands  more  will  be 
supported  indirectly.  On  the  Willa- 
mette, the  problem  has  not  been  to 
limit  the  cut  but  to  increase  it  up  to 
the  allowable  limit.  The  reason  has 
been  the  remoteness  and  inaccessibility 
of  the  back  country,  in  which  much  of 
the  timber  grows. 

Orderly  harvesting  of  the  timber  will 
require  the  development  of  a  system  of 
timber-access  roads.  Early  completion 
of  the  system  is  needed  in  order  to  pre- 
vent steadily  occurring  losses  from  nat- 
ural causes  in  overmature  and  deca- 
dent stands.  Such  a  road  system  will 
also  serve  as  an  aid  in  protection  of  the 
timber  against  fire  and  insect  attack 
and  will  permit  salvage  of  material  lost 
from  such  causes. 

The  road-building  plan  on  the  Wil- 
lamette calls  for  the  early  construction 
of  3 1  miles  of  timber-access  roads  into 
four  main  drainages — the  Fall  Creek, 
South  Fork  McKenzie,  Blue  River,  and 
Winberry. 

DEFINITE  STEPS  have  been  taken  to 
safeguard  and  develop  recreation  on 
the  Willamette.  Two  areas  of  magnifi- 
cent scenic  beauty,  the  Mount  Jefferson 
Wild  Area  and  the  Three  Sisters  Wil- 
derness Area,  have  been  set  aside  to 
be  kept  free  of  logging  roads  or  other 
marks  of  civilization.  In  them  will  be 
210,000  acres  of  land  ,to  be  preserved 
in  its  pristine  glory,  unchanged  from  its 
condition  when  the  first  pioneers  and 
fur  traders  set  foot  on  them  in  the  early 
nineteenth  century.  Also  to  be  reserved 


from  cutting  are  scenic  strips  along  all 
major  highways,  fishing  streams,  and 
lakes.  Several  natural  areas  are  also 
planned,  to  remain  forever  untouched, 
even  by  trails,  as  evidence  to  future 
generations  of  what  their  forefathers 
found  here  and  as  laboratories  for  sci- 
entific study. 

The  Forest  Service  has  built  173 
forest  camps  and  picnic  areas  on  the 
Willamette  National  Forest.  Fireplaces, 
benches,  and  tables  are  provided  for 
campers.  Shelters  are  available  in 
the  inaccessible  regions  for  use  in  rainy 
weather.  Two  organization  camps  are 
available  now  to  civic  and  welfare  or- 
ganizations and  three  winter-sports 
areas  have  been  developed. 

In  many  of  the  more  accessible  rec- 
reational areas,  such  as  the  Breitenbush 
Hot  Springs,  the  McKenzie  River, 
the  Upper  Willamette  River,  and  the 
North  and  South  Santiam  Rivers,  re- 
sorts and  hotels  are  operated  by  pri- 
vate concessions  under  permit.  All  six 
ranger  districts  have  plans  for  leasing 
sites  for  summer  homes. 

Practically  all  the  recreational  im- 
provements on  the  Willamette  were 
built  by  the  workers  of  the  Civilian 
Conservation  Corps.  The  thousands  of 
youths,  housed  in  eight  camps  from 
1933  to  1941,  built  the  forest  camps, 
picnic  areas,  organization  camps,  win- 
ter-sports areas,  trails,  and  roads  dur- 
ing the  great  opening-up  period  of  the 
1930's.  Their  work  also  in  fighting  for- 
est fires,  building  protection  roads  and 
trails,  and  constructing  lookout  sta- 
tions and  guard  stations  was  invaluable 
in  preventing  disastrous  fires  and  rais- 
ing fire-protection  standards. 

The  use  of  the  ski  areas  on  the  Willa- 
mette Pass  and  McKenzie  Pass  terri- 
tory has  grown  very  rapidly.  An  even 
greater  development  has  been  the  Hoo- 
doo Butte  area  on  the  Santiam  Pass, 
where  a  winter-sports  area  accommo- 
dates— at  little  cost — 1,500  skiers. 

With  four  snow-capped  peaks — 
Mount  Jefferson,  North,  Middle,  and 
South  Sister— all  over  10,000  feet  in 
elevation,  and  numerous  lesser  peaks, 
including  Mount  Washington  (7,802 


334 

feet)  and  Three  Fingered  Jack  (7,848 
feet)  as  a  backdrop,  the  high  part  of 
the  forest  along  the  summit  of  the  Gas- 
cade  Range  possesses  a  scenic  grandeur 
all  its  own.  Hundreds  of  mountain 
lakes,  many  of  which  furnish  excellent 
fishing,  dot  the  alpine-meadow  coun- 
try. The  Oregon  Skyline  Trail,  a  mecca 
for  beauty  seekers,  follows  the  Cascade 
summit  along  the  eastern  boundary 
and  traverses  much  of  the  more  beau- 
tiful portion  of  the  forest.  The  trail 
crosses  through  the  Mount  Jefferson 
Wild  Area  past  the  Eight  Lakes  Basin, 
skirts  Three  Fingered  Jack  and  Mount 
Washington,  wanders  across  the  Three 
Sisters  Wilderness  Area,  and  heads 
south  past  Diamond  Lake  toward 
Grater  Lake  National  Park. 

FISH  AND  WILDLIFE  are  another  of 
the  multiple  values  of  the  Willamette. 
Patch  cutting  helps  protect  the  game, 
because  the  patches  are  quickly  cov- 
ered with  tree  seedlings  and  palatable 
browse  and  for  15  years  or  so  the 
patches  provide  excellent  feed  for  deer, 
elk,  and  small  game.  For  this  reason, 
the  system  of  patch  cutting  should 
materially  benefit  the  wildlife  resources 
of  the  forest.  The  game  census  of  1947 
estimated  540  elk,  860  bear,  7,400  deer, 
100  cougar,  and  1,100  beaver. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


GRAZING  is  another  forest  use,  al- 
though it  is  carried  on  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent only.  The  22  grazing  units  are 
located  mainly  along  the  summit  of  the 
Cascade  Range  and  in  the  most  part 
consist  of  alpine-type  meadows  and  old 
burns.  As  these  areas  are  protected 
from  fire,  encroachment  of  conifer  tree 
growth  is  gradually  taking  place  and 
the  net  usable  grazing  area  is  con- 
stantly decreasing.  It  seems  that  graz- 
ing is  destined  never  to  be  more  than 
a  minor  use  on  the  Douglas-fir  forests 
west  of  the  Cascades. 

JOHN  R.  BRUCKART,  now  supervisor 
of  the  Willamette  National  Forest,  en- 
tered the  Forest  Service  as  a  forest 
guard  on  the  Snoqualmie  National  For- 
est in  1909.  He  has  served  since  as  dis- 
trict ranger,  assistant  forest  supervisor, 
regional  forest  inspector,  and  forest 
supervisor  in  the  Pacific  Northwest. 
He  has  been  associated  with  Douglas- 
fir  management  since  early  in  his  ca- 
reer, having  done  timber  cruising,  sale 
administration,  and  timber-appraisal 
work.  He  pioneered  in  the  develop- 
ment of  slash-disposal,  fire-protection, 
and  utilization  techniques  and  the  im- 
provement of  cutting  practices.  He  re- 
ceived the  Superior  Service  Award  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  1947. 


NEW  SECURITY  FOR  FOREST  COMMUNITIES 

DAHL    J.  KIRKPATRICK 


The  Sustained-Yield  Unit  Act  was 
designed  to  permit  the  Federal  forest- 
management  agencies  to  combine  pub- 
lic and  privately  owned  forest  lands  for 
joint  sustained-yield  operation.  It  also 
authorized  the  designation  of  depend- 
ent forest  communities  as  the  manu- 
facturing points  for  Federal  timber. 

The  need  for  such  legislation  as  a 
measure  to  assure  community  stability 
was  recognized  on  the  Pacific  coast  a 
generation  ago — when  the  ultimate 
result  of  excessively  rapid  private  tim- 
ber liquidation  became  apparent.  The 


measure  was  enacted  by  the  Seventy- 
eighth  Congress  on  March  29,  1944,  as 
Public  Law  273  (58  Stat.  132;  16  U.  S. 
C.  583-583i). 

The  law  promises  to  be  of  consider- 
able help  to  communities  that  depend 
on  the  forest  industries  for  their  eco- 
nomic support.  It  can  assure  sustained- 
yield  management  on  large  areas  of 
the  private  forest  lands  that  otherwise 
might  be  subjected  to  liquidation  with 
the  inevitable  aftermath  of  community 
deterioration  and  ruin. 

An  example  of  how  the  legislation 


New  Security  for  Forest  Communities 


335 


works  is  illustrated  by  a  review  of  the 
first  case  to  which  it  was  applied,  the 
Shelton  Cooperative  Sustained- Yield 
Unit. 

The  Simpson  Logging  Co.  started 
its  operations  in  Shelton,  the  seat  of 
Mason  County,  Wash.,  in  1895.  At 
first,  the  company's  operations  were 
confined  to  logging.  The  entire  output 
was  sold  on  the  log  market  of  Puget 
Sound.  The  company  grew  and  pros- 
pered with  the  new  community.  By  the 
time  the  Sustained-Yield  Unit  Act  was 
adopted,  the  frontier  town  of  Shelton 
had  become  a  flourishing  town  of  4,800 
population,  and  the  Simpson  Logging 
Co.  had  matured  into  a  substantial 
concern  that  operated  two  large  saw- 
mills and  a  Douglas-fir  plywood  plant 
at  Shelton,  as  well  as  two  outlying  log- 
ging camps  in  the  tributary  forest  area. 
The  other  important  source  of  indus- 
trial support  for  the  community  was  a 
pulp  mill  of  an  annual  capacity  of 
75,000  tons. 

DURING  THE  FIRST  HALF  CENTURY 
of  timber  operations  in  and  about  Shel- 
ton, the  vast  virgin  forest,  which  had 
stretched  back  almost  endlessly  from 
the  shores  of  Puget  Sound,  had  shrunk 
to  an  alarming  degree.  Serious  losses 
from  forest  fires  in  1902  and  active 
timber  cutting  by  several  large  opera- 
tors pushed  back  the  forest  frontier. 

Then,  one  by  one,  as  the  virgin  forest 
was  depleted,  the  operating  firms  closed 
down  or  moved  away.  The  last  to  reach 
the  end  of  its  holdings  was  the  Henry 
McCleary  Timber  Co.,  which,  besides 
its  logging  facilities,  operated  a  sawmill 
at  Shelton  and  a  plywood  plant  and 
sash  and  door  factory  in  the  nearby 
company  town  of  McCleary.  The 
Simpson  Logging  Co.  bought  out  the 
McCleary  concern  in  1942. 

Unlike  most  of  its  contemporaries  in 
the  logging  and  lumbering  business  on 
Puget  Sound,  the  Simpson  Logging  Co. 
did  not  let  its  cut-over  forest  lands  re- 
vert to  the  counties  for  taxes,  as  was 
then  customary.  It  kept  its  holdings 
and,  as  the  opportunity  permitted,  ex- 
tended its  ownership  of  reproducing 


forest  lands  by  buying  the  cut-over 
areas  of  other  operating  companies  and 
by  redeeming  lands  that  the  counties 
had  acquired  through  tax  foreclosure. 
Simpson  pioneered  in  urging  and  se- 
curing the  establishment  of  a  forest 
fire-protection  system  in  Washington. 
The  firm's  forest-land  program  was 
based  upon  a  belief  that  forestry  in 
western  Washington  would  ultimately 
be  a  profitable  business  enterprise — 
that  the  ownership  and  protection  of 
young  growing  forests  would  be  the 
foundation  on  which  such  an  enterprise 
would  be  built. 

A  few  years  after  lumbering  opera- 
tions started  near  Shelton,  the  unap- 
propriated public  domain  in  the  remote 
mountainous  country,  beyond  what 
was  then  considered  to  be  the  economic 
limits  of  timber  exploitation,  was  set 
aside  as  a  part  of  the  Olympic  National 
Forest. 

Little  public  notice  was  taken  of  the 
action;  the  reservation  was  largely  be- 
yond the  zone  of  high-quality  old- 
growth  Douglas-fir,  in  rugged  terrain 
where  logging  would  be  difficult  and 
costly,  and  far  from  settlements  and 
the  Puget  Sound  log  market.  The 
values  involved  were  so  low  that  the 
withdrawal  action  was  of  little  local 
concern. 

During  the  time  that  the  better  and 
more  accessible  private  timber  in  the 
lowlands  was  being  used  up,  the  na- 
tional forest  stumpage  almost  went  beg- 
ging. But  with  the  development  of 
transportation  systems  for  harvesting 
the  private  forest  zone  and  the  intro- 
duction of  improved  logging  equip- 
ment, the  national  forest  resource 
became  physically  and  economically 
accessible.  It  was  no  longer  a  remote 
area  of  low-grade  timber  in  the  back 
country;  it  became  a  valuable  forest 
property  whose  management  was  vital 
to  the  well-being  of  the  people  in 
Shelton  and  McCleary. 

When  the  Sustained-Yield  Unit  Act 
was  passed,  the  Simpson  Logging  Co. 
owned  20,000  acres  of  virgin  timber- 
land  that  contained  a  billion  board  feet 
of  timber.  Simpson  also  had  140,000 


336 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


acres  of  reproducing  forest  lands  that 
supported  young  trees  from  1  to  70 
years  old.  The  annual  log  requirements 
of  Simpson's  manufacturing  facilities 
amounted  to  about  100  million  board 
feet.  About  7,400  persons  depended  for 
their  livelihood  on  the  continuation  of 
the  company's  operations  at  that  level 
of  production.  The  national  forest  re- 
source in  the  area  tributary  to  the  com- 
pany's operations  consisted  of  110,000 
acres  of  forest  land,  89,000  acres  of 
which  were  old-growth  timber  stands 
having  a  total  volume  of  4  5/3  billion 
board  feet. 

Under  sustained-yield  harvesting, 
the  cut  from  the  national  forest  lands 
alone  would  have  been  48  million 
board  feet  a  year.  Simpson's  holdings 
could  not  practically  have  been  sub- 
jected to  sustained-yield  management 
if  anything  approximating  the  current 
plant  requirements  were  to  be  sup- 
plied. The  company  did  not  own 
enough  mature  timber.  The  100  mil- 
lion board  feet  per  year  rate  of  cutting 
would  have  forced  the  company  to 
liquidate  its  timber  in  10  years;  after 
that,  production  from  company  lands 
would  have  dropped  to  next  to  nothing 
for  30  years  or  so  until  the  trees  on  the 
reproducing  lands  reached  cutting  size. 
During  that  period,  production  would 
have  fallen  to  a  level  measured  by  the 
company's  competitive  purchases  of 
national  forest  timber.  It  could  not 
have  exceeded  48  million  a  year.  It 
might  have  been  a  great  deal  less.  An 
extremely  severe  curtailment  of  indus- 
trial activity  and  a  consequent  econom- 
ic crisis  would  have  been  inevitable 
in  Shelton  and  McGleary. 

THE      SUSTAINED- YIELD      UNIT     ACT 

permitted  the  Forest  Service  to  join  its 
timber  resource  with  that  of  the  com- 
pany for  unified  management.  The 
large  reservoir  of  old-growth  timber  in 
national  forest  ownership  thus  could 
be  used  to  bridge  the  production  gap, 
pending  the  economic  maturity  of  the 
company's  young  stands,  and  assurance 
could  be  given  that  the  company's 
wood-using  facilities  in  Shelton  and 


McCleary  would  be  maintained  at  ap- 
proximately current  levels.  Within  the 
limits  of  sustained-yield  forest  man- 
agement, comparable  stability  for  these 
communities  could  not  otherwise  be 
achieved.  A  combination  like  that  for 
management  purposes  would  guaran- 
tee that  good  forest  practices  and  sus- 
tained yield  would  be  applied  to 
268,000  acres  of  forest  lands  rather 
than  to  the  110,000  acres  of  national 
forest  ownership  alone.  In  consequence 
of  these  obvious  public  benefits,  the 
Simpson  Logging  Co.  and  the  Forest 
Service  reached  a  sustained-yield 
agreement,  effective  January  1,  1947. 

Advantages  became  apparent  almost 
at  once. 

In  the  first  year  of  operation  under 
the  agreement,  the  employment  in  the 
Simpson  Logging  Co.  industries  grew 
from  1,350  to  1,800  persons. 

An  insulation-board  plant  has  been 
opened  in  Shelton.  It  employs  200  men 
on  3  shifts.  Its  raw  material  comes 
from  wood  formerly  wasted  or  used  as 
fuel  for  the  generation  of  power  at 
Shelton.  It  furnishes  an  outlet  also 
for  the  small  stuff  from  thinnings  and 
the  stand-improvement  cuttings,  which 
will  be  available  in  quantity  from  the 
reproducing  stands  within  the  unit. 

A  new  and  very  modern  community, 
Grisdale,  was  established  as  the  seat  of 
the  company's  logging  operations  at  the 
railhead  48  miles  west  of  Shelton.  It 
provides  houses  for  more  than  400  per- 
sons and  has  recreational  facilities,  a 
school,  and  a  community  center. 

The  community  of  McCleary,  which 
for  a  decade  had  been  on  the  decline, 
has  been  revitalized.  It  is  no  longer  a 
company  town.  The  homes  and  busi- 
ness places  have  been  sold  to  their  oc- 
cupants, civic  improvements  have  been 
made,  and  a  corporate  form  of  govern- 
ment has  been  established.  The  com- 
pany has  modernized  the  plywood 
plant  as  well  as  the  door  factory.  Em- 
ployment and  the  production  of  fin- 
ished products  have  increased.  Other 
company  plants  have  been  modernized 
to  some  extent  and  the  logging  railroad 
and  machine  shops  have  been  moved 


New  Security  for  Forest  Communities 


from  the  heart  of  the  Shelton  business 
district  to  an  industrial  site  on  the 
water  front. 

In  addition  to  those  improvements, 
private  business  and  residential  con- 
struction in  and  near  the  two  towns  has 
increased  markedly.  Now  that  the  fu- 
ture security  of  the  communities  seems 
assured,  further  advances  can  be  ex- 
pected under  the  cooperative  sus- 
tained-yield program  as  new  processes 
are  developed  for  the  expanded  and 
more  complete  utilization  of  the  raw 
products  grown  on  the  lands  of  the 
unit.  These  new  utilization  facilities 
are  expected  also  to  provide  a  market 
for  raw  material  from  the  young  forests 
of  the  noncooperating  landowners  who 
are  within  the  area. 

THE  ADMINISTRATION  of  the  coop- 
erative-unit phase  of  the  Sustained- 
Yield  Unit  Act  requires  that  private 
cooperators  contribute  substantially  to 
the  cooperative  enterprise. 

They  must  own  considerable  areas 
of  productive  forest  lands  and  volumes 
of  merchantable  timber.  They  must 
agree  to  maintain  the  lands  committed 
to  management  in  a  high  state  of 
productivity  by  carrying  out  advanced 
programs  of  forestry,  protection,  and 
development.  They  must  agree  to  fol- 
low timber-cutting  plans  that  are 
geared  to  the  sustained  productive  ca- 
pacity of  the  cooperating  lands  of  the 
unit.  They  must  keep  abreast  of  ad- 
vances made  in  manufacturing  tech- 
niques, so  as  to  assure  fullest  possible 
use  of  all  available  raw  products  and 
achieve  maximum  employment  and 
community  support. 

In  return  for  the  public  benefits  that 
will  accrue  as  a  result  of  these  commit- 
ments by  the  private  cooperators,  they 
are  given  the  privilege  of  purchasing 
national  forest  timber  within  the  co- 
operative unit  at  appraised  prices  with- 
out competitive  bidding. 

THE  EXTENT  to  which  programs  of 
cooperative  forest  management  ulti- 
mately can  be  applied  in  our  national 
forest  system  depends  on  several  fac- 


337 

tors.  One  is  the  willingness  of  qualified 
cooperators  to  assume  the  responsi- 
bilities that  the  Forest  Service  imposes 
to  assure  the  fulfillment  of  the  objec- 
tives of  the  act.  Another  is  that  the 
forest  lands  proposed  for  commitment 
to  cooperative  management  be  of  rela- 
tively high  productivity — otherwise, 
sustained-yield  management  on  them 
might  be  poor  business. 

Because  of  the  widely  mixed  nature 
of  the  ownership  of  private  forest  land 
throughout  the  country,  many  poten- 
tial cooperators  cannot  meet  the  mini- 
mum qualifications  of  land  and  timber 
ownership.  Sometimes  the  low  produc- 
tivity of  some  of  our  forest  zones 
discourages  long-term  private-forest 
programs.  These  facts,  plus  the  extent 
of  private-forest  depletion  in  some 
areas,  make  it  seem  unlikely  that  co- 
operative forest-management  units  will 
embrace  very  large  proportions  of  the 
Nation-wide  public-forest  resource. 

Present  indications  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest  are  that  cooperative-man- 
agement units  will  not  involve  more 
than  25  percent  of  the  total  sustained- 
yield  cut  allowed  on  national  forests — 
maybe  much  less.  In  California  there 
are  only  a  few  opportunities  for  the 
beneficial  institution  of  cooperative- 
management  programs. 

In  the  northern  Rocky  Mountains, 
it  is  probable  that  cooperative-man- 
agement units  will  be  limited.  In  other 
national  forest  regions  the  extensive 
development  of  cooperative  sustained- 
yield  management  programs  does  not 
at  this  time  appear  likely. 

From  a  national  standpoint,  there- 
fore, cooperative  management  is  ex- 
pected to  have  restricted  application. 

FURTHER  AUTHORITY  was  extended 
by  the  Sustained-Yield  Unit  Act  to 
agencies  that  administer  Federal  for- 
ests. By  formal  declaration  they  can 
establish  sustained-yield  units  that 
comprise  only  Federal  forest  land.  This 
aspect  is  designed  to  protect  the  sta- 
bility of  communities  that  depend  pri- 
marily on  the  sale  of  Federal  timber  or 
other  forest  products.  It  is  intended  to 


802062°— 49- 


-2.°, 


338 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


be  used  in  situations  where  the  stability 
of  a  community  could  not  be  assured 
under  the  usual  procedures  of  selling 
timber.  Units  of  this  kind  are  called 
Federal  sustained-yield  units. 

Timber  sold  from  these  dedicated 
areas  must  be  given  at  least  primary 
processing  within  the  community  that 
needs  the  support.  In  all  instances  an 
effort  will  be  made  to  support  local 
secondary  wood-using  industries  in 
existence  at  the  time  the  unit  is  estab- 
lished or  to  encourage  the  establish- 
ment of  secondary  utilization  processes 
in  communities  that  do  not  have  them. 
The  Federal-unit  program  thus  can  be 
made  to  contribute  most  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  objectives  of  the  act 
by  broadening  the  employment  base. 

The  law  also  permits  the  selection 
and  designation  of  qualified  operators 
in  Federal  units  who  will  be  allowed 
to  purchase  the  national  forest  timber 
from  the  area  without  competitive 
bidding.  In  most  communities  that  de- 
pend primarily  on  Federal  timber, 
however,  there  are  already  more  wood- 
processing  plants  than  can  be  sup- 
ported by  the  sustained  allowable  cut 
of  the  available  public  forest  lands. 
Under  such  conditions  there  is  no  dis- 
tinct advantage  to  the  community  in 
designating  one  of  the  plants  as  the 
exclusive  beneficiary  of  the  act.  Con- 
sequently, in  such  situations  it  is  plan- 
ned that  the  timber  will  be  offered  for 
sale  under  regular  bidding  procedure 
with  the  stipulation  that  manufactur- 
ing take  place  in  the  community  in- 
tended to  be  supported.  Competition 
for  the  timber  will  be  limited  to  pur- 
chasers who  can  meet  the  local  proc- 
essing requirements. 

Only  one  Federal  unit  has  been  es- 
tablished so  far  under  the  authority  of 
this  phase  of  the  act.  It  is  known  as 
the  Vallecitos  Sustained- Yield  Unit 
and  is  situated  on  the  Carson  National 
Forest  in  New  Mexico.  The  formal 
declaration  establishing  the  unit  was 
executed  by  the  Chief  of  the  Forest 
Service  on  January  21,  1948.  Its  pur- 
pose is  to  provide  the  incentive  for  the 
establishment  of  suitable  milling  and 


remanufacturing  facilities  to  handle 
the  small  cut  that  the  unit  will  yield 
in  order  to  provide  supplemental  em- 
ployment for  the  community  of  ranch- 
ers residing  in  and  near  the  village  of 
Vallecitos.  Assurance  of  a  stable  supply 
of  raw  forest  products  was  needed  to 
induce  the  establishment  of  remanu- 
facturing facilities  and  make  the  level 
of  local  employment  more  consistent 
with  the  needs  of  the  people  of  the 
community. 

As  in  the  case  of  cooperative  units, 
the  extent  to  which  the  Federal-unit 
program  may  find  application  in  the 
administration  of  the  national  forest 
system  cannot  be  predicted.  The  op- 
portunities for  beneficial  action  seem 
to  be  wider  than  in  the  cooperative- 
unit  field.  Because  the  Federal-unit 
program  does  not  require  contracts 
with  private  forest-land  owners,  fewer 
conflicting  interests  need  to  be  re- 
solved. It  is  designed  only  to  direct 
the  ordinary  management  programs 
for  Federal  forest  lands  so  as  to  give 
the  greatest  help  to  dependent  com- 
munities. 

In  the  Pacific  Northwest  region  and 
California  an  estimated  maximum  of 
30  percent  of  the  total  allowable  an- 
nual cut  from  national  forest  lands 
may  be  dedicated  ultimately  to  local 
dependent  communities  under  the 
Federal-unit  phase  of  the  act.  Exten- 
sive use  of  the  plan  in  the  northern 
Rocky  Mountains  does  not  seem  likely. 
In  the  Southwest,  the  act  may  be 
applied  beneficially  in  establishing  Fed- 
eral units  for  numerous  small  com- 
munities, as  in  Vallecitos.  It  should  do 
good  in  situations  in  which  national 
forest  timber  has  been  contributing 
nothing  or  less  than  it  could  to  com- 
munity stability. 

But  these  two  phases  of  the  Sus- 
tained-Yield Unit  Act — the  cooper- 
ative unit  authority  and  the  Federal- 
unit  program — can  assure  important 
public  benefits.  They  can  improve  the 
practices  of  using  and  processing  wood ; 
they  can  steady  employment;  they  can 
give  benefits  that  flow  from  industrial 
and  community  stability.  They  are, 


Rebuilding  a  Southern  Forest 


339 


above  all,  a  new  approach  to  one  part 
of  our  forestry  problem. 

DAHL  J.  KIRKPATRIGK,  a  native  of 
the  Pacific  Northwest,  is  the  son  of  a 
pioneer  forest  ranger.  He  was  grad- 
uated from  the  College  of  Forestry  of 
the  University  of  Washington  in  1929, 


and  became  a  member  of  the  Forest 
Service  in  1930.  He  has  served  in  vari- 
ous capacities  in  the  Pacific  Northwest 
since  that  time  and  is  presently  a  mem- 
ber of  the  regional  forester's  staff  in 
Portland,  Oreg.,  handling  activities 
connected  with  the  administration  of 
the  Sustained-Yield  Unit  Act. 


REBUILDING  A  SOUTHERN  FOREST 

FRANK  A.  ALBERT 


The  rebuilding  of  the  Bienville 
National  Forest  began  on  June  15, 
1936.  It  was  then  a  sorry  tract  in  the 
middle  of  Mississippi,  about  45  miles 
east  of  Jackson.  Severe  logging  and  re- 
peated wildfires  had  wasted  it  away. 

The  175,375  acres  in  the  forest 
should  produce  10,000  board  feet  of 
timber  to  the  acre.  But,  in  1936,  only 
89,455  acres  were  well  enough  stocked 
with  timber  to  be  considered  salable; 
on  that  part,  the  average  was  only  569 
board  feet  to  the  acre.  The  rest  was 
even  worse.  The  average  stand  for  the 
whole  forest  was  298  board  feet;  it 
varied  from  48  board  feet  to  4,011  in 
a  few  spots. 

The  bad  economic  conditions  then 
reflected  the  exhaustion  of  the  forest 
and  the  general  depression.  Between 
50  and  75  percent  of  the  land  of  the 
large  lumber  companies  and  40  to  50 
percent  of  the  land  of  small  owners 
was  tax  delinquent.  Nearly  all  the  saw- 
mills in  the  area  were  losing  money. 
The  governments  of  Jasper,  Newton, 
Scott,  and  Smith  Counties,  in  which 
the  forest  lies,  and  the  citizens  were 
impoverished.  Many  of  the  people  were 
sustained  by  the  relief  programs.  This 
was  the  cut-over,  burned-over,  abused 
land  that  the  Government  bought  in 
1936.  With  the  help  of  the  Civilian 
Conservation  Corps  and  the  Works 
Progress  Administration,  work  started. 

The  residents  considered  the  area  as 
wild  land  ( laying  out — not  being  used) 
and  therefore  subject  to  burning  and 
trespass  at  will.  The  aims  and  methods 


of  the  national  forest  program  were  ex- 
plained to  them ;  they  had  thought  the 
Government  was  buying  the  land  as 
a  boondoggle. 

In  the  tasks  of  changing  such  think- 
ing into  something  cooperative  as  well 
as  constructive,  the  first  item  was  fire 
prevention.  Demonstrations  were  given 
of  what  good  forestry  would  mean  to 
the  welfare  of  the  communities.  Results 
were  almost  immediate.  In  1941,  Bien- 
ville had  only  46  fires  that  burned  1,655 
acres. 

To  control  fires  and  develop  the  re- 
sources, fire  lookout  towers,  telephone 
lines,  residences  for  fire  lookouts,  ware- 
houses, repair  shop,  fences,  and  172 
miles  of  roads  were  constructed.  The 
first  fire-suppression  work  was  done 
mainly  with  hand  tools.  Today  the 
work  is  handled  by  small  crews  of  three 
or  four  men  equipped  with  mobile  ra- 
dio and  fast,  light  tractor-plow  outfits. 
Modern  methods  and  equipment  have 
greatly  reduced  the  losses  and  costs. 

After  the  protective  measures  of  fire 
control  were  under  way,  constructive 
action  was  started  to  restore  the 
wrecked  stands  and  the  large  denuded 
areas.  The  removal  of  the  pine  timber 
from  those  areas  had  left  too  great  a 
proportion  of  low-grade  hardwoods, 
and  the  areas  were  covered  now  pri- 
marily with  brush  and  the  worthless 
species. 

Work  to  improve  the  timber  stand 
was  carried  on  in  pine  reproductions. 
The  work  consisted  of  felling  or  gir- 
dling the  overtopping,  worthless  hard- 


340 

woods  to  release  the  pine.  Good  hard- 
woods were  left;  so  were  food  and 
shelter  trees  for  wildlife. 

To  help  check  the  encroachment  of 
brush  on  large  areas  that  had  insuffi- 
cient seed  trees,  12,000  acres  were 
planted  to  loblolly  pine  and  longleaf 
pine.  From  500  to  700  loblolly  pine 
seedlings  per  acre  survived;  their  en- 
emy was  fusiform  rust  (Cronartium 
fusiforme).  Brown  spot  disease  and 
hogs  and  sheep  destroyed  some  longleaf 
pine  seedlings,  but  400  to  500  survived 
per  acre.  ( In  some  places  natural  lob- 
lolly reproduction  now  is  encroaching 
into  the  longleaf  pine  and  is  causing 
some  concern,  because  loblolly  pine  on 
poor  sites  is  especially  susceptible  to 
fusiform  rust  disease.) 

ALREADY,,  AFTER  13  YEARS  of  protec- 
tion and  management,  the  results  can 
be  seen.  People  who  visit  the  area  now 
find  it  hard  to  believe  that  a  few  years 
ago  the  tract  was  almost  worthless.  It  is 
stocked  with  a  merchantable  stand  of 
about  3,000  board  feet  an  acre — 10 
times  the  volume  that  existed  when  the 
land  was  purchased.  A  steady  stream  of 
sawlogs,  pulpwood,  railroad  ties,  fuel 
wood,  and  other  products  comes  out  of 
the  forest.  It  has  made  a  great  change 
in  the  economic  and  community  life  of 
adjoining  towns  and  villages. 

At  first,  because  of  the  poor  stand, 
little  timber  was  sold.  From  1936  to 
1942,  only  756,000  board  feet  were  cut. 
The  annual  cut  since  then  has  been: 
In  1942,  2,190,000  board  feet;  1943, 
3,048,000;  1944,  5,304,000;  1945,  5,- 
133,000;  1946,  8,333,000;  1947,  15,- 
072,000;  and,  in  1948,  25,296,000. 

Rapid  restocking  and  growth  of  tim- 
ber under  effective  fire  protection  made 
possible  this  unusual,  steady  increase. 

Today  the  timber  stands  and  growth 
are  estimated  as  follows:  Present  vol- 
ume of  saw  timber,  330  million  board 
feet,  and  190  million  of  pulpwood;  an- 
nual growth  of  saw  timber,  35  million 
board  feet,  and  1 1  million  of  pulpwood. 

The  annual  cut  of  saw  timber  in 
1948-52  is  put  at  12  million  board  feet, 
and  of  pulpwood,  5  million.  In  1952- 


of  Agriculture  1949 


57,  the  annual  cut  will  be  about  20  mil- 
lion board  feet;  the  cut  will  increase 
gradually  until  it  reaches  a  potential 
cut  of  approximately  70  million  board 
feet  a  year  by  1970  or  so.  The  inten- 
tion is  to  sell  the  sawlog  timber  first 
and  then  the  pulpwood.  After  the  sale 
of  pulpwood  will  come  whatever  silvi- 
cultural  work  is  needed,  such  as  remov- 
ing the  unmerchantable  hardwoods 
which  overtop  pine.  Cutting  will  be 
regulated  so  that  food  and  den  trees  are 
left  for  game. 

Some  of  the  areas  are  being  cut  for 
the  second  time  in  13  years.  The  short 
cutting  intervals — 5  years  for  pulp- 
wood,  10  years  for  sawlogs — are  pos- 
sible because  of  rapid  growth  and  the 
good  system  of  forest  roads. 

On  one  20-acre  parcel  in  Scott 
County,  2,585  board  feet  an  acre  were 
cut  in  1941.  The  second  cut,  2,300 
board  feet  of  logs  and  4  cords  of  pulp- 
wood  an  acre,  was  made  in  1946;  the 
grade  of  the  second  cut  ran  20  percent 
better  than  the  1941  cut.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  plot  now  has  10,000  board  feet 
per  acre  of  good  saw  timber. 

ADMINISTRATION  of  the  Bienville 
National  Forest  is  made  difficult  be- 
cause it  is  comprised  of  many  small, 
scattered  tracts.  It  is  not  a  large,  solid 
block  of  Government-owned  timber- 
land,  but  its  boundaries  enclose  382,- 
820  acres,  of  which  only  46  percent  is 
federally  owned.  Such  scattered  own- 
ership increases  the  cost  of  all  phases 
of  administration  and  adds  to  the  prob- 
lems of  management :  Sometimes  prop- 
erty lines  are  poorly  marked  and  in 
dispute;  matters  of  fire  control  and 
public  relations  are  harder  to  handle. 

Ivo  W.  Miller,  the  Bienville  district 
ranger,  recognized  that  situation  when 
he  returned  from  the  war  and  took 
over.  He  determined  on  a  dual  aim: 
To  make  the  forest  contribute  to  the 
welfare  of  the  neighboring  farmers  and 
others,  and  to  secure  their  interest  and 
cooperation  in  its  protection  and  man- 
agement. He  believed  they  should  take 
part  in  their  own  forestry  program  and 
should  appreciate  the  values  of  for- 


Rebuilding  a  Southern  Forest 


estry  on  their  own  forties.  He  initiated 
a  plan  to  apply  the  principles  of  farm 
(or  small-scale)  forestry  on  the  scat- 
tered Government  tracts  in  his  district, 
utilizing  local  people  and  small-scale 
operators  for  harvesting  the  timber. 

He  formed  an  advisory  committee 
of  leading  citizens  to  help  manage  the 
forest,  so  that  it  would  be  operated 
smoothly  and  efficiently  and  with  the 
maximum  benefits  to  the  local  econ- 
omy. Members  of  the  committee  met 
with  the  supervisors  and  Ranger  Miller 
to  discuss  the  problems  and  work  out 
solutions.  The  program  was  effective. 

THE  FIRST  EFFORT  to  place  the  scat- 
tered lands  under  intensive  manage- 
ment was  made  through  small  timber 
sales  to  neighboring  farmers.  At  once 
the  problem  came  up  of  financing  the 
farmers  who  did  not  have  the  money 
to  buy  and  operate  the  timber.  Ordi- 
narily, they  are  financed  by  a  sawmill 
or  a  larger  operator,  in  which  case 
their  log  market  is  limited  to  that  par- 
ticular mill.  But  in  the  Bienville  forest, 
the  small  farmers  got  most  of  their 
credit  from  local  bankers,  who  were 
enthusiastic  over  the  prospect  of  de- 
veloping this  small,  scattered  logging 
industry.  (Now,  about  90  percent  of 
the  small  operators  are  able  to  finance 
themselves. ) 

With  the  independent  financing,  the 
farmers  could  work  their  timber  sales, 
which  averaged  42,000  board  feet,  dur- 
ing their  off  season  and  could  sell  their 
timber  products  to  the  best  financial 
advantage.  From  the  start,  this  busi- 
ness developed  into  a  cooperative  proj- 
ect. Two  or  more  farmers  helped  each 
other  cut  the  timber  and  haul  it.  For 
example,  on  no  one  sale  was  there 
enough  white  ash  to  be  hauled  profit- 
ably to  the  Newton  market.  But  when 
several  men  pooled  their  ash  logs  and 
hauled  them  to  market  on  one  truck, 
the  logs  could  be  sold  at  a  premium 
price  as  white  ash,  rather  than  as 
"log-run"  to  the  local  sawmill  at  a 
much  lower  price.  Likewise,  high-value 
veneer  logs,  perhaps  2  or  3  veneer  logs 
out  of  a  42,000-board-foot  sale,  were 


hauled  to  Jackson;  white  oak  stave 
stock  went  to  a  stave  mill;  cross-tie 
logs  were  sold  to  a  cross-tie  mill,  and 
so  on.  Sawlogs  were  decked  along 
roads  or  at  the  farmer's  home  place  to 
be  sold  when  the  market  was  good. 

How  such  special  markets  were 
made  available  to  the  farmer-opera- 
tors is  exemplified  in  the  development 
of  a  cross-tie  market  in  the  south  end 
of  the  forest,  where  many  scattered 
tracts  have  only  "hill  hardwoods"  that 
are  of  low  quality  and  suitable  mostly 
for  cross  ties.  No  cross-tie  market 
existed  in  that  part  of  the  forest.  Roy 
Hughes,  of  the  Bienville  timber-mark- 
ing crew,  solved  the  problem  by  per- 
suading the  T.  J.  Moss  Tie  Co.  to  place 
a  small  mill  in  the  area  and  buy  the 
farmers'  cross-tie  cuts.  In  a  year  the 
farmers  cut  18,000  cross  ties. 

The  sales  of  timber  to  farmers 
amount  to  a  considerable  volume.  In 
1946,  nearly  5  million  board  feet  was 
sold  to  141  small  operators;  in  1947, 
more  than  11  million  board  feet  was 
sold  to  244  operators.  Despite  such  a 
volume,  the  forest  is  not  being  over- 
cut.  Most  of  this  timber  is  "hill  hard- 
wood" that  is  overtopping  the  pine 
reproduction,  and  is  being  removed  in 
improvement  cuts,  rather  than  as  a 
commercial  undertaking.  Hardwood 
stumpage  prices  are  kept  reasonably 
low  as  an  inducement  to  keep  the  sales 
going  while  the  market  will  absorb  the 
low-grade  hardwoods;  at  the  same 
time  the  forest  is  being  put  in  a  good 
growing  condition,  because  the  re- 
moval of  the  low-grade  hardwoods  ac- 
celerates the  growth  of  the  remaining 
choice  species  of  pine  and  hardwoods. 

All  the  sales  are  handled  on  a  tree- 
scale  basis.  The  farmers  participate  in 
selecting  and  measuring  the  trees,  and 
thereby  get  practical  instruction  in  the 
woods  by  foresters  as  to  why  one  tree 
is  marked  to  be  cut  and  another  tree  is 
left  to  grow.  They  also  learn  some- 
thing about  the  use  of  tables  to  deter- 
mine the  volume  of  the  trees  they  buy 
in  the  sales.  They  use  the  information 
in  handling  timber  in  the  national  for- 
est as  well  as  on  their  own  wood  lots. 


342 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


At  least  25  owners  have  given  their 
own  farm  wood  lots — which  total  4,000 
acres — this  silvicultural  treatment. 

Another  benefit  is  a  sharp  reduction 
in  the  number  of  fires  on  these  scat- 
tered holdings.  Reasons  are:  Under 
the  timber-sale  agreements,  the  farmer- 
operators  are  required  to  fight  fire  any- 
where within  a  mile  of  their  sale 
boundary;  they  have  an  opportunity 
in  the  woods  to  study  the  effect  of  fire; 
and  they  have  come  to  feel  that  they 
have  a  personal  stake  in  the  forest. 

THE  LOCAL  ECONOMY  has  improved. 
The  Federal  Government  does  not  pay 
the  counties  any  taxes  for  the  lands 
owned  by  it  in  the  national  forests,  but 
it  does  pay  25  percent  of  the  receipts 
from  the  national  forest  to  the  counties 
in  which  a  forest  is  located.  The  share 
of  each  county  is  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  national  forest  acreage  in 
the  county.  The  average  return  to  the 
counties  under  this  arrangement  in 
1943-47  has  been  18.7  cents  an  acre 
per  year.  The  average  land  tax  col- 
lected by  the  counties  for  similar  lands 
has  been  21.5  cents  an  acre.  The  gap 


between  the  tax  rate  and  the  annual 
payments  is  closing;  in  1947,  the  return 
to  the  counties  from  Bienville  National 
Forest  timber-sale  receipts  was  20.5 
cents  an  acre.  In  addition,  the  State  of 
Mississippi  collects  its  severance  tax  on 
all  timber  cut  in  the  national  forest. 

Besides  the  direct  monetary  returns, 
the  Bienville  National  Forest  contrib- 
utes to  the  local  economy  in  several 
ways.  The  money  for  the  improve- 
ments adds  to  local  income;  the  im- 
provements themselves  help  business 
and  enhance  local  welfare ;  the  yield  of 
forest  products  creates  opportunities 
for  the  local  industry  and  employment. 
Since  it  will  be  a  continuing  yield,  in- 
dustries and  jobs  will  continue. 

FRANK  A.  ALBERT  joined  the  Forest 
Service  immediately  after  he  was  grad- 
uated in  forestry  at  Pennsylvania  State 
College  in  1926.  He  has  served  in  na- 
tional forests  in  New  Hampshire,  Vir- 
ginia, West  Virginia,  Florida,  North 
Carolina,  and  Mississippi.  He  now  is 
assistant  regional  forester  in  the  Divi- 
sion of  Lands,  Recreation,  Wildlife, 
and  Watershed  Management. 


PINYON-JUNIPER  IN  THE  SOUTHWEST 

QUINCY  RANDLES 


The  short,  scrubby  growth  of  co- 
nifers that  now  covers  some  40,000 
square  miles  in  Arizona  and  New  Mex- 
ico has  been  used  by  man  for  probably 
20,000  years.  The  growth  is  less  con- 
ventional in  form  and  of  less  obvious 
value  than  the  forests  at  higher  ele- 
vations, but  it  served  the  Indians  for 
a  long  time.  It  also  served  the  Euro- 
peans when  they  arrived  some  four 
centuries  ago;  they  founded  their  first 
settlements  in  and  near  the  woodland 
forest,  which  was  more  inviting  as  a 
site  for  homes  than  the  colder,  higher 
elevations  or  the  hot,  lower  elevations. 

The  woodland  forest  is  one  of  two 
broad  classes  in  which  forests  in  the 
Southwest  are  often  placed. 


One  is  called  the  saw- timber  forest. 
The  products  from  the  three  forest 
types  that  make  up  this  class  are  used 
largely  for  the  production  of  lumber 
and  other  sawn  products.  The  three 
types  are  the  ponderosa  pine,  Douglas- 
fir,  and  Engelmann  spruce.  They  oc- 
cur at  elevations  of  7,000  to  11,500 
feet,  the  latter  being  timber  line  in 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

The  second  class  of  forest,  the  wood- 
land, gives  products  that  have  been 
used  almost  exclusively  for  fuel  and 
posts.  The  woodland  forest  also  com- 
prises three  types.  One  is  the  cypress 
type,  composed  of  Arizona  and  smooth 
cypress,  which  grows  in  a  limited  area 
and  has  only  local  importance.  The 


Pinyon-Juniper  in  the  Southwest 


343 


second  one,  the  evergreen-oak  type,  is 
found  mostly  in  Arizona  at  elevations 
of  4,500  to  6,000  feet,  and  is  made  up 
largely  of  Arizona  and  Emory  oak;  it 
is  of  considerable  importance  in  its 
area.  The  third  type  is  the  pinyon- 
juniper,  with  which  we  are  here  con- 
cerned. 

The  pinyon-juniper  type  occupies 
an  area  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico 
far  in  excess  of  all  other  forest  types 
combined.  The  area  is  estimated  at  17 
percent  of  the  total  area  of  both  States, 
or  some  25  million  acres.  This  forest 
is  fairly  well  distributed  over  the  two 
States,  except  in  the  eastern  part  of 
New  Mexico  and  western  and  southern 
Arizona.  The  pinyon-juniper  forest 
occurs  below  the  ponderosa  pine  at 
elevations  of  about  5,000  to  7,000  feet. 
The  lower  elevation  at  which  the  for- 
est occurs  is  determined  by  lack  of 
moisture.  Annual  precipitation  in  the 
Southwest  increases  with  increased  ele- 
vation. The  annual  precipitation  in  the 
pinyon-juniper  areas  is  from  12  inches 
at  the  lower  edge  to  18  inches  at  the 
upper  limits.  Some  50  to  60  percent 
of  the  moisture  falls  between  May  and 
September. 

The  moisture  requirements  place  the 
pinyon-juniper  type  in  a  belt  of  vary- 
ing widths  around  the  mountains  and 
on  the  mesas  that  are  higher  than  5,000 
feet.  The  presence  of  forest  and  its  type 
and  density  give  the  traveler  in  the 
Southwest  a  measure  of  the  total  pre- 
cipitation at  a  given  point.  The  open 
stands  of  pinyon-juniper  indicate  pre- 
cipitation of  12  to  14  inches.  The 
denser  stands  indicate  16  to  18  inches 
of  rain  and  snow.  The  saw-timber  for- 
ests of  ponderosa  pine  and  the  others 
indicate  a  total  of  19  to  25  inches. 

Soils  of  all  classes  appear  to  be  ac- 
ceptable to  pinyon  and  juniper,  which 
grow  on  soils  derived  from  both  sedi- 
mentary and  igneous  rock.  The  Rocky 
Mountain  juniper  prefers  soils  derived 
from  limestone. 

Temperatures  in  the  pinyon-juniper 
type  of  forest  are  about  5°  lower  than 
in  the  grassland  zone  below  and  about 
6°  higher  than  in  the  ponderosa  pine 


zone  immediately  above.  The  mean 
maximum  temperatures  approximate 
67°;  mean  minimum,  37°;  and  mean 
annual,  52°.  The  growing  season  is 
longer  than  in  the  ponderosa  pine  for- 
est. Winters  are  not  so  severe,  and 
snows  do  not  get  so  deep. 

The  pinyon-juniper  forest  contains 
several  species  of  pinyon  and  juniper 
in  varying  mixture. 

Of  the  three  species  of  pinyon  in 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  by  far  the 
most  abundant  and  most  widely  dis- 
tributed is  the  Pinus  edulis,  commonly 
called  pinyon.  Its  short  needles,  usually 
less  than  2  inches  long,  occur  two  to 
the  bundle.  It  produces  most  of  the 
pinyon  nuts  collected  locally  for  food 
and  for  sale. 

The  other  species  are  of  less  impor- 
tance. The  one-needle  pinyon  (Pinus 
monophylla)  has  only  one  needle  to  the 
bundle.  The  Mexican  pinyon  (Pinus 
cembroides),  also  of  limited  occur- 
rence, has  two  or  three  needles  to  the 
bundle. 

The  pinyons  are  relatively  small 
trees,  rarely  more  than  35  feet  tall. 
They  have  short,  quite  limby  boles. 
They  are  usually  less  than  2  feet  in 
diameter. 

Four  species  of  juniper,  locally  called 
cedars,  occur  in  various  parts  of  the 
pinyon-juniper  type. 

The  one-seed  juniper  (Juniperus 
monosperma)  is  a  small,  short-boled 
tree,  which  branches  into  a  broad, 
spreading  top  almost  from  the  ground 
level.  It  is  usually  found  on  the  drier 
sites  and  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  type. 
Normally  it  is  the  first  tree  species  that 
one  sees  as  he  goes  from  the  lower  to 
the  higher  elevations. 

The  Utah  juniper  (Juniperus  utah- 
ensis),  also  short,  rarely  exceeds  20 
feet  in  height  and  2  feet  in  diameter. 
The  trunk  is  fairly  free  of  branches, 
which  usually  are  less  than  6  feet  long. 

The  alligator  juniper  (Juniperus 
pachyphloea) ,  so  named  because  the 
bark  on  the  mature  tree  is  so  broken 
that  it  resembles  the  back  of  an  alli- 
gator, is  the  tallest  of  the  local  junipers. 
Sometimes  it  reaches  a  height  of  60 


344 

feet.  Specimens  up  to  5  feet  in  diam- 
eter are  sometimes  seen,  but  the 
average  tree  is  shorter  and  smaller. 

The  Rocky  Mountain  juniper 
(Juniperus  scopulorum)  is  of  a  more 
conventional  tree  form.  Occasionally  it 
grows  30  to  40  feet  tall  and  up  to  3  feet 
in  diameter.  It  has  a  straight  but  rap- 
idly tapering  trunk. 

The  piny  on- juniper  forest  is  usually 
open,  and  the  openings  among  the 
trees  are  occupied  by  the  grasses  and 
shrubs.  The  short  stems  and  broad 
crowns  of  the  individual  trees,  usually 
of  one  species  of  pinyon  and  one  or 
more  species  of  juniper,  give  to  the 
forest  a  pleasing  appearance. 


EXPLORATIONS  of  early  Indian  habi- 
tations show  that  many  were  located  in 
valleys,  in  or  near  the  pinyon- juniper 
forest.  The  reasons  why  they  selected 
those  places  are  not  known,  but  many 
factors  favored  them  for  home  sites — 
an  agreeable  climate,  a  growing  season 
long  enough  for  farm  crops,  and  an 
abundance  of  fuel  for  cooking  and 
heating.  The  wood,  especially  juniper 
wood,  was  light  to  handle — an  impor- 
tant detail  because  before  Spanish  ex- 
ploration the  Indians  had  no  beasts  of 
burden  and  had  to  carry  things  them- 
selves. The  wood  was  easy  to  work  with 
the  primitive  stone  axes  and  hammers 
or  by  hand. 

The  forest  supplied  pinyon  nuts  for 
food;  archeologists  have  found  pin- 
yon nuts  in  ruins.  Early  Spanish  ex- 
plorers, Cabeza  de  Baca  among  them, 
noted  the  small  pine  trees,  whose  seed 
they  considered  better  than  those  of 
Spain.  The  thin  husks,  he  said,  were 
beaten  while  green,  made  into  balls, 
and  eaten.  The  dry  nuts  were  pounded 
in  the  husks  and  used  as  flour.  Coro- 
nado  told  of  the  extensive  areas  of 
pines,  which,  he  remarked,  were  only 
two  or  three  times  as  high  as  a  man 
before  they  sent  out  branches,  and  the 
great  quantities  of  pine  nuts  they  pro- 
duced. He  stated  that  the  Indians  col- 
lected and  stored  the  nuts  each  year. 

Fuel  wood  for  cooking  and  heating 
was  no  doubt  the  forest  product  most 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 

valuable  to  the  early  Indians.  They 
used  some  wood  in  constructing  tem- 
porary shelter  and  permanent  housing; 
some  wood,  found  in  ruins,  was  used 
for  terracing  logs,  roof  beams,  and  door 
lintels,  and  incorporated  in  masonry 
walls.  Some  material  up  to  14  feet  long 
and  12  inches  thick  has  been  found — 
what  a  job  they  must  have  had  in  work- 
ing sticks  of  that  size  with  stone  tools. 
The  wood  of  all  the  junipers  is  fairly 
light  and  soft,  however;  that  of  the  pin- 
yon is  also  soft,  but  brittle. 

The  early  Indians  made  some  use  of 
the  juniper  berry  for  food;  the  bark 
was  used  for  cradles,  sandals,  torches, 
and  similar  products. 

The  early  Indians  also  got  much  of 
their  food  from  corn,  beans,  squash, 
and  other  cultivated  crops;  the  pin- 
yons,  acorns,  and  seeds,  which  could 
be  had  for  the  taking;  deer,  antelope, 
elk,  ground  sloth,  camel,  and  Taylor 
buffalo.  Good  forage  for  game  was  pro- 
vided by  the  grasses  and  shrubs  found 
in  the  openings  in  the  pinyon-juniper 
forests ;  turkeys  fattened  on  the  pinyon 
nuts  and  juniper  berries.  All  in  all, 
therefore,  the  woodland  forest  pro- 
vided most  of  the  basic  needs  of  the 
earliest  inhabitants  in  the  region;  it 
may  not  have  been  absolutely  essential, 
but  it  was  of  great  value. 


THE  SAME  PATTERN  of  use  continued 
after  the  coming  of  the  Spanish.  Their 
settlements  were  in  the  larger  valleys, 
where  irrigation  water  was  available. 
They  also  depended  on  the  forest  for 
fuel  and  some  building  material.  The 
Spaniards,  besides,  needed  fences  for 
their  domestic  stock,  and  that  the  pin- 
yon-juniper  amply  provided.  The 
burro  and  the  horse  that  they  brought 
with  them  saved  human  labor  in  get- 
ting those  supplies.  ( The  burro,  with  a 
pack  load  of  fuel  wood,  remained  a 
familiar  sight  for  a  long  time  through- 
out the  Southwest. )  Because  the  Span- 
iards had  better  tools  for  working 
wood,  they  made  much  wider  use  of 
the  products  of  the  forest. 

So  it  is  natural  that  the  Spanish- 
Americans  of  the  Southwest  still  have 


Piny  on- Jumper  in  the  Southwest 


345 


a  high  opinion  of  the  value  of  the  pin- 
yon-juniper  forest;  the  pinyon  is  their 
traditional  Christmas  tree,  and  they 
use  the  foliage  of  the  pinyon  and 
the  juniper  for  decorations  on  special 
occasions. 

The  coming  of  the  American  to  the 
Southwest  in  increasing  numbers  after 
1840  added  several  new  elements.  To 
the  usual  demand  for  forest  products 
were  added  new  ones:  Demand  for 
more  fencing  materials  to  take  care  of 
the  expanding  herds  of  domestic  live- 
stock and  more  fuel  to  supply  the  grow- 
ing population. 

This  demand  for  fuel  continued 
heavy  until  the  railroads  reached  the 
Southwest,  coal  mining  increased,  and 
oil  and  gas  became  available.  Such 
changes  have  lowered  the  local  con- 
sumption of  wood  fuel  at  many  points 
and  have  reduced  the  demands  on  the 
piny  on- juniper  forest,  but  have  by  no 
means  eliminated  the  need. 

In  depression  times,  the  use  of  wood 
is  greatly  increased,  and  many  people 
get  their  supply  directly  from  the  for- 
est; many  rural  families  still  depend 
entirely  on  wood,  and  many  towns- 
people prefer  wood  for  fuel.  Wood- 
yards  in  towns  and  cities  still  do  a  good 
business. 

The  demand  for  pinyon-juniper  will 
continue,  too,  as  long  as  people  like  a 
wood-burning  fireplace,  for  which 
there  is  nothing  quite  like  the  heat  of 
the  pinyon  and  the  fragance  of  burn- 
ing juniper. 

OVER  THE  YEARS  the  products  of 
the  forest  have  been  used  largely  for 
domestic  purposes  and  near  the  forest. 
Some  fuel  and  posts  have  been  pro- 
duced commercially  to  supply  local 
demands  and  for  shipment  to  other 
States.  Also  produced  are  pinyon  char- 
coal, props  and  ties  for  coal  mines, 
fuel  for  burning  lime  and  for  smelting 
ores,  and  fence  posts.  The  posts  bring 
the  highest  stumpage  price  of  any 
product  from  the  type ;  juniper  is  used 
for  this  purpose.  The  most  serviceable 
post  is  one  split  from  an  old  tree  that 
has  3  inches  or  more  of  heartwood,  but 


younger  trees  that  have  an  appreciable 
amount  of  heartwood  are  excellent; 
the  highly  colored  heartwood  is  the 
part  that  resists  decay. 

The  pinyon  nut  has  been  handled 
commercially  for  the  past  40  years. 
The  value  in  relation  to  bulk  makes 
shipment  to  distant  points  possible. 
Before  1940,  nearly  l/2  million  pounds 
were  shipped  annually.  In  1936,  the 
shipments  totaled  8  million  pounds. 
Pickers  have  been  paid  as  little  as  5 
cents  a  pound,  and  up  to  60  cents  in 
1947  when  the  crop  was  almost  a  total 
failure.  A  fair  crop  in  1948  resulted  in 
a  price  of  25  cents  to  30  cents  a  pound. 

When  a  good  crop  of  nuts  is  pro- 
duced, only  a  small  percentage  of  the 
crop  is  gathered.  Demand  is  normally 
below  supply.  The  surplus  is  usually 
stored  to  meet  needs  during  later  years 
of  crop  failure.  Crop  failures  are  fre- 
quent and  therefore  it  would  probably 
be  unprofitable  to  undertake  any  cost- 
ly effort  to  encourage  greater  use.  Most 
of  the  nuts  shipped  in  the  past  went 
to  New  York  City.  Some  are  consumed 
locally,  some  are  machine-shelled,  and 
some,  after  shelling,  are  made  into 
candy. 

Only  limited  attempts  have  been 
made  to  exploit  the  products  of  the 
woodland  forest  for  other  than  the 
conventional  uses  of  fuels  and  posts. 
The  small  size,  rapid  taper,  and  low 
quality  of  the  usual  stem  of  both  pin- 
yon and  juniper,  with  the  consequent 
high  expense  of  producing  usable 
sawn  material,  have  discouraged  use. 
Only  relatively  small-sized,  clear  pieces 
can  be  cut,  and  waste  is  heavy.  Pencil 
slats  were  produced  experimentally 
from  the  Utah  juniper.  These  were 
satisfactory,  but  too  expensive  to  meet 
competition.  Some  sawn  material  has 
been  cut  from  the  Rocky  Mountain 
juniper  and  used  as  closet  lining,  cus- 
tom-built furniture,  for  inlays  and 
cedar  chests,  and  so  forth.  Costs  are 
high,  but  the  products  are  attractive. 
The  colored  heartwood  has  been  used 
for  carvings  and  novelties,  but  only  on 
a  small  scale.  The  cones  of  the  pinyon 
are  being  used  to  produce  incense. 


346 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  area  occupied  by  the  type,  due 
to  low  precipitation  and  heavy  evap- 
oration, is  not  a  high-yielding  water- 
shed. The  runoff  per  acre  is  lower  than 
that  for  the  saw-timber  type,  where 
total  precipitation  is  greater  and  the 
winter  precipitation  is  in  the  form  of 
snow.  Although  the  yield  per  unit  of 
area  is  low,  the  total  yield  from  the 
large  area  is  of  material  value,  espe- 
cially because  most  farming  is  done 
under  irrigation  and  water  in  the 
Southwest  is  most  important. 

The  pinyon- juniper  forest  furnishes 
grazing  for  domestic  livestock  and 
game.  Animals  that  spend  the  sum- 
mer at  higher  elevations  come  in  win- 
ter to  the  lower  ground,  where  snows 
are  not  so  deep  as  to  cover  the  forage. 
Some  livestock  and  game  use  the  for- 
age yearlong,  but  if  such  grazing  is  not 
properly  regulated,  the  grass  and  the 
shrub  cover  essential  to  protect  the 
soils  from  erosion  is  seriously  reduced. 
Winter  use  alone  is  best  suited  to  main- 
taining normal  cover.  The  light  stand 
of  relatively  sparse  foliage  trees  of  the 
type  produces  much  less  forest  litter 
than  do  the  saw-timber  forests  at  high- 
er elevations.  The  litter  is  effective  in 
soil  protection  and  in  reducing  run- 
off, but  the  grass  and  shrubs  in  the 
intervening  nonforested  areas  must 
be  maintained  to  insure  soil  stability. 
When  this  is  overused,  sheet  and  gully 
erosion  result.  The  pinyon- juniper 
type,  because  of  the  heavy  use  by  live- 
stock and  game,  contributes  appre- 
ciable quantities  of  silt  to  streams. 

ONLY  DURING  the  past  40  years, 
since  the  creation  of  the  national  for- 
ests, has  any  positive  action  been  taken 
to  give  protection  to  the  forest  and 
to  direct  wood  harvests  in  ways  that 
would  insure  continuous  yields  of  ben- 
efits and  products.  Fires  once  denuded 
large  areas.  The  pinyon  is  susceptible 
to  bark  beetle  attacks,  and  considerable 
losses  have  resulted  from  this  cause. 
Mistletoe  causes  material  losses  in  ma- 
ture juniper.  Destructively  heavy  cut- 
ting has  practically  denuded  some 
areas;  on  others,  cutting  has  severely 


reduced  the  stands.  Recovery  is  slow 
The  seeds  of  the  pinyon  and  juni- 
pers are  heavy  and  normally  fall  close 
to  the  parent  tree.  The  spread  of  the 
type  is  slow  unless  the  seeds  can  be 
spread  by  other  means — for  example, 
by  birds,  game,  and  domestic  stock. 
The  passage  of  the  seeds  through  the 
digestive  tract  materially  aids  germi- 
nation, and  this  method  of  seed  disper- 
sal by  animals  is  important  in  aiding 
the  extension  of  the  type.  This  ex- 
tension is  especially  noticeable  along 
trails  used  by  sheep  in  their  travels 
from  winter  to  summer  ranges  and  re- 
turn, and  in  the  large  natural  open- 
ings, locally  called  parks,  within  the 
range  of  the  species,  and  around  the 
edges  of  the  type. 

After  the  national  forests  were  estab- 
lished, adequate  fire  protection  was 
given  pinyon-juniper  forests.  Better 
roads  were  built  and  made  easier  the 
harvest  of  fuel  and  posts.  Positive  ac- 
tion was  taken  to  initiate  a  system  of 
cutting  by  which  only  trees  above  a 
fixed  diameter  or  dead  or  diseased 
trees  could  be  harvested.  The  aim  was 
to  insure  an  adequate  seed  supply  and 
sufficient  stand  to  maintain  forest  con- 
ditions. Since  yield  and  prices  of  the 
product  are  low,  any  system  followed 
must  be  selected  with  the  end  of  bal- 
ancing costs  and  results.  Growth  is 
slow — probably  not  more  than  a  half 
inch  in  diameter  a  decade.  Virgin 
stands  approximate  200  years  of  age. 
The  volume  per  acre  measured  in 
cords  varies  greatly,  being  lowest  at  the 
lower  edge  of  the  type  where  yields  will 
not  exceed  2  to  4  cords;  better  stands 
often  yield  25  cords  to  the  acre.  The 
slow  growth  and  low  yields  are  the 
result  of  low  precipitation. 

In  assessing  the  future  of  this  forest 
area,  of  which  some  20  percent  is  in 
national  forests,  one  should  remember 
that  some  of  it  has  been  heavily  cut 
and  has  little  chance  for  another  crop 
for  a  long  time;  some  of  it  has  been 
lightly  cut;  some  has  only  been  high- 
graded  for  post  material.  Except  for 
limited  areas  in  the  rather  inaccessible 
places,  only  minor  areas  of  so-called 


Ponderosa  Pine  in  the  Southwest 


347 


virgin  stands  remain.  The  growth  and 
yields  are  low. 

The  products  cut  in  the  past  have 
been  low  in  price,  and  private  owners 
therefore  have  had  little  incentive  to 
take  positive  management  action  to 
maintain  or  increase  productivity.  Re- 
search on  the  public  lands  to  deter- 
mine potentialities  has  been  limited. 
More  data  on  sound  management  are 
needed ;  so  is  an  effort  to  find  new  and 
profitable  uses  for  the  few  high-grade 
products  the  area  can  furnish.  The  ex- 
tensive area  of  the  type  would  indicate 
adequate  supplies  of  material  to  meet 


present  and  future  needs.  It  should  be 
the  aim  to  keep  this  large  land  area 
producing  successive  crops  of  essential 
wood  products,  since  the  forest  is,  all 
things  considered,  the  highest  use  of 
the  area. 

QUINGY  RANDLES,,  formerly  in 
charge  of  timber  management  in  the 
Southwestern  Region  of  the  Forest 
Service,  is  now  retired.  He  holds  de- 
grees from  the  College  of  Wooster  in 
Ohio  and  the  University  of  Michigan. 
He  started  work  with  the  Forest  Service 
in  1911. 


PONDEROSA  PINE  IN  THE  SOUTHWEST 


C.  OTTO  LINDH 


From  train  or  highway,  the  traveler 
in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  sees  tree- 
less mesas,  deserts,  some  scattered 
woodlands,  century-old  habitations, 
the  white  gold  of  the  sunshine,  and  the 
bright  blue  of  the  cloudless  sky.  He 
does  not  see,  far  back  from  the  main 
routes,  the  plateaus,  the  high  mesas, 
and  the  slopes  that  are  clothed  with 
valuable  forests. 

In  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  are 
6,280,000  acres  of  forest  land  from 
which  trees  can  be  harvested.  About  4 
million  of  these  acres  are  in  national 
forests,  a  million  in  other  Federal 
ownership  and  the  Indian  reservations, 
and  a  million  in  the  ownership  of 
States  and  counties  and  individuals. 

The  most  valuable  tree  in  the  South- 
west is  the  ponderosa  pine,  which  in 
volume  accounts  for  88  percent  of  the 
total  of  all  commercial  species  and 
produces  90  percent  of  the  375  to  400 
million  board  feet  of  lumber  cut  each 
year.  Unbroken  stands  extend  for  miles. 

Ponderosa  pine  grows  where  the  an- 
nual precipitation  is  18  to  24  inches — 
less  water  than  any  other  large  com- 
mercial tree  requires.  In  the  South- 
west it  grows  at  elevations  of  6,500  to 
8,000  feet,  which  correspond  to  the 
18-  to  24-inch  precipitation  zone.  At 


lower  elevations  it  is  found  in  mixture 
with  junipers,  pinyons,  and  oaks.  In  its 
main  range,  pure  stands  are  the  rule. 
On  cool,  northern  slopes  and  at  upper 
elevations,  it  is  mixed  with  Douglas- 
fir,  spruce,  limber  pine,  and  white  fir. 
Small  aspen  groves  are  not  unusual 
throughout  the  type,  except  at  the 
lower  elevations.  Disregarding  ex- 
tremes, ponderosa  pine  stands  contain 
5,000  to  15,000  board  feet  an  acre. 
Over  large  areas,  in  the  main  range, 
stands  average  about  10,000  board  feet 
an  acre. 

The  virgin  stands  of  ponderosa  pine 
in  the  Southwest  are  unusually  de- 
cadent or  injured.  Western  red  rot  re- 
duces gross  volumes  by  15  to  25  per- 
cent— or  more  on  some  rocky  ridges. 
Mistletoe,  the  slow  killer,  is  wide- 
spread. The  Cronartium  rust  is  found 
throughout  the  type  on  individual 
trees  here  and  there.  Bark  beetles  are 
not  unusually  serious  and  seldom  reach 
epidemic  proportions,  except  that  sev- 
eral species  of  Ips  and  Dendroctonus 
make  serious  inroads  in  small  areas 
during  cycles  of  dry  weather.  Light- 
ning causes  the  most  damage  and  high- 
est mortality.  If  it  does  not  kill  the 
struck  tree  outright,  it  leaves  a  long 
open  wound,  into  which  disease  or- 


348 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ganisms  enter  easily.  Abert  squirrels 
and  porcupines  girdle  the  limbs  and 
tops  of  trees,  especially  those  of  sapling 
and  pole  size.  The  girdled  trees  become 
deformed,  and  rot  enters  the  wounds. 

Ponderosa  pine  is  a  light-loving  tree. 
It  reproduces  and  grows  best  with  some 
overhead  and  side  light.  It  seldom  re- 
produces in  full  shade.  Because  of  the 
low  annual  precipitation,  it  needs 
plenty  of  space  to  reach  its  largest 
growth.  At  the  same  time,  a  dense 
stand  is  desirable,  at  least  through  the 
sapling  and  pole  stage,  in  order  to  keep 
the  lower  limbs  small  and  obtain  natu- 
ral pruning  on  the  main  bole. 

The  spring  period  in  the  Southwest 
is  unusually  dry  and  windy.  Summer 
rains  are  the  rule,  but  often  are  no 
more  than  showers.  A  combination  of 
a  good  seed  crop  and  early  and  heavy 
summer  rains  is  needed  to  insure  repro- 
duction of  ponderosa  pine.  Seldom 
does  the  combination  occur.  In  1918, 
the  seed  crop  was  heavy,  the  following 
spring  was  favorable  for  germination 
and  establishment,  and  the  summers 
of  1919  and  1920  were  above  average 
for  continued  seedling  growth.  As  a  re- 
sult, large  areas  of  reproduction  and 
saplings  are  now  common  in  most  of 
the  Southwest.  Since  then,  only  rela- 
tively few  seedlings  have  become  estab- 
lished each  year. 

HISTORY  does  not  record  how  soon 
the  Spanish  erected  the  first  sawmill  in 
New  Mexico  after  Onate  led  the  first 
settlers  into  the  Valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande  del  Norte  in  1598.  One  of  the 
first  sawmills  in  northern  Arizona  was 
brought  overland  from  the  Salt  Lake 
region  by  the  Latter  Day  Saints  and 
erected  south  of  Flagstaff  at  Sawmill 
Springs  in  1878. 

Large-scale  lumbering  operations 
began  with  the  construction  of  the  first 
railroad  (now  the  Atchison,  Topeka  & 
Santa  Fe)  through  the  timbered  parts 
of  the  Southwest.  Between  1878  and 
1881,  the  forests  near  Las  Vegas,  Pecos, 
and  Santa  Fe,  in  New  Mexico,  were 
heavily  cut  for  ties  and  construction 
material.  In  the  1880's  the  stands  on 


the  Colorado  Plateau  near  Flagstaff 
and  Williams,  in  Arizona,  were  exten- 
sively cut.  Since  then,  the  lumber  in- 
dustry has  thrived  and  spread. 

Early  cutting  of  ponderosa  pine  was 
strictly  on  a  basis  of  cut  and  use  what 
you  can.  The  usable  trees  in  the  most 
available  areas  were  cut;  the  rest  were 
usually  burned,  with  no  thought  to  con- 
servation or  forestry.  Some  of  the  scars 
are  still  noticeable,  but  most  of  the 
heavily  cut  areas  are  now  partly  clothed 
with  forest  growth,  and  many  areas 
have  fine  stands  of  young  ponderosa. 

The  largest  lumbering  operations 
are  in  the  vast  ponderosa  pine  stand 
on  the  Colorado  Plateau,  which  ex- 
tends unbroken  from  the  Gila  Wilder- 
ness Area  in  New  Mexico  almost  300 
miles  northwest  toward  the  Grand 
Canyon. 

A  typical  operation  is  the  one  that  is 
centered  at  Flagstaff,  in  the  heart  of 
the  Coconino  National  Forest.  During 
the  past  70  years  the  local  mills  have 
cut  more  than  a  billion  board  feet 
from  350,000  acres.  The  two  large 
mills  and  several  saw  mills  can  con- 
tinue to  cut  about  60  million  board 
feet  a  year  of  national  forest  timber 
on  a  sustained  basis.  More  than  40 
million  board  feet  of  sawlogs  a  year 
are  brought  in  34  miles  by  a  logging 
railroad  from  the  virgin  stands  of  pon- 
derosa pine  south  of  Flagstaff.  Large 
trucks  deliver  logs  to  the  railhead 
from  as  far  away  as  the  Mogollon  Rim. 
Sawlogs  cut  near  the  established  mills 
are  trucked  directly  to  the  mills. 

The  lumber  industry  has  a  capital 
investment  of  about  3  million  dollars 
in  sawmills,  box  factories,  cut-up 
plants,  and  power  plants  in  the  Flag- 
staff community.  The  industry  depends 
almost  wholly  on  timber  from  the  na- 
tional forest.  It  provides  employment 
for  about  750  persons.  Wages  paid 
amount  to  1%  million  dollars  a  year. 
The  Flagstaff  community  depends  to  a 
large  extent  on  the  maintenance  of  a 
stable  forest-products  industry. 

North  of  Flagstaff  and  across  the 
Grand  Canyon  is  a  unique  island  of 
commercial  ponderosa  pine  timber — 


Ponderosa  Pine  in  the  Southwest 


349 


1/2  billion  board  feet  on  the  184,000 
acres  of  national  forest  land  on  the 
Kaibab  Plateau.  For  centuries  only  In- 
dians used  it.  In  the  1870's  Mormons 
settled  in  the  lowlands,  30  miles  or  so 
to  the  north  near  the  Utah-Arizona 
line,  and  operated  one  or  two  small 
sawmills  intermittently. 

Highways  first  tapped  the  Kaibab 
Plateau  soon  after  the  Marble  Can- 
yon bridge  was  completed  across  the 
Colorado  River  in  1928.  The  plateau 
is  the  home  of  the  famous  Kaibab 
mule  deer  herd;  there,  also,  Theodore 
Roosevelt  hunted  the  mountain  lion. 
It  is  an  isolated  region — from  the  cen- 
ter of  the  timber,  the  nearest  railroad 
on  the  north  is  140  miles  away;  on 
the  south,  1 75  miles. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  large 
body  of  ponderosa  pine  on  the  Kai- 
bab Plateau  was  relatively  untouched 
until  the  Second  World  War.  Good 
highways,  good  trucks,  the  scarcity  of 
good  timber,  and  high  prices  came  to- 
gether at  about  the  same  time.  Tim- 
ber was  sold,  mills  were  installed,  and 
for  the  first  time  lumber  moved  to  the 
outside  world.  Now  lumber  moves  on 
large  trucks  over  the  Marble  Canyon 
bridge,  across  the  desert,  past  the 
wind-swept  hogans  of  the  Navajo  In- 
dians, and  thence  to  markets  over  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe.  The 
closest  mill  to  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad 
is  165  miles;  the  farthest,  205  miles. 
The  development  is  typical  of  the 
western  pioneer  days,  but  it  happened 
in  the  early  1940's. 

The  future  for  the  Kaibab  Plateau 
timber  looks  bright.  The  opportunity  is 
there  for  an  integrated  manufacturing 
and  remanufacturing  industry  on  a 
substantial  and  continuing  scale.  New 
highways  will  reduce  the  distance  to 
the  railroad.  After  80  years,  the  local 
people  are  assured  of  employment  op- 
portunities in  a  basic  manufacturing 
industry.  At  the  same  time,  the  other 
values  of  wildlife,  recreation,  water 
production,  and  grazing  of  livestock 
need  not  be  impaired  if  the  timber  har- 
vest is  orderly  and  management  of  the 
forest  is  careful. 


In  much  of  central  Arizona  and  in 
northern  New  Mexico  the  operations 
are  small.  Most  of  the  sawmills  have  a 
circular  head  saw  and  annually  cut 
l/z  million  to  5  million  board  feet  of 
rough  green  lumber.  They  are  located 
in  interior  forest  communities,  where 
the  inhabitants  depend  on  the  local 
resources  of  water,  forage,  and  the 
harvesting  and  manufacture  of  forest 
crops. 

A  TYPICAL  CASE  is  the  operation  at 
Vallecitos,  in  the  Carson  National  For- 
est in  New  Mexico.  The  established 
operator  there  cut  annually  a  million 
board  feet  or  less  before  1948.  Trucks 
hauled  the  rough  green  lumber  63 
miles  to  the  nearest  railroad  shipping 
point.  Employment  was  furnished  to 
8  or  10  persons.  The  sawmill  was  poor- 
ly located  in  relation  to  the  available 
timber  and  existing  roads. 

Technicians  were  called  in  to  an- 
alyze the  situation  at  Vallecitos.  They 
decided  the  annual  cut  should  be  not 
less  than  l/2  million  board  feet.  The 
operator  said  he  would  relocate  the 
mill,  install  seasoning  and  finishing  fa- 
cilities, construct  a  small  box  factory 
or  cut-up  plant  to  utilize  low-grade 
material,  and  continue  to  use  local 
labor  and  furnish  lumber  at  regular 
prices  to  people  nearby  if  he  were  as- 
sured a  stable  supply  of  timber.  If  that 
were  done,  employment  would  be  in- 
creased up  to  400  percent,  the  annual 
wages  would  be  increased  by  as  much 
as  $30,000,  and  the  communities  of 
Vallecitos,  Canyon  Plaza,  and  Petaca 
would  be  helped  materially. 

Accordingly,  under  section  3  of  the 
Sustained- Yield  Unit  Act,  steps  were 
taken  to  establish  a  Federal  Sustained- 
Yield  Unit.  At  the  required  public 
hearing  on  the  proposal,  in  December 
1947,  more  than  100  residents  attended 
to  get  information,  ask  questions,  and 
make  comments.  They  agreed  that  the 
unit  would  be  a  good  thing. 

On  January  21,  1948,  the  Vallecitos 
Federal  Sustained-Yield  Unit  was  for- 
mally established,  the  first  of  its  kind 
in  the  United  States.  In  the  year  since, 


350 

progress  has  been  made  in  carrying  out 
the  declared  policy  for  the  unit:  In  70 
years,  then,  lumbering  in  the  South- 
west has  progressed  from  logging  with 
oxen  and  cutting  ties  for  railroads  to 
big  wheels  and  logging  railroads,  to 
modern  trucks  and  complete  manufac- 
turing facilities,  and,  finally,  to  the 
integrated  plant  in  little  Vallecitos, 
whose  life  and  livelihood  are  actually 
determined  by  the  life  of  the  forest. 

THE  NATIONAL  FORESTS,  which  em- 
brace two-thirds  of  the  commercial 
timberland  in  the  Southwest,  were  es- 
tablished at  the  turn  of  the  century. 

At  first,  cutting  was  directed  toward 
leaving  thrifty  seed  trees  and  protect- 
ing the  few  poles  and  sparse  reproduc- 
tion. But  with  research,  experience, 
improved  fire  protection  and  establish- 
ment of  reproduction,  and  improve- 
ments in  logging  and  transportation 
facilities,  the  cutting  practices  have 
gradually  changed,  and  they  have  pro- 
gressed through  various  steps — the  cut- 
ting of  selected  groups  of  trees,  the 
heavy  cutting  of  selected  individual 
trees,  and  light  cutting  of  selected  trees 
to  improve  the  growth  of  the  stand. 

Much  of  the  credit  for  the  progress 
is  due  to  almost  40  years  of  research  at 
the  Fort  Valley  Experimental  Forest 
near  Flagstaff.  The  late  G.  A.  Pearson,  a 
long-time  employee  of  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice, was  in  charge  of  research  for  35 
years.  He  kept  individual  records  of 
thousands  of  ponderosa  pine  trees, 
measured  growth  of  residual  trees,  and 
studied  results  of  many  different  types 
of  cutting  practices  on  large  experi- 
mental plots.  The  findings  give  south- 
western forest  managers  a  wealth  of 
material  to  use  as  a  base  for  progres- 
sive forest  practices. 

Management  is  not  static  or  neces- 
sarily uniform  throughout  the  national 
forests  in  the  Southwest.  Management 
is  by  small  units,  or  working  circles, 
and  management  plans  are  made  for 
each.  The  annual  cut  from  each  varies 
from  1  million  to  60  million  feet. 

In  the  preparation  of  management 
plans  for  ponderosa  pine,  foresters  are 


Yearbool^  of  Agriculture  1949 


guided  by  the  general  objectives  and 
policies  established  for  all  the  national 
forests  in  the  Southwest.  They  are: 

1.  To  make  the  first  harvest  cut  in 
all  virgin  stands  within  the  next  20 
years  or  less,  in  order  to  harvest  quickly 
the  dying  trees,  to  begin  the  process  of 
improving  growth  and  quality,  and  to 
make   all   commercial    timber   stands 
accessible  by  a  permanent  road  system. 

2.  To  make  the  initial  cut  in  virgin 
stands  on  a  light  improvement-selec- 
tion basis,  designed  to  remove  from  30 
to  50  percent  of  the  gross  volume,  or 
5  to  10  trees  an  acre. 

3.  Periodically,  at  least  once  a  dec- 
ade, to  make  a  light  intermediate  cut 
in  the  old  cut-overs  to  remove  de- 
cadent trees  and  to  thin  the  poorest 
trees    from   groups    or    dense    stands 
where  root  or  crown  competition  im- 
pairs net-quality  growth. 

4.  To  utilize,  to  the  greatest  extent 
possible  and  thereby  improve  the  for- 
est, all  material  that  should  be  thinned 
from  the  sapling  and  pole  stands  and 
all  material  normally  left  in  the  woods 
in  a  sawlog  operation. 

In  the  initial  harvest  cut  in  virgin 
ponderosa  pine  stands,  many  trees  are 
readily  recognized  as  requiring  re- 
moval. They  are  the  decadent  trees — 
those  with  mechanical  injuries  such  as 
lightning  streaks,  those  with  heavy  mis- 
tletoe, the  bad  leaners,  the  rough,  limby 
trees,  and  the  large,  old  trees  of  declin- 
ing growth  and  thrift.  It  is  not  difficult 
for  a  trained  or  experienced  marker  to 
select  those  trees  for  removal.  Special 
skill  is  involved  in  selecting  the  addi- 
tional trees  for  removal,  which  will  fur- 
ther improve  the  stand.  The  major 
considerations  are  spacing,  quality,  and 
thrift,  so  the  marker  looks  for  the  poor- 
est trees — those  that  are  rough  or 
crooked  or  have  large  limbs,  or  that 
have  large,  low  crowns  or  slight  me- 
chanical injuries,  particularly  in  the 
lower  bole.  Their  removal  will  enhance 
the  growth  of  the  trees  that  are  left  in 
the  stand.  The  isolated  wolf  tree,  with 
large,  low  limbs,  and  the  rough,  limby 
tree  are  first  sought  for  and  marked. 

In  the  intermediate  cuts  in  old  cut- 


Ponderosa  Pine  in  the  Southwest 


351 


overs,  the  objective  is  much  the  same  as 
in  the  virgin  stands,  but  special  em- 
phasis is  placed  on  improving  the  stand 
so  as  to  increase  growth  in  the  younger 
sawlog  trees  and  the  oncoming  poles 
and  saplings.  Residual  trees  that  have 
serious  infections  of  mistletoe,  have 
been  struck  by  lightning,  or  have  other 
mechanical  injuries  are  marked  for  re- 
moval. Groups  are  thinned  by  the  re- 
moval of  the  poorest  and  roughest  trees. 
After  their  removal,  net  growth  takes 
place  on  the  best-quality  stems. 

One  can  make  intermediate  light  im- 
provement-selection cuts  of  300  to  600 
board  feet  an  acre  in  the  old  cut-overs, 
because  the  stands  have  been  made  ac- 
cessible by  permanent  roads.  Logging 
is  done  by  tractors  or  horses,  portable 
loaders,  and  light  trucks.  As  roads  are 
improved  and  lighter  mobile  equip- 
ment is  developed,  it  is  expected  that 
stands,  from  which  the  initial  harvest 
cut  has  been  made,  will  be  cut  over 
every  few  years.  By  so  doing,  mortality 
will  be  minimized,  whether  from  wind, 
lightning,  disease,  or  insects,  and  qual- 
ity growth  will  increase.  Within  a  few 
decades,  even  in  areas  that  were  heavily 
cut  30  to  70  years  ago,  the  net  harvest- 
able  growth  should  be  at  the  rate  of 
150  board  feet  or  more  an  acre  each 
year.  Foresters  work  toward  that  objec- 
tive ;  if  they  reach  the  goal,  they  will  be 
producing  a  large  volume  of  excellent 
wood  in  a  forest  that  has  almost  the 
characteristics  of  a  desert  in  habitat 
and  moisture  requirements. 

THE  TREES  OF  THE  FUTURE  are  the 
seedlings,  saplings,  and  poles,  all  under 
12  inches  in  diameter  at  breast  height. 
They  are  found  as  individuals  in  open- 
ings, in  open  stands,  in  dense  groups, 
or  as  an  understory.  In  the  Southwest, 
young  ponderosa  pines  are  usually 
limby  if  they  are  not  growing  in  dense 
stands.  To  produce  the  maximum 
growth  in  quality  trees  for  the  future, 
special  attention  must  be  given  to  the 
trees  of  tomorrow.  To  that  end,  help 
is  given  by  the  Knutson-Vandenberg 
Act,  under  which  a  small  part  of  the 
stumpage  value  of  the  trees  that  are 


being  sold  can  be  used  to  improve  the 
timber  stands.  Based  on  an  analysis  of 
each  area,  a  decision  is  made  as  to  the 
need  for  improving  the  stand  and  its 
cost.  The  collection  of  funds  is  pro- 
vided for  in  the  timber-sale  agreement. 
Most  current  collections  vary  from  25 
cents  to  a  dollar  a  thousand  board  feet. 

Research  experiments  and  tests  have 
indicated  that  highest  priority  should 
be  given  to  pruning  trees  of  small 
sizes — usually  4  to  1 1  inches  in  diam- 
eter at  breast  height.  The  best  saplings 
and  small  poles  are  selected  as  crop 
trees  for  pruning.  All  limbs  are  cut 
flush  with  the  bark  to  a  height  of  9  to 
17  feet,  depending  on  the  size  of  the 
stem.  Not  more  than  one-half  of  the 
live  limbs  are  removed,  because  it  is 
essential  that  a  thrifty  crown  of  ade- 
quate size  be  retained.  Trees  with  dead 
limbs  more  than  ll/2  inches  in  diam- 
eter are  seldom  pruned  because  of  the 
possibility  of  the  entrance  of  western 
red  rot  in  the  large  wounds.  The  most 
productive  areas  are  selected  first  for 
pruning.  They  are  the  best  growing 
sites  and  are  free  of  mistletoe  infec- 
tions. By  pruning  now,  while  trees  are 
small,  clear  lumber  or  veneer  will  be 
produced  in  the  future,  instead  of  low- 
value  boards  with  knots. 

Besides  the  periodic  pruning  of  the 
best  trees,  worthless,  unusable  trees  are 
removed  by  poisoning  or  cutting;  they 
are  the  rough,  limby,  or  deformed  trees 
that  occupy  space  and  use  moisture 
that  should  be  made  available  for  the 
good  crop  trees. 

Young  stands  of  ponderosa  pine  can 
be  further  improved  by  utilizing  the 
small  stems  that  should  be  cut  in  peri- 
odic thinnings.  Little  has  been  done  so 
far  with  them,  but  they  are  worth  at- 
tention. One  possibility  is  to  use  the 
smallest  stems,  4  to  10  inches,  for 
posts  and  poles,  which  are  used  by  the 
tens  of  thousands  in  the  Southwest. 
They  would  have  to  be  given  a  pre- 
servative treatment,  because  untreated 
ponderosa  pine  is  not  durable  in  con- 
tact with  the  ground.  No  custom 
treating  plant  exists  now  in  the  South- 
west, but  foresters  are  making  an  in- 


352 

ventory  of  the  raw  material  and  an- 
alyzing the  potential  market,  so  as  to 
determine  the  best  location  for  a  treat- 
ing plant  and  to  interest  prospective 
operators. 

Another  possibility  is  to  use  the  trees 
of  small  sawlog  size  (12  to  18  inches 
in  diameter)  in  a  log  gang  or  small 
band  mill  that  would  be  built  espe- 
cially to  handle  small  logs  economi- 
cally. At  several  locations  such  an 
operation  would  be  feasible. 

Forest  officers  are  working  with  mill 
operators  to  promote  more  efficient 
manufacture  of  lumber  by  small  cir- 
cular mills  and  the  replacement  of  cir- 
cular mills  with  band  mills.  They  also 
advocate  the  further  finishing  and  re- 
manufacture  of  forest  products  and 
increased  use  of  waste. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Such  management  devices  in  the 
Southwest  will  strengthen  the  economy 
of  tomorrow  and  provide  further  em- 
ployment opportunities  for  those  in 
rural  communities  in  and  near  the 
forests.  They  also  will  improve  the 
forest,  and,  in  turn,  will  increase  wealth 
and  employment. 

C.  OTTO  LINDH,  assistant  regional 
forester  in  the  Division  of  Timber 
Management,  is  stationed  in  Albu- 
querque, N.  Mex.  Upon  graduation 
from  Oregon  State  College  in  1927,  he 
joined  the  Forest  Service,  and  has 
held  various  positions,  from  assistant 
ranger  to  assistant  regional  forester. 
His  work  has  been  in  the  fields  of  fire 
control  and  timber  management  in  the 
Northwest  and  Southwest. 


PINE  FORESTS  OF  CALIFORNIA 

B.  O.  HUGHES,  DUNCAN  DUNNING 


The  national  forests  of  California 
have  7.7  million  acres  of  land  suitable 
for  growing  timber  as  the  primary 
crop.  Of  this  total,  5.6  million  acres 
bear  virgin  or  old-growth  forests  un- 
affected by  lumbering  and  1.2  million 
acres  have  younger  stands  left  in  the 
first  logging  operation.  The  rest  is  not 
stocked  with  trees,  mostly  because  of 
fires  before  the  late  1890's. 

In  converting  these  three  kinds  of 
areas  to  well-ordered  croplands,  for- 
est managers  must  reckon  with  a  com- 
plex mixture  of  assets  and  liabilities. 
Generally  speaking,  the  national  for- 
ests are  not  the  most  favorably  situ- 
ated timberlands  in  the  State.  The 
more  accessible,  more  productive  lands 
passed  to  private  ownership  before  the 
forests  were  established. 

Five  conifers  make  up  more  than  95 
percent  of  the  volume  of  the  standing 
timber.  Of  these,  ponderosa  pine  is  the 
most  generally  useful  and  of  widest 
occurrence.  The  fine-textured  sugar 
pine  commands  the  highest  price,  but 
constitutes  only  one-tenth  of  the  vol- 


ume. Both  pines  reach  their  best  de- 
velopment along  the  western  slope  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada. 

Douglas-fir  and  white  fir  each  make 
up  about  one-third  of  the  timber  vol- 
ume and  are  important  components 
of  the  mixed  forests  of  both  the  Sierra 
Nevada  and  Coast  Range,  sometimes 
forming  almost  pure  stands. 

California  incense-cedar  occurs  in- 
termingled with  the  other  species, 
forming  only  one  twenty-fifth  of  the 
volume.  It  is  presently  the  world's  most 
important  pencil  wood  and  is  prized 
for  fence  posts,  rails,  and  other  uses 
requiring  resistance  to  decay. 

Native  hardwood  trees  are  of  rela- 
tively minor  importance  in  California. 
The  introduction  of  valuable  timber 
hardwoods  from  the  Eastern  States  or 
elsewhere  has  not  been  successful.  Nor 
are  any  introduced  conifers  known 
that  are  more  generally  useful  and  that 
could  survive  and  grow  better  than  the 
natives.  Several  promising  hybrid  pines 
are  now  being  tested;  some  of  these 
may  prove  useful  in  certain  localities. 


Pine  Porests  of  California 


Profile  of 

CENTRAL  SIERRA  NEVADA 

Showing  Altitudinal  Limits  of  the 
Principal  Forest  Types 


Ponderosa  pine  is  the  mainstay  of 
the  national  forest  management,  with 
sugar  pine  the  favored  species  in  re- 
stricted, highly  productive  localities. 
By  good  management  the  proportion 
of  these  trees  in  the  stands  can  be  con- 
siderably increased  and  serious  insect 
damage,  diseases,  and  soil  deterioration 
common  in  single-species  forests  can  be 
avoided.  But  constant  care  is  needed 
to  keep  these  two  valuable  pines  from 
being  crowded  out  by  the  associated 
firs  and  cedar,  which  are  more  easily 
established  by  natural  seeding. 

All  the  five  native  conifers  can  grow 
rapidly  and  attain  merchantable  saw- 
timber  dimensions  of  18  to  50  inches  in 
diameter  in  75  to  150  years,  according 
to  quality  of  soil. 

The  problem  of  transforming  the 
wild  natural  forests  for  more  efficient 
timber  growth  has  one  highly  favorable 
aspect:  The  high  values  stored  in  the 
large  smooth  stems  of  the  old  trees 
that  occasionally  exceed  600  years  in 
age.  Some  of  this  reserve  capital  can 
be  reinvested  in  the  forest  to  correct 
the  many  deficiencies.  Provision  for 


this  has  been  made  through  the  Knut- 
son-Vandenberg  Act,  which  authorized 
the  planting  of  fail-places,  removal 
of  undesirable  trees  and  brush,  prun- 
ing crop  trees,  and  other  stand  im- 
provement. 

A  notable  deficiency  of  the  virgin 
forest  is  that  the  land  is  now  stocked 
with  trees  only  to  a  little  more  than  60 
percent  of  its  capacity.  Good  manage- 
ment aims  to  increase  stocking  by  about 
one- third.  Accomplishing  this  is  made 
difficult  by  an  excess  of  old  trees.  The 
large,  old  trees  contain  from  60  to  95 
percent  of  the  stand's  saw-timber  vol- 
ume. This  is  slow-growing  or  deterior- 
ating timber  ready  for  harvesting;  it 
should  be  replaced.  Thus,  growing 
stocks  must  first  be  reduced  before  they 
can  be  built  up  by  natural  regeneration 
or  planting  into  thriving  forests  that 
contain  young  trees  for  future  harvests. 

Reconstructing  the  stands  by  plant- 
ing or  seeding  is  made  difficult  by  hosts 
of  aggressive  shrubs — manzanitas,  cea- 
nothus,  and  others — growing  between 
the  trees  or  waiting  as  seed  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  soil  when  trees  are  cut. 


802062°—  49- 


24 


354 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Squirrels,  chipmunks,  and  mice  add  to 
the  difficulties  by  destroying  tree  seed ; 
rabbits  damage  the  natural  or  planted 
seedlings.  Cone-  and  seed-destroying 
insects  are  serious  pests,  as  are  the  cut- 
worms and  weevils  that  kill  seedlings. 

Insect  enemies  of  larger  trees  are  a 
serious  menace  to  the  timber  kept  in 
reserve  as  growing  stocks.  Sometimes 
the  pests  force  premature  or  undesir- 
ably heavy  cutting.  The  worst  are  bark, 
or  engraver,  beetles.  Their  depreda- 
tions exceed  the  losses  caused  by  fire. 

Of  tree-killing  diseases,  the  blister 
rust  of  sugar  pine  is  the  most  feared, 
although  it  has  not  yet  become  wide- 
spread. The  ring  scale  fungus,  the  In- 
dian paint  fungus,  the  incense-cedar 
dry-rot,  and  many  other  fungi,  which 
are  not  primarily  tree  killers,  neverthe- 
less cause  heavy  losses  by  destroying  the 
heart  wood  of  standing  trees. 

The  climate  of  California  often  gets 
bad  marks — perhaps  unjustly — from 
forest  managers.  The  long,  warm,  dry 
summers  contribute  to  an  excessive  fire 
danger.  As  to  tree  growth,  however, 
better  understanding  gained  in  recent 
years  tends  to  discount  the  opinion  that 
high  summer  temperatures  and  low 
growing-season  rainfall  are  extremely 
adverse  features.  The  trees  are  well  ad- 
justed to  survive  these  normal  rigors 
of  their  environment.  Close  observa- 
tion has  shown  that  most  failures  of 
planting  and  natural  seeding  resulted 
from  crowding  by  weeds  and  shrubs, 
damage  by  rodents  and  insects,  or 
faulty  timing  and  methods.  More 
knowledge  and  improved  skill  can 
overcome  these  obstacles. 

With  respect  to  topography  and 
transportation,  the  national  forests  in 
California  have  disadvantages  as  com- 
pared with  other  forest  regions.  The 
bulk  of  the  timber  covers  the  mani- 
fold ridges  and  canyons  of  the  western 
Sierra  Nevada  and  northern  inner 
Coast  Range  between  altitudes  of  3,000 
and  7,000  feet.  The  Coast  Range 
timber  is  least  accessible  by  roads.  Ter- 
rain of  the  northeastern  volcanic  pla- 
teau, with  its  extensive  forests  of 
ponderosa  pine,  is  more  favorable. 


Offsetting  the  difficulties  of  trans- 
port is  the  large  and  expanding  local 
market  for  lumber.  From  one-third  to 
one-half  of  the  lumber  manufactured 
by  the  mills  in  the  State  goes  into  pro- 
duction and  marketing  of  farm  crops. 
The  growing  population  is  bringing 
to  the  State  new  industries  and  new 
home  building  likely  to  maintain  a 
good  local  market  for  wood. 

The  varied  pattern  of  land  owner- 
ship in  California  also  complicates 
timber  management.  There  are  about 
18,300  private  holdings  of  forest  land 
in  the  State  as  a  whole,  many  of  which 
are  inside  the  national  forest  boun- 
daries. Fire  control  has  long  been  ac- 
complished by  cooperation  among  the 
private  owners,  the  State  Board  of 
Forestry,  and  the  Forest  Service  under 
provisions  of  the  Clarke-McNary  Law. 
Recent  congressional  and  State  laws 
also  provide  for  cooperative  defense 
against  insect  enemies  and  tree  dis- 
eases. Another  recent  congressional 
law — the  Sustained-Yield  Unit  Act- 
authorizes  cooperative  management  of 
the  interdependent  private  and  federal 
timber,  but  no  agreements  have  yet 
been  consummated.  Problems  arising 
from  divided  responsibility  have  been 
simplified  in  many  instances  by  land 
exchanges. 

The  wood-growing  capacity  of  the 
national  forests  of  California  under 
good  management  is  estimated  to  be 
slightly  more  than  a  billion  board  feet 
a  year.  The  allowable  cut  during  the 
period  of  converting  the  old  growth  to 
thrifty  and  well-ordered  stands  is  re- 
stricted to  972  million  board  feet.  The 
volume  actually  logged  has  averaged 
much  below  the  allowable  cut  and  in 
1947  was  555  million  feet.  The  rate  of 
cutting  obviously  can  be  increased  by 
opening  up  inaccessible  areas. 

After  cutting  started  in  1898,  the 
proportion  of  the  sawmill  production 
in  the  State  that  came  from  the  na- 
tional forests  rose  gradually  to  about 
10  percent  in  1939.  Thereafter  the  pro- 
portion has  risen  more  rapidly,  reach- 
ing 20  percent  in  1947.  Depletion  of 
the  more  accessible  private  timber 


Pine  Forests  of  California 


355 


doubtless  will  continue  this  trend  in 
cutting  on  the  public  forests.  An  era 
of  accelerated  use  is  at  hand,  present- 
ing the  opportunity  to  improve  and  in- 
tensify all  management  procedures. 

The  direction  that  such  improve- 
ment should  take  is  suggested  by  the 
lessons  from  50  years  of  experience. 

Naturally,  the  early  years  of  admin- 
istration were  devoted  to  surveying 
boundaries,  classifying  the  land,  con- 
structing improvements  for  adminis- 
tration and  fire  control,  suppressing 
fires,  inventorying  the  timbered  areas 
to  guide  cutting  and  preparation  of 
forest  working  plans,  and  directing  tim- 
ber cutting  under  sale  contracts.  These 
activities  continue  today,  some  of  them 
expanded  and  intensified  as  better 
methods  have  been  discovered  by  ex- 
perience and  research  or  as  population 
and  markets  have  increased. 

Advancements  in  timber  manage- 
ment depended  largely  on  the  market 
for  old  growth.  There  has  been  no  ap- 
preciable outlet  for  the  small  trees  that 
should  be  removed  in  thinnings  to  im- 
prove young  stands  on  cut-over  land. 
Lack  of  markets  for  young  growth  also 
has  been  a  deterrent  to  reclamation  of 
deforested  areas  by  planting.  Some- 
what more  than  300,000  acres  of  old 
growth  have  been  cut  over  in  timber 
sales;  approximately  30,000  acres  of 
young  stands  in  cut-over  land  have 
been  subjected  to  thinning  and  crop- 
tree  pruning;  and  about  28,000  defor- 
ested acres  have  been  planted. 

The  early  timber-sale  administrators 
were  forced  to  begin  cutting  at  a  time 
when  forestry  was  a  mere  word  with- 
out local  significance.  They  had  no 
research  and  only  limited  experience  to 
guide  them.  Tree  growth  and  seeding 
habits,  the  behavior  of  competing 
brush,  insect  risks,  and  nearly  all  other 
important  factors  of  forest  manage- 
ment were  subjects  of  conjecture. 

Those  early  foresters  were  conserva- 
tive, fortunately,  and  determined  to 
leave  on  the  land  the  best  growing 
stock  possible.  They  marked  for  cut- 
ting little  more  than  half  the  stand 
volume,  leaving  a  large  share  of  ponde- 


rosa  and  sugar  pines  in  the  hope  that 
natural  seeding  would  increase  the  pro- 
portion of  these  species  in  the  new 
stands.  They  reduced  waste  by  requir- 
ing that  stumps  be  cut  low  and  small 
top  logs  be  utilized.  To  reduce  fire  dan- 
ger, they  insisted  that  logging  engines 
have  spark  arresters,  that  all  logging 
slash  be  piled  and  burned,  and  that  all 
dead  trees  be  felled.  They  also  origi- 
nated and  enforced  many  logging  re- 
strictions to  prevent  damage  to  seed 
trees  and  young  growth.  The  early-day 
outlook  on  future  markets  being  rather 
dim,  the  first  sales  were  made  on  the 
assumption  that  second  cuttings  would 
not  be  feasible  in  fewer  than  30  to  60 
years. 

To  determine  the  effects  of  cutting 
procedures  as  well  as  to  improve  them, 
studies  were  begun  almost  with  the 
first  sales.  Within  10  years  the  records 
showed  that  reserving  heavy  propor- 
tions of  pine  and  drastically  reducing 
the  firs  accomplished  little  or  no  im- 
provement in  the  proportion  of  pines 
growing  in  young  forests.  It  became 
evident,  also,  that  the  many  large  pines 
left  uncut  continued  to  grow  at  slow 
rates  or  suffered  heavy  losses  from  in- 
sect attacks,  windthrow,  and  other 
agencies.  Such  information,  and  the 
good  markets  during  the  First  World 
War  and  in  the  early  1920's,  led  to 
heavier  cuttings  that  sometimes  re- 
moved as  much  as  80  percent  of  the 
stand  volume. 

A  trend  towards  the  lighter  cutting, 
which  began  about  1928,  can  be  traced 
to  three  causes:  The  general  depres- 
sion in  markets,  already  felt  in  the  lum- 
ber industry ;  information  from  studies 
that  showed  that  heavy  financial  losses 
resulted  from  cutting  pines  smaller 
than  18  to  22  inches,  or  firs  smaller 
than  30  inches  in  diameter;  and  im- 
proved standards  for  selecting  the  trees 
least  apt  to  die  if  left  for  seed  and 
growth.  The  introduction  of  tractors 
also  made  logging  more  flexible  and 
permitted  lighter  cuts  and  wider  option 
in  selecting  the  trees  to  harvest. 

The  revival  of  markets  that  began 
with  the  Second  World  War  did  not 


356 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


reverse — but  accelerated,  rather — the 
trend  toward  lighter  cutting  in  the  na- 
tional forests.  With  good  markets,  it 
became  profitable  to  log  less  accessible 
timber,  lighter  volumes,  smaller  and 
lower-quality  trees,  and  less  valuable 
species,  and  to  make  return  cuts  at 
shorter  intervals.  This  opportunity  has 
been  seized  to  bring  about  a  long-de- 
sired change  in  methods  of  converting 
the  old,  decadent  forests  to  younger, 
thriftier  ones. 

The  procedure  now  followed  is  to 
make  a  light  initial  cut  that  covers  the 
old  growth  as  rapidly  as  possible  and 
utilizes  the  trees  that  would  die  if  log- 
ging were  delayed.  A  second  cutting 
will  follow  in  less  than  30  years  to 
open  new  areas  for  seeding,  give  the 
young,  established  seedlings  room  to 
grow,  and  harvest  any  additional  trees 
that  appear  likely  to  die. 

A  critical  factor  in  success  of  this 
procedure  is  the  ability  to  identify  the 
trees  threatened  with  death.  Effective 
rules  for  recognizing  such  high-risk 
trees  have  been  formulated  from  many 
thousands  of  case  histories  of  individ- 
ual trees  dating  from  1910.  Properly 
applied,  those  rules  can  reduce  the  vol- 
ume of  wood  lost  through  mortality. 
Test  cuttings  in  a  10,000-acre  demon- 
stration forest  over  a  10-year  period 
reduced  volume  loss  more  than  80  per- 
cent. That  was  accomplished  by  re- 
moving as  little  as  15  percent  of  the 
total  volume  in  the  stand  and  cutting 
only  the  high-risk  trees. 

Such  risk-tree  selection  is  more  ef- 
fective in  forests  of  ponderosa  pine.  In 
stands  of  other  conifers  it  must  be  sup- 
plemented by  salvaging  trees  that  are 
actually  dying  or  dead  before  the  wood 
is  stained  or  destroyed  by  fungi.  Both 
high-risk  and  salvage  logging  require 
ready  access  by  good  roads. 

Much  remains  to  be  done  before 
the  national  forests  can  serve  their 
many  functions  at  full  capacity.  Three 
great  jobs  are  ahead:  Reclaiming 
nearly  a  million  acres  of  deforested 
land  by  planting,  increasing  stocking 
on  more  than  500,000  acres  of  land 
cut  over  before  acquisition,  and  con- 


verting in  an  orderly  way  the  5l/2  mil- 
lion acres  of  old  growth  to  productive 
growing  stands.  The  first  two  are  the 
most  difficult. 

The  planting  job  has  been  scarcely 
touched  in  the  exploratory  efforts  that 
have  been  possible  so  far.  Before  rapid 
headway  can  be  made,  special  heavy- 
duty  machines  must  be  developed  for 
removing  tough  shrubs  from  steep, 
rocky  land  without  excessive  soil  dam- 
age; cheaper,  more  lethal  chemical 
methods  for  clearing  brush  must  be 
perfected ;  and  effective  means  of  con- 
trolling destructive  rodents  must  be 
found.  Planting  also  is  involved  in 
building  up  stocking  on  the  cut-over 
land  from  its  present  26  percent  of  soil 
capacity  to  75  or  80  percent. 

Thinning  and  pruning  overdense 
young  stands  and  removal  of  large  de- 
fective trees  are  most  needed  on  the 
cut-over  lands.  Here,  also,  less  expen- 
sive methods  must  be  developed  as  the 
work  is  expanded.  * 

Future  cutting  methods  for  the  old- 
growth  areas  doubtless  will  advance 
beyond  the  tree-selection  philosophy  of 
today  in  the  direction  of  detailed  con- 
trol of  stocking  on  small  areas.  Log- 
ging must  be  more  varied  to  fit  stand 
conditions  as  they  change  from  acre  to 
acre.  Cutting  also  must  be  closely  co- 
ordinated in  time  and  place  with  other 
supplementary  measures,  such  as  clear- 
ing and  scarifying  the  soil  to  make 
favorable  seedbeds,  planting  spots  that 
fail  to  seed  naturally,  rodent  control, 
blister  rust  control,  and  thinning  and 
pruning  in  young-growth  stands. 

The  years  immediately  following 
the  logging  are  the  most  critical;  fre- 
quently they  determine  whether  the 
new  plant  cover  will  be  pines,  firs,  or 
mere  brush.  Once  the  stand  is  opened, 
the  conversion  process  must  be  con- 
tinued until  trees  are  reestablished. 
An  error  in  timing,  such  as  logging 
when  there  is  no  tree  seed  or  omission 
of  some  necessary  step  (for  example, 
not  planting  when  seed  crops  fail), 
may  mean  loss  of  area  to  brush.  That 
is  more  lastingly  expensive  than  loss 
of  trees.  Once  brush  takes  control,  rec- 


Pine  Forests  of  California 


Tree  classes  for  ponderosa  pine,  based  on  age,  position,  the  length  and  width  of  crown, 
form  of  top,  and  vigor — factors  that  reflect  growth,  survival,  and  seeding  capacities. 


Class  l.Age  class,  young  or  thrifty  ma- 
ture; position,  isolated  or  dominant  (rarely 
codominant);  crown  length,  65  percent  or 
more  of  the  total  height;  crown  width, 
average  or  wider;  form  of  top,  pointed; 
vigor,  good.  Trees  of  this  class  are  rarely 
over  30  inches  in  diameter,  even  on  good 
sites.  The  bark  is  dark  brown  and  roughly 
fissured  into  ridges  or  small  plates. 

Class  2.  Age  class,  young  or  thrifty  ma- 
ture; position,  usually  codominant  (rarely 
isolated  or  dominant);  crown  length,  less 
than  65  percent  of  the  total  height;  crown 
width,  average  or  narrower;  form  of  top, 
pointed;  vigor,  good  or  moderate.  Such 
trees  are  usually  less  than  24  inches  in 
diameter.  They  are  commonly  the  inside 
codominant  trees  of  groups. 

Class  3.  Age  class,  mature;  position,  iso- 
lated or  dominant  (rarely  codominant); 
crown  length,  65  percent  or  more  of  total 
height;  crown  width,  average  or  wider; 
form  of  top,  round;  vigor,  moderate. 
These  trees  are  ordinarily  between  18  and 
40  inches  in  diameter,  depending  on  site 
quality.  The  bark  is  light  brown  or  yel- 
low, with  moderately  large,  smooth  plates. 

Class  4.  Age  class,  mature;  position, 
usually  codominant  (rarely  isolated  or 
dominant);  crown  length,  less  than  65  per- 


cent of  the  total  height;  crown  width, 
average  or  narrower;  form  of  top,  round; 
vigor,  moderate  or  poor.  These  are  com- 
monly the  inside  or  codominant  trees  of 
this  age  class.  Except  for  their  small 
poorly  developed  crowns  and  smaller  size, 
they  are  similar  to  Class  3  trees. 

Class  5.  Age  class,  overmature;  position, 
isolated  or  dominant  (rarely  codominant); 
crown  of  any  size;  form  of  top,  flat;  vigor, 
poor.  These  are  usually  the  largest  trees 
in  the  stand.  The  bark  is  light  yellow  in 
color,  the  plates  often  very  wide,  long, 
and  smooth,  especially  near  the  base.  The 
bark  may  be  thin,  having  weathered  more 
rapidly  than  it  has  grown.  The  foliage  is 
usually  rather  pale  green  and  very  thin. 

Class  6.  Age  class,  young  or  thrifty  ma- 
ture; position,  intermediate  or  suppressed; 
crown  of  any  size,  usually  small;  form  of 
top,  round  or  pointed;  vigor,  moderate  or 
poor.  These  are  understory  trees,  rarely 
over  12  to  14  inches  in  diameter.  The 
bark  is  dark  and  rough. 

Class  7.  Age  class,  mature  or  overma- 
ture; position,  intermediate  or  suppressed; 
crown  of  any  size,  usually  small;  form  of 
top,  flat;  vigor,  poor.  These  understory 
trees  are  rarely  over  18  inches  in  diameter. 
The  bark  is  light  colored,  thin,  smooth. 


358 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


lamation  by  clearing  and  planting  be- 
comes increasingly  more  difficult.  Such 
intensive  treatment  depends  heavily  on 
the  findings  of  research;  it  also  re- 
quires detailed  working  plans,  and, 
above  all,  well-planned  and  well-con- 
structed logging  roads.  Establishing  in- 
tensive management  costs  more,  but  it 
is  cheapest  in  the  long  run.  Timber 
growth  and,  ultimately,  cutting  can 
be  increased  to  twice  what  they  are 
now,  and  maintained  at  that  level. 
That  can  be  done  without  endanger- 
ing California's  vital  water  supply, 
harming  the  mountain  soils,  or  jeop- 
ardizing recreation  and  other  values. 

B.  O.  HUGHES  has  been  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Timber  Management  in 
the  California  Region  of  the  Forest 


Service  since  1944.  He  began  work 
with  the  Forest  Service  in  1923;  his 
experience  since  that  time  includes  as- 
signments on  the  Eldorado,  Shasta,  and 
Lassen  National  Forests  and  timber- 
management  work  in  the  California 
and  the  Southern  Regions.  From  1940 
to  1943  he  was  supervisor  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi national  forests.  He  holds  de- 
grees from  Cornell  University  and  the 
University  of  California. 

DUNCAN  DUNNING,  since  1927,  has 
been  in  charge  of  forest-management 
research  at  the  California  Forest  and 
Range  Experiment  Station.  He  began 
work  with  the  Forest  Service  in  1916 
on  the  Shasta  National  Forest  and  at 
the  Feather  River  Experiment  Station. 
He  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
California. 


SMALL  RANCHERS  AND  THE  FORESTS 

WILLIAM  L.  ROBB 


From  the  104  national  forests  near 
which  they  live  in  the  West,  operators 
of  small  ranches  obtain  many  millions 
of  board  feet  of  timber  products. 

Practically  all  of  this  timber  is 
obtained  through  small  sales  that  in- 
volve a  stumpage  value  of  $500  or  less. 
The  number  of  such  small  sales  made 
yearly  in  a  typical  period,  from  1941 
through  1945,  ranged  from  10,895  in 
1943  to  15,938  in  1941. 

The  largest  demand  is  for  saw  tim- 
ber, followed  in  order  by  fuel  wood, 
corral  and  fence  poles,  fence  posts,  and 
miscellaneous  products  such  as  house 
logs,  derrick  sets,  and  cellar  poles. 

The  buyers  use  most  of  these  timber 
products  for  maintaining  and  improv- 
ing their  own  property,  but  many  cut 
and  sell  lumber,  poles,  posts,  and  mine 
props  during  otherwise  slack  seasons. 

In  a  typical  case,  the  rancher  or 
farmer  applies  to  the  local  forest  ranger 
for  the  type  and  amount  of  timber  he 
wants.  The  ranger  issues  a  sale  permit 
to  the  applicant  and,  upon  receipt  of 
notice  that  payment  for  the  timber  has 


been  made,  marks  the  trees  to  be  cut. 
The  rancher  then  does  the  cutting;  the 
ranger  checks  at  intervals  to  see  that 
terms  of  the  permit  are  fulfilled.  Under 
the  sales  agreement,  the  rancher  must 
complete  the  cutting  and  removal  of 
the  timber  within  a  given  time;  cut  low 
stumps,  and  otherwise  make  the  fullest 
use  possible  of  each  marked  tree;  dis- 
pose of  limbs  and  tops  so  as  to  provide 
for  the  establishment  of  new  growth  of 
young  trees  and  reduce  the  fire  hazard ; 
move  the  logs  so  as  not  to  damage  the 
young  trees  or  cause  soil  erosion;  and 
follow  other  operational  requirements 
to  assure  the  best  use  of  the  forest. 

For  some  years  the  timber  purchaser 
was  required  to  assemble,  or  deck,  his 
logs  on  the  timber-sale  area  (or  at 
some  other  agreed-upon  location)  for 
scaling  or  measurement  by  the  forest 
officer  before  removal.  The  common 
practice  now  is  to  make  small  sales  by 
what  is  known  as  the  tree-measure- 
ment procedure.  The  volume  of  in- 
dividual trees  is  determined  at  the  time 
they  are  marked  for  cutting. 


Small  Ranchers  and  the  Forests 


359 


In  the  case  of  a  sale  for  saw  timber, 
the  forest  officer  blazes  each  tree  to  be 
cut  and  numbers  it,  consecutively,  on 
the  blaze.  He  measures  its  diameter  at 
a  point  4  5/2  feet  above  the  ground  with 
a  diameter  tape  and  its  merchantable 
height  with  an  Abney  level  or  hyp- 
someter.  Diameter  and  height  meas- 
urements are  recorded  for  each  tree  as 
the  marking  and  measuring  go  for- 
ward. From  tables  prepared  for  each 
tree  species  in  the  timber  stand  the  vol- 
ume of  lumber  that  can  be  sawn  from 
each  marked  tree  is  calculated  and  re- 
corded. A  sufficient  number  of  trees  are 
marked  to  produce  a  gross  volume,  as 
determined  from  the  volume  tables, 
somewhat  in  excess  of  the  amount 
which  the  purchaser  applies  for. 

Usually  some  of  the  trees  marked 
contain  defects  in  the  form  of  rot, 
checks,  or  crooks,  or  are  unavoidably 
broken  when  they  are  felled.  To  be 
sure  the  purchaser  gets  the  full  volume 
of  the  usable  material  desired,  the  gross 
volume,  as  determined  from  the  vol- 
ume tables,  is  reduced  by  the  amount 
of  such  defect  and  unavoidable  break- 
age as  occurs.  This  deduction  is  arrived 
at  by  scaling  a  sample  of  felled  trees  to 
determine  the  difference  between  their 
gross  and  usable  volume.  This  differ- 
ence is  then  applied  to  the  whole. 

In  order  to  handle  most  efficiently 
the  great  number  of  small  sales  made 
annually  and  to  provide  the  most  serv- 
ice to  purchasers,  units  of  timber  are 
set  aside  on  most  national  forests  and 
ranger  districts  where  small  sales  are 
concentrated.  Such  units  are  located, 
as  far  as  practicable,  close  to  communi- 
ties from  which  most  requests  for  tim- 
ber are  received.  In  them  the  forest 
officer  usually  marks  and  measures 
enough  trees  in  the  spring  to  take  care 
of  all  the  small  sales  he  expects  to  have 
during  the  normal  logging  season. 

As  each  application  is  received,  pre- 
viously marked  and  measured  trees  are 
assigned  to  the  applicant  and  specified 
by  number  in  his  permit.  The  assign- 
ment, by  number,  of  trees  previously 
marked  is  done  consecutively  as  ap- 
plications are  received.  Each  permit- 


holder  is  given  directions  on  how  to 
reach  the  area  where  the  timber  is 
located.  Periodically  the  forest  officer 
inspects  the  cutting  area. 

Many  small  ranchers  in  the  West  use 
national  forest  forage  for  their  livestock 
in  summer.  The  forage  is  managed,  like 
timber,  on  a  sustained-yield  basis.  The 
use  of  forest  range  is  permitted  on  pay- 
ment of  a  grazing  fee  based  on  the  class 
of  stock  and  the  length  of  the  grazing 
season  on  each  grazing  unit.  In  1947, 
17,153  ranchers  were  permitted  to 
graze  1,142,629  cattle  and  horses  under 
paid  permits.  Another  3,167  had  per- 
mits to  graze  3,398,375  sheep  and 
goats.  About  60  percent  of  the  holders 
of  permits  for  cattle  and  horses  grazed 
fewer  than  40  head  of  stock  each ;  only 
about  7  percent  owned  more  than  200 
head  each.  Approximately  63  percent 
of  the  permits  for  sheep  and  goats  were 
for  fewer  than  1,000  animals;  only 
about  3  percent  grazed  more  than 
4,000  head. 

The  forests  also  provide  supple- 
mental employment  to  many  ranchers 
on  various  types  of  projects  for  improv- 
ing and  protecting  the  forests. 

People  living  in  or  near  the  forests 
are  especially  qualified  and  adapted  to 
this  type  of  work.  Because  they  have 
more  than  average  dependence  upon 
the  resources  of  the  forest,  they  have 
more  than  average  interest  in  develop- 
ing and  protecting  them.  Those  who 
operate  small  mills  to  supplement  their 
ranching  operations  are  interested  in 
stand-improvement  measures,  such  as 
thinning  dense  stands,  pruning  crop 
trees,  and  planting  seedlings,  and  in 
maintaining  the  roads.  Graziers  are  in- 
terested in  range  reseeding  and  con- 
struction of  improvements  like  water 
developments  and  fences.  Men  who  use 
the  forest  roads  and  trails  for  trailing 
or  trucking  livestock  or  guiding  vaca- 
tionists on  fishing  and  hunting  trips  are 
anxious  to  maintain  roads  and  trails. 

WILLIAM  L.  ROBB  has  been  in 
charge  of  the  Division  of  Timber  Man- 
agement of  the  Intermountain  Region 
of  the  Forest  Service  since  1939. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Four  scenes  in  the  forests  of  Alaska — "under  proper  man- 
agement they  can  be  made  to  contribute  generously  to  the 
wealth  of  the  United  States/3 


36i 


FORESTS  OF  ALASKA 


B.  FRANK  HEINTZLEMAN 


When  the  United  States  bought 
Alaska  from  Russia  in  1867,,  neither 
party  to  the  transaction  ascribed  much 
value  to  the  forests  embraced  in  the 
purchase,  even  though  the  best  known 
section  at  the  time,  the  southern  coast, 
was  largely  clothed  with  a  dense 
mantle  of  deep-green  tree  growth  from 
the  seashore  to  elevations  of  3,000  feet. 

We  can  understand  this  lack  of 
interest  in  the  forests,  however,  when 
we  consider  that  there  the  coastal 
forest  was  merely  the  northern  tip  of 
a  far  greater  timbered  area,  which  ex- 
tended down  along  the  northwestern 
coast  of  North  America  to  the  southern 
boundary  of  Oregon,  and  that  all  the 
timber  of  this  vast  area  was  then 
practically  untapped. 

This  great  real  estate  transfer  oc- 
curred only  82  years  ago,  but  already 
the  forest  situation  has  changed  radi- 
cally. Large-scale  timber  industries 
have  long  since  spread  over  the  whole 
of  the  coastal  forest  area  lying  to  the 
south  of  Alaska;  pulp  and  paper  manu- 
facturers now  are  considering  the 
extension  of  their  operations  to  the 
hemlock  and  spruce  stands  of  Alaska's 
southern  coast  to  meet  the  constantly 
increasing  demand  for  pulp  products 
in  the  United  States.  Farther  north,  in 
interior  Alaska,  the  light  stands  of 
white  spruce  and  white  birch  have  long 
been  used  by  the  small  population,  but 
increasing  public  interest  in  develop- 
ment there  is  focusing  more  attention 
on  the  value  of  those  forests. 

Alaska,  one-fifth  the  size  of  conti- 
nental United  States,  has  many  kinds 
of  climate  and  many  types  of  vegeta- 
tive cover.  A  forester,  though,  divides 
the  Territory  roughly  into  three  vege- 
tative regions — the  nontimbered  Arc- 
tic and  Bering  Sea  coast,  the  lightly 
timbered  interior,  and  the  well-tim- 
bered south  coast. 

The  Arctic  and  Bering  Sea  coast 
embraces  about  30  percent  of  the  area 


of  the  Territory  and  includes  most  of 
the  Alaska  Peninsula,  Aleutian  Islands, 
the  Bering  Sea  coastal  region  to  an 
average  width  of  about  100  miles,  and 
the  land  draining  into  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  Generally,  the  region  is  untim- 
bered,  the  climate  being  too  severe  for 
tree  growth.  Surprisingly,  however, 
white  spruce  trees  sufficiently  large  for 
cabin  logs  and  narrow  boards  grow 
along  the  banks  of  the  Noatak  and 
Kobuk  Rivers  and  some  branches  of 
the  Yukon  River,  well  north  of  the 
Arctic  Circle.  Much  of  the  region  is 
flat  lowland  and  rounded  ridges  cov- 
ered with  a  swamp  and  tundra  vege- 
tation of  moss,  lichens,  sedges,  dwarf 
willows,  and  other  short  shrubs.  The 
more  southerly  lands,  the  Alaska  Penin- 
sula and  Aleutian  Islands,  are  moun- 
tainous and  support  a.  luxuriant 
growth  of  grass,  alder,  and  willow. 

Interior  Alaska,  as  here  considered, 
lies  between  the  mountain  chain,  which 
forms  the  Arctic  Divide  on  the  north, 
and  the  crest  of  the  Coastal  Range, 
which  borders  the  Pacific  Ocean  on 
the  south.  It  covers  about  60  percent 
of  the  area  of  the  Territory,  and  com- 
prises the  watersheds  of  the  Yukon, 
Kuskokwim,  Copper,  Susitna,  and 
other  large  rivers.  This  is  the  region 
that  meets  the  popular  conception  of 
Alaska.  The  winters  are  long  and  in- 
tensely cold.  The  summers  are  short 
but  warm,  and  daylight  lasts  20  hours 
or  more  of  each  24  days.  Much  of  the 
area  has  permanently  frozen  ground 
(permafrost)  to  within  a  foot  or  two  of 
the  surface.  The  annual  rainfall  is  ex- 
ceedingly light  (being  only  12  to  16 
inches)  but  permafrost  and  the  short 
summers  prevent  the  development  of 
desert  conditions.  Millions  of  acres  of 
sparse  timber  give  this  region  the  classi- 
fication of  a  forested  country,  but  the 
forests  occur  as  many  scattered  islands 
among  the  extensive  areas  of  swamp 
and  tundra  vegetation  on  the  valley 


362 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


floors  and  along  the  foothills.  They 
give  way  entirely  to  shrubs,  grass,  and 
barren  ground  on  the  higher  ridges  and 
mountains. 

The  south  coast  covers  about  10  per- 
cent of  the  area  of  the  Territory  and 
comprises  the  narrow,  crescent-shaped 
region  fronting  on  the  Pacific  Ocean 
from  Portland  Canal  on  the  southeast 
to  Kodiak  Island  on  the  northwest,  a 
distance  of  800  miles.  Southeastern 
Alaska,  the  almost-detached  section 
that  extends  southerly  as  a  panhandle 
along  the  western  side  of  northern 
British  Columbia  for  400  miles,  makes 
up  almost  two-thirds  of  it.  The  region 
consists  of  a  narrow  strip  of  mainland 
extending  back  to  the  summit  of  the 
Coastal  Range,  numerous  large  and 
small  islands,  and  a  maze  of  inter- 
vening narrow  waterways.  The  land 
is  mountainous  throughout,  and  rises 
abruptly  from  the  water's  edge  to 
heights  commonly  exceeding  4,000  feet 
and,  in  many  instances,  8,000  feet. 
A  few  awe-inspiring  peaks  extend  to 
15,000  and  18,000  feet  above  the  near- 
by sea.  The  coast  line  of  mainland  and 
islands  is  highly  indented,  and  the 
deep,  narrow  waterways,  the  fiords, 
reach  far  inland  toward  the  backbone 
of  the  mountains,  with  the  result  that 
most  of  the  land  area  is  within  a  few 
miles  of  navigable  tidewater.  The  lofty 
summit  of  the  mountain  chain  on  the 
mainland  strip  has  great  permanent 
icefields,  from  which  ice  is  drained  off 
by  glaciers  down  hundreds  of  valleys. 

The  voyager  along  the  network  of 
narrow  waterways  here  gains  the  im- 
pression of  a  mountain  country  which 
has  been  depressed  about  1,000  feet, 
thereby  transforming  the  former 
stream  valleys  into  deep,  narrow,  navi- 
gable sea  channels,  and  the  summits 
of  the  high  ridges  into  chains  or  elon- 
gated islands. 

The  south  coast  owes  its  well-tim- 
bered condition  to  a  moist  and  rather 
warm,  equable  climate.  A  warm  ocean 
current  of  the  north  Pacific  touches  the 
northwest  coast  of  North  America 
from  Kodiak  Island  to  southern  Ore- 
gon along  a  distance  of  1,800  miles  and 


gives  the  intervening  coastal  area  about 
the  same  climate  throughout.  The  visi- 
tor from  Portland  feels  at  home  in  the 
winters  of  Sitka.  Winds  moving  land- 
ward from  this  warm  ocean  water, 
through  a  low  barometric  trough  usu- 
ally lying  over  a  portion  of  the  north 
Pacific,  greatly  modify  the  winter 
temperatures.  They  also  produce  a 
heavy  rainfall,  as  much  of  their  abun- 
dant moisture  is  dropped  when  they 
strike  the  cold,  high  coastal  mountains. 

The  winters  of  the  south-coast  area 
are  long  but  not  severely  cold.  The 
average  January  temperature  at  sea 
level  is  32°  F.,  about  the  same  as  that 
of  Washington,  D.  C.,  or  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  A  reading  of  zero  is  a  rarity.  The 
summers  are  cool,  with  an  average  July 
temperature  of  about  55°.  The  average 
annual  precipitation  is  heavy.  It  ranges 
from  70  to  155  inches  at  sea  level  in 
different  parts  of  the  region  and  rap- 
idly increases  with  elevation  on  the 
exposed  westward  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tains. The  winter  precipitation  near 
tidewater  is  largely  in  the  form  of  rain, 
and  the  ground  may  be  clear  or  nearly 
clear  of  snow  for  extended  periods,  but 
at  elevations  above  600  feet  the  snow- 
fall persists  throughout  the  winter 
months  and  accumulates  to  great 
depths.  Cloudy  days  are  common  in  all 
seasons  and  constitute  two-thirds  of  the 
days  of  the  year.  There  is  no  pro- 
nounced summer  dry  season.  Harbors 
are  not  icebound,  and  climatic  condi- 
tions at  the  lower  elevations  do  not,  as 
a  rule,  seriously  interfere  with  outdoor 
winter  activities,  such  as  logging. 

A  growing  season  of  150  days  and  16 
to  18  hours  of  daylight  are  highly  fa- 
vorable to  the  growth  of  vegetation, 
especially  coniferous  forests,  but  heavy 
rainfall,  rough  topography,  and  thin, 
new  soils  in  this  part  of  Alaska  prac- 
tically rule  out  extensive  agricultural 
development.  Many  garden  crops  do 
well  if  given  good  care. 

THE  LAND  OF  ALASKA  is  still  almost 
entirely  in  Federal  ownership.  Not 
more  than  1  percent  of  its  586,400 
square  miles  has  been  patented  to  date 


Forests  of  Alaska 


363 


under  the  homestead,  mining,  and 
other  laws  that  permit  of  alienation  of 
public  lands.  While  considerable  areas 
are  held  intact  for  special  purposes, 
such  as  military  and  naval  reservations 
and  national  parks,  the  great  bulk  of 
the  land  is  classified  as  open  public 
domain,  where  soil  and  other  resources 
are  available  for  occupancy  and  use 
under  laws  that  permit  patenting  or 
leasing.  This  land  is  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
Approximately  32,575  square  miles 
(20,840,000  acres),  or  5.5  percent  of 
the  total  area  of  the  Territory,  has  been 
designated  as  national  forests.  These 
national  forests  lie  entirely  in  the  well- 
timbered  south-coast  region  and,  in  the 
main,  are  to  be  held  in  permanent 
Federal  ownership  for  the  production 
of  successive  timber  crops.  If  tracts  are 
found  to  be  more  valuable  for  such 
uses  as  mining,  homesteads,  homesites, 
water-power  development,  industrial 
sites,  and  resort  areas,  however,  they 
are  made  available  for  those  uses 
through  land  patents  in  some  cases  and 
a  leasing  system  in  others. 

THROUGHOUT  INTERIOR  ALASKA,  an 
area  larger  than  Texas,  is  a  mixed 
forest  of  small  white  spruce  and  Alas- 
ka white  birch,  with  some  cottonwood 
of  various  species  frequently  in  mix- 
ture. These  forests  occupy  the  better 
drained  soils  of  valley  bottoms,  lower 
slopes,  and  low  benchlands,  to  an  ele- 
vation of  approximately  2,500  feet,  but 
the  local  climatic  conditions  frequently 
hold  the  timber  line  to  lower  levels. 

The  trees  sometimes  reach  a  diame- 
ter of  18  inches,  but  the  average 
diameter  of  mature  trees  is  between  10 
and  12  inches.  The  height  ranges  from 
40  to  50  feet.  The  stands  are  fairly 
dense,  and  the  volume  per  acre  of  vir- 
gin mature  stands  may  be  as  high  as  20 
cords.  Stands  of  trees  of  sawmilling  size 
may  contain  from  6,000  to  8,000  board 
feet  an  acre.  Ground  birch,  stunted 
alder,  and  willows  constitute  a  fairly 
dense  undergrowth,  and  the  ground 
cover  is  a  thick  mat  of  moss.  Permafrost 
is  prevalent  in  the  region,  and  because 


of  that,  and  other  features  of  a  harsh 
climate,  the  rate  of  growth  is  slow. 

White  men  started  coming  into  this 
region  in  large  numbers  about  1900. 
Since  then,  extensive,  devastating  for- 
est fires  and,  to  a  lesser  degree,  cutting 
operations  have  greatly  reduced  the 
extent  of  the  virgin  timber.  Perhaps 
not  more  than  20  percent  of  the  origi- 
nal white  spruce-white  birch  stands  are 
now  intact.  Reproduction  after  fire 
runs  strongly  to  aspen. 

Another  forest  type,  which  could 
well  be  classed  as  a  brush  type,  consists 
of  black  spruce  on  wet  lowlands.  The 
trees  are  scattered,  gnarled,  and  rarely 
more  than  6  inches  in  diameter.  Tam- 
arack and  cottonwood  of  stunted  form 
are  the  associated  tree  species.  Inter- 
spersed clumps  of  willow  brush  and 
areas  of  grass,  peat  moss,  and  swamp 
herbs  occupy  as  much  of  the  ground 
space  as  the  black  spruce  and  associ- 
ated trees. 

No  one  has  ever  made  a  systematic 
field  survey  and  estimate  of  the  area 
of  the  different  kinds  of  vegetative 
cover  in  interior  Alaska.  A  conservative 
guess  places  the  area  of  white  spruce- 
white  birch  forests,  including  the 
burned  areas  reproducing  strongly  to 
aspen,  at  100,000  square  miles,  or  64 
million  acres.  The  whole  type,  burned 
and  unburned,  can  be  roughly  esti- 
mated as  having  an  average  stand  of  5 
cords  an  acre,  or  a  total  volume  of  320 
million  cords. 

Interior  Alaska  now  uses  and  will 
likely  continue  to  need  large  quantities 
of  wood  products  in  connection  with  its 
development.  Gold  mining  and  dairy 
and  vegetable  farming  are  the  prin- 
cipal local  industries,  although  military 
defense  projects  in  the  past  10  years 
have  contributed  substantially  to  the 
economy. 

Much  of  the  fuel  and  construction 
material  needed  in  mining  and  on  the 
farms  is  cut  from  the  local  forests.  Gut- 
ting operations,  which  have  been  going 
on  since  the  days  of  the  gold  rushes 
around  1900,  and  the  heavy  losses  from 
forest  fires  have  led  to  near-depletion 
of  the  virgin  timber  for  a  score  of  miles 


3^4 


Ycarboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


around  each  of  the  larger  communities. 
Future  settlement  and  development  of 
interior  Alaska  will  continue  to  draw 
heavily  on  the  meager  local  forest  re- 
sources because  of  the  distances  from 
the  outside  sources  of  supply.  Conse- 
quently, the  potential  value  of  these 
forests  to  the  region  is  great. 

Of  almost  equal  economic  impor- 
tance is  the  use  made  of  these  forests 
by  fur  and  game  animals  for  cover  and 
as  a  source  of  food  supply.  Interior 
Alaska  is  one  of  the  better  areas  of  the 
world  for  large  wilderness  game  ani- 
mals, and  it  is  also  an  extensive  pro- 
ducer of  fur.  Those  resources  contrib- 
ute substantially  to  the  food  supply  and 
the  cash  income  of  the  native  Indians 
and  of  many  white  settlers.  The  big- 
game  animals — moose,  the  mountain 
sheep,  the  great  brown  bear,  and  cari- 
bou— attract  hunters,  wildlife  photog- 
raphers, and  general  tourists,  who 
provide  an  important  and  constantly 
increasing  source  of  income. 

THE  EARLY  SITUATION  in  the  forests 
of  the  Western  States  is  being  repeated 
in  Alaska  in  that  the  interior  forest 
area  is  subject  to  devastating  fires,  and 
the  volume  of  timber  burned  is  many 
times  greater  than  the  volume  cut. 

A  combination  of  light  precipitation, 
the  long  daylight  hours,  and  the  warm 
weather  of  the  summer  months,  plus 
the  heavy  ground  cover  of  moss,  pro- 
duces a  serious  fire  hazard.  Also,  the 
vast  size  and  the  wilderness  condition 
make  effective  fire-control  measures 
difficult  and  costly.  Another  discour- 
aging fact  is  the  slow  tree  growth  here, 
which  means  a  slow  recovery  of  spruce 
and  birch  on  the  burned-over  areas. 
The  fires  in  interior  Alaska  are  largely 
man-made  ( lightning  is  serious  in  cer- 
tain areas  only) ,  and  until  recently  they 
have  been  largely  due  to  indifference. 
Many  settlers,  hunters,  prospectors, 
and  general  travelers  had  the  attitude 
that  the  burning  of  an  area  here  and 
there  in  that  vast  wilderness  was  a 
matter  of  no  importance.  Fires  were 
allowed  to  escape  from  land-clearing 
jobs,  campfires  along  the  trails  were 


left  unextinguished,  and  fires  were  set 
to  drive  the  mosquitoes  from  camp  sites 
and  mining  operations.  The  past  dec- 
ade, however,  has  seen  an  encouraging 
trend  away  from  this  attitude. 

The  extent  of  individual  fires  is  ap- 
palling to  a  visitor  from  the  States,  but 
understandable  in  view  of  the  warm, 
dry  summers  and  the  wilderness  con- 
ditions. Fires  often  start  in  the  early 
spring  and  travel  uninterruptedly  until 
the  fall  rains  extinguish  them.  Dozens 
of  fires,  each  of  10,000  acres  or  more, 
may  occur  in  one  summer,  while  not 
uncommonly  a  single  fire  will  burn 
from  200,000  to  400,000  acres.  In  1947, 
at  least  five  fires  burned  more  than 
100,000  acres  each.  The  largest  of 
those,  on  the  open  public  domain  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula, 
covered  approximately  250,000  acres, 
as  determined  by  inspection  from  the 
air  at  the  end  of  the  fire  season.  No  one 
knows  the  total  area  burned  in  interior 
Alaska  in  1947,  but  it  probably  reached 
1,150,000  acres. 

The  open  public  domain,  comprising 
most  of  interior  Alaska,  is  administered 
by  the  Bureau  of  Land  Management 
(formerly  the  General  Land  Office)  of 
the  United  States  Department  of  the 
Interior.  Before  July  1,  1939,  there 
was  practically  no  organized  forest- 
fire  protection  on  these  lands,  but  at 
that  time  an  appropriation  of  $37,500 
was  made  available  by  Congress  to  the 
General  Land  Office  for  the  start  of 
a  protective  unit,  designated  the  Alas- 
kan Fire  Control  Service.  Up  to  and 
including  the  fiscal  year  beginning  July 
1,  1946,  the  annual  appropriation  had 
been  increased  to  $170,000,  and  the 
organization  expanded  to  a  force  of 
approximately  40  persons,  two-thirds 
of  them  part-year  employees  only.  The 
item  for  fire  control  was  omitted  from 
the  Department  of  the  Interior  appro- 
priation act  for  the  fiscal  year  begin- 
ning July  1,  1947,  which  year  proved 
unfortunately  to  be  a  bad  fire  period. 
That  item  was  restored  and  substan- 
tially increased  the  next  year. 

The  lands  under  the  protection  of 
the  Alaskan  Fire  Control  Service  in- 


Forests  of  Alaska 


Sr.WhSier..  L=9  V«.  /      iTU**** 


Forest  distribution  in  Alaska:  The  nontimbered  Arctic  slope  and  Bering  Sea  coastal 
region,  tundra  and  grass;  the  lightly  timbered  interior,  white  spruce  and  white  birch, 
which  supply  local  construction  material  and  fuel  and  provide  food  and  cover  for  game 
and  fur  bearers;  the  heavily  timbered  south-coast  region,  extensive  stands  of  western 
hemlock  and  Sitka  spruce  suitable  for  pulp  manufacture. 


elude  not  only  the  forests  of  interior 
Alaska,  but  also  the  tundra  and  grass- 
lands of  interior  Alaska  and  the  Bering 
Sea- Arctic  region,  as  those  nonforested 
lands  are  important  game  and  fur 
areas.  The  total  area  needing  fire  pro- 
tection in  Alaska  is  not  less  than  250 
million  acres. 

Those  who  know  the  fire  situation  in 
interior  Alaska  estimate  that  an  accept- 
able minimum  of  fire  protection  on 
these  lands  could  be  provided  with  an 
expenditure  of  $250,000  annually,  sup- 
plemented at  the  start  with  $50,000 
a  year  over  a  5 -year  period.  The  sup- 
plement would  provide  for  necessary 
transport  equipment,  such  as  trucks 
and  river  boats,  the  purchase  and  in- 


stallation of  the  radio  and  telephone 
equipment,  the  purchase  of  fire-fight- 
ing equipment,  and  the  construction  of 
essential  field  stations.  The  $250,000 
annual  operating  cost  would  be  slightly 
more  than  a  mill  an  acre.  The  small 
population  of  interior  Alaska,  and  the 
fact  that  most  fires  are  man-caused, 
make  it  possible  to  accomplish  a  great 
deal  in  fire  protection  at  little  cost  by 
instructing  the  public  in  the  need  for 
and  methods  of  prevention. 

IN  THE  SOUTH-COAST  region  the 
timberlands  form  a  part  of  the  conif- 
erous forest  type  that  occupies  the  so- 
called  fog  belt,  usually  less  than  50 
miles  wide,  along  the  shore  line  of  the 


366 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Pacific  Northwest  from  southern  Ore- 
gon to  the  northern  tip  of  Kodiak 
Island.  In  Alaska,  this  coast  forest  is 
predominantly  a  mixed  stand  of  west- 
ern hemlock  and  Sitka  spruce,  with  a 
small  percentage  of  Alaska-cedar,  and 
western  redcedar  in  some  localities. 
The  forest  here  is  almost  tropical  in 
density.  The  main  cover  is  western 
hemlock  with  some  cedar.  This  is  over- 
topped by  scattered  trees  of  the  more 
light-demanding  spruce,  while  under- 
neath is  a  second  story  of  somewhat 
suppressed  saplings  of  the  more  shade- 
resistant  hemlock  and  cedar.  At  a  still 
lower  level  are  great  clumps  of  blue- 
berry, false  azalea,  the  devilsclub,  and 
other  woody  shrubs.  Fallen  timber, 
which  decays  slowly  in  this  region  of 
all-year  heavy  rainfall,  is  everywhere 
abundant,  and  the  ground  surface  is 
usually  covered  with  a  carpet  of  moss. 

The  forest  occurs  as  a  relatively  nar- 
row ribbon  or  band  along  the  sinuous 
coast  line  of  the  mainland  and  the 
hundreds  of  islands,  and  extends  from 
the  edge  of  tidewater  to  an  elevation 
varying  from  1,000  feet  in  the  more 
northerly  and  westerly  sections  of  the 
region  to  2,000  and  3,000  feet  in  south- 
eastern Alaska.  Because  of  the  moun- 
tainous character  of  the  country,  the 
entire  area  of  tree  growth  is  usually 
within  sight  of  tidewater  and  rarely 
extends  more  than  5  or  6  miles  inland. 
Three-fourths  of  the  commercial  tim- 
ber is  estimated  to  be  within  2/2  miles 
of  the  coast  line. 

The  timber  stands  of  present  mer- 
chantable quality  are  seldom  continu- 
ous over  large  watersheds,  but  are 
interspersed  by  areas  of  somewhat 
stunted  stands  of  the  same  species, 
designated  as  "scrub,"  and  by  un- 
timbered  bogs  of  peat  moss  locally 
known  as  "muskegs."  The  best  of  the 
Alaska  forests  is  found  in  southeastern 
Alaska  and,  in  general,  the  quality  of 
the  timber  and  the  proportion  of 
forested  land  decreases  with  progress 
northward.  Thus  the  trees  are  smaller 
and  the  timber  band  narrower  in  the 
Prince  William  Sound  country  than  in 
southeastern  Alaska,  while  the  trees  at 


the  very  tip  of  the  hemlock-spruce 
range  on  Afognak  and  Kodiak  Islands 
are  largely  unmerchantable,  and  the 
stands  patchlike  in  occurrence. 

As  a  whole,  the  quality  of  the  hem- 
lock and  spruce  timber  of  the  south 
coast  is  poorer  than  that  of  Washing- 
ton and  Oregon.  More  trees  of  the 
medium  and  larger  sizes  are  affected 
by  rot,  and  more  of  the  hemlocks  have 
a  "fluted"  base  that  extends  upward 
into  the  first  log  section  of  the  tree. 
However,  there  are  many  stands  of 
uniformly  excellent  trees  and  many 
good  individual  trees  in  the  poorer 
stands. 

During  the  Second  World  War  a 
special  logging  project,  designated  as 
the  Alaska  Spruce  Log  Program,  was 
established  to  obtain  Sitka  spruce  from 
southeastern  Alaska  for  the  construc- 
tion of  military  airplanes.  Logs  from 
this  operation  were  rafted  800  miles 
south  to  Puget  Sound  sawmills,  which 
were  specializing  in  the  production  of 
airplane  stock.  The  Alaska  material 
was  fully  equal  in  quality  to  that  taken 
from  the  forests  of  Washington  and 
Oregon.  Much  of  the  Alaska  hemlock 
is  suited  to  the  highest  uses  for  hem- 
lock, such  as  flooring  and  interior  trim 
for  residences.  The  wood  of  Alaska- 
cedar  and  of  western  redcedar  is  well 
adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  a  great 
variety  of  specialty  items  that  are  in 
demand  in  the  United  States.  A  few 
such  items  are  furniture  parts,  battery 
separators,  wooden  handles  of  many 
kinds,  and  rollers  for  window  shades. 
Processing  is  ordinarily  done  in  small 
plants  and  requires  much  labor.  It  is 
believed  that  such  wood-using  indus- 
tries might  profitably  be  established  in 
the  coastal  towns  of  southern  Alaska. 

Most  of  the  timber  is,  however,  more 
suitable  for  pulp  than  for  any  of  the 
above  uses.  The  woods  run  of  logs  from 
the  hemlock  and  spruce  forests  of 
Alaska  are  equal  in  quality  to  logs 
(No.  2  and  No.  3  grade)  from  the 
Washington  forests  that  are  used  by 
the  pulp  mills  on  Puget  Sound  for  the 
highest  grades  of  pulp. 

The  economy  of  the  south-coast  re- 


Forests  of  Alaska 


367 


gion,  with  approximately  35,000  in- 
habitants, is  now  based  largely  on  the 
commercial  sea  fisheries,  but  lumber 
production,  now  approaching  100  mil- 
lion board  feet  annually,  is  growing  in 
importance.  When  fully  developed,  the 
timber  industries,  including  especially 
pulp  manufacture,  will  likely  equal  and 
may  even  exceed  the  fisheries  in  value 
of  yearly  output. 

THE  BETTER  AREAS  of  the  coast  for- 
est lying  north  and  west  of  southeastern 
Alaska  are  included  in  the  Chugach 
National  Forest.  This  forest  consists 
principally  of  lands  around  Prince  Wil- 
liam Sound  and  on  the  eastern  half  of 
the  Kenai  Peninsula  just  north  of 
Seward.  Its  area  is  4.8  million  acres. 
The  timber-management  plan  speci- 
fies that  the  timber  output  will  be  used 
to  supply  the  needs  of  localities  in  and 
around  the  national  forest,  with  the 
excess  going  to  the  lightly  timbered  and 
nontimbered  sections  of  Alaska  farther 
to  the  north,  the  interior  and  the  Arc- 
tic-Bering Sea  areas. 

The  Chugach  National  Forest  con- 
stitutes the  nearest  source  of  supply  of 
large  timber  items  for  those  areas,  and 
its  production  capacity  is  not  sufficient 
to  meet  their  present  and  prospective 
demands.  Consequently,  sales  of  tim- 
ber from  the  Chugach  National  Forest 
are  not  made  to  concerns  that  contem- 
plate shipping  their  principal  products 
out  of  the  Territory. 

The  chief  local  demand  for  Chugach 
products  is  and  likely  will  continue  to 
be  lumber,  heavy  sawn  timbers,  and 
piling.  A  sawmill  with  a  capacity  of 
60,000  board  feet  a  day,  located  at 
Whittier  on  Prince  William  Sound,  a 
gateway  of  the  Alaska  Railroad  into 
interior  Alaska,  is  the  largest  mill  on 
the  Chugach  National  Forest.  A  few 
smaller  mills,  ranging  up  to  10,000  or 
15,000  feet  in  daily  capacity,  supply 
part  of  the  purely  local  lumber  de- 
mands at  Seward  and  other  towns. 

THE   TONGAS S    NATIONAL   FOREST   IS 

in  southeastern  Alaska.  The  Alaska 
forests  that  will  be  an  important  source 


of  wood  products,  especially  pulp  and 
paper,  for  continental  United  States 
are  those  of  southeastern  Alaska.  The 
system  of  sea  channels  there  is  more 
elaborate  than  in  the  more  northerly 
and  westerly  sections  of  the  south- 
coast  region,  and  the  timber  is  thus 
more  accessible.  Seventy  percent  of  the 
area  and  most  of  the  commercial  tim- 
berlands  of  southeastern  Alaska  are  in- 
cluded in  the  Tongass  National  Forest. 
In  addition  to  suitable  timber,  south- 
eastern Alaska  has  that  second  requi- 
site for  pulp  manufacture — power. 
The  heavy  rainfall  and  the  availability 
of  many  high  mountain  lakes  for  stor- 
age reservoirs,  give  this  section  good 
water-power  resources.  Detailed  stud- 
ies show  that  approximately  200  of  the 
better  undeveloped  power  sites  have  a 
total  yearlong  capacity  of  800  thou- 
sand horsepower. 

This  national  forest  has  a  total  area 
of  16,040,000  acres,  of  which  10  mil- 
lion acres  is  within  the  altitudinal 
limits  of  tree  growth.  Approximately  4 
million  acres  carries  timber  of  present 
commercial  quality;  another  1  million 
acres  has  timber  of  marginal  quality; 
and  still  another  1  million  acres  has 
timber  of  such  low  quality  that  it  is 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


PULP-TIMBER  ALLOTMENTS 

TONGASS  NATIONAL  FOREST 


SUSTAINED        POSSIBLE  PULP 
YIELD  OUTPUT 

UNITS  (TONS  PER  DAY) 


DOMINION  OF  CANADA 


Four  sustained-yield  units  (composed  of  pulp-timber  allotments  A,  B-H,  C-D,  and 
E-F-G)  have  been  tentatively  established  on  the  Tongass  National  Forest  as  a  basis  for 
effecting  a  full,  orderly,  and  economic  development  of  the  pulp  and  paper  industry  now 
in  prospect  for  Southeast  Alaska.  Within  each  unit  intensive  forestry  will  be  practiced 
on  the  timberlands,  and  the  annual  cut  will  be  limited  to  the  estimated  annual  growth. 


wholly  disregarded  in  all  timber-man- 
agement planning.  The  remaining  4 
million  acres  within  the  limits  of  the 
timbered  zone  is  barren  rock  or  is  cov- 


ered with  muskeg,  brush,  or  icefields. 
The  estimated  volume  of  commer- 
cial timber  now  on  the  Tongass  Forest 
is  78,500  million  board  feet,  of  which 


Forests  of  Alaska 


369 


about  74  percent  is  western  hemlock, 
20  percent  Sitka  spruce,  and  6  percent 
western  redcedar  and  Alaska-cedar. 
The  average  stand  on  an  acre  of  com- 
mercial timber  is  approximately  20,000 
board  feet,  but  individual  logging 
units  with  40,000  board  feet  or  more 
are  not  uncommon. 

The  prevailing  timber  type  of  the 
Tongass  Forest  consists  of  a  mixture 
of  the  species  named  previously.  It  is 
designated  as  the  western  hemlock 
type.  Mature  hemlock  trees  average 
between  3  and  4  feet  in  diameter,  are 
usually  quite  clean-boled  and  well- 
formed,  and  are  sound  until  maturity 
is  reached.  After  maturity,  dead  tops 
and  butt  rot  develop  rapidly. 

Sitka  spruce,  the  other  dominant 
member  of  the  western  hemlock  type, 
is  a  larger  tree  than  the  hemlock, 
reaching  at  maturity  an  average  diam- 
eter of  5  feet  at  breast  height  and  a 
maximum  of  8  feet  or  more.  It  usually 
occurs  singly  or  as  small  clumps  of 
trees  scattered  throughout  the  hemlock 
stands.  More  light-demanding,  it  keeps 
its  head  above  the  neighboring  hem- 
locks and  cedars.  Its  long,  slightly 
tapering,  branch-free  bole  and  its 
great  size  make  Sitka  spruce  an  impres- 
sive feature  of  the  Alaska  forests. 

The  western  redcedar  and  Alaska- 
cedar  usually  occur  in  clumps  in  the 
mixed  forest,  but  on  the  wetter  soils. 
They  are  somewhat  shorter  than  the 
hemlocks,  have  a  heavy  taper,  and 
reach  dimensions  at  maturity  of  about 
4  to  5  feet  in  diameter. 

The  scrub  type,  consisting  of  the 
open  stands  of  somewhat  dwarfed,  de- 
fective trees  and  dense  undergrowth, 
occupies  soils  of  poorer  drainage  than 
the  hemlock  type  but  better  drained 
than  those  occupied  by  muskegs.  This 
type  covers  most  of  the  million  acres 
of  timber  of  marginal  value  previously 
mentioned,  plus  additional  great  areas 
that  offer  only  a  remote  possibility  of 
attaining  future  commercial  value. 
The  marginal  stands  of  scrub  may  have 
from  5  to  10  cords  or  even  more  of 
pulpwood  an  acre  over  large  areas,  but 
the  amount  of  the  wood  defect  to  be 

802062 c 


eliminated  and  the  dense  underbrush 
and  moist  ground  to  be  encountered  in 
logging  give  the  material  a  distinctly 
negative  stumpage  value  at  present. 
The  muskeg,  with  a  tree  growth  lim- 
ited to  a  few  scattered  and  gnarled 
hemlocks  and  cedars,  is  definitely  a 
nontimber  type.  Any  future  economic 
value  of  Alaska  muskegs  lies  in  their 
peat  deposits  and  not  in  their  timber. 

The  main  objective  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Tongass  National  Forest 
is  to  bring  all  resources  of  the  forest 
land  into  use  and  to  make  them  con- 
tribute in  the  greatest  possible  degree  to 
the  needs  of  the  Nation  and  the  devel- 
opment and  maintenance  of  the  econ- 
omy of  southeastern  Alaska.  First,  the 
timber  resource  is  to  be  made  the  basis 
for  permanent  forest  industries  to  be 
established  in  the  region.  Second,  full 
use  of  all  other  resources,  including 
recreational  features,  the  water-power 
sites,  minerals,  and  potential  agricul- 
tural lands,  is  to  be  encouraged. 

The  timber  inventories  and  studies 
of  tree  growth  that  have  been  made  on 
this  forest  to  date  indicate  that  a  rota- 
tion of  80  to  85  years  will  produce  the 
most  wood  of  good  quality  per  acre  per 
year  and  that  removing  the  present  vir- 
gin stand  over  that  period  of  time  will 
permit  the  cutting  of  approximately 
one  billion  board  feet  of  timber  a  year. 
This  volume  is  sufficient  to  make  at 
least  a  million  tons  of  chemical  pulp, 
plus  considerable  quantities  of  high- 
grade  lumber  and  plywood. 

Western  hemlock  and  Sitka  spruce 
form  an  excellent  forest  type  for  the 
production  of  pulpwood.  The  hemlock 
is  shade  enduring  and  the  spruce  light 
demanding,  a  combination  which  re- 
sults in  a  dense  stand  per  acre.  Both 
are  fair  to  rapid  growers  and  produce 
high  total  yields,  and  both  woods  have 
good  pulping  qualities.  The  hemlock- 
spruce  forests,  except  in  a  few  small 
areas,  do  not  lend  themselves  to  the 
practice  of  selective  logging,  the  system 
of  cutting  under  which  trees  of  all  ages 
are  grown  in  one  stand  and  individual 
trees  are  selected  and  removed  as  they 
reach  maturity.  Both  the  hemlock  and 


370 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  spruce  are  shallow-rooted,  and  the 
heavy  winds  of  this  region  cause  seri- 
ous windfall  to  the  remaining  trees  if 
the  stands  are  opened  up  by  selective 
cutting.  Consequently,  the  forest  man- 
ager has  to  clear-cut  the  forest  and,  to 
insure  natural  reseeding,  leave  seed 
trees  in  the  form  of  large  patches  of 
undisturbed  timber  spotted  over  the 
cutting  area.  The  areas  that  have  been 
cut  over  in  this  region  show  abundant 
natural  reproduction  under  this  clear- 
cutting,  grouped  seed-tree  system. 
Selective  cutting  is  also  impracticable 
on  most  areas  here  from  a  logging 
standpoint.  Because  of  the  large  size  of 
the  timber,  the  dense  brush,  and  moist 
soils,  powerful  donkey  engines  and 
heavy  wire  cables  must  be  used  to  pull 
the  logs  from  the  woods,  and  if  indi- 
vidual trees  were  left  standing  through- 
out the  logging  area  they  could  not  be 
protected  from  destruction  or  injury  by 
the  logging  equipment  and  machinery. 
The  common  practice  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest  of  broadcast  burning  of 
slash  left  in  logging  as  a  fire-preven- 
tion measure  is  unnecessary  here  be- 
cause of  the  heavy  rainfall.  This  is 
distinctly  advantageous  to  the  Alaska 
forester,  as  the  logging  areas  usually 
have  much  advance  reproduction  of 
young  hemlock  and  spruce  that  can  be 
saved  to  provide  a  fine  start  toward 
the  next  timber  crop. 

THIS   IS   A   PROSPECTIVE   PULP-   AND 

PAPER-MAKING  region.  The  Tongass 
National  Forest,  with  an  extensive 
stand  of  fine  pulp  timber,  excellent 
water-power  resources,  its  cheap  tide- 
water transportation,  and  mild  winter 
climate,  offers  good  possibilities  for  the 
development  of  a  large,  prosperous, 
and  permanent  regional  pulp  industry 
based  on  a  system  of  timber  cropping 
and  the  sale  of  the  output  in  the  gen- 
eral markets  of  the  United  States.  If 
fully  developed,  the  industry  could 
support,  directly  and  indirectly,  a  total 
of  30,000  persons  in  southeastern 
Alaska. 

Pulp  manufacturers  would  have  the 
obviously  very  great  advantage  here  of 


being  able  to  obtain  an  assured  supply 
of  timber  for  a  long  term  of  years  on 
a  basis  of  paying  for  this  material  as 
cutting  proceeds.  Other  favorable  fea- 
tures include  low  logging  costs  because 
of  the  ready  accessibility  of  the  timber 
stands  to  tidewater,  cheap  log  towing 
to  the  mills  along  the  protected  sea- 
ways, a  mild  winter  climate,  which 
permits  of  practically  yearlong  logging 
and  offers  no  handicap  to  mill  opera- 
tion, and  ocean  transportation  for  the 
product  direct  from  the  mill  to  the 
general  markets.  In  view  of  those  fea- 
tures, men  in  the  Forest  Service  believe 
that  the  development  of  this  industry, 
which  can  contribute  so  substantially 
to  the  pulp  and  paper  needs  of  the 
United  States  and  to  the  permanent 
development  of  Alaska,  will  not  be  long 
delayed. 

The  first  promising  prospects  for 
pulp  and  paper  mills  on  the  Tongass 
Forest  developed  in  the  late  1920's.  At 
that  time  a  large  Pacific  coast  paper 
manufacturer  and  a  combination  of 
Pacific  coast  newspaper  publishers  ap- 
plied for  and  received  awards  of  timber 
and  of  water-power  sites  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  two  large  newsprint  mills. 
Substantial  sums  were  spent  by  these 
prospective  operators  on  surveys  and 
plans  over  a  period  of  3  years,  but  the 
depression  that  began  in  1929  blocked 
further  progress,  and  in  1933  the  proj- 
ects were  definitely  dropped.  Subse- 
quently, until  the  start  of  the  Second 
World  War,  a  number  of  manufactur- 
ers and  users  of  pulp  and  paper  made 
preliminary  investigations  of  the  possi- 
bilities, but  financial  and  market  condi- 
tions in  those  years  did  not  encourage 
them  to  go  further.  In  no  case  did 
interest  during  that  period  reach  the 
point  where  timber-  and  power-site 
awards  were  applied  for.  Since  the  close 
of  the  war  there  has  been  a  resurgence 
in  interest. 

The  timber-management  policies 
provide  that  the  timber  resources  of 
the  Tongass  Forest  shall  be  used  for  the 
upbuilding  and  the  support  of  perma- 
nent, modern  communities  throughout 
southeastern  Alaska.  In  line  with  this 


Forests  of  Alaska 


371 


policy  the  forest  has  been  divided  into 
pulp-timber  allotments,  that  in  turn 
have  been  tentatively  grouped  into  four 
sustained-yield  units.  Each  unit  has 
sufficient  timberland  to  support  one  or 
more  pulp  mills  of  economic  operating 
size  in  perpetuity.  Suitable  water  pow- 
ers that  can  be  developed  for  mill  and 
domestic  use  and  a  good  plant  location 
or  locations  are  found  in  each  unit.  In 
all  but  one  unit,  plants  can  be  located 
adjacent  to  an  existing  town.  Sus- 
tained-yield units  and  the  location  of 
the  better  power  sites  are  shown  in  the 
diagram  on  page  368.  The  diagram 
also  shows  the  estimated  maximum 
output  of  timber  products  in  the  form 
of  tons  of  chemical  pulp  per  day  which 
the  unit  can  maintain  indefinitely.  The 
volumes  of  the  sustained  output  and 
the  boundaries  of  the  units  may  be 
changed  somewhat  as  more  informa- 
tion on  timber  growth  is  obtained. 

As  A  RESULT  of  present  interest,  the 
Forest  Service  in  1948  offered  for  sale 
by  competitive  bidding  and  awarded 
the  cutting  rights  on  a  large  pulp-tim- 
ber unit  for  a  proposed  plant  at  Ketch- 
ikan,  Alaska.  The  contract  period  is  50 
years  and  sufficient  timber  is  provided 
for  this  period  to  supply  a  chemical 
pulp  mill  of  525  tons  daily  capacity, 
plus  approximately  75,000  board  feet 
a  day  of  lumber  or  plywood,  to  be  made 
from  high-grade  logs  that  will  come 
out  of  the  woods  in  the  pulpwood 
logging  operations.  The  land  is  not  to 
be  sold  with  the  timber,  but  is  to  be 
held  indefinitely  by  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment for  the  production  of  succes- 
sive timber  crops.  All  cutting  is  to  be 
done  in  accordance  with  specified  for- 
estry practices  and  under  the  field  in- 
spection of  the  Forest  Service  officers. 
Standards  of  utilization  are  provided 
to  prevent  unreasonable  waste  of  mer- 
chantable material  in  logging.  Timber 
is  to  be  paid  for  as  cutting  proceeds  on 
the  basis  of  a  scale  of  the  cut  material 
by  Forest  Service  sealers.  The  prices  to 
be  paid  to  the  Government  for  the 
material  taken  during  the  first  10  years 
of  operation  are  those  offered  by  the 


successful  bidder.  They  coincide  with 
the  minimum  acceptable  rates  named 
in  the  sale  advertisement.  Plant  con- 
struction is  expected  to  start  in  1949 
and  pulp  manufacture  early  in  1952. 
At  the  end  of  the  initial  10-year 
period,  and  at  5-year  intervals  there- 
after throughout  the  life  of  the 
contract,  the  prices  to  be  paid  for 
stumpage,  the  utilization  standards, 
and  other  important  contract  provi- 
sions are  subject  to  readjustment  to 
make  them  conform  to  changing  con- 
ditions. Such  readjustments  are  neces- 
sary to  safeguard  the  interest  of  the 
public  in  this  federally  owned  timber, 
but  the  contract  also  contains  provi- 
sions designed  to  protect  the  pulp-tim- 
ber purchaser  against  arbitrary  action 
by  Forest  Service  officers  throughout 
the  50-year  sale  period.  It  establishes 
guides  to  be  followed  by  the  Govern- 
ment in  setting  new  stumpage  prices 
and  making  other  contract  changes  at 
the  specified  intervals,  and  provides  a 
right  of  appeal  by  the  contract  holder 
to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture.  This 
appeal  includes  the  right  of  the  con- 
tractor to  have  a  board  of  specialists 
review  the  cutting-area  boundaries  and 
stumpage-price  adjustments  as  deter- 
mined periodically  by  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice, and  advise  the  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture on  action  to  be  taken  by  him 
in  the  matter. 

THE  PROTECTION  OF  SALMON  FISH- 
ERIES and  scenic  features  is  provided 
for.  The  development  of  large  pulp  and 
paper  projects  on  the  Tongass  Forest 
will  not  be  permitted  to  jeopardize  the 
highly  important  salmon  fisheries  of 
southeastern  Alaska.  The  national  for- 
est contains  hundreds  of  streams  to 
which  salmon  return  from  the  open 
sea  to  spawn,  and  the  productivity  of 
the  fisheries  would  be  seriously  im- 
paired by  improper  logging  methods 
and  practices  in  the  valleys  of  those 
streams.  The  Secretary  of  Agriculture 
has  authority  to  require  that  logging 
operations  conform  to  instructions  for 
preservation  of  natural  conditions  on 
salmon  streams,  and  all  pulp-timber 


372 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


cutting  contracts  will  state  that  the 
logging  operator  must  abide  by  such 
instructions  as  are  set  up  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  standard  practice  will  be  to 
issue  the  instructions  for  a  given  stream 
when  the  plans  for  the  logging  of  its 
watershed  are  drafted.  Arrangements 
have  been  made  for  cooperation  of  the 
United  States  Fish  and  Wildlife  Serv- 
ice in  determining  what  should  be  done 
to  protect  salmon-spawning  streams. 

Alaska's  fine  scenery  is  also  to  be  con- 
sidered when  the  lands  to  be  logged  are 
designated.  Large  areas  of  great  scenic 
value  are  not  to  be  included  within  the 
exterior  boundaries  of  the  pulp-timber 
sales.  Small  scenic  areas  that  cannot  be 
readily  excluded  from  a  sale  will  be 
reserved  from  cutting  when  the  logging 
plans  for  that  locality  are  drafted.  In 
general,  narrow,  navigable  sea  chan- 
nels, highways,  and  the  recreation  sites 
having  special  scenic  values  will  be 
protected  by  reserved  strips  or  blocks 
of  timber  to  screen  the  logged-off  land. 

THE  RECREATIONAL  FEATURES  of  the 

Tongass  National  Forest  possess  an 
esthetic  and  an  economic  value  that 
rates  them  high  in  the  resource-man- 
agement plans  of  the  forest. 

The  many  miles  of  narrow,  navigable 
waterways  flanked  with  forest-covered 
slopes,  snow-capped  mountains,  and 
high  waterfalls  appeal  to  the  cruising 
enthusiasm  and  scenery  lover. 

Mountain  goats  on  the  high  ranges 
of  the  mainland,  deer  on  all  of  the 
islands,  and  the  famous  Alaska  brown 
bear  of  Baranof,  Chichagof,  and  Ad- 


miralty Islands  make  this  a  good  hunt- 
ing country. 

Persons  interested  in  nature  studies 
are  attracted  here  by  tidewater  glaciers 
that  discharge  into  the  sea,  the  exposed 
geologic  formations  along  the  almost- 
vertical  walls  of  the  fiords,  the  chang- 
ing types  of  flora  between  sea  level  and 
the  summits  of  the  high  mountains,  and 
the  varied  marine  life  that  is  uncovered 
on  the  beaches  at  low  water  by  the 
12-foot  to  20-foot  tides. 

These  important  resources — timber 
stands,  the  commercial  salmon  fish- 
eries, scenery,  and  recreational  fea- 
tures— are  either  of  a  renewable  or 
nonwasting  nature.  In  this  region  prac- 
tically all  are  now  publicly  owned  and 
can  be  safeguarded  as  necessary  to  in- 
sure the  perpetuation  of  the  renewable 
resources  and  the  development  or  use 
of  the  others  with  adequate  considera- 
tion for  the  public  interest.  Under 
proper  management  they  can  be  made 
to  contribute  generously  to  the  wealth 
of  the  United  States  and  the  perma- 
nent economy  of  the  Territory. 

B.  FRANK  HEINTZLEMAN  is  regional 
forester  for  Alaska,  and  ex-officio  Com- 
missioner for  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture for  Alaska,  with  headquarters 
at  Juneau.  A  native  of  Pennsylvania 
and  a  graduate  of  the  School  of  For- 
estry of  Yale  University,  he  has  been 
associated  with  the  Forest  Service  in 
Alaska  since  1918  and  has  participated 
in  many  public- planning  activities 
dealing  with  the  settlement  and  devel- 
opment of  the  Territory. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  NATIONAL  FORESTS 


EARL  W.  LOVERIDGE 


Our  national  forests  are  big,  com- 
plex, varied  in  the  services  they  render 
and  the  land  they  cover,  widely  dis- 
tributed, and  diverse  in  use  and  pos- 
sibility. As  pertinent  as  the  fact  that 
their  exterior  boundaries  embrace 
nearly  230  million  acres  is  the  fact  that 


140  million  American  citizens  own 
them.  The  administration  of  the  for- 
ests has  to  take  into  account  all  those 
different  factors. 

The  great  area  and  distribution  of 
the  forests  is  one  basic  problem  of  ad- 
ministering them  in  the  public  interest. 


The  Administration  of  National  Forests 


373 


The  other  is  the  dual  purpose  for  which 
the  forests  were  established  and  are 
being  managed.  The  purpose  includes 
service  to  the  Nation  and  to  the  local 
economy  and  welfare. 

The  same  dual  purpose  controls  the 
management  of  the  national  forest 
range  resource,  which  is  utilized  by 
some  10  million  head  of  livestock, 
owned  by  more  than  25,000  ranchers 
and  other  nearby  residents.  So,  too, 
with  the  recreation  and  wildlife  re- 
sources, which  attract  millions  of  per- 
sons to  the  forests  each  year.  Water 
that  the  forests  produce  likewise  must 
be  so  managed  to  serve  interstate  and 
local  needs  and  to  reduce  its  high 
potential  for  such  disasters  as  floods 
and  siltation  of  reservoirs.  Because  of 
its  supreme  importance,  water  man- 
agement must  be  given  predominating 
consideration  in  the  handling  of  each 
of  the  other  national  forest  resources. 

The  situation  gives  the  order.  Ob- 
viously, decentralization  and  delega- 
tion of  authority  to  the  tree  and  grass 
roots  are  called  for.  When  Gifford 
Pinchot,  first  Chief  of  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice, formed  a  decentralized  type  of  or- 
ganization and  administration  in  1 908, 
he  said,  "Each  locality  should  be  dealt 
with  on  its  own  merits."  Since  then 
that  has  been  the  controlling  principle. 
A  small  central  office  is  maintained  to 
meet  the  needs  for  coordination  and 
leadership,  for  essential  facilitating  and 
control  services,  and  for  the  work  with 
the  board  of  directors — Congress.  Of 
the  total  employment  during  a  normal 
field  season,  less  than  2  percent  is  in 
the  central  office  in  Washington. 

Administration  of  the  national  for- 
ests is  one  of  three  main  responsibilities 
of  the  Forest  Service.  The  other  two 
and  research  and  State  and  private  for- 
estry cooperation.  In  charge  of  each  of 
the  three  major  lines  of  activity  is  an 
assistant  chief,  who  with  other  assist- 
ant chiefs  comprise  the  staff  of  the 
Chief  of  the  Forest  Service  in  dealing 
with  matters  of  national  importance. 

The  assistant  chief  in  charge  of  na- 
tional forest  administration,  acting  for 
the  Chief  of  the  Forest  Service,  has  full 


operating  responsibility  for  planning, 
coordinating,  staffing,  organizing,  and 
directing  all  national  forest  functions 
and  activities.  He  in  turn  delegates  to 
division  chiefs  in  his  office  responsibil- 
ity for  particular  functions.  This  func- 
tional organization  is  made  up  of  the 
divisions  of  timber  management,  range 
management,  wildlife  management, 
recreation  and  land  use,  watershed 
management,  fire  control,  and  such 
service  units  as  engineering,  informa- 
tion and  education,  finance,  as  well  as 
personnel. 

Territorially  the  United  States  is 
divided  into  regions,  each  region  into 
national  forests,  and  each  national  for- 
est into  ranger  districts. 

The  line  of  authority  runs  from  the 
Chief  of  the  Forest  Service  to  the  as- 
sistant chief  in  charge  of  national  for- 
ests, to  the  regional  forester,  to  the 
forest  supervisor,  to  the  district  ranger. 

The  functional  organization  in  the 
Chief's  office,  however,  is  extended  to 
the  field.  In  Washington,  for  example, 
a  Division  of  Timber  Management  is 
responsible  for  over-all  direction  of 
timber  management.  In  the  region 
there  is  likewise  a  timber  management 
division.  At  the  national  forest  level 
there  is  a  functional-staff  man  for  tim- 
ber management,  and  in  the  ranger 
district  as  many  men  are  stationed  as 
are  needed  to  do  the  work. 

Here  then  we  have  a  secondary  or- 
ganizational line  parallel  to  the  pri- 
mary lines  of  authority,  and,  like  it, 
running  from  top  to  bottom.  There  are 
as  many  of  these  secondary  lines  as 
there  are  functions.  The  purpose  of  the 
first  line,  that  is,  the  so-called  line  of 
authority,  is  primarily  that  of  coordi- 
nating the  work  of  the  functional  divi- 
sions, although  it  has  other  important 
duties,  as  will  be  seen  later.  The  various 
functional  lines  must  be  kept  in  balance 
and  held  within  their  proper  fields. 

The  relationship  between  the  line  of 
authority  and  the  functional  lines  is 
important.  Briefly  stated,  the  relation- 
ship is  this :  General  policies  are  issued 
down  the  line  of  authority,  and  only 
down  that  line.  Within  the  framework 


374 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  those  established  policies,  a  func- 
tional chief  in  Washington  may  issue 
instructions  to  the  regional  forester. 
The  same  practice  holds  as  between  the 
regional  office  and  the  forest  super- 
visor's office. 

THE  REGIONAL  FORESTER  is  in  a  key 
position. 

While  ordinarily  there  is  thus  an 
open  channel  of  communication  down 
the  functional  lines,  it  is  to  be  under- 
stood that  all  functional  officials  in  the 
region  are  responsible  to  the  regional 
forester,  and  not  to  the  Washington 
functional  chiefs.  They  are  employees 
of  the  region  (not  of  the  corresponding 
functional  divisions  in  Washington), 
and  the  regional  forester,  who  is  re- 
sponsible only  to  the  Chief,  is  their  im- 
mediate supervisor.  Upon  the  regional 
forester  rests  ultimate  responsibility  for 
the  needed  correlation  between  func- 
tions and  for  the  success  or  failure  of 
all  national  forest  operations  in  his 
region. 

With  this  picture  in  mind — a  group 
of  functional  lines  paralleling  a  con- 
trolling coordinating  line — we  are  now 
ready  to  consider  field  relationships  in 
greater  detail.  While  the  assistant  chief 
has  full  responsibility  for  national  for- 
est operations,  he  and  his  division  heads 
in  Washington  exercise  control  only  at 
the  over-all,  Nation-wide  level.  That 
is,  within  the  mandates  of  Congress 
and  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  the 
assistant  chief  and  his  Washington 
staff  formulate  objectives,  determine 
policies,  develop  plans,  establish  stand- 
ards, and  check  the  accomplishments. 
These  objectives,  plans,  policies,  and 
standards  must  apply  to  the  Nation  as 
a  whole  and  must  be  general  enough 
and  broad  enough  to  cover  all  possible 
conditions. 

A  significant  feature  of  the  organiza- 
tion is  the  small  size  of  the  functional 
divisions  in  the  central  office  that  are 
responsible  for  national  forest  activi- 
ties. An  example  is  the  Division  of  Fire 
Control.  The  extent  of  its  responsibili- 
ties is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  each 
year  there  are  some  11,000  fires  in 


the  national  forests,  and  as  many  as 
20,000  fire-control  workers  are  em- 
ployed at  times.  Fire-control  expendi- 
tures amounted  to  more  than  12 
million  dollars  during  each  of  the  past 
several  years.  But  there  are  only  three 
staff-level  employees  in  this  Division 
and  two  clerical  assistants. 

The  United  States  is  divided  into  10 
national  forest  regions.  The  average 
region  includes  about  20  million  acres 
of  national  forest  land  and  an  average 
of  15  national  forests.  Those  are 
rounded-off  averages  that  do  not  apply 
to  any  one  region.  They  do,  however, 
indicate  the  general  framework  of  the 
organization  at  this  level.  The  person 
versed  in  administrative  matters  will 
be  interested  in  knowing  that  the  aver- 
age "span-of -control"  in  the  territorial 
organization  for  a  regional  forester 
and  his  staff  of  functional  division 
chiefs  is  15  forest  supervisors,  in  con- 
trast to  the  generally  considered  max- 
imum "span"  of  3  to  7  supervisory  or 
other  important  subordinate  positions 
that  an  administrator  can  handle  effec- 
tively. That  the  regional  forester  can 
handle  such  a  broad  span  of  control  is 
due  partly  to  the  parallel  functional  or- 
ganization line  I  have  described. 

The  assistant  chief  in  charge  of  na- 
tional forest  administration  delegates 
to  each  regional  forester  control  over 
all  operations  within  his  own  region, 
subject  to  the  requirement  that  he  must 
operate  within  the  framework  of  the 
policies,  plans,  and  standards  estab- 
lished for  the  country  as  a  whole.  The 
regional  forester,  with  his  staff  of  func- 
tional division  chiefs,  then  sets  the  ob- 
jectives for  his  region.  He  establishes 
regional  policies,  makes  regional  plans, 
establishes  regional  standards,  and,  of 
course,  makes  certain  of  compliance  by 
field  inspection  and  otherwise.  That  is 
necessary  because  each  region  is  dif- 
ferent. Conditions  in  the  Southeast, 
say,  differ  materially  from  conditions 
in  the  Pacific  Northwest — the  timber, 
the  types  of  recreation,  and  the  wildlife 
are  different,  and  so  on.  Each  region 
makes  its  own  plans  and  carries  on  its 
own  activities.  It  does  whatever  is 


The  Administration  of  National  Forests 


375 


necessary  to  make  the  national  forests 
of  greatest  value  in  the  social  and  eco- 
nomic life  of  the  region.  The  only  re- 
striction is  that  everything  done  must 
contribute  to  the  national  objective, 
must  come  within  national  policy,  and 
must  be  up  to  national  standards. 

The  field,  then,  stands  on  its  own 
feet.  There  are  some  exceptions,  al- 
though it  will  be  seen  that  even  those 
are,  in  reality,  applications  of  the  gen- 
eral principle  that  the  Washington  staff 
should  confine  itself  to  national  mat- 
ters. Sometimes  an  operation,  even 
though  it  is  located  entirely  within  a 
region,  is  of  national  importance.  It 
then  must  be  considered  on  a  national 
basis  and  by  the  Washington  office.  For 
example,  a  small  timber  sale  is  of  only 
local  significance,  but  a  large  one  af- 
fects national  markets  and  has  national 
economic  importance.  It  is  difficult  to 
say  exactly  where  the  dividing  line 
may  be,  but  now  it  is  estimated  to  be 
around  30  million  feet  in  some  regions, 
50  million  feet  in  others.  If  a  sale  in- 
volves more  than  that  amount,  it  must 
be  approved  by  the  Washington  office ; 
if  it  is  less  than  that  amount,  it  may  be 
approved  within  the  region  without 
reference  to  the  Washington  office. 
The  same  general  rule  applies  in  all 
other  functional  activities. 

The  regional  office,  which  is  organ- 
ized for  national  forest  work  on  the 
same  general  pattern  as  the  Chiefs 
office,  is  likewise  manned  on  a  skele- 
tonized basis,  with  certain  differences. 
Although  each  main  function  is  rep- 
resented in  the  Chief's  office  by  a 
separate  division,  frequently  several 
functions  are  grouped  within  one  divi- 
sion at  the  regional  level,  depending 
on  the  work  load.  In  addition,  the 
regional  office  provides  project  and 
other  service  to  individual  national  for- 
ests as  needed,  where  the  national  for- 
est concerned  does  not  have  enough 
work  of  that  type  to  require  the  full 
time  of  specialists  attached  directly  to 
the  staff  of  the  forest  supervisor. 

For  example,  the  logging  engineer 
and  his  assistants  who  are  attached  to 
the  regional  office  will  provide  their 


specialized  type  of  service  for  short 
periods  each  year  as  needed  on  the  na- 
tional forests  that  do  not  have  a  full- 
time  logging  engineer.  Range-  and 
timber-survey  crews,  bridge-construc- 
tion experts,  and  central  equipment 
and  machine  shops  headquartered  at 
the  regional  office  are  other  examples 
of  special  services  available  for  limited 
periods  to  all  the  national  forests  in  the 
region.  In  other  words,  there  are  two 
general  classes  of  personnel  attached  to 
each  regional  office.  One  is  of  the  su- 
pervisory, or  overhead,  class.  The 
other  is  made  up  of  project  workers 
engaged  in  direct  operations  in  the 
woods  and  on  the  range.  They  nor- 
mally have  headquarters  at  the  re- 
gional office  merely  as  a  convenient 
turning  and  base  point  for  a  succession 
of  work  assignments  to  different  points 
in  the  field. 

The  constant  effort  to  decentralize 
and  delegate  authority  closer  to  the 
tree  and  grass  roots  results  in  rather 
limited  authority  at  the  regional  office 
level.  Most  of  the  responsibility  for  na- 
tional forest  work  is  delegated  down 
to  the  forest  supervisors  and  the  forest 
rangers.  As  has  been  stated,  only  rarely 
does  the  regional  forester  refer  a  tim- 
ber sale  to  the  Chief's  office  for  ap- 
proval. Likewise  at  the  field  level,  only 
the  larger  sales  are  referred  by  the  for- 
est supervisor  to  the  regional  forester 
for  consideration  and  approval.  In  the 
field  of  range  management,  too,  prac- 
tically none  of  the  operating  activities 
is  administered  directly  from  the  re- 
gional office.  Even  a  catastrophic  for- 
est fire  is  handled  directly  by  the  local 
forest  supervisor,  with  participation 
from  the  regional  office  usually  limited 
to  advice  and  facilitating  services.  Such 
decentralization  reserves  for  the  re- 
gional office  the  responsibility  and  time 
needed  for  providing  effective  regional 
leadership  and  over-all  services. 

THE  NATIONAL  FOREST  SUPERVISOR 

has  great  responsibility.  The  average 
national  forest  contains  more  than 
1,500,000  acres  within  its  boundaries — 
an  area  larger  than  the  State  of  Dela- 


376 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ware  and  35  times  larger  than  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia. 

The  protection,  development,  and 
the  utilization  of  the  natural  resources 
within  this  area  is  the  direct  respon- 
sibility of  the  local  forest  supervisor. 
Decentralized  and  delegated  to  him, 
under  broad  national  and  regional  pol- 
icies, are  all  the  authorities  needed 
normally  to  meet  this  responsibility. 
He  has  authority  to  enter  into  con- 
tracts for  the  sale  of  the  timber  re- 
source, up  to  certain  size  limits.  The 
size  of  this  authorization  depends 
mainly  on  the  volume  of  timber  avail- 
able for  sale  and  his  qualifications. 
Some  of  these  authorizations  are  for  as 
much  as  10  million  board  feet  a  year 
for  any  one  sale,  but  with  no  limit  to 
the  number  of  such  sales  authorized, 
except  as  imposed  by  the  sustained- 
yield  productive  capacity  of  the  forest 
or  other  controlling  factors  prescribed 
in  the  management  plan  for  the  work- 
ing circle  involved. 

The  duties  of  the  forest  supervisor 
are  mainly  coordinating  and  super- 
visory in  character.  He  must  see  that 
all  functions  are  given  their  share  of 
attention  according  to  plan,  and  that 
the  range  work,  for  example,  is  not 
crowded  out  by  a  growing  demand  for 
timber.  He  must  determine  the  local 
forest  objectives,  and  plan  and  direct 
the  work  of  his  forest.  His  plans  must, 
of  course,  lie  within  the  framework  of 
the  regional  plan.  As  the  regional  for- 
ester provides  special  project  assistance 
to  the  supervisor,  so,  too,  does  the 
supervisor  help  his  ranger  force  with 
facilitating  services  in  the  form  of  spe- 
cialized assistants  on  types  of  work  that 
do  not  occur  in  sufficient  volume  to 
justify  manning  each  ranger  district 
with  such  specialists.  Handled  in  this 
manner  are  such  types  of  work  as  tim- 
ber and  range  appraisals,  major  con- 
struction projects,  special  recreational 
plans,  and  development  of  special  wild- 
life-management plans  in  cooperation 
with  State  authorities.  Other  facilitat- 
ing services  provided  his  field  forces  by 
the  supervisor  include  much  of  the 
clerical  work  involved  in  procurement, 


pay  rolls,  as  well  as  in  personnel  pro- 
cedure. 

The  average  forest  supervisor  has 
some  6  ranger  districts  under  his  su- 
pervision. Because  of  geographical, 
work  load,  and  other  controlling  fac- 
tors, the  actual  number  may  vary  from 
4  to  11  ranger  districts. 

THE  RANGER  is  the  local  manager  of 
a  forest  property.  He  is  in  direct  con- 
tact with  the  public.  He  meets  the 
timberman,  the  stockman,  the  hunter, 
the  camper  face  to  face.  He  supervises 
sales,  measures  products  sold,  issues 
permits,  protects  the  resources  against 
fire,  erosion,  insects,  and  disease,  car- 
ries on  planting  programs,  and  in  many 
other  ways  serves  as  local  manager  of 
property  worth  from  half  a  million  to 
several  million  dollars. 

The  average  area  within  the  bound- 
aries of  the  765  ranger  districts  into 
which  the  national  forests  are  sub- 
divided is  300,000  acres.  The  actual 
size  of  the  individual  districts  depends 
mainly  on  the  work  load.  Where  timber 
sales  and  other  intensive  resource- 
management  activities  are  heavy,  the 
ranger  districts  may  be  as  small  as 
50,000  acres.  The  other  extreme  is  in 
the  thinly  forested  and  remote  back 
country,  and  especially  in  Alaska, 
where  there  is  as  yet  no  active  market 
for  much  of  the  timber  or  other  need 
for  intensive  forest  management.  Here 
the  work  is  primarily  custodial  in  char- 
acter, and  consequently  the  ranger  dis- 
tricts are  as  large  as  a  half  million  to 
a  million  and  more  acres  in  size. 

In  order  to  handle  the  work  effec- 
tively, the  district  ranger  in  his  turn 
must  set  objectives  and  devise  a  plan  of 
operations.  He  has  broad  planning  and 
executive  authority.  The  ranger  does 
the  ultimate  planning.  Usually  he  is 
the  one  who  decides  which  area  and 
which  trees  are  to  be  cut  first.  To  make 
such  decisions,  he  must  know  the  tim- 
ber and  the  local  community.  He  must 
fit  the  timber  business  into  the  life  and 
needs  of  the  community.  He  works 
with  the  community  and  plans  with  it, 
and  sees  that  the  forest  is  looked  on  as 


The  Administration  of  National  Forests 


377 


a  local  enterprise  and  community  asset. 

The  ranger  does  all  this  within  the 
framework  of  national,  regional,  and 
forest  objectives.  He  is  checked  closely 
against  policies  and  regulations  and 
must  conform,  but  because  it  is  a 
fundamental  national  policy  that  the 
forest  take  its  place  locally  as  a  con- 
tributor to  community  prosperity,  the 
Chief  of  the  Forest  Service  insures  that 
the  ranger's  authority  is  protected  and 
that  no  one  above  him  sabotages  his 
planning  or  action.  In  other  words,  he 
has  his  job  and  is  protected  in  it;  his 
authority  has  limits,  however.  But  the 
ranger  not  only  makes  plans;  he  is  a 
distinctive  part  of  the  organization  be- 
cause he  also  puts  the  plans  into  effect. 

The  district  ranger  is  responsible 
only  to  his  forest  supervisor.  He  may 
meet  the  functional  chiefs,  in  his  dis- 
trict or  in  their  offices,  and  discuss  his 
plans  and  theirs,  but  he  receives  orders 
only  from  his  immediate  superior,  the 
forest  supervisor. 

EFFECTIVE  RANGER  district  adminis- 
tration is  based  on  two  key  points.  First 
is  sufficient  delegation  of  authority  to 
the  district  ranger  so  that  his  protection 
and  management  duties,  including 
dealings  with  local  settlers  and  com- 
munities, may  be  handled  with  effec- 
tiveness and  dispatch.  To  that  end,  the 
ranger  is  authorized,  for  example,  to 
make  any  number  of  timber  sales  of 
from  some  50,000  to  100,000  board 
feet  to  each  purchaser,  subject  only  to 
the  timber-management  plan  for  the 
district.  He  also  may  employ  lookouts 
and  other  members  of  his  seasonal  pro- 
tection and  improvement  crews,  sub- 
ject only  to  over-all  requirements,  and 
otherwise  handle  the  more  pressing 
business  on  his  district  without  con- 
stantly referring  matters  to  his  super- 
visor for  prior  approval. 

The  ranger  district  approaches  the 
ultimate  in  territorial  form  of  or- 
ganization. That  is  the  second  rather 
distinctive  feature  of  ranger-district 
administration. 

Under  the  set-up,  all  the  various  re- 
sponsibilities and  types  of  work  to  be 


done  within  his  territory — his  district 
— are  under  the  control  of  one  man, 
the  district  ranger.  That  has  been 
found  to  be  more  effective  than  the 
functional  method  of  administration, 
under  which  there  is  a  specialist 
reporting  directly  to  the  forest  super- 
visor to  handle  each  major  func- 
tional activity — a  specialist  for  timber 
management,  a  specialist  for  range 
management,  other  specialists  for  rec- 
reation management,  forest  protection, 
construction  and  maintenance  work, 
and  so  on. 

Such  functionalization  might  mean 
that  more  expert  attention  is  given  to 
each  activity.  But  with  supplementary 
help  from  functional  specialists  on  the 
supervisor's  and  the  regional  forester's 
staffs,  adequately  expert  attention  to 
all  activities  is  provided  in  ranger-dis- 
trict work  through  the  territorial  form 
of  administration.  In  addition,  better 
integration  of  all  activities  is  possible 
with  less  waste  of  time  in  travel,  be- 
cause one  trip  can  accomplish  several 
purposes.  And  of  controlling  impor- 
tance is  the  fact  that  the  local  settlers 
and  other  users  deal  with  only  one  for- 
est officer  instead  of  several. 

On  districts  where  the  work  is  heavy, 
the  ranger  has  one  or  more  yearlong 
assistants.  During  the  field  season,  fire- 
control  assistants,  improvement  fore- 
men, log  sealers,  and  other  aides  as 
needed  are  employed  to  supplement 
the  regular  force.  All  are  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  district  ranger. 

The  large  volume  of  business  and 
the  technical  work  involved  in  the 
management  of  a  ranger  district  on  a 
multiple-use  basis  calls  for  technical 
competence,  experience,  and  man- 
agerial ability.  Accordingly,  rangers 
are  usually  chosen  from  among  junior 
foresters  and  range  examiners  who  are 
graduates  of  a  recognized  college  or 
university,  have  passed  a  professional 
examination,  and. have  demonstrated 
their  ability  in  technical  work  and  as 
an  assistant  ranger.  The  rangers  pro- 
vide the  pool  of  trained  and  tested  men 
from  which  supervisors  and  others  in 
higher  positions  are  usually  chosen. 


378 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


STUDIES  IN  ORGANIZATION  and  man- 
agement have  been  carried  on  re- 
peatedly. In  1912,  F.  A.  Silcox,  then 
regional  forester  of  the  Northern 
Rocky  Mountain  region,  had  a  study 
made  of  the  organization  and  opera- 
tion of  the  Savenac  Forest  Nursery. 
That  was  the  first  reported  use  in  the 
Forest  Service  of  the  Frederick  Wins- 
low  Taylor  approach  to  the  study  of 
the  work  practices  and  organization, 
which  later  became  a  primary  factor  in 
the  broader  field  of  scientific  manage- 
ment. As  is  commonly  known,  this  way 
of  studying  and  performing  work  has 
been  of  help  to  American  industry  in 
attaining  its  high  place  in  the  markets 
of  the  world,  because  of  the  resulting 
combination  of  high-quality  products 
and  relatively  low  cost. 

The  general  principles  of  scientific 
management  gradually  were  applied 
elsewhere  in  the  Forest  Service.  That 
was  especially  so  in  the  California  re- 
gion under  Roy  Headley,  as  chief  of 
operation  and  acting  regional  forester. 
Subsequently,  when  he  became  assist- 
ant chief  of  the  Forest  Service  in  Wash- 
ington, he  and  Peter  Keplinger,  staff 
adviser  on  administrative  manage- 
ment, gave  impetus  to  studying  and  or- 
ganizing national  forest  activities  in 
this  manner.  The  scientific  approach 
was  more  sharply  defined  under  his 
direction,  beginning  some  20  years  ago 
with  the  development  and  application 
of  "job-load  analysis  and  planning"  to 
the  rangers5  and  supervisors'  work  and 
to  other  national  forest  activities. 

Job-load  analysis  serves  as  a  controll- 
ing basis  for  the  manning  of  adminis- 
trative units,  for  organization  set-ups, 
for  the  allocation  of  funds,  and  for 
administrative,  including  the  financial, 
controls.  It  parallels  in  considerable 
part  the  use  of  scientific  management 
in  American  industry.  Among  its  sev- 
eral aims  are  two  principal  ones:  To 
get  the  work  done  with  as  high  stand- 
ards of  quality,  quantity,  and  economy 
as  practicable,  and  to  do  so  with  un- 
failing regard  for  the  men  who  are  to 
perform  the  work.  Included  among  the 
corollary  aims  is  a  meeting  of  minds 


between  the  supervisor  and  the  worker, 
and  a  determination  of  the  needs  for 
specialized  training  for  each  specific 
assignment  to  each  employee. 

The  job-load  analysis  method  as 
applied  to  studying,  organizing,  and 
administering  national  forest  work  con- 
sists of  five  main  steps. 

First,  the  objective  sought  in  each 
field  is  clearly  established.  Many  of  the 
objectives  are  already  available  in  re- 
source-management plans,  manuals, 
handbooks,  and  work  programs.  All 
subsequent  steps  in  the  analysis  are 
aimed  toward  reaching  this  specific 
goal.  Proper  and  sharp  definition  of 
objectives  provides  a  stimulating  in- 
centive to  distinguished  effort.  It  also 
serves  as  a  helpful  shield  against  divert- 
ing proposals. 

The  second  step  is  to  break  each  ac- 
tivity down  into  the  component  jobs 
that  must  be  performed  to  attain  the 
objective. 

The  third  step  is  to  determine  and 
establish  standards  for  each  of  the  com- 
ponent jobs;  that  is,  the  standards  of 
quality,  quantity,  frequency,  methods, 
and  other  practices  needed  to  do  the 
work  as  it  should  be  done. 

That  is  a  job  analysis  up  to  this  stage. 
To  develop  it  into  a  job-load  analysis, 
the  fourth  step  is  taken.  That  calls  for 
determining  the  unit-time  require- 
ments for  doing  each  job  as  it  should  be 
done. 

The  fifth  step  calls  for  grouping  the 
separate  jobs  into  the  months  in  which 
they  can  be  done,  as  controlled  by  the 
work  requirements,  the  climatic  condi- 
tions, available  time,  and  other  factors. 
A  main  purpose  of  this  step  is  to  re- 
distribute peak  loads  to  the  less  busy 
periods  of  the  year,  to  the  extent  prac- 
ticable, and  thus  strive  for  a  well- 
balanced  program  of  work,  yearlong. 

The  total  of  the  time  requirements 
thus  developed  shows,  of  course,  the 
total  job-load  weight,  in  man-hours,  of 
the  ranger  district,  forest,  or  special 
project  that  is  being  studied. 

The  job-load  analysis  method  enlists 
the  cooperation  of  the  entire  organiza- 
tion. To  that  end  the  analyst,  in  the 


The  Administration  of  National  Forests 


379 


course  of  each  study,  seeks  the  points 
of  view  of  the  local  ranger,  of  his  su- 
pervisor, and  of  the  functional  experts 
in  each  field  of  work.  Such  joint  con- 
sideration establishes,  clarifies,  and  de- 
fines in  specific  form  both  the  major 
and  minor  duties  of  the  employee.  It  re- 
sults in  widespread  education  and 
training  on  the  part  of  all  the  partici- 
pants. It  promotes  a  common  under- 
standing of  the  work  between  subordi- 
nate and  supervisor.  It  disentangles 
misunderstandings  which,  otherwise, 
are  almost  certain  to  develop  from  the 
long-distance  supervision  inherent  in 
national  forest  work.  This  result  has 
become  recognized  as  one  of  the  main 
benefits  of  a  job-load  analysis  program. 
Nevertheless,  the  analyst  recognizes 
that  he  must  not  substitute  a  discussion 
for  an  investigation;  that  five  or  six 
opinions  are  not  necessarily  better  than 
one.  All  may  be  quite  worthless.  In- 
stead, facts  based  on  investigation  and 
experiment,  including  analysis,  meas- 
urement, and  comparison,  provide  the 
only  sound  basis  on  which  the  job-load 
determinations  can  be  made. 

With  the  job-load  weight  and  num- 
ber of  man-hours  of  work  required 
thus  arrived  at,  the  number  of  em- 
ployees needed  is  readily  determined. 
Also,  because  number  of  hours  may  be 
readily  converted  to  the  number  of 
dollars,  the  job-load  analysis  provides 
the  primary  base  for  two  essentials  of 
budget  and  financial  management. 
First,  it  furnishes  the  soundest  founda- 
tion possible  for  estimates  submitted  to 
Congress  as  to  the  amount  of  appro- 
priations needed  for  ranger  salaries, 
special  timber-sale  projects,  and  each 
of  the  other  activities  on  the  national 
forests.  And,  after  the  appropriations 
are  made,  it  is  the  fairest  basis  for 
allocation  of  funds,  by  activities,  to  the 
regions,  the  national  forests,  ranger 
districts,  and  special  projects. 

An  adequate  cost-accounting  system 
correlated  with  a  primary  allotment 
base  of  that  type,  together  with  system- 
atic audits  and  field  inspections,  are 
key  components  of  the  financial  and 
administrative  controls,  which  assure 


expenditures  of  time  and  money  as 
contemplated  by  Congress. 

WORK  PLANNING  is  done  in  several 
ways.  The  National  Forest  Manual 
contains  a  section  devoted  to  each  of 
the  main  functions  of  national  forest 
work.  Included  in  each  section  are  the 
related  regulations  by  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  based  on  legislative  au- 
thority and  supplemented  by  over-all 
instructions  as  approved  by  the  Chief 
of  the  Forest  Service. 

Handbooks,  issued  by  each  region, 
localize  the  service-wide  manual  in- 
structions. They  include  many  local 
standards  and  some  specific  objectives. 

Another  working  and  planning  tool 
is  the  Program  of  Work  issued  an- 
nually by  the  Chief.  It  includes  a  state- 
ment as  to  the  activities  he  wishes  given 
special  emphasis  in  the  coming  year. 
It  also  contains  specific  objectives  and 
programs  to  which  each  division  is  to 
give  special  attention.  With  that  as  a 
basis,  each  regional  forester  prepares 
a  localized  annual  program  of  work. 
And  that,  in  turn,  is  supplemented  by 
each  supervisor  with  a  highly  localized 
and  more  specific  annual  program  of 
work — a  real  working  and  planning 
tool — for  the  national  forest  of  which 
he  is  in  charge.  Plans  are  also  made  for 
the  management  of  each  of  the  main 
resources  within  the  national  forests. 
The  need  for  such  plans  is  evident 
when  one  considers  that  a  century  or 
more  of  time  may  be  required  to  grow 
a  crop  of  timber  or  build  up  a  depleted 
range  or  watershed.  Resource-manage- 
ment plans  are  also  needed,  because  the 
manner  in  which  one  resource  is  han- 
dled may  have  an  important  effect  on 
other  resources  within  the  same  forest. 

There  must  also  be  transportation 
plans,  communication  plans,  fire-con- 
trol plans,  and  other  similar  working 
tools.  They  all  provide  indispensable 
background  material  and  are  other- 
wise helpful  in  the  job-load  analysis. 

The  five  steps  in  work-load  analysis 
that  I  outlined  determine  the  total  time 
that  is  required  to  handle  each  job, 
as  needed  to  attain  the  specified  objec- 


38° 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


tive.  The  next  step  is  to  convert  this 
analysis  into  a  plan  of  action.  A  start 
on  this  is  made,  as  previously  stated, 
by  assigning  each  job,  or  a  specified 
part  of  each  job,  to  each  of  the  months 
during  which  it  should  be  performed. 
The  resulting  list  of  jobs  in  each  month 
is  then  assembled  into  an  integrated 
plan  of  work. 

In  a  ranger  district,  for  example,  the 
list  of  jobs  for  a  month  will  include  a 
great  variety  of  work  such  as  timber 
sales,  inspection  by  fire  guards,  range 
management,  and  special-use  adminis- 
tration, scattered  probably  over  a  quar- 
ter of  a  million  acres.  Travel  time 
alone,  on  horseback  and  otherwise,  may 


require  as  much  as  35  percent  or  more 
of  the  total  time  devoted  to  all  the 
duties  on  the  district.  Obviously,  there- 
fore, unless  the  work  is  carefully 
planned,  travel  may  be  unproductive 
and  unreasonably  high  and  it  may 
shorten  appreciably  the  time  necessary 
for  the  actual  fulfillment  of  duties. 

EARL  W.  LOVERIDGE  is  assistant  chief 
of  the  Forest  Service,  in  charge  of  ad- 
ministrative management  and  infor- 
mation. A  native  of  Pennsylvania  and 
a  graduate  in  forestry  from  Pennsyl- 
vania State  College,  he  started  work 
with  the  Forest  Service  in  Minnesota  as 
a  student  assistant  in  1911. 


A  juniper  3,000  years  old  in  Cache  National  Forest  in  Utah; 
drawn  from  a  photograph  taken  in  1924. 


Projects  of  Many  Uses 


OTHER  FEDERAL  FORESTS 


F.  W.  GROVER 


BESIDES  THE  NATIONAL  for- 
ests, which  are  the  most  extensive 
of  the  federally  owned  timber  and 
watershed  lands,  eight  other  categories 
of  Federal  lands  bear  large  forests. 
Some  of  them  are  held  primarily  for 
timber  production.  Others,  as  wildlife 
refuges,  are  owned  and  administered 
for  primary  purposes  other  than  the 
production  of  timber  or  water,  but  are 
susceptible  of  forestry  management  in 
correlation  with  the  specialized  uses. 

THE  O  &  C  REVESTED  LANDS  are 
administered  by  the  Bureau  of  Land 
Management  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior.  They  comprise  somewhat 
more  than  2  million  acres,  originally 
selected  pursuant  to  grants  of  public 
lands  made  by  Congress  in  1866  and 
1869  to  aid  in  building  a  railroad  from 
Portland,  Oreg.,  to  the  California  line 
and  a  wagon  road  from  Coos  Bay, 
Oreg.,  to  Roseburg,  Oreg.  Violations 
of  conditions  of  the  grants  by  the 
grantees  or  their  successors  led  in  1916 


A  typical  scene  in  an  arboretum  is  shown 
above. 


and  1919  to  repossession  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  unsold  parts  of  the 
granted  lands ;  these  now  constitute  the 
"revested"  lands.  The  lands  are  in  18 
counties  in  western  Oregon.  Because 
only  odd-numbered  sections  were  origi- 
nally granted,  the  predominant  pattern 
is  that  of  a  checkerboard  in  squares  of 
640  acres,  the  intermingled  lands  being 
mostly  private  or  national  forest.  Many 
of  the  tracts  are  less  than  a  full  section, 
however,  because  of  disposals  in  the 
past. 

Nearly  all  of  the  lands  are  forested ; 
many  have  fine  stands  of  old-growth 
conifers.  The  major  species  is  Douglas- 
fir,  and  types  in  which  it  predominates 
cover  70  percent  of  the  area  of  the 
timberlands.  White  fir,  grand  fir,  noble 
fir,  Pacific  silver  fir,  western  hemlock, 
western  redcedar,  Port-Orford-cedar, 
ponderosa  pine,  and  sugar  pine  are  also 
well  represented,  usually  in  mixtures 
but  occasionally  as  dominant  types. 
Western  species  of  hardwoods,  such  as 
Oregon  oak,  bigleaf  maple,  red  alder, 
madrone,  and  the  golden  chinquapin 
occur  in  limited  quantities. 

All  but  a  small  proportion  of  the 

381 


382 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


revested  lands  are  classed  as  commer- 
cial timberland.  More  than  half  of 
these  lands  still  support  stands  of  virgin 
timber,  and  most  of  the  remainder  is 
restocking  to  forest;  the  young  trees 
vary  from  nearly  merchantable  second 
growth  to  seedlings  and  saplings  in 
recently  logged  areas  and  burns.  Some 
50,000  acres,  however,  are  in  the  Tilla- 
mook  "burn"  and  are  largely  denuded. 

By  the  act  of  August  28,  1937  (50 
Stat.  874) ,  Congress  provided  for  the 
permanent  management  of  the  re- 
vested lands  valuable  for  timber  pro- 
duction. The  act  specifies  that  such 
lands  shall  be  managed  for  permanent 
forest  production  and  that  the  timber 
thereon  shall  be  sold  and  removed  in 
conformity  with  the  principles  of  sus- 
tained yield  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
ducing a  permanent  source  of  timber 
supply,  protecting  watersheds,  regu- 
lating stream  flow,  and  contributing  to 
the  economic  stability  of  local  com- 
munities and  industries. 

The  act  also  (1)  provides  that  the 
annual  productive  capacity  of  these 
timberlands  shall  be  determined  and 
declared  as  promptly  as  possible  and 
that  until  such  determination  be  made 
the  average  annual  cut  of  the  lands 
shall  not  exceed  one-half  billion  board 
feet;  (2)  specifies  that  the  annual  sus- 
tained capacity  of  the  lands  shall  be 
sold  each  year  or  so  much  thereof  as 
can  be  sold  in  a  normal  market  at 
reasonable  prices;  (3)  authorizes  the 
subdivision  of  the  lands  into  sustained- 
yield  units  to  provide,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, a  permanent  source  of  raw 
materials  for  support  of  the  dependent 
communities  and  local  industries  of 
the  region;  (4)  stipulates  that  timber 
sales  from  a  forest  unit  so  established 
shall  be  limited  to  the  productive  ca- 
pacity of  the  lands  in  such  units;  (5) 
authorizes  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
to  enter  into  cooperative  agreements 
with  other  Federal  agencies,  State 
agencies,  or  private  forest-land  owners 
or  operators  for  coordinated  adminis- 
tration of  the  resources  of  the  revested 
lands  and  the  other  Federal,  State,  or 
private  lands  within  the  forest  unit, 


with  the  objective  of  promoting  sus- 
tained production. 

To  carry  out  the  policies  for  the 
administration  and  use  of  these  lands 
as  specified  by  Congress,  a  forestry  or- 
ganization to  make  timber  sales,  in- 
augurate studies  of  sustained  yield, 
make  timber-management  plans,  and 
perform  the  numerous  other  tasks  nec- 
essary to  manage  this  valuable  public 
property  was  established  with  head- 
quarters in  Portland,  Oreg.  Since 
formation  of  the  Bureau  of  Land  Man- 
agement in  1946,  by  the  combination 
of  the  General  Land  Office  and  the 
Grazing  Service,  forestry  work  on  these 
lands,  as  well  as  on  the  unreserved 
public  domain,  has  been  under  the 
general  direction  of  the  Division  of 
Forestry  in  the  office  of  the  Director, 
Bureau  of  Land  Management.  A  re- 
gional forester  in  the  office  of  the  re- 
gional administrator,  Bureau  of  Land 
Management,  in  Portland,  exercises 
general  supervision  and  furnishes  tech- 
nical direction;  on-the-ground  forestry 
activities  are  performed  by  the  staffs  of 
five  district  foresters,  each  of  whom  is 
responsible  for  a  prescribed  area.  Fire 
protection  is  performed  by  the  Forest 
Service  or  by  State  or  local  fire-pro- 
tection agencies  on  the  basis  of  coop- 
erative agreements. 

The  Bureau  of  Land  Management 
is  actively  selling  timber  from  these 
lands,  as  directed  by  Congress.  The 
policies  that  govern  timber  sales  call 
for  silvicultural  practices  adapted  to 
the  particular  site  and  designed  to  as- 
sure reforestation  of  the  lands  by  the 
desired  tree  species,  the  protection  and 
perpetuation  of  highway  screen  strips 
and  lands  valuable  for  recreation,  and 
the  safeguarding  of  local  watersheds. 
Progress  has  been  made  on  the  long- 
term  task  of  determining  the  sustained 
timber-producing  capacity  of  the  lands 
and  in  devising  management  plans  for 
the  utilization  of  the  timber  resources 
on  a  permanent  production  basis.  Be- 
cause of  the  checkerboard  pattern  of 
the  revested  lands,  an  important  as- 
pect of  long-term  management  is  the 
development  of  coordinated  manage- 


Other  Federal  Forests 


383 


ment  of  the  Federal,  State,  and  private 
lands  within  the  boundaries  of  the  re- 
vested lands.  One  cooperative  unit  has 
been  proposed,  and  public  hearings 
have  been  held. 

During  the  fiscal  year  1947,  some 
469.3  million  board  feet  of  timber, 
valued  at  about  $2,197,018,  was  cut 
from  the  lands  in  commercial  sales 
under  the  administration  of  the  Bu- 
reau of  Land  Management.  In  ad- 
dition, about  394,000  board  feet, 
consisting  largely  of  posts,  cordwood, 
and  similar  products,  was  cut  without 
charge  by  local  residents.  The  239  graz- 
ing leases  that  were  issued  covered 
276,000  acres,  receipts  from  which 
totaled  $18,128. 

THE  UNRESERVED  PUBLIC  DOMAIN  of 

the  United  States  still  includes  more 
than  169  million  acres  of  unappropri- 
ated and  unreserved  public  lands,  in- 
cluding 132  million  acres  in  grazing 
districts  established  under  the  Taylor 
Grazing  Act  of  1934.  There  is  more 
than  265  million  acres  of  unreserved 
public  lands  in  Alaska.  Forestry  activi- 
ties on  that  land  are  under  direction 
of  the  Bureau  of  Land  Management, 
Department  of  the  Interior. 

Much  of  this  land  in  continental 
United  States  is  range  and  watershed 
land  that  bears  only  grass  or  brush  or 
is  semidesert  or  desert,  but  about  28 
million  acres  is  classed  as  timber  or 
woodland,  of  which,  according  to  the 
Bureau  of  Land  Management,  ap- 
proximately 3  million  acres  bears  com- 
mercial timber  estimated  at  9.5  billion 
board  feet.  These  forest  and  woodland 
areas  are  remnants  left  from  large 
grants,  the  establishment  of  national 
forests,  parks,  and  other  Federal  reser- 
vations, and  as  a  result  of  the  operation 
of  the  public-land  laws  under  which 
the  public  lands  were  patented  to  pri- 
vate ownership.  Because  they  are 
widely  dispersed  throughout  20  States, 
a  large  number  of  the  major  forest 
types  are  represented,  from  the  Doug- 
las-fir in  the  Northwest,  the  white  pine 
in  Idaho,  the  lodgepole  pine  in  Mon- 
tana and  Wyoming,  the  spruce  and 


aspen  of  the  Lake  States,  the  pinyon- 
juniper  of  the  Southwest,  to  the  pine 
and  oak-pine  types  of  the  Southeast. 

Until  recently,  only  dead,  down,  or 
damaged  timber  or  timber  threatened 
with  damage  from  fire  could  be  sold 
from  the  unreserved  public  domain, 
although  timber  could  be  taken  with- 
out charge  for  noncommercial  pur- 
poses. By  the  act  of  July  31,  1947  (61 
Stat.  681),  Congress  authorized  the 
sale  of,  among  other  resources,  timber 
and  timber  products  from  these  public 
lands,  in  accordance  with  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior. Authorization  is  also  given  for 
free  permits  for  use  other  than  for  in- 
dustrial or  commercial  purposes  or  for 
sale. 

Policies  of  the  Bureau  of  Land  Man- 
agement provide  for  developing  the 
timber  resources  of  the  public  lands, 
protecting  them  from  fire,  insects,  and 
disease,  and  managing  them  in  accord- 
ance with  good  forestry  practices  with 
the  objective  of  insuring  continuing 
crops  of  timber  and  improving  water- 
shed, wildlife  habitat,  and  recreational 
opportunities. 

Disposal  requirements  are  designed 
to  provide  for  protection  and  improve- 
ment of  the  residual  stand  and  for  re- 
stocking of  the  land  to  desirable  timber 
species.  The  forestry  work  is  under 
general  direction  of  the  Division  of 
Forestry  in  the  office  of  the  Director, 
Bureau  of  Land  Management,  and  is 
handled  locally  as  far  as  possible  by  the 
forestry  personnel  in  the  offices  of  the 
regional  administrators  of  the  Bureau. 
The  rather  wide  dispersion  of  these 
lands  renders  supervision  and  manage- 
ment difficult. 

During  the  fiscal  year  ended  June 
30,  1947,  about  15.4  million  board  feet 
of  timber,  valued  at  $58,024,  was  cut 
from  these  public  lands  in  the  United 
States,  of  which  about  8.9  million 
board  feet  was  utilized  through  free 
permits  to  local  residents.  In  Alaska 
an  estimated  45  million  board  feet 
was  sold,  yielding  $57,535,  and  addi- 
tional timber  products  such  as  posts, 
poles,  lagging,  and  house  logs,  with  an 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


estimated  value  of  $2,158.,  was  granted 
for  local  use  without  charge.  Other 
uses  of  these  public  lands  included 
grazing,  mineral  production,  wildlife 
production,  and  recreation. 

THE      LANDS      OF      THE      AMERICAN 

INDIAN Sj  in  the  form  of  individual 
trust  allotments,  tribal  lands,  and  Fed- 
eral lands  dedicated  to  Indian  use, 
aggregate  more  than  56.5  million  acres. 
The  area  comprises  a  large  number  of 
homestead  allotments,  approximately 
160  acres  each,  on  the  public  domain, 
most  of  which  were  made  to  individual 
Indians  in  accordance  with  the  act  of 
July  4,  1884  (23  Stat.  76,  96),  and  of 
reservations,  several  of  more  than  a 
million  acres,  which  were  established 
in  accordance  with  treaties  with  In- 
dians and  by  Executive  orders.  A  sub- 
stantial part  of  the  land  within  many 
of  the  reservations  has  been  allotted  to 
individual  Indians  in  tracts  that  us- 
ually vary  from  80  to  160  acres.  The 
title  to  the  homestead  allotments  and 
to  allotments  within  reservations  is 
usually  held  in  trust  by  the  United 
States  for  the  individual  owners,  al- 
though, in  some  instances,  the  title  to  al- 
lotted lands  within  reservations  passed 
to  the  owners  but  with  restrictions 
against  alienation.  The  basic  title  or 
fee  to  all  unallotted  tribal  lands  is  held 
by  the  United  States.  Indian  lands  are 
distributed  throughout  26  States,  but 
are  heavily  concentrated  in  the  West. 

Of  the  Indian  lands,  more  than  16 
million  acres  is  classed  as  forest  and 
woodland;  of  that  area,  about  6.6  mil- 
lion acres  (or  40  percent)  is  presently 
classed  as  commercial  forest  land  ca- 
pable of  producing  continuous  crops  of 
salable  forest  products.  The  remaining 
acreage  is  valuable  for  cordwood, 
posts,  poles,  nuts,  fruits,  and  similar 
products  for  local  use,  and  for  forage, 
for  watersheds,  and  as  game  habitat. 
Records  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Af- 
fairs indicate  that  the  commercial 
forest  land  bears  about  27.6  billion 
board  feet  of  merchantable  timber. 

Because  of  wide  geographical  dis- 
tribution, Indian  forest  lands  include 


a  variety  of  forest  types.  The  hard- 
woods of  the  Appalachian  Mountains, 
the  palm  and  cypress  of  Florida,  the 
pine-hemlock-hardwood  of  the  Lake 
States,  the  mixed-conifer  stands  of  the 
"Inland  Empire,"  the  fir,  hemlock, 
cedar,  Douglas-fir  stands  of  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  the  ponderosa  pine  and 
mixed-conifer  types  of  eastern  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon  are  all  represented 
in  some  degree.  From  the  standpoint  of 
volume  and  industrial  use,  the  conifer 
forests  of  Oregon,  Washington,  Ari- 
zona, and  Montana  are  by  far  the  most 
important.  These  include  an  estimated 
69  percent  of  the  commercial  timber- 
land  and  more  than  83  percent  of  the 
commercial  timber  volume. 

The  timber  on  the  Indian  lands  was 
early  recognized  as  a  valuable  asset, 
and  logging  of  it  became  rather  general 
after  1890.  With  the  development  of 
the  national  conservation  movement 
at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury, there  came  a  demand  for  cutting 
the  timber  on  a  conservative  basis  to 
assure  its  perpetuation.  In  1909,  Con- 
gress provided  for  forestry  work  on 
Indian  reservations,  and,  by  the  act  of 
June  25,  1910  (36  Stat.  855),  gave 
comprehensive  authority,  under  regu- 
lations of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
for  sale  of  timber  from  Indian  reserva- 
tions, and  provided  that  proceeds  from 
such  sales  should  be  used  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  Indians  on  the  reservation. 

Authority  was  also  granted  for  sale 
of  timber  from  allotments  under  trust 
patents  with  the  consent  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior.  Pursuant  to  such 
authority  and  to  that  in  section  6  of 
the  act  of  1934  (48  Stat.  984),  utiliza- 
tion of  timber  from  Indian  lands  is 
now  carried  out  in  accordance  with 
conservation  policies  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Forestry  and  Grazing  Divi- 
sion of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs, 
Department  of  the  Interior. 

Forests  are  important  in  the  Indian 
economy.  Only  a  small  percentage  of 
the  Indian  lands  are  suitable  for  farm- 
ing, the  greater  part  of  them  being 
chiefly  valuable  for  forest  production 
or  grazing.  The  forested  areas  furnish 


Other  Federal  Forests 


385 


fuel,  logs,  and  lumber  for  houses  and 
barns,  forage  for  livestock,  fish,  game, 
and  furs.  Additionally,  the  commercial 
forests  provide  the  Indians  with  sub- 
stantial sources  of  income  through  sale 
of  stumpage,  through  employment  in 
industries  that  the  timber  supports, 
and  in  the  protection  and  management 
of  the  timberlands. 

The  policies  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian 
Affairs,  in  directing  the  utilization  of 
Indian  forests,  therefore,  have  five 
main  aspects :  The  maintenance  of  the 
land  in  a  perpetually  productive  state 
through  the  promotion  of  sound  for- 
estry practices  and  adequate  protec- 
tion; regulation  of  the  cut  to  insure 
method  and  order  in  harvesting  and 
to  promote  continuous  production; 
development,  so  far  as  is  possible,  of 
Indian  forests  by  Indian  people,  so 
that  the  Indians  may  receive  not  only 
the  value  of  the  stumpage  but  also 
such  profits  as  may  be  yielded ;  sale  of 
timber  not  developed  or  used  by  the 
Indians  through  competitive  bids ;  and 
preservation  of  scenic,  recreational, 
and  esthetic  values  and  management 
of  the  forest  so  as  to  retain  its  beneficial 
effects  in  regulating  runoff  of  water 
and  minimizing  erosion. 

In  the  management  of  the  Indian 
forests,  however,  the  Bureau  of  Indian 
Affairs  must  recognize  that  these  for- 
ests are  part  of  the  economic  base  of 
the  Indians  to  whom  they  have  been 
allotted  or  for  whom  they  have  been 
set  aside.  Forest  management  must  be 
correlated  with  the  general  economy  of 
the  Indians  and  must  occasionally  be 
adjusted  to  meet  the  immediate  needs 
of  individuals  or  tribes.  The  large  num- 
ber of  small  allotments  add  greatly  to 
management  problems.  To  achieve  the 
objectives  and  to  obtain  the  applica- 
tion, so  far  as  is  possible,  of  sound 
forestry  practices,  professional  foresters 
direct  the  utilization  of  the  forest  re- 
sources on  all  the  larger  timbered  areas 
and  give  general  supervision  to  small 
sales. 

Indian  forests  have  contributed  sub- 
stantial amounts  of  lumber  and  other 
products  to  the  economy  of  the  Nation 

802062°— 49 26 


and  have  added  materially  to  the  in- 
come of  the  Indians.  From  1910 
through  1947  more  than  14.5  billion 
feet  of  timber,  valued  at  $57,700,000, 
was  cut  from  these  lands.  In  the  cal- 
endar year  1947,  these  yields  (in  thou- 
sand board  feet)  were  recorded: 
Commercial  cutting  under  contract, 
407,822;  sales  for  local  use,  17,067; 
free  use  by  Indians,  87,580.  The  total 
was  512,469  thousand  board  feet.  The 
stumpage  value  totaled  $2,501,313. 

THE  NATIONAL  PARKS  AND  MONU- 
MENTS are  Federal  lands  set  aside,  re- 
served, and  administered  "to  conserve 
the  scenery  and  the  natural  and  his- 
toric objects  and  the  wildlife  therein 
and  to  provide  for  the  enjoyment  of 
the  same  in  such  manner  and  by  such 
means  as  will  leave  them  unimpaired 
for  future  generations."  They  are  in- 
tended to  include  not  only  superlative 
scenery  but  historical,  geological,  and 
biological  areas  of  national  interest  and 
significance.  Because  they  are  com- 
prised, in  large  measure,  of  wild  lands, 
they  contain  substantial  acreages  of 
forests,  and  some  of  the  parks  (as  the 
Sequoia  in  California  and  the  Great 
Smoky  Mountains  in  North  Carolina 
and  Tennessee)  were  established  pri- 
marily to  preserve  outstanding  exam- 
ples of  particular  forest  species  or 
types. 

The  national  parks  and  monuments, 
including  historical  and  military  parks, 
parkways,  and  similar  units,  as  of  June 
30,  1947,  contained  20,775,082  acres 
of  Federal  lands.  Of  this  area,  about 
6,960,000  acres  bear  forests  in  the 
usual  sense.  Because  of  wide  dispersal 
of  the  parks  and  monuments  through- 
out the  Nation,  the  forests  therein  vary 
greatly  as  to  type  and  composition. 
Represented,  among  others,  are  the 
"rain  forests"  of  the  Olympic  Penin- 
sula, the  mixed-conifer  stands  of  the 
central  Sierra  region,  including  the 
giant  sequoias,  the  piny  on- juniper  types 
found  in  the  arid  Southwest,  and  the 
old-growth  hardwood  and  hardwood- 
conifer  mixtures  of  the  Appalachian 
region. 


386 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Worthy  of  particular  mention  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  forests  that  they 
include  are  the  Olympic  National 
Park,  in  Washington,  the  Yosemite 
and  Sequoia  National  Parks,  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  the  Great  Smoky  Moun- 
tains National  Park,  in  North  Carolina 
and  Tennessee. 

The  Olympic  National  Park,  in  the 
lower  valleys  of  its  western  slopes,  con- 
tains extensive  areas  of  the  dense  con- 
iferous forest  which  has  resulted  from 
the  heavy  rainfall  that  blankets  the 
coastal  portions  of  the  Pacific  North- 
west. Here  Douglas-fir,  western  hem- 
lock, western  redcedar,  Sitka  spruce, 
and  the  true  firs  grow  densely  and  to 
great  size.  An  understory  of  maples, 
ferns,  and  other  plants  combine  with 
the  heavy  stands  of  conifers  to  produce 
an  almost  junglelike  density. 

The  Yosemite  and  Sequoia  National 
Parks  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  region  of 
California  contain  substantial  acreages 
of  virgin  conifer  forests,  including  the 
sugar  pine,  ponderosa  pine,  incense- 
cedar,  and  white  fir.  They  (especially 
Sequoia  National  Park)  include  also 
the  famed  groves  of  giant  sequoias. 
These  trees,  the  remnants  of  a  once 
widespread  genus,  are  native  to  only 
a  narrow  belt  along  the  western  slope 
of  the  central  and  southern  Sierra 
Nevada.  Individual  specimens  grow  to 
majestic  size  and  great  age,  and  the 
parks  contain  several  thousand  that 
are  more  than  10  feet  in  diameter  and 
250  feet  in  height. 

The  Great  Smoky  Mountains  Na- 
tional Park  in  the  southern  Appala- 
chian Mountains  includes  one  of  the 
few  remaining  examples  of  the  orig- 
inal forest  of  the  Eastern  States.  Ap- 
proximately 40  percent  of  its  nearly 
half  million  acres  is  in  the  original 
forested  condition.  Higher  elevations 
bear  unusually  dense  forests  of  spruce, 
balsam,  and  some  hemlock,  while  the 
intermediate  slopes  are  covered  with 
hardwoods  characteristic  of  the  Ap- 
palachian region.  In  this  park  are 
found  130  or  more  native  tree  species, 
some  of  which  grow  to  record  size. 

By  law,  national  parks  and  monu- 


ments are  established  for  the  benefit 
and  enjoyment  of  the  people  and  must 
be  protected  and  retained  in  as  nearly 
their  natural  conditions  as  possible. 
Forestry  in  the  national  parks  is  there- 
fore primarily  protective;  its  chief 
objective  is  to  avoid  or  minimize  de- 
struction of  the  forest  by  fire,  insects, 
disease,  and  unwise  use  by  man.  Com- 
mercial use,  such  as  lumbering,  is  pro- 
hibited, and  cutting  of  trees  is  permitted 
only  as  a  method  of  fighting  forest  pests 
or  diseases,  or  of  reducing  fire  hazards. 
To  combat  fire,  the  National  Park 
Service  has  developed  a  comprehensive 
fire-control  organization,  centering 
about  the  administrative  personnel  in 
the  parks  and  monuments.  Coopera- 
tion with  agencies  protecting  adjoin- 
ing lands,  whether  public  or  private,  is 
actively  promoted.  The  National  Park 
Service  and  the  Bureaus  of  Entomology 
and  Plant  Quarantine  and  of  Plant 
Industry,  Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engi- 
neering of  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture cooperate  in  the  detection  and 
control  of  insect  or  disease  epidemics, 
such  as  bark  beetle  infestations  and  the 
white  pine  blister  rust,  which,  next  to 
fire,  are  the  greatest  enemies  of  the 
forests  in  the  parks  and  monuments. 
All  forestry  work,  including  fire  con- 
trol, is  headed  by  the  chief  forester  in 
the  office  of  the  Director  of  the  Na- 
tional Park  Service.  Foresters  of  the 
four  administrative  regions  of  the  Park 
Service  give  on-the-ground  supervision 
and  technical  advice. 

Trees  contribute  to  the  inspirational 
and  scientific  values  of  the  national 
parks  and  monuments  in  many  ways. 
They  form  a  pleasing  framework  for 
the  mountains,  lakes,  and  geological 
features,  provide  the  beauty  and  the 
outdoor  environment  for  camping,  pic- 
nicking, hiking,  and  skiing,  offer  a 
habitat  for  wildlife,  protect  the  soil  in 
which  they  grow,  and  help  to  regulate 
the  flow  of  streams.  They  offer  oppor- 
tunities for  study  of  the  growth  and 
maintenance  of  forests  under  natural 
conditions  and,  where  virgin  forests 
have  been  included,  afford  examples 
of  some  of  the  original  forest  types 


Other  Federal  Forests 


387 


which  once  covered  so  much  of  our 
Nation. 

FEDERAL  WILDLIFE  REFUGES  are 
areas  of  Federal  lands  which  have 
been  established  from  time  to  time  as 
game  or  general  wildlife  refuges  and 
sanctuaries  under  State  or  Federal  laws 
concerned  with  preservation  of  our  na- 
tive animal  and  bird  life.  The  follow- 
ing, however,  relates  only  to  the  3.4 
million  acres,  more  or  less,  of  Federal 
land  over  which  the  Fish  and  Wildlife 
Service  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior  has  sole  jurisdiction  and  the 
primary  use  of  which  is  the  perpetua- 
tion of  indigenous  species  of  wildlife. 
More  specifically,  most  of  the  material 
relates  to  the  797,000  acres  of  such  land 
that  is  forested.  These  wildlife  refuges 
have  been  acquired  by  the  Fish  and 
Wildlife  Service  through  direct  pur- 
chase of  private  lands,  through  transfer 
of  lands  from  other  agencies  of  the 
Federal  Government,  and  through  res- 
ervation of  public  domain. 

In  assembling  its  system  of  wildlife 
refuges,  the  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service 
has  followed  the  policy  of  acquiring 
ecological  units  representative  of  broad 
habitat  types,  primarily  for  manage- 
ment to  conserve  and  increase  the 
native  wildlife,  and,  secondarily,  to  de- 
termine practical  methods  of  land  use 
compatible  with  sustaining  optimum 
wildlife  populations.  In  acquisition  of 
waterfowl  refuges,  for  example,  neces- 
sary buffer  lands  may  include  blocks 
of  forest  which,  of  course,  may  also 
fulfill  certain  needs  of  wildlife  man- 
agement. Occasionally,  the  forest  it- 
self is  the  vital  element  and  lands  are 
acquired  specifically  therefor,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  White  River  National  Wild- 
life Refuge  in  Arkansas,  where  mast 
constitutes  a  principal  food  item  of 
waterfowl.  Large  areas  of  forest  land 
are  also  frequently  desirable  for  up- 
land game  management.  Thus  the 
federally  owned  wildlife  refuges  in- 
clude substantial  acreages  of  forest  and 
woodland  types. 

These  forest  lands  are  rather  widely 
distributed  and  include  a  number  of 


timber  types — northern  and  Appala- 
chian mixed  hardwoods,  bottom-land 
hardwoods  in  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
spruce,  balsam,  fir,  the  southern  pines, 
oak,  and  some  of  the  western  pines. 
About  502,000  acres  are  currently  con- 
sidered as  commercial  forest  land.  The 
remaining  295,000  acres  are  either 
noncommercial  in  character  or  are  set 
aside  from  commercial  use  because  of 
special  wildlife-management  require- 
ments, in  compliance  with  policies  on 
natural  areas,  or  for  recreational  pur- 
poses. Included  in  the  forested  areas 
are  some  old-growth  timber  and  some 
fully  stocked  stands  of  second  growth. 
Generally,  however,  the  timber  stands 
tend  to  be  understocked  (because  of 
heavy  cutting  before  they  were  ac- 
quired by  the  United  States)  and  con- 
sist largely  of  young  growth. 

The  forest  lands  are  administered 
primarily  for  restoration  and  conserva- 
tion of  wildlife  or  to  test  or  demonstrate 
practical  methods  of  game  manage- 
ment. To  the  full  extent  consistent 
with  these  basic  objectives,  however, 
the  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  endeav- 
ors to  manage  the  timberlands  under 
sound  forestry  principles.  A  substantial 
part  of  the  estimated  502,000  acres  of 
commercial  forest  lands  are  under  in- 
tensive forestry  management.  Forestry 
practices  must  necessarily  be  corre- 
lated with  the  requirements  of  the 
animals,  birds,  or  waterfowl  which 
populate  the  refuges.  To  this  end,  se- 
lective cutting  on  a  relatively  short 
cutting  rotation  is  practiced  in  most 
instances,  frequently  on  a  group-selec- 
tion or  small-area  basis  to  create  open- 
ings. Specific  needs  of  wildlife,  such  as 
den  trees  or  shrubs  and  trees  important 
for  food  production,  must  be  taken  into 
consideration  and  provided  for  as  far 
as  is  possible.  Policies  also  call  for 
maintenance  of  buffer  strips  of  timber 
along  the  principal  roads,  lakes,  and 
streams  and  other  places  where  esthetic 
values  are  dominant.  The  forest-man- 
agement program  is  under  the  super- 
vision of  trained  foresters  and  the  field 
activities  relative  to  the  administration 
and  sale  of  timber  are  handled  by  per- 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


sonnel  trained  in  forestry  work.  Fire 
protection  is  accomplished  by  the  Fish 
and  Wildlife  Service. 

Between  1942  and  1947,  the  yearly 
cut  from  these  forest  lands  averaged 
3.2  million  board  feet  of  timber,  19,610 
cords  of  wood,  and  17,968  posts  and 
ties.  Average  annual  receipt  for  these 
products  was  $46,022.  Of  necessity, 
timber  cutting  must  be  on  a  moderate 
scale  until  the  stands  of  timber  are 
built  up  to  the  highest  level  consistent 
with  wildlife  production  on  the  lands. 

MILITARY  RESERVATIONS  of  the 
Army,  Navy,  and  Air  Force  comprise 
large  areas  of  Federal  land  held  pri- 
marily for  military  purposes.  Much  of 
the  land  is  not  forested,  but  a  substan- 
tial acreage  either  bears  forests  or  is 
capable  of  producing  them. 

The  Department  of  the  Army  ad- 
ministers some  4  million  acres,  of 
which  about  1,650,000  acres  may  be 
classed  as  forest  land.  These  forest 
lands,  of  course,  are  widely  distributed 
across  the  country  and,  in  some  in- 
stances, are  only  a  minor  proportion 
of  the  installations  of  which  they  are 
a  part.  Many  Army  installations,  how- 
ever, contain  substantial  blocks  of  pro- 
ductive or  potentially  productive  forest 
sites.  Included  are  southern  pines,  cen- 
tral and  northern  hardwoods,  and  the 
Douglas-fir  type  of  the  Pacific  North- 
west. The  southern  pine  types  heavily 
predominate. 

While  the  primary  use  of  these  lands 
is  necessarily  military,  it  is  the  policy 
of  the  Department  of  the  Army  to  con- 
serve and  maintain  all  of  its  lands,  in- 
cluding the  forests,  in  accordance  with 
sound  agricultural  principles.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  policy,  the  Army  intends 
to  develop  appropriate  management 
plans  for  each  potentially  productive 
forest  area,  and  to  promote  timber 
management  and  timber-stand  im- 
provement as  far  as  the  dominant  mili- 
tary use  of  the  lands  will  permit. 

Naval  reservations,  in  the  main,  are 
not  forested.  However,  some  areas  ac- 
quired for  ordnance  or  training  and 
maneuver  purposes  include  consider- 


able acreages  of  productive  forest  lands 
which  are  susceptible  of  forestry  man- 
agement. Efforts  are  being  made  to 
inaugurate  forest  management  on  cer- 
tain of  these  areas,  to  the  degree  that 
such  can  be  correlated  with  the  neces- 
sary military  use,  with  the  cooperation 
of  public  forestry  agencies. 

The  Department  of  the  Air  Force 
administers  about  11.4  million  acres  of 
Federal  land,  a  large  part  of  which  is 
used  by  the  Air  Force  under  permit  or 
assignment  from  other  agencies  of  the 
Government.  The  Air  Force  estimates 
that  of  this  acreage  approximately 
495,000  acres  is  now  forested  or  is  ca- 
pable of  producing  forests.  Such  area  is 
distributed  within  nine  States,  but  the 
major  part  is  located  in  Florida.  Forest 
resources  are  being  managed,  as  far  as 
is  consistent  with  the  necessary  military 
use,  in  accordance  with  plans  prepared 
by  Federal  or  State  forestry  agencies,  it 
being  the  intent  of  the  Air  Force  to  use 
and  develop  these  resources  under 
conservation  principles  to  the  extent 
possible. 

LAND  UTILIZATION  PROJECTS  were 
established  pursuant  to  the  National 
Industrial  Recovery  Act,  the  Emer- 
gency Relief  Act,  and,  later,  title  III 
of  the  Bankhead-Jones  Farm  Tenant 
Act.  Under  such  a  program  the  Fed- 
eral Government  acquired  about  11.3 
million  acres  of  farm,  pasture,  and 
woodland  which  had  been  abused, 
eroded,  or  otherwise  so  depleted  as  to 
be  uneconomic  for  private  use  and  in 
need  of  protection  and  restoration. 
Many  of  the  projects  have  since  been 
turned  over  to  States  for  administra- 
tion for  forestry,  wildlife,  recreational, 
and  research  purposes  under  long- 
term  agreements.  Others  have  been 
transferred  to  Federal  agencies  for  such 
special  purposes  as  national  forests, 
wildlife  refuges,  and  Indian  reserva- 
tions. 

Some  7,150,000  acres,  however,  are 
for  the  most  part  needed  and  used  by 
farmers  who  occupy  adjoining  and 
intermingled  privately  owned  land  to 
complete  desirable  land  use  and  eco- 


Other  Federal  Forests 


nomic  adjustments.  The  lands  are  ad- 
ministered by  the  Soil  Conservation 
Service  of  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture in  accordance  with  title  III  of 
the  Bankhead-Jones  Act  (50  Stat. 
522),  under  which  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  is  authorized  and  directed 
to  develop  a  program  of  land  conser- 
vation and  land  utilization,  including 
the  retirement  of  lands  that  are  sub- 
marginal  or  not  primarily  suitable  for 
cultivation.  The  following  relates  to 
this  last  mentioned  area  and  particu- 
larly to  the  forested  parts  thereof. 

The  greatest  part  of  the  7,150,000 
acres  is  devoted  to  grazing,  but  in- 
cluded in  the  area  is  approximately 
500,000  acres  of  commercial  forest 
land.  Additional  acres,  of  course,  sup- 
port woodlands  or  stands  of  pinyon 
and  juniper  which  have  value  for  local 
use  and  as  watersheds.  Located  in  19 
States,  the  forest  lands  include  many 
of  the  broad  forest  types,  such  as  mixed 
hardwoods,  hardwood-pine,  and  south- 
ern pines,  the  post  oak  and  blackjack 
oak  types  of  Oklahoma  and  Texas, 
some  ponderosa  pine,  and  limited  areas 
of  aspen  and  spruce-fir  forests  in  New 
Mexico.  Hardwoods  and  southern  pine 
types  predominate. 

Much  of  this  land  had  been  cut  over 
and  often  repeatedly  burned  or  heavily 
pastured  before  it  was  acquired  by  the 
Government.  The  timber  stands  are 
therefore  comprised  in  large  measure 
of  young  growth  with  some  residual 
timber.  When  acquired,  such  stands 
were  often  understocked  and,  in  the 
hardwoods,  ran  heavily  to  the  poorer 
species  because  of  persistent  cutting  of 
the  more  valuable  trees.  Fire  protec- 
tion in  the  intervening  years,  however, 
has  aided  in  the  natural  restocking  of 
many  of  the  most  depleted  areas.  Be- 
cause much  of  the  land  was  denuded  or 
consisted  of  worn-out  fields,  a  large 
job  of  artificial  reforestation  was,  and 
is,  necessary.  Some  41,000  acres  have 
so  far  been  planted  and  nearly  twice 
that  area  remains  to  be  reforested. 

The  general  policy  of  the  Soil  Con- 
servation Service  is  to  manage  the 
forest  lands  under  sound  forestry  prin- 


ciples to  build  up  to  a  practical  maxi- 
mum both  quantity  and  quality  of  the 
timber  stands,  with  the  ultimate  ob- 
jective of  regular  and  sustained  pro- 
duction of  forest  products.  Utilization 
by  local  residents,  either  for  domestic 
needs  or  as  a  means  of  supplementing 
their  incomes,  is  encouraged. 

Forestry  work  on  the  land-utilization 
projects,  as  well  as  other  land-manage- 
ment activities,  is  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  Land  Management 
Division  of  the  Soil  Conservation  Serv- 
ice. Over-all  supervision  of  on-the- 
ground  forestry  activities  is  provided 
by  a  regional  forester  on  the  staff  of 
each  of  the  several  regional  conserva- 
tors. The  management  and  utilization 
plans  are  prepared  by  foresters,  who 
also  give  training  and  supervision  to 
the  personnel  handling  sales,  planting, 
and  other  forestry  work. 

Saw  timber  and  a  variety  of  forest 
products  are  sold  from  the  timbered 
land  each  year.  During  the  calendar 
year  1947,  some  26.4  million  board 
feet  of  saw  timber,  9,200  cords  of  pulp- 
wood,  3,000  cords  of  fuel  wood,  94,000 
fence  posts,  5,600  poles,  and  other  mis- 
cellaneous materials  were  sold  for  a 
total  of  $232,946.  The  lands  also  pro- 
vided forage,  habitat  for  wildlife,  and 
recreational  opportunities. 

THE  TENNESSEE  VALLEY  AUTHOR- 
ITY owns  about  485,000  acres  of  land 
which  lie  above  the  normal  full-pool 
levels  of  its  series  of  reservoirs.  Prac- 
tically all  of  the  land  was  acquired  in 
connection  with  the  reservoirs.  About 
340,000  acres  are  forested,  including 
some  40,000  acres  of  plantations.  Ex- 
cept for  certain  areas  dedicated  to  for- 
estry demonstration  and  investigation, 
the  Tennessee  Valley  Authority  retains 
no  lands  solely  for  timber  production. 
It  does,  however,  make  such  forestry 
use  of  the  forest  areas  as  is  compatible 
with  their  primary  purposes. 

The  forest  lands  of  the  Tennessee 
Valley  Authority  are  distributed  from 
the  mountains  of  eastern  Tennessee 
and  western  North  Carolina  down  into 
northern  Alabama  and  northward 


390 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


through  western  Tennessee  and  south- 
western Kentucky.  They  therefore  rep- 
resent a  fair  cross  section  of  the  forest 
types  of  the  Tennessee  Valley  region. 
Predominant  types  are  upland  hard- 
woods, pine-hardwoods,  and  oak.  In 
general,  most  of  the  forest  lands  have 
been  heavily  used  and  abused,  having 
in  the  past  undergone  repeated  cut- 
tings, frequent  burnings,  and  heavy 
grazing.  Consequently,  many  of  them 
are  in  poor  condition  from  the  stand- 
point of  a  commercial  timber  produc- 
tion, because  of  the  predominance  of 
defective  trees  and  relatively  few  of  the 
more  valuable  species. 

It  is  the  policy  of  the  TVA,  in  the 
management  of  these  woodlands,  that 
any  timber  cutting  must  be  carried  on 
in  conformity  with  sound  principles  of 
technical  forestry,  with  selective  cut- 
ting, where  such  is  feasible.  Recogni- 
tion is  given  in  the  forest-management 
procedures  to  special  values  such  as 
scenic  or  recreational  utility  or  to  wild- 
life needs.  Some  22,000  acres  have 
been  systematically  treated  with  im- 


provement cuttings.  Fire  protection  is 
carried  out  through  local  or  State 
agencies  if  possible,  or  directly  by  the 
Tennessee  Valley  Authority  organiza- 
tion where  it  is  necessary.  Timber  and 
forest  products  are  sold  on  the  stump, 
through  competitive  bids  if  the  ap- 
praised value  is  over  $250. 

In  1947,  more  than  7.5  million  feet 
of  timber,  1,300  cords  of  wood,  and 
261,000  lineal  feet  of  poles  and  posts 
were  sold  for  about  $79,000.  Cumula- 
tive sales  total  more  than  36  million 
board  feet  of  timber,  21,600  cords  of 
wood,  and  1,050,000  lineal  feet  of  poles 
and  posts,  with  a  total  value  of  nearly 
$346,000. 

F.  W.  GROVER  is  chief  of  the  Division 
of  Land  Acquisition,  Forest  Service, 
and  secretary  of  the  National  Forest 
Reservation  Commission.  Mr.  Grover 
is  a  graduate  of  the  School  of  Forestry, 
University  of  California.  He  entered 
the  Forest  Service  in  1930,  and  has 
served  as  forest  ranger  and  as  national 
forest  and  regional  office  staff  assistant. 


STATE  FORESTS 

STANLEY    G.  FONTANNA 


State  forests  have  six  uses.  They  are 
demonstrations  of  good  forestry  prac- 
tices in  growing  and  harvesting  forest 
products.  They  produce  valuable  forest 
products.  They  protect  watersheds  and 
wildlife.  They  provide  places  for  recre- 
ation. Sometimes  they  are  grazed. 

The  sixth  purpose,  or  justification, 
has  to  do  with  the  reason  why  most  of 
them  were  established — public  reali- 
zation of  the  need  to  place  under  man- 
agement the  forest  lands  that  other- 
wise would  be  neglected.  Thus,  most 
State  forests  (meaning,  here,  forest 
lands  that  have  actually  been  desig- 
nated State  forests  within  the  re- 
spective States  and  not  including 
State-owned  lands,  such  as  game  areas, 
forest  parks,  or  forest  lands  not  under 
any  type  of  management)  have  been 


founded  on  a  base  of  tax-reverted  lands 
or  low-value  lands  that  were  bought. 

In  1885,  New  York  began  the  ac- 
quisition of  extensive  forest  land  for 
the  Adirondack  and  Catskill  Forest 
Preserves.  Other  State  forests  organ- 
ized at  early  dates  were  the  Mont  Alto 
in  Pennsylvania  in  1891,  the  Pillsbury 
in  Minnesota  in  1899,  the  Clark 
County  in  Indiana  in  1903,  and  the 
Higgins  Lake  and  Houghton  Lake  in 
Michigan  in  1903.  Thirty-six  States 
now  have  State  forests. 

States  have  come  into  possession  of 
land  for  State  forests  through  grants 
of  land  by  the  Federal  Government; 
tax  reversion ;  gift,  exchange,  and  pur- 
chase ;  and  lease  of  land  from  the  Fed- 
eral Government.  Federal-grant  lands, 
the  remainder  of  the  original  Federal 


State  Forests 


grants  to  the  States  for  schools,  inter- 
nal improvements,  and  so  forth,  com- 
prise approximately  28  percent  of  the 
total  acreage  in  State  forests  and,  ex- 
cept for  1.3  million  acres  in  Minnesota 
and  small  scattering  acreages  in  other 
States,  are  found  in  the  Pacific  Coast 
and  Rocky  Mountain  States.  In  Idaho, 
Montana,  and  Colorado,  Federal- 
grant  lands  comprise  the  total  acreage 
of  the  State  forests. 

Tax-reverted  lands,  titles  to  which 
have  come  to  the  States  through  tax 
delinquency,  comprise  approximately 
3 1  percent  of  the  total  acreage  in  State 
forests.  Except  for  a  few  thousand 
acres  in  other  States,  those  lands  are 
in  Minnesota,  Michigan,  New  York, 
and  Washington. 

The  lands  acquired  by  gift  and  ex- 
change comprise  approximately  36 
percent  of  the  total  acreage  in  State 
forests.  Except  in  Idaho,  Montana,  and 
Colorado,  nearly  every  State  that  has 
State  forests  has  acquired  some  of  its 
lands  by  purchase;  in  many  States 
purchase  has  been  the  only  means  of 
acquisition. 

Federal-lease  lands  were  originally 
acquired  by  the  Federal  Government 
in  connection  with  the  resettlement 
program  of  the  1930's,  and  have  been 
leased  to  the  State  for  forestry  and 
other  conservation  purposes  by  the 
Federal  Government  under  the  admin- 
istration of  units  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  the  Department  of  the 
Interior.  As  a  rule,  the  leases  are  long- 
term  and  liberal;  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  the  lands  are  administered 
as  State  forest  lands.  Lands  so  leased 
comprise  but  4  percent  of  the  total 
acreage  in  State  forests.  There  are  no 
lands  in  this  category  in  any  State  west 
of  the  Mississippi;  most  of  them  are 
in  North  and  South  Carolina,  Virginia, 
Florida,  Tennessee,  and  Georgia. 

Approximately  14  million  of  the 
16.6  million  acres  of  land  in  the  State 
forests  are  in  eight  States:  Michigan, 
3.75  million  acres;  New  York,  3  million 
acres;  Minnesota,  2  million;  Washing- 
ton, 1.7  million;  Pennsylvania,  1.67 
million;  Idaho,  950,000;  Oregon,  570,- 


000;  Montana,  520,000  acres.  The  re- 
maining 2.6  million  acres  are  in  29 
other  States. 

On  a  regional  basis,  15  million  of  the 
16.6  million  acres  are  in  these  sections: 
The  Lake  States  (Michigan,  Wiscon- 
sin, Minnesota),  6  million  acres;  the 
Middle  Atlantic  States  (Delaware, 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  New  York, 
West  Virginia,  New  Jersey) ,  5  million 
acres;  the  Pacific  Coast  States  (Wash- 
ington, Oregon,  California),  2.2  mil- 
lion acres ;  the  Rocky  Mountain  States 
(Idaho,  Montana,  Colorado),  1.8  mil- 
lion acres.  There  are  only  660,000  acres 
in  State  forests  in  all  of  the  Southern 
States;  of  this  acreage,  450,000  acres 
are  in  lands  leased  from  the  Federal 
Government. 

Or,  in  another  classification  of  areas, 
the  acreage  is  distributed  thus:  Saw- 
timber  areas,  21  percent;  pole-timber, 
34  percent;  seedling  and  sapling,  31 
percent;  poorly  stocked  and  denuded 
areas,  14  percent.  In  the  Pacific  and 
Rocky  Mountain  States,  the  acreage  in 
saw  timber  rises  to  an  average  of  33 
percent;  in  the  Eastern  and  Southern 
States,  the  average  drops  well  below 
21  percent. 

Only  five  States  reported  estimated 
saw-timber  volumes  in  excess  of  a 
billion  board  feet — Washington,  1 2  bil- 
lion board  feet;  Idaho,  7.3  billion; 
Pennsylvania,  3.6  billion;  Montana,  2 
billion;  and  Colorado,  1.01  billion. 

Six  States  reported  saw-timber  vol- 
umes between  100  million  and  1  billion 
board  feet:  Michigan,  650  million; 
Colorado,  309  million;  Ohio,  250  mil- 
lion; South  Dakota,  250  million;  In- 
diana, 150  million;  and  Connecticut 
109  million.  Oregon,  New  York,  and 
Minnesota  did  not  report  saw-timber 
volumes,  but  undoubtedly  the  saw- 
timber  volumes  in  State  forests  in  each 
is  more  than  100  million  board  feet. 

The  State  forests  generally  are  su- 
pervised by  the  State  forester.  The 
agency  with  which  the  State  forester 
is  connected  varies  among  States,  how- 
ever. In  21  of  the  36  States  that  have 
State  forests,  forestry  is  a  division  of  a 
State  conservation  department  or  a  de- 


392 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


partment  of  natural  resources,  with  the 
State  forester  in  charge  of  the  division. 
In  seven  States,  the  State  forester  is  the 
administrative  officer  of  a  State  board 
or  commission  of  forestry.  In  four 
States,  he  is  the  forestry  director  of  the 
State  board  of  forestry  and  parks.  In 
Pennsylvania,  he  is  in  charge  of  the 
Bureau  of  Forests  in  the  Department  of 
Forests  and  Waters.  In  Ohio,  he  is  in 
charge  of  the  Division  of  Forestry  un- 
der the  over-all  administration  of  the 
agricultural  experiment  station.  In 
Montana,  he  works  with  the  State 
Board  of  Land  Commissioners.  Direct 
supervision  of  a  State  forest  in  each 
State  is  generally  exercised  by  a  district 
forester  or  State  forest  supervisor,  who 
may  be  responsible  solely  for  the  man- 
agement of  forest  land  or  who  may  com- 
bine management  with  other  duties. 

In  Washington,  Idaho,  Montana, 
and  Colorado,  administration  of  the 
State  forest  lands  of  Federal-grant 
origin  is  a  joint  responsibility  of  the 
State  land  boards  and  the  State  forestry 
agency.  In  each  of  those  States  the 
State  land  board  was  set  up  originally 
to  dispose  of  Federal-grant  lands ;  how- 
ever, while  a  considerable  acreage  of 
forest  lands  in  this  category  was  still 
in  State  ownership,  it  was  realized  that 
the  lands  were  an  asset  to  the  State  and 
should  properly  remain  in  State  owner- 
ship under  adequate  protection  and 
administration. 

ADEQUATE  MANAGEMENT  recognizes 
that  the  forests  have  several  uses  and 
allocates  to  each  its  proper  place  in 
the  management  plan.  Elements  of 
forest  management  that  affect  each  of 
those  uses  are  protection  from  fire,  in- 
sects, and  disease,  and  forest  inventory. 

Fire  protection  on  State  forests  gen- 
erally is  good.  Even  in  States  that  do 
not  protect  all  forest  lands,  State  for- 
ests are  well  looked  after ;  in  the  States 
that  have  good  over-all  protection, 
State  forests  as  a  rule  receive  extra  at- 
tention. Because  most  of  the  State 
forest  lands  are  in  restocking  stages, 
good  fire  protection  constitutes  a  large 
part  of  the  management. 


The  .degree  of  protection  from  in- 
sects and  disease  varies  a  great  deal  and 
depends  largely  on  the  probability  of 
losses.  In  States  where  white  pine  is  an 
important  timber  tree,  for  example, 
protection  from  the  white  pine  blister 
rust  is  generally  good.  In  Massachu- 
setts, the  State  forestry  agency  carries 
on  an  active  campaign  against  the  tus- 
sock moth.  In  the  Western  States,  bark 
beetles  receive  considerable  attention. 

The  adequate  management  of  forest 
lands  for  multiple  use  can  only  be  had 
from  a  forest  inventory,  which  classi- 
fies the  lands  and  furnishes  detailed 
information  on  timber  types,  volumes, 
and  growth.  Such  an  inventory  was 
reported  by  9  of  the  36  States;  several 
others  are  making  an  inventory. 

Management  for  the  production  of 
forest  products  aims  at  ultimately  at- 
taining a  balance  of  growth  and  drain, 
in  well-stocked  stands  of  desirable  spe- 
cies. To  achieve  the  objective,  there 
should  be  adequate  protection  from 
fire,  insects,  and  disease;  harvesting  of 
tree  crops  when  they  are  ripe;  im- 
provement of  the  stand;  and  planting 
where  necessary.  Management  plans 
based  on  an  adequate  inventory  are 
desirable: 

The  type  of  forest  management  in 
the  various  States  depends  upon  sev- 
eral factors,  namely,  a  forest  inventory, 
the  condition  of  the  forest,  and  avail- 
able funds  for  forest  management. 
Naturally,  the  States  that  have  inven- 
tories of  their  forests  have  the  basis  for 
intelligent  management  plans  and 
have  generally  followed  through  with 
such  a  plan. 

In  some  States  the  land  carries  but 
little  merchantable  timber,  and  inten- 
sive fire  protection  (with  perhaps 
some  planting  and  improvement  cut- 
tings) constitutes  the  chief  element  of 
management.  In  Washington,  Idaho, 
and  Montana,  on  the  contrary,  there 
is  the  problem  of  overmature  timber, 
and  management  efforts  are  directed 
toward  harvesting  it. 

In  all  States  the  availability  of  funds 
plays  a  major  role.  The  ability  to  in- 
ventory the  forests  and  to  hire  men 


State  Forests 


393 


with  adequate  training  and  in  suffi- 
cient number  for  management  of  the 
lands  has  often  been  in  direct  propor- 
tion to  the  amount  of  money  that 
could  be  obtained  for  those  purposes. 
In  many  States  fire  protection  has  been 
the  primary  interest,  and  State  forest 
management  has  had  to  play  a  sec- 
ondary role. 

Practically  all  States  maintain  for- 
est-tree nurseries,  but  most  of  the 
planting  stock  has  gone  to  private  in- 
dividuals and  plantings  on  State  forest 
lands  have  not  been  extensive.  New 
York  and  Michigan  are  notable  exam- 
ples of  States  with  well-organized  and 
adequately  financed  planting  pro- 
grams. 

Income  from  the  sale  of  forest  prod- 
ucts from  State  forests  has  not  been 
great.  That  is  to  be  expected  from 
forests  that  mostly  are  immature.  The 
largest  returns  have  come  from  the 
mature  forests  of  the  Western  States: 
Washington  reported  an  annual  in- 
come of  $736,000,  Montana  $455,000, 
and  Idaho  $97,000.  East  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, only  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Mich- 
igan, New  York,  and  Florida  reported 
a  production  of  forest  products  whose 
value  exceeded  $50,000  annually. 

On  the  whole,  the  management  of 
State  forests  would  rate  from  fair  to 
good.  Most  of  the  States  mark  the  tim- 
ber they  offer  for  sale  and  annually 
harvest  much  less  than  the  growth. 
During  the  past  few  years  the  excellent 
market  has  afforded  an  opportunity 
for  the  harvesting  of  all  species  of  ripe 
timber  and  for  improvement  cuttings. 

In  States  in  which  the  forestry  agen- 
cy is  a  division  of  a  department  of  con- 
servation, which  also  handles  State  fish 
and  game  affairs,  the  authorities  are 
keenly  aware  of  the  relationship  be- 
tween forest  management  and  game 
management.  In  Michigan,  for  ex- 
ample, cutting  and  planting  plans  for 
State  forests  require  the  approval  of 
the  local  game  manager.  In  New  York, 
the  plan  of  wildlife  management  has 
been  definitely  integrated  with  forest 
management. 

In  other  States  where  game  and  fish 


affairs  are  in  the  hands  of  an  independ- 
ent agency,  cooperation  is  close  be- 
tween that  agency  and  the  forest 
agency  in  the  management  of  game  on 
State  forests. 

Practically  all  States  open  State  for- 
est lands  to  public  hunting.  Because 
most  of  the  State  forests  are  in  the 
restocking  stages  and  have  much  young 
growth  and  many  openings,  hunting 
generally  is  good. 

All  the  States  have  recognized  the 
value  of  their  forests  for  recreational 
purposes.  Some  of  them  have  built 
camp  grounds,  trails,  and  shelters  for 
use  by  the  public.  Roads  built  for  fire- 
control  purposes  have  made  the  forests 
accessible  to  recreation  seekers,  who 
have  used  the  forests  in  ever-increasing 
numbers.  Especially  noteworthy  are 
the  New  York  Forest  Preserves,  some 
2,400,000  acres  in  extent,  which  the 
State  constitution  requires  must  be 
"forever  kept  as  wild  forest  lands." 
The  area,  developed  primarily  for 
recreational  purposes,  has  a  good  sys- 
tem of  camp  sites,  trails,  and  shelters. 

Management  for  watershed  protec- 
tion is  probably  most  important  in  the 
State  forests  of  the  Western  States, 
where  water  supply  is  of  great  concern. 
The  maintenance  of  forest  growth  on 
watersheds  is  recognized  as  of  high 
priority. 

In  the  Eastern  States,  the  value  of 
well-stocked  forest  land  in  the  upper 
regions  of  the  drainage  basins  is  being 
appreciated  more  and  more  in  soil  con- 
servation and  flood  control  programs. 
Often  the  State  forests  are  so  located 
that  the  management  for  this  purpose 
assumes  great  importance. 

Management  for  grazing  is  impor- 
tant largely  in  the  Western  States ;  the 
State  forests  of  Idaho  and  Colorado 
are  used  to  some  extent  for  that  pur- 
pose. There  is  also  some  grazing  on 
State  forest  lands  in  the  South.  On  all 
of  those  lands,  management  requires 
that  grazing  be  kept  under  control. 

As  TO  THE  FUTURE  :  Only  one-third 
of  the  States  have  plans  for  future 
acquisition  of  lands  for  State  forests. 


394 

Texas,  Virginia,  Missouri,  Indiana, 
and  Wisconsin  anticipate  small  yearly 
additions  by  purchase. 

Minnesota,  Washington,  and  Ore- 
gon plan  to  acquire  tax-reverted  lands 
from  the  counties. 

Massachusetts  has  legislative  au- 
thorization for  acquisition  of  500,000 
acres,  but  no  appropriation  for  pur- 
chase. 

Connecticut  has  a  goal  of  200,000 
acres  and  is  adding  land  by  purchase 
at  the  rate  of  6,000  acres  a  year. 

Ohio's  goal  is  587,000  acres,  and  for 
the  fiscal  year  1945-46  the  State  ap- 
propriated $1,800,000  for  land  pur- 
chase. 

California  plans  to  add  considerably 
to  its  State  forest  acreage;  the  legisla- 
ture appropriated  $2,000,000  in  1947 
for  the  purpose. 

New  York's  acquisition  program 
contemplates  the  purchase  of  20,000 
to  40,000  acres  annually. 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


Michigan  spends  $250,000  yearly 
for  blocking  in  the  present  State  areas, 
and  also  acquires  considerable  acreage 
annually  by  exchange. 

Pennsylvania  has  a  legislative  ap- 
propriation for  the  purchase  of  land. 

STANLEY  G.  FONTANNA  is  the  deputy 
director  of  the  Michigan  Department 
of  Conservation,  a  post  he  has  held 
since  1934.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Michigan,  a  veteran  of 
the  First  World  War,  and  a  former 
employee  of  several  large  lumber  com- 
panies. He  is  a  senior  member  of  the 
Society  of  American  Foresters,  presi- 
dent of  the  Association  of  State  Forest- 
ers, chairman  of  the  Joint  Committee 
of  Society  of  American  Foresters  and 
Charles  Lathrop  Pack  Forestry  Found- 
ation on  State  Forestry  Administration 
Surveys,  and  a  member  of  the  Advisory 
Board  of  the  Charles  Lathrop  Pack 
Forestry  Foundation. 


COMMUNITY  FORESTS 

GEORGE  A.  DUTHIE 


Community  forests  are  the  wood- 
lands that  are  owned  by  the  cities  and 
townships,  school  districts,  counties,  or 
another  public  body  in  a  State. 

They  are  of  many  types,  but  they  are 
all  alike  in  that  they  are  maintained 
for  the  public  benefit  and  use. 

They  have  many  purposes,  but  they 
are  all  an  expression  of  the  Americans' 
innate  love  for  trees  and  belief  that 
there  is  a  close  relationship  between 
forests  and  good  living. 

Many  kinds  of  communities  have 
public  forests,  but  they  have  in  com- 
mon a  progressive  citizenship  that  is 
alert  and  resourceful  in  making  it  a 
good  place  to  live  in. 

The  character  of  community  forests 
differs  according  to  ownership  and 
purpose.  County  and  township  forests 
have  about  the  same  pattern.  City  and 
town  forests,  distinctive  from  county 
forests,  have  the  greatest  variations  in 


size  and  type;  sometimes  they  are  large 
tracts  that  protect  municipal  water 
sources;  sometimes  they  are  only  small 
areas,  in  or  near  a  town,  and  were 
planted  so  as  to  beautify  the  environs. 
School  forests  are  mostly  used  for  edu- 
cational purposes.  Among  organization 
forests  are  those  maintained  for  the 
public  use  by  churches,  service  clubs, 
the  Boy  Scouts,  4-H  Clubs,  and  simi- 
lar groups.  In  brief,  community  for- 
ests are  public  forests  that  are  not 
Federal  forests  or  State  forests. 

The  3,113  community  forests  in  the 
United  States  cover  4,413,950  acres. 
Of  the  1,121  municipal  forests,  about 
one-fourth  are  for  watershed  protec- 
tion. There  are  1,279  school  forests. 
County  and  township  forests  together 
number  617,  organization  forests  96. 

THE  COUNTY  AND  TOWNSHIP  FOR- 
ESTS are  the  most  extensive.  They  ac- 


Community  Forests 


395 


count  for  half  of  the  area  of  all  com- 
munity forests.  They  vary  in  patterns 
and  purposes ;  some  of  them  are  mostly 
for  recreation;  others  emphasize  the 
growing  of  timber. 

Eleven  miles  south  of  Champaign- 
Urbana  in  Illinois  is  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  a  260-acre  tract  of  woodland, 
open  fields,  and  water  bordering  the 
historic  Sangamon  River.  Here  one 
will  find  a  spring-fed  18-acre  lake  for 
swimming,  boating,  fishing,  and  skat- 
ing; a  playing  field  for  all  types  of  out- 
door sports ;  picnic  grounds  on  the  lake 
shore;  camping  spots  on  the  river;  and 
equestrian  and  nature  trails  through 
the  upland  woods.  It  is  Champaign 
County's  newly  organized  forest  pre- 
serve district.  Although  small  in  area, 
it  has  fine  possibilities  for  expansion  as 
more  woodland  areas  are  added  along 
the  river.  The  public  schools  are  en- 
listed in  a  long-range  conservation 
program  for  the  forest,  and  the  school 
children  of  the  county  use  it  in  first- 
hand studies  of  the  natural  sciences. 

The  method  of  financing  the  forest 
is  both  simple  and  direct.  Twenty-year 
bonds  were  issued  to  buy  the  land  and 
improvements,  at  a  cost  of  about  $80,- 
000.  A  special  tax  levy  yields  an  an- 
nual fund  of  about  $30,000,  for  use 
(during  the  first  5  years)  to  extend  and 
develop  the  forest  and,  later,  to  retire 
the  bonds.  A  commission  of  five  men, 
who  serve  without  compensation,  man- 
ages the  forest.  It  is  under  the  direct 
supervision  of  a  resident  forester-care- 
taker. 

There  are  ten  such  forests  in  densely 
populated  Illinois.  The  most  extensive 
is  the  Cook  County  Forest  Preserve, 
which  lies  within  the  metropolitan 
area  of  Chicago. 

In  Wisconsin  another  pattern  is  fol- 
lowed. Great  areas  of  cut-over  pine- 
lands  had  been  abandoned  after  being 
stripped  of  timber;  the  waste  land  re- 
turned no  taxes  or  revenue.  In  many 
northern  counties,  the  productive  tax- 
able property  could  not  support  the 
local  governments.  To  meet  this  situa- 
tion, many  counties  availed  themselves 
of  the  relief  offered  by  the  Wisconsin 


Forest  Crop  Law.  Under  a  cooperative 
arrangement  with  the  State,  10  cents 
is  paid  yearly  from  the  general  fund 
for  each  acre  in  the  county  forest  to 
help  support  the  local  government.  An- 
other 10  cents  an  acre  is  paid  annually 
to  the  county  from  the  State  forestry 
funds  for  improving  and  developing 
the  forest.  The  State  also  furnishes 
technical  supervision  of  the  cutting 
of  timber  to  insure  a  consistent  forest 
policy  and  a  uniform  standard  of 
management.  In  return,  the  State  is 
reimbursed  by  a  50-percent  severance 
tax  when  forest  products  are  harvested. 
It  is  in  the  nature  of  a  share-crop  re- 
lationship between  the  county  owner 
and  the  State. 

Twenty-eight  counties  have  set  up 
crop-law  forests,  which  have  a  com- 
bined area  of  more  than  2  million 
acres.  Some  of  the  counties  20  years 
ago  faced  bankruptcy ;  under  manage- 
ment, the  forest  lands  now  yield  reve- 
nues that  in  time  may  absorb  a  major 
part  of  the  tax  burden.  The  annual 
return  now  is  more  than  $150,000.  The 
forests  also  furnish  opportunities  for 
public  recreation. 

This  income  is  from  forests  that  but  a 
few  years  ago  were  waste  land ;  a  large 
part  of  the  new  forest  cover  has  come 
from  hand-planted  seedlings.  The  fu- 
ture prosperity  of  the  crop-law  commu- 
nities, then,  seems  extremely  promising. 
The  pulpwood  markets  are  clamoring 
for  the  wood  that  is  growing  in  those 
young  trees  and  that  will  soon  be  ready 
to  market. 

The  philosophy  of  government  that 
supports  a  county  forest  program  was 
well  stated  in  a  resolution  adopted  in 
Allegany  County,  N.  Y.,  that  provided 
for  establishment  of  a  county  forest  sys- 
tem of  2,500  acres  on  the  following 
premises:  Large  amounts  of  idle  land 
not  paying  taxes  are  not  contributing 
to  the  welfare  of  the  county;  these 
lands  are  contributing  to  an  erosion 
problem  and  costing  the  county  large 
sums  annually  in  clogged  stream  chan- 
nels, highway  maintenance,  and  loss 
of  revenue;  the  areas  are  too  small  to 
be  managed  under  the  State  forest 


396 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


program;  a  large  industrial  user  of  for- 
est products  will  eventually  be  lost  un- 
less a  precedent  is  established  for  the 
management  of  all  forest  lands  in  the 
county  according  to  good  forestry  prin- 
ciples; the  county  itself  is  a  large  user 
of  wood  products  for  which  a  depend- 
able future  source  must  be  planned; 
the  county  can  sup-ply  its  own  needs 
and  at  the  same  time  stabilize  local 
employment  through  its  forest  plan; 
the  recreational  value  of  the  Allegany 
County  hills  has  been  neglected;  and 
finally,  forestry  is  a  paying  proposition, 
and  we  owe  it  to  ourselves  and  to  our 
heirs  to  leave  the  county  in  a  better 
and  more  stable  position,  as  regards  its 
natural  resources,  than  we  found  it. 

The  county  forests  of  New  York  con- 
stitute a  State-wide  system  that  com- 
bines a  high  degree  of  recreational 
development  with  timber  production. 
Fifty-two  of  the  counties  have  forests. 
From  2  million  to  5  million  trees  have 
been  planted  by  each  of  these  coun- 
ties. Some  of  the  stands  are  now  being 
thinned  by  the  first  cutting  of  pulp- 
wood,  fuel  wood,  poles,  and  Christmas 
trees.  From  now  on  they  will  yield  a 
steady  revenue  to  the  counties. 

There  are  very  few  counties  in  the 
United  States  that  do  not  have  some 
land  that  presents  an  administrative 
problem.  Cut-over  land,  submarginal 
farms,  spoil  banks  remaining  from 
mining  operations,  swamps,  eroding 
mountain  slopes,  deep  gorges  and 
gullies,  and  sand  dunes  are  the  lands 
that  private  owners  cannot  afford  to 
hold,  problem  land  that  nobody  wants. 
Such  lands  often  become  tax  delin- 
quent and  a  burden  to  the  tax-paying 
public.  In  public  ownership  under  the 
proper  forestry  management,  they  be- 
come an  asset  instead  of  a  liability. 
Where  they  occur  in  very  large  areas, 
they  may  be  incorporated  into  national 
or  State  forests,  but  small  and  scat- 
tered tracts  are  best  developed  into 
county  or  township  forests  under  the 
administration  of  the  local  government. 

Dispersal  of  the  forest  units  through- 
out the  county  does  not  present  a  seri- 
ous problem  in  county  administration; 


from  the  standpoint  of  making  recrea- 
tion areas  accessible  to  everyone,  the 
dispersal  is  an  advantage. 

ABOUT  ONE-THIRD  of  all  municipal 
forests  are  watershed  forests.  They  are 
maintained  on  the  land  from  which 
the  municipalities  obtain  their  supplies 
of  domestic  water  primarily  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  a  vegetative  cover 
to  protect  it  from  erosion.  On  them, 
other  uses — the  production  of  timber, 
game  protection,  recreation — must  be 
managed  so  as  not  to  interfere  with 
the  main  purpose.  On  some  watershed 
forests  the  reluctance  to  open  up  the 
areas  to  public  travel  or  to  the  utiliza- 
tion of  the  timber  is  due  to  danger  of 
erosion  and  pollution.  Construction  of 
roads  and  skid  trails  is  usually  accom- 
panied by  some  erosion  of  the  cut 
banks,  and  the  silt  from  those  areas 
where  the  ground  cover  is  broken 
washes  down  into  the  reservoirs.  Tim- 
ber cutting,  therefore,  does  create  spe- 
cial problems  for  the  waterworks 
engineers  which  require  special  logging 
methods  designed  to  prevent  erosion. 
Likewise  the  construction  of  roads 
through  the  areas  must  be  accom- 
panied by  special  treatment  of  the  cuts 
and  fills  to  prevent  silting.  From  the 
standpoint  of  timber  production,  the 
watershed  forests  have  a  higher  po- 
tential than  most  other  community 
forests. 

Municipal  forests  that  are  not  iden- 
tified with  the  water  system  are  largely 
managed  for  recreation. 

On  some  other  watershed  forests, 
arrangements  have  been  made  for  in- 
tensive human  use  without  contami- 
nation of  the  domestic  water. 

The  city  of  Springfield,  111.,  has  an 
intensively  used  municipal  forest  of 
4,300  acres,  from  which  the  city  de- 
rives water,  electric  power,  and  a 
revenue  of  more  than  $50,000  a  year 
from  recreational  and  residential  use. 
A  crop  of  young  timber  grows  on  a 
part  of  the  fields  and  hillsides.  There 
is  a  game  preserve  where  wildlife  is 
propagated. 

Manchester,  N.  H.3  has  a  municipal 


Community  Forests 


397 


watershed  forest  of  5,200  acres.  Its 
planted  timber  is  harvested  under  the 
direction  of  resident  foresters  who 
know  from  year  to  year  just  how  much 
timber  can  be  taken  from  the  stands. 
The  timber  brings  in  from  $10,000  to 
$30,000  a  year.  The  recreation  areas 
are  heavily  used. 

Where  domestic  water  is  not  in- 
volved, the  dominant  uses  of  municipal 
forests  usually  are  for  recreation,  tim- 
ber production,  education,  and  beauti- 
fication. 

Such  a  forest  is  the  10,000-acre 
Rocky  River  Forest  in  Cleveland, 
whose  highways,  scenic  beauty,  archery 
fields,  bridle  paths,  walks  and  camp 
grounds  and  picnic  places  thousands 
of  persons  enjoy. 

LET  THE  CHILDREN  GROW  UP  WITH 

THE  TREES  is  a  slogan  that  many 
schools  have  adopted.  The  relation  of 
forests  to  our  way  of  life  is  better  un- 
derstood by  children  who  have  an 
opportunity  to  experience  that  rela- 
tionship through  the  management  of 
the  school  forest.  Wherever  the  pro- 
gram of  education  in  a  school  has  been 
related  to  experiences  in  the  forest,  edu- 
cation has  been  benefited.  The  music 
teacher  who  gathered  her  class  at  the 
foot  of  tall  pines  in  the  school  forest 
to  let  the  children  discover  for  them- 
selves that  there  is  music  in  the  rustle 
in  the  treetops  was  teaching  a  lesson 
in  music  appreciation  not  soon  for- 
gotten. The  children  named  it  the 
song  of  the  pines;  by  trying  to  catch  its 
mood  and  meter  as  the  teacher  played 
the  song  of  the  pines  on  her  violin 
they  learned  the  elements  of  true 
music.  The  teachers  of  mathematics 
and  manual  arts  who  led  their  pupils  in 
surveying  a  location  for  a  shelter  house 
on  their  school  forest,  designing  the 
building  and  drawing  up  specification 
and  bills  of  material  for  its  construc- 
tion, were  teaching  practical  lessons 
that  had  great  appeal  for  the  boys 
in  their  classes.  The  girls  in  the  domes- 
tic science  classes,  who  worked  out  a 
practical  menu  that  they  could  pre- 
pare and  serve  in  the  field  to  the  boys 


who  were  planting  trees  in  the  school 
forest,  were  learning  lessons  in  the  art 
of  homemaking.  Such  projects  give 
point  to  another  slogan  observed  on 
the  signboards  of  some  school  forests, 
"Youth  develops  where  youth  builds." 

The  work  the  children  do  in  devel- 
oping the  school  forest  property  and 
the  experiences  they  have  in  their  ex- 
cursions to  the  forest  create  enthu- 
siasms that  take  academic  drudgery 
out  of  school  work  and  make  it  attrac- 
tive. If  the  school  forests  had  no  other 
function  than  that  of  a  laboratory  for 
work  that  gives  vitality  to  the  school 
teaching,  they  would  serve  an  impor- 
tant purpose.  Approximately  1,300 
schools  have  their  own  forests.  Many 
more  have  the  privilege  of  using  mu- 
nicipal, county,  or  private  forests  for 
educational  projects. 

The  Al  Sihah  Boy  Scout  Forest  at 
Macon,  Ga.,  is  an  example  of  the  or- 
ganization forest.  In  1923  a  Masonic 
lodge  started  it  for  the  Scouts  on  a 
tract  of  236  acres  of  cut-over  wood- 
land. Title  to  the  property  is  vested  in 
the  Boy  Scout  Council.  At  the  end  of 
16  years  the  stands  were  ready  for  the 
first  improvement  cutting.  In  the  next 
decade,  the  annual  cut  has  averaged 
well  over  100,000  feet,  which  has  been 
sold  at  stumpage  prices  up  to  $20  per 
1,000  feet. 

The  profit  from  the  sales  has  been 
used  to  improve  a  similar  forest  of  500 
acres  for  Negro  Scouts.  It  is  known  as 
Camp  Benjamin  Hawkins. 

After  the  First  World  War,  the 
planting  of  trees  as  memorials  was 
very  popular.  Since  the  Second  World 
War,  the  idea  has  increasingly  found 
expression  in  the  dedication  of  com- 
munity forests  as  living  war  memorials. 
As  a  war  memorial,  the  forest  at  the 
same  time  fulfills  the  other  functions 
of  a  community  forest.  Its  role  as  a 
memorial  adds  to  its  prestige  as  a  pub- 
lic institution.  It  combines  well  the 
qualities  that  are  desirable  in  a  me- 
morial— attractiveness,  long  life,  use- 
fulness, and  appropriateness.  The  me- 
morial forests  already  dedicated  to 
those  who  fought  in  the  war  range 


398 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


from  small  groves  to  extensive  forests  of 
64,000  acres.  Public  spirited  citizens, 
chambers  of  commerce,  and  veterans, 
sportsmen,  women's  organizations,  and 
others  have  sponsored  or  founded 
them.  They  are  owned  by  counties,  cit- 
ies, towns,  villages,  and  schools. 

VALUES  OF  TWO  TYPES  accrue  from 
the  public  forest — the  social-economic 
benefits  and  the  revenues  from  forest 
products.  The  social  benefits  are  more 
important;  they  can  be  measured  in 
pleasure,  health,  improved  standards 
of  living. 

The  first  cash  returns  usually  come 
from  improvement  cuttings,  which 
consist  of  removal  of  defective  trees 
left  over  from  previous  logging  or  of  in- 
ferior species  that  have  taken  possession 
of  the  land.  Next  comes  the  thinning 
of  the  new  stands.  The  first  thinning 
may  be  Christmas  trees,  which  are 
taken  out  5  to  10  years  after  planting. 
Subsequent  thinnings  for  pulpwood, 
fuel,  posts,  and  poles  come  along  at 
short  intervals  to  release  the  ultimate 
crop  trees  from  crowding.  And  so, 
from  small  beginnings,  year  by  year, 
decade  by  decade,  the  forest  income 
builds  up  if  it  is  managed  prudently. 

The  city  of  Oneonta,  N.  Y.,  started 
a  municipal  forest  of  1,200  acres  in 
1911.  For  the  first  two  decades  the 


value  of  the  cut  averaged  $152  a  year, 
but  in  the  third  decade  the  average 
annual  income  increased  to  approxi- 
mately $600. 

The  Troy  town  forest  in  Maine, 
started  in  1938,  consists  of  1,000  acres 
of  abandoned  farms.  Withdrawn  from 
settlement  and  devoted  to  intensive 
forestry,  it  has  yielded  a  net  income  of 
89  cents  an  acre  a  year,  compared  to 
the  average  tax  of  33  cents  an  acre. 
Six  years  after  the  forest  was  estab- 
lished, a  fund  of  $4,000  had  accumu- 
lated from  the  forest  receipts  toward  a 
new  school  building. 

The  school  forest  at  Minocqua,  Wis., 
consisted  of  240  acres  of  brush  land. 
The  first  year  the  school  fund  was  en- 
riched by  $400  received  from  an  im- 
provement cutting  of  aspen  pulpwood. 

The  nature  of  the  benefits  to  be  de- 
rived from  these  public  forests  are  such 
that  they  deserve  a  place  in  modern 
community  planning. 

George  A.  Duthie  is  chief  of  the 
section  of  State  and  community  forests 
in  the  Forest  Service,  which  he  joined 
in  1909.  For  21  years  he  was  employed 
in  the  administration  and  supervision 
of  national  forests  in  Colorado,  Wyo- 
ming, and  South  Dakota.  He  is  a 
graduate  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan. 


ARBORETUMS,  PLACES  OF  BEAUTY  AND  SCIENCE 

W.  H.  LARRIMER,  ERNST   J.  SCHREINER 


To  the  person  who  has  a  piece  of 
ground,  a  few  dollars,  a  love  for  trees 
and  nature  and  beauty,  a  collector's 
instinct,  and  an  interest  in  science,  we 
should  like  to  recommend  that  he  start 
an  arboretum.  Few  things,  we  think, 
are  more  worthy  of  effort,  more  pro- 
ductive of  abiding  satisfaction  and 
accomplishment,  and  more  enjoyable 
than  a  collection  of  trees  of  one's  own. 

An  acre  is  ample  for  20  or  25  speci- 
men trees  and  many  beautiful  shrubs. 
Five  acres  is  plenty  for  a  really  repre- 


sentative collection  of  trees,  which  can 
be  underplanted  with  flowering  and 
fruiting  shrubs  that  will  bring  bird  life 
and  bird  songs  practically  into  the 
home.  How  much  one  pays  for  the  trees 
depends  on  how  much  one  wants  to 
pay.  A  few  pennies  spent  for  seedlings, 
to  which  are  added  materials  started 
from  cuttings  and  gifts  from  neighbors, 
will  provide  the  beginning. 

Almost  everyone  collects  something, 
and  enjoyment  people  get  out  of  their 
collection — whether  trees,  stamps,  or 


Arboretums,  Places  of  Beauty  and  Science 


399 


first  editions — derives  in  large  measure 
from  its  completeness.  And  so  the  col- 
lector of  trees  and  shrubs  will  do  well 
to  set  up  an  objective.  It  might  be  to 
grow  one  of  each  of  10,  15,  or  20  dif- 
ferent species.  It  might  be  to  grow  rare 
trees,  like  the  franklinia  or  the  off- 
spring of  historic  trees,  such  as  the 
Mount  Vernon  Pecan  or  the  Evange- 
line  Oak.  Or  it  might  be  to  obtain  a 
complete  collection  of  the  native  trees 
and  shrubs  of  his  county  or  State.  In 
the  Northern  States,  such  a  collection 
will  not  be  excessive  in  number  of 
specimen  plants,  but  farther  south  it 
will  entail  a  great  many  species.  If  the 
objective  were  to  grow  all  the  species 
of  one  group  of  trees,  such  as  pines, 
maples,  or  oaks,  then  the  size  of  the 
collection  would  depend  upon  the 
group  of  trees  one  selects. 

Keen  enjoyment  comes  from  the 
search  for  new  specimens  to  add  to  a 
collection.  The  collector  can  get  some 
specimen  trees  from  commercial  nurs- 
eries. But  for  many  rare  types — and 
this  is  one  of  the  joys  of  collecting — he 
will  have  to  get  seeds,  possibly  from 
some  public  arboretum,  and  to  grow 
the  seedlings  himself.  The  collector  of 
native  trees  might  collect  seed  or  wild 
seedlings  on  trips  through  his  home 
State,  or  on  his  travels  anywhere. 
Some  of  them,  gathered  at  a  distance, 
will  not  grow,  perhaps,  but  that  is  a 
part  of  the  art. 

An  excellent  example  of  a  personal 
arboretum  is  the  Hemlock  Arboretum 
in  Philadelphia.  The  owner,  Charles  F. 
Jenkins,  aims  to  grow  all  the  various 
growth  forms  of  the  native  eastern 
hemlock,  which  are  mostly  slow-grow- 
ing or  dwarfed  forms.  His  collection 
in  1948  included  190  specimens,  rep- 
resenting 40  varieties. 

MUCH  THE  SAME,  except  in  owner- 
ship, is  the  community  arboretum, 
which  deserves  the  consideration  of 
garden  clubs,  service  clubs,  and  other 
organizations  interested  in  the  enrich- 
ment of  community  life.  Undeveloped 
park  areas  or  other  community  prop- 
erty is  suitable  for  an  arboretum.  A 


community  arboretum  should  not  be 
confused  with  a  community  park  that 
is  provided  for  physical  recreation;  it 
cannot  become  a  dual-use  area,  play- 
ground and  arboretum. 

Sections  of  new  parkways  on  the 
outskirts  of  towns  and  cities  are  excel- 
lent for  arboretums.  Such  parkways 
are  high-speed  arteries,  but  arboretum 
areas  up  to  several  miles  in  length  can 
be  safely  established  on  long  and  rela- 
tively narrow  side  strips  that  need  tree 
planting.  Eventually,  arboretum  areas 
should  be  incorporated  in  the  plans 
for  new  highways,  with  provision  for 
additional  land  where  it  is  required. 
Visitors  to  such  an  arboretum  need  not 
interfere  with  traffic  on  the  main  high- 
way; suitable  parking  areas  can  be  pro- 
vided in  places  where  the  aboretum 
strip  is  relatively  narrow.  A  better  ar- 
rangement for  wider  strips  is  to  build  a 
gravel  side  road  through  the  arbore- 
tum, parallel  to  the  main  line  of  travel 
and  wide  enough  to  permit  parking 
without  interference  to  traffic. 

Many  people  in  towns  undoubtedly 
would  enjoy  periodic  visits  to  a  park 
or  parkway  arboretum.  School  chil- 
dren could  be  brought  out  in  busses 
for  nature  study.  If  the  arboretum  is 
properly  identified  by  signs,  many 
travelers  would  take  time  to  leave  the 
highway  and  drive  slowly  through  the 
arboretum  strip. 

No  arboretum  should  be  started 
until  a  plan  has  been  well  thought 
out  and  formalized  on  paper.  Such  a 
plan  should  define  the  purposes  to  be 
served,  which,  in  general,  determine 
the  space  required,  what  and  how  to 
plant,  and  the  costs  of  establishment 
and  maintenance.  The  plan  should 
indicate  how  the  project  is  to  be 
financed.  Advice,  when  it  is  needed, 
can  be  had  readily  from  nurserymen, 
gardeners,  landscape  architects,  and 
various  other  specialists,  professional 
and  amateur. 

The  person,  group,  or  community 
that  establishes  an  arboretum  follows 
a  long  and  interesting  tradition.  The 
dictionary  definition  of  an  arboretum 
as  "a  botanical  garden  of  trees"  indi- 


400 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


cates  that  their  history  is  part  and 
parcel  of  the  history  of  botanical  gar- 
dens. Such  collections  of  trees,  ar- 
ranged as  specimens  or  in  the  natural 
groups  and  authentically  named  and 
maintained  for  educational,  esthetic, 
reference,  and  research  purposes,  have 
found  a  place  in  the  botanical  gardens 
of  all  countries. 

WE  HAVE  RECORDS  of  some  ancient 
botanical  gardens,  and  it  is  a  safe  as- 
sumption that  trees,  and  thus  arbore- 
tums,  were  an  important  part  of  at 
least  some  of  these  gardens. 

History  records  that,  2,800  years  be- 
fore the  birth  of  Christ,  the  Emperor 
Shen  Ming  had  a  garden  in  which  he 
grew  medicinal  plants ;  and  that  Thot- 
mes  III,  the  ruler  of  Egypt,  had  a 
pleasure  garden  planned  by  the  head 
gardener  of  the  Temple  of  Karnak 
about  1500  B.  G.  Aristotle,  the  great 
teacher  of  antiquity,  developed  a  bo- 
tanic garden  at  Athens  about  340  B.  G. 
in  which  he  taught  his  students.  It 
would  appear  that  these  ancient  gar- 
dens were  established  for  three  pri- 
mary reasons — utility,  pleasure,  and 
instruction. 

A  wide  historical  gap  exists  between 
the  ancient  gardens  and  the  botanical 
gardens  of  the  Middle  Ages.  As  learn- 
ing returned  to  Europe  with  the  close 
of  the  Dark  Ages,  gardens  were  estab- 
lished for  the  utilitarian  purpose  of 
growing  and  testing  medicinal  herbs. 
One  such  was  a  medicinal  garden  at 
Salerno,  Italy,  in  1309,  which  has  long 
since  disappeared.  Some  of  the  medic- 
inal gardens  eventually  became  bo- 
tanical gardens  and  arboretums.  In 
Italy,  botanical  gardens  were  started  in 
Pisa  in  1543  and  in  Padua  and  Flor- 
ence in  1545.  Botanical  gardens  were 
established  in  Germany  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Leipzig  in  1542  and  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Heidelberg  in  1593.  A  tree 
planted  a  few  years  after  the  establish- 
ment of  the  botanical  garden  at  Leiden, 
Holland,  in  1587  was  still  standing 
a  few  years  ago.  One  of  the  oldest 
botanical  gardens  in  France  has  been 
in  existence  at  Montpellier  since  1593. 


The  world  famous  Royal  Botanical 
Gardens  at  Kew,  London,  has  a  par- 
ticularly large  collection  of  arboretum 
material.  It  originally  comprised  two 
royal  estates,  which  were  first  com- 
bined in  1802  and  became  a  national 
garden  in  1841.  It  has  been  said  that 
probably  the  largest  number  of  tree 
and  shrub  species  which  has  yet  been 
gathered  is  to  be  found  at  Kew. 

Tokyo  had  a  well-established  garden 
in  1684.  A  botanical  garden  apparently 
existed  on  the  outskirts  of  Manila  in 
the  Philippines  before  1787. 

Although  arboretums  were  usually 
a  part  of  botanical  gardens,  some  early 
collectors  were  primarily  interested  in 
trees  for  purposes  of  ornament  and  for- 
estry. Rene  du  Bellay,  Bishop  of  Mans, 
made  a  collection  of  trees  at  Touvoye, 
France,  about  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century;  the  contemporary  bot- 
anists called  the  collection  the  richest 
and  the  most  beautiful  in  France,  Ger- 
many, and  Italy,  but  it  has  long  since 
disappeared. 

About  two  centuries  later,  Duhamel 
du  Monceau  planted  approximately 
1,000  species  of  trees  and  woody  plants 
from  Europe  and  North  America  in  the 
first  arboretum  established  for  scien- 
tific purposes.  His  arboretum  and  pub- 
lications led  to  the  introduction  of 
many  exotic  trees  into  French  parks 
and  plantations.  Some  of  his  specimens 
are  still  living. 

Pierre  Philippe  Andre  de  Vilmorin 
was  especially  interested  in  the  dif- 
ferent geographical  varieties  of  the 
principal  timber  trees  of  Europe.  In 
1825  he  started  an  arboretum  at  Les 
Barres,  France,  which  became  one  of 
the  most  important  tree  stations  in 
Europe.  Vilmorin  planted  the  different 
races  and  forms  of  the  principal  Euro- 
pean timber  trees  and  a  number  of  in- 
troduced species  in  large  plantations. 
The  property  became  the  Arboretum 
National  des  Barres  through  purchase 
by  the  French  Government  about  1856. 

An  arboretum  was  established  at 
Segrez,  France,  in  1857  by  Alphonse 
LavaHee,  which,  by  1875,  had  become 
one  of  the  largest  collections  of  woody 


Arboretums,  Places  of  Beauty  and  Science 


plants.  One  of  the  most  interesting  col- 
lections of  the  oaks  of  Europe  and 
southwest  Asia  was  started  by  G.  Al- 
lard  near  Angiers,  France,  in  1858. 

IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,,  Robert 
Prince,  an  early  settler  at  Flushing, 
Long  Island,  started  a  garden  and 
arboretum,  which  was  called  the  Lin- 
naean  Botanical  Garden  after  1793 
and  became  well  known  internation- 
ally. It  was  continued  until  1870,  by 
five  generations  of  the  family.  Among 
other  things,  Prince  is  credited  with 
planting  the  first  Lombardy  poplar  in 
America.  The  fame  of  the  garden  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  after  the 
Battle  of  Long  Island,  in  August  of 
1776,  the  British  Gen.  William  Howe 
placed  a  guard  around  the  Linnaean 
Garden  to  protect  the  trees  and  plants 
from  the  hazards  of  war.  The  Linnaean 
Garden  had  a  strong  influence  on 
American  horticulture  and  forestry. 

The  first  botanical  garden  in  New 
York  City  was  located  on  Murray  Hill 
as  early  as  1656.  Little  is  known  of  the 
original  garden,  but  in  1801  Dr.  David 
Hosack  purchased  20  acres  of  land  in 
the  locality  and  established  the  Elgin 
Botanical  Garden  at  what  is  now  a 
corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Forty- 
seventh  Street.  In  1810  the  property 
became  the  Botanical  Garden  of  the 
State  of  New  York ;  it  was  later  trans- 
ferred to  Columbia  University  and  was 
finally  abandoned  as  a  botanical  gar- 
den for  lack  of  funds. 

John  Bartram,  who  was  a  Pennsyl- 
vania farmer  and  one  of  the  most 
interesting  figures  among  our  early 
American  botanists,  is  generally  cred- 
ited with  the  establishment  of  the  first 
arboretum  in  the  United  States.  It  was 
Bartram  who  discovered  in  Georgia  in 
1760  the  franklinia  tree,  a  beautiful 
plant  that  has  disappeared  from  the 
wild.  Today  it  is  to  be  found  only  in 
arboretums  and  private  gardens.  He 
was  honored  in  his  own  time  by  ap- 
pointment as  botanist  to  the  King  of 
England  for  his  labors  in  collecting  and 
forwarding  plant  material  to  England. 
Bartram  built  a  house  in  1731  on  the 


401 

banks  of  the  Schuylkill  River  at  a  loca- 
tion now  the  south  end  of  Fifty-fourth 
Street,  Philadelphia;  it  was  there  he 
started  his  arboretum.  A  large  ginkgo, 
or  maidenhair-tree,  in  this  garden  is 
said  to  represent  one  of  the  first  trees 
of  this  species  introduced  into  America 
in  1784.  Bartram's  Garden  has  been 
restored  as  a  public  garden  after  being 
neglected  for  many  years. 

A  REGENT  SURVEY  of  public  arbore- 
tums  of  the  United  States  listed  almost 
a  hundred.  Besides  those  that  are  more 
or  less  formally  established,  hundreds 
of  small  groves  or  plantings  have  speci- 
men plants  that  are  identified  and 
labeled.  Given  time  and  sufficient  in- 
terest, it  is  entirely  possible  that  some 
of  these  "seedlings"  may  grow  into 
formal  arboretums.  Many  arboretums 
are  started  in  just  this  way.  Arbore- 
tums are  not  natural  steps  in  ecological 
successions ;  to  survive,  they  must  have 
continuous  care  and  attention. 

Of  present-day  arboretums  in  the 
United  States,  the  Arnold  Arboretum 
in  Boston  has  exerted  great  influence 
on  our  knowledge  of  trees  and  shrubs. 
It  is  devoted  entirely  to  materials  hardy 
in  that  region. 

Two  of  the  best  known  botanical 
gardens,  which  also  include  extensive 
arboretums,  are  the  Missouri  Botanical 
Garden,  which  dates  from  1859,  and 
the  New  York  Botanical  Garden,  which 
was  established  in  1894. 

The  Park  Department  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  has  developed  its  arboretum  in 
the  city's  Highland  Park  into  one  of 
the  large  collections  of  trees  and  shrubs 
in  the  United  States.  The  collection  of 
poplars  at  Highland  Park,  one  of  the 
best  in  the  country,  made  possible 
hybridization  work  with  poplars. 

THE  VALUE  of  living  collections  of 
plants  as  an  aid  to  scientific  teaching 
and  investigation  began  to  be  recog- 
nized about  the  seventeenth  century. 
Interest  in  the  use  of  trees  and  plants 
for  decorative  purposes  and  landscap- 
ing, and  with  it  the  desire  to  possess 
rare  and  unusual  forms,  developed 


802062° — 49- 


-27 


402 

even  more  slowly.  It  was  not  until  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  that 
this  aspect  had  become  sufficiently 
popular  to  interest  men  of  means  to 
become  the  patrons  of  horticultural 
science.  Then  the  world  was  searched 
for  new  and  rare  species  and  the  pa- 
trons financed  the  publication  of  some 
magnificently  illustrated  volumes.  And 
so,  as  the  functions  of  botanical  gar- 
dens and  arboretums  were  gradually 
multiplied,  the  scientific  and  educa- 
tional aspects  became  more  and  more 
important. 

From  the  writings  of  several  men  we 
have  taken  ideas  on  how  arboretums 
should  serve  the  public: 

To  grow  a  complete  collection  of  the 
best  hardy  plants  so  that  the  public 
may  become  acquainted  with  their 
names  and  characteristics. 

To  test  and  introduce  new  plants 
and  varieties  in  order  to  increase  the 
productivity,  economic  importance, 
and  beauty  of  the  region. 

To  maintain  research;  to  provide  a 
laboratory  for  the  students  of  botany, 
horticulture,  forestry,  as  well  as  nature 
study;  and  to  provide  collections  of 
tree  species  for  scientific  breeding. 

To  serve  as  a  laboratory  adjunct  to 
the  schools,  garden  clubs,  and  other  or- 
ganizations; to  disseminate  knowledge 
of  plants  and  the  culture  of  plants 
through  lectures  and  publications ;  and 
to  provide  recreational  stimulus  to  the 
public. 

To  conserve  the  native  plant  life  of 
the  region. 

To  train  gardeners. 

To  cooperate  with  related  institu- 
tions and  agencies  for  the  extension  of 
knowledge. 

No  single  arboretum  can  necessarily 
fulfill  all  of  those  functions;  the  func- 
tions of  an  arboretum  depend  on  the 
available  area  and  funds — and  some- 
times on  the  conditions  under  which 
the  funds  are  granted. 

An  arboretum  should  never  become 
a  public  park,  in  the  sense  of  a  recrea- 
tional or  picnic  area  where  people  can 
wander  at  will  over  the  land.  An 
arboretum  should  be  laid  out  with 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


adequate  footpaths  leading  to  speci- 
men plants,  and  visitors  should  be  re- 
quired to  stay  on  the  paths — extensive 
trampling  results  in  packing  of  the 
soil  and  finally  to  degeneration  of  the 
trees  themselves.  Trees  and  shrubs 
should  be  clearly  labeled  with  their 
name  and  their  native  habitat.  Addi- 
tional interesting  information  may  be 
given  for  many  trees,  such  as  the 
offspring  of  historic  trees  or  the  special 
uses  of  some  trees. 

Arboretums  are  of  great  importance 
not  only  to  the  landscape  practitioner 
but  also  to  the  forester.  Most  of  the 
forest  schools  and  forest  research  insti- 
tutions of  Europe  have  arboretums  of 
timber  trees  and,  in  the  United  States, 
some  of  the  forest  schools  and  forest 
experiment  stations  also  maintain  such 
collections.  The  arboretum  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Forest  and  Range  Experiment 
Station,  near  Placerville,  Calif.,  is  one 
of  the  largest  collections  of  pines  in 
the  world.  It  was  established  in  1925 
as  a  breeding  arboretum  for  the  im- 
provement of  this  group  of  timber 
trees.  It  is  a  good  example  of  a  highly 
specialized  arboretum  containing  spe- 
cies of  pine  from  all  over  the  world. 

At  present,  the  forest-tree  breeding 
work  in  the  eastern  United  States  is 
being  carried  on  at  Philadelphia,  a 
community  that  is  particularly  rich  in 
blooming  specimens  of  many  tree  spe- 
cies because  of  its  favorable  climate 
and  because  of  the  great  interest  in 
botany  of  some  of  its  prominent  early 
settlers.  Men  like  Bartram  made  Phila- 
delphia a  center  of  botanical  studies 
even  before  the  Revolution,  and  the 
continued  interest  of  the  owners  of 
estates  has  given  us  a  heritage  of  na- 
tive and  exotic  tree  species  that  now 
makes  hybridization  work  possible. 

W.  H.  LARRIMER,  a  forester,  has 
worked  in  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture for  35  years,  and  has  done  field 
work  in  every  State. 

ERNST  J.  SGHREINER  has  done  re- 
search in  tree  breeding  since  his 
graduation  in  1924  from  Syracuse  Uni- 
versity. 


THE  NATIONAL  ARBORETUM 


403 


B.  Y.  MORRISON 


The  National  Arboretum  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  was  established  by 
Act  of  Congress  approved  March  4, 
1927.  Under  this  act  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  was  authorized  and  di- 
rected to  establish  and  maintain  a 
National  Arboretum  for  purposes  of  re- 
search and  education  concerning  tree 
and  plant  life.  Under  authority  of  the 
act  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  has 
appointed  an  Advisory  Council  on 
the  planning  and  development  of  the 
Arboretum.  The  Council  at  present 
consists  of  15  members,  representing 
national  organizations,  including  nurs- 
erymen, garden  clubs,  educational 
institutions,  and  others  interested  in 
the  aims  of  the  Arboretum. 

Since  its  beginning  the  responsibility 
for  the  development  and  administra- 
tion of  the  Arboretum  has  been  as- 
signed to  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engineering. 

When  land  purchases  now  in  process 
are  completed,  the  National  Arbore- 
tum will  occupy  an  area  of  about  410 
acres  located  in  the  northeast  section 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  bounded 
on  the  west  by  Bladensburg  Road,  on 
the  south  by  M  Street,  on  the  east  by 
the  Anacostia  Parkway,  and  somewhat 
irregularly  on  the  north  by  R  Street, 
Hickey  Lane,  and  New  York  Avenue. 

Its  soils  are  somewhat  varied  and  its 
terrain  is  so  diversified  that  there  can 
be  found  sloping  sites  with  almost  any 
desired  exposure. 

Originally  composed  of  some  forty- 
odd  parcels,  some  of  which  had  been 
farmed,  it  is  now  integrated  into  a 
single  whole  with  the  tree-covered 
mass  of  Mount  Hamilton  along  the 
western  border,  the  broad,  inner,  rela- 
tively flat,  central  portion  diagonally 
traversed  by  Hickey  Creek  and  its 
tree-covered  banks,  and  on  the  eastern 
borders  the  steep  and  tree-covered 
slopes  of  Hickey  Ridge,  which  over- 
looks the  broad  expanses  of  the  Ana- 


costia Parkway,  with  the  Maryland 
hills  in  the  distance. 

The  area  is  served  by  a  system  of 
roads  that  give  access  to  all  parts  in 
case  of  fire,  nuisance,  and  other  emer- 
gency. These  will  be  modified  from 
their  present  purely  functional  design 
when  the  current  studies  are  completed 
and  several  large  areas  now  devoted 
actively  to  nurseries  will  be  returned 
to  their  proper  uses. 

In  the  planning  now  under  way,  the 
Arboretum  site  will  be  organized  and 
operated  much  as  is  the  National 
Zoological  Garden,  or  any  one  of  the 
national  museums.  This  will  mean  that 
there  will  be  a  major  portion  of  the 
area  open  to  the  visiting  public  during 
all  work  hours,  a  smaller  section  de- 
voted to  the  nursery  and  service  areas 
in  which  the  public  would  not  be  in- 
terested, and  a  large  building  to  house 
scientific  research,  the  laboratories,  and 
collections  of  herbarium  materials,  all 
of  which  will  be  the  concern  of  the 
technical  staff  and  of  visiting  scientists 
and  students  only.  These  three  divisions 
will  be  somewhat  separated. 

The  Arboretum  is  not  open  to  the 
general  public  at  the  present  time,  but 
students  can  arrange  to  work  in  the 
herbarium,  which  is  now  housed  at  the 
Plant  Industry  Station  at  Beltsville, 
Md.,  or  by  appointment  in  advance 
may  see  the  living  plant  collections 
during  working  days.  Since  there  is 
considerable  active  construction  under 
way  and  there  will  be  more  construc- 
tion for  the  next  few  years,  it  is  hoped 
that  the  public  will  be  understanding. 

As  in  all  proper  arboretums,  the 
major  interest  lies  in  plants  themselves, 
with  attention  to  woody  plants  only,  be 
they  tree  or  shrub,  provided  only  that 
they  are  hardy  and  successfully  grown 
in  this  climate.  With  species,  natural 
forms  and  variations,  as  the  base,  the 
collections  will  be  enlarged  to  include 
not  only  those  variable  forms  worthy 


Yearbool^  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  National  Arboretum 


405 


of  horticultural  but  not  taxonomic 
rank,  but  as  well  all  clonal  material  of 
hybrid  or  other  origin.  No  attempt  will 
be  made  to  maintain  varietal  collec- 
tions of  the  cultivated  fruits  and  nuts 
that  are  maintained  better  elsewhere. 

Because  of  the  somewhat  restricted 
area  available  for  planting,  it  has  been 
decided  (1)  that,  because  the  Park 
system  of  the  District  contains  larger 
acreages  that  must  be  kept  to  native 
trees,  the  Arboretum  may  turn  its 
major  attention  to  exotics;  (2)  that 
the  arrangement  of  flowering  and  other 
materials  shall  be  such  as  to  throw  sea- 
sonal emphasis  on  different  parts  of 
the  Arboretum;  and  (3)  that  the  plant- 
ing plans  shall  depend  for  their  major 
success  on  those  species  known  to 
thrive  in  this  area,  with  the  less 
beautiful  and  those  of  dubious  hardi- 
ness placed  in  secondary  relationships. 

In  the  permanent  plantings  that 
have  been  established,  only  the  large 
azalea  collection  approaches  the  state 
of  effective  display.  This,  however,  is 
still  in  progress,  with  certain  altera- 
tions contemplated  in  the  setting  of  the 
evergreen  azaleas  and  additions  to  the 
collections  of  the  deciduous  species. 

In  contrast,  the  collections  of  mag- 
nolias and  hollies  and  that  of  crab 
apples  give  no  suggestion  of  what  the 
effects  will  be,  even  in  10  years.  The 
flank  of  Hickey  Ridge,  sloping  to  the 
south,  gives  a  wonderful  opportunity 
for  their  display,  with  the  evergreen 
hollies  and  the  evergreen  magnolias 
the  distinctive  setting  for  the  oriental 
magnolias  that  flower  before  their 
leaves,  and  the  dark  grassy  meadow 
at  the  lowest  level  the  finest  base  for 
the  spring-flowering  crab  apples. 

For  the  minor  beauties  to  be  found 
in  the  collections  of  the  Leguminosae, 
little  need  be  said,  save  that  most  visi- 
tors are  surprised  at  the  diversity  of 
the  redbuds.  The  maple  collection  is 
equally  modest  in  its  appeal,  but  some 
day  we  hope  will  boast  a  small  grove 
of  Acer  griseum,  the  Chinese  species 
with  yellow  bark  that  peels  off  easily. 

The  conifers  that  thoroughly  enjoy 
our  climate  are  not  too  many,  but 


with  major  emphasis  laid  upon  the 
juniper,  the  true  cedars,  the  pines,  the 
hemlocks,  the  yews,  and  their  close 
relatives,  one  may  gloss  over  the  firs 
and  spruces,  most  of  them  homesick 
for  their  mountains. 

Whether  or  not  the  Metasequoia 
glyptostroboides,  recently  introduced 
into  cultivation  and  represented  in  the 
Arboretum  by  several  hundred  seed- 
lings, still  in  a  cold  greenhouse,  will 
accept  an  outdoor  site  remains  to  be 
proved,  but  there  is  evidence  that  the 
lacebark  pine,  named  for  the  famous 
botanist-collector,  Bunge,  will  some 
day  give  us  a  fine  grove  with  its  syca- 
more-white trunks  supporting  dark- 
green,  needle-covered  crowns,  not  to 
be  matched  elsewhere. 

There  will  be  a  small  valley,  looking 
down  from  Hickey  Ridge,  covered 
with  cryptomerias.  In  their  earliest 
years  they  will  recall  some  reforested 
slope  in  Japan.  Two  hundred  years 
from  now,  the  visitor  will  gasp  at  their 
huge  trunks  as  the  visitor  to  Nikko  may 
today.  Nearby  a  flat-topped  valley  will 
show  off  the  cedars  from  Mount  Atlas, 
the  Lebanon,  and  North  India,  with 
a  thought  perhaps  for  Kipling  as  one 
looks  at  the  Deodars.  Beyond  these 
another  valley  for  the  other  Indian 
pine,  dedicated  to  Griffiths,  another 
indefatigable  botanist-collector,  with 
its  long,  drooping  needles  colored  like 
those  of  our  own  white  pine,  largely 
planted  over  the  crown  of  the  ridge. 

These  are  all  details.  To  name  the 
600,000  sheets  of  herbarium  specimens 
and  the  2,000  living  species  and  forms 
is  a  dull  business  and  pointless,  for 
tomorrow  and  each  succeeding  year 
there  will  be  more. 

What  one  finds  or  learns  at  this 
place,  as  in  any  other  collection,  will 
depend  entirely  upon  the  visitor.  No 
one  will  ask  or  expect  the  impossible. 

B.  Y.  MORRISON  is  head  of  the  Di- 
vision of  Plant  Exploration  and  Intro- 
duction, Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engineering, 
Beltsville,  and  acting  director  of  the 
National  Arboretum. 


"Trees  join  earth  and  building  and  sky  in  harmony." 


Insects,  Diseases,  Parasites 


INSECTS  IN  THE  FOREST:  A  SURVEY 

F.  C.  CRAIGHEAD,  JOHN  M.  MILLER 


NATURE  has  always  used  insects 
for  her  own  purposes  in  forests. 
Some  insects  are  housekeepers.  Some 
are  only  incidental  parts  of  the  forest 
environment.  Some  merely  prune  trees. 
Others  kill  living  trees,  but  even  they 
do  not  destroy  the  capacity  of  the  forest 
to  restock  and  produce  new  stands  of 
trees.  We  have  convincing  evidence 
that  vast  areas  of  mature  timber  were 
demolished  in  the  past  by  insect  hordes, 
only  to  regenerate  after  the  epidemics 
had  run  their  course.  This  was  nature's 
way  before  man  went  into  the  woods. 
Even  primitive  man  could  not  have 
been  greatly  worried  by  the  insects  that 
killed  the  forests  where  he  got  shelter 
and  meat:  Wood  was  plenty  for  all; 
time  was  plenty  for  young  trees  to 
grow  up. 

But  in  modern  civilization  those 
things  have  changed :  Now  the  activity 
of  destructive  insects  upon  the  trees 
and  in  the  forests  does  matter;  great 
areas  have  been  cleared  of  forest 
growth  for  agriculture ;  increasing  pop- 

Above:  Among  enemies  of  forests  are  bark 
beetles  and  dwarf  mistletoe. 


ulations  have  increased  the  use  of 
wood.  Now  in  his  search  for  timber 
stands  to  meet  the  need  for  sawlogs, 
pulp,  and  box  shocks,  the  lumberman 
finds  some  areas  where  insects  got  there 
first  and  harvested  the  pick  of  the  crop. 
For  the  forest  resources  and  the  com- 
mercial and  esthetic  values  involved, 
we  have  joined  battle,  insects  versus 
man,  and  man,  for  all  his  science  and 
machines,  is  not  yet  the  winner. 

A  reason  why  that  is  so  is  to  be  found 
in  the  nature  of  the  insect  infestations. 

Insect  populations  and  the  timber 
losses  they  create  fluctuate  from  year  to 
year;  only  sporadically  do  spectacular 
outbreaks  occur.  The  insects  normally 
are  present  in  the  forests  in  small  num- 
bers and  only  occasional  trees  are  in- 
jured or  killed.  A  sort  of  natural  bal- 
ance seems  to  persist  under  which  the 
processes  that  permit  forests  to  reach 
maximum  production  go  on  uninter- 
rupted. Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  some- 
thing happens  to  disturb  this  balance. 
A  destructive  insect  pest  appears  in 
great  numbers  over  wide  areas  and  for 
several  years  its  ravages  may  continue 

407 


408 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


until  a  high  percentage  of  the  forest 
stands  has  been  killed.  Then,  even  more 
suddenly  than  it  appeared,  the  epi- 
demic subsides. 

This  sporadic  behavior  of  forest-in- 
sect populations  indicates  that  complex 
factors  govern  the  abundance  of  cer- 
tain species  in  the  forest.  Parasites, 
predators,  unfavorable  weather,  resist- 
ance of  the  trees  due  to  growth  vigor, 
all  tend  to  hold  populations  in  check. 
On  the  other  hand,  conditions  that 
will  tend  to  weaken  the  trees,  such  as 
drought,  preponderance  of  a  favored 
food  tree,  failure  of  parasites  and  pred- 
ators, overmaturity,  and  windfalls  and 
slash,  all  provide  favorable  conditions 
for  the  destructive  species  to  breed  up 
in  numbers.  Man,  himself,  has  at  times 
aggravated  serious  insect  outbreaks  by 
his  method  of  using  the  forest. 

Although  science  has  not  yet  been 
able  to  uncover  and  appraise  all  the 
factors  that  influence  the  abundance  of 
forest-insect  populations,  it  has  shown 
that  there  are  dominant  conditions  that 
must  be  taken  into  account  in  main- 
taining productive  forests  free  from  ex- 
cessive losses  due  to  insect  pests.  The 
most  successful  control  methods  that 
have  been  developed  up  to  the  present 
time  (and  no  doubt  those  that  will  be 
used  in  the  future)  are  based  upon  the 
strategy  of  using  nature's  methods  as 
far  as  possible  in  holding  down  destruc- 
tive insect  populations. 

Furthermore,  the  kinds  of  insects 
that  attack  forest  trees  include  many 
species  that  vary  widely  in  their  habits 
and  in  the  character  and  amount  of 
damage  they  do.  Some  insects  attack 
only  the  flowers;  others  the  cones  and 
seeds.  The  activity  of  these  insects  does 
not  damage  the  tree  itself,  but  at  times 
so  much  of  the  seed  crop  is  destroyed 
that  reproduction  of  the  forest  is  re- 
tarded. Sucking  insects,  such  as  scales 
and  aphids,  attack  foliage  and  stems; 
they  rarely  kill  the  tree  outright  but 
gradually  weaken  it  and  slow  down  the 
growth  rate.  The  most  effective  tree 
killers,  however,  are  the  defoliators  and 
bark  beetles,  whose  activities  destroy 
vital  plant  organs  and  bring  about  an 


immediate  and  often  fatal  effect  upon 
the  growth  functions  of  the  tree.  Other 
insects  that  cause  great  damage  are  ter- 
mites and  some  wood  borers,  which 
feed  only  on  the  wood  after  the  tree  is 
dying  or  dead  and  destroy  material  that 
otherwise  could  be  put  to  use. 

Trees  are  defoliated  mostly  by  the 
larvae  of  certain  moths  and  sawflies 
and  to  a  lesser  extent  by  both  the  adult 
and  larval  forms  of  some  beetles.  De- 
foliators can  kill  trees  by  depriving 
them  of  foliage,  thus  stopping  the  man- 
ufacture of  the  plant  food  so  that  the 
trees  slowly  starve.  Some  of  the  historic 
defoliations  of  the  past  have  been  re- 
corded not  only  in  the  chronicles  of  the 
time  but  also  in  the  annual  rings  of  sur- 
viving trees.  Outbreaks  of  the  spruce 
budworm  in  the  New  England  States 
and  of  the  fir  tussock  moth  in  the  West 
are  recent  examples  of  widespread  de- 
foliating epidemics. 

Insects  that  feed  between  the  bark 
and  wood  find  their  nutrition  in  the 
sugars  and  starches  that  are  in  solution 
in  the  cells  of  the  inner  bark  and  cam- 
bium. To  reach  these  they  mine 
through  the  corky  bark  into  the  inner 
bark  layer,  where  they  introduce  fun- 
gi that  develop  in  the  sapwood  and 
stop  the  flow  of  the  sap.  The  leaves, 
deprived  of  water,  quickly  wilt  and  the 
tree  dies.  Bark  beetles  make  up  the 
bulk  of  the  destructive  cambium  feed- 
ers. Certain  species  of  bark  beetles  are 
particularly  adapted  to  mature  stands 
of  pine  and  in  a  number  of  Western 
States  take  a  heavy  toll  from  virgin 
forests  that  are  the  main  reserve  of 
timber  supplying  the  Nation's  need  for 
high-quality  soft  pine.  In  some  regions 
during  the  past  two  decades  these 
insects  have  destroyed  more  merchant- 
able timber  than  was  cut  by  the  saw- 
mills and  destroyed  by  fires,  combined. 
Characteristic  of  the  bark  beetle  infes- 
tations is  their  capacity  to  flare  up  into 
epidemics  of  spectacular  proportions. 

Termites  and  wood  borers  do  not 
kill  or  damage  living  trees  and,  in  na- 
ture's economy  in  the  forest,  may  be 
of  benefit  in  that  they  accelerate  the 
deterioration  and  decay  of  dead  trees 


Insects  in  the  Forest:  A  Survey 


409 


and  snags,  which  are  thus  returned  to 
the  soil.  They  compete  with  man, 
however,  when  he  decides  to  utilize 
the  tree,  and  attack  the  wood  both 
during  the  process  of  manufacture  and 
after  it  is  in  the  finished  product. 

Termites  and  wood  borers  in  their 
concealed  ways  work  along  method- 
ically year  after  year.  Their  destruc- 
tion never  flares  up  in  spectacular 
peaks,  but  the  annual  attrition  is  none- 
theless disturbing  and  serious.  Pin- 
hole  and  worm-hole  borers  attacking 
green  logs  lower  grades  of  lumber; 
powder-post  beetles  in  tool  handles, 
furniture,  and  flooring  render  quanti- 
ties of  finished  material  worthless ;  the 
old-house  borer  in  the  rafters  of  barns 
and  houses  and  termites  in  telephone 
poles  and  foundations  of  buildings 
claim  an  annual  depreciation  requir- 
ing c'onsfant  vigilance  and  replace- 
ment of  the  damaged  wood  products. 

ESTIMATES  OF  THE  MONETARY  VAL- 
UE of  wood  material  and  esthetic  values 
that  are  destroyed  annually  by  forest 
insects  are  subject  to  many  reserva- 
tions. The  money  value  of  the  forest 
products  varies  like  that  of  other  com- 
modities, according  to  demand,  avail- 
ability, and  the  buying  power  of  the 
dollar;  and  the  esthetic  value  of  trees 
that  are  killed  in  parks  and  recrea- 
tional areas  can  seldom  be  expressed  in 
terms  of  money.  Although  some  esti- 
mates have  been  made  which  indi- 
cate that  Nation-wide  timber  losses 
run  into  millions  of  dollars  annually, 
they  are  based  on  too  many  assump- 
tions to  be  of  value  in  this  discussion. 
However,  if  we  consider  only  the  actual 
board  feet  or  cubic  volume  of  timber 
that  is  killed  by  insects,  we  find  that 
this  can  be  measured  with  consider- 
able accuracy  for  specific  areas  and 
periods.  Forest-insect  surveys  have 
been  made  to  compute  the  volume  of 
timber  destroyed  in  many  areas  that 
have  suffered  from  bark  beetle  and  de- 
foliator epidemics.  Such  surveys  have 
been  made  in  the  New  England  States, 
where  the  spruce  budworm  destroyed 
250  million  cords  of  fir  and  spruce,  and 


in  the  Western  States,  where  bark 
beetles  killed  45  billion  board  feet  of 
pine  in  recent  epidemics. 

All  in  all,  these  varied  insect  activi- 
ties, involving  tree  seeds,  the  natural 
restocking  of  the  forests,  the  forest 
plantations,  second-growth  and  mature 
stands  of  timber,  green  logs  and  lum- 
ber/ telephone  and  telegraph  poles, 
cross  ties  and  buildings,  create  a  sub- 
stantial loss  that  must  more  and  more 
be  reckoned  with  and  prevented  as  our 
timber  resources  become  smaller.  This 
loss  is  often  compared  with  that  from 
forest  fires  even  though  all  such  com- 
parisons are  difficult  and  incomplete. 

PREVENTION  is  the  starting  point. 
If  he  is  sufficiently  interested  and  acts 
in  time,  man  can  save  for  his  own  use 
much  of  the  timber  that  insects  will 
otherwise  destroy.  There  are  two  ways 
of  going  about  it. 

One  approach  is  to  initiate  repres- 
sive measures  against  the  insect  popula- 
tions that  are  causing  the  losses.  In  the 
case  of  bark  beetles,  the  broods  are 
destroyed  by  peeling  and  burning  the 
infested  bark  or  by  applying  a  toxic 
penetrative  spray  to  the  bark  surface. 
In  the  case  of  defoliators,  that  usually 
involves  spraying  the  trees  with  chemi- 
cals which  will  either  kill  the  insects  on 
contact  or  poison  them  through  their 
food.  These  repressive  measures  have 
been  termed  direct  control. 

The  second  approach  is  to  prevent 
the  build-up  of  destructive  insect  popu- 
lations by  preventing  conditions  in  the 
forest  that  are  favorable  to  their  in- 
crease. Healthy,  rapid-growing  stands 
of  timber  are  less  susceptible  to  in- 
festations of  the  defoliators  and  bark 
beetles  than  are  the  slow-growing  ma- 
ture stands.  Logging  out  the  more  sus- 
ceptible tree  species  in  a  mixed  forest, 
selective  logging  in  pure  stands  to  take 
out  the  most  susceptible  trees,  thin- 
nings to  encourage  more  rapid  growth, 
and  regulation  of  slash  conditions  to 
remove  favorable  breeding  ground  for 
the  insect  populations,  all  reduce  the 
chances  that  insect  populations  will 
become  destructive.  These  are  meas- 


4io 

ures  that  can  be  attained  through  for- 
est management.  In  the  case  of  forest 
products,  changes  in  methods  of  man- 
ufacture and  storage  often  completely 
avoid  the  attack  of  wood-boring  in- 
sects. Those  preventive  measures  have 
been  termed  indirect  control. 

Two  OF  THE  SO-CALLED  insect  dead- 
enings  occurred  in  widely  separated 
forests  about  1895.  One  was  in  the 
spruce  forests  of  West  Virginia,  the 
other  in  the  ponderosa  pine  stands  of 
the  Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota.  A.  D. 
Hopkins,  State  entomologist  of  West 
Virginia,  conducted  studies  in  both 
cases  and  determined  that  two  closely 
related  species  of  tree-killing  bark  bee- 
tles were  involved.  He  recommended 
the  destruction  of  the  bark  beetle  broods 
under  the  bark  before  they  could  de- 
velop into  winged  beetles  and  fly  off  to 
attack  more  green  trees.  The  trees  that 
contained  living  broods  of  the  beetle 
were  located,  felled,  and  barked  or 
burned.  For  every  tree  so  treated  two  or 
three  green  trees  were  saved  from  attack. 

Many  projects  have  been  undertaken 
since  that  time,  in  all  costing  some- 
thing more  than  12  million  dollars  up 
to  1949.  Insect  control  in  all  cases  has 
been  the  responsibility  of  the  land- 
managing  agencies  on  the  land  under 
their  jurisdiction,  but  the  many  tech- 
nical matters  forming  the  basis  for  this 
control  work  made  it  necessary,  partic- 
ularly in  the  larger  projects,  to  assign 
entomologists  to  supervise  the  activi- 
ties. Entomologists  have  also  assumed 
responsibility  for  detection  surveys  and 
the  recommendation  as  to  when  and 
where  and  how  control  work  should 
be  done. 

As  bark  beetle  control  increased,  it 
became  more  and  more  evident  that 
successful  operations  depended  not  so 
much  on  the  control  method  used  as 
upon  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  bark 
beetle  situation  on  the  immediate  and 
surrounding  area.  A  complete  picture 
of  the  extent  of  the  infestation — 
whether  it  was  increasing  or  decreas- 
ing, the  points  of  greatest  concentra- 
tion, the  direction  of  spread — proved 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


to  be  absolutely  necessary.  It  was  also 
necessary  to  have  a  broad  general 
knowledge  of  the  insect  population 
throughout  all  susceptible  timber  types 
so  as  to  be  able  to  recognize  outbreaks 
in  their  early  stages  and  make  recom- 
mendations for  control  before  the  in- 
festation was  completely  out  of  hand. 
Such  information  could  only  be  ob- 
tained by  the  careful  surveys  made  by 
skilled  technicians.  This  unquestion- 
ably became  the  function  of  the  en- 
tomologists. It  is  too  bad  that  neither 
funds  nor  trained  men  have  been  avail- 
able to  make  these  surveys  sufficiently 
extensive  or  of  the  needed  accuracy. 
The  inadequacy  of  the  present  survey 
system  is  illustrated  by  the  outbreaks 
that  existed  during  the  seasons  of  1947 
and  1948. 

THE  ADOPTION  BY  CONGRESS  of  the 
Forest  Pest  Control  Act  on  June  25, 
1947,  should  mark  the  beginning  of  a 
new  era  in  the  prevention  of  the  exten- 
sive losses  caused  each  year  by  forest 
insects.  This  law  provides  authoriza- 
tion for  adequate  surveys  of  all  forest 
regions  of  the  United  States  on  both 
public  and  private  lands.  This  act  rep- 
resents the  culmination  of  a  long  effort 
on  the  part  of  industry,  foresters,  and 
entomologists.  It  was  foreseen  by  those 
instrumental  in  planning  and  shaping 
this  legislation  that  adequate  surveys 
and  prompt  control  would  gradually 
improve  our  knowledge  of  the  insect 
situation  so  that  the  recurrence  of  such 
widespread  outbreaks  as  occurred  in 
1947  and  1948  should  be  largely  pre- 
vented. 

WITH  DEFOLIATORS,  direct  control  of 
infestations  in  the  forest  has  been  much 
slower  in  its  development.  Such  insects 
as  caterpillars  and  sawflies  that  injure 
or  kill  trees  have  always  been  difficult 
for  the  entomologist  or  forester  to  deal 
with.  Defoliator  outbreaks  develop  rap- 
idly and  the  damage  may  often  be  com- 
plete before  the  outbreak  is  noticed. 
Insecticidal  sprays  have  been  expensive 
to  apply  and  the  equipment  designed 
for  street  or  orchard  trees  was  imprac- 


Insects  in  the  Forest:  A  Survey 


tical  in  the  woods.  Early  attempts  with 
airplane  dusting  and  spraying  were  un- 
satisfactory. Before  the  development  of 
DDT,  several  attempts  were  made  in 
Canada  and  the  United  States  to  con- 
trol leaf  feeders  with  the  then  common 
insecticides — lead  arsenate  and  cal- 
cium or  cryolite — by  dusting  from  the 
airplane  or  the  autogiro.  Those  experi- 
ments were  of  much  technical  interest 
but  developed  little  of  practical  value. 
We  now  know  that  those  attempts 
failed  because  of  the  lack  of  a  suitable 
insecticide. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  of  DDT  during 
the  war  and  several  more  remarkable 
insecticides  since  then — among  them 
benzene  hexachloride  and  chlordane — 
has  presented  an  entirely  new  concept 
of  the  practicability  of  insecticidal  con- 
trol of  forest  insects.  The  toxicity  of  the 
arsenates  or  cryolite  was  so  low  that  15 
to  30  pounds  an  acre  was  needed  to 
obtain  the  same  degree  of  control  as 
can  be  achieved  with  l/^  to  1  pound  of 
DDT.  During  the  season  of  1947,  more 
than  500,000  acres  of  forest  land  was 
treated  in  various  parts  of  the  United 
States  with  DDT  at  a  rate  of  a  pound 
an  acre.  Satisfactory  control  resulted 
at  costs  ranging  from  $1  to  $3  an  acre. 
Much  more  remains  to  be  done  in  per- 
fecting equipment  and  improving  the 
technique  of  application,  but  it  seems 
safe  to  generalize  that  the  control  of 
defoliator  outbreaks  in  the  future  will 
be  a  sound  and  economical  forest  oper- 
ation. On  the  average,  from  year  to 
year  more  than  2  million  acres  of  forest 
land  is  defoliated  annually.  This  en- 
tails the  destruction  of  10  to  75  percent 
of  the  trees  in  outbreaks  of  many  differ- 
ent insects  and  in  all  cases  a  tremen- 
dous reduction  in  growth  in  the  trees 
not  killed  outright.  It  does  not  appear 
too  optimistic  to  hope  that  more  than 
one-half  of  this  loss  can  be  prevented 
by  aerial  spraying  with  the  new  chem- 
ical weapons  supplied  by  science. 

THE  DIRECT  METHODS  of  insect  con- 
trol just  described  are  not  always  en- 
tirely satisfactory  for  several  reasons: 


411 

They  are  expensive;  they  are  not  al- 
ways so  effective  as  desired;  they  are 
strictly  alleviative,  that  is,  they  do  not 
alter  the  underlying  causes  of  insect 
outbreaks.  Dr.  Hopkins  fully  recog- 
nized these  disadvantages  in  his  ear- 
liest efforts  and  again  and  again 
pointed  out  the  advantages  of  adopt- 
ing practices  that  would  make  condi- 
tions unfavorable  for  insect  attack. 
He  fully  appreciated  the  impossibility 
of  applying  the  methods  that  were  then 
being  developed  for  the  control  of  gar- 
den- and  truck-crop  insects  to  forested 
areas.  He  made  many  suggestions  for 
the  control  of  insects  affecting  crude 
and  finished  forest  products — prac- 
tical suggestions  based  on  operational 
procedures. 

As  early  as  1913,  entomologists  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  pointed 
out  that  infestations  of  the  gypsy  moth 
in  the  New  England  States  gained 
momentum  in  stands  of  hardwoods 
composed  largely  of  "favored"  species. 
The  idea  was  then  proposed  that  for- 
ests within  the  gypsy  moth  zone  be 
managed  so  as  to  increase  the  propor- 
tion of  unfavored  host  species.  Similar 
findings,  published  in  1924,  resulted 
from  studies  of  the  spruce  budworm  in 
Canada.  Basic  points  to  consider  in 
managing  the  spruce-fir  type  to  lessen 
the  destructiveness  of  spruce  budworm 
outbreaks  were  found  to  be  the  pre- 
dilection of  the  spruce  budworm  for 
fir,  the  tendency  of  fir  to  regenerate  at 
the  expense  of  spruce  ( so  that  fir  domi- 
nated in  the  cut-over  stands),  and  the 
ability  of  younger,  more  vigorous  trees 
to  withstand  defoliation. 

In  studies  of  pine  bark  beetles  much 
research  has  been  pointed  toward  find- 
ing preventive  control  measures.  So  far 
it  is  only  with  the  western  pine  beetle 
in  the  ponderosa  pine  that  any  specific 
method  of  management  has  been  found 
and  proved  to  be  practicable  and  ef- 
fective. In  that  case  it  was  the  predilec- 
tion of  the  beetle  for  certain  susceptible 
trees  in  stands  of  ponderosa  pine  that 
served  as  the  key  to  management  con- 
trol. Studies  of  the  characteristics  of 
many  thousands  of  beetle-killed  and 


4I2 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


surviving  trees  revealed  that  the  mor- 
tality of  pines  from  western  pine  beetle 
attack  is  closely  related  to  growth 
vigor — the  more  vigorous  the  tree  the 
less  likelihood  of  its  becoming  a  victim 
of  the  beetle. 

Further  studies  showed  that  suscep- 
tible and  resistant  trees  could  be  recog- 
nized by  visible  characters  connected 
with  the  form  and  condition  of  the 
crown  and  that  pine  stands  could  be 
classified  according  to  these  characters. 
By  using  this  tree  classification  as  an 
index  to  relative  resistance  and  suscep- 
tibility, it  is  now  possible  to  log  selec- 
tively the  more  susceptible  trees  and 
reduce  greatly  the  hazard  of  western 
pine  beetle  infestations. 

IN  WOOD  PRODUCTS,  the  prevention 
of  insect  damage  is  much  simpler  than 
preventing  damage  in  the  forest  itself. 

Some  types  of  damage  (like  defects 
in  the  standing  trees)  are  in  a  sense  un- 
preventable,  but  by  far  the  greatest 
amount  of  injury  to  this  class  of  mate- 
rial comes  after  the  tree  is  felled — to 
the  green  logs,  to  seasoned  logs,  to  sea- 
soned lumber,  or  to  the  product  in  use, 
whether  it  be  cross  tie,  pole,  sill,  floor- 
ing, rafter,  or  implement  handle.  To  a 
great  extent  this  type  of  damage  can  be 
prevented.  Its  occurrence  is  a  sign  of 
carelessness — usually  insufficient  pre- 
caution. Thus,  if  the  log  is  attacked  in 
the  woods  by  borers,  the  simplest  rem- 
edy is  to  get  the  log  sawed  more  quick- 
ly;  if  injury  occurs  to  the  green  lumber, 
more  rapid  seasoning  is  necessary. 
Damage  that  occurs  to  the  product 
after  it  is  in  use  (such  as  termite  dam- 
age to  cross  ties  and  telephone  poles  or 
Lyctus  damage  to  flooring  or  imple- 
ment handles)  can  frequently  be  pre- 
vented by  attention  to  construction 
details,  proper  storage,  or  by  treatment 
with  preservatives  and  insecticides. 

MANY  SUGGESTIONS  have  been  made 
in  the  past  three  or  four  decades  for  the 
prevention  of  forest-insect  outbreaks 
through  forest  management  in  many 
types  of  stands.  They  have  all  been 
made  with  the  realization  that  they  are 


more  or  less  experimental  and  need  the 
test  of  practical  application.  They  are 
based  on  the  known  facts  concerning 
life  histories  and  food  preferences  of 
the  insects,  considered  in  connection 
with  the  silvicultural  characteristics  of 
the  tree. 

Forest-management  steps  so  as  to 
control  species  or  age  classes  in  the 
interest  of  insect  protection  require  a 
distribution  of  cutting  over  forest  prop- 
erties which  heretofore  has  rarely  been 
possible.  An  adequate  system  of  tim- 
ber-hauling roads  is  essential  to  apply 
such  cutting  measures  in  the  places 
where  they  are  necessary.  In  addition 
to  affording  an  opportunity  to  place 
timber  stands  in  a  more  resistant  con- 
dition to  insect  epidemics,  adequate 
road  systems  make  it  possible  to  salvage 
recently  killed  and  highly  susceptible 
trees  before  deterioration,  which  ren- 
ders them  worthless,  occurs.  Control  of 
such  epidemics  as  do  occur  in  the  in- 
cipient stage  is  also  facilitated  by  ade- 
quate transportation  facilities.  The 
importance  of  road  development  for 
application  of  stand  management  to 
reduce  hazards  from  insect  epidemics, 
to  check  the  spread  of  epidemics,  and 
to  salvage  killed  or  infested  trees  is 
now  being  recognized  by  both  public 
and  private  forest-land  managers. 
Progress  in  solving  insect-control  prob- 
lems through  management  practices 
will  depend  to  a  large  degree  on  the 
extension  of  permanent  access-road 
systems  into  national  forest  lands  and 
other  ownerships  where  forest  manage- 
ment is  being  applied. 

Looking  back  some  40  years  in  the 
practice  of  forest  entomology — from 
the  beginnings  by  Asa  Fitch  and  A.  S. 
Packard,  through  the  intensive  biolog- 
ical inquiry  of  Dr.  Hopkins,  which 
formed  the  backbone  of  effective  bark 
beetle  control  as  well  as  the  basis  for 
suggestions  for  silvicultural  methods 
of  preventing  damage,  to  the  coming 
of  modern  insecticides  and  airplanes — 
one  cannot  help  but  wonder  what  is 
ahead. 

Will  it  be  the  prevention  of  wide- 
spread destruction  of  our  resources  by 


The  Key  to  Protection 


413 


the  adoption  of  such  good  forest  man- 
agement that  insects  cannot  develop  to 
injurious  proportions? 

Will  adequate  surveys  so  completely 
cover  all  susceptible  forest  types  that 
insect  epidemics  will  be  caught  in  their 
incipiency  and  quickly  suppressed  by 
well-timed  control  measures? 

Or  will  human  nature  be  much  the 
same  tomorrow  as  today  and  continue 
to  take  a  chance  on  the  unseen  ( though 
somewhat  predictable)  future  and 
wait  for  the  worst  to  happen? 

Probably  some  of  each  will  prevail. 
Our  detection  system  will  become  bet- 
ter, good  management  will  come  to 
pass  on  more  and  more  acreage,  and 
there  will  be  plenty  of  opportunity  for 
the  direct-control  enthusiast.  It  now 
seems  inevitable  that  we  are  going  to 
enter  an  era  of  cheaper  and  more  effec- 
tive direct  control  that  would  have 
seemed  utter  fantasy  a  few  years  ago. 

Mechanical  devices  and  versatile 
power  units  are  taking  the  hand  labor 
out  of  bark  beetle  control,  and  mar- 
velous insecticides  are  spread  quickly 
over  thousands  of  acres  by  airplane  at 
costs  that  are  a  mere  fraction  an  acre 
of  the  values  at  stake.  Certainly  for 
today  the  possibilities  in  chemical  and 
mechanical  methods  of  control  look  far 
brighter  than  the  possibilities  for  silvi- 
cultural  methods  of  prevention.  In  the 
meantime,  it  seems  to  us  that  more  and 


more  reliance  must  be  placed  on  these 
direct  measures  of  control  and  more 
effort  must  go  into  their  improvement. 
At  the  same  time,  our  detection  sur- 
veys must  be  greatly  strengthened  and 
our  research  into  biological  and  silvi- 
cultural  methods  of  preventing  damage 
must  be  pursued  diligently  for  a  more 
propitious  future. 

F.  G.  GRAIGHEAD  has  been  in  charge 
of  investigations  of  forest  insects,  in 
the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine  of  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  since  1923. 
He  has  been  with  the  Department  since 
1912,  except  for  3  years  spent  in  Can- 
ada working  on  forest-insect  problems 
with  the  Dominion  Entomological 
Branch.  He  is  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Dr.  Craighead  is  a  graduate  of 
Pennsylvania  State  College,  and  holds 
advanced  degrees  from  George  Wash- 
ington University. 

JOHN  M.  MILLER  is  a  native  of  Cali- 
fornia and  has  been  associated  with 
forestry  and  forest-insect  problems  in  a 
number  of  Western  States  since  his 
graduation  from  Stanford  University 
in  1908.  He  has  wide  experience  in 
forest-insect  control  and  has  published 
numerous  papers  on  research  and  con- 
trol phases  of  his  specialty.  He  has  been 
with  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
since  1907. 


THE  KEY  TO  PROTECTION 


S.   A.    ROHWER 


Until  research  developed  informa- 
tion on  pests  of  our  forests  and  devised 
means  of  combating  them,  there  was 
little  of  immediate  practical  value  that 
could  be  gained  from  knowing  where 
the  pests  occurred.  Fortunately  we  now 
know  procedures  which  can  be  used  to 
control  many  of  the  more  common  and 
most  destructive  pests.  By  using  these 
methods  we  can  prevent  the  develop- 
ment of  outbreaks  that  would  cause  de- 
struction and  losses  over  wide  areas. 


The  key  to  any  effort  to  protect  our 
forests  from  these  or  any  of  the  numer- 
ous insects  and  diseases  that  attack 
them  is  a  knowledge  of  where  the  pest 
occurs  and  how  abundant  and  aggres- 
sive it  is.  This  is  fundamental.  It  is 
comparable  with  criminal  and  military 
intelligence.  All  types  of  programs  to 
combat  common  enemies  employ  the 
principle  of  knowledge  of  its  where- 
abouts and  strength.  To  combat  suc- 
cessfully the  fbrest  pests  we  must  know 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ESTIMATES    OF    TOTAL    VOLUME    OF    TIMBER    KILLED    BY    PINE    BARK    BEETLES    DURING 
VARYING    PERIODS    UP   TO    1946    (IN    THOUSAND    FEET    BOARD    MEASURE) 

Volume  of 

Species                                  Insect                           Region  affected               Period  timber  killed 

Ponderosa  pine Western  pine  beetle . . .     Pacific  States 1921-46  25,  ooo,  ooo 

Do Black  Hills  beetle Rocky  Mountains 1895-1946  2,  500,  ooo 

Do Mountain  pine  beetle do 1910-46  5,  500,  ooo 

do California 1921-46  3,  500,  OOO 

do Pacific  Northwest 1921-46  750,  ooo 

do Northern  Rocky  Moun-  1910-46  3,  500,  ooo 

tains. 

do Rocky  Mountains 1910-46  6,000,000 

do Pacific  coast 1921-46  1,000,000 


Sugar  pine 

Western  white  pine. 
Do.. 


Lodgepole  pine. 
Do.. 


where  they  occur.  Thus  detection  sur- 
veys are  the  first  step  in  any  effort  to 
protect  forests  by  controlling  destruc- 
tive insects  and  diseases. 

The  initial  procedure  in  protecting 
the  forest  from  pests  is  basically  the 
same  as  that  used  to  prevent  destruc- 
tion from  fire.  In  many  respects,  how- 
ever, pest  control  differs  from  fire 
control.  It  is  well  established  that  oc- 
currence of  infestation  or  infection  on 
a  few  trees  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  important  destructive  loss  will  fol- 
low unless  control  measures  are  ap- 
plied. It  is  important  that  this  be 
recognized  as  it  has  a  significant  rela- 
tion to  any  program  of  forest-pest  con- 
trol and  survey  designed  to  provide  a 
basis  for  action.  It  emphasizes  the  es- 
sential role  of  the  entomologist  and 
pathologist  in  the  survey  program. 
Facts  assembled  on  the  occurrence  of 
forest  pests  must  be  appraised  on  the 
basis  of  knowledge  of  their  behavior 
and  development. 

Such  appraisal  is  the  second  essen- 
tial step  in  any  program  to  combat  in- 
jurious forest  insects  and  diseases.  It 
provides  the  basis  for  any  decision  to 
combat  the  pest.  It  has  an  important 
bearing  on  the  type  of  data  the  survey 
should  develop. 

DETECTION  AND  APPRAISAL  METH- 
ODS differ  with  the  pests.  The  wide 
differences  in  habits  and  appearance 
of  the  numerous  kinds  of  insects  and 
diseases  destructive  to  forests  make  it 
impossible  to  use  any  single  or  simple 


procedure  in  carrying  out  inspections 
to  detect  their  presence  and  determine 
the  significance  of  their  occurrence. 
Methods  used  in  making  surveys  will 
also  differ  in  various  sections  of  the 
country.  Practices  will  necessarily  dif- 
fer with  the  objective  sought. 

To  PROTECT  WHITE  PINE  from  the 
destructive  introduced  disease — white 
pine  blister  rust — the  detection  of  the 
disease  organism  is  secondary  to  the 
location  of  the  currant  and  gooseberry 
bushes  on  which  the  disease  must  spend 
part  of  its  life.  The  spores  of  the  disease 
produced  on  white  pine  are  hardy  and 
remain  viable  much  longer,  even  when 
carried  long  distances.  Protecting 
white  pines  from  the  disease  is  largely 
a  matter  of  detecting  and  destroying 
currant  and  gooseberry  bushes  that 
grow  among  or  adjacent  to  the  pine 
trees.  Hence,  surveys  for  currants  and 
gooseberries  are  a  part  of  white  pine 
blister  rust  control. 

IN  THE  CASE  of  another  introduced 
pest — the  gypsy  moth — where  its 
eradication  in  designated  areas  is  the 
objective  and  the  basis  of  preventing 
natural  spread  to  new  sections,  inspec- 
tions for  the  insect  pest  must  be  de- 
tailed and  provide  complete  coverage. 
Research  has  developed  ways  to  do 
this  effectively  and  without  undue 
cost.  An  important  feature  of  such 
surveys  includes  application  of  knowl- 
edge that  the  winged  free-flying  males 
are  attracted  to  extracts  made  from 


The  Key  to  Protection 


4*5 


the  tip  of  the  abdomen  of  the  wingless 
female. 

It  is  thus  possible  to  trap  the  males 
and  determine  with  reasonable  ac- 
curacy whether  the  insect  is  present 
in  any  area.  With  this  knowledge,  in- 
tensive search  for  egg  clusters  provides 
data  on  where  and  how  abundant  the 
pest  is. 

WlTH  THE  MORE  DESTRUCTIVE  NA- 
TIVE insect  pests  such  intensive  inspec- 
tions are  not  needed.  Here  the  objective 
is  to  keep  informed  as  to  the  areas 
where  the  pest  is  developing  in  num- 
bers sufficient  to  cause  important  loss. 
The  fact  that  intensive  inspections  to 
locate  all  infestations  are  not  required 
does  not  mean,  however,  that  the  task  is 
simple.  Restricting  surveys  to  the  forest 
pests,  of  known  importance  still  re- 
quires many  observations  and  the  use 
of  much  technical  knowledge. 

THERE  ARE  MANY  DIFFERENT  KINDS 
of  important  pests,  and  the  habits  and 
method  of  attack  of  these  are  widely 
varied.  The  habits  of  the  various  tree- 
killing  bark  beetles,  although  similar 
as  to  general  pattern,  cause  different 
symptoms.  The  fading,  browning,  and 
reddening  of  the  foliage  of  injured 
trees  provide  a  valuable  index  of  the 
presence  of  many  forms,  such  as  the 
deadly  western  pine  beetle.  Attacks 
of  the  equally  destructive  Engelmann 
spruce  beetle,  however,  are  not  fol- 
lowed by  the  browning  and  reddening 
of  foliage.  A  group  of  red-top  trees 
killed  by  the  mountain  pine  beetle  in 
a  lodgepole  forest  is  often  the  sign  of 
the  beginning  of  an  outbreak.  Grouped 
red-top  trees  killed  by  the  western  pine 
beetle  in  a  ponderosa  pine  forest  in 
Colorado  may  indicate  the  subsidence 
of  an  outbreak.  Only  the  trained,  ex- 
perienced entomologist  can  distin- 
guish the  potential  difference  between 
groups  of  like  superficial  appearance. 

Many  species  of  insects  defoliate 
trees  and  here  the  significance  of  an 
infestation  may  depend  on  the  kind 
of  insect  and  the  type  of  forest.  Where 
more  than  one  species  of  insect  is 


present,  and  this  frequently  occurs,  the 
proportion  of  each  in  the  mixture  may 
have  an  important  bearing  on  the 
potential  damage  of  the  infestation. 

IN  ALL  KINDS  OF  INSECT  INFESTA- 
TIONS, and  especially  those  where  leaf 
feeders  occur,  observations  on  the  pres- 
ence of  natural  enemies  need  to  be 
recorded.  The  presence  and  abundance 
of  parasites,  predators,  and  disease 
often  have  an  important  relation  to  the 
development  of  the  primary  pest. 

Illustrations  of  this  nature  could  be 
multiplied  but  would  only  give  added 
emphasis  to  the  various  matters  which 
need  to  be  considered  and  made  part  of 
a  survey  program  to  determine  the 
presence  and  status  of  forest  pests.  To 
secure  facts  on  new  and  little-known 
insects  and  diseases  which  are  or  may 
be  injurious  to  our  forests  requires  an 
even  greater  use  of  specialized  infor- 
mation. The  importance  of  obtaining 
data  on  the  presence  of  lesser  known 
species  must  not  be  overlooked.  No  one 
can  forecast  when  another  blight,  as 
destructive  as  the  one  which  killed  the 
chestnut,  may  appear.  Nor  should  we 
fail  to  be  alert  to  the  presence  and  de- 
velopment of  infestations  of  species 
which  in  themselves  may  be  of  only 
secondary  importance,  yet  when  pres- 
ent with  other  organisms  have  a  pri- 
mary place  as  forest  pests. 

THE  RELATION  BETWEEN  BARK  BEE- 
TLES and  the  Dutch  elm  disease  illus- 
trates how  the  combinations  of  pests 
change  the  significance  of  each.  The 
smaller  of  two  well-known  bark  beetles 
native  to  Europe  has  been  known  to  be 
established  in  the  United  States  since 
19 10,  long  before  the  Dutch  elm  disease 
was  found  here.  Although  it  fed  on  elm 
shoots  and  developed  in  the  branches, 
it  was  not  of  any  particular  signifi- 
cance, since  it  lived  in  dead  and  dying 
branches.  When  the  disease  was  intro- 
duced, the  habits  of  living  in  branches 
and  feeding  on  young  shoots  provided 
a  ready  means  of  carrying  disease  from 
the  infected  to  healthy  trees.  The  two 
pests  combined  make  formidable  ene- 


416 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


mies  to  our  elms,  and  control  of  the 
beetle  becomes  of  first  importance. 

SURVEYS  TO  SECURE  DATA  on  specific 
pests  are  always  less  complex.  Where 
the  plant  is  an  annual  one,  as  is  the 
case  with  many  of  our  agricultural 
crops,  data  needed  may  require  fewer 
observations.  Even  here  there  is  need 
for  specialized  technique  and  sampling. 

When  the  many  kinds  of  trees  and 
numerous  kinds  of  pests  are  involved, 
however,  the  problem  increases  in  com- 
plexity. It  is  therefore  necessary  to 
simplify  the  task  as  much  as  possible. 
In  planning,  organizing,  and  executing 
procedures  we  should  emphasize  the 
known  importance  of  the  pests.  Pests 
of  first  importance  should  have  first 
attention.  This  principle  has  been  the 
basis  of  the  surveys  on  native  forest 
pests  that  have  been  carried  out.  It 
should  be  followed  in  the  future. 

ESSENTIAL  TO  ALL  FOREST-PEST  SUR- 
VEYS are  on-the-ground  observations. 
These  provide  data  on  the  presence  of 
numbers  of  the  pest  and  the  environ- 
mental factors  that  affect  its  develop- 
ment. This  calls  for  a  system  of 
collecting  and  recording  the  observa- 
tions made  by  those  who  frequent  the 
forests  and  are  interested  in  and  con- 
cerned with  their  protection.  Survey 
programs  are  designed  to  receive  and 
record  their  observations.  Rangers, 
timber  cruisers,  and  spotters  provide 
useful  and  important  records.  The  data 
they  supply  have  been  of  material  help. 
What  they  have  done,  however,  has  not 
been  as  extensive  as  needed ;  for  many 
sections  and  areas  there  are  few  observ- 
ers, and  the  means  of  assembling  the 
records  are  inadequate.  Ways  should 
be  devised  to  encourage  and  improve 
such  reports. 

To  examine  each  year,  even  in  a 
casual  way,  all  forest  areas  for  the  oc- 
currence and  development  of  infesta- 
tions of  just  the  known  injurious  forest 
pests  is  a  large  order — an  objective  it 
is  scarcely  practical  to  attain  now. 
Fortunately  it  is  not  yet  necessary  to  do 
this  to  obtain  data  needed  to  secure 


reasonable  protection  of  our  forests 
from  pests.  Many  factors  influence  the 
behavior  and  development  of  the  na- 
tive insects  and  diseases  injurious  to 
our  forests.  Even  the  weather  plays  an 
important  part.  Entomologists  and 
pathologists  use  their  knowledge  and 
understanding  of  these  numerous  fac- 
tors in  planning  surveys. 

THEY  CONSIDER  also  the  composi- 
tion, age,  value,  and  location  of  the 
forests.  It  has  been  discovered  that  for 
at  least  certain  forest  types  the  forest 
area  may  be  classified  into  units  of  de- 
gree of  hazard ;  for  example,  the  large 
area  in  eastern  California  and  Oregon 
covered  by  the  predominant  yellow 
pine  forest  type.  Such  discoveries  and 
the  classification  of  the  forest  types  in 
units  have  made  it  possible  to  deter- 
mine with  reasonable  accuracy  the  fre- 
quency of  surveys  needed  to  appraise 
the  status  of  the  principal  pests. 

Research  in  several  areas  of  differ- 
ent forest  types  has  established  that 
frequent  inspections  of  sample  areas 
provide  information  on  trends  of  de- 
velopment of  infestations  applicable 
to  large  areas.  Thus  an  intensive  sur- 
vey of  limited  sections  may  suffice  for 
extensive  forest  areas,  except  during 
periods  when  outbreaks  of  the  pest  are 
beginning  to  develop. 

DEVELOPMENTS  IN  AVIATION  have 
supplied  a  new  means  for  making  re- 
connaissance surveys  to  secure  prelimi- 
nary data  on  the  occurrence  and 
development  of  outbreaks  of  insect 
pests,  and  perhaps  for  a  few  diseases. 
Observers  familiar  with  the  symptoms 
caused  by  injurious  insects  and  diseases 
can,  in  a  short  time  and  at  relatively 
low  cost,  secure  valuable  data  on  pest 
conditions  that  occur  over  wide  areas. 

A  few  well-timed  flights  over  areas 
infested  and  threatened  by  the  recent 
outbreak  of  the  tussock  moth  in  the 
Idaho  area  aided  greatly  in  locating 
and  appraising  the  extent  and  intensity 
of  infestation.  Extensive,  inaccessible 
areas  of  lodgepole  pine  have  been 
quickly  examined  to  locate  red  tops, 


Four  Billion  Feet  of  Beetle-Killed  Spruce 


417 


the  telltale  indication  of  bark  beetle 
infestations.  There  is  still  much  to  be 
learned  concerning  the  place  that  the 
recent  developments  in  aircraft  and 
aerial  photography  will  have  in  forest- 
pest  surveys  of  the  future.  The  timing 
and  frequency  of  the  flights  will  be 
important. 

CURRENT  EXPERIENCE  suggests  air- 
craft and  aerial  photography  will  prove 
to  be  a  valuable  adjunct  to  the  survey 
technique  and  that  for  certain  of  the 
important  pests  they  make  it  possible 
to  detect  the  presence  and  accurately 
estimate  the  extent  of  infestation  more 
promptly.  It  is  reasonable  to  assume, 
however,  that  detailed  on-the-ground 
inspections  will  still  be  required  to 
secure  exact  data  needed  to  appraise 


the     potential     significance     of     the 
infestation. 

Helpful  as  all  known  procedures 
are,  it  is  clear  that  the  practices  of 
detecting  infestations  and  infections 
of  insects  and  diseases  injurious  to  our 
forests  need  to  be  improved.  More 
than  this,  we  must  use  to  a  much 
greater  extent  the  knowledge  we  now 
have  if  the  destructive  importance  of 
the  pests  are  detected  in  stages  of  in- 
cipiency.  Early  discovery  of  a  poten- 
tially destructive  infestation  permits 
action  that  will  prevent  important  loss 
and  greatly  reduce  the  cost  of  control. 

S.  A.  ROHWER  is  assistant  chief  of 
the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine  in  the  Department  of  Ag- 
riculture. 


FOUR  BILLION  FEET  OF  BEETLE-KILLED  SPRUCE 

N.  D.  WYGANT,  ARTHUR  L.  NELSON 


Ten  years  or  so  ago  the  Engelmann 
spruce  forests  in  the  higher  Rocky 
Mountains  of  Colorado  were  a  sight 
to  behold.  They  were  a  reservoir  of  un- 
exploited  virgin  timber,  the  summer 
homes  and  playground  of  thousands  of 
people  who  love  the  mountains.  Tall, 
green,  silent,  majestic,  these  forests 
were  a  gift  of  God,  an  important  asset 
to  our  natural  wealth  and  welfare. 

Today,  on  much  of  that  ground 
stand  millions  of  dead  trees — graceless, 
lifeless,  valueless.  They  will  stand  there 
20  years  more,  ghost  forests  and  tragic 
evidence  of  how  fast  and  silently  a  tiny 
insect  can  do  its  damage  when  once  a 
combination  of  favorable  factors  brings 
about  a  sudden  increase  in  its  numbers. 

THE  INSECT  is  the  Engelmann  spruce 
beetle,  the  Dendroctonus  engelmanni 
Hopk.  Without  the  spectacular  fea- 
tures of  smoke  or  fire  or  explosion, 
but  as  devastatingly,  the  beetle  built  up 
its  population,  mostly  in  the  inner  bark 
of  living  trees,  where  it  fed  and  bred. 
Those  trees  died;  then  new  beetles 

802062° — 49 28 


emerged  and  attacked  other  trees.  No 
person  even  suspected  what  was  hap- 
pening until  the  outbreak  was  well 
under  way  and  approaching  its  peak. 
Then  it  was  too  late  to  do  much:  Be- 
tween 1942  and  1948,  4  billion  board 
feet  of  stumpage  had  been  killed. 

Four  billion  board  feet  can  furnish 
lumber  for  400,000  five-room  frame 
houses.  The  value  in  standing  trees  is 
estimated  at  8  million  dollars.  It  might 
someday  have  been  made  into  products 
valued  at  200  million  dollars.  The  in- 
sects were  more  destructive  than  forest 
fires — in  the  6  years,  16  times  more 
timber  was  destroyed  than  was  killed 
by  fire  in  the  past  30  years  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region. 

And  to  those  who  love  the  moun- 
tains and  the  trees  there  was  another 
kind  of  heartbreaking  loss:  Damaged 
for  a  generation  were  parts  of  our  most 
beautiful  National  Forests,  the  White 
River,  Grand  Mesa,  Routt,  Arapaho, 
Uncompahgre,  San  Juan,  and  Dixie. 
On  a  large  part  of  the  White  River 
National  Forest,  nearly  all  spruce  of 


4i8 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


saw-timber  size — 2,900  million  board 
feet  of  it — was  killed. 

IN  ITS  ADULT  STAGE,  the  Engelmann 
spruce  beetle  is  a  small,  cylindrical, 
hard-shelled  beetle,  about  one-fourth 
inch  in  length,  about  the  size  of  an 
ordinary  housefly.  When  the  adults 
leave  the  dead  trees  and  start  to  fly  in 
June  and  July,  they  are  reddish  brown 
to  black  in  color.  They  soon  settle  on 
recently  felled  or  standing  green  trees 
and  bore  through  the  outer  bark  into 
the  living  inner  bark.  This  attack  ex- 
tends over  most  of  the  lower  main  stem 
of  the  tree. 

The  beetles  work  in  pairs  of  male 
and  female,  each  pair  raising  separate 
broods.  The  female  makes  the  en- 
trance, followed  by  the  male,  and  bores 
a  tunnel  between  the  bark  and  wood, 
which  usually  extends  in  a  vertical  di- 
rection and  parallels  the  grain  of  the 
wood.  This  tunnel  is  known  as  the  egg 
gallery.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  alternate 
groups  along  the  sides  of  the  gallery, 
and  the  galleries  are  packed  with  bor- 
ing dust  mixed  with  pitch.  There  are 
usually  3  to  4  groups  of  eggs  and  a 
total  of  about  125  eggs  in  each  gallery. 
On  the  average  there  are  from  6  to  8 
such  egg  galleries  for  each  square  foot 
of  bark. 

When  the  eggs  hatch  in  3  or  4  weeks, 
the  larvae  feed  on  the  succulent  inner 
bark  and  cut  mines  that  run  at  right 
angles  to  the  egg  gallery.  This  larval 
feeding  continues  through  the  late 
summer  and  fall.  When  winter  arrives 
they  are  still  in  the  inner  bark,  where 
they  become  dormant. 

The  following  spring  the  larvae  re- 
sume feeding.  As  summer  advances 
they  become  mature,  transform  to 
pupae,  and  then  into  adult  beetles. 
This  new  adult  stage  is  reached  by  mid- 
summer, and  the  beetles  first  start  feed- 
ing on  the  inner  bark  of  the  tree  in 
which  they  were  reared.  By  August  or 
September  they  appear  to  be  mature. 
Then  some  of  the  beetles  emerge  and 
congregate  under  the  bark  around  the 
base  of  the  tree.  Others  remain  under 
the  bark  where  they  developed.  In  both 


cases  they  rest  quietly  during  the  sec- 
ond winter,  and  when  warm  weather 
returns  the  following  spring  they  are 
ready  to  take  flight  and  attack  other 
living  trees. 

While  the  development  of  the  insect 
is  going  on,  the  trees  that  have  been 
attacked  die,  usually  by  the  end  of  the 
first  season  of  the  attack.  Death  of  the 
trees  is  caused  by  the  girdling  action  of 
the  egg  galleries  and  the  larval  mines 
and  by  a  blue-staining  fungus  that  per- 
meates the  sapwood  and  stops  sap  con- 
duction in  the  tree.  This  fungus  is 
carried  by  the  beetles  and  is  always 
found  in  trees  that  are  successfully  at- 
tacked by  the  insects.  The  foliage  of 
Engelmann  spruce  does  not  change 
color  until  about  a  year  after  the  trees 
are  attacked;  then  it  fades  to  a  yel- 
lowish green  and  the  needles  drop 
within  a  short  period. 

IN  NATURE  many  forces  operate  to 
keep  beetle  populations  at  a  low  level 
over  long  periods.  There  is  always  a 
high  mortality  during  the  brood-devel- 
opment period  from  eggs  to  new  adults. 
The  number  that  reach  the  full-grown 
larval  stage  has  been  found  to  average 
from  215  to  360  to  the  square  foot  of 
bark.  By  the  time  the  new  adult  stage 
is  reached  and  the  beetles  emerge,  this 
average  has  been  reduced  to  about  150 
to  the  square  foot.  These  averages  vary 
widely.  The  larger  trees  tend  to  pro- 
duce heavier  emergence  than  smaller 
trees.  Then,  when  the  beetles  take 
flight,  they  are  exposed  to  all  sorts  of 
hazards  from  wind,  weather,  and  birds. 

The  factors  that  tend  to  limit  beetle 
populations  are  parasitic  and  preda- 
tory insects  that  feed  on  the  broods 
while  they  are  developing  in  the  inner 
bark;  woodpeckers,  which  locate  the 
infested  trees  and  chip  off  the  outer 
bark  to  feed  on  the  broods  that  are 
thus  exposed;  and  good  growth  condi- 
tions in  the  spruce  stands  where  young 
and  vigorous  trees  predominate.  Wood- 
peckers are  especially  effective;  when 
they  are  abundant  they  destroy  45  to 
98  percent  of  the  brood. 

Among   the   conditions   that   favor 


Four  Billion  Feet  of  Beetle-Killed  Spruce 


419 


multiplication  of  beetle  populations 
are  windfalls  and  overmaturity  of  the 
spruce  stands,  since  the  insects  prefer 
to  attack  the  larger  mature  trees  and 
produce  heavier  broods  in  them.  Large 
bodies  of  windthrown  timber  provide 
highly  favorable  conditions  for  the 
build-up  of  beetle  populations,  because 
green  trees  that  have  been  blown  over 
have  been  seriously  disturbed  in  their 
crown  and  root  functions  and  can  offer 
little  resistance  to  the  attacks  of  the  in- 
sects. After  strong  populations  have  de- 
veloped, they  will  attack  green  stands 
of  spruce  regardless  of  their  condition, 
and  heavy  losses  usually  continue  until 
natural  control  factors  again  gain  the 
upper  hand. 

PREVIOUS  OUTBREAKS  of  the  Engel- 
mann  spruce  beetle  occurred  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region,  but  most  of 
them  were  so  long  ago  that  their  exact 
extent  is  not  known.  In  1907,  A.  D. 
Hopkins,  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, found  evidence  on  the  White 
River  National  Forest  of  an  outbreak 
that  occurred  20  to  25  years  earlier.  He 
also  estimated  that  severe  outbreaks  oc- 
curred on  the  Pike  National  Forest 
about  1855  and  on  the  Lincoln  Nation- 
al Forest  in  New  Mexico  about  1890. 
An  outbreak  that  killed  nearly  100  per- 
cent of  the  spruce  volume  swept  over 
the  Aquarius  Plateau  in  Utah  between 
1918  and  1928.  A  localized  outbreak 
was  reported  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  Yellowstone  National  Park  in  1937. 
Apparently  none  of  these  earlier  out- 
breaks even  approached  in  intensity 
and  total  volume  of  destruction  the  one 
that  started  in  Colorado  in  1942. 

Circumstances  beyond  the  control  of 
foresters  and  entomologists  caused  this 
spectacular  outbreak.  Several  factors 
made  conditions  favorable.  In  June 
1939  a  severe  windstorm  swept  from 
the  southwestern  corner  of  Colorado, 
in  a  northeasterly  direction,  across  the 
mesa-type  plateaus  in  the  State.  On 
thousands  of  acres  many  of  the  shallow- 
rooted  Engelmann  spruce  blew  over. 
Many  of  the  roots  on  the  down  side 
remained  in  the  soil  to  keep  the  trees 


alive  for  several  years  or  until  the 
beetles  made  their  attack.  As  a  native 
species,  the  Engelmann  spruce  beetle 
was  present  in  small  numbers  in  deca- 
dent trees  in  the  forest.  Those  down 
trees  proved  to  be  a  fertile  breeding 
place  for  them. 

By  1942,  this  breeding  material  had 
been  consumed  and  the  beetles  had 
built  up  great  populations.  With  a  pre- 
viously unknown  reproductive  force, 
coupled  with  an  apparent  lack  of 
activity  of  natural  control  factors,  the 
beetles  invaded  the  standing  spruce. 
By  1943,  when  the  infestation  was  first 
discovered,  the  number  of  infested 
trees  was  so  great  that  control  by  de- 
stroying the  insects  with  fire  or  insec- 
ticides was  economically  and  physically 
impossible.  The  problem  then  became 
one  of  determining  the  extent  and  se- 
verity of  the  outbreak  so  as  to  prevent 
its  spread  into  other  spruce  forests,  sal- 
vaging the  dead  timber,  and  studying 
the  life  history  and  habits  of  the  beetle 
as  a  basis  for  development  of  control 
measures. 

PLANS  WERE  MADE  in  1943  for  a  sur- 
vey of  the  spruce  type  in  Colorado  to 
determine  the  extent  of  the  outbreaks 
and  their  progress,  what  action  should 
be  taken,  and  whether  spread  of  the  in- 
sect into  nonaffected  areas  could  be 
prevented. 

A  person  who  has  not  visited  the 
high  Rockies  in  Colorado  can  hardly 
realize  the  difficulties  of  making  a  sur- 
vey and  carrying  out  control  measures 
in  the  spruce  forests.  Engelmann  spruce 
grows  at  elevations  of  9,500  to  11,500 
feet,  generally  in  rugged  terrain — ex- 
cept for  the  forests  on  plateaus — and 
in  places  where  few  roads  have  been 
made.  Many  of  the  areas  can  be 
reached  only  by  a  trail,  and  then  often 
with  as  much  as  a  full  day's  travel  on 
pack  animals  from  the  end  of  a  road. 
An  attempt  was  made  in  1944  to  use 
an  airplane  to  scout  the  forests  and 
locate  the  incipient  outbreaks,  but  the 
infestations  could  not  be  detected  from 
above  because  of  lack  of  foliage  dis- 
coloration. Nor  could  incipient  out- 


420 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


breaks  be  detected  from  lookouts  and 
vantage  points. 

The  technique  finally  developed  to 
detect  the  infested  and  killed  trees  re- 
quired sample  lines  to  be  run  through 
the  various  areas  and  the  trees  viewed 
at  close  range.  Such  a  survey  has  been 
made  annually  since  1944,  with  a  crew 
of  three  to  six  men.  In  addition,  a  close 
watch  for  infestation  has  been  kept 
by  the  forest  rangers  during  their  sum- 
mer travels.  Although  coverage  has  not 
been  so  complete  and  thorough  as  one 
would  like,  a  fairly  accurate  picture 
has  been  obtained  of  the  progress  of 
the  outbreaks. 

The  spruce  losses  have  been  phe- 
nomenal for  such  a  short  period.  The 
end  of  the  losses  on  the  White  River, 
Routt,  and  Arapaho  National  Forests 
is  not  yet  in  sight.  The  surveys  indicate 
a  serious  flight  of  beetles  from  the  cen- 
ter of  the  White  River  National  Forest 
outbreak  to  the  east  across  the  Colo- 
rado River  into  extensive  spruce  stands. 
The  outbreak  on  the  Gore  Range  on 
the  Routt  and  Arapaho  National  For- 
ests is  rapidly  moving  northward.  The 
outbreak  on  these  two  forests  has 
gained  much  of  its  momentum  from 
flights  of  beetles  across  the  Yampa 
River  Valley. 

A  large  beetle  population  remains 
on  the  White  River  National  Forest, 
however,  and  the  continuation  of  a 
mass  flight  there  is  still  not  beyond  pos- 
sibility. In  1946,  at  the  end  of  the  at- 
tack period,  77  percent  of  the  spruce 
was  killed  on  that  forest  north  of  the 
Colorado  River.  Nearly  all  the  remain- 
ing trees  were  killed  in  1947.  The 
beetles  have  exhausted  their  food  sup- 
ply on  the  White  River  National 
Forest,  and  whether  they  will  perish 
within  the  infested  area  or  fly  to  new 
areas  remains  to  be  seen. 

The  outbreaks  on  the  part  of  the 
White  River  National  Forest  that  lies 
south  of  the  Colorado  River,  and  on 
the  Uncompahgre,  Gunnison,  and 
San  Juan  National  Forests  in  Colo- 
rado, and  the  Dixie  National  Forest  in 
Utah  started  to  decline  in  1946.  They 
reached  an  endemic  status  in  1947, 


even  though  ample  host  material  re- 
mained for  the  insects  to  attack. 
Natural  control  factors,  aided  by  arti- 
ficial control  on  the  Dixie  and  Gun- 
nison National  Forests,  reduced  the 
outbreaks  faster  than  they  arose. 

Active  outbreaks  continued  in  1948 
on  the  Grand  Mesa  National  Forest 
and  on  the  Gore  Range  on  the  Routt 
and  Arapaho  National  Forests.  Log- 
ging of  the  infested  trees  and  burning 
of  the  infested  slabs  at  the  mill  pre- 
vented the  Grand  Mesa  infestation 
from  becoming  more  severe.  A  similar 
plan  was  applied  to  the  Arapaho  and 
Routt  infestations. 

IT  WAS  EVIDENT  in  1943  that  cutting 
must  be  immediate  if  this  beetle-killed 
timber  was  to  be  used  for  lumber,  since 
it  was  doubtful  if  it  would  remain 
usable  for  that  purpose  for  longer  than 
3  or  4  years  after  attack.  Every  appli- 
cation to  purchase  beetle-killed  spruce 
was  granted.  An  aggressive  campaign 
was  started  to  interest  more  operators. 
Small  operators  soon  began  cutting  in 
most  of  the  accessible  areas.  Lack  of 
capital  and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
proper  equipment  and  labor  kept  pro- 
duction low. 

Results  have  been  disappointing 
when  weighed  against  the  large  volume 
of  killed  timber.  It  was  estimated  that 
by  January  1949  about  100  million 
board  feet  had  actually  been  salvaged, 
or  less  than  5  percent  of  the  operable 
volume  of  insect-killed  timber. 

The  4-billion-board-foot  loss  of  tim- 
ber represents  better  than  20  percent 
of  the  Engelmann  spruce  timber  in 
Colorado.  The  rough  mountain  terrain 
and  distance  to  railheads  and  markets 
make  about  half  of  this  timber  inac- 
cessible and  nonoperable  from  an  eco- 
nomic standpoint.  Much  of  the  2 
billion  board  feet  considered  operable 
actually  requires  the  construction  of 
roads  to  make  it  accessible  for  salvage. 

Sparse  populations,  limited  funds, 
and  the  ruggedness  of  this  mountain 
country  have  governed  the  location  of 
routes  of  travel  between  communities. 
Few  roads  have  been  built  to  open  up 


Four  Billion  Feet  of  Beetle-Killed  Spruce 


resources,  and  much  of  the  timber  re- 
mains out  of  reach.  Roads  are  needed 
to  harvest  the  dead  spruce  and  also 
much  of  the  ripe  green  timber. 

During  the  war,  some  so-called  tim- 
ber-access roads  were  built,  including 
the  14  miles  to  open  up  Glinetop  Mesa. 
A  20-mile,  16-foot  surfaced  road  has 
since  been  built  that  opens  up  150  mil- 
lion board  feet  of  spruce  timber  on 
Coffee  Pot  Mesa.  Surfacing  of  forest- 
development  roads  also  has  been  un- 
dertaken, permitting  salvage  of  more 
and  more  of  the  bug-killed  spruce. 

The  primary  need  in  the  insect- 
killed  area  is  for  more  timber-hauling 
roads.  It  is  estimated  that  a  million 
cords  of  pulpwood  can  be  made  ac- 
cessible on  the  White  River  National 
Forest  alone  by  an  expenditure  of 
$750,000  for  access  roads. 

The  insect-killed  timber  can  be  used 
for  lumber  if  salvaged  within  3  or  4 
years  after  being  attacked.  The  tree 
dries  and  cracks  open  up  the  stem. 
Where  the  woodpeckers  have  removed 
some  of  the  bark,  the  cracking  or 
checking  process  is  speeded  up  on  the 
time  during  which  the  timber  can  be 
salvaged  for  lumber  is  reduced. 

Dead  timber  no  longer  suitable  for 
sawed  products  has  been  proved  to  be 
usable  for  making  paper.  Sample  car- 
loads have  been  tested  by  some  of  the 
mills  in  the  Lake  States.  The  reports 
are  that  the  dead  spruce  is  entirely  sat- 
isfactory if  minor  changes  are  made  in 
processing.  Since  there  is  no  pulp  or 
paper  industry  in  the  central  Rocky 
Mountain  region,  it  is  logical  that  this 
spruce  should  be  used  to  help  alleviate 
the  shortage  of  pulpwood  in  the  Lake 
States.  Many  of  these  pulp  and  paper 
companies  are  looking  forward  to  the 
day  when  their  own  forests  will  sustain 
their  plants.  In  the  meantime,  the  next 
10  to  15  years  is  the  critical  period,  and 
if  the  dead  Engelmann  spruce  can  help 
a  part  of  the  industry  over  this  trying 
period,  it  will  have  served  a  useful 
purpose. 

Insect-killed  spruce  is  expected  to  re- 
main usable  for  pulpwood  for  15  years 
or  more.  The  development  of  a  pulp- 


421 

wood-logging  industry  in  Colorado  is 
now  in  the  early  stages.  Small  operators 
are  trying  their  hand  at  it.  One  Wis- 
consin pulp  and  paper  company  has 
sent  in  its  own  crews  and  equipment  to 
test  the  feasibility  of  logging  and  ship- 
ping the  dead  spruce  to  its  Wisconsin 
plant.  Another  has  purchased  43,000 
cords  of  which  about  6,000  cords  were 
cut  by  the  end  of  1948.  One  of  the  dif- 
ficulties in  getting  local  operators  to  cut 
pulpwood  was  their  lack  of  experience 
and  proper  equipment  to  handle  100- 
inch  pulpwood  sticks.  Also,  as  long  as 
the  dead  timber  could  be  made  into 
sawed  products,  there  was  more  profit 
in  such  products  than  in  producing 
pulpwood.  Except  in  limited  areas  of 
recent  attack,  the  latter  is  no  longer  the 
case,  and  with  experience  and  more 
specialized  equipment  available  the 
production  of  pulpwood  by  local  opera- 
tors should  increase,  provided  the 
selling  price  permits  a  profitable  opera- 
tion. 

Freight  rates  from  Colorado  points 
adjacent  to  the  bug-killed  timber  to 
mills  in  Wisconsin  have  been  estab- 
lished at  $15.12  a  cord  for  a  minimum 
carload  of  24  cords  or  more.  This  makes 
for  high-priced  raw  material  when  the 
cost  of  production  ($15to$16a  cord) 
is  added.  An  added  difficulty  is  a 
marked  scarcity  of  gondolas  large 
enough  to  carry  the  minimum  load  of 
24  cords.  Railroad  officials  are  not  too 
optimistic  about  relief  from  this  situa- 
tion and,  so  far,  changes  in  the  freight 
rate  to  cover  lower  minimum  carload- 
ing  have  not  been  favored. 

A  permanent  industry  can  hardly  be 
built  on  the  basis  of  salvaging  insect- 
killed  timber  alone.  Perhaps  local  in- 
dustries might  be  established  which 
could  use  the  dead  wood  that  is  sal- 
vageable, then  continue  to  operate  on 
green  timber.  Felt-pulp  plants  for  mak- 
ing roofing  paper  have  been  suggested. 
Other  possibilities  for  better  utilization 
include  chipping  in  the  woods  and 
shipping  baled  chips  to  pulp  or  chem- 
ical conversion  plants.  So  far,  the  most 
promising  and  practical  outlet  seems 
to  be  the  shipment,  as  wood,  to  exist- 


422 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


ing  pulp  mills.  The  practicability  of  a 
pulp  mill  in  Colorado  using  dead  and 
green  wood  is  being  explored. 

SEVERAL  LESSONS  have  been  well 
learned.  Underlying  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  this  outbreak  was  the  great 
windfall  of  1939.  This  sort  of  disaster 
is  something  that  can  neither  be  fore- 
seen nor  prevented,  and  it  may  happen 
again.  The  aftermath  of  heavy  bark 
beetle  losses  can  be  prevented,  how- 
ever, if  measures  can  be  taken  in  time 
to  prevent  the  build-up  of  populations. 
Where  it  is  feasible,  the  salvage  of  all 
windthrown  timber  within  2  years  after 
it  is  blown  down  will  deprive  the  beetles 
of  their  favorite  breeding  material. 

Direct-control  measures  applied  be- 
fore an  infestation  becomes  general 
over  a  large  area  should  prove  effec- 
tive. We  know  that  the  insect  can  be 
destroyed  by  peeling  and  burning  the 
infested  bark,  by  burning  the  infested 
logs,  or  by  the  application  of  toxic 
penetrating  sprays.  For  example,  a 
mixture  of  oil  and  orthodichloroben- 
zene  has  proved  to  be  effective  when 
applied  to  the  bark  of  infested  trees  or 
logs.  Further  research  may  develop 
new  methods  and  insecticides  which 
can  be  applied  from  the  air  so  as  to 
reduce  costs  and  permit  their  use  over 
difficult  terrain. 

Basic  to  any  use  of  direct-control 
methods  is  a  well-organized  system  of 
surveys  that  will  detect  the  local  cen- 
ters of  infestation  and  present  a  com- 
prehensive picture  of  the  infestation 
before  heavy  increases  occur. 

Research  may  also  point  the  way  to 
forest-management  practices  based  on 
an  adequate  knowledge  of  the  ecology 
of  Engelmann  spruce  stands  and  the 
role  of  the  beetle  in  their  natural  ro- 
tation. There  is  a  good  possibility  that 
the  Engelmann  spruce  beetle  can  be 
held  in  check  by  indirect  methods.  In- 
dications are  that  in  healthy  growing 
forests  severe  epidemics  are  less  apt  to 
occur.  More  access  roads  will  permit 
cutting  to  take  place  in  the  most  over- 
mature and  decadent  timber.  Sanita- 
tion cuts  apparently  must  first  be  made 


without  too  much  consideration  of  a 
sustained-yield  policy  for  management 
of  the  species. 

Until  we  know  more  about  the 
forces  that  bring  these  sudden  uprisings 
of  bark  beetle  populations  and  can 
devise  either  direct  or  indirect  methods 
of  dealing  with  them,  Engelmann 
spruce  stands  will  continue  to  be  sub- 
ject to  the  hazards  of  devastating 
beetle-caused  losses.  In  this  most  re- 
cent outbreak  in  Colorado,  the  best  we 
can  do  now  is  to  accept  what  the 
beetles  have  left  us  in  the  forest  and 
strive  for  better  ways  of  controlling  the 
beetles  next  time. 

N.  D.  WYGANT  is  an  entomologist  in 
charge  of  the  Forest  Insect  Laboratory 
in  Fort  Collins,  Colo.,  in  the  Division 
of  Forest  Insect  Investigations,  Bureau 
of  Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine. 
A  graduate  of  Purdue  University  and 
New  York  State  College  of  Forestry, 
Dr.  Wygant  joined  the  Department  in 
1935.  He  has  worked  on  insect  prob- 
lems affecting  shelterbelts  in  the  Great 
Plains  and  the  bark  beetle  and  other 
forest-insect  problems  in  California 
and  the  central  and  southern  Rocky 
Mountain  region. 

ARTHUR  L.  NELSON  is  assistant 
regional  forester  in  charge  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Timber  Management,  State 
and  Private  Forestry,  Forest  Service, 
Denver.  After  graduation  from  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  he  entered 
the  Forest  Service  in  1923  and  was 
assigned  to  timber-survey  work  on  the 
Bighorn  National  Forest  in  Wyoming. 
He  worked  on  the  Black  Hills,  Routt, 
and  Roosevelt  National  Forests;  sub- 
sequently he  was  supervisor  of  the  old 
Leadville  Forest  and  the  Nebraska,  Rio 
Grande,  and  Ouachita  National  For- 
ests. From  1941  to  1944  he  was  assist- 
ant chief  of  the  Division  of  Timber 
Management  in  Washington,  D.  C. 

For  further  information  about  re- 
search, the  reader  is  referred  to  other 
articles  in  this  chapter,  Insects,  Dis- 
eases, Parasites,  and  to  the  chapters  on 
Company  Forests  and  The  National 
Forests. 


423 


THE  SPRUCE  BUDWORM 


R.  C.  BROWN,  H.  J.  MAC  ALONEY,  P.  B.  DOWDEN 


The  spruce  budworm  is  a  small, 
foliage-feeding  caterpillar  that  peri- 
odically kills  an  immense  amount  of 
spruce  and  balsam  fir  in  the  Eastern 
States  and  Canada.  It  is  serious  in  jack 
pine  in  the  Lake  States,  and  in  Doug- 
las-fir, alpine  fir,  white  fir,  Engelmann 
spruce,  blue  spruce,  lodgepole  pine, 
and  ponderosa  pine  in  the  West. 

It  is  native  to  North  America.  Rec- 
ords of  its  ravages  in  the  East  date 
from  about  1805.  It  appeared  again  in 
epidemic  proportions  about  1880. 

The  first  outbreak  to  be  studied 
carefully  began  in  Quebec  in  1909, 
appeared  in  Maine  in  1910  and  in 
New  Brunswick  and  Minnesota  in 
1913,  continued  for  nearly  a  decade, 
and  destroyed  more  than  250  million 
cords  of  spruce  and  fir  pulpwood. 
About  30  million  cords  were  killed  in 
Maine;  in  Minnesota,  more  than  20 
million  cords  were  destroyed. 

But  all  that  devastation,  all  that  de- 
struction may  be  nothing  compared  to 
a  current  outbreak  in  Canada  that  be- 
gan to  assume  epidemic  proportions  in 
1935.  By  1944,  it  was  estimated,  125 
million  acres  in  Ontario  were  infested. 
In  1945,  an  official  of  a  Canadian  pulp 
and  paper  company  said,  the  insect 
killed  enough  timber  to  supply  all 
Canadian  pulp  mills  for  3  years.  By 
1947  most  of  the  mature  fir  and  a 
considerable  part  of  the  white  spruce 
on  an  estimated  20,000  square  miles 
had  been  killed,  with  less  intense  dam- 
age over  a  much  larger  area.  The  dead 
trees  have  created  a  tremendous  fire 
hazard;  large  areas  affected  by  the 
budworm  already  have  been  burned. 

The  memory  of  the  previous  out- 
break in  Maine  and  the  present  situa- 
tion in  Canada  have  caused  great 
alarm  among  owners  of  timberland  and 
officials  of  the  pulp  and  paper  industry 
in  the  Northeast.  At  stake  in  the  region 
are  nearly  19  million  acres  of  spruce- 
fir  and  more  than  100  million  cords  of 


pulpwood.  On  that  timber  supply  de- 
pend more  than  90  mills,  which  have 
an  annual  capacity  of  3l/2  million 
cords,  employ  more  than  55,000  work- 
ers, and  manufacture  goods  worth 
more  than  300  million  dollars  annually. 

BECAUSE  OF  THE  SERIOUS  THREAT  to 
the  pulp  and  paper  industry,  the  tim- 
berland owners  asked  Congress  for 
funds  to  find  ways  to  control  the  insect 
and  to  prevent  widespread  damage 
such  as  had  occurred  in  Canada.  The 
funds  were  voted,  and  in  July  1944,  two 
units  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine  and  the  Forest  Service,  be- 
gan a  program  to  study  the  problem  in 
all  its  phases  and  develop  a  plan  of 
action  for  the  Northeast.  Surveys  in 
which  the  States  cooperated  indicated 
that  few  specimens  of  the  spruce  bud- 
worm  were  present  then  in  New  Eng- 
land forests. 

But  in  1945  we  discovered  an  infes- 
tation in  the  Adirondacks  of  New  York. 
The  next  year  we  found  many  more, 
and  an  outbreak  seemed  imminent.  In 
1947  and  1948,  however,  the  popula- 
tion of  spruce  budworm  dropped  mark- 
edly. Over  most  of  the  area,  defoliation 
was  not  severe  enough  to  cause  appre- 
ciable damage  to  spruce  and  fir.  Dur- 
ing 1945,  1946,  and  1947,  the  insect  re- 
mained at  an  extremely  low  population 
level  in  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Maine.  The  1948  survey  showed  a  low 
degree  of  abundance  in  Vermont  and 
New  Hampshire  but  a  definite  increase 
in  Maine.  No  report  of  unusual  abun- 
dance of  the  budworm  has  been  re- 
ceived from  the  Lake  States.  Extensive 
outbreaks  were  in  progress  in  1948  in 
the  southern,  central,  and  northern 
Rocky  Mountain  regions  and  in  Ore- 
gon and  Washington. 

From  1945  to  1948  intensive  studies 
in  biological  and  natural  control  of  the 
insect  were  conducted  in  New  York. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


SPRUCE  BUDWORM  SITUATION 

1948 

Serious  tree  mortality 
Medium  to  heavy  defoliation 
Light  defoliation 


Plots  and  experimental  areas  were  es- 
tablished in  the  Northeast  to  determine 
the  degree  of  defoliation  and  damage 
caused  under  different  forest  condi- 
tions. In  the  Rocky  Mountains  there 
are  several  species  of  parasites  of  the 
budworm  that  do  not  occur  in  the  East ; 
several  colonies  of  those  parasites  were 
obtained  and  released  in  eastern  for- 
ests in  the  hope  that  they  would  be- 
come established. 

THE  SPRUCE-FIR  STANDS  in  the 
Adirondacks,  relatively  small  in  area, 
usually  are  surrounded  by  hardwoods. 
Such  stands  seem  particularly  favorable 
for  natural  control.  Winter  mortality 
during  1946-47  was  approximately  75 
percent.  Aggregate  parasitization  by  in- 
sect enemies  ranged  from  64  to  86 
percent  in  different  area.  The  total 
aggregate  mortality  from  winterkill  and 
parasites  ranged  from  83  to  98  percent. 
Insectivorous  birds  also  destroyed  large 
numbers  of  budworm  larvae  and  pu- 
pae. Certainly  those  factors  of  natural 
control  contributed  tremendously  in 
bringing  about  the  decline  in  budworm 
infestation  in  1947  in  New  York. 


THE  SEASONAL  HISTORY  of  a  pest 
must  be  known  before  control  meas- 
ures can  be  undertaken. 

The  adult  of  the  spruce  budworm  is 
a  small  moth  with  a  wing  spread  of 
seven-eighths  of  an  inch.  Its  general 
color  is  grayish  with  brown  markings. 

In  the  Northeastern  States  the  moths 
start  emerging  from  their  pupal  cases 
about  July  1 .  The  females  deposit  their 
pale-green  eggs  on  the  foliage  in  masses 
of  10  to  50  or  more,  where  they  overlap 
like  the  scales  of  a  fish.  One  female 
may  lay  several  of  these  egg  masses 
and  on  the  average  produces  about  175 
eggs.  The  incubation  period  lasts  about 
10  days. 

After  the  eggs  hatch,  the  young  cat- 
erpillars crawl  about  until  they  find 
suitable  places  under  bark  or  bud  scales 
to  spin  silken  weblike  coverings,  or 
hibernacula,  under  which  they  spend 
the  following  fall  and  winter.  These 
tiny  larvae  do  not  feed  until  they  be- 
come active  in  late  April  or  early  May 
and  leave  their  hibernacula.  At  first 
they  are  an  orange  yellow;  later  they 
turn  brownish.  They  mine  the  old  nee- 
dles first;  then  they  enter  the  opening 


The  Spruce  Budworm 


425 


buds,  where  they  feed  on  the  tender 
young  needles  which  are  just  starting 
growth.  They  also  feed  on  spruce  and 
fir  pollen.  As  the  new  shoots  elongate, 
the  larvae  tie  the  needles  together  with 
silken  threads  and  thus  form  shelters 
within  which  they  feed.  By  late  June 
they  are  full-grown,  reddish  brown  in 
color,  and  start  forming  the  pupal 
cases,  which  are  attached  to  the  twigs. 
The  pupal  period  lasts  7  to  10  days, 
after  which  the  moths  emerge  and  start 
laying  eggs — a  new  generation  is  under 
way. 

The  spruce  budworm  may  spread 
over  long  distances  to  new  areas  by 
flights  of  the  moths.  Records  of  the 
1910-19  outbreak  show  that  in  July 
1911  swarms  of  moths  appeared  in 
Philadelphia  and  in  1912  and  1913 
they  were  abundant  in  Connecticut. 
Those  localities  are  outside  the  general 
spruce-fir  range,  so  the  presence  of  the 
moths  there  had  significance  only  in 
showing  how  far  they  travel. 

The  regions  where  extensive  tree 
mortality  has  already  occurred  in  the 
present  outbreak  and  the  extent  of  the 
active  infestations  are  shown  on  the 
accompanying  map.  There  is  no  record 
of  a  flight  of  moths  in  1944  from  Can- 
ada that  might  have  caused  the  out- 
break conditions  discovered  in  New 
York  in  1945.  Apparently,  though,  a 
heavy  infestation  arose  simultaneously 
over  an  area  of  approximately  3,000 
square  miles,  and  careful  study  of  the 
area  in  1945  pointed  strongly  to  the 
possibility  of  a  widespread  flight  of 
moths  in  1944. 

DURING  AN  OUTBREAK  PERIOD,  a 
heavily  infested  tree  may  harbor  thou- 
sands of  caterpillars.  Except  when  the 
young  caterpillars  first  resume  activity 
in  the  spring  and  form  mines  in  the 
old  needles,  the  new  foliage  is  the  pre- 
ferred food  and  it  is  entirely  devoured 
before  the  old  foliage  is  eaten. 

In  heavy  infestations  the  trees  first 
exhibit  a  scorched  appearance.  Later 
they  turn  grayish  as  the  foliage  disap- 
pears. Finally  dead  tops  become  evi- 
dent. A  heavy  defoliation  for  several 


years  will  reduce  the  volume  of  foliage 
to  a  degree  where  many  of  the  cater- 
pillars die  from  starvation  and  the  bud- 
worm  population  declines,  but  in  the 
meantime  many  of  the  trees  will  have 
died.  Following  the  decline  of  the  in- 
sect in  a  particular  area,  the  loss  of 
trees  continues  for  several  years,  be- 
cause secondary  insects  and  fungi  have 
a  part  in  killing  weakened  trees. 

The  feeding  habits  of  the  spruce 
budworm  determine  to  a  large  measure 
the  damage  in  various  types  of  stands. 

The  caterpillars  show  a  definite  pref- 
erence for  fir  in  that  they  develop 
readily  on  both  old  and  current  growth. 
Although  the  budworm  feeds  readily 
and  develops  rapidly  on  pollen  from 
fir  trees,  the  presence  or  absence  of 
abundant  staminate  flowers  has  little 
effect  on  the  budworm  population  in 
the  forest.  The  lack  of  synchronism  be- 
tween budworm  development  and 
opening  of  buds  and  the  poor  survival 
on  old  foliage  of  red  and  black  spruce 
indicate  that  these  two  species  are  less 
favorable  food  plants  than  balsam  fir. 
This  fundamental  information  on  the 
biology  and  feeding  habits  of  the  spruce 
budworm  and  the  fact  that  mortality 
in  all  species  of  attacked  trees  is  directly 
proportional  to  the  lack  of  vigor  at  the 
time  of  defoliation  give  us  a  basis  for 
formulating  methods  for  the  silvicul- 
tural  control  of  this  insect. 

Investigations  made  during  and 
after  the  disastrous  outbreak  of  1910- 
19  in  New  Brunswick  and  Maine  in- 
dicated that  the  greatest  mortality  of 
trees  occurred  in  the  red  spruce-balsam 
fir  type,  particularly  where  the  fir  pre- 
dominated and  was  overmature. 

Little  damage  occurred  in  the  mixed 
hardwood-spruce  fir  stands,  where  the 
hardwoods  overtopped  the  conifers. 

White  and  black  spruce  appeared  to 
suffer  less  from  attack  than  red  spruce 
and  fir. 

THE  RESULTS  of  the  earlier  studies 
and  the  intensive  work  of  Canadian 
and  American  entomologists  during 
the  present  outbreak  point  the  way 
toward  a  possible  solution. 


426 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


To  view  the  problem  in  perspective, 
one  might  well  review  some  of  the  fac- 
tors that  have  brought  about  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  the  spruce-fir  forests. 

Because  spruce  is  far  more  valuable 
for  lumber  and  pulp  than  balsam  fir,  it 
has  been  cut  more  heavily  in  logging 
and  pulpwood  operations  and  its  pro- 
portion in  the  forests  has  thus  been  re- 
duced. Balsam  is  far  more  aggressive 
than  spruce  in  seeding-in  after  a  cut- 
ting operation,  fire,  or  wind  damage. 
Foresters  repeatedly  have  observed  that 
after  a  serious  budworm  outbreak  the 
succeeding  stand  invariably  contains  a 
higher  proportion  of  balsam.  Man's  ac- 
tivity and  the  spruce  budworm,  there- 
fore, have  often  contributed  to  a  grad- 
ual conversion  from  a  forest  containing 
a  high  percentage  of  spruce  to  one  in 
which  balsam  predominates  and  which 
is  far  more  favorable  for  the  budworm. 

In  view  of  such  points,  then,  what 
can  be  done  through  silvicultural  prac- 
tices to  increase  the  resistance  of  the 
forest  to  spruce  budworm  attack? 

There  appear  to  be  three  general 
procedures:  To  clear  cut  mature  and 
over-mature  balsam  stands;  to  operate 
balsam  stands  on  a  short  rotation;  to 
try  to  increase  the  proportion  of  spruce 
in  the  stand. 

The  first  and  second  would  be  aimed 
at  keeping  existing  stands  of  fir  as 
young  and  vigorous  as  possible.  Mature 
and  overmature  balsam  fir  trees  suffer 
most  during  an  outbreak.  It  is  not  be- 
cause their  foliage  is  more  palatable  to 
budworm  caterpillars  than  the  leaves 
of  more  vigorous  trees,  but  because 
they  are  low  in  vigor  and  cannot  sur- 
vive severe  defoliation.  The  clear  cut- 
ting of  such  stands  should  be  given  first 
priority  in  a  plan  of  action. 

In  a  long-range  program  to  build  up 
the  resistance  to  future  budworm  out- 
breaks, consideration  needs  to  be  given 
to  two  major  types  of  stands,  those  that 
are  predominantly  balsam  fir  and  those 
that  contain  an  appreciable  proportion 
of  spruce. 

In  a  stand  that  is  mostly  balsam,  cut- 
ting on  a  rotation  of  30  or  preferably  20 
years  will  help  to  maintain  the  stand  in 


a  condition  of  high  vigor.  Such  a  stand 
may  harbor  a  heavy  population  of  bud- 
worms,  but  it  will  suffer  much  less  than 
a  stand  of  low  vigor.  The  operation  of 
such  a  stand  on  short  rotation  will  at 
the  same  time  greatly  increase  the  ulti- 
mate yield. 

Where  spruce  occupies  an  appre- 
ciable proportion  of  the  stand,  every 
effort  should  be  made  through  cutting 
operations  to  increase  the  proportion  of 
spruce  and  at  the  same  time  save  only 
the  balsam  firs  that  are  very  vigorous. 

In  order  to  demonstrate  these  cut- 
ting methods,  experimental  areas  are 
being  established  jointly  by  the  Forest 
Service,  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and 
Plant  Quarantine,  the  States,  and  the 
owners  of  timberland  in  the  Northeast. 
The  areas  are  cruised  and  marked  by 
the  Federal  agencies  and  operated  by 
industry.  They  are  located  in  several 
parts  of  the  region,  so  that  the  influ- 
ences and  different  site  and  stand  con- 
ditions can  be  observed. 

In  these  silvicultural  operations,  the 
latest  findings  from  the  biological  stud- 
ies are  put  into  practice.  We  hope  that 
the  experimental  areas  will  become  a 
pattern  for  future  commercial  opera- 
tions so  that  resistant  forests  eventu- 
ally will  be  established  all  over  the 
Northeast. 

IN  SUM,  then,  we  know  that  each 
new  epidemic  is  far  more  disastrous 
than  the  last,  and  that  now  the  spruce- 
fir  resources  of  this  country  and  Can- 
ada are  in  jeopardy. 

Aerial  applications  of  insecticides 
offer  new  possibilities  for  controlling 
defoliators  like  the  spruce  budworm; 
further  attempts  to  control  the  insect 
over  extensive  areas  by  aerial  spraying 
are  now  in  progress  and  will  be  con- 
tinued during  the  present  outbreak. 

But  all  studies  and  observations  by 
entomologists  and  foresters  suggest  that 
the  ultimate  solution  lies  in  managing 
the  forest  so  as  to  maintain  high  vigor 
in  balsam  fir  stands  and,  where  con- 
ditions permit,  to  increase  the  propor- 
tion of  spruce.  Every  effort  should  be 
made  to  obtain  the  basic  biological 


Pine  Bar^  Beetles 


427 


information  useful  in  developing  silvi- 
cultural  practices  that  will  create 
conditions  unfavorable  for  the  develop- 
ment of  outbreaks  or  minimize  damage 
during  an  outbreak. 

R.  G.  BROWN  is  an  entomologist  in 
the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine.  He  was  graduated  from 
the  University  of  New  Hampshire  in 
1922  and  has  been  in  the  Bureau  since 
1925.  In  1935  he  was  put  in  charge  of 
the  Division  of  Forest  Insect  Investi- 
gations laboratory  in  New  Haven. 

H.  J.  MACALONEY  assists  Mr.  Brown 
at  New  Haven  and  has  charge  of  stud- 


ies in  the  application  of  biological  in- 
formation as  it  affects  silvicultural 
practices.  He  was  graduated  from  the 
New  York  State  College  of  Forestry 
at  Syracuse  University  in  1923  and  has 
been  in  the  Division  of  Forest  Insect 
Investigations  since  1925. 

P.B.DowDEN  also  assists  Mr.  Brown. 
He  was  graduated  from  Massachusetts 
State  College  in  1923  and  has  been 
with  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and 
Plant  Quarantine  since  that  time.  He  is 
in  charge  of  the  biological-control  in- 
vestigations on  forest  insects  conducted 
at  the  New  Haven  laboratory  in  Con- 
necticut. 


PINE  BARK  BEETLES 

F.  P.    KEEN 


Pine  bark  beetles  are  small,  dark- 
colored,  hard-shelled  insects  of  the  size 
of  a  grain  of  rice  or  a  medium-sized 
bean.  They  bore  under  the  bark  of  vari- 
ous pines  and  dig  egg  tunnels,  mostly 
in  the  inner  bark,  which  cut  the  cam- 
bium layer — a  tree's  most  vital  tissue. 
Eggs  laid  along  the  sides  of  these  tun- 
nels hatch  into  small,  white,  legless 
grubs.  Under  the  bark  also  the  attack- 
ing beetles  introduce  fungi,  blue  stains, 
and  yeasts,  which  penetrate  the  sap- 
wood  and  plug  the  sap  stream  from 
roots  to  foliage.  The  tree  is  hurt  in  the 
same  way  that  an  animal  would  be  in- 
jured or  killed  if  worms  were  to  bore 
into  it  and  stop  up  all  veins  and  arteries. 

When  the  larvae  complete  their 
feeding  in  the  inner  bark,  they  change 
into  pupae,  the  resting  stage,  then  to 
new  adults.  These  adults  later  emerge 
from  the  bark  and  fly  off  to  attack 
other  pines.  Thus  they  perpetuate  their 
species  and  continue  their  destructive 
course.  The  new  adults  may  attack 
the  green  trees  nearby,  or  they  may  fly 
several  miles  to  find  trees  to  attack. 

A  great  many  different  kinds  of 
beetles  work  into  and  under  the  bark 
of  pines.  The  most  destructive  bark 
beetle  enemies  of  American  forest  trees 


are  the  so-called  pine  beetles  (Den- 
droctonus  spp.),  which  attack  primar- 
ily the  more  mature  trees,  and  engraver 
beetles  (Ips  spp.),  which  prefer  young 
trees  or  the  tops  of  older  ones.  Species 
of  Dendroctonus  and  Ips  are  found 
throughout  North  America. 

The  more  important  species  of 
Dendroctonus  that  attack  pine  are  the 
western  pine  beetle  (D.  brevicomis 
Lee.),  which  attacks  ponderosa  pine 
and  Coulter  pine  in  the  Pacific  States, 
Idaho,  Montana,  and  British  Colum- 
bia; the  southern  pine  beetle  (D. 
frontalis  Zimm.),  which  attacks  all 
species  of  pines  and  spruce  from  Penn- 
sylvania south  to  Florida  and  west  to 
Arkansas  and  Texas;  the  mountain 
pine  beetle  (D.  monticolae  Hopk.), 
which  attacks  lodgepole  pine,  western 
white  pine,  sugar  pine,  and  other  pines 
in  the  Pacific  States  and  northern 
Rocky  Mountain  regions;  the  Black 
Hills  beetle  (D.  ponderosae  Hopk.), 
which  attacks  ponderosa  and  lodgepole 
pines  in  the  southern  and  central 
Rocky  Mountain  regions  and  in  the 
Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota;  the 
Jeffrey  pine  beetle  (D.  jeffreyi  Hopk.) , 
which  attacks  Jeffrey  pine  in  Califor- 
nia; and  the  turpentine  beetles  (D. 


428 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


valens  Lee.  and  D.  terebrans  Oliv.), 
which  attack  all  species  of  pines  but 
usually  can  overcome  only  weakened 
and  injured  trees. 

The  engraver  beetles  (Ips  spp.)  at- 
tack all  species  of  pines,  breed  readily 
in  the  tops  of  recently  felled  trees  and 
in  slash,  usually  develop  large  popu- 
lations, and  then  move  into  the  tops 
of  living  pines,  frequently  killing  trees 
in  large  groups.  Various  species  are 
found  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, but  they  all  have  similar  habits. 

Forestry  was  young  in  America 
when  it  was  discovered  that  pine  bark 
beetles  were  forest  destroyers  of  the 
first  magnitude.  In  the  first  official 
report  on  forestry,  submitted  to  Con- 
gress in  1877,  Franklin  B.  Hough,  the 
first  Government  forest  officer  in  the 
United  States,  directed  attention  to 
the  considerable  injury  done  to  the 
pines  of  South  Carolina  by  bark  beetles, 
and  referred  to  an  occurrence  of 
their  activity  as  early  as  1802.  Again, 
during  the  first  survey  and  classifica- 
tion of  lands  of  the  newly  created  For- 
est Reserves  by  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  in  1898,  H.  B.  Ayres 
reported  serious  damage  caused  by 
pine  beetles  to  the  white  pine  stands 
in  Montana.  In  1900  the  first  field  or- 
ganization of  foresters,  working  under 
Gifford  Pinchot,  found  bark  beetles 
killing  thousands  of  trees  in  the  Black 
Hills.  As  a  result  of  this  epidemic, 
which  killed  more  than  a  billion  board 
feet  of  pine  timber,  Dr.  A.  D.  Hop- 
kins, State  entomologist  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, was  called  on  to  investigate  and 
recommend  measures  of  control  for 
this  and  other  forest  pests. 

So  began  in  the  United  States  a 
problem  in  forest  protection  that  ever 
since  has  challenged  the  ingenuity  of 
entomologists  and  foresters.  For  it 
quickly  became  evident  that  these 
were  not  isolated  cases  of  insect  dam- 
age but  typical  examples  of  what  a 
group  of  insect  enemies  could  do  in 
many  forest  stands.  Over  a  long  pe- 
riod, the  havoc  that  bark  beetles  have 
wrought  has  resulted  in  a  greater  total 
drain  of  commercial  pine  timber  than 


has  been  sustained  from  any  other 
destructive  agency. 

IN      PRIMITIVE,      UNMANAGED      FOR- 

ESTSj  pine  bark  beetles  act  as  nature's 
forest  managers  and  loggers.  Young 
stands  that  have  become  too  crowded 
and  suffer  from  competition  and  stag- 
nation are  frequently  thinned  by  out- 
breaks of  engraver  beetles.  In  the  older 
stands,  the  weak,  intermediate,  and 
suppressed  trees  are  cut  out  by  pine 
beetles.  And  as  growing  forests  reach 
maturity,  the  old  trees  that  have  es- 
caped fire  and  storm  are  harvested  by 
pine  bark  beetles,  and  young  trees 
then  come  up  to  replace  them. 

In  the  development  of  forest  succes- 
sion, pine  beetles  often  have  a  promi- 
nent part.  When  fir-hemlock  stands  of 
the  Cascade  Mountain  Range  are 
wiped  out  by  fire,  for  example,  lodge- 
pole  or  western  white  pine  come  in  as 
temporary  species  to  reestablish  a  forest 
cover.  When  these  stands  get  to  be 
about  100  years  old,  the  more  tolerant 
fir  and  hemlock  again  become  estab- 
lished under  them.  Then  the  mountain 
pine  beetle  appears  to  act  as  nature's 
forester.  An  epidemic  conveniently 
eliminates  about  95  percent  of  the  pine 
overstory  and  thus  aids  the  process  of 
reestablishing  the  fir-hemlock  climax. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  western  pine 
beetle  in  ponderosa  pine  makes  a  selec- 
tion cutting  of  certain  intermediate, 
suppressed,  and  codominant  trees  that 
are  growing  too  slowly.  In  the  forest, 
group  killings  make  holes,  which  are 
filled  in  by  young  seedlings.  This  proc- 
ess tends  toward  the  development  and 
maintenance  of  uneven-aged  stands. 

The  trouble  is  that  beetles  are  crude 
forest  managers.  Often  they  go  too  far 
in  thinning  and  eliminating  competing 
trees.  They  kill  and  waste  much  sound 
lumber.  Holes  left  in  the  forest  stand 
may  take  many  years  to  fill.  If  we  are  to 
maintain  and  utilize  our  forest  re- 
sources, we  cannot  afford  to  allow  these 
natural  processes  to  run  their  course, 
and  yet  we  are  often  responsible  for 
starting  and  encouraging  them  through 
forest  mismanagement. 


Pine  Bar^  Beetles 


429 


BECAUSE  BARK  BEETLES  are  con- 
stantly at  work  in  pine  forests — thin- 
ning, harvesting,  and  wiping  out  entire 
stands  of  timber  to  make  room  for  new 
ones — they  destroy  on  the  whole  a  vast 
amount  of  commercially  valuable  tim- 
ber. In  the  long  run  they  are  no  threat 
to  forest  perpetuation,  but  they  do  take 
a  tremendous  toll  of  wood  that  we  need 
badly.  In  some  pine  areas,  this  loss  oc- 
curs as  a  slow  but  steady  annual  drain 
of  merchantable  trees  spread  over  a 
long  period  of  years.  In  other  areas,  the 
losses  are  more  spectacular  because 
they  result  from  epidemic  infestations 
that  kill  a  fairly  high  percentage  of  the 
stand  in  just  a  few  years.  But  regardless 
of  the  rate  at  which  they  occur,  these 
beetle-caused  losses  affect  directly  the 
potential  lumber  output  of  pine-pro- 
ducing areas  and  indirectly  the  taxable 
wealth  and  pay  rolls  of  entire  commu- 
nities. Estimates  based  on  surveys  in 
the  major  pine  regions  of  the  Western 
States  are  that  during  the  period  from 
1926  to  1946  the  western  pine  beetle, 
the  Black  Hills  beetle,  and  the  moun- 
tain pine  beetle  killed  over  50  million 
board  feet  of  pine. 

Just  as  important  is  the  damage  the 
beetles  cause  to  scenic  and  property 
values  in  our  parks  and  summer-home 
areas.  Mainly  for  that  reason  do  peo- 
ple lament  the  extensive  outbreaks  of 
mountain  pine  beetle  in  lodgepole  pine 
and  white  pine  stands  of  Yosemite, 
Grater  Lake,  Mount  Rainier,  Glacier, 
and  Yellowstone  National  Parks. 

True,  those  forests  will  be  replaced 
in  time  by  other  forests  of  the  same  or 
different  types,  but  for  many  years 
these  ghost  forests  of  white  snags  are 
gaunt  lessons  of  forest  destruction 
rather  than  forest  preservation. 

Another  bad  feature  is  that  the 
snags  left  by  the  beetles  increase  fire 
hazards.  Vast  areas  of  beetle-killed 
lodgepole  pine  are  a  particularly  criti- 
cal fire  menace;  some  of  the  worst 
forest  fires  on  record  have  occurred  in 
these  bug-killed  localities. 

THE  CAUSES  of  epidemics  of  pine 
bark  beetles  we  do  not  fully  under- 


stand— any  more  than  we  understand 
the  reasons  for  grasshopper  plagues  or 
influenza  epidemics.  We  do  know  that 
bark  beetles  can  increase  their  popu- 
lations at  a  lightning  rate — 10,  20, 
even  500  to  1  in  a  single  generation — 
but  usually  natural  factors  like  para- 
sites, predators,  unfavorable  weather, 
or  the  lack  of  suitable  food  keep  them 
from  doing  so.  When  susceptible  host 
material  is  abundant,  however,  and 
natural  controls  are  ineffective,  then 
beetles  reproduce  to  capacity,  and  an 
outbreak  occurs. 

Probably  the  most  important  factor 
in  building  up  beetle  populations  to 
epidemic  numbers  is  an  abundance  of 
suitable  breeding  material.  Just  a  for- 
est of  pine  trees  is  not  enough.  The 
beetles  prefer  certain  trees  that  are  in 
a  susceptible  condition  for  attack. 
Such  trees  are  the  ones  that  are 
making  poor  growth  or  those  that  are 
injured  and  weakened  by  fire,  wind- 
storms, and  by  other  causes.  Recently 
felled  trees  are  especially  attractive  to 
the  beetles.  Weakened  trees  can  offer 
little  resistance  by  pitch  flow  when  the 
beetles  attack  and  bore  through  to  the 
inner  bark.  When  their  populations 
are  low,  the  beetles  continually  select 
and  thrive  in  those  weak  trees;  when 
the  beetles  find  many  such  trees,  they 
usually  multiply  rapidly.  Either  nat- 
ural causes  or  disturbances  of  forest 
conditions  brought  about  by  man's 
activities  can  cause  an  abundance  of 
this  susceptible  host  material  in  pine 
forests. 

Fire-weakened  trees  are  often  fa- 
vored as  breeding  ground  by  certain 
bark  beetles,  which  then  turn  out 
large  populations  that  threaten  sur- 
rounding forests.  To  the  extent  that 
man  fails  to  control  or  is  responsible 
for  forest  fires,  he  can  be  charged  also 
with  the  pine  bark  beetle  damage. 

Drought  frequently  weakens  pine 
trees  and  makes  them  susceptible  to 
attack.  Defoliating  insects  also  slow 
tree  growth,  reduce  vigor,  and  make 
trees  an  easy  prey  to  the  beetles.  Most 
pine  stands  also  become  more  sus- 
ceptible as  they  reach  maturity. 


430 

In  any  pine  forest  a  rapid  increase  of 
bark  beetles  may  develop  in  any  of 
these  various  types  of  favored  food  ma- 
terial. When  the  supply  of  susceptible 
trees  becomes  exhausted,  the  beetles 
are  forced  to  turn  to  healthy  and  vigor- 
ous trees,  which  they  overcome  by 
sheer  force  of  numbers.  Bark  beetle 
epidemics,  once  they  develop,  continue 
until  brought  under  control  by  natural 
forces  or  by  artificial-control  measures. 

THE      NATURAL-CONTROL      FACTORS 

keep  some  in  check.  Besides  the  limita- 
tions of  food  supply,  disease,  and  un- 
favorable weather  that  restrict  the 
populations  of  bark  beetles,  they  have  a 
number  of  insect  enemies.  Parasites  and 
predators  feed  upon  and  destroy  the 
bark  beetles.  Also,  many  species  of 
birds  catch  beetles  when  they  are  in 
flight.  Certain  species  of  woodpeckers 
go  after  beetle  larvae  which  are  in  or 
under  the  bark. 

Bark  beetles  can  stand  heat  up  to 
about  120°  F.  and  so  they  are  rarely 
killed  by  hot  weather,  unless  on  the  top 
side  of  a  log  fully  exposed  to  the  sun. 
But  they  cannot  stand  subzero  tem- 
peratures, unless  they  have  had  time  to 
acclimatize  themselves.  Overwintering 
broods  of  western  pine  beetle  start  to 
die  at  about  5°  and  are  hard-hit  at 
-20°. 

And  so  it  is  that  while  the  vigorous 
broods,  free  from  too  many  parasitic 
insects,  predators,  and  woodpeckers, 
are  necessary  for  an  outbreak,  they 
must  also  have  ample  breeding  grounds 
of  slash,  windfalls,  drought-stricken 
trees,  or  susceptible  stands.  If  both  sets 
of  conditions  are  favorable,  a  major 
epidemic  is  inevitable,  and  much  tim- 
ber will  be  sacrificed  to  the  hungry 
hordes. 

Fifty  years  of  research  has  brought 
real  progress  in  our  ability  to  deal  with 
the  infestations.  Many  control  methods 
have  been  tried.  Some  have  been  ef- 
fective. Newer  methods  have  been 
found  and  put  to  good  use.  Most  sig- 
nificant of  all  advances  is  the  grow- 
ing interest  and  activity  of  private 
and  public  owners  of  pine  forests  in 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


bark  beetle  control  as  a  conservation 
measure. 

THE  FIRST  OFFENSIVES  against  the 
beetle  infestations  were  designed  to  de-r 
stroy  the  beetle  populations  in  infested 
trees  and  thus  to  prevent  them  from 
emerging  and  attacking  more  trees. 
The  strategy  was  based  on  the  concept 
that  dead  beetles  cannot  kill  trees.  On 
an  area  to  be  protected,  infested  trees 
were  located  in  the  fall,  winter,  and 
spring  when  the  beetles  and  their 
broods  were  dormant.  Then  the  insects 
were  destroyed,  usually  by  felling  the 
dead  trees  and  burning  the  bark. 

Beginning  with  the  relatively  small 
project  to  control  the  Black  Hills  bee- 
tle in  1905,  a  long  series  of  control 
campaigns  have  been  carried  on.  The 
work  has  involved  nearly  all  species  of 
pine  beetles  and  pine-producing  re- 
gions. Some  of  the  work  has  consisted 
of  small  routine  control  jobs,  under- 
taken and  completed  by  local  forest 
officers  or  owners  of  summer  homes; 
others  have  been  large  cooperative 
projects  over  thousands  of  acres,  made 
possible  by  many  individual  owner- 
ships. During  the  period  of  the  Civilian 
Conservation  Corps,  the  battle  was 
carried  on  as  part  of  the  forest-conser- 
vation program  wherever  serious  in- 
festations were  encountered.  Recent 
outbreaks  of  mountain  pine  beetles 
and  Black  Hills  beetles  in  the  northern 
Rocky  Mountains  have  again  led  to 
the  initiation  of  large-scale  projects. 

In  their  unceasing  effort  to  find 
new  and  better  ways  of  disposing  of 
the  beetles,  entomologists  have  ex- 
plored all  possibilities — from  the  sim- 
ple expedient  of  hitting  the  beetles 
with  an  ax  to  radio  waves  and  com- 
plicated electrical  traps,  from  burn- 
ing the  infested  bark  to  hauling 
infested  trees  out  of  the  forest  area 
and  dunking  them  in  millponds. 

Toxic  oils  sprayed  on  infested  bark 
have  been  used  to  avoid  the  costs  and 
fire  hazards  of  peeling  and  burning  it. 
Fuel-oil  solutions  of  naphthalene, 
orthodichlorobenzene,  and  of  paradi- 
chlorobenzene  have  proved  effective 


Pine  Barl(  Beetles 


431 


against  the  mountain  pine  beetle,  the 
Black  Hills  beetle,  and  Ips  in  lodgepole 
pine  and  other  thin-barked  trees.  New 
insecticides,  especially  DDT,  have 
greatly  increased  the  effectiveness  of 
oil-spray  formulas.  Burning  unpeeled 
infested  trees  with  the  aid  of  cheap 
fuel  oils,  and  even  with  "goop,"  de- 
veloped for  use  in  incendiary  bombs 
in  the  Second  World  War,  also  has 
been  tried.  Infested  lodgepole  pines 
have  been  burned  while  still  stand- 
ing by  spraying  the  trunks  with  fuel 
oil,  igniting  it,  and  following  up  with 
more  oil  until  the  bark  was  thoroughly 
charred.  Where  conditions  permitted, 
power  saws  and  bulldozers  have  been 
used  to  fell,  move,  and  prepare  trees 
for  burning.  Mechanized  equipment 
has  been  used  to  haul  infested  trees  to 
the  sawmill  where  the  infested  bark 
was  destroyed  and  the  logs  converted 
into  lumber.  All  these  methods  have 
limitations.  No  one  method  has  been 
developed  that  can  be  used  under  all 
conditions. 

INDIRECT  CONTROL  can  help.  About 
1924,  entomologists  and  foresters  began 
working  on  a  different  approach.  They 
studied  the  characteristics  of  trees  that 
were  attacked  by  the  western  pine 
beetle  and  found  that  the  beetles  pre- 
ferred to  attack  slow  growers  and  trees 
below  normal  in  growth  functions. 
Such  trees  could  be  distinguished  eas- 
ily from  healthy,  vigorous  trees  in  the 
form,  density,  and  thrift  of  the  crowns. 
An  off  color  of  the  needles  and  dieback 
of  twigs,  limbs,  and  tops  further  indi- 
cated susceptibility.  The  entomologists 
learned  from  their  studies  and  experi- 
mental selective-logging  operations 
that  losses  could  be  lessened  by  remov- 
ing part  or  all  of  these  susceptible  trees 
from  the  stand.  The  term  "sanitation 
salvage"  has  come  into  use  to  desig- 
nate this  new  type  of  control.  Timber 
companies,  which  were  quick  to  try  it, 
found  that  the  practice  could  pay  its 
way  through  the  sale  of  lumber  prod- 
ucts from  sound  but  vulnerable  trees 
that  otherwise  would  be  killed  by 
beetles  and  left  to  rot  in  the  woods. 


Sanitation  salvage  has  given  excel- 
lent results  in  controlling  western  pine 
beetles.  Areas  so  salvaged  a  decade  ago 
still  show  a  substantial  differential  be- 
tween the  number  of  trees  attacked  and 
the  losses  on  untreated  areas.  This  10- 
year  period,  however,  does  not  include 
any  test  of  the  method  during  an  epi- 
demic infestation.  What  will  happen 
then  remains  to  be  demonstrated. 

So  far,  the  criteria  by  which  high- 
risk  trees  can  be  distinguished  have 
been  developed  only  for  the  ponderosa 
and  Jeffrey  pines  found  in  forests  east 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Cascade 
Mountains.  Studies  are  under  way  to 
develop  similar  criteria  for  indirect 
control  of  bark  beetles  affecting  other 
pine  types,  which  for  the  present  can 
only  be  controlled  through  the  applica- 
tion of  direct-control  measures.  A 
method  similar  to  sanitation  salvage 
has  been  developed  and  is  being  put 
into  practice  for  western  white  pine 
stands  in  Idaho,  where  selective  log- 
ging of  low-vigor  trees  reduces  the 
amount  of  timber  killed  by  the  moun- 
tain pine  beetle. 

The  continuing  search  for  new  and 
better  methods  to  control  the  pine  bark 
beetles  seeks  to  keep  pace  with  the  de- 
velopment of  sound  forest-management 
practices  and  is  in  the  direction  of  im- 
proving methods  of  surveys  to  detect 
outbreaks  in  their  early  stages  and  to 
determine  the  susceptibility  or  bark 
beetle  hazard  of  various  pine  stands, 
developing  better  methods  of  direct 
control,  particularly  through  the  use  of 
the  newer  insecticides,  and  developing 
forest-management  practices  adjusted 
to  avoiding  or  limiting  bark  beetle  out- 
breaks. 

Use  of  the  airplane  in  the  surveys 
is  a  new  development  that  will  make 
possible  the  detection  of  small  out- 
breaks in  inaccessible  areas  before 
they  develop  into  large  ones.  Surveys 
from  the  ground  will  always  be  neces- 
sary to  follow  up  aerial  observations. 

Of  greatest  value  to  the  entire  survey 
system  is  the  study  and  classification 
of  pine  areas  according  to  expecta- 
tion of  bark  beetle  infestations.  This 


432 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


classification  of  pine  stands,  known  as 
a  hazard  survey,  has  been  carried  out 
only  for  a  small  part  of  the  ponderosa 
pine  region.  This  work  is  basic  to  plans 
for  control  through  management  and 
is  needed  throughout  much  of  the 
western  pine  region. 

The  possibilities  for  finding  better 
chemical  methods  for  destroying  bark 
beetles  have  by  no  means  been  ex- 
hausted. During  the  war,  many  new 
insecticides  came  into  prominence, 
among  them  DDT,  benzene  hexachlo- 
ride,  and  chlordane.  They  are  now 
being  tested  in  forests,  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  a  place  will  be  found  for 
some  of  them  in  the  control  of  bark 
beetles. 

But  the  greatest  hope  lies  in  better 
forest  management.  Pine  silviculture 
must  take  into  account  the  habits  of 
the  beetles  themselves;  by  studying 
this  behavior,  we  should  obtain  a  bet- 
ter understanding  of  nature's  methods 


of  thinning,  pruning,  and  harvesting. 
Then,  by  "beating  the  beetles  to  it"  and 
imitating  nature  at  her  best,  we  should 
be  able  to  develop  sound  silvicultural 
practices  which  will  avoid  further  de- 
struction from  these  small  insects. 

F.  P.  KEEN,  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  California,  is  senior  ento- 
mologist of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology 
and  Plant  Quarantine  in  charge  of  the 
Forest  Insect  Investigations  Labora- 
tory at  Berkeley,  Calif.  His  experience 
with  bark  beetle  problems  in  the  west- 
ern pine  region  covers  34  years.  He  is 
author  of  a  number  of  technical  pa- 
pers and  bulletins  on  forest  insects.  In 
1947  he  received  the  Department's 
Superior  Service  Award  for  his  devel- 
opment of  a  ponderosa  pine  tree  clas- 
sification,  which  is  used  as  an  index  to 
the  susceptibility  of  pine  stands  to  bark 
beetle  damage  and  as  a  guide  to  tree 
selection  on  timber  sales. 


INSECTS  IN  WOOD  PRODUCTS 

THOMAS    E.    SNYDER 


Insects  attack  the  forest  tree  in  all 
stages  of  its  life,  from  seed  to  maturity. 
The  log  that  is  cut  from  the  tree  also  is 
vulnerable  in  all  its  stages  to  attack  by 
other  kinds  of  wood-boring  insects — 
while  it  is  still  in  the  woods,  while  it  is 
green  or  seasoned  lumber  at  the  mill,  or 
is  being  stored,  or,  indeed,  after  it  has 
been  put  to  use  in  a  house,  barn,  or  a 
manufactured  item. 

The  insects  that  bore  into  lumber 
cause  losses  of  many  kinds  and  degrees. 
Sometimes  much  of  the  wood  is  riddled 
by  holes.  Sometimes  it  is  entirely  pul- 
verized so  as  to  be  completely  unusable. 
Sometimes  only  the  quality  of  the  wood 
is  lowered  by  the  holes  so  that  the  grade 
is  reduced.  Certain  stain  fungi,  carried 
by  bark  beetles  and  borers,  discolor  the 
logs  and  lumber;  they  do  not  affect 
performance,  but  the  wood  becomes 
unsuitable  for  outside  and  decorative 
purposes.  After  the  lumber,  pole,  or 


other  wood  product  is  in  use,  insect 
damage  is  even  more  serious,  because 
then  the  loss  includes  the  costs  of  pro- 
duction, seasoning,  storage,  and  re- 
placement. 

Two  TYPES  OF  INSECTS  are  prima- 
rily responsible.  One  requires  wet 
wood ;  the  other  dry  wood.  Sometimes 
the  injury  is  one  caused  by  the  adult 
beetles  which  fly  to  the  log  or  lumber 
and  bore  directly  into  the  wood.  At 
other  times  the  damage  is  caused  by 
the  young  hatching  from  eggs  laid 
under  the  bark  or  in  the  wood. 

Adult  ambrosia  beetles — so-called 
because  they  require  green  or  moist 
wood  within  which  they  raise  fungi  for 
food — rapidly  penetrate  green  logs  and 
lumber.  The  males  may  assist  the  fe- 
males in  forming  new  colonies,  and  the 
fungus  is  raised  for  the  young  to  eat. 
They  have  the  beginning  of  a  social 


Insects  in  Wood  Products 


433 


life,  but  do  not  develop  different  forms 
or  castes  as  do  the  true  social  insects, 
the  termites,  ants,  and  bees.  The  holes, 
not  more  than  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  are  made  by  the  adult 
beetles.  They  riddle  the  wood,  and  near 
them  the  wood  is  stained  black.  Seri- 
ous losses  to  tight  cooperage  or  barrel 
stock  and  balsa  wood  for  marine  life 
rafts  and  a  lowering  in  grade  of  valu- 
able lumber  for  veneer  to  be  used  in 
houses,  boats,  or  airplanes  result  from 
their  boring  and  staining. 

Larger  holes — more  than  one-fourth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter — are  caused  by 
the  young  of  large  beetles.  These  young 
are  called  sawyers  because  their  borings 
in  green  logs  result  in  piles  of  sawdust, 
as  if  the  wood  had  been  sawed  by  man. 
Their  gnawing  can  be  heard,  and  their 
activity  is  so  conspicuous  that  it  is  hard 
to  convince  a  tree  owner  that  it  was 
not  this  insect  that  killed  his  pines. 
Actually,  it  was  the  small,  grain-sized 
bark  beetles,  often  associated  with  a 
stain  fungus,  that  girdled  the  inner 
bark  and  shut  off  the  food  and  mois- 
ture supply  of  the  tree  and  caused  its 
death,  thus  preparing  it  for  the  larger 
borers. 

Some  types  of  insects  need  dry  wood 
for  their  food.  Among  them  are  many 
kinds,  sizes,  and  shapes  of  powder-post 
beetles,  which  pulverize  wood  and  have 
other  odd  habits.  One  kind  specializes 
in  boring  into  wine  and  whiskey  bar- 
rels. Another  drills  into  and  around 
lead-sheathed  cables,  unmindful  of  the 
short  circuits  that  result  when  moisture 
penetrates  the  insulation.  Some  years 
ago  one  kind,  like  a  weevil,  damaged 
the  trusses  in  the  roof  of  the  White 
House.  An  odd  lot,  indeed. 

An  extremely  destructive  kind  is  the 
Lyctus  powder-post  beetles,  small, 
winged  beetles  that  lay  their  elongate 
eggs  in  the  pores  of  the  sap  wood  of 
certain  large-pored  hardwoods  but  do 
not  attack  the  heartwood.  They  go 
after  dry  or  seasoned  sapwood  of  such 
hardwoods  as  hickory,  ash,  oak,  and 
walnut  lumber;  manufactured  prod- 
ucts like  tool  handles,  gun  stocks,  tent 
stakes,  wooden  artillery  wheels,  wagon 


spokes,  oars,  and  other  products  stored 
for  long  periods;  and,  sometimes,  fur- 
niture, woodwork,  flooring,  and  timber 
in  homes.  The  young  reduce  the  wood 
fibers  to  a  powder  from  which  all 
strength  is  gone.  The  presence  of  these 
insects  is  usually  betrayed  by  small  piles 
of  fine  powder  expelled  from  the  bur- 
rows by  the  young.  These  beetles  relish 
items  like  dry  ax  handles  because  they 
find  the  wood  rich  in  starch  and  quite 
suitable  for  raising  their  families. 

But  the  ones  that  give  householders 
the  most  gray  hairs  and  sleepless  nights 
are  termites,  the  most  destructive  of 
all.  In  the  United  States  they  are  of 
two  main  types.  The  subterranean 
kind,  which  is  the  worse,  requires  much 
moisture  and  attacks  wood  indirectly 
from  the  moist  soil.  The  dry- wood 
termites  directly  attack  dry  wood.  They 
are  injurious  only  in  southern  Califor- 
nia and  Florida  and  normally  do  not 
occur  in  the  Northern  States.  Termites 
damage  buildings  of  all  types,  various 
kinds  of  stored  materials,  poles,  posts, 
derricks,  mine  props,  and  many 
another.  By  their  boring,  also,  they 
riddle  or  corrode  with  their  moist 
excrement  many  materials  that  they 
cannot  eat.  Often,  however,  termites 
can  be  easily  and  cheaply  controlled. 

PRECAUTIONARY  MEASURES  in  han- 
dling the  green  wood  and  lumber  can 
eliminate  much  of  the  damage  by  the 
insects  that  prefer  them.  The  meas- 
ures are  rapid  moving,  seasoning,  sort- 
ing, and  periodic  inspection. 

The  logs  should  be  handled  quickly, 
with  a  minimum  of  delay  between  fell- 
ing the  log  and  stacking  the  lumber  for 
drying.  Drying  the  lumber,  in  the  air 
or  in  a  kiln,  will  stop  the  insects  from 
boring.  Any  damage  that  has  been 
done  to  the  wood  usually  will  not  af- 
fect its  strength.  It  is  termed  "sound 
wormy  grade." 

As  for  the  beetles  that  prefer  sea- 
soned wood:  Because  only  the  sap- 
wood  is  susceptible  to  them,  sapwood 
and  part  sapwood  should  be  sorted  and 
piled  separately  from  the  heartwood. 
The  stacks  of  sapwood  then  should  be 


802062° — 49- 


-29 


434 

dated  so  that  the  oldest  or  longest 
seasoned  wood  can  be  used  first.  The 
drier  the  wood,  the  more  appetizing  it 
is  to  the  powder-post  beetles. 

Further  protection  can  be  gained  by 
periodic  inspections  of  the  stock  so  that 
infested  material  can  be  removed  for 
burning  or  treatment.  This  is  a  live- 
worm  defect,  and  the  insects  will  con- 
tinue to  bore  until  the  product  is 
destroyed  or  they  are  controlled. 

SOME  WOODS  have  chemicals  in  their 
cells  that  protect  them  from  insects, 
and  heartwood  is  more  resistant  than 
sapwood.  So,  because  insects  are  ready 
to  pounce  even  after  the  wood  is  safely 
through  storage  and  has  been  put  to 
use,  it  is  sensible  to  select  carefully  the 
species  and  grades  that  fit  exactly  the 
purpose  at  hand. 

Whenever  possible,  one  should  use 
the  heartwood  of  the  more  naturally 
durable  or  insect-resistant  and  rot-re- 
sistant woods  instead  of  the  perishable 
woods.  Resistant  woods  like  founda- 
tion-grade redwood,  the  southern  tide- 
water red  cypress,  and  the  mahogany 
contain  alcohols,  alkaloids,  gums,  res- 
ins, or  bitter  essences  that  makes  them 
distasteful  to  boring  insects.  Some  kinds 
of  wood  that  are  not  subject  to  attack 
by  certain  wood  borers  but  are  adapted 
for  the  same  use  should  be  substituted 
for  susceptible  kinds.  For  example,  yel- 
low pine  or  Douglas-fir  can  be  used 
instead  of  oak  for  storage  pallets  to 
prevent  losses  by  Lyctus  powder-post 
beetles. 

The  relative  termite  resistance  of 
certain  native  and  exotic — particularly 
tropical  American — untreated  timbers 
has  been  determined  by  long-time  serv- 
ice tests  conducted  in  the  United  States 
and  in  the  Canal  Zone. 

Among  those  commercially  available 
in  the  United  States  are  close-grained 
heartwood  foundation-grade  Califor- 
nia redwood,  southern  tidewater  red 
cypress,  and  very  pitchy  southern  long- 
leaf  pine.  The  information  from  the 
long-time  service  tests  also  permits  the 
recommendation  of  naturally  resistant 
woods  for  use  in  building  or  bridge 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


construction  where  chemically  impreg- 
nated timber  is  not  locally  available, 
especially  in  the  various  tropical  re- 
gions of  the  world.  Greenheart,  man- 
barklak,  and  guayacan  of  the  Americas, 
teak  and  sal  of  India,  molave  and  ipil 
of  the  Philippines,  and  cypress-pine, 
brush-box,  and  turpentine  wood  of 
New  South  Wales  are  a  few  of  the 
woods  found  to  be  termite-resistant. 

TERMITE-PROOF  FOUNDATIONS  can 
be  constructed — on  the  basis  of  field 
research  on  the  habits  of  termites  and 
their  control.  The  research,  including 
studies  of  proper  drainage  of  building 
sites,  grading  necessary  to  secure  suffi- 
cient clearance  between  construction 
timbers  and  the  earth  in  which  ter- 
mites live,  the  role  of  wood  debris  in 
the  soil,  soil  moisture,  temperature  and 
humidity  in  the  building  of  earthlike 
shelter  tubes  by  termites  over  founda- 
tions, and  measurements  and  exact 
location  of  ventilation  openings,  has 
led  to  safe  construction. 

Sound  foundations  can  be  con- 
structed by  the  use  of  proper  grades 
of  mortar  for  masonry  units  and  im- 
penetrable coal-tar  pitches  for  sealing 
expansion  joints  and  vertical  piping 
that  project  through  concrete. 

Porches,  steps,  and  the  like  that  have 
an  earthen  fill  can  be  sealed  off  or 
separated  from  the  main  structure.  On 
the  basis  of  tests  of  mortars,  expansion- 
joint  seals,  and  barriers,  specifications 
for  termite-proof  foundations  have 
been  written  for  various  government 
agencies  charged  with  housing  con- 
struction. The  measures  recommended 
will  protect  structures  from  attack  by 
termites  for  a  slight  additional  cost.  Ad- 
vice given  on  the  job  to  Federal  housing 
officials  proved  particularly  useful  be- 
fore and  during  the  Second  World  War 
and  resulted  in  more  durable  buildings 
than  those  erected  at  the  time  of  the 
First  World  War. 

NEW      BUILDING      MATERIALS      Were 

tested  for  the  Housing  and  Home  Fi- 
nance Agency  in  an  effort  to  speed 
postwar  construction.  Many  proved  to 


Insects  in  Wood  Products 


435 


be  more  or  less  susceptible  to  termite 
attack.  In  accelerated  laboratory  tests, 
the  research  men  discovered  the  sus- 
ceptibility to  termite  attack  of  light 
wall  panels  made  of  paper  honeycomb, 
impregnated  with  a  synthetic  resin  and 
covered  with  thin  sheets  of  aluminum ; 
fiberboard  made  from  palmetto;  and 
wall  panel  made  of  pressed  excelsior, 
bonded  with  an  inorganic  cement. 
Such  materials  need  not  be  considered 
unsuitable  for  construction,  but  they  do 
need  further  chemical  protection  or 
should  be  used  in  buildings  for  which 
termite-proof  construction  has  been 
provided.  Some  of  the  honeycomb  pan- 
els apparently  become  weakened  more 
rapidly  than  untreated  wood. 

SOMETIMES  CHEMICALS  must  be 
used — sprays,  dips,  wood  preservatives, 
soil  poisons,  poison  dusts,  or  toxic 
fumigants.  Chemicals  suitable  for  pre- 
serving structural  timbers  have  been 
available  for  years,  but  only  recently 
were  effective  and  lasting  chemicals 
discovered  for  use  as  sprays  or  dips  to 
protect  green  logs  as  well  as  green  and 
seasoning  lumber  from  borer  attack. 

DDT  and  benzene  hexachloride  in 
oil  solutions  are  effective  in  preventing 
attack  by  bark  beetles,  sawyers,  and 
ambrosia  beetles  in  green  logs  and 
lumber. 

Benzene  hexachloride  is  better  than 
DDT  against  ambrosia  beetles. 

Borax  and  microfine  sulfur  in  water 
solution  or  suspension  have  been  rec- 
ommended to  the  Army  for  use  as  pro- 
tective dips  against  Lyctus  powder-post 
beetles  for  unseasoned  implement  han- 
dle stock. 

For  seasoned  tool  handles,  penta- 
chlorphenol  in  oil  solution  has  been 
specified  as  a  preventive  dip. 

Solutions  of  DDT  are  effective  in 
protecting  bamboo  and  tool  handles, 
but  such  preventive  dips  do  not  stop 
rot  or  decay.  The  pentachlorphenol 
protects  against  both  insects  and  decay. 

Powder-post  beetles  infesting  build- 
ings or  furniture  can  be  controlled  by 
pentachlorphenol  sprays. 

Tests   in   this   country   and   in   the 


Tropics  of  new  chemical  wood  preser- 
vatives disclosed  that  copper  naphthe- 
nate  and  pentachlorphenol  protect 
ammunition  boxes,  crates,  pallets,  and 
the  like  from  attack  by  wood-boring 
insects. 

The  arsenicals  and  pentachlorphenol 
give  effective  protection  against  ter- 
mites when  used  as  integral  treatments 
during  manufacture  for  fiberboards. 

Poisoning  the  soil  about  the  founda- 
tion of  buildings  is  useful  as  a  supple- 
mentary treatment  against  termites 
where  structural  insulation  is  not  prac- 
ticable. Suitable  for  such  a  purpose  are 
arsenicals,  chlorinated  phenols,  chlori- 
nated benzenes,  DDT-in-oil  solution, 
and  many  other  chemicals.  Different 
types  of  soil  and  moisture  conditions, 
types  of  construction,  and  cost  deter- 
mine which  to  use.  Only  odorless  soil 
poisons  should  be  used  in  places  where 
food  is  near  or  in  enclosed  areas  that 
are  poorly  ventilated. 

Government  research  men  and  mem- 
bers of  the  National  Pest  Control  Asso- 
ciation have  written  standard  specifi- 
cations for  the  control  of  termites  in 
buildings.  Included  were  structural  and 
chemical  methods  of  protection,  some- 
what as  outlined  here. 

The  specifications  have  helped  the 
industry  and  the  public — all  hands  ex- 
cept the  termites. 

In  southern  California  members  of 
the  pest-control  industry  recently  con- 
ducted cooperative  tests  with  the 
Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant  Quar- 
antine to  discover  more  effective  liquid 
chemical  sprays  or  dusts  for  the  control 
of  dry-wood  or  nonsubterranean  ter- 
mites. During  these  experiments  it  was 
shown  that  isolated  buildings  tightly 
sealed  with  heavy  paper  can  be  rid  of 
the  dry-wood  termites  or  powder-post 
beetles  by  fumigation  with  heavy  dos- 
ages of  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  or  methyl 
bromide.  Fairly  long  periods  of  fumi- 
gation and  forced  aeration  are  re- 
quired. This  is  dangerous  work  that 
should  be  done  only  by  professional 
fumigators.  Special  precautions  must 
be  taken  to  protect  the  building,  ma- 
terial stored  therein,  and  human  life. 


436 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Even  though  this  method  requires  pro- 
fessional assistance,  it  is  more  effective, 
practicable,  and  cheaper  in  destroying 
heavy,  hidden,  deep-seated  infesta- 
tions than  the  use  of  liquid  chemicals 
or  poison  dusts  or  the  replacement  of 
infested  areas  with  chemically  impreg- 
nated wood.  Fumigation  will  not  pre- 
vent reinfestation. 

THOMAS  E.  SNYDER,  a  senior  en- 
tomologist in  the  Division  of  Forest 


Insect  Investigations,  Bureau  of  En" 
tomology  and  Plant  Quarantine,  has 
devoted  40  years  to  the  study  of  insects 
that  attack  forest  products  and  ways 
to  control  them.  He  has  published 
numerous  articles  on  termites,  powder- 
post  beetles,  ambrosia  beetles,  and 
the  chemical  wood  preservatives.  Dr. 
Snyder  is  an  authority  on  the  classifi- 
cation of  termites.  He  has  degrees 
from  Columbia,  Yale,  and  George 
Washington  Universities. 


CONTROLLING  THE  TUSSOCK  MOTH 

PAUL  H.  ROBERTS,  JAMES  C.  EVENDEN 


In  the  field  headquarters  at  Moscow, 
Idaho,  a  tense  group  of  men  were  wait- 
ing for  the  signal  that  was  to  start  the 
greatest  of  all  airplane  offensives 
against  an  insect.  It  was  3  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  May  22,  1947.  The  sun 
had  not  yet  limned  the  mountain  maj- 
esty of  northern  Idaho  and  neighbor- 
ing Washington  or  the  desolation 
wrought  in  the  forests  by  the  tussock 
moth.  The  report  came:  Weather 
clear;  wind  velocity  5  miles  an  hour. 
It  was  relayed  to  the  Laird  Park  air- 
strip and  the  municipal  airport  at 
Moscow,  the  seat  of  the  University  of 
Idaho,  and  nearby  Pullman,  the  seat 
of  Washington  State  College. 

At  3 : 20  a.  m.  the  big  C-47  trundled 
onto  the  runway,  roared  through  a 
short  take-off,  then  rose  and  turned 
toward  the  rough  terrain  of  Moscow 
Mountain  to  spread  1,000  gallons  of 
DDT  spray  over  1,000  acres  of  infested 
fir  timber.  The  Ford  trimotors  followed. 
Simultaneously  the  small  planes  at  the 
Laird  Park  airstrip  went  out,  one  at  a 
time. 

They  were  after  the  Douglas-fir  tus- 
sock moth  (Hemerocampa  pseudot- 
sugata  McD.),  which  early  in  1946 
appeared  in  epidemic  proportions 
throughout  a  large  forest  area  near 
Moscow,  Idaho.  A  native  of  north- 
western United  States  and  southeast- 
ern Canada,  the  small  insect  can  kill 


its  preferred  hosts,  Douglas-fir  and  the 
true  firs,  in  a  year  if  it  destroys  all  the 
foliage;  partial  defoliation  may  result 
in  serious  top  killing  and  the  death  of 
trees  if  it  continues  for  several  years. 

In  its  life  cycle  this  insect  produces 
but  one  generation  each  year.  Eggs  are 
laid  in  August  and  September  and 
hatch  the  following  spring  in  late  May. 
The  tiny  caterpillars  are  active  and  will 
travel  relatively  long  distances  in  search 
of  food.  They  become  full-grown  by 
late  August,  pupate,  and  transform  to 
new  adults  in  about  2  weeks.  As  the 
female  moths  are  wingless,  eggs  are 
usually  laid  on  or  near  the  pupal  case 
from  which  the  moths  have  emerged. 
Any  widespread  distribution  of  an  in- 
festation must  be  by  means  other  than 
the  flight  of  adult  moths.  It  is  known 
that  the  young,  hairy  caterpillars  are 
carried  long  distances  by  air  currents. 
When  disturbed,  they  drop  from  the 
limbs  and  hang  suspended  on  a  fine 
silken  thread  often  5  feet  or  more  in 
length,  which  they  spin  as  they  fall. 
This  thread  and  the  body  hairs  of  the 
caterpillar  offer  considerable  wind  re- 
sistance, and  air  currents  of  about  10 
miles  an  hour  will  carry  them  away. 

By  early  summer  of  1946  whole 
mountainsides  appeared  brown  from 
defoliation  of  trees  by  the  insect.  In 
the  Idaho  territory  these  brown  areas 
intensified  public  concern  as  to  reme- 


Controlling  the  Tussoc\  Moth 


437 


dies.  On  July  15  the  Moscow  Chamber 
of  Commerce  called  a  meeting  for  a 
discussion  of  the  situation.  Owners  of 
timberland,  private  citizens,  and  repre- 
sentatives of  lumber  companies,  the 
Idaho  State  Forestry  Department, 
University  of  Idaho,  the  State  Exten- 
sion Service,  the  Forest  Service,  and 
the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine  attended.  They  decided 
that  it  was  too  late  to  attempt  control 
action  in  1946  and  that  a  survey  should 
be  made  of  the  situation  by  the  Forest 
Service  and  Bureau  of  Entomology  and 
Plant  Quarantine. 

The  two  agencies  gave  a  joint  report 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  North 
Idaho  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Mos- 
cow on  November  21.  The  primary 
facts  disclosed  were:  (1)  Within  a 
gross,  area  of  about  500,000  acres,  350,- 
000  acres  with  an  estimated  stand  of 
1,518,000  thousand  board  feet  of  the 
Douglas-fir  and  white  fir  timber  were 
infested  and  an  additional  1,182,000 
thousand  board  feet  were  threatened; 
(2)  the  economic  values  involved  (in- 
cluding, but  not  limited  to,  stumpage, 
lumber,  pay  rolls,  and  taxes)  were 
more  than  100  million  dollars;  (3) 
aerial  spraying  with  a  DDT  solution 
was  the  only  feasible  means  of  control 
on  the  rugged  terrain;  (4)  the  esti- 
mated cost  of  control  was  $1.70  an 
acre;  (5)  to  hold  down  losses  the  oper- 
ations would  have  to  be  accomplished 
between  May  20  and  June  30,  1947— 
May  20  because  it  was  about  the  date 
of  general  hatching  of  the  tussock  moth 
caterpillars  from  the  egg  masses,  and 
June  30  because  after  that  date  de- 
foliation of  trees  would  occur  to  a  de- 
gree that  would  perforce  kill  much  of 
the  timber  stand. 

The  report  contained  many  other 
details,  including  a  description  of  the 
fir  tussock  moth;  estimates  of  flying 
altitudes  above  timber  for  different 
types  of  planes ;  need  for  aerial  photo- 
graphic maps ;  estimated  days  of  flying 
weather  and  hours  of  flying  weather 
per  day  between  May  20  and  June  30 ; 
and  the  need  for  supplementary  air- 
strips. 


The  meeting  heartily  approved  the 
recommendations  for  action.  This  was 
the  first  of  a  series  of  steps  that  pre- 
sented an  inspiring  example  of  varied 
interests  that  were  quickly  knit  together 
and  acted  on  decisively,  forcibly,  and 
in  complete  unity  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  an  objective. 

The  report  was  presented  to  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  officials  in  Wash- 
ington on  December  6  and  to  other 
groups  in  December  and  January.  It 
was  presented  to  the  Idaho  State  Coop- 
erative Board  of  Forestry,  which  rec- 
ommended that  the  State  cooperate 
with  the  private  timberland  owners  and 
the  Federal  Government  in  control  of 
the  infestation.  Idaho  Senate  Bill  No. 
118,  enacted  on  February  18,  cleared 
the  way  for  cooperative  action  by  the 
State  and  Federal  Governments.  The 
Idaho  State  Legislature  on  March  4 
appropriated  $210,000  for  cooperative 
forest-insect  and  pest  control.  The  di- 
rectors of  the  Potlatch  Timber  Protec- 
tive Association  decided  unanimously 
that  the  Association  should  carry  its 
share  of  the  costs.  Congress  appropri- 
ated $395,000  for  the  work. 

The  essential  preparatory  measures 
were  many  and  varied.  The  nature  of 
the  task  required  administration  by  one 
agency;  the  major  timberland  owners 
agreed  that  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture should  be  the  one.  Accordingly, 
the  Forest  Service  and  the  Bureau  of 
Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine 
proceeded  within  their  means  and  ex- 
isting authorities.  The  Forest  Service 
delegated  responsibility  for  the  admin- 
istration of  the  project  to  the  regional 
forester  of  the  Northern  Region  at  Mis- 
soula,  Mont.  The  Bureau  of  Entomol- 
ogy and  Plant  Quarantine  delegated 
responsibility  for  the  entomological 
phases  to  their  regional  forest  entomo- 
logist at  Coeur  d'Alene,  Idaho. 

The  regional  forester  designated  a 
project  leader  for  the  Forest  Service. 
All  preparatory  action  was  carried  on 
by  the  project  leader  and  one  assistant 
and  the  leader  for  the  Bureau  of  Ento- 
mology and  Plant  Quarantine,  with 
the  help  of  the  regular  divisions  of  the 


438 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Forest  Service  and  those  of  the  Bureau 
of  Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine. 

Most  of  the  area  in  need  of  treat- 
ment was  in  Idaho.  An  area  of  about 
4,000  acres  just  over  the  line  in  south- 
eastern Washington  also  had  to  be 
treated  because  otherwise  the  prevail- 
ing winds  would  make  it  a  source  of 
reinfestation  in  Idaho.  An  area  of 
about  14,000  acres  in  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains in  Oregon  was  listed  for  treat- 
ment if  funds  were  sufficient. 

Cooperative  agreements  with  all  the 
States  concerned  were  essential  to  set 
up  authorities  and  responsibilities  for 
various  phases.  A  formal  agreement 
with  the  State  forester  and  the  Land 
Board  of  Idaho  was  signed  on  April 
17,  1947.  The  most  important  items 
of  the  agreement  were:  The  regional 
forester  at  Missoula  was  designated  as 
agent  of  the  State  of  Idaho  to  con- 
duct all  phases  of  the  control  opera- 
tions; the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and 
Plant  Quarantine  was  to  be  responsible 
for  the  entomological  phases ;  the  State 
was  made  responsible  for  collections  of 
contributions  of  funds  for  control  from 
private  landowners;  the  United  States 
was  relieved  of  any  public  liabilities 
arising  from  application  of  spray  on 
State  and  private  lands;  a  general 
formula  was  set  up  for  sharing  costs 
among  private  landowners,  the  State, 
and  the  Federal  Government;  and  the 
spray  formula  was  established  as  "not 
more  than  1  pound  of  technical  DDT 
in  solvent  and  fuel  oil  to  make  1  gal- 
lon of  spray,  to  be  applied  at  the  rate 
of  1  gallon  per  acre." 

Less  detailed  agreements  were  made 
with  the  State  foresters  of  Washington 
and  Oregon. 

Aerial  maps  were  essential  for  use 
of  the  pilots,  for  the  delineation  of  in- 
fested areas,  and  for  various  other  con- 
trols. Contact  prints  scaled  to  about 
3J/2  inches  to  the  mile  and  enlarge- 
ments to  6  inches  to  the  mile  were 
assembled  and  prepared  for  use.  Their 
value  was  increased  by  adding  section 
lines. 

Surveys  to  determine  suitability  and 
location  of  temporary  airstrips  were 


made,  and  seven  such  strips  were  con- 
structed by  the  Division  of  Engineer- 
ing in  the  Forest  Service.  The  surveys 
and  construction  work  were  hampered 
by  snow  and  wet  ground.  The  last  of 
the  strips  was  completed  shortly  after 
spraying  operations  began. 

The  award  on  bids  for  aerial-spray- 
ing contracts  had  to  be  made  far 
enough  in  advance  of  the  scheduled 
date  of  initial  spraying  operations  to 
allow  the  flying  contractors  time  to 
construct  and  install  the  spraying 
equipment.  The  preparation  of  bids 
was  difficult  because  there  were  no 
previous  contracts  to  serve  as  a  guide 
and  no  definite  specifications  for  spray 
apparatus  for  such  a  job  existed.  The 
invitation  to  bid  stipulated  that  the 
spray  apparatus  must  regulate  appli- 
cation to  1  gallon  to  the  acre  and 
would  be  subject  to  flight  tests  before 
the  start  of  control  operations.  Bids 
were  opened  on  April  14,  but  were  not 
finally  accepted  until  immediately 
after  the  appropriation  of  the  Federal 
funds.  The  contractors,  despite  the 
short  period  available  for  construction 
and  installation  of  spray  apparatus, 
were  ready  to  fly  on  May  20. 

Procurements  of  DDT  and  the  fin- 
ished insecticide  were  handled  by  the 
Washington  offices  of  the  Bureau  of 
Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine  and 
the  Forest  Service.  The  quantities  of 
insecticide  (350,000  gallons)  and  the 
time  limit  heavily  taxed  available  sup- 
plies of  DDT  and  the  capacity  of  the 
mixing  equipment  of  the  contractors. 
Arrangements  were  made  with  traffic 
managers  of  the  railroad  companies  to 
red-tag  manifest  the  spray  tank  cars 
and  deliver  the  spray  on  a  schedule 
which  would  minimize  loss  of  the 
limited  flying  time. 

Truck  tractors  and  tank  trailers  for 
delivery  of  spray  from  the  railhead  to 
the  airfields  were  essential.  The  only 
source  from  which  these  were  obtain- 
able was  the  Army  Air  Force,  which 
lent  the  equipment  it  had  at  the 
Spokane  Army  Airfield. 

Arrangements  were  made  with  the 
Weather  Bureau  to  establish  a  24-hour 


Controlling  the  Tussock^  Moth 


439 


weather  service  at  field  headquarters  in 
Moscow.  June  is  a  month  of  uncertain 
weather  conditions  in  this  area. 

Weather  records  over  a  period  of 
years  were  analyzed  and  used  as  a  basis 
for  the  over-all  plans.  Even  so,  there 
was  uncertainty.  Abnormal  rains  and 
wind  occurrence  and  velocity  would 
seriously  reduce  favorable  flying  time. 

A  detailed  survey  of  the  general  area 
of  infestation  was  necessary  in  advance 
of  spraying  to  delineate  the  areas  to 
be  sprayed  on  aerial  maps  for  use  of 
the  pilots,  to  subdivide  the  infested 
areas  into  spray-application  units,  and 
to  determine  accurately  the  acreage  to 
be  sprayed.  Because  of  snow  and  im- 
passable roads,  this  precontrol  survey 
was  not  completed  until  June  20. 

Arrangements  were  made  with  the 
University  of  Idaho  for  a  field  head- 
quarters in  the  university  buildings.  Of- 
fice space  and  sleeping  quarters  were 
provided  in  one  building. 

Selections  were  made  of  administra- 
tive and  operations  personnel  to  be  de- 
tailed from  the  national  forests  and  the 
Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine  to  the  project  a  short  time 
in  advance  of  spraying  operations.  All 
transportation  and  office  equipment 
and  supplies,  radios,  tents,  bedding, 
and  other  equipment  were  obtained 
from  Forest  Service  and  Bureau  of  En- 
tomology and  Plant  Quarantine  stocks. 
Purchases  were  then  made  of  a  small 
amount  of  special  items,  such  as  glass 
plates  for  spray  checking,  cleaning  sol- 
vent for  the  glass  plates,  and  small 
amounts  of  lumber  for  tent  platforms. 

During  this  preparatory  period  and 
the  course  of  control  work,  the  Idaho 
State  Forestry  Department  assembled 
data  on  landownership  and  collected 
funds  from  the  timberland  owners. 

The  organization  of  the  Federal  ad- 
ministrative and  control  forces  pre- 
sented some  new  problems.  Two  major 
decisions,  made  early  in  the  prepara- 
tion stages,  materially  simplified  this 
task.  The  first  was  that  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice and  Bureau  of  Entomology  and 
Plant  Quarantine  would  not  handle 
any  phase  of  the  operations  which  dealt 


directly  with  flying.  The  delivery  of 
spray  by  tank  truck  from  the  railhead 
to  the  airfields  was  a  responsibility  of 
the  contractor.  Spray-material  con- 
tracts provided  for  delivery  of  the  fin- 
ished insecticide  in  tank  cars  so  that 
there  would  be  no  need  for  mixing  the 
DDT  in  solvent  with  the  fuel  oil  at  the 
project  delivery  point.  The  second  de- 
cision was  that  artificial  marking  of 
flight  lines  would  not  be  attempted. 

These  decisions  left  four  primary  ac- 
tivities upon  which  the  Federal  admin- 
istrative and  control  organization 
would  be  based: 

( 1 )  General  administration  and  su- 
pervision, including,  but  not  limited  to, 
facilitating  delivery  of  insecticide  on 
schedule  and  keeping  records  of  all 
shipments,  deliveries,  and  use;  daily 
record    of   expenditures    and   obliga- 
tions; daily  progress  record  of  acreage 
sprayed ;  the  maintenance  of  radio  and 
other  noncontract  equipment ;  pay  rolls 
and  payments  to  flying  contractors  and 
others. 

( 2 )  Information  and  public  contacts, 
including  cooperation  with  representa- 
tives of  the  State  forestry  department, 
extension  service,  and  others  in  the  or- 
ganization of  meetings  of  timberland 
owners  in  connection  with  collection  of 
contributions;  furnishing  information 
to  representatives  of  newspapers  and 
periodicals,  newsreel  companies,  inde- 
pendent writers;  investigation  of  com- 
plaints; and  other  details. 

( 3 )  Checking  spray  application  and 
completeness  of  coverage  in  accord- 
ance with  the  terms  of  the  flying  con- 
tract; also  checking  the  tussock  moth 
kill  success. 

(4)  Weather  predictions. 

The  Federal  agencies'  organization 
for  those  purposes  required  the  services 
of  35  persons  at  the  peak  of  operations. 

These  preparatory  actions  were  the 
most  critical  phases  of  the  control  job 
and  were  essential  to  its  success. 

Forest  Service  and  Bureau  of  Ento- 
mology and  Plant  Quarantine  person- 
nel moved  into  field  headquarters  and 
outlying  field  stations  on  May  10,  set  up 
offices  and  other  temporary  quarters, 


440 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


NUMBER    AND   TYPE    OF    PLANE,  THEIR  ASSIGNED  FLYING  SPEEDS,   SWATH  WIDTHS,  AND 
SPRAY-LOAD  CAPACITY,  AND  MAXIMUM  FLYING  HEIGHT  ABOVE  TREETOPS 


Type  of  plane 


Height 

Spray       Spray  above 

Planes      Speed        load        Swath    Delivery    treetops 

Miles  Gallons 

per  per 


Number 

hour 
140 

Gallons 
I.OOO 

Feet 
400 

minute 
112 

Feet 
100-150 

2 

QO 

400 

3OO 

100-150 

I 

QO 

3OO 

2OO 

36 

50-100 

Travelair                                     . 

2 

QO 

2OO 

2OO 

36 

50-100 

I 

85 

I5O 

175 

32 

50-100 

4 

80 

7<r 

100 

16 

<o-ioo 

and  went  through  a  training  period,  as 
planned. 

The  flying  contractors  arrived  on 
May  19. 

Insecticide  was  on  hand.  Test  flights 
were  made  on  May  19  and  20  to  check 
spray  apparatus  and  to  establish  swath 
widths  for  the  various  types  of  planes 
flying  at  specified  speeds  and  heights 
above  treetops. 

Flying-weather  controls  were  estab- 
lished as  follows: 

( 1 )  Planes  would  fly  only  on  weath- 
er clearance  by  the  Bureau  of  Entomol- 
ogy and  Plant  Quarantine  leader.  They 
would  stop  flying  on  order  when  wind 
velocity  reached  8  miles  an  hour  or  on 
their  own  judgment  when  thermal  ac- 
tivity caused  dangerous  air  turbulence. 

(2)  Spraying  would  stop  an  hour 
before  rain  and  not  resume  until  foli- 
age was  dry. 

Assigned  flying  speeds,  swath  widths, 
and  maximum  flying  height  above  tree- 
tops  are  shown  in  the  table  above,  with 
the  number  and  type  of  planes  used  and 
their  spray-load  capacity. 

This  was  dangerous  flying.  Only 
skilled  pilots  familiar  with  the  tricky 
air  currents  of  rough,  mountainous  ter- 
rain, flying  at  low  altitude,  could  lay 
down  spray  in  narrow  parallel  swaths 
while  following  ground-level  features 
as  guides.  There  would  be  no  time  or 
clearance  to  parachute  from  a  crippled 
plane  under  such  conditions.  Great 
credit  is  due  the  flying  contractors  for 
their  meticulous  preparation  and  con- 
stant care  of  equipment  and  to  the 


esprit  de  corps  of  the  flying  groups, 
from  ground  crews  to  the  contractors. 
They  were  determined  to  make  the  job 
a  success.  Only  three  accidents  oc- 
curred out  of  more  than  2,100  indi- 
vidual flights;  one  man  got  a  broken 
nose  and  another  a  cracked  ankle  bone. 

All-out  spraying  commenced  on  May 
22.  From  then  on  the  objective  of  both 
the  contractors  and  the  Federal  agen- 
cies was  to  utilize  every  hour  of  flying 
weather  and  complete  the  job  by  June 
30  or  before.  On  2  or  3  days  the  spray 
coverage  was  as  high  as  25,000  acres. 

The  pattern  of  flying  was  worked  out 
during  the  first  few  days.  With  the  help 
of  aerial  photographs,  forest  maps,  and 
reconnaissance  flights,  the  area  was 
divided  into  flying  units  of  1,000  to 
3,000  acres.  Topographic  features  usu- 
ally provided  the  boundaries.  Units 
were  assigned  to  individual  pilots. 
Usually  the  pilot  responsible  for  a  unit 
would  make  dry  runs  over  the  area 
and  plan  his  flight  pattern  before  spray- 
ing. Then  he  would  make  the  spray- 
application  runs  until  the  unit  was 
completed.  This  was  the  only  practical 
method  of  obtaining  efficient  applica- 
tion of  spray  in  this  rugged  area.  The 
acreage  of  each  unit  was  checked 
against  volume  of  spray  used,  which 
gave  a  relatively  simple  alternative 
method  of  checking  application.  Most 
of  the  spraying  was  done  from  about 
3:30  a.  m.  to  9  a.  m.,  when  the  air 
was  calm  and  cool.  Only  a  few  times 
was  spraying  continued  after  9  a.  m. 
Seldom  could  spraying  be  done  dur- 


Controlling  the  Tussoc\  Moth 


ing  the  evening  hours.  After  9  a.  m.3 
thermal  activity  usually  made  flying 
dangerous  or  wind  velocities  became 
too  high  for  satisfactory  application. 
The  ground  crews  worked  with  high 
efficiency;  they  could  fill  spray  tanks 
usually  in  4  to  5  minutes  or  less. 

Work  hours  of  the  crews  were  those 
required  to  meet  the  job.  They  slept 
when  they  could  and  caught  up  on 
sleep  when  there  was  no  flying  weather 
or  no  spray.  The  first  morning  weather 
reports  were  made  from  field  stations 
at  2:30  a.  m.  If  the  weather  report 
was  clear  for  flying,  liaison  men  at  the 
airstrips  were  called  to  notify  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  flying  contractors. 
Checkers  were  called  and  they  hit  for 
the  hills  to  lay  out  their  glass  plates 
on  areas  designated  the  previous  eve- 
ning. Theirs  was  a  tough  job  of  moun- 
tain climbing.  Much  of  the  area  had 
no  roads  and  could  be  reached  only 
by  foot  through  heavy  forests,  down 
timber,  and  undergrowth.  They  had  no 
means  of  communicating  with  the 
spray  planes,  so  after  putting  out  their 
plates  they  waited  until  they  were  sure 
flying  had  stopped  for  the  day;  then 
they  retraced  their  route  of  travel, 
picked  up  the  plates,  and  came  in  to 
headquarters.  There  the  plates  were 
examined  for  spray  deposition  and 
were  washed  and  packed  for  the  next 
flying  period.  The  washing  job  was 
hard  and  hazardous:  The  spray  par- 
ticles adhered  tenaciously  to  the  plates, 
and  highly  volatile  xylene  had  to  be 
used  for  washing  fluid.  No  accidents 
occurred. 

When  flying  was  over  for  the  day, 
the  pilots  finished  their  coverage  maps, 
which  were  delivered  to  the  liaison 
men  and  sent  in  to  headquarters,  where 
the  area  covered  was  transferred  to  a 
large  daily  progress  map.  This  task  was 
completed  each  day,  regardless  of  time 
requirements.  Among  other  things  the 
map  provided  for  an  over-all  check  on 
acreage  covered  and  spray  used.  This 
detail  was  highly  important  in  limiting 
orders  for  additional  insecticide  toward 
the  close  of  the  project.  Several  thou- 
sand dollars  in  freight  and  insecticide 


441 

costs  were  thus  saved.  The  periodic 
vouchering  of  payments  to  contractors 
was  based  on  this  control. 

Unloading  of  insecticide  tank  cars 
was  done  whenever  cars  were  spotted 
on  the  railroad  siding.  If  cars  were 
spotted  at  night,  the  contractors  were 
notified  and  unloading  of  tank  cars  and 
transfer  of  insecticide  to  the  airfields  by 
the  ground  crews  proceeded  until 
planes  and  stand-by  tank  trailers  were 
filled. 

A  continuous  cumulative  record  was 
maintained  by  individual  tank-car 
numbers  of  the  date  of  shipments  from 
St.  Louis,  Michigan,  and  Chicago  of 
deliveries  at  Moscow  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  of  the  daily  location  and  prog- 
ress of  tank  cars  en  route.  When  any 
stranding  of  cars  occurred,  the  traffic 
managers  were  called  to  break  the  jam. 
Even  though  the  railroads  put  the  tank 
cars  under  red-tag  manifest,  it  was 
not  possible  to  maintain  complete  en 
route  schedules  from  the  point  of  origin 
of  shipments  to  Moscow.  This  resulted 
in  some  lost  flying  time  because  of  no 
spray,  but  most  of  the  lost  time  was 
due  to  faster  spraying  coverage  during 
good  flying  weather  than  was  allowed 
as  a  safe  estimate  in  the  basic  planning. 

A  close  daily  financial  control  was 
maintained  throughout  the  spraying 
operations.  There  were  several  special 
reasons  for  this,  aside  from  just  good 
financial  management  of  a  large,  short- 
period  job.  These  were :  ( 1 )  The  proj- 
ect was  planned  on  a  coverage  of  350,- 
000  acres.  It  was  apparent  soon  after 
the  spraying  was  started  from  the  pre- 
control  survey  data  that  the  infested 
area  would  approach  400,000  acres. 
(2)  There  were  about  14,000  acres  in 
Oregon  which  should  be  sprayed  if 
funds  could  be  stretched  to  cover  the 
cost.  ( 3 )  The  amount  of  contributions 
from  small-timberland  owners  was  un- 
certain. (4)  An  isolated  outbreak  on 
about  6,000  acres,  discovered  during 
the  course  of  the  operations,  needed  to 
be  covered.  Incomplete  coverage  of 
the  Idaho  outbreak  might  threaten  the 
success  of  the  entire  operation. 

The    project    aroused    widespread 


442 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


public  interest.  Many  visitors — public 
officials,  newsreel  photographers,  writ- 
ers, and  others — came  to  see  the  oper- 
ations. People  were  very  friendly  and 
.many  commented  on  the  efficiency 
and  effectiveness  of  the  spraying.  Some 
farmers  asked  to  have  their  infested 
yard  trees  sprayed,  and  we  did  so 
when  they  could  be  reached  on  the 
regular  spray  runs.  A  number  of  farms 
were  sprayed  under  a  special  arrange- 
ment between  the  Forest  Service,  the 
farmers,  and  the  flying  contractors. 

A  few  complaints  were  received,  and 
each  one  was  immediately  investigated. 
The  most  serious  complaint  involved 
the  alleged  sickness  of  a  child  from  eat- 
ing garden  vegetables  that  had  received 
a  light  application  of  spray.  Project 
officials  were  not  concerned  as  to  spray 
being  the  cause;  they  were  extremely 
worried  because  no  doctor  had  been 
called  and  they  thought  that  the  symp- 
toms described  by  the  father  indicated 
tick  paralysis. 

The  case  was  investigated  with  the 
view  to  having  the  child  taken  to  a 
doctor  for  diagnosis  and  proper  at- 
tention. When  the  investigator  arrived 
at  the  farmstead,  the  child  was  romp- 
ing with  the  neighbor's  children.  The 
investigator  partook  with  relish  of  the 
strawberries  which  showed  spray  spots, 
and  the  fears  of  the  complainant  were 
promptly  dispelled. 

All  spraying  operations  were  com- 
pleted on  July  2.  A  total  of  413,469 
acres  of  fir  timberland  was  covered 
and  390,878  gallons  of  spray  was  ap- 
plied. The  actual  application  was 
within  approximately  5  percent  of  the 
first  estimates — thanks  to  the  contrac- 
tors' engineers  and  the  entomologists. 

No  live  tussock  moth  caterpillars  were 
found  a  week  after  the  spraying;  the 
infestation  was  stopped  in  its  tracks. 
The  cost  of  the  project  was  just  under 
$1.57  an  acre,  or  about  13  cents  less 
than  the  estimated  cost. 

People  had  been  concerned  about 
the  possible  effects  of  the  spraying  on 
apiaries  and  forest  fauna.  Arrange- 
ments had  been  made  with  the  Fish 
and  Wildlife  Service  of  the  Depart- 


ment of  the  Interior  to  conduct  in- 
vestigations on  these  aspects  of  the 
work  and  farmers  had  been  warned  to 
cover  apiaries  ahead  of  the  spraying. 
Since  the  fields  used  by  the  bees  were 
not  sprayed,  the  covering  provided 
adequate  protection.  No  serious  effects 
of  the  spray  on  birds  and  mammals 
were  discovered.  Some  suckers  and 
bullheads  were  killed,  but  trout  were 
not  directly  affected.  The  supply  of 
fish-food  organisms  was  markedly  re- 
duced, but  probably  not  enough  to 
cause  permanent  damage. 

The  project  demonstrated  the  fea- 
sibility and  practicability  of  control- 
ling by  aerial  spraying  what  could 
easily  have  been  a  disastrous  insect 
infestation.  It  showed  that  inaccessi- 
ble mountainous  forest  areas  could  be 
economically  treated.  It  provided  val- 
uable technical  and  administrative 
experience  and  established  a  general 
pattern  for  the  conduct  of  similar 
projects  should  they  be  necessary. 

But  such  projects  are  expensive. 
They  are  hazardous  to  human  life  and 
to  costly  flying  equipment.  It  is  much 
better  to  try  to  make  them  unneces- 
sary— to  use  a  stitch  in  time  by  early 
detection  and  prompt  suppression 
while  the  areas  of  infestation  are  small. 
Prevention  is  better  than  cure. 

PAUL  H.  ROBERTS,,  assistant  re- 
gional forester  in  the  Forest  Service, 
has  worked  in  the  Northern  and 
Southwestern  Forest  Service  Regions. 
He  has  also  served  as  director  of  the 
Prairie  States  Forestry  Project  and  as 
associate  director  and  director  of  the 
Emergency  Rubber  Project.  Mr.  Rob- 
erts was  project  leader  for  the  Forest 
Service  of  the  Tussock  Moth  Spraying 
Project.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Nebraska. 

JAMES  G.  EVENDEN  is  in  charge  of 
the  Forest  Insect  Laboratory  of  the 
Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine  at  Coeur  d'Alene,  Idaho. 
He  served  as  the  field  technical  leader 
on  the  Tussock  Moth  Spraying  Proj- 
ect. He  is  a  graduate  of  Oregon  State 
College. 


443 


DISEASES  AND  THE  FOREST 


L.  M.  HUTCHINS 


Trees,  no  less  than  other  large  forms 
of  life,  are  subject  to  diseases  that  re- 
duce their  growth,  destroy  their  use- 
fulness, or  bring  death.  The  threat  of 
disease  is  ever  present,  from  the  time 
that  a  tree  emerges  as  a  seedling  to  the 
end  of  its  useful  life. 

In  the  virgin  forests  this  threat  was 
lessened  because  through  centuries  of 
interaction  a  certain  degree  of  natural 
balance  between  the  trees  and  their 
disease  enemies  had  been  achieved. 
Man,  in  his  need  for  land,  shelter,  fuel, 
and  communication,  however,  upset 
this  balance  by  cutting,  clearing,  burn- 
ing, and  planting.  He  brought  in  exotic 
tree  species  from  foreign  lands,  too, 
and  otherwise  so  changed  the  forests 
from  their  original,  natural  state  that 
over  most  of  the  country  the  once- 
stabilized  relations  no  longer  exist  and 
the  danger  of  disease  has  increased. 

With  the  new  tree  species  or  their 
products  from  abroad  came  new  dis- 
eases, which  have  found  here  a  more 
congenial  environment  than  in  their 
native  habitats.  Thus,  chestnut  blight 
was  brought  in  from  Asia;  white  pine 
blister  rust  on  infected  pine  seedlings 
and  the  Dutch  elm  disease  and  its  in- 
sect carriers  on  elm  burl  logs  were 
brought  in  from  Europe.  For  our  native 
chestnut,  the  results  have  been  disas- 
trous. Our  white  pines  have  been  saved 
only  by  the  development  of  an  effective 
method  of  control.  Losses  in  American 
elm  from  the  Dutch  elm  disease  have 
been  heavy,  and  the  future  of  the  spe- 
cies is  still  in  doubt,  despite  progress  in 
means  of  control. 

Losses  from  presumably  native  dis- 
eases that  have  become  epidemic  are 
also  assuming  serious  proportions  in 
several  places.  A  highly  destructive 
virus  disease,  known  as  phloem  necro- 
sis, has  killed  thousands  of  elms  in 
several  midwestern  cities.  Littleleaf,  a 
disease  whose  cause  we  do  not  yet 
know,  is  making  heavy  inroads  into 


stands  of  shortleaf  pine  in  the  southern 
Piedmont.  Another  disease  of  unde- 
termined cause,  provisionally  named 
pole  blight,  is  spreading  in  second- 
growth  western  white  pine  stands  in 
Idaho,  Montana,  and  Washington.  Al- 
together, since  the  turn  of  the  century, 
more  than  25  new  forest-tree  diseases, 
introduced  or  apparently  native,  have 
been  discovered  in  this  country.  Not 
all  have  proved  equally  important,  but 
the  aggregate  loss  of  trees  from  them 
has  been  tremendous. 

Most  of  the  losses,  however,  are  not 
from  diseases  of  the  spectacular  epi- 
demic type,  but  rather  from  the  many 
relatively  inconspicuous  diseases  at 
work  always  in  our  forests  in  and  on 
leaves,  bark,  wood,  roots,  seedlings, 
saplings,  old  trees.  Best  estimates  place 
the  annual  saw-timber  loss  from  heart 
rots  in  the  forests  of  the  United  States 
at  \l/2  billion  board  feet.  It  is  these 
everyday  insidious  losses,  as  well  as 
those  from  the  spectacular  epidemic 
diseases,  that  must  be  guarded  against 
if  our  forests  are  to  continue  to  supply 
the  wood  we  need. 

Everybody  knows  how  necessary  it  is 
to  protect  farm  and  orchard  crops — 
cotton,  tobacco,  vegetables,  grains,  and 
fruits — against  disease.  Even  more  im- 
portant is  the  protection  of  forest  trees, 
which  occupy  the  land  many  years  be- 
fore they  are  harvested. 

TREE  DISEASES  are  of  two  main 
types,  parasitic  and  nonparasitic.  The 
parasitic  or  infectious  diseases  are 
frequently  highly  contagious.  They  are 
caused  mainly  by  low  forms  of  life,  such 
as  bacteria  and  fungi,  by  viruses,  by  mi- 
croscopic eel  worms  or  the  nematodes, 
and  by  seed  plants  such  as  mistletoes 
and  dodders. 

Among  the  nonparasitic  diseases  are 
such  disorders  as  the  sunscald,  winter 
injury,  drought  injury,  root  drowning 
or  suffocation,  nutritional  excesses  and 


444 

deficiencies,    and   injury   from   gases, 

smoke,  and  fumes. 

FUNGI  cause  most  of  the  major  losses 
from  disease  in  forest  trees  and  are  the 
chief  destroyers  or  deteriorating  agents 
of  forest  products.  They  produce  leaf 
spots  and  defoliation,  wilts,  blights, 
cankers,  galls,  heart  rots,  and  root  dis- 
eases. Trees  that  are  weakened  by  fungi 
often  are  more  susceptible  to  wind- 
throw  and  to  attack  by  insects.  In 
forest  products,  other  fungi  cause 
stains,  molds,  and  decays  that  are  re- 
sponsible for  much  deterioration  and 
loss  in  lumber,  posts,  poles,  buildings, 
containers,  and  in  wood  used  for  other 
purposes. 

Not  all  of  the  fungi  in  the  forests  are 
harmful :  Many  fungi  contribute  to  the 
health  and  growth  of  trees  by  convert- 
ing the  fallen  leaves,  twigs,  and  other 
forest  debris  into  humus,  an  important 
constituent  of  forest  soils  and  a  source 
of  nutrient  elements  for  tree  growth. 
Others  combine  intimately  with  the 
tiny  feeding  roots  on  some  trees  to  form 
special  absorbing  bodies,  called  mycor- 
rhizae,  which  are  believed  to  enable  the 
trees  to  take  up  nutrients  from  the  soil 
more  effectively  than  they  would 
otherwise  be  able  to  do.  Through  the 
production  of  humus,  fungi  also  tend 
to  create  a  soil  reaction  that  is  un- 
favorable to  the  disease  fungi  that  at- 
tack the  roots  of  seedlings  and  young 
trees.  A  few  fungi  attack  disease-pro- 
ducing fungi  directly. 

Diseases  and  fungi  causing  deteriora- 
tion are  commonly  spread  by  wind, 
water,  insects,  and  bird  life.  Soil  fungi 
causing  root  rots  and  wilts  may  be  car- 
ried on  the  wheels  of  vehicles  or  the 
feet  of  men  or  animals.  The  fungus 
causing  canker  stain  of  the  planetree 
is  carried  on  pruning  tools  and  equip- 
ment. Virus  diseases,  such  as  the 
phloem  necrosis  of  elm,  are  almost  in- 
variably spread  by  insects,  as  also  are 
some  stain  and  decay  fungi. 

THE    EFFECTIVE    CONTROL    of    forest 

diseases  must  be  based  on  a  sound 
knowledge  of  them  and  of  the  forest 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


environments  under  which  they  occur. 
Both  direct  and  indirect  methods  are 
employed.  Direct  methods  include  the 
use  of  sprays,  dusts,  and  soil  treatments, 
the  removal  and  destruction  of  affected 
trees  or  parts,  the  prescribed  use  of 
fire,  and  the  removal  of  alternate  hosts. 
Sprays  and  soil  treatments  are  used  in 
the  nurseries  to  protect  the  seedling 
trees  against  diseases,  and  sprays  and 
dusts  to  destroy  the  insect  carriers  of 
diseases  of  shade  trees,  such  as  the 
Dutch  elm  disease  and  the  elm  phloem 
necrosis.  Eradication  is  particularly  im- 
portant where  a  dangerous  disease  has 
been  accidentally  introduced  into  a  lo- 
cality and  is  known  to  be  of  limited 
distribution.  This  was  the  case  when 
the  European  larch  canker  was  discov- 
ered in  a  limited  area  in  Massachusetts. 
Thorough  eradication  was  undertaken 
immediately,  and  the  disease  appar- 
ently has  been  eliminated. 

FIRE  IN  THE  FOREST  ordinarily  does 
more  harm  than  good,  but  against  the 
brown  spot  disease  of  longleaf  pine  in 
the  Southern  States  it  has  a  sanitary 
effect  when  properly  timed. 

The  white  pine  blister  rust  offers  an 
example  of  a  disease  that  can  be  con- 
trolled through  the  removal  of  the  al- 
ternate hosts,  currants  and  gooseber- 
ries. The  rust  cannot  spread  directly 
from  pine  to  pine,  but  the  spores  from 
the  rust  on  pine  are  carried  by  the 
wind  and  are  able  to  infect  currants 
and  gooseberries.  Spores  from  the  rust 
developed  on  these  are,  in  turn,  capa- 
ble of  infecting  white  pines.  The  re- 
moval of  the  currant  and  gooseberry 
bushes  to  a  safe  distance  from  white 
pines  effectively  protects  the  pines 
from  the  rust. 

If  a  disease  has  become  widespread 
and  well-established,  eradication  is 
usually  impracticable,  and  we  may 
have  to  learn  to  live  with  it  and  to  re- 
duce losses  through  indirect  methods 
of  control.  This  applies  to  most  of  our 
native  diseases. 

The  red  rot  of  the  ponderosa  pine  in 
the  Western  States  is  an  example. 
The  causal  fungus  enters  the  trunk 


Diseases  and  the  Forest 


445 


through  naturally  occurring  lower  dead 
branches  and  it  results  in  an  average 
loss  of  about  one-fourth  of  the  total 
timber  volume.  It  rarely  enters  through 
branches  less  than  an  inch  in  diameter, 
however.  Control  of  the  disease  is  pos- 
sible either  by  pruning  off  the  lower 
branches  before  they  die  or  by  growing 
the  trees  so  closely  together  that  the 
lower  branches  are  shaded  out  before 
they  become  large  enough  to  support 
the  fungus. 

Fire  wounds  are  important  places  of 
entry  for  decay  fungi,  and  the  preven- 
tion of  fire  in  the  woods  therefore  is 
an  effective  indirect  means  of  reduc- 
ing losses  from  timber  decays. 

Other  indirect  methods  involve  the 
proper  timing  of  cutting,  the  control 
of  stand  composition  to  give  mixtures 
of  tree  species  instead  of  pure  stands, 
and  the  development  and  use  of  dis- 
ease-resistant varieties. 

VARIETIES  RESISTANT  to  disease  have 
been  successful  in  field  and  fruit  crops; 
there  is  every  reason  to  expect  that 
they  should  prove  equally  valuable  in 
our  future  forest-  and  shade-tree  plant- 
ings. Although  work  along  this  line 
has  scarcely  more  than  begun,  an 
American  elm  resistant  to  the  Dutch 
elm  disease  and  others  resistant  to 
phloem  necrosis,  strains  of  mimosa 
resistant  to  the  mimosa  wilt,  and  white 
pine  resistant  to  blister  rust  have  been 
selected  and  tested.  These  resistant 
trees  are  now  being  propagated  and 
soon  will  be  available.  Although  the 
use  of  resistant  varieties  will  not  save 
the  present  susceptible  stands  of  trees, 
it  does  offer  a  promise  of  future  safety 
in  their  replacement. 

The  prevention  of  deterioration, 
such  as  from  stain  and  decay,  in  forest 
products  is  an  effective  way  of  extend- 
ing our  national  timber  supply.  It  re- 
quires different  methods  from  those 
that  can  be  used  on  living  trees.  The 
young-growth  timber  now  coming  into 
use  is  less  resistant  to  decay  than  the 
wood  from  the  older  stands.  Modern 
chemical  treatments  and  more  careful 
drying  and  storage  practices  make  it 


possible  to  avoid  damage  to  lumber, 
logs,  pulpwood,  and  similar  products, 
however,  and  are  lengthening  the  use- 
ful life  of  posts,  poles,  railway  ties,  and 
other  wood  used  in  contact  with  the 
ground.  The  prompt  salvage  of  timber 
that  is  killed  by  fire,  insects,  and  dis- 
ease is  saving  for  use  much  timber  that 
was  formerly  left  to  rot. 

IN  BUILDINGS  AND  OTHER  CONSTRUC- 
TION,, the  chances  of  decay  is  reduced 
by  drainage  of  sites,  use  of  seasoned 
lumber,  elimination  of  direct  contacts 
of  wood  with  soil,  care  to  keep  rain 
from  entering  joints,  ventilation  or  soil 
coverage  under  basementless  houses, 
the  judicious  placing  of  vapor  seals, 
and  the  use  of  preservatives. 

With  the  ever-quickening  disap- 
pearance of  accessible  stands  of  old- 
growth  timber  and  with  world-wide 
timber  shortages  brought  on  by  war, 
the  importance  of  disease  in  its  effect 
on  the  future  timber  crop  is  rapidly 
increasing.  Losses  that  formerly  passed 
almost  unnoticed  can  no  longer  be 
tolerated — from  the  standpoint  of 
solvency  of  the  timber  owner  no  less 
than  from  the  public  interest.  We  must 
be  able  to  grow  good  wood  and  grow 
it  profitably.  That  can  be  done  only  if 
disease  losses  are  held  to  a  reasonable 
minimum. 

The  field  to  be  covered  by  the 
specialist  in  forest  diseases  is  immense. 
More  than  100  tree  species  of  commer- 
cial importance  occur  in  the  forests  of 
the  United  States;  each  presents  an 
individual  disease  problem.  When  ac- 
count is  taken  of  the  fact  that  our 
forest  industry  ranks  fourth  in  impor- 
tance in  the  Nation,  the  investigative 
effort  devoted  to  diseases  affecting 
this  resource  up  to  the  present  does 
not  seem  proportionate  to  the  values  at 
stake. 

L.  M.  HUTCHINS  is  head  patholo- 
gist in  charge  of  the  Division  of  Forest 
Pathology,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engineering. 
He  is  known  for  his  extensive  investi- 
gations of  virus  diseases  of  trees. 


446 


INTRODUCED  TREE  DISEASES  AND  INSECTS 


G.  F.  GRAVATT,  D.  E.  PARKER 


Many  people  now  are  asking:  Are 
there  more  insects  and  diseases  than 
before?  How  does  it  happen  that  in  a 
few  years  we  have  suffered  scourges  of 
gypsy  moths  and  Japanese  beetles  and 
many  others  that  were  not  here  before? 

The  answer  is  that  we  are  plagued 
by  more  insects  and  diseases  and  more 
destructive  ones  than  our  grandfathers 
were.  The  reason  is  easy  to  find. 

Some  of  our  present-day  kinds  of 
trees  (as  indicated  by  fossil  remains) 
flourished  in  North  America  millions 
of  years  ago;  trees  and  their  parasites 
must  have  fluctuated  in  abundance 
long  before  the  coming  of  the  white 
man.  Then,  as  now,  periodic  epidemics 
must  have  caused  extensive  losses — but 
when  the  trees  were  attacked  they  usu- 
ally could  maintain  themselves  against 
borer  and  beetle. 

This  natural  balance  was  upset  by  a 
new  factor:  The  early  settlers,  who 
brought  in  new  diseases  and  new  in- 
sects along  with  their  new  plants.  Some 
tree  pests  now  considered  native  no 
doubt  originated  in  foreign  countries. 
Many  serious  diseases  and  insects  are 
known  to  have  come  from  abroad  dur- 
ing the  past  60  years,  the  entire  span  of 
any  real  study  of  the  diseases  and  in- 
sects of  tree  species  in  North  America. 
The  end  of  such  invasions  is  not  in 
sight.  All  over  the  world  disease-pro- 
ducing organisms  and  insects  are  lurk- 
ing, ready  to  hitchhike  to  this  country 
and  pounce  on  our  important  forest 
and  shade  trees. 

Before  the  enactment  of  our  plant- 
quarantine  laws,  the  gypsy  moth,  chest- 
nut blight,  and  white  pine  blister  rust 
were  introduced.  Since  the  enactment 
of  the  laws,  the  so-called  Dutch  elm 
disease  has  sneaked  in.  Other  less  well- 
known  foreign  diseases  and  insects  also 
have  been  introduced  and  are  attack- 
ing various  kinds  of  trees. 

In  their  native  homes,  many  insects 
are  kept  under  partial  control  by  their 


parasites  and  other  natural  enemies, 
but  when  they  are  introduced  into 
some  other  area  they  usually  leave  these 
enemies  behind.  For  example,  when 
the  Japanese  beetle  and  the  gypsy  moth 
reached  this  country,  they  multiplied 
rapidly,  partly  because  of  a  lack  of  nat- 
ural enemies.  Insect,  fungus,  bacterial 
and  virus  parasites  of  these  introduced 
insects  now  are  being  imported,  but  the 
parasites  are  valuable  only  when  the 
environment  favors  their  development. 
Unlike  insects,  the  organisms  causing 
our  introduced  diseases  do  not  have 
any  important  parasites  that  directly 
affect  them,  although  parasites  may  be 
used  to  reduce  the  populations  of  the 
insects  that  transmit  certain  of  those 
diseases. 

THE  GYPSY  MOTH  illustrates  the 
serious  consequences  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  forest  insect  from  Europe.  In 
1869  a  number  of  egg  clusters  of  the 
gypsy  moth  were  brought  from  France 
to  Medford,  Mass.,  by  a  French  mathe- 
matician and  astronomer  who  hoped 
to  develop  a  hardy  silk-producing  in- 
sect by  crossing  gypsy  moths  with  silk- 
worm moths.  During  his  experiments 
some  of  the  insects  escaped.  Some  20 
years  later  the  population  of  the  gypsy 
moth  had  increased  to  a  point  where 
the  damage  was  severe  enough  to 
attract  general  notice.  At  that  time 
about  360  square  miles  was  found  to  be 
infested.  Within  another  5  years,  the 
infested  area  had  increased  to  2,200 
square  miles.  Now  the  gypsy  moth, 
which  defoliates  both  deciduous  and 
evergreen  trees,  is  prevalent  in  New 
England,  in  an  extensive  area  in  east- 
ern New  York,  and  in  an  isolated  area 
in  Pennsylvania. 

At  least  65  million  dollars  have  been 
spent  by  the  Federal  Government  and 
various  States,  chiefly  during  the  past 
40  years,  in  fighting  the  gypsy  moth. 
The  main  objective  of  the  Federal 


Introduced  Tree  Diseases  and  Insects 


447 


control  work,  conducted  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  States,  is  to  prevent  the 
westward  and  southward  spread  of  the 
insect.  The  discovery  of  the  extreme 
toxicity  of  DDT  to  the  gypsy  moth  and 
the  development  of  airplane  spraying 
of  forested  areas  have  furnished  effec- 
tive means  of  control  to  aid  in  the 
program.  Timely  applications  of  DDT 
by  airplane  will  kill  the  gypsy  moth, 
and  prevent  defoliation,  subsequent 
growth  retardation,  and  possible  death 
of  trees. 

CHESTNUT  BLIGHT  has  caused  the 
complete  destruction  of  our  commer- 
cial chestnut  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf 
States.  This  record  is  not  approached 
by  that  of  any  other  disease  or  insect. 
First  reported  in  New  York  City  in 
1904,  the  disease  spread  rapidly. 

For  many  years  roots  of  killed  trees 
continue  to  send  up  sprouts,  but  these 
sprouts  are  usually  killed  before  they 
are  more  than  a  few  inches  in  diameter. 
Unfortunately,  search  for  40  years  has 
not  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  a  single 
American  chestnut  tree  with  sufficient 
resistance  to  be  of  practical  value. 
Blight  has  reduced  millions  of  acres  of 
forest  land  to  a  lower  productive  status 
for  an  indefinite  period,  because  the 
native  tree  species  replacing  the  chest- 
nut are  usually  less  valuable.  It  also 
has  deprived  us  of  cherished  tasty  nuts 
and  has  taken  from  wildlife  a  food. 

Experimental  plantings  with  blight- 
resistant  Asiatic  chestnuts  and  with 
hybrids  of  these  and  the  American 
chestnut  indicate  that  on  suitable  sites 
they  will  produce  small  telephone  poles 
and  abundant  sweet  nuts.  Most  of  these 
resistant  selections,  however,  are  less 
straight-stemmed,  less  frost-resistant, 
and  more  particular  in  their  soil  re- 
quirements than  the  American  chest- 
nut. Some  State  forestry  and  game 
departments  are  beginning  to  grow  re- 
sistant Chinese  chestnuts  for  planting 
in  farm  wood  lots. 

Chestnut  blight  was  found  in  com- 
mercial orchards  and  in  ornamental 
chestnut  plantings  of  the  Pacific  coast. 
Prompt  eradication  measures  by  State 


and  Federal  agencies  almost  com- 
pletely eliminated  the  disease.  The  sus- 
ceptible orchards  of  the  West,  however, 
are  not  safe,  because  of  the  danger  of 
shipment  of  infected  chestnut  trees 
from  the  East. 

Chestnut  blight  illustrates  how  an 
introduced  pest  can  upset  a  phase  of 
the  national  economy.  The  American 
chestnut  has  been  the  main  source  of 
our  domestic  tannin  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  leather,  and  dead  trees  still 
are  extensively  used.  Tannin,  a  stra- 
tegic material  especially  vital  in  time 
of  war,  is  extracted  from  the  chipped- 
up  chestnut  wood.  The  chips  are  then 
used  for  paper  or  board  pulp.  This  ex- 
tensive industry,  at  present  supplying 
most  of  our  domestic  tannin,  faces  its 
end  when  the  supply  of  dead  trees  gives 
out. 

The  chestnut  blight  fungus  is  also 
seriously  damaging  the  post  oak,  a 
widely  distributed  tree  in  the  eastern 
half  of  the  country  with  a  forest  stand 
of  about  5  billion  board  feet.  It  kills 
some  trees  rather  slowly  but  has  not 
damaged  others  that  have  been  ex- 
posed for  long  periods.  So  far  no  other 
kind  of  oak  has  been  seriously  damaged 
by  the  chestnut  blight  fungus. 

THE  SMALLER  EUROPEAN  ELM  BARK 
BEETLE  is  an  example  of  an  introduced 
insect  that  was  of  little  importance 
until  it  became  associated  with  the  in- 
troduced so-called  Dutch  elm  disease 
fungus.  That  insect  is  known  to  have 
been  established  near  Boston  as  early 
as  1904.  It  did  little  damage  and  was 
not  considered  a  primary  pest  for  about 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  About  1930, 
when  the  Dutch  elm  disease  fungus 
reached  this  country,  the  importance  of 
the  European  elm  bark  beetle  changed ; 
it  proved  to  be  a  carrier  and  trans- 
mitter of  the  fungus.  The  relationship 
worked  to  the  advantage  of  the  bark 
beetle.  American  elms  inoculated  by 
contaminated  beetles  develop  disease 
symptoms,  are  partially  or  completely 
killed  by  the  disease,  and  provide  suit- 
able breeding  material  on  which  in- 
creasing populations  of  beetles  develop. 


448 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


A  vicious  circle  thus  has  resulted  from 
the  relationship  between  the  fungus 
and  the  insect. 

The  elm  beetle  unquestionably  was 
introduced  through  different  ports.  It 
and  the  fungus  were  present  in  burl 
elm  logs  imported  for  veneer  manu- 
facture before  quarantines  prohibited 
the  movement  of  elm  wood  into  this 
country.  Beetles  and  larvae  have  been 
found  in  elm  wood  used  in  certain 
types  of  crates  received  from  Europe. 
A  larger  species  of  beetle,  also  a  carrier 
of  the  Dutch  elm  disease  fungus  in 
Europe,  has  been  introduced  into  this 
country  in  burl  logs,  but  apparently  it 
has  not  been  successful  in  establishing 
itself  here. 

It  is  practicable  to  protect  valuable 
trees  from  the  Dutch  elm  disease  where 
control  measures  are  applied  energeti- 
cally, but  losses  are  heavy  in  parts  of 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Connecticut,  and  spot  infections 
are  known  as  far  west  as  Denver.  We 
may  expect  that  these  two  pests  and 
phloem  necrosis,  a  virus  disease,  even- 
tually will  kill  most  of  the  elm  forest 
growth  in  the  northeastern  quarter  of 
the  country. 

The  death  of  shade  and  ornamental 
elms  is  even  more  tragic.  It  is  disheart- 
ening to  all  of  us  to  see  the  large  elm 
trees,  so  characteristic  of  New  England 
and  New  York,  decline  and  die.  Some- 
time in  the  not  too  distant  future,  when 
the  total  value  of  the  elms  killed  and 
the  annual  costs  of  removing  dead  trees 
and  of  spray  and  other  control  meas- 
ures for  those  still  alive  are  totaled,  a 
loss  figure  of  hundreds  of  millions  of 
dollars  is  not  unlikely. 

A  EUROPEAN-ASIATIC  FUNGUS  that 
causes  white  pine  blister  rust  entered 
the  country  some  50  years  ago  on  im- 
ported white  pine  seedlings.  Although 
this  fungus  cannot  spread  from  pine 
to  pine  but  must  first  attack  an  alter- 
nate host — in  this  case  currants  and 
gooseberries — it  found  plenty  of  the 
hosts  here.  Thus  it  was  able  to  com- 
plete its  life  cycle  and  spread  widely. 
Its  dependence  on  currants  and  goose- 


berries, however,  proved  its  partial 
undoing,  because  spread  of  the  disease 
can  be  stopped  by  removal  of  the  plants 
within  900  feet  of  white  pine. 

Whitebark  pine,  a  picturesque  mem- 
ber of  the  white  pine  group  that  grows 
at  high  altitudes  in  the  West,  usually 
does  not  have  sufficient  commercial 
and  esthetic  value  to  justify  the  cost 
of  removing  the  numerous  wild  cur- 
rants and  gooseberries  near  them. 
Thus,  most  of  the  trees  of  this  species 
will  be  killed  by  the  rust  and  many 
park  and  wilderness  areas  will  become 
less  interesting.  Several  other  high-alti- 
tude species  of  white  pine  may  be 
largely  killed  in  the  future. 

OTHER  INTRODUCED  INSECTS  dam- 
age our  forest  and  shade  trees.  Among 
them  are  the  brown-tail  moth,  satin 
moth,  European  pine  shoot  moth,  elm 
leaf  beetle,  European  pine  sawfly,  and 
the  European  spruce  sawfly. 

Various  other  diseases  also  have 
been  introduced  or  are  suspected  of 
having  been  introduced.  Not  all  intro- 
duced diseases  become  established. 
The  European  larch  canker,  for  exam- 
ple, was  introduced  into  Massachu- 
setts, but  it  spread  slowly  and  was 
successfully  eradicated.  We  do  not 
know  how  it  would  act  in  the  main 
larch  stands  of  this  country. 

A  canker  disease  from  Asia  and  a 
scab  from  Europe  are  causing  serious 
damage  to  some  kinds  of  willows,  espe- 
cially in  New  England.  Twig  and  leaf 
diseases  do  not  excite  so  much  interest, 
but  their  action  is  a  perpetual  drain  on 
the  productivity  of  the  affected  trees. 

INSECTS  AND  DISEASE-PRODUCING 
ORGANISMS  may  work  as  partners.  As 
we  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
Dutch  elm  disease,  an  imported  fungus 
can  make  a  destructive  insect  out  of 
one  that  is  relatively  harmless.  It  seems 
possible,  therefore,  that  introduced  in- 
sect carriers  could  similarly  make  dis- 
astrous the  two  fungi  that  now  are 
destructive  to  the  London  planetree 
and  sugar  maple. 

Sometimes  an  insect  and  a  fungus  to- 


Introduced  Tree  Diseases  and  Insects 


449 


gether  are  deadly,  even  though  either 
alone  is  of  little  importance.  An  exam- 
ple is  the  partnership  of  a  fungus,  Nec- 
tria  sp.,  and  an  imported  European 
scale  on  beech.  The  fungus,  which  en- 
ters through  the  scale  injuries,  is  a 
killer.  The  partnership  has  already 
caused  the  death  of  much  of  the  beech 
growth  in  eastern  Canada  and  Maine. 
The  partners  are  increasing  in  the 
other  New  England  States  and  threaten 
widely  distributed  beech  growth  else- 
where unless  climatic  factors  limit  their 
spread. 

HUNDREDS  OF  DISEASES  and  insects 
that  have  not  yet  been  introduced  are 
known  in  foreign  countries  to  attack 
oaks,  poplars,  and  other  tree  genera 
that  also  grow  here.  In  addition,  there 
undoubtedly  are  in  the  various  parts  of 
the  world  numerous  undescribed  dis- 
eases and  insects  that  could  attack  our 
trees  if  they  gained  entrance. 

Asia  is  the  principal  source  of  dan- 
ger, because  many  kinds  of  trees  native 
to  that  continent  also  grow  here.  Fur- 
thermore, those  species  have  had  little 
or  no  pathological  study.  Insect  and 
disease  parasites  from  Europe  consti- 
tute the  second  threat,  even  though  its 
flora  is  less  varied  than  that  of  Asia. 
It  is  not  wise  to  ignore  the  possibility 
that  other  Old  World  strains  of  para- 
sites may  be  introduced  and  prove 
more  virulent  than  the  strains  already 
here. 

Despite  our  inspection  service,  accel- 
erated travel  gives  parasites  a  better 
chance  than  ever  before  to  reach  this 
country  in  a  living  condition. 

Airplane  traffic  alone  offers  a  prob- 
lem. During  the  year  that  ended  July  1, 
1948,  officials  of  the  Division  of  For- 
eign Plant  Quarantines  listed  the  ar- 
rival of  57,756  airplanes  at  47  ports  of 
entry.  Planes  from  as  far  away  as  Cairo, 
Egypt,  regularly  arrive  in  Chicago  as 
the  first  port  of  entry.  Airplane  traffic 
is  still  increasing.  When  usual  ports  of 
entry  are  closed  because  of  unfavorable 
weather,  commercial  and  private  air- 
planes may  land  where  there  are 
insufficient  inspection  services.  Illegal 


flights  are  not  inspected  at  all.  New 
areas  of  the  world  are  being  rapidly 
opened  up  by  airplane  travel.  In  1948, 
prohibited  material  was  found  on  26 
percent  of  the  planes,  and  3,500  inter- 
ceptions of  insects  and  plant  diseases 
were  made  during  that  year. 

During  the  same  period,  44,300  in- 
spections were  made  of  ships  arriving 
at  ports  in  the  United  States  and  in 
24  percent  of  the  inspections  prohibited 
materials  were  found.  A  special  survey 
during  1943-45  for  insect  pests  and 
plant  diseases  near  ports  of  entry  re- 
vealed at  least  41  insects  and  17  plant 
pathogens  that  had  never  before  been 
recorded  from  the  United  States. 

The  relatively  few  examples  of  in- 
troduced pests  here  reported,  and  many 
unlisted  ones,  have  caused  enormous 
losses  to  our  trees.  A  more  critical  situa- 
tion will  arise  as  more  and  more  pests 
enter.  Once  established,  they  are  with 
us  for  an  indefinite  time,  each  cutting 
down  our  forest  production. 

Usually  the  best  practice  is  to  plant 
tree  species  that  originally  grew  on  the 
area,  but  additional  pests  may  force  a 
change  to  resistant  tree  strains  or  dif- 
ferent species.  The  length  of  time  a 
tree  must  grow  in  place  before  it  is 
ready  for  harvest  is  a  serious  factor 
in  combatting  introduced  pests.  An 
agronomist,  troubled  by  a  new  disease 
one  year,  plants  a  resistant  variety  or 
another  kind  of  crop  plant  the  next 
year.  Foresters  often  have  to  wait  a 
hundred  years,  until  the  trees  mature, 
before  they  can  change  the  tree  crop 
to  another  kind.  Such  factors  empha- 
size the  vital  importance  of  preventing 
new  pests  from  becoming  established. 

IN  REDUCING  FURTHER  INTRODUC- 
TIONS of  pests,  of  first  importance  is  a 
stricter  regulation  of  the  importation 
of  seeds,  cions,  and  plants.  Seeds  are 
by  far  the  least  dangerous  form  in 
which  to  make  new  introductions,  as 
clean  seeds  after  surface  treatment  and 
fumigation  carry  very  few  disease-pro- 
ducing organisms  and  insects.  Because 
cions  and  plants  cannot  be  satisfac- 
torily inspected  for  virus  and  some 


802062' 


19 30 


450 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


fungus  and  bacterial  diseases,  the  grow- 
ing of  limited  quantities  in  quarantine 
is  the  only  practical  method  of  han- 
dling such  introductions.  Some  virus 
diseases  have  a  number  of  widely  differ- 
ent hosts.  Some  ornamental  plant,  for 
example,  may  be  the  means  by  which 
a  destructive  forest-tree  virus  might 
gain  entrance. 

Diseases  and  insects  do  not  respect 
the  boundaries  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico  and  Canada.  Fly- 
ing beetles  or  migrating  birds  that 
carry  spores  on  their  feet  cannot  be 
inspected.  So  all  three  countries  have 
a  joint  interest  in  preventing  new  in- 
sects and  diseases  from  becoming 
established  in  North  America.  Most 
tropical-tree  pests  fortunately  do  not 
thrive  in  our  more  northern  climate, 
with  its  different  tree  species,  but  the 
pines  in  the  high  mountains  of  Guate- 
mala, for  example,  may  have  parasites 
that  are  not  present  here. 

A  strengthening  of  the  inspection 
and  quarantine  force  to  handle  more 
adequately  the  importations  coming 
into  this  country  is  needed.  The  in- 
creasing number  of  airplane  flights  and 
the  volume  of  commerce  in  veneer  logs 
and  packing  material  pose  difficult 
problems. 

We  have  no  method  of  forecasting 
whether  an  introduced  insect  or  dis- 
ease will  be  more  or  less  destructive  in 
this  country  than  it  is  in  its  native 
home.  Foreign  pests  generally  become 
well  established  in  this  country  before 
their  presence  is  discovered.  Much 
more  information  is  needed  on  forest 
diseases  and  insects,  both  in  our  own 
country  and  abroad.  Definite  surveys, 
such  as  those  called  for  under  the 
Forest  Pest  Control  Act,  will  build  up 
our  information  so  that  (at  least  when 
a  new  local  outbreak  shows  up)  a  de- 
cision can  be  made  as  to  whether  it  is 
something  new  to  this  country.  Study 
of  foreign  disease  reports  is  helpful. 
Few  of  our  American  tree  species  are 
grown  in  foreign  countries,  and  ad- 
vance information  on  their  parasites, 
therefore,  is  not  available. 

The  systematic  planting  of  our  im- 


portant American  trees  in  different 
foreign  regions  is  needed  as  a  basis  for 
determining  the  diseases  and  insects  of 
those  areas  that  may  be  destructive  to 
our  trees  and  need  to  be  guarded 
against.  There  are  some  such  plantings 
in  foreign  countries  and  these  should 
be  studied.  Such  information  is  valu- 
able in  preventing  potentially  danger- 
ous diseases  and  insects  from  entering 
this  country.  This  same  information 
would  be  helpful  in  promptly  handling 
an  outbreak,  if  the  disease  or  insect 
should  get  a  start  in  this  country. 

Many  plantings  of  American  trees 
can  be  made  at  forest  schools  and  forest 
experiment  stations  in  foreign  coun- 
tries at  no  cost  other  than  supplying 
the  seed.  Some  information  can  be 
obtained  on  their  diseases  and  insects 
from  foreign  scientists,  but  occasional 
inspections  by  American  scientists  will 
be  needed.  As  an  incentive  to  this 
project,  arrangements  might  well  be 
made  in  this  country  to  plant  foreign 
trees  and  make  reports  to  the  foreign 
scientists  on  their  growth,  diseases,  and 
insect  pests. 

As  our  American  forests  become  less 
productive  on  account  of  new  disease 
and  insect  attacks,  we  will  have  urgent 
need  for  new  species  of  trees  for  plant- 
ing and  hybridization.  So  these  system- 
atic plantings  of  the  exotics  in  forest 
blocks  will  prove  a  most  valuable  addi- 
tion to  our  own  forestry  as  well  as  give 
our  foreign  cooperators  information  on 
diseases  and  insect  pests  of  their  native 
trees. 

G.  F.  GRAVATT,  a  graduate  of  Vir- 
ginia Polytechnic  Institute,  is  a  forest 
pathologist  in  the  Bureau  of  Plant 
Industry,  Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engi- 
neering. He  is  the  leader  of  the  program 
for  the  development  and  distribution 
of  blight-resistant  chestnuts  and  has 
studied  other  introduced  diseases.  He 
has  long  recognized  the  danger  to 
American  forests  from  the  introduced 
epidemic  diseases  and  has  consistently 
advocated  the  necessity  for  stronger 
protective  measures  to  exclude  them 
from  the  United  States. 


Dutch  Elm  Disease 


451 


D.  E.  PARKER  is  an  assistant  division 
leader  of  the  Division  of  Forest  Insect 
Investigations,  Bureau  of  Entomology 
and  Plant  Quarantine.  A  graduate  of 
the  University  of  Massachusetts,  Mr. 
Parker  joined  the  Department  in  1925. 
After  9  years  in  Massachusetts,  where 


he  worked  on  biological  control  of 
forest  insects,  he  began  studying  the 
relation  of  insects  to  tree  diseases,  par- 
ticularly Dutch  elm  disease  and  elm 
phloem  necrosis.  In  this  connection 
Mr.  Parker  spent  three  years  studying 
the  Dutch  elm  disease  in  Europe. 


DUTCH  ELM  DISEASE 

R.    U.    SWINGLE,    R.    R.    WRITTEN,    E.    G.    BREWER 


The  Dutch  elm  disease  is  caused 
by  the  fungus  Ceratostomella  ulmi. 
The  disease  was  discovered  in  the 
Netherlands  30  years  ago  and  it  spread 
rapidly  in  Europe.  It  was  found  in  the 
United  States  in  1930;  it  had  been 
brought  here  in  elm  burl  logs  imported 
for  the  veneer  industry. 

Native  elms  of  the  United  States  are 
dangerously  susceptible  to  the  fungus. 
Despite  vigorous  efforts  to  suppress  it, 
the  disease  has  become  established  in 
plantations  and  natural  stands  of  the 
principal  elm  shade-tree  areas  of  this 
country  from  Boston  as  far  westward  as 
Indiana  and  Kentucky  and  southward 
to  Virginia.  It  has  been  found  in  Ten- 
nessee. An  isolated  outbreak  was  dis- 
covered in  Colorado. 

DUTCH  ELM  DISEASE  produces  a  wilt- 
ing or  yellowing  of  leaves  on  one  or 
several  branches.  Thereupon  the  leaves 
fall.  Later  in  the  season  or  in  follow- 
ing years,  the  disease  may  spread  to 
other  parts  of  the  tree  until  the  entire 
top  is  affected  and  the  tree  dies.  In 
more  acute  cases,  the  entire  tree  may 
suddenly  wilt  and  die  with  or  without 
pronounced  yellowing  of  foliage.  In 
all  cases  of  Dutch  elm  disease,  a  dis- 
coloration of  the  sapwood  occurs  in 
affected  branches,  trunk,  and  roots.  If 
Dutch  elm  disease  is  present,  a  diag- 
onal cut  through  branches  with  wilted 
or  yellowing  leaves  will  show  brown 
spots,  an  arc,  or  a  complete  brown 
circle  in  one  or  more  annual  rings  of 
the  wood. 

Because  two  other  common  diseases 


of  the  elm  produce  similar  symptoms, 
positive  identification  of  the  Dutch 
elm  disease  depends  upon  laboratory 
tests  that  involve  identification  of  the 
fungus  that  may  grow  from  the  dis- 
colored wood.  Without  these  tests, 
the  Dutch  elm  disease  cannot  be  dis- 
tinguished with  certainty  from  other 
wilt  diseases  of  elm.  A  laboratory  to 
which  specimens  may  be  sent  for 
identification  of  Dutch  elm  disease  is 
maintained  by  the  Bureau  of  Ento- 
mology and  Plant  Quarantine  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

Ceratostomella  ulmi  develops  in  liv- 
ing trees  as  a  parasite  and  in  dead  elm 
wood  as  a  saprophyte.  In  living  trees, 
the  fungus  occurs  in  water-conducting 
vessels  of  the  wood.  It  produces  yeast- 
like  spores  that  are  carried  through 
these  vessels  in  the  flow  of  sap.  The 
toxins  the  fungus  produces  and  the 
brown,  gumlike  deposits  in  the  water- 
conducting  vessels  cause  wilt  and  the 
death  of  the  tree  or  its  affected 
branches.  After  its  host  dies,  the  fungus, 
still  growing  on  the  wood  as  a  sapro- 
phyte, produces  spores  under  the  loos- 
ened bark  and  in  insect  galleries 
formed  between  the  bark  and  wood. 

OCCASIONALLY  THE  FUNGUS  spreads 
through  linkage  of  diseased  and 
healthy  trees  by  natural  root  grafts, 
which  frequently  occur  in  dense  elm 
stands  and  crowded  street  plantings. 
Normally,  though,  the  fungus  is  borne 
from  diseased  trees  to  healthy  trees  by 
two  kinds  of  bark  beetles,  the  native 
elm  bark  beetle,  Hylurgopinus  rufipes 


452 

(Eichh.),  and  the  smaller  European 
elm  bark  beetle,  Scolytus  multistriatus 
(Marsh.).  The  latter  is  the  more  im- 
portant. The  beetles,  widespread  in  the 
eastern  half  of  the  United  States,  are 
present  in  many  places  where  the  Dutch 
elm  disease  is  not  yet  known  to  occur — 
an  ominous  warning. 

The  adult  beetles  feed  in  parts  of 
living  elm  trees,  but  they  breed  only  in 
recently  cut,  dead,  or  dying  elms.  Liv- 
ing elm  trees  are  seldom  injured  by 
only  the  feeding  of  the  adult,  but  when 
the  beetles  are  contaminated  with  the 
disease  organism  they  become  of  eco- 
nomic importance.  When  the  Dutch 
elm  disease  fungus  occurs  in  elm  ma- 
terial in  which  these  insects  breed,  the 
fungus  may  stick  to  the  beetles  and  be 
carried  to  healthy  elms  or  other  breed- 
ing material. 

The  adults  of  the  smaller  European 
elm  bark  beetle  emerge  from  infested 
wood  and  fly  to  nearby  living  elm  trees, 
where  they  feed  in  the  smaller  twig 
crotches.  The  adults  of  the  native  elm 
bark  beetle  hibernate  in  the  outer  bark 
of  living  elm  trees.  In  the  spring  they 
bore  into  the  bark  and  feed  on  it.  When 
the  feeding  injuries  penetrate  through 
the  bark  to  the  wood,  the  disease  organ- 
ism may  be  introduced  into  the  vascu- 
lar system  of  healthy  elm  trees.  Beetles 
of  both  species  may  fly  several  miles 
in  search  of  suitable  breeding  places, 
and  thus  may  transport  the  disease  or- 
ganism from  one  locality  to  another. 

All  the  elms  commonly  planted  as 
shade  trees  are  susceptible  to  Dutch 
elm  disease.  The  degree  of  suscepti- 
bility varies  both  within  and  between 
species,  however.  The  American  elm, 
which  predominates  in  many  shade- 
tree  plantings,  is  among  the  more  sus- 
ceptible species.  The  Chinese  elm 
(Ulmus  parvifolia)  and  the  Siberian 
elm  (Ulmus  pumila)  resist  Dutch  elm 
disease,  but  they  have  undesirable 
characteristics  that  limit  their  use  in 
shade-tree  plantings. 

The  variation  in  susceptibility  of  dif- 
ferent species  and  varieties  has  stimu- 
lated attempts  in  Europe  and  the 
United  States  to  breed  and  select  su- 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


perior  types  of  elms  that  are  resistant 
to  the  fungus.  Scientists  in  Europe  dis- 
covered the  Christine  Buisman  elm,  a 
selection  of  Ulmus  carpinifolia,  which 
has  proved  highly  resistant  in  both 
Europe  and  America.  After  inoculat- 
ing thousands  of  American  elm  seed- 
lings, American  scientists  have  found 
two  resistant  American  elms.  Other 
recent  selections  and  hybrids  seem 
promising,  and  elms  that  combine  re- 
sistance to  the  disease  and  high  quality 
should  be  available  soon  through  com- 
mercial nurseries. 

Because  the  Dutch  elm  disease  or- 
ganism is  spread  by  insects,  the  loss  of 
elm  trees  from  this  disease  can  be 
prevented  by  controlling  the  insect  car- 
riers. This  can  be  done  by  the  preven- 
tion of  breeding  in  recently  cut,  dead, 
or  dying  elm  trees  and  by  the  preven- 
tion of  feeding  on  living  elm  trees. 

Breeding  may  be  prevented  by  burn- 
ing or  spraying  all  infested  or  likely- 
to-be  infested  elm  wood.  If  a  spray  is 
to  be  used,  the  entire  bark  surface  must 
be  thoroughly  covered  with  No.  2  fuel 
oil  containing  1  percent  of  DDT.  This 
spray  is  for  dead  material  only,  because 
it  will  injure  living  trees. 

Feeding  by  bark  beetles  in  living 
trees  can  be  controlled  by  completely 
covering  the  bark  surface  with  an 
emulsion-type  spray  containing  2  per- 
cent of  DDT.  Such  sprays  have  pro- 
duced residues  that  remained  effective 
for  more  than  3  months.  This  method 
of  control  can  be  applied  to  individual 
trees.  Further  experimentation  with 
these  DDT  sprays  is  necessary  before 
we  can  make  recommendations  for 
their  general  use. 

R.  U.  SWINGLE  is  a  senior  patholo- 
gist in  the  Division  of  Forest  Pathology, 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and 
Agricultural  Engineering. 

R.  R.  WRITTEN  is  a  senior  entomolo- 
gist in  the  Division  of  Forest  Insect 
Investigations,  Bureau  of  Entomology 
and  Plant  Quarantine. 

E.  G.  BREWER  is  in  charge  of  Dutch 
elm  disease  control,  Bureau  of  Ento- 
mology and  Plant  Quarantine. 


453 


BLISTER  RUST  ON  WHITE  PINE 


J.  F.  MARTIN,  PERLEY  SPAULDING 


White  pine  blister  rust  is  a  fungus 
that  attacks  and  destroys  the  highly 
valued  white,  or  five-needled,  pines.  It 
spreads  to  pines  from  its  alternate 
hosts,  currants  and  gooseberries,  with- 
out which  the  fungus  cannot  infect 
white  pines.  Thus  the  disease  is  con- 
trolled by  removing  the  alternate  host 
plants,  commonly  called  ribes,  in  the 
vicinity  of  white  pines. 

A  point  to  note  is  that  white  pine 
blister  rust  is  an  introduced  disease,  not 
a  native.  Most  native  tree  diseases  are 
curbed  by  natural  conditions,  so  that 
in  a  given  outbreak  they  are  fatal  only 
to  individuals  or  groups  of  individuals. 
But  introduced  diseases  are  free  from 
the  natural  controls  of  their  native  hab- 
itat; in  their  new  environment,  if  the 
conditions  are  unusually  favorable,  they 
sometimes  become  epidemic  and  de- 
structive, although  the  existence  of  an 
entire  tree  species  is  rarely  endangered. 

White  pine  blister  rust  was  first 
found  in  North  America  at  Geneva, 
N.  Y.,  in  1906.  It  occurred  on  culti- 
vated ribes,  and  the  bushes  were 
promptly  destroyed.  The  disease  was 
found  again  in  1909  in  new  plantations 
of  eastern  white  pines,  large  numbers  of 
which  had  just  been  imported  from 
Europe  to  fill  a  heavy  demand  for  for- 
est planting  stock.  The  shipments  went 
to  most  of  the  Northeastern  and  Lake 
States,  and  to  eastern  Canada.  Many 
of  them  contained  infected  trees,  and  so 
the  disease  was  widely  distributed 
within  the  native  range  of  eastern  white 
pine.  The  State  officials  concerned  im- 
mediately agreed  on  concerted  action 
to  find  and  destroy  all  infected  pines 
and  remove  all  ribes  within  500  feet  of 
the  diseased  plantations.  They  hoped 
thus  to  eradicate  the  fungus.  The  ac- 
tion delayed  the  spread  of  the  disease, 
but  in  1913  it  became  evident  that  in- 
fection had  spread  to  the  native  white 
pines.  By  1915  all  hope  of  eradicating 
the  fungus  from  North  America  was 


abandoned.  Efforts  then  were  concen- 
trated on  local  control  to  prevent  seri- 
ous damage  in  stands  of  eastern  white 
pine. 

In  1921  the  disease  was  found  near 
Vancouver  and  in  northwestern  Wash- 
ington on  western  white  pine.  The  ori- 
gin of  that  outbreak  was  a  shipment  of 
white  pine  nursery  stock  made  directly 
from  France  to  Vancouver  in  1910. 

Out  of  experiences  with  white  pine 
blister  rust,  chestnut  blight,  and  some 
forest  insects  that  were  known  to  have 
been  imported  from  abroad  came  the 
enactment  in  1912  of  a  Federal  Plant 
Quarantine  Act.  The  first  quarantine 
under  it  prohibited  further  importa- 
tion of  white  pines.  Later  the  interstate 
movement  of  white  pines  and  ribes  was 
regulated  to  prevent  spread  of  the  dis- 
ease by  shipment  of  infected  host 
plants.  The  affected  States  also  enacted 
laws  to  control  the  blister  rust  or  pro- 
mulgated quarantines  and  regulations 
under  established  pest  control  laws  per- 
taining to  control  of  blister  rust.  Such 
action  has  been  taken  by  32  States. 
In  1917  a  Federal  embargo  was  placed 
on  the  movement  of  white  pines  and 
ribes  from  the  Eastern  States  to  points 
west  of  the  Great  Plains  to  prevent 
westward  extension  of  the  disease 
through  the  shipment  of  infected  host 
plants.  This  embargo  was  lifted  in  1926 
after  it  became  evident  the  disease  had 
become  widely  scattered  in  western 
white  pine  forests.  Adjustments  were 
made  in  the  Federal  white  pine  blister 
rust  quarantine  from  time  to  time  to 
take  care  of  problems  created  by  the 
natural  spread  of  the  rust  into  unin- 
fected  territory  and  the  removal  of 
ribes  in  control  areas. 

White  pines  are  among  our  most 
valuable  and  desirable  forest  trees. 

Of  the  eight  native  species,  three 
are  among  our  leading  timber  species. 
They  are  the  eastern  white  pine,  which 
grows  from  Georgia  to  Maine  and  west 


454 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


to  Minnesota ;  the  western  white  pine, 
which  is  found  chiefly  in  the  Panhandle 
of  Idaho  and  nearby  parts  of  Montana 
and  Washington;  and  the  sugar  pine 
of  Oregon  and  California.  They  are 
a  forest  resource  of  great  commercial 
importance.  They  are  adaptable  to  a 
wide  range  of  site  conditions,  they  make 
rapid  growth,  and  they  lend  themselves 
to  forest  management.  Their  timber, 
as  it  stands  in  the  forest,  is  worth  sev- 
eral hundred  million  dollars;  its  manu- 
factured value  is  much  greater.  The 
younger  growth  is  the  timber  crop  of 
tomorrow.  Both  eastern  and  western 
white  pine  are  used  for  reforestation. 
The  eastern  white  pine  also  is  used  ex- 
tensively in  landscaping  homes,  parks, 
buildings,  memorials,  and  like  places. 

Numerous  logging,  milling,  and 
manufacturing  industries  that  employ 
thousands  of  people  and  form  the  eco- 
nomic basis  of  many  communities 
depend  on  the  three  species  for  raw 
material.  The  wood  is  soft,  durable, 
fine-grained,  easy  to  work,  and  excellent 
for  patterns,  matches,  doors,  window 
sashes,  toys,  and  many  other  products. 
In  northern  Idaho  and  nearby  parts  of 
Washington  and  Montana,  forest  in- 
dustries are  a  main  support  of  the  eco- 
nomic and  social  life.  These  industries, 
in  turn,  depend  on  western  white  pine, 
which  represents  about  three-fourths 
the  value  of  the  forest  products  of  the 
region.  Without  the  white  pine,  the 
harvesting  and  utilization  of  asso- 
ciated trees  would  not  be  profitable. 

The  other  five  species  grow  at  high 
elevations  along  the  mountain  ranges 
west  of  the  Great  Plains.  They  produce 
little  timber,  but  they  have  consider- 
able value  in  other  ways — in  protecting 
water  supplies,  preventing  soil  erosion, 
and  making  scenic  and  recreational 
areas. 

Now  all  eight  native  species  of  white 
pines  are  endangered  by  blister  rust. 
To  save  them  will  take  united  and  sus- 
tained action  by  public  and  private 
agencies  to  bring  the  disease  under 
control  and  keep  it  suppressed  in  pine- 
production  areas. 

Already   the   disease  is   established 


and  is  spreading  in  all  commercial 
white  pine  belts.  It  is  present  through- 
out the  range  of  eastern  white  pine 
except  in  the  extreme  southern  fringe. 
In  the  West  it  has  invaded  the  entire 
range  of  western  white  pine  and  of 
sugar  pine  as  far  south  as  Eldorado 
County  in  California — about  210  miles 
south  of  the  Oregon  border. 

Further,  the  disease  acts  relentlessly 
and  insidiously.  The  fungus  destroys 
pines  by  girdling  the  limbs  and  trunk. 
Young  seedlings  are  girdled  in  a  short 
time.  They  die  and  disappear  and  leave 
no  evidence  that  they  ever  existed. 
Diseased  saplings  may  live  several 
years  before  they  succumb.  Infected 
mature  trees  survive  20  years  or  more ; 
if  the  disease  is  detected  in  time, 
most  of  them  can  be  salvaged.  No  hope 
exists,  however,  for  adequate  future 
supplies  of  white  pine  if  the  young  re- 
production is  killed  or  excessively 
thinned  by  the  disease. 

RIBES  appear  during  the  early  for- 
mation of  the  forest  stands.  They  reach 
maximum  development  in  about  20 
years.  Then  they  decline.  They  grow 
from  seeds,  sprouts,  and  layered  stems. 
Ribes  usually  are  absent  or  sparse  on 
light,  sandy  soils.  They  vary  from  few 
to  many  on  the  heavier  soils.  They  per- 
sist indefinitely  in  places  in  the  forest 
that  are  permanently  open.  They  are 
suppressed  by  shade  and  root  compe- 
tition in  fully  stocked  stands.  Ribes  are 
carried  over  from  one  forest  generation 
to  the  next  by  viable  seed  stored  be- 
neath the  litter  on  the  forest  floor. 
When  this  debris  is  disturbed  by  log- 
ging, fire,  or  other  causes  that  expose 
the  stored  seed  and  increase  the  inten- 
sity of  light,  conditions  become  gen- 
erally favorable  for  seed  germination 
and  growth  of  the  ribes.  Under  those 
conditions,  young  ribes  begin  to  pro- 
duce seed  in  3  to  5  years  and  seed 
storage  begins  anew.  Ribes  usually 
develop  in  abundance  from  seed  fol- 
lowing single  light  burns  in  forests. 

In  young  stands,  the  crowns  of  the 
old  ribes  that  are  still  alive  may  pro- 
duce sprouts  that  grow  rapidly.  Double 


Blister  Rust  on  White  Pine 


455 


burns  and  severe  single  burns  destroy 
the  seed  and  crowns,  and  create  ribes- 
free  conditions  except  in  wet  and  rocky 
places  where  they  may  survive  the  fire. 
The  production  and  longevity  of  ribes 
seed,  disturbances  of  the  forest  floor, 
shade,  plant  competition,  and  fire  are 
factors  in  ribes  suppression  that  receive 
careful  consideration  in  planning  con- 
trol operations  and  forest-management 
practices. 

SPORES,  the  reproductive  bodies  of 
fungi,  serve  the  same  purpose  for  fungi 
that  seeds  do  for  ordinary  crop  plants. 
The  blister  rust  spores  are  minute, 
dustlike  particles  that  are  easily  carried 
by  the  wind.  One  kind  of  spore,  pro- 
duced in  the  diseased  bark  of  white 
pines  in  the  spring,  cannot  infect  pines; 
they  infect  only  ribes. 

On  ribes  leaves,  two  kinds  of  spores 
are  produced,  an  early-  and  a  late- 
summer  form.  The  early  form  can  in- 
fect ribes  leaves  but  not  white  pines. 
It  is  a  repeating  form,  producing  sev- 
eral generations  in  a  season  and  caus- 
ing local  disease  intensification  on 
ribes.  The  late  form  infects  white  pine 
needles  but  not  ribes.  The  fungus  grows 
in  the  needles  until  it  reaches  the  bark. 
There  it  causes  spindle-shaped  diseased 
areas  called  cankers.  From  2  to  5  years 
after  infection  of  the  needles,  spores 
begin  to  develop  in  the  diseased  bark. 
Thereafter  each  spring  a  new  crop  of 
spores  is  produced;  they  infect  ribes 
and  again  start  the  life  cycle  of  the 
fungus. 

Blister  rust  may  reach  new  localities 
by  shipment  and  planting  of  infected 
white  pine  or  ribes  and  by  wind-borne 
spores  from  infected  pines.  Distance  is 
not  a  limiting  factor  in  the  spread  of 
the  disease  by  shipment  of  infected  host 
plants.  Investigations  in  western  North 
America  showed  that  the  disease  was 
spread  by  wind-borne  spores  from  in- 
fected pines  to  ribes  over  distances  of 
several  hundred  miles.  From  infected 
ribes  to  the  pines,  however,  the  spread 
usually  does  not  exceed  900  feet. 
Under  especially  favorable  weather 
and  topographic  conditions,  the  spread 


sometimes  extends  for  a  mile  or  more. 
The  amount  of  pine  infection  rapidly 
lessens  as  the  distance  from  diseased 
ribes  increases. 

The  different  native  white  pines  are 
highly  susceptible,  although  there  is 
some  evidence  of  resistant  trees  among 
species.  Native  ribes  species  vary  widely 
in  their  reaction  to  the  rust.  Some  are 
highly  susceptible,  while  others  seldom 
take  the  disease.  That  fact,  however, 
has  had  no  significant  effect  on  the 
spread  or  control  of  the  disease,  be- 
cause susceptible  ribes  species  are  well 
distributed  throughout  the  range  of  the 
white  pines. 

In  new  localities  the  disease  follows 
a  definite  course.  It  starts  as  a  single 
infection  or  several  scattered  infections 
on  ribes  and  is  transmitted  to  nearby 
white  pine.  Two  to  five  years  later  the 
diseased  pine  produces  spores  that  in- 
fect nearby  ribes.  In  turn,  the  local  pine 
infection  increases.  After  this  situation 
has  developed  in  several  spots,  a  favor- 
able rust  year  causes  abundant  and 
widespread  infection  on  the  ribes  and 
pines,  and  many  pines  die. 

The  white  pines  would  be  doomed 
within  a  few  years  were  it  not  that  the 
rate  of  spread  of  the  fungus  depends  on 
the  simultaneous  occurrence  of  several 
factors :  Widespread  infection  on  ribes, 
abundant  production  of  pine-infecting 
spores,  and  a  favorable  combination 
of  temperature  and  moisture  condi- 
tions. The  integration  of  such  condi- 
tions over  extensive  areas  fortunately 
are  infrequent,  and  new  infection  of 
pine  is  light  in  most  years.  Only  in  an 
occasional  year  is  it  so  general  as  to 
cause  widespread  damage. 

THE  CONTROL  OF  BLISTER  RUST  and 
similar  epidemic  diseases,  we  believe, 
is  largely  a  public  problem  because  of 
their  effect  on  national  welfare,  their 
interstate  distribution,  and  the  need  for 
coordinated  effort  in  their  control. 
The  forest  resources  attacked  by  blister 
rust  are  spread  over  many  States  and 
involve  lands  in  Federal,  State,  and 
private  ownership.  Ribes  must  be  re- 
moved over  extensive  areas  regardless 


456 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  land  ownership.  Like  other  trees,  the 
white  pines  require  years  of  growth  to 
produce  a  crop  of  timber.  Many  young 
stands  cannot  be  harvested  within  the 
lifetime  of  the  present  owners.  Under 
such  conditions,  only  the  support  of  all 
citizens  can  effect  the  coordination  and 
cooperation  required  to  control  the 
disease. 

Areas  selected  for  blister  rust  pro- 
tection total  about  28  million  acres. 
This  control  area  is  made  up  of  the 
better  white  pine  growing  sites  which 
were  selected  to  supply  our  present 
white  pine  lumber  requirements.  How- 
ever, the  range  of  the  white  pines 
extends  over  large  areas  outside  the  se- 
lected control  acreage.  Some  of  this 
land  is  good  white  pine  site,  and  when- 
ever more  favorable  economic  condi- 
tions justify  such  action,  it  can  be 
brought  into  production  by  ribes  eradi- 
cation and  by  pine  planting  to  sup- 
plement natural  reproduction  from 
surviving  seed  trees. 

Practical  control  of  blister  rust  was 
begun  by  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture as  a  Federal-aid  program  in  co- 
operation with  the  Northeastern  States. 
As  the  disease  spread,  other  States  and 
the  Federal  land-managing  agencies  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the 
Department  of  the  Interior  joined  in 
the  control  program.  Responsibility  for 
general  leadership,  coordination,  and 
technical  direction  of  the  program  is 
assigned  to  the  Bureau  of  Entomology 
and  Plant  Quarantine.  This  avoids 
duplication  of  effort  and  provides  a 
single  basis  for  the  coordination  of  field 
work  in  white  pine  areas.  In  this 
capacity  the  Bureau  performs  the  over- 
all activities  that  have  a  common  ap- 
plication to  the  work  of  all  cooperating 
agencies,  such  as  the  development  of 
control  methods  for  cheaper  and  better 
ways  of  destroying  ribes.  The  results 
benefit  all  cooperating  agencies  and  are 
made  available  for  their  use. 

The  Bureau  is  jointly  responsible 
with  landowners  for  control  of  the  dis- 
ease on  white  pine  areas  in  State  and 
private  ownership.  Besides  the  32 
States  participating  in  control  work, 


many  counties,  townships,  lumber  com- 
panies, timber-protective  associations, 
and  individuals  cooperate  in  the  work. 
Control  operations  on  State  and  pri- 
vate lands  are  financed  jointly  with 
Federal  and  State  funds,  supplemented 
by  county,  township,  and  local  con- 
tributions and  services.  Control  work 
on  federally  owned  lands  is  financed  by 
Federal  appropriations. 

The  Forest  Service  is  responsible  for 
control  operations  on  national  forest 
lands.  In  the  Department  of  the  Inte- 
rior, the  National  Park  Service  is  re- 
sponsible for  work  on  national  parks, 
the  Office  of  Indian  Affairs  for  work 
on  Indian  reservations,  and  the  Bureau 
of  Land  Management  for  the  revested 
Oregon  and  California  railroad  grant 
lands.  This  cooperation  develops  a  mu- 
tual interest,  understanding,  and  pur- 
pose that  has  resulted  in  effective 
operation  of  the  control  program.  The 
Division  of  Forest  Pathology  in  the 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and 
Agricultural  Engineering  had  charge 
of  the  research  and  field  work  during 
the  early  years  of  the  control  program 
and  now  performs  the  research  on  the 
fungus. 

RIBES  ARE  REMOVED  from  the  control 
areas  by  hand,  mechanical,  and  chem- 
ical methods. 

Crews  of  one  to  five  men  systemati- 
cally search  selected  white  pine  areas 
and  uproot  the  ribes  by  hand  or  with 
picks.  The  method  is  in  general  use. 

For  use  in  places  where  hand  meth- 
ods are  not  practicable,  the  bulldozer 
is  adapted  for  clearing  concentrations 
of  ribes  from  brushy  bottom  lands. 
Equipped  with  a  brush-rake  blade,  it 
uproots  the  brush  and  ribes  and  pushes 
them  into  windrows  for  burning.  The 
cleared  area  is  seeded  to  forage  crops 
and  made  into  permanent  meadows. 
Bulldozers  with  a  winch  rear-mounted 
to  drag  a  five-toothed  grapple  can  up- 
root large  clumps  of  upland  ribes. 

In  the  western  white  pine  forests  of 
northern  Idaho,  sprays  of  sodium  chlo- 
rate in  water  were  used  against  the 
western  black  currant  (Ribes  petio- 


Blister  Rust  on  White  Pine 


457 


tare),  whose  roots  are  often  so  tangled 
with  those  of  other  plants  that  hand- 
pulling  is  difficult  and  costly.  A  com- 
plete kill  was  had  with  one  application 
of  the  spray  to  foliage  and  stems ;  about 
a  pound  of  chemical  was  used  in  a  gal- 
lon of  water.  Equally  good  results  were 
obtained  on  this  species  with  ammoni- 
um sulfamate  and  with  dichlorophen- 
oxyacetic  acid,  commonly  called  2,4-D. 

Ribes  with  roots  extending  under 
logs,  between  rocks,  or  in  places  where 
it  is  hard  to  dig  are  cut  off  at  the 
crown;  the  freshly  exposed  surface  is 
treated  with  equal  parts  of  salt  and 
borax,  saturated  ammonium  sulfamate, 
or  with  concentrates  of  aqueous  amine 
or  ester  in  oil  formulations  of  2,4-D. 
When  so  applied,  small  amounts  of  the 
chemicals  kill  the  crowns  and  roots  of 
several  species  of  ribes. 

Intensive  forest  management  is  im- 
portant in  blister  rust  control  areas  as 
an  aid  in  the  suppression  of  ribes.  Also, 
it  helps  keep  the  stands  in  vigorous 
condition  and  will  result  in  the  highest 
possible  returns  from  the  timber  crop. 

After  the  white  pine  crop  is  har- 
vested, the  viable  ribes  seed  stored  in 
the  forest-floor  mantle  germinate.  This 
exhausts  the  old  seed,  and  removal  of 
the  new  ribes  before  they  produce  seed 
prevents  formation  of  another  seed- 
storage  problem  and  leaves  the  area 
essentially  free  of  ribes.  Thus,  in  the 
next  crop  cycle  the  suppression  of  ribes 
and  management  of  pine  stands  for 
blister  rust  protection  will  be  greatly 
simplified. 

PROGRESS  is  being  made  in  the  work. 
The  blister  rust  control  area  totals 
about  28  million  acres.  The  rust  is  un- 
der control  on  nearly  12  million  acres, 
or  42  percent  of  the  area.  In  the  future 
only  a  low-cost  maintenance  program 
is  needed  to  keep  this  acreage  safe  for 
the  production  of  white  pine.  The  ini- 
tial phases  of  control  have  been  applied 
to  an  additional  1 1  million  acres,  or  40 
percent,  of  the  control  area.  The  acre- 
age comprising  this  part  of  the  control 
area  is  still  in  a  critical  condition  with 
respect  to  the  disease.  The  follow-up 


phases  of  suppression  work  must  be 
properly  timed  and  applied  to  bring 
control  to  where  future  needs  can  be 
met  by  a  small  maintenance  program. 

On  the  remaining  5  million  acres, 
there  is  great  need  for  initial  removal 
of  ribes.  The  disease  is  well  distributed 
and  ready  to  intensify  and  cause 
severe  damage  to  pine  when  favor- 
able infection  conditions  occur.  In 
many  areas  the  pine  already  has  been 
abandoned  to  the  rust  because  most 
of  the  trees  are  fatally  infected.  How- 
ever, only  a  small  amount  of  this 
untreated  acreage  can  be  worked  an- 
nually with  present  facilities  because 
first  priority  must  be  given  to  the  neces- 
sary follow-up  work  on  areas  where 
the  initial  phases  of  control  have  been 
completed. 

Control  operations  began  in  1922 
in  cooperation  with  the  Northeastern 
States.  They  were  extended  to  the 
North  Central,  Southern  Appalachian, 
Northwestern,  and  Pacific  coast  re- 
gions as  they  were  invaded  by  the 
disease,  but  11  years  elapsed  before 
control  work  was  well  under  way  in  all 
commercial  white  pine  regions.  One  of 
the  first  steps  in  controlling  the  rust  in 
each  region  was  to  delay  its  natural 
spread  as  much  as  possible  by  removing 
the  cultivated  European  black  currant 
(Ribes  nigrum).  This  plant  is  highly 
susceptible  and  one  of  the  chief  agents 
in  the  long-distance  spread  and  estab- 
lishment of  the  disease  in  new  localities. 
Its  early  removal  was  an  important 
factor  in  retarding  the  advance  of  the 
disease. 

Extensive  acreages  were  cleared  of 
ribes  between  1933  and  1941,  first  with 
members  of  the  Civilian  Conservation 
Corps  and  later  with  workers  paid  from 
unemployment-relief  funds.  When  the 
Second  World  War  began,  it  was  im- 
possible to  maintain  control  of  the 
disease  in  all  protected  areas  because  of 
labor  shortages,  increased  costs,  and 
other  war-made  conditions.  Only  a 
holding  program  on  the  better  white 
pine  areas  was  practicable  then.  Some 
of  the  progress  already  made  was  lost 
because  partly  protected  areas  could 


458 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


not  be  reworked  at  the  proper  time  to 
keep  the  disease  under  control.  A  fur- 
ther set-back  resulted  from  accelerated 
cutting  of  white  pine  that  produced 
about  11  billion  board  feet  of  lumber 
for  war  use.  The  logging  changed  the 
status  of  a  large  acreage  from  mature 
stands  to  cut-over  lands,  much  of 
which  now  supports  white  pine  repro- 
duction and  ribes.  Viable  ribes  seed 
stored  in  the  forest-floor  mantle  during 
the  early  formation  of  the  mature 
stands  were  released  by  the  logging 
disturbance  and  produced  bushes 
which  must  be  removed  to  prevent  loss 
of  the  young  pine  crop. 

Thus  at  the  end  of  the  war  came  the 
need  for  a  large  rework  program  and 
for  the  removal  of  ribes  from  a  large 
unworked  acreage.  Because  the  annual 
pine  losses  continue  where  ribes  are 
present,  much  of  the  work  is  urgent, 
particularly  in  the  younger  stands.  The 
longer  it  is  delayed,  the  greater  the  loss. 
We  think  the  most  economical  pro- 
cedure is  to  establish  the  work  on  a 
stable  basis  that  would  provide  for  all 
the  rework  as  it  comes  due  each  year 
and  for  extending  initial  work  to  un- 
protected stands  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

The  blister  rust  fungus  cannot  be 
eradicated  but  it  can  be  controlled. 
We  must  pay  the  cost  of  saving  the 
white  pines.  Past  work  and  continu- 
ance of  the  control  program  will  as- 


sure white  pine  production  on  a  large 
part  of  the  control  area.  In  other  parts, 
the  existing  white  pines  will  be  lost  to 
the  disease  unless  the  areas  are  put  in 
condition  to  grow  white  pines  by  re- 
moving the  ribes.  The  selected  acreage 
can  be  enlarged  by  planting  good  sites 
where  ribes  are  absent  or  so  few  that 
they  can  be  easily  eradicated.  Increas- 
ing application  of  forest-management 
practices  in  the  production  of  white 
pine  will  help  suppress  ribes.  The  pros- 
pect is  good  for  finding  a  cheap  chem- 
ical for  killing  ribes  that  are  resistant 
to  2,4-D.  Cooperating  public  and  pri- 
vate agencies  and  individuals  are  striv- 
ing to  control  blister  rust  and  there  is 
an  active  public  interest  in  the  prob- 
lem. Thus,  the  outlook  is  favorable  for 
ultimately  controlling  the  disease  in  se- 
lected white  pine  forest  areas. 

J.  F.  MARTIN  is  head  of  the  Division 
of  Plant  Disease  Control,,  Bureau  of 
Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine, 
and  directs  the  cooperative  programs 
for  control  of  white  pine  blister  rust 
and  stem  rust  of  small  grains. 

PERLEY  SPAULDING  is  a  pathologist 
in  the  Division  of  Forest  Pathology, 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and 
Agricultural  Engineering.  He  per- 
formed much  of  the  early  investiga- 
tional  work  and  research  on  the  white 
pine  blister  rust  fungus. 


DWARF  MISTLETOES 

LAKE  S.  GILL,  JESS  L.  BEDWELL 


The  dwarf  mistletoes  are  serious 
pests  of  western  coniferous  forests.  The 
losses  they  inflict  in  volume  of  timber 
and  quality  of  lumber  have  never  been 
accurately  evaluated  but  are  believed 
to  be  exceeded  only  by  the  damage 
done  by  heart  rots. 

The  dwarf  mistletoes  belong  to  the 
genus  Arceuthobium  (it  is  also  called 
Razoumofskya) ,  a  group  of  the  family 
Loranthaceae,  of  which  all  mistletoes 
and  some  other  parasitic  plants  are 


members.  Among  their  next  of  kin,  in 
the  genus  Phoradendron,  are  the  famil- 
iar Christmas  mistletoes,  which  attack 
mostly  deciduous  trees  and  junipers. 
In  North  America  the  junipers  and 
their  relatives  are  immune  to  dwarf 
mistletoes,  although  the  generic  name, 
Arceuthobium,  is  derived  from  Greek 
words  meaning  "juniper  living,"  be- 
cause juniper  is  the  most  common  host 
in  the  Mediterranean  region,  where 
these  plants  were  first  described.  They 


Dwarf  Mistletoes 


have  also  been  reported  from  China 
and  constitute  a  problem  in  forest  man- 
agement in  the  Himalaya  Mountains 
of  India.  The  dwarf  species  attack  only 
conifers  and  are  not  used  for  decora- 
tive or  symbolic  purposes. 

Five  species  are  recognized  in  North 
America.  One  of  them,  A.  pusillum,  is 
found  only  from  the  Great  Lakes  re- 
gion east,  mainly  on  spruce.  The  other 
four,  typically  western,  range  from 
Canada  and  Alaska  to  Mexico.  Of 
these  four,  one  (A.  americanum)  is 
confined  to  the  ranges  of  lodgepole  and 
jack  pine,  another  (A  douglasii)  to 
the  range  of  inland  Douglas-fir.  Of  the 
others,  A.  vaginatum  is  restricted  to 
three-needled  pines,  notably  Pinus  pon- 
der osa  var.  scopulorum  in  the  south- 
western United  States  and  Mexico,  and 
A.  campylopodum  attacks  pine,  spruce, 
fir,  hemlock,  and  larch  from  Alaska  to 
Arizona  and,  probably,  Mexico. 

The  dwarf  mistletoes  have  been  re- 
ported in  Arizona,  California,  Colo- 
rado, Connecticut,  Idaho,  Maine, 
Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
Montana,  Nevada,  New  Hampshire, 
New  Jersey,  New  Mexico,  New  York, 
Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island, 
Texas  (the  northwestern  part),  Utah, 
Vermont,  Washington,  Wisconsin,  and 
Wyoming.  Although  the  list  indicates 
widespread  occurrence  from  east  to 
west,  it  should  be  pointed  out  that  none 
has  been  found  in  the  island  of  pon- 
derosa  pine  covering  the  Black  Hills  of 
South  Dakota  or  in  the  great  Douglas- 
fir  forests  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Cascade  Range  north  of  the  Umpqua- 
Willamette  Divide.  It  is  also  notable 
that  they  do  not  attack  the  high-pro- 
ducing forests  of  the  South.  In  Texas 
they  are  restricted  to  isolated  mountain 
ranges  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  State,  where  the  timber  values  are 
negligible. 

THE  DWARF  MISTLETOES  are  leaf- 
less, flowering  plants.  They  are  dioe- 
cious— that  is,  the  staminate,  or  male, 
flowers  are  borne  on  separate  plants 
from  those  producing  the  seed.  The 
root  system  of  these  parasites  has 


459 

developed  into  an  absorption  system, 
which  can  invade  and  maintain  itself  in 
both  the  wood  and  the  bark  of  its  host. 

From  the  host  it  derives  nutrients 
and  water.  The  absorption  system  has 
been  known  to  live  for  many  years 
within  the  tissues  of  the  host  plant 
without  producing  aerial  shoots.  The 
shoots  are  segmented  stems,  which  may 
or  may  not  branch.  In  A.  pusillum  they 
attain  a  height  of  about  an  inch  and 
are  unbranched.  In  A.  campylopodum 
and  A.  vaginatum  they  may  become 
several  inches  long  and  are  usually 
branched.  The  primary  (if  not  the 
sole)  function  of  the  shoots  is  to  pro- 
duce flowers  and  fruits.  Most  of  the 
Phoradendrons,  on  the  other  hand, 
appear  capable  of  producing  most  of 
their  own  food  and  are  believed  to  rob 
their  host  primarily  of  water  and  dis- 
solved minerals. 

In  all  species  except  A.  pusillum,  the 
fruits  mature  the  second  season  after 
pollination.  They  are  berrylike  struc- 
tures that  vary  in  color  from  light 
green  to  blue  green  or  even  brown.  In 
size  and  shape  they  resemble  a  grain 
of  wheat. 

The  outside  casing,  or  skin,  of  the 
fruit  is  a  tough  and  elastic  sac.  At 
maturity  the  sac  contains  the  seed  and 
a  hygroscopic  material  called  viscin. 
As  the  viscin  absorbs  water,  pressure 
against  the  elastic  wall  of  the  casing  is 
increased.  When  the  seed  is  ripe  the  cas- 
ing is  ruptured  from  its  base,  leaving 
one  end  of  the  sac  open.  Simultane- 
ously, the  wall  of  the  casing  contracts, 
and  the  seed  is  forcibly  ejected  into 
the  air.  The  sterns,  or  pedicels,  sup- 
porting the  ripe  fruit  curl  downward 
in  such  a  way  that  the  base  of  the 
fruit  points  skyward  at  the  time  of 
the  explosion  and  the  expelled  seed 
then  follows  a  trajectory  like  a  mortar 
shell.  Seed  that  are  shot  from  20  or 
more  feet  above  ground  and  allowed  to 
follow  their  course  without  obstruction 
will  usually  travel  from  20  to  40  feet 
horizontally — sometimes  more  than  60 
feet. 

The  seed  carries  with  it  a  small 
amount  of  the  sticky  viscin,  which 


460 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


serves  the  double  purpose  of  holding  it 
fast  to  the  medium  on  which  it  alights 
and  of  gathering  and  holding  moisture 
for  the  protection  of  the  primary  root 
upon  germination.  With  proper  con- 
ditions of  moisture  and  temperature, 
mistletoe  seed  will  germinate  on  prac- 
tically any  substratum,  but  only  those 
that  happen  to  be  on  the  young,  tender 
branchlets  of  suitable  host  plants  can 
survive.  The  primary  rootlet  then 
forces  its  way  into  the  tender  bark  and 
from  there  establishes  an  absorption 
system  inside  the  host;  after  2  years  or 
more  it  may  produce  many  crops  of 
aerial  shoots. 

The  explosive  nature  of  the  seed  dis- 
persal tends  to  intensify  the  mistletoe 
on  a  tree  once  it  is  infected  and  leads 
also  to  a  slow  but  steady  encroachment 
of  the  parasite  into  the  forest  once  it 
is  established  on  a  single  tree.  In  that 
respect  it  differs  fundamentally  from 
the  leafy  or  Christmas  mistletoes,  which 
are  spread  only  by  birds,  with  the  re- 
sult that  trees  are  seldom  infected  until 
they  are  large  enough  to  provide  at- 
tractive roosting  places.  The  distribu- 
tion of  the  dwarf  mistletoes  indicates 
that  they,  too,  may  be  carried  long 
distances,  presumably  by  birds. 

THE  ECONOMIC  IMPORTANCE  is  great. 
Damage  by  mistletoe  in  the  forest  is  of 
four  general  categories:  Increased 
mortality,  the  lower  timber  quality,  re- 
duced increment,  and  predisposition  to 
other  diseases  or  insect  attack. 

Mistletoe  is  not  a  killing  parasite  in 
the  sense  that  great  numbers  of  trees 
may  suddenly  die  from  it.  Except  in 
the  case  of  young  seedlings  that  become 
infected,  death  due  to  the  parasite  is 
gradual.  Nevertheless,  infected  mer- 
chantable trees  do  have  a  lower  life 
expectancy  than  healthy  ones.  In  an 
investigation  that  continued  30  years, 
it  was  concluded  that  mistletoe  was 
the  greatest  single  cause  of  loss  in  pon- 
derosa  pine  in  the  Southwest. 

Probably  greater  than  mortality  is 
the  loss  from  degrade  or  cull  in  logs 
caused  by  mistletoe.  Long-standing  in- 
fections of  the  parasite  frequently  re- 


sult in  witches' -brooms  and  trunk 
cankers  which  either  directly,  or 
through  the  aid  of  secondary  organ- 
isms, render  a  part  of  the  stem  useless 
or  less  valuable  for  lumber.  Excessively 
large  knots  are  commonly  associated 
with  mistletoe  infection  and  in  the 
case  of  old  trunk  infections  the  wood 
itself  is  brash,  weak,  and  often  dis- 
colored or  pitch-soaked. 

Mistletoe-infected  trees  are  poor 
seed  producers.  Stands  that  are  at- 
tacked by  the  parasite  therefore  do  not 
reproduce  so  abundantly  as  healthy 
ones.  Besides,  mistletoe  retards  the 
growth  of  its  host  tree.  A  number  of 
studies  in  Western  States  indicated  that 
mistletoe  may  reduce  the  lumber  pro- 
duction of  a  tree  by  30  to  50  percent. 

Besides  those  direct  losses  from 
mistletoe,  the  parasite  tends  to  weaken 
its  host  physiologically.  Bark  beetle 
outbreaks  may  easily  originate  in  in- 
fected trees.  Heart-rotting  fungi  find 
favorable  ports  of  attack  through  the 
exposed  wood  in  cankers  or  through 
the  excessively  large  branches  that  are 
associated  with  infection.  Root  diseases 
that  healthy  trees  could  withstand  fre- 
quently kill  mistletoe-weakened  trees. 

THE       ONLY       EFFECTIVE       METHOD 

known  so  far  for  controlling  mistletoe 
is  to  prune  it  out  and  thereby  eliminate 
the  absorption  system  and  the  sources 
of  reinfection.  In  the  case  of  A.  vag- 
inatum,  if  an  infected  branch  is  cut  18 
inches  or  more  behind  the  mistletoe 
shoots  the  entire  mistletoe  plant  is 
usually  removed  from  the  tree.  Where 
shoots  appear  on  a  branch  within  18 
inches  of  the  trunk,  the  chances  are 
rather  high  that  the  absorption  system 
will  have  invaded  the  trunk  and  that 
shoots  will  develop  on  it  after  pruning, 
usually  at  the  cut.  There  is  no  sat- 
isfactory method  of  eliminating  mistle- 
toe from  the  trunk  once  it  becomes 
established  there.  Young  infections, 
where  the  shoots  appear  only  on  3-  to 
4-year-old  wood,  can  be  safely  cut  less 
than  18  inches  from  the  trunk. 

Several  pruning  operations  are  us- 
ually required  to  eliminate  mistletoe 


Dwarf  Mistletoes 


461 


from  the  branches  of  a  tree.  That  is 
because  often  a  lag  of  several  years 
occurs  between  the  time  infection  takes 
place  and  the  time  the  first  shoots  ap- 
pear. These  latent  infections  will  be 
missed  at  the  initial  pruning.  Because 
the  seeds  require  2  years  to  mature,  the 
interval  between  pruning  can  be  2 
years  without  danger  of  self-infection. 
Assuming  that  the  trunk  is  not  in- 
fected, one  should  be  able  to  prune  out 
all  mistletoe  at  2-year  intervals  in  a 
period  of  8  years  or  less.  It  is  doubtful 
if  heavily  infected  trees  should  be 
pruned  even  though  the  trunk  has  not 
been  invaded.  If  the  control  operation 
requires  the  removal  of  more  than  one- 
third  to  one-half  of  the  crown,  one 
must  consider  the  adverse  effect  of 
pruning  alone  on  the  physiology  of  the 
tree. 

IN  MANAGED  FORESTS,  in  the  case 
of  infected  stands  subject  to  their  first 
cut,  mistletoed  trees  are  marked  for 
cutting  wherever  possible.  Where  such 
trees  are  not  merchantable,  they 
should  be  eliminated  as  a  sanitary  pre- 
caution, a  practice  that  tends  to  re- 
duce the  source  of  mistletoe  seed  and 
thus  protect  the  oncoming  young  trees 
from  infection  to  some  degree.  It  is 
most  effective  in  lightly  infected  stands 
where  practically  all  mistletoe  trees 
can  be  cut  without  sacrificing  other 
silvicultural  principles. 

In  more  heavily  infected  stands, 
where  only  the  worst  cases  can  be  cut 
and  a  large  number  of  lightly  mistle- 
toed trees  remain,  less  protection  is 
offered  to  the  residual  stand.  Increased 
light  and  the  stimulating  effects  of  re- 
lease tend  to  favor  the  production  of 
mistletoe  shoots;  the  result  is  that 
there  is  likely  to  be  heavy  self-infec- 
tion and  spread  to  the  younger  stories 
of  the  stand. 

With  more  intensive  management 
than  is  possible  in  virgin  stands, 
mistletoe  will  demand  more  drastic 
control  measures  in  order  to  attain 
maximum  yields  of  wood. 

Eradication  of  the  parasite  in  sec- 
ond growth  through  a  series  of  weed- 


ing, pruning,  and  thinning  operations 
appears  to  be  one  effective  method. 
Another  would  be  to  establish  barrier 
zones  around  heavily  infected  centers 
in  an  effort  to  protect  surrounding  un- 
infected  timber  and  keep  the  mistle- 
toe confined  to  a  small  area,  possibly 
until  such  time  as  it  could  be  clear-cut 
and,  if  necessary,  planted.  In  the  case 
of  A.  vaginatum,  recent  studies  indi- 
cate that  a  pine-free  strip  60  feet  wide 
should  keep  the  parasite  confined. 

As  the  problem  appears  today, 
there  is  a  need  for  developing  more 
effective  direct-control  methods  than 
the  present  one  of  physically  removing 
the  parasite  by  pruning  and  cutting.  A 
selective  substance  that  would  kill  it 
without  deleterious  effects  on  the  host 
would  be  highly  desirable  if  it  could  be 
produced  and  applied  economically. 
Also  needed  is  more  knowledge  of  the 
behavior  of  the  dwarf  mistletoes  in 
order  that  the  best  silvicultural-man- 
agement  practices  can  be  developed  in 
forests  where  the  parasite  is  taking  its 
annual  toll  of  wood  substance  and  tree 
life. 

LAKE  S.  GILL  is  in  charge  of  the 
field  headquarters  of  the  Division  of 
Forest  Pathology  in  Albuquerque,  N. 
Mex.  He  has  studied  the  problem  of 
mistletoe  infestation  for  more  than  a 
decade  and  has  developed  much  basic 
information  on  its  development  and 
spread.  In  cooperation  with  the  Forest 
Service,  Dr.  Gill  has  also  conducted 
experiments  on  the  control  of  mistletoe 
in  ponderosa  pine  in  the  Southwest. 

JESS  L.  BEDWELL  is  in  charge  of  the 
field  headquarters  of  the  Division  of 
Forest  Pathology  in  Portland,  Oreg. 

For  further  information  on  dwarf 
mistletoes  and  other  diseases,  insects, 
and  parasites  of  forest  and  shade  trees, 
the  reader  may  consult  publications 
listed  in  the  later  section,  "For  Further 
Reference."  The  publications  are  gen- 
erally available  in  libraries;  some  of  the 
bulletins  listed  can  be  obtained  from 
the  Office  of  Information,  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture. 


462 


HEART  ROT 


GEORGE  H.  HEPTING,  JAMES  W.  KIMMEY 


Heart  rots,  which  are  caused  by 
fungi  that  attack  the  wood  of  living 
trees,  are  to  blame  for  an  estimated  an- 
nual loss  of  1 .5  billion  board  feet  in  our 
commercial  forests.  In  money,  the  loss 
lies  somewhere  between  the  approxi- 
mately 10  million  dollar  value  given 
the  cull  as  stumpage  and  the  47  million 
dollar  value  given  it  as  logs. 

Every  timber  species  in  the  United 
States  is  subject  to  attack  by  one  or 
more  species  of  the  fungi,  but  fortu- 
nately a  large  part  of  the  losses  can  be 
prevented  by  proper  management. 

In  trees  that  have  a  clearly  defined 
heartwood — oak,  ash,  and  most  coni- 
fers, for  example — the  heart  rots  are 
usually  confined  to  the  true  heartwood. 
In  many  other  hardwoods,  normal 
heartwood  forms  irregularly,  and  de- 
cay of  the  inner  sapwood  is  also  called 
heart  rot.  The  term  "sap  rot"  is  used 
for  the  decay  of  dead  or  dying  sapwood. 

When  a  fungus  that  is  decaying  the 
heartwood  of  a  tree  has  developed  for 
a  number  of  years,  it  often  produces  a 
spore-bearing  structure  like  a  mush- 
room or  a  bracket-shaped  conk.  Each 
year  one  such  structure  can  produce 
millions  of  tiny  spores,  which  are  car- 
ried about  by  air  currents.  When  a 
spore  comes  to  rest  upon  exposed  wood 
and  conditions  are  suitable,  it  germi- 
nates and  sends  fungus  filaments  into 
the  wood.  By  means  of  these  threads 
the  fungus  spreads  through  the  tree, 
feeding  upon  and  rotting  the  heart- 
wood  as  it  goes.  Some  fungi,  which 
cause  some  of  our  common  root  and 
butt  decays,  rarely  produce  spores,  but 
spread  largely  by  growth  through  the 
soil. 

Entrance  points  for  rot  fungi  are 
usually  provided  by  the  exposure  of 
heartwood  when  the  trunk,  top,  limbs, 
or  roots  are  wounded  by  fire,  logging, 
or  storms.  Butt  rot  in  sprout  hardwoods 
usually  is  transmitted  from  the  rotting 
stump  to  the  attached  sprout.  Some  of 


the  most  important  heartwood  destroy- 
ers gain  entrance  through  branch  stubs 
or  branches  killed  by  natural  sup- 
pression. 

THE  HIGH  DECAY  GULL  in  many 
eastern  hardwoods  reflects  mostly  fire- 
scarring,  ice  damage,  and  abandon- 
ment of  defective  trees  in  past  logging. 
Decay  cull  in  most  eastern  softwoods 
and  in  the  southern  pines  now  has 
reached  a  small  percentage  because 
their  cutting  ages  have  been  reduced. 
Improved  timber  management  prob- 
ably will  keep  the  losses  from  decay  at 
a  low  figure  for  those  species. 

The  basic  problem  of  timber  man- 
agement in  the  West  now  is  to  bring 
hitherto  unmanaged  forest  land  into 
maximum  production.  The  two  prin- 
cipal problem  types  are  forest  lands 
that  have  been  cut-over  or  burned  (on 
them  new  growth  is  inadequate)  and 
stagnated  virgin  stands  of  overmature 
old-growth  timber.  Heart  rots  are  in- 
volved in  the  management  of  both 
types.  Through  good  forest  practices, 
heart  rots  in  future  timber  stands  of 
the  West  may  be  kept  at  a  minimum  if 
the  factors  leading  to  heart  rot  are 
fully  understood. 

Decay  factors  affect  silvicultural 
practices  throughout  the  country  in 
seven  important  ways:  In  the  deter- 
mination of  the  cutting  age;  in  the 
system  of  harvest  cutting;  in  the  choice 
of  trees  to  be  cut  in  partial-cutting 
systems;  in  requiring  special  salvage 
cuts  in  timber  burned  or  otherwise 
damaged ;  in  managing  mistletoe-dam- 
aged stands;  in  requiring  the  early 
treatment  of  hardwood  stump  sprouts ; 
and  in  pruning  and  similar  operations. 
Each  is  discussed  here. 

In  most  of  our  eastern  and  southern 
species,  the  age  at  which  the  trees  will 
be  cut  (based  upon  the  rate  of  return 
from  the  land)  will  be  lower  than  the 
age  at  which  decay  ordinarily  becomes 


Heart  Rot 


463 


a  critical  factor.  This  is  true,  for  ex- 
ample, of  the  southern  pines,  white 
oak,  yellow-poplar,  sugar  maple,  and 
many  other  species.  But  in  some  species 
decay  definitely  limits  the  desired  cut- 
ting age.  In  aspen  in  the  Northeast 
and  the  Lake  States,  stands  much 
older  than  50  years  are  likely  to  be 
badly  decayed.  Decay  should  limit  the 
cutting  age  of  balsam  fir  to  about  70 
years.  Most  of  the  oaks  will  pass  150 
years  without  major  decay  losses  but 
decay  cull  usually  results  in  the  seri- 
ous break-up  of  scarlet  oak  stands  over 
80  years  old. 

In  the  West,  the  thrifty,  uninjured 
young  forest  trees  are  generally  free 
from  heart  rots.  After  the  virgin  stands 
have  been  replaced  by  second  growth, 
the  most  profitable  cutting  age  occurs 
before  heart  rots  become  serious. 

FREQUENT  LIGHT  GUTS  in  the  large- 
crowned  hardwoods  result  in  a  maxi- 
mum of  logging  damage.  Clear  cutting 
in  strips  or  blocks  or  adopting  a  mini- 
mum number  of  cuts  per  rotation  con- 
sistent with  good  silviculture  will  cause 
the  least  logging  injury  and  the  lowest 
subsequent  decay.  Logging  injuries 
provide  good  opportunities  for  the 
entrance  of  heart  rot  fungi.  Careless 
felling  and  frequent  cutting  can  cause 
considerable  breaking  of  the  tops  and 
branches  of  residual  trees.  Wounds  ex- 
posing only  sapwood  in  resinous  species 
often  become  covered  with  pitch  so 
that  fungi  are  largely  excluded.  Such 
wounds  in  nonresinous  species,  how- 
ever, readily  permit  the  establishment 
of  sapwood  fungi,  and  the  subsequent 
checking  and  sloughing  of  the  decayed 
sapwood  exposes  the  heartwood  be- 
neath to  heartwood  destroyers. 

Selective  logging  with  heavy  tractors 
often  causes  extensive  wounding  of 
residual  trees  unless  special  precaution 
is  taken.  All  forms  of  damage,  includ- 
ing branch  and  top  breakage,  felling 
scars,  and  butt  injury  from  skidding 
and  yarding,  increase  as  the  frequency 
of  cutting  in  a  given  stand  increases. 
Heavy  partial  cuts  in  old  spruce  and 
fir  result  in  wind  breakage  to  the  re- 


maining stand,  because  these  old  trees 
are  commonly  heavily  butt-rotted. 
Under  such  conditions  some  form  of 
clear  cutting  should  be  considered  in 
place  of  partial  cutting. 

Where  partial  cuts  are  made,  the 
forester  always  aims  to  retain  the  trees 
that  are  increasing  the  most  in  volume. 
He  marks  for  cutting  the  heavily  de- 
fective trees,  particularly  those  that 
are  losing  more  wood  from  decay  than 
they  are  adding  through  growth.  Aids 
are  available  for  estimating  internal  de- 
fect from  external  signs  in  some  east- 
ern and  western  species.  The  timber 
marker  who  can  estimate  the  decay 
situation  in  a  given  tree  can  greatly 
enhance  the  net  growth  in  selection 
systems  of  silviculture  by  eliminating 
defective  trees  in  the  earliest  cuts. 

Heart  rots  in  the  overmature  stands 
of  the  West  present  a  major  problem  in 
forest  management.  Whether  such 
stands  are  clear-cut  or  selectively  cut, 
all  highly  defective  trees  should  be  cut 
whether  they  are  merchantable  or  not, 
unless  it  is  necessary  to  leave  them  for 
seed  trees  to  restock  the  area.  In  some 
stands  there  are  so  many  cull  trees  that 
the  sound  timber  available  will  not  pay 
for  their  cutting  and  still  leave  a  profit 
for  the  operator.  Even  if  all  were  felled, 
considerable  damage  would  be  done  to 
young  trees  and  other  timber  left  stand- 
ing on  the  area,  new  young  growth 
would  be  obstructed,  and  a  serious  fire 
hazard  would  develop.  If  they  are  left 
standing,  they  occupy  a  large  percent- 
age of  the  area  that  should  be  taken 
over  by  vigorous  young  trees. 

How  to  dispose  of  the  obviously 
worthless  trees  under  these  circum- 
stances is  a  challenging  problem.  This 
same  problem  arises  in  connection  with 
large  areas  of  high-graded  timberland 
in  both  the  East  and  West.  On  these 
areas  only  the  best  trees  were  removed, 
leaving  a  considerable  stand  of  near- 
worthless  timber.  The  systematic  elimi- 
nation of  these  trees,  most  of  which  are 
badly  decayed,  is  now  a  prominent 
phase  of  the  forest  land-improvement 
operations  in  many  sections  of  the 
country. 


464 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  heart  rots  that  develop  through 
naturally  suppressed  branches  and 
branch  stubs  are  the  most  prevalent  in 
western  conifers.  Some  fungi  enter  al- 
most entirely  through  dead  branches 
that  contain  heartwood  and  that  are 
nearly  always  an  inch  or  more  in  diam- 
eter. Others  enter  through  branch 
stubs  that  contain  heartwood.  Man- 
agement of  forests  to  maintain  a  high 
density  in  the  young  stands,  so  that 
branches  do  not  form  heartwood  be- 
fore being  shaded  out,  and  artificial 
pruning  in  more  open  young  stands 
will  reduce  the  incidence  of  such  de- 
cay. Ground  fires,  insect  epidemics, 
and  heavy  partial  cuts  that  heavily  thin 
stands  and  thereby  stimulate  the  for- 
mation of  large  branches  on  the  sur- 
viving trees  are  important  factors  in 
providing  favorable  places  of  entrance 
for  these  fungi. 

A  stand  of  timber  badly  burned  or 
damaged  by  wind  or  ice  should  be 
salvaged  promptly  or  heavy  losses  from 
decay  may  ruin  the  merchantability 
of  a  high  proportion  of  the  volume. 
Prompt  salvage  cuts  of  this  type  require 
knowledge  on  the  part  of  timber  man- 
agers of  the  high  toll  that  decays  can 
take  in  badly  broken  or  heavily  fire- 
scarred  stands. 

Many  timber  stands  have  been  re- 
peatedly burned  by  ground  fires  so  that 
practically  all  old  trees  have  scars  at 
their  butts.  Fungi  entering  through 
these  scars  account  for  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  heart  rot  in  older  stands. 
The  so-called  butt  rots  are  usually  con- 
fined to  the  roots,  stump,  and  basal  16- 
foot  log,  but  occasionally  extend  much 
farther.  Other  rots  known  as  trunk  rots, 
which  may  enter  through  butt  scars  or 
any  wound  or  dead  stub  on  the  trunk, 
usually  are  more  extensive  and  often 
cause  entire  trees  to  be  culled.  The 
resinous  pines  are  not  so  subject  to  butt 
rot  following  injury  as  the  nonresinous 
conifers  and  hardwoods. 

The  dwarf  mistletoes  of  western 
conifers  cause  enlarged  branches  and 
burls  on  the  trunk  that  provide  points 
of  entrance  for  heart  rot  fungi  in  old 
trees.  Dead  areas  on  these  burls,  stubs 


of  swollen  branches,  holes  in  the  stem 
where  enlarged  branches  have  been 
pulled  out,  and  broken  tops  offer  major 
rot  hazards  from  mistletoe  infections. 
In  western  hemlock  in  the  Northwest, 
heart  rots  established  through  mistle- 
toed  knots  and  burls  account  for  more 
decay  than  from  any  other  cause.  Silvi- 
cultural  methods  to  prevent  serious 
mistletoe  infections  in  future  timber 
stands  are  now  being  developed. 

In  the  East,  oak  stump  sprouts  that 
arise  more  than  a  couple  of  inches  high 
on  the  parent  stumps  are  very  likely  to 
become  butt-rotted  from  the  old  stump. 
Ground-level  sprouts  seldom  contract 
rot  from  a  parent  stump.  One  cleaning 
operation  made  in  a  sprout  stand  at 
about  15  years  of  age  can  eliminate  the 
decay-susceptible  high-origin  sprouts 
and  provide  single-stemmed  crop  trees 
rather  than  sprout  clumps.  Two  defects 
can  thus  be  minimized  by  a  timely 
cleaning.  In  the  case  of  scarlet  oak,  a 
pruning  at  15  to  20  years  will  elimi- 
nate many  of  the  future  rot  pockets  and 
holes  at  the  bases  of  dead  branches,  so 
common  in  this  poorly  self-pruning 
species. 

Decay  reduction  and  silviculture  are 
also  linked  in  pruning,  through  de- 
creasing decay  where  small  branches 
are  pruned  or  possibly  increasing  it 
where  large  branches  are  cut.  The  re- 
moval of  trees  with  spore-shedding 
conks,  where  practicable,  is  good  silvi- 
culture. A  number  of  common  heart 
rot  fungi  may  enter  the  trunk  through 
the  roots,  either  through  root  wounds, 
root  grafts,  or  contact  with  decayed 
roots  of  other  trees.  These  rots  are 
controllable  mainly  through  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  age  at  which  they  become 
important  and  arrangement  of  the 
cutting  schedules  accordingly. 

MAJOR  LOSSES  from  heart  rot  can 
definitely  be  prevented.  A  certain 
amount  of  decay  is  bound  to  occur  in 
any  timber  stand,  but  we  already  have 
the  means  of  keeping  such  losses  to 
low  levels.  For  many  species  that  can 
be  achieved  by  adjusting  downward 
the  cutting  age  when  necessary,  by 


Breeding  and  Selecting  Pest-Resistant  Trees 


465 


eliminating  fire,  reducing  felling  and 
skidding  injuries,  favoring  low-origin 
sprouts  in  hardwood  cleanings,  cut- 
ting defective  trees  in  partial-cutting 
operations,  controlling  dwarf  mistle- 
toe, and  by  making  prompt  salvage  in 
stands  that  have  been  heavily  dam- 
aged by  fire,  wind,  or  ice. 

By  maintaining  suitable  density  in 
stands  until  the  lower  tree  trunks  are 
cleared  of  branches,  or  by  artificial 
pruning  in  the  more  open  stands,  the 
incidence  of  heart  rot  attacks  that  de- 
velop through  dead  branches  and 
branch  stubs  can  be  considerably  re- 
duced in  young  stands  of  a  number  of 
important  western  conifers.  Defects 
can  also  be  reduced  in  eastern  white 
pine  and  scarlet  oak  by  early  pruning. 

In  eastern  and  southern  softwoods, 
a  cutting  age  up  to  80  years  will  avoid 
serious  rot  losses  unless  the  stands  are 
badly  damaged.  If  fire-scarred  pines  or 
otherwise  defective  pines  are  removed 
during  partial  cuts,  even  longer  rota- 
tions would  be  fairly  safe  from  the 
decay  standpoint  for  this  group.  In 
most  eastern  hardwoods  that  are  not 
stump  sprouts,  cutting  ages  can  be 
raised  to  more  than  100  years  with  lit- 
tle loss  from  decay  where  the  stands 
are  undamaged.  Many  of  the  western 
conifers  can  be  grown  to  even  greater 
ages  without  serious  decay. 


The  heart  rots  that  develop  through 
the  roots,  as  in  the  case  of  many  of 
the  spruce,  fir,  and  pine  butt  rots,  will 
never  be  entirely  eliminated.  Where 
they  are  known  to  be  common  in  a 
stand,  however,  cutting  can  be  done 
early  enough  to  minimize  the  loss,  and 
in  such  a  way  that  the  residual  stand 
will  not  suffer  undue  breakage  or 
windthrow  as  a  result  of  the  decay. 

GEORGE  H.  HEPTING,  senior  pathol- 
ogist of  the  Division  of  Forest  Pathol- 
ogy, Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Soils, 
and  Agricultural  Engineering,  has 
been  engaged  in  the  study  of  diseases 
of  forest  and  shade  trees  and  forest 
products  for  more  than  20  years.  He 
has  been  stationed  from  time  to  time  in 
the  Northeast,  the  Middle  Atlantic 
States,  and  the  Deep  South,  and  is  now 
in  charge  of  the  work  of  his  Division 
in  the  Southeast,  with  headquarters 
at  Asheville,  N.  C. 

JAMES  W.  KIMMEY,  pathologist  in 
the  same  Division,  has  for  the  past  20 
years  conducted  research  in  forest 
pathology  in  the  West.  His  territory 
has  included  the  entire  area  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  some  in- 
vestigations have  taken  him  into  west- 
ern Canada  as  well.  Dr.  Kimmey  is  a 
graduate  in  forestry  of  Oregon  State 
College  and  Yale  University. 


BREEDING  AND  SELECTING  PEST-RESISTANT  TREES 

RUSSELL  B.  CLAPPER,  JOHN  M.  MILLER 


Genetics  has  given  us  a  good  new 
tool  to  use  against  the  diseases  and  in- 
sects of  trees — the  selection  and  breed- 
ing of  trees  for  resistance  to  pests.  It 
is  a  long  job.  The  time  that  a  tree  crop 
takes  to  produce  seed  and  to  mature 
exceeds  the  span  of  a  human  genera- 
tion. Natural  forces,  aided  now  and 
then  by  man,  have  determined  through 
the  ages  which  forest  species  should 
survive,  and  these  are  the  species  with 
which  the  forester,  the  geneticist,  and 
the  forest  pathologist  now  work. 


Epidemics  of  introduced  parasitic 
fungi  stimulated  interest  in  the  devel- 
opment of  healthier  trees.  Forty  years 
ago  the  Department  of  Agriculture  em- 
ployed Walter  Van  Fleet  to  breed 
chestnut  trees  that  would  resist  the 
introduced  blight  fungus.  Since  then 
several  agencies  have  taken  up  the 
work  of  breeding  and  selection,  for  the 
most  part  to  obtain  vigorous,  fast- 
growing  specimens  for  lumber  and 
other  products.  More  recently,  greater 
emphasis  has  been  placed  on  develop- 


802062° — 49- 


-31 


466 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ing  trees  resistant  to  particular  fungus 
and  virus  diseases.  The  development 
of  new  forms  resistant  to  insect  ene- 
mies, however,  has  scarcely  made  a 
beginning. 

The  need  for  the  work  is  clear 
enough.  Besides  the  losses  we  have  in- 
curred, in  some  regions  of  the  United 
States  forest  planting  is  coming  into 
use  as  the  surest  and  quickest  method 
of  reproducing  the  desired  wood  crops. 
Planting  makes  it  possible  to  control 
the  kind  and  variety  of  tree  that  oc- 
cupies the  site  and  gives  special  em- 
phasis to  the  need  for  careful  selection 
of  the  planting  stock.  It  costs  no  more 
to  plant  the  resistant  trees,  if  they  are 
available,  than  to  plant  ordinary  stock. 

In  the  development  of  trees  resist- 
ant to  a  particular  disease  or  insect 
enemy,  the  same  principles  of  selection 
and  genetics  apply  that  are  employed 
in  the  development  of  new,  vigorous, 
and  fast-growing  tree  forms.  The  tree 
breeder,  however,  usually  desires  both 
resistance  and  vigor  in  his  final  selec- 
tion, but  when  the  laws  of  heredity  de- 
cree differently,  the  breeder  faces  a 
difficult  problem.  The  solution  of  such 
problems  requires  knowledge  of  several 
sciences,  especially  genetics,  plant  path- 
ology, entomology,  and  forestry. 

The  breeder  first  attempts  to  select 
trees  that  show  resistance  to  the  partic- 
ular pest  under  study.  Resistant  selec- 
tions are  propagated  by  grafting  or  by 
cuttings.  Seed  from  such  selections  is 
collected  and  thousands  of  seedlings 
are  grown  in  nurseries  where  they  may 
be  tested  against  the  pest,  or  the  seed- 
lings may  be  transplanted  to  testing 
plots  where  they  can  be  tested  at  a 
more  suitable  age. 

Sometimes  selection  results  indicate 
that  no  individuals  of  the  particular 
species  or  of  related  species  are  re- 
sistant. It  is  then  necessary  to  import 
seed  of  foreign  species  for  testing.  The 
related  foreign  species,  however,  may 
possess  no  worthy  characteristic  other 
than  that  of  resistance.  The  breeder 
must  combine  this  character  of  re- 
sistance with  the  desirable  characters 
of  the  susceptible  species.  The  first  step 


to  bring  about  this  combination  is  to 
produce  a  hybrid  by  crossing  a  resistant 
tree  with  a  susceptible  tree. 

Hybrids  obtained  from  the  first 
crossing  of  two  varieties  or  species  are 
known  as  first  filial  (Fi)  generation 
hybrids.  If  an  F±  tree  sets  seed  by  its 
own  pollen  (selfing) ,  or  if  two  or  more 
FI  trees  are  crossed  with  one  another 
(sib-mating) ,  the  resulting  hybrids  be- 
long to  the  second  (F2)  generation. 
The  F2  and  subsequent  generations  are 
called  the  segregating  generations  be- 
cause all  the  characters,  visible  and  in- 
visible, that  were  present  in  the  Ft 
trees  segregate  out  among  the  various 
trees  of  the  later  generations. 

RESISTANCE  to  a  pest  may  be  in- 
herited in  one  of  three  ways.  If  resist- 
ance is  inherited  as  a  dominant  char- 
acter, all  the  FI  trees  will  be  dominantly 
resistant  and  most  of  the  F2  trees  will 
be  similarly  resistant.  Resistance  may 
be  inherited  as  an  incomplete  domi- 
nant, in  which  instance  the  FI  trees 
will  be  more  or  less  intermediate  in 
their  resistance  to  the  pest.  The  Fj. 
trees  as  a  group  will  not  show  the  re- 
sistance of  the  resistant  parent  nor  the 
susceptibility  of  the  other  parent.  In 
this  type  of  inheritance  the  second  and 
subsequent  generations  will  produce  a 
lower  proportion  of  resistant  trees  than 
the  first  type  of  inheritance  produces. 
If  the  breeder  meets  either  one  of  these 
types  of  inheritance,  he  will  have  com- 
paratively little  difficulty  in  obtaining 
trees  with  a  satisfactory  degree  of  re- 
sistance. But  susceptibility  may  be  in- 
herited as  a  dominant  character.  The 
first-generation  trees  will  be  susceptible 
and  will  have  no  value  except  for  fur- 
ther breeding  to  obtain  second-genera- 
tion trees.  The  second  generation  in 
this  instance  must  consist  of  large  num- 
bers of  trees  because  the  proportion  of 
resistant  specimens  will  be  exceedingly 
small. 

In  agricultural  crop  breeding,  the 
breeder  usually  fixes  the  type  by  in- 
breeding so  that  it  reproduces  more  or 
less  true  from  seed.  The  tree  breeder 
cannot  afford  to  fix  his  hybrid  types. 


Breeding  and  Selecting  Pest-Resistant  Trees 


467 


Tree  hybrids  usually  lose  vigor  when 
inbred,  and  the  process  of  inbreeding 
trees  requires  too  long  a  time.  When 
the  tree  breeder  obtains  maximum  re- 
sistance in  his  hybrids  in  combination 
with  other  desirable  characters,  he  is 
ready  to  plant  them  on  appropriate 
sites  for  final  testing.  Since  his  hy- 
brids, in  general,  will  not  breed  true, 
the  question  arises  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  progeny  from  these  hybrids  when 
they  are  planted  in  the  wood  lot  and 
in  the  forest.  Part  of  the  progeny  may 
be  resistant  but  not  vigorous,  another 
part  may  be  vigorous  but  susceptible, 
and  another  part  may  be  both  vigorous 
and  resistant.  The  tree  breeder  can 
determine  the  theoretical  proportions 
of  these  progeny  types  because  he 
knows  the  way  in  which  characters  are 
inherited  in  the  species  with  which  he 
works. 

Each  tree-breeding  project  presents 
problems  of  its  own.  Examples  of  ex- 
perimental work  will  be  described  to 
illustrate  various  methods  of  testing 
trees  for  resistance  to  particular  pests, 
and  to  indicate  the  progress  that  has 
been  attained.  However,  most  of  the 
selecting  and  breeding  of  trees  for  re- 
sistance to  pests  is  still  exploratory — in 
only  a  few  instances  hybrids  have  been 
developed  to  the  stage  that  permits 
planting  them  as  replacements  for  their 
inferior  parents. 

WHITE  PINES  RESISTANT  TO  BLISTER 
RUST:  A.  J.  Riker  and  associates  at  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  in  cooperation 
with  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
have  tested  selections  of  eastern  white 
pine  against  the  blister  rust.  One  thou- 
sand grafts  were  made  from  163  trees 
selected  for  their  resistance  to  heavy 
natural  infection  for  more  than  15 
years  or  for  other  special  properties. 
Most  of  the  grafts  resisted  artificial  in- 
fections of  the  blister  rust  fungus.  How- 
ever, when  10,000  seedlings  from  the 
selected  trees  and  commercial  seedlings 
were  subjected  to  natural  and  artificial 
infections,  a  high  percentage  of  the 
seedlings  were  infected  with  stem  can- 
kers within  a  year.  Ray  R.  Hirt  of  the 


New  York  State  College  of  Forestry,  in 
cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture,  observed  eastern  white 
pines  of  various  ages  in  the  period  of 
1927-47  for  resistance  to  the  rust.  He 
found  varying  degrees  of  rust  resist- 
ance in  a  small  percentage  of  the  total 
pines  observed.  Those  trees  showing 
greatest  resistance  to  rust  are  being 
propagated  by  grafting  and  cuttings  so 
that  more  extensive  tests  for  resistance 
can  be  made.  The  low  percentage  of 
rust-resistant  seedlings  reported  by 
Riker  and  Hirt  indicates  that  rust  re- 
sistance is  not  inherited  as  a  dominant 
character. 

The  white  pine  blister  rust  fungus 
also  attacks  other  five-needle  species 
of  pine.  Forest  pathologists  are  keenly 
interested  in  determining  the  relative 
susceptibility  of  native  and  exotic 
species  of  pine  to  the  fungus.  Seven 
species  of  pine  were  tested  against  rust 
by  Ray  R.  Hirt,  of  the  New  York  State 
College  of  Forestry;  in  the  Northwest, 
nine  species  were  tested  by  Thomas 
W.  Childs  and  Jess  L.  Bedwell,  of  the 
Division  of  Forest  Pathology. 

The  species  of  pine  that  showed  re- 
sistance to  blister  rust  were:  Pinus 
cembra  var.  helvetica,  P.  armandi,  P. 
griffithii,  and  P.  koraiensis — all  are 
foreign  species  but  are  not  known  to 
have  any  timber  value.  Those  showing 
susceptibility  in  increasing  degrees 
were:  P.  aristata,  P.  pence,  P.  ayaca- 
huite,  P.  flexilis,  P.  monticola,  P.  al- 
bicaulis,  and  P.  lambertiana.  Several 
trees  of  the  latter  species,  commonly 
called  sugar  pine,  have  withstood  in- 
fections from  blister  rust  for  14  years 
and  will  be  used  as  breeding  and 
propagating  material. 

RESIN  MIDGE:  In  the  blister  rust 
experiments,  inherent  resistance  of 
selected  pines  was  determined  by  inoc- 
ulation tests.  In  the  case  of  an  insect 
parasite,  the  resin  midge,  we  find 
that  an  external  characteristic  of  the 
trees — new  shoots  with  dry,  smooth 
bark — is  an  indicator  of  resistance. 
The  problem  was  approached  by  se- 
lecting for  this  particular  character. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Resin  midge  resistance  studies  were 
carried  on  from  1930  to  1940  at  the 
Institute  of  Forest  Genetics,  near  Plac- 
erville,  California.  This  undescribed 
species  of  resin  midge  (Retinidiplosis 
sp.)  caused  considerable  damage  to 
young  planted  ponderosa  pines  at  the 
Institute  and  to  natural  reproduction 
throughout  much  of  the  western  pine 
region  during  this  period.  The  feeding 
habits  of  the  larvae  cause  resin-filled 
pits  in  the  thin  bark  of  the  stems  and 
twigs,  and  these  pits  result  in  growth 
deformities  and  dwarfing  of  the  trees. 
In  time  the  heavily  injured  trees  die. 

A  study  of  the  stem  characteristics 
of  many  trees  revealed  that  the  heavily 
infested  trees  were  those  that  produced 
new  shoots  covered  with  a  sticky, 
resinous  film,  a  growth  character  of 
certain  trees.  Noninfested  trees  were 
those  that  produced  new  shoots  with 
dry,  smooth  bark.  The  data  collected 
showed  that  only  11.2  percent  of  the 
sticky-stemmed  trees  escaped  injury, 
while  93.4  percent  of  the  smooth- 
stemmed  trees  escaped  injury  entirely 
or  were  only  lightly  attacked.  The 
next  phase  of  these  investigations  will 
be  to  determine  whether  dry,  smooth 
bark  is  inheritable  and,  if  so,  to  pro- 
duce trees  with  this  characteristic  for 
reforestation  purposes. 

RESISTANCE  TO  WEEVIL:  Resistance 
in  pine  to  another  parasitic  insect,  a 
weevil,  was  obtained  by  crossing  a  re- 
sistant with  a  susceptible  species.  The 
insect  (Cylindrocopturus  eatoni)  is  the 
most  important  enemy  of  young 
planted  pines  in  the  brush  fields  of 
northern  California  where,  in  some 
areas,  it  killed  90  percent  of  the  trees 
within  10  years  after  planting.  It  also 
killed  natural  reproduction  that  was 
restocking  burned-over  pine  areas.  The 
trees  are  killed  by  the  larval  mines  that 
extend  through  the  phloem  and  cam- 
bium areas  and  later  into  the  wood.  In 
nature,  the  weevil's  preferred  hosts  are 
ponderosa  pine  and  Jeffrey  pine.  A 
number  of  other  species  of  pines,  such 
as  Coulter  pine  and  sugar  pine,  appear 
to  be  immune  to  its  attacks. 


Studies  were  begun  at  the  Institute 
of  Forest  Genetics  in  1946  to  determine 
whether  a  resistant  variety  of  pine 
could  be  developed  that  would  have 
the  same  desirable  wood  qualities  as 
ponderosa  and  Jeffrey  and  at  the  same 
time  survive  weevil  infestations  dur- 
ing the  early  years  of  growth.  A  num- 
ber of  species,  hybrids,  and  varieties  of 
pines  were  tested  by  forcing  the  attacks 
of  the  weevil  on  them  under  cage  con- 
trol. Among  the  trees  tested  was  a  new 
hybrid  pine  first  produced  by  genet- 
icists at  the  Institute  in  1939  by  cross- 
ing Jeffrey  pine  with  a  natural  hybrid 
of  Coulter  pine. 

The  tests  confirmed  field  observa- 
tions that  ponderosa  and  Jeffrey  pines 
were  generally  susceptible  to  the  weevil 
although  some  trees  proved  to  be  resis- 
tant. The  Coulter  pine  was  uniformly 
resistant  as  was  also  the  Jeffrey-Coulter 
hybrid.  Here  we  have  indications  of 
resistance  to  insect  attack  being  in- 
herited as  a  dominant  character,  not 
only  in  the  first  generation  hybrid 
but  also  in  the  backcross  of  this  hybrid 
on  the  susceptible  Jeffrey  pine. 

ELMS    RESISTANT    TO    THE    DUTCH 

ELM  DISEASE  :  The  Dutch  elm  disease, 
which  was  discovered  in  this  country 
in  1930,  now  threatens  all  native  and 
European  elm  species  in  the  United 
States.  Elm  bark  beetles  spread  the 
disease. 

Efforts  to  control  the  disease  include 
destruction  of  infected  trees,  pruning 
infected  limbs,  and  destroying,  de- 
barking, or  spraying  elm  logs. 

The  American  elm  is  an  important 
forest  and  shade  tree,  native  to  parts 
of  all  States  from  the  Great  Plains 
eastward  to  the  Atlantic  coast.  Two 
minor  species,  also  native,  are  the  rock 
elm  and  the  slippery  elm,  both  suscep- 
tible to  the  Dutch  elm  disease.  The 
Siberian  elm  is  resistant. 

In  1937,  scientists  in  the  Division  of 
Forest  Pathology  began  breeding  and 
selecting  elms  for  resistance  to  the 
Dutch  elm  disease.  Thirty-five  thou- 
sand elm  seedlings,  collected  in  the 
Great  Plains  and  Northeastern  and 


Breeding  and  Selecting  Pest-Resistant  Trees 


469 


Central  States,  were  grown  in  test 
nurseries.  The  seedlings  were  inocu- 
lated with  the  Dutch  elm  disease  fun- 
gus, with  the  result  that  only  two 
seedlings  withstood  inoculations  in 
three  consecutive  seasons. 

The  American,  Siberian,  and  rock 
elms  bloom  in  the  early  spring,  and  low 
temperatures  and  strong  winds  are  not 
conducive  to  delicate  manipulations  of 
the  flowers  or  favorable  to  pollination 
and  seed  setting.  A  difference  in 
chromosome  numbers  leads  to  further 
difficulties  in  obtaining  progeny  in 
large  numbers.  From  about  20,000  con- 
trolled American- Siberian  elm  crosses, 
fewer  than  100  seed  were  obtained,  and 
only  a  fraction  of  those  germinated. 
Of  the  hybrids  obtained,  one  has  re- 
sisted repeated  inoculations  with  the 
Dutch  elm  disease  fungus. 

In  1939  some  specimens  of  a  Eu- 
ropean elm,  selected  for  their  resistance 
to  the  disease,  were  imported.  They 
have  retained  their  high  degree  of  re- 
sistance but  have  failed  to  grow  as  rap- 
idly as  American  elms  nearby,  and  they 
do  not  have  the  characteristic  shape  of 
the  American. 

CHESTNUT  TREES  RESISTANT  TO 
BLIGHT:  The  chestnut  blight  was  dis- 
covered in  New  York  City  in  1904, 
and  within  40  years  all  American 
chestnut  stands  from  Maine  to  north- 
ern Georgia  and  westward  to  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  were  killed. 

So  far  as  the  American  chestnut  is 
concerned,  there  is  no  control  for  the 
blight.  This  chestnut  apparently  is  com- 
pletely susceptible  to  the  blight  fungus. 
Even  today  there  are  few  seedlings  or 
sprouts  that  appear  to  be  resistant. 

Large-scale  introductions  of  blight- 
resistant  species  of  chestnuts  from  the 
Orient  were  necessary  for  an  effective 
breeding  program.  The  early  breeding 
work  of  Walter  Van  Fleet  was  limited 
to  a  few  introductions  of  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese  chestnuts.  Hybrids  of 
these  and  the  American  chestnut 
usually  died  from  the  blight  a  few 
years  after  bearing. 

In  the  breeding  program,  continued 


since  1925  by  Russell  B.  Clapper,  the 
present  objective  is  to  obtain  the  maxi- 
mum vigor  and  resistance  to  blight  in 
the  first-generation  trees  derived  from 
crossing  the  American  chestnut  with 
proved  selections  of  Chinese  chestnut. 
One  lot  of  first-generation  trees  in 
Maryland  grow  an  average  of  2%  feet 
a  year  and  have  considerable  blight 
resistance.  New  combinations  of  Amer- 
ican and  Chinese  chestnut  are  being 
produced  for  testing.  Natural-crossing 
plots,  where  the  American  will  cross 
naturally  with  a  proved  Chinese  chest- 
nut, will  be  established  for  the  produc- 
tion of  hybrid  seed  in  quantity. 

A  number  of  the  Chinese-American 
chestnut  hybrids  have  been  backcrossed 
to  the  resistant  Chinese  parent  trees. 
The  resulting  backcross  generation 
shows  somewhat  less  vigor  and,  in  some 
instances,  poor  stem  form,  when  com- 
pared with  the  first-generation  trees. 
They  have  practically  the  same  degree 
of  blight  resistance,  however,  as  the 
Chinese  parent  trees. 

The  Brooklyn  Botanic  Garden,  in 
cooperation  with  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  began  breeding  chestnuts 
in  1930.  Arthur  H.  Graves  has  headed 
the  project.  His  objective  also  is  to  ob- 
tain a  superior  blight-resistant  forest 
tree  to  replace  the  American  chestnut. 
Promising  hybrids,  some  with  genes 
from  the  Japanese  chestnut,  some  with 
genes  from  the  Chinese  chestnut,  and 
others  with  genes  from  both  species, 
are  being  tested  on  the  same  forest 
sites  along  with  hybrids  produced  by 
the  Division  of  Forest  Pathology. 

From  about  1930,  seedlings  of  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  chestnuts  were 
available  in  large  numbers,  and  experi- 
mental forest  plantings  were  estab- 
lished under  many  varied  site,  soil,  and 
climatic  conditions,  with  varying  de- 
grees of  success.  With  few  exceptions, 
the  Chinese  chestnut  appears  to  be 
superior  to  the  Japanese  chestnut  in 
blight  resistance,  rate  of  growth,  and 
stem  form.  Planted  in  the  most  favor- 
able environments,  the  Chinese  chest- 
nut shows  promise  of  making  a  fair 
timber  tree. 


470 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  Division  of  Forest  Pathology 
now  is  establishing  the  best  strains  of 
Chinese  chestnut  on  the  best  types  of 
sites,  so  that  there  will  be  permanent 
sources  of  seed  for  dissemination  and 
distribution.  Cooperators'  plantings 
already  are  furnishing  valuable  seed 
for  these  plantings. 

OTHER  BREEDING  AND  SELECTION 
WORK:  From  1930  to  1941  studies  by 
R.  G.  Hall  and  others  of  the  Forest 
Insect  Laboratory  at  Columbus,  Ohio, 
revealed  that  two  recognized  varieties 
of  black  locust  were  resistant  to  at- 
tacks of  the  locust  borer,  Megacyllene 
robiniae  (Forst.).  This  borer  has 
caused  widespread  damage  to  black 
locusts  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  United 
States.  From  eggs  deposited  in  bark 
crevices,  the  young  larvae  mine  the  in- 
ner bark  and  cambium.  Later  the  mines 
are  extended  into  the  sapwood  and 
eventually  into  the  heartwood.  Tests 
made  on  one  of  the  resistant  varieties, 
the  Higbee  locust  of  southern  Indiana, 
showed  that  about  95  percent  of 
the  larvae  planted  in  the  bark  crevices 
started  mines  in  the  inner  bark,  but 
only  about  20  percent  reached  the 
wood  and  matured  there.  In  suscepti- 
ble locust  varieties,  practically  all  the 
planted  larvae  mined  the  inner  bark 
and  lived  to  the  adult  stage. 

In  1924  the  Oxford  Paper  Com- 
pany, in  cooperation  with  the  New 
York  Botanical  Garden,  began  a  pop- 
lar-breeding project.  Approximately 
13,000  hybrids  were  produced  by  cross- 
ing 34  different  types  of  poplars.  A 
number  of  plantations  have  been  es- 
tablished in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
country  and  the  poplars  are  being  ob- 
served for  their  reactions  to  various 
diseases.  A.  J.  Riker,  of  the  University 
of  Wisconsin,  is  also  testing  hybrid 
poplars  and  selections  of  the  native 
poplars  for  their  qualities,  including 
resistance  to  various  diseases.  The  Di- 
vision of  Forest  Pathology  is  inocu- 
lating various  poplar  hybrids  in  an 
attempt  to  obtain  one  that  is  resistant 
to  Septoria  canker  and  other  diseases. 

The  mimosa  is  an  important  shade 


and  ornamental  tree  in  the  South.  A 
wilt  disease  was  discovered  on  mimo- 
sas in  1935;  since  then  the  disease 
has  killed  entire  plantings  and  threat- 
ens many  more.  Search  for  resistant 
trees  started  in  1939.  Hundreds  of 
seedlings,  grown  from  seed  collected 
from  Maryland  to  Louisiana,  were  in- 
oculated with  the  wilt  fungus,  with 
the  result  that  20  seedlings  remained 
wilt-free.  These  will  be  crossed  with 
one  another  in  an  attempt  to  get  bet- 
ter and  more  resistant  mimosas. 

Selections  of  elms  are  being  investi- 
gated by  Roger  U.  Swingle,  of  the 
Division  of  Forest  Pathology  at  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  for  resistance  to  the  virus 
disease,  phloem  necrosis.  From  an  area 
where  the  disease  has  occurred  for 
more  than  50  years,  about  2,000  trees 
that  were  selected  from  open-pollin- 
ated stock  have  shown  high  resistance 
to  the  virus.  The  more  resistant  trees 
are  being  propagated  by  root  cuttings. 

Workers  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum, 
Jamaica  Plain,  Mass.,  are  breeding 
species  of  pines  for  timber  purposes 
and  are  selecting  from  first-  and 
second-generation  hybrids  for  resist- 
ance to  insects  and  diseases.  They  are 
also  crossing  two  Oriental  species  of 
elm,  Ulmus  japonica  and  U,  wilsoni- 
ana.  Hybrids  of  those  species  are  re- 
sistant to  the  elm  leaf  beetle. 

FEDERAL,,  STATE,  AND  PUBLIC  PARKS 
nurserymen  each  year  plant  millions 
of  tree  seedlings.  The  seedlings  are 
derived  from  seed  that  came  mostly 
from  trees  that  are  susceptible  to  at- 
tacks of  various  insects,  fungi,  and 
viruses.  The  planted  trees  will  likewise 
be  subject  to  attacks  of  these  pests, 
resulting  in  the  partial  or  total  loss  of 
time  and  effort  of  many  years.  One 
prime  objective  of  the  tree  breeder  is 
to  develop  forms  resistant  to  pest  at- 
tacks and  to  multiply  those  forms  so 
that  they  will  be  available  in  quanti- 
ties for  distribution  and  planting. 
Both  phases  of  this  objective  usually 
require  many  years  of  work.  Although 
nature  successfully  replants  tree  spe- 
cies generation  after  generation,  man 


The  Airplane  in  Forest-Pest  Control 


is  learning  more  and  more  about  how 
to  do  the  job  with  better  trees. 

RUSSELL  B.  CLAPPER  is  an  associate 
pathologist  in  the  Bureau  of  Plant  In- 
dustry,  Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engi- 
neering. Since  1925  he  has  been  mak- 
ing all  types  of  crosses  between  the 
Oriental  chestnuts,  the  American 
chestnut,  and  native  chinquapins  to 
determine  the  resistance  of  the  new 
hybrids  to  the  blight  and  to  find  out 


how  various  other  characters  are  in- 
herited. 

JOHN  M.  MILLER,  a  senior  ento- 
mologist, conducts  research  and  control 
investigations  in  the  Forest  Insect  Divi- 
sion, Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine.  He  has  been  with  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  since  1910. 
Since  1945  he  has  been  conducting 
studies  dealing  with  the  resistance  of 
new  pine  hybrids  at  the  Institute  of 
Forest  Genetics,  near  Placerville,  Calif. 


THE  AIRPLANE  IN  FOREST-PEST  CONTROL 

J.  S.  YUILL,  C.  B.  EATON 


The  airplane  has  become  a  new 
weapon  in  the  never-ending  battle 
against  destructive  forest  insects.  As  in 
military  operations,  it  is  bringing  about 
radical  changes  in  strategy.  Aircraft 
are  serving  two  purposes  in  this  phase 
of  forest  protection :  For  detection  sur- 
veys to  locate  serious  insect  outbreaks 
and  for  the  application  of  insecticides 
to  control  dangerous  infestations. 

The  extent  to  which  those  opera- 
tions can  be  carried  on  from  the  ground 
is  seriously  limited  because  the  areas 
involved  are  often  large  and  remote, 
and  because  the  cost  of  ground  opera- 
tions in  forests  is  high,  even  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions.  Many  out- 
breaks of  insects  in  the  past  conse- 
quently have  had  to  be  allowed  to  run 
their  natural  course  until  eventually 
they  were  checked  by  exhaustion  of 
the  food  supply,  changes  in  weather 
conditions,  increase  in  the  abundance 
of  natural  enemies,  or  other  factors. 
But,  in  contrast  to  ground  equipment, 
airplanes  can  cover  large  and  isolated 
areas  quickly  and  in  most  cases  at  a 
reasonable  cost.  Although  improve- 
ments must  be  made  in  equipment  and 
procedures  to  develop  aerial  methods 
for  extensive  general  use,  the  progress 
since  the  Second  World  War  has  been 
encouraging. 

Finding  the  enemy,  estimating  the 
numbers,  and  determining  the  rate  of 


movement  are  as  essential  in  combat- 
ing insect  outbreaks  as  in  conducting 
a  successful  military  campaign.  The 
Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine,  in  cooperation  with  vari- 
ous Federal,  State,  and  private  agen- 
cies, carries  on  extensive  surveys  each 
year  to  obtain  such  information  for 
planning  control  operations.  The  work 
commonly  includes  cruising  represent- 
ative sample  plots;  reconnaissance  in- 
spections by  truck,  horseback,  or  foot; 
and  visual  examination  from  moun- 
taintops  or  other  vantage  points.  Ob- 
viously, the  surveys  are  limited  by  the 
relatively  small  proportion  of  total 
forested  area  that  can  be  covered  in  a 
season.  In  the  search  for  better  and 
faster  methods,  the  idea  was  advanced 
that  if  the  observer  could  use  a  moving 
observation  point — an  airplane — in- 
stead of  a  mountaintop  he  could  cover 
much  more  territory  in  a  day. 

THE  FIRST  AIR  SURVEYS  of  defoliat- 
ing insects  were  conducted  in  Canada 
in  1922  and  1923.  In  a  week,  air-borne 
observers  mapped  several  thousand 
square  miles  seriously  defoliated  by  the 
spruce  budworm;  by  ground  methods, 
that  work  would  have  taken  3  to  4 
months.  In  following  years,  limited  air 
surveys  were  made  in  both  Eastern 
and  Western  States  to  detect  and  map 
several  other  insect  outbreaks.  The 


472 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


disadvantage  in  all  these  attempts  was 
that  only  the  severe  infestations  could 
be  detected;  the  lightly  infested  areas 
could  not  be  distinguished,  with  the 
equipment  of  that  time,  from  the  areas 
that  were  uninfested. 

From  1925  until  the  outbreak  of 
the  Second  World  War,  periodic  at- 
tempts were  also  made  to  use  air  sur- 
veys in  connection  with  bark  beetle 
control.  Flights  made  over  western 
forests  were  disappointing.  Dying  trees 
could  be  seen  from  the  air,  but  equip- 
ment had  not  been  developed  for 
mapping  accurately  their  location  or 
determining  the  type  and  size  of  trees 
attacked.  In  the  Eastern  States,  air 
surveys  were  most  successful  for  locat- 
ing trees  infected  with  Dutch  elm; 
disease,  which  is  transmitted  by  elm 
bark  beetles.  Observers  flying  at  slow 
speeds  in  an  autogiro  could  easily  de- 
tect trees  showing  symptoms  of  the 
disease  and  could  pin-point  their  lo- 
cation on  a  base  map. 

MORE  RECENTLY,  the  depletion  of 
forest  resources  during  the  war,  the 
greater  need  for  more  adequate  con- 
trol of  forest  insects,  and  the  wartime 
improvement  in  the  aerial  observation 
methods  gave  further  impetus  to  sur- 
veys from  the  air. 

Three  methods  are  used:  Sketch 
mapping,  ocular  estimating  or  strip 
counting,  and  photographic  sampling. 

The  first  is  a  "look-see"  method 
similar  to  that  employed  in  the  early 
defoliator  surveys.  The  area  is  covered 
in  a  systematic  pattern  and  observers 
sketch  in  the  boundaries  of  infested 
areas  on  previously  prepared  maps. 
Estimates  of  the  extent  of  damage  are 
made  as  the  mapping  progresses.  In 
the  Pacific  Northwest  an  outbreak 
covering  more  than  700,000  acres  was 
surveyed  in  this  manner  in  1947  at  a 
cost  of  about  one-tenth  of  a  cent  an 
acre.  The  method  is  still  inadequate 
for  detecting  very  light  defoliator  in- 
festations, but  recent  improvements 
have  made  it  a  good  way  to  get  a  quick, 
rough  estimate  of  the  insect  conditions 
over  a  large  area. 


Ocular  estimating  is  being  used 
primarily  for  the  bark  beetle  surveys  in 
western  forests.  In  this  method  the 
plane  is  flown  along  predetermined 
lines  over  the  forest.  The  observer 
watches  the  ground  through  a  port  in 
the  bottom  of  the  fuselage  and  counts 
the  number  of  dying  trees  in  the  sample 
strip  traversed.  The  estimates  obtained 
are  then  checked  by  limited  ground 
surveys  at  various  points  within  the 
forest  area  covered  from  the  air. 

In  photographic  sampling,  repre- 
sentative localities  within  the  forest  are 
photographed  with  a  special  aerial 
camera.  By  taking  pictures  that  over- 
lap, stereoscopic  methods  can  be  used 
to  pick  out  the  dying  trees  and  to  esti- 
mate their  size  and  crown  characters. 

These  new  improvements  have  al- 
ready widened  the  scope  of  forest- 
insect  surveys.  Although  the  air  surveys 
still  supplement  rather  than  replace 
ground  methods,  we  expect  that  fur- 
ther improvements,  particularly  those 
in  aerial  photography,  will  make  it  pos- 
sible to  do  more  and  more  of  the  work 
from  above  the  forest  instead  of  in  it. 

INSECTICIDES  were  first  applied  from 
the  air  in  1921,  when  a  small  infesta- 
tion of  catalpa  sphinx  in  Ohio  was  con- 
trolled by  dusting  lead  arsenate  from 
an  open-cockpit  biplane. 

Soon  afterwards,  dust  applications 
were  made  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  against  the  hemlock  looper, 
spruce  budworm,  and  gypsy  moth,  and 
in  Europe  against  the  nun  moth,  pine 
looper,  cockchafer,  and  other  pests. 
The  results  varied.  The  insecticide 
dusts  killed  most  of  the  different  in- 
sects, but  the  method  of  application 
had  three  shortcomings :  The  dust  was 
frequently  carried  away  by  air  currents 
after  release  from  the  plane;  the  dust 
particles  did  not  stick  to  the  tree  foliage 
and  were  quickly  removed  by  strong 
wind  or  rain ;  and,  with  any  of  the  in- 
secticides known  at  that  time,  the 
quantity  of  dust  required  made  treat- 
ing costs  high — about  $7  an  acre. 

Later,  concentrated  arsenical  and 
fluorine  sprays  were  developed  to  re- 


The  Air f  lane  in  Forest-Pest  Control 


473 


place  dusts.  The  sprays  were  less  af- 
fected by  wind  and  adhered  to  foliage 
much  better,  but  the  quantity  of  in- 
secticide needed  was  still  too  high  for 
economical  application  by  airplane  in 
this  country.  Aerial  distribution  of  both 
sprays  and  dusts  continued  to  be  used 
to  some  extent  in  European  forests  be- 
cause of  the  higher  values  at  stake. 

THE  DISCOVERY  of  the  astounding 
insecticidal  properties  of  DDT  in  1943 
revolutionized  airplane  spraying.  Here 
was  a  chemical  that  by  previous  stand- 
ards was  unbelievably  toxic  to  many 
insects  and  was  therefore  just  what 
was  needed  to  make  aerial  application 
practical.  Soon  the  military  forces  were 
spraying  entire  islands  in  the  Pacific 
to  kill  mosquitoes  and  other  disease- 
bearing  insects,  and  when  DDT  and 
other  new  organic  insecticides  became 
available  for  civilian  use,  airplane  ap- 
plications were  tried  on  crops  and  for- 
ests. The  results  of  the  trials  in  forest 
spraying  were  so  encouraging  that  the 
insecticides  have  been  put  to  a  wider 
use  each  succeeding  year. 

Much  of  the  forest  spraying  has  been 
limited  to  applications  covering  fewer 
than  1,000  acres,  although  in  1947 
413,000  acres  of  western  forest  land 
were  successfully  treated  for  control 
of  the  Douglas-fir  tussock  moth  and  in 
1948  more  than  200,000  acres  of  east- 
ern woodland  were  likewise  treated 
for  gypsy  moth.  DDT  sprays  have  been 
so  effective  against  those  insects  that 
airplane  spraying  has  become  the 
standard  method  of  control. 

In  experimental  tests,  good  results 
also  have  been  obtained  in  controlling 
the  spruce  budworm,  hemlock  looper, 
pine  sawflies,  and  the  Saratoga  spittle- 
bug,  but  with  bark  beetles  and  certain 
other  insects  control  has  been  unsat- 
isfactory. Thus,  airplane  spraying 
does  not  solve  all  forest-insect  prob- 
lems, primarily  because  of  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  a  uniform  deposit  on  all 
trees  and  on  all  parts  of  a  tree. 

The  method  is  most  effective  for  the 
foliage-feeding  species  that  actively 
move  about  in  the  tree  crowns;  with 


them,  a  uniform  deposit  is  not  neces- 
sary, because  their  normal  activities 
eventually  bring  them  in  contact  with 
a  lethal  dose  of  insecticide.  The  less 
active  defoliators  and  those  in  pro- 
tected, situations  can  probably  be  con- 
trolled, but  higher  dosages  or  multiple 
applications  may  be  required  to  com- 
pensate for  the  uneven  distribution  of 
the  insecticide. 

It  has  not  been  possible  to  obtain 
an  efficient  deposit  of  DDT  sprays  on 
tree  trunks  or  other  vertical  surfaces 
with  aerial  application. 

THE  SPRAY  MIXTURE  most  com- 
monly used  in  forests  is  a  solution  of 
DDT  in  No.  2  fuel  oil.  The  DDT  is 
first  dissolved  in  a  naphthenic  hydro- 
carbon solvent  and  then  diluted  to  the 
desired  volume  with  the  fuel  oil.  The 
usual  dosage  rate  is  1  pound  of  DDT 
in  1  gallon  of  liquid  an  acre,  although 
under  favorable  conditions  dosages  as 
low  as  l/4  pound  in  1  gallon  or  less 
an  acre  have  been  effective  for  some 
insects.  In  spraying  watersheds  where 
fuel  oil  might  impart  an  objectionable 
taste  or  odor  to  domestic  water  sup- 
plies, xylene  is  used  as  a  solvent  and 
kerosene  substituted  for  fuel  oil. 

Emulsions  and  suspensions  have 
been  used  to  a  limited  degree  in  ex- 
perimental work.  The  former  are  pre- 
pared by  first  dissolving  the  DDT  in 
a  solvent  as  in  preparing  oil  solutions, 
then  adding  an  emulsifying  agent  and 
diluting  with  water.  Emulsions  have 
two  serious  disadvantages:  They  can- 
not be  exposed  to  freezing  tempera- 
tures and  they  are  more  toxic  to  fish 
and  other  aquatic  animals.  Suspen- 
sions are  made  by  dispersing  wettable 
powders  or  so-called  colloidal  prepara- 
tions in  water.  Wettable  powders  have 
not  been  satisfactory,  because  the  sus- 
pended material  tends  to  settle  rapidly 
after  mixing,  clogging  the  equipment. 
The  colloidal  dispersions  have  not 
been  adequately  evaluated. 

THE  AIRPLANES  most  commonly 
used  in  1948  to  apply  sprays  were 
military  biplane  trainer-type  aircraft 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Spray  Apparatus  for  N3N  and  Stearman  Airplane 

1 — Tank  70  to  80  gallons  capacity,  sloping  bottom  to  provide  positive  drainage. 

2 — 1V4-  by  1-inch  centrifugal  pump  will  handle  solutions,  emulsions,  or  suspensions. 

3 — Relief  valve,  water  type,  adjustable,  set  for  25  psi;  must  have  adequate  capacity  to 

maintain  constant  spray  output  at  varying  air  speed. 
4 — Shut-off  or  control  valve,  quick  acting  cam  type. 
5 — Nozzle  boom,  not  less  than  1  inch  o.  d.  tubing,  mounted  beneath  lower  wing;  fittings 

provided  for  60  nozzles. 


(N3N  and  Stearman  PT-17),  which 
can  carry  about  80  gallons  of  spray 
and  operate  at  75  to  90  miles  an  hour. 
They  are  not  ideal  for  the  purpose, 
but  they  perform  reasonably  well,  and, 
being  war-surplus  items,  their  initial 
cost  is  much  less  than  that  of  many 
nonmilitary  models. 

Several  other  types  of  planes  also 
have  been  employed — the  light,  high- 
wing  monoplanes  that  fly  at  60  miles 
an  hour  and  carry  only  25  gallons  of 


spray,  up  to  multiengine  transports 
that  fly  at  150  miles  an  hour  and  carry 
1,000  gallons  of  spray. 

Helicopters,  tested  in  experimental 
work,  may  prove  useful  in  specialized 
operations  because  of  their  ability  to 
fly  low  and  slowly  and  to  maneuver  in 
small  areas. 

SPRAYING  APPARATUS — because  ae- 
rial spraying  is  such  a  new  and  rapidly 
expanding  field — has  not  been  stand- 


The  Airplane  in  Forest-Pest  Control 


475 


ardized.  A  wide  variety  of  distributing 
devices  is  used,  such  as  rotating  disks 
and  brushes,  Venturis,  nozzles,  jets,  and 
combinations  of  them. 

For  general  forest  spraying,  the 
type  of  spray  equipment  shown  in  the 
diagram  has  been  fairly  satisfactory 
for  light  planes — it  is  simple  to  make, 
and  the  quantity  of  liquid  applied  and 
the  atomization  can  be  varied  by 
changing  the  size  and  number  of  noz- 
zles on  the  boom. 

On  the  biplanes  the  tank  is  placed 
in  the  front  cockpit,  the  pump  is 
mounted  on  the  landing-gear  assembly, 
and  the  nozzle  boom  is  suspended  on 
brackets  beneath  the  lower  wing.  The 
same  type  of  apparatus  can  be  adapted 
for  larger  planes,  but  even  simpler 
equipment  often  has  given  fairly  good 
performance,  because  the  higher  speed 
of  large  planes  makes  it  possible  to  ob- 
tain adequate  atomization  of  the  liquid 
when  it  is  discharged  through  straight 
pipes  or  horizontal  tubes  placed  in 
the  air  stream  beneath  the  fuselage. 

Several  types  of  spray  apparatus 
have  been  reasonably  satisfactory,  but 
a  great  deal  of  improvement  is  still 
needed  for  more  efficient  distribution. 
Much  remains  to  be  learned  about  the 
type  of  outlets  and  their  placement  on 
the  aircraft  to  obtain  wider  and  more 
uniform  deposit  of  the  spray  under  dif- 
ferent forest  conditions.  The  spray  ap- 
paratus in  use  today  is  patterned  after 
ground  equipment,  but  as  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  aerodynamics  involved 
in  spray  dispersal  increases,  radically 
different  sprayers  may  be  developed. 

THE  PROCEDURES  in  applying  aerial 
sprays  over  forests  are  necessarily  dif- 
ferent from  those  employed  in  treating 
agricultural  crops  because  of  the 
larger  areas  involved,  the  irregular  ter- 
rain, and  uneven  heights  of  trees. 

Ordinarily,  the  area  to  be  treated  is 
first  divided  into  blocks,  using  water- 
courses, ridges,  and  other  features  of 
the  terrain  as  boundaries.  If  the  ground 
is  relatively  flat,  the  pilot  flies  a  grid 
pattern  back  and  forth  across  the  area, 
spacing  the  flight  lines  at  a  width  pre- 


viously determined  to  give  satisfactory 
coverage  of  the  area.  This  spacing,  or 
swath  width,  ranges  from  about  60  to 
400  feet,  depending  on  the  type  of  air- 
craft and  the  spray  apparatus;  for  the 
biplane  trainers  the  effective  swath  is 
100  to  150  feet.  Where  the  terrain  is 
steep  and  irregular,  as  in  many  of  the 
western  forests,  a  grid  flight  pattern 
is  unsafe,  so  the  pilot  must  fly  along 
the  contours  or  down  slope. 

One  of  the  most  serious  difficulties 
in  forest  spraying  is  to  maintain  the 
proper  spacing  of  the  flight  lines.  It  is 
impossible  for  even  the  most  expert 
pilot  to  estimate  accurately  the  distance 
of  successive  swaths  from  the  air, 
especially  when  spraying  mountainous 
areas.  Therefore  small  captive  bal- 
loons, small  wind  socks,  flags,  or  other 
markers  often  are  placed  in  the  tree- 
tops  at  intervals  along  the  boundaries 
of  the  treated  blocks  to  aid  the  pilot  in 
maintaining  an  even  pattern. 

But  where  the  area  to  be  treated  is 
large  or  inaccessible,  the  placing  of 
markers  by  ground  crews  has  been  too 
time-consuming  to  be  practical.  At- 
tempts have  been  made  to  drop  mark- 
ers from  the  air  and  to  incorporate  dyes 
or  other  materials  in  the  spray  liquid 
in  order  to  make  the  spray  deposit 
visible  to  the  pilot.  None  of  these  de- 
vices have  been  successful,  however, 
and  considerably  more  developmental 
work  will  be  needed  to  improve  this 
phase  of  the  operation. 

In  contrast  to  crop  spraying,  which 
is  done  5  to  10  feet  above  the  fields,  the 
minimum  safe  altitude  for  forest  spray- 
ing is  50  feet  above  the  treetops.  Over 
rough  terrain  or  with  the  larger,  less 
maneuverable  planes,  the  altitude  must 
be  increased. 

Wind  and  convection  currents — the 
warm  air  rising  from  the  ground — 
often  carry  the  spray  away  from  the 
area  being  treated  or  keep  the  spray 
cloud  suspended  above  the  treetops. 
For  that  reason  spraying  is  usually  con- 
fined to  the  early  morning  and  evening 
hours,  when  air  movement  is  at  a  min- 
imum. Generally  no  spraying  is  done 
when  the  wind  velocity  is  more  than  10 


476 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


miles  an  hour  or  when  there  is  enough 
turbulence  to  make  the  air  bumpy. 

ARE  FISH  AND  WILDLIFE  harmed  by 
insecticides?  The  use  of  DDT  at  the 
rate  of  a  pound  or  less  an  acre  has  pro- 
duced no  serious  effects  on  birds  or 
mammals.  This  dosage  can,  under  cer- 
tain conditions,  cause  considerable  in- 
jury to  aquatic  life.  Game  fish  are  little 
affected  by  1  pound  per  acre  applica- 
tions, but  the  forms  providing  the  bulk 
of  fish  food  are  sometimes  sharply  de- 
pleted. High  dosages,  on  the  other 
hand,  can  be  very  injurious.  Therefore, 
with  DDT  or  other  new  insecticides, 
the  application  rate  should  be  held  to 
the  minimum  necessary  for  effective 
control  of  the  insect  and,  where  ex- 
tensive areas  are  to  be  treated,  the 
work  should  be  done  under  expert 
guidance. 

THE  COST  of  applying  DDT  sprays 
to  forests  has  ranged  from  $1  to  $3 
or  more  an  acre,  depending  on  the 
type  of  terrain,  size  of  the  area  to  be 
treated,  distance  from  the  landing  strip, 
dosage  rate,  and  other  conditions. 

Such  expenditures  are  not  excessive 
for  the  protection  of  most  forest  areas 
when  one  takes  into  account  the  actual 
value  of  merchantable  timber,  the 
added  fire-protection  costs  that  may 
result  from  standing  dead  timber  fol- 
lowing an  insect  epidemic,  the  effect 
of  loss  of  timber  on  the  economy  of 
the  community,  and  the  indirect  losses 
such  as  erosion  of  watersheds. 

Undoubtedly  costs  will  decline  as 
improvements  are  made  in  equipment, 
spray  mixtures,  and  application  pro- 
cedures, with  the  result  that  more  use 
will  be  made  of  aircraft  for  combating 
forest  insects  in  the  future. 

It  seems  probable  that  those  im- 
provements will  make  it  possible  to 
locate  outbreaks  while  they  are  in  their 
initial  stages  and  to  apply  insecticides 
before  the  infestations  spread  over 
large  areas.  Future  trends  are  expected 
to  be  toward  development  of  more 
sensitive  photographic  methods  for 
early  detection  of  insect  damage,  the 


use  of  larger  aircraft  for  greater  range 
of  operation,  the  development  of  more 
efficient  spray  equipment  designed  on 
aerodynamic  principles,  and  the  appli- 
cation of  various  new  insecticides. 

J.  S.  YUILL  attended  the  University 
of  Arizona  and  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia. He  has  been  employed  as  an 
entomologist  in  the  Division  of  Forest 
Insect  Investigations,  Bureau  of  Ento- 
mology and  Plant  Quarantine,  since 
1935.  Until  1942  he  was  stationed  at 
Berkeley,  Calif.,  where  he  carried  on 
research  on  various  forest-insect  prob- 
lems of  the  California  region.  During 
the  Second  World  War  he  served  as 
a  malaria  control  officer  in  the  Navy. 
Since  the  war  he  has  been  engaged  in 
the  development  of  aerial  spraying  for 
control  of  forest  insects  at  the  Agricul- 
tural Research  Center,  Beltsville,  Md. 

G.  B.  EATON,  a  native  of  Massachu- 
setts, is  an  entomologist  in  the  Division 
of  Forest  Insect  Investigations,  Bureau 
of  Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine. 
He  was  graduated  from  Syracuse  Uni- 
versity in  1934,  and  has  been  in  forest- 
insect  research  at  various  field  stations 
since  that  time,  except  for  3l/%  years 
as  entomologist  in  the  Army  Sanitary 
Corps.  Since  1946  he  has  been  at  the 
Agricultural  Research  Center,  working 
on  the  development  of  aerial  spraying 
for  forest-insect  control. 


Fire,  Friend  and  Enemy 


PROGRESS,  BUT  STILL  A  PROBLEM 

A.  A.  BROWN 


IN  1947,  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States,  200,799  forest  fires  burned 
over  23,226,000  acres— an  area  the  size 
of  Indiana — and  caused  tangible  dam- 
age amounting  to  more  than  55  million 
dollars  to  timber,  farm  homes,  barns, 
towns,  schoolhouses,  places  where  men 
and  women  make  their  living  and  chil- 
dren have  their  being. 

The  damage  to  young  tree  growth, 
soil,  watersheds,  recreation  areas,  and 
wildlife  cannot  be  converted  readily 
into  dollars,  but  it  could  easily  add  an 
equal  amount  to  the  loss  we  suffered 
from  wild-land  fires  in  just  one  year. 
Besides  that,  the  work  of  controlling  the 
fires  to  keep  the  damage  from  amount- 
ing to  a  more  disastrous  total  cost  land- 
owners and  taxpayers  nearly  35  million 
dollars. 

The  record  for  1947  is  enough  to 
show  that  fire  on  our  wild  lands  is  a  big 
and  important  problem.  Yet  for  the 
country  as  a  whole  the  1947  record  was 
not  unusual;  in  many  past  years  it  has 
been  much  worse. 

The  drawing  above,  based  on  photographs, 
shows  one  terrifying  aspect  of  forest  fires. 


Forest  fires  remain  a  problem  despite 
the  great  progress  in  dealing  with 
them.  It  is  a  complex  problem,  because 
man-caused  fires  result  from  people's 
activities  and  habits:  The  man  from 
the  city,  for  instance,  does  not  easily 
change  his  smoking  habits  when  he 
goes  into  the  woods.  So,  changing 
people's  smoking  habits  becomes  a  part 
of  the  task. 

It  is  complex,  too,  because  the  in- 
flammability of  forest  fuels  varies  with 
weather  and  seasons  from  conditions 
where  it  takes  great  skill  to  get  a  camp- 
fire  to  burn,  to  conditions  where  a 
single  spark  explodes,  as  in  a  powder 
keg.  So,  prediction  of  fire  danger  and 
understanding  of  weather  and  forest 
fuel  has  become  a  part  of  forest  fire- 
control  activity. 

It  is  complex  because  the  value  of 
our  public  forests  depends  on  public 
use;  as  the  desirable  uses  increase,  the 
liability  from  fires  generally  increases. 
So,  skillful  regulation  of  public  use  also 
becomes  a  fire  job. 

It  is  particularly  complex  because 
successful  fire  fighting  calls  for  quick 

477 


478 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


action,  yet  forest  fires  usually  start  in 
places  far  from  fire  hydrants  and  paved 
streets. 

Finally,  it  is  complex  because  of  the 
nature  and  behavior  of  uncontrolled 
fire.  Many  aspects  of  fire  behavior  are 
not  yet  fully  understood,  and  big  fires 
continue  to  defy  man's  efforts  to  con- 
trol them  at  will  by  even  the  best  of  the 
methods  that  have  been  developed. 

THE  HISTORY  of  forest  fires  varies  in 
detail  from  one  part  of  the  United 
States  to  another,  and  it  is  closely  in- 
terwoven with  our  history  of  develop- 
ment. In  most  of  our  forest  country  it 
was  an  unhappy  aspect  of  the  conquest 
of  the  wilderness. 

It  is  enough  in  this  introductory  sur- 
vey merely  to  point  to  the  use  of  fire 
to  clear  land  when  this  country  was 
young,  to  the  big  and  intense  fires  that 
followed  the  early  logging  operations 
on  millions  of  acres  and  held  back  a 
new  timber  crop,  the  awakening  of 
citizens  of  half  a  century  ago  to  the  de- 
struction to  forest  wealth  that  was  tak- 
ing place,  the  creation  of  the  national 
forests  and  the  enactment  of  many 
State  laws  designed  to  prevent  fires 
and  protect  forest  lands,  and  the  band- 
ing together  of  responsible  timberland 
owners  into  forest  fire-protective  as- 
sociations in  the  West. 

From  such  points  of  history  two  facts 
emerge:  Despite  a  general  change  in 
attitudes  about  fires,  the  careless  use  of 
fire  still  persists  among  habits  in  parts 
of  the  country  and  remains  a  constant 
threat  to  the  forests.  Also,  wherever 
forest  lands  exist,  there  has  been  a  his- 
tory of  forest  fires  that  have  influenced 
the  present-day  forest.  To  the  initiated, 
some  of  the  things  that  past  fires  have 
done  are  clearly  evident  in  every  neg- 
lected forest  tract.  A  forest  fire  may  be 
small  and  it  may  be  forgotten  next  year, 
but  its  effect  on  trees  may  persist  for  a 
long  time.  The  continuing  effect  of  fire 
in  the  forests  is  probably  the  most  im- 
portant single  reason  that  forest  fires, 
even  small  fires,  concern  everybody. 

Fires  such  as  those  that  occurred  in 
1910  in  Idaho,  which  wiped  out  several 


million  acres  of  virgin  timber  in  a  few 
days,  have  not  since  been  repeated, 
thanks  to  the  progress  made  in  pro- 
tecting forests  since  that  time.  But  big 
and  destructive  fires  are  still  possible, 
even  though  not  on  so  vast  a  scale — 
remember  the  245,000-acre  Tillamook 
fire  in  Oregon  in  1933,  or  the  fires  in 
Maine  in  1947,  when  a  thousand  homes 
were  destroyed. 

SYSTEMATIC  FOREST-FIRE  CONTROL, 
as  we  know  it  now,  began  in  the  West 
about  a  half  century  ago,  when  the 
possibility  of  controlling  fire  damage 
seemed  almost  like  trying  to  control 
storms  and  floods  and  the  other  great 
forces  in  nature.  Nevertheless,  people 
realized  that  every  fire  started  as  a 
small  fire  and  that  if  action  could  be 
taken  quickly  enough  it  need  not  turn 
into  a  ruthless  giant.  Earlier,  the  chief 
concern  in  fighting  forest  fires  had  been 
to  protect  human  life  and  property; 
systematic  forest-fire  control  concen- 
trated on  the  problem  of  protecting  the 
forest  itself. 

From  the  start  the  forest  fire  fighter 
has  needed  equipment  to  make  his 
efforts  count.  At  first  he  depended  en- 
tirely on  the  simple  tools  at  hand  or 
improvised  with  such  things  as  a  pine 
branch  or  a  wet  burlap  sack.  Generally 
he  could  not  depend  on  using  water. 
Much  of  the  story  of  progress  in  con- 
trolling forest  fires  is  the  story  of  the 
development  of  more  and  more  effec- 
tive fire-fighting  tools  and  of  increasing 
mechanization  of  the  slow  and  strenu- 
ous hand  work  that  fire  fighting  has 
always  called  for. 

The  old  problem  of  how  to  get  to  a 
fire  soon  enough  has  been  solved  in  the 
back  country  through  the  use  of  air- 
planes and  parachute  jumpers;  else- 
where better  roads  and  faster  motor 
equipment  now  play  a  decisive  role. 
We  also  have  portable  pumps  and  tank 
trucks,  which  can  apply  water  quickly 
to  small  fires  within  reach  of  any  road- 
way; radio  communication,  which 
enables  a  widely  dispersed  fire  organiza- 
tion to  work  together  as  a  team ;  plows 
and  bulldozers,  which  can  establish 


Bad  Business;  Your  Business 


479 


quickly  a  fire  line  or  furrow  a  barrier 
strip  around  the  fire. 

The  application  of  systematic  plan- 
ning and  scientific  methods,  described 
in  succeeding  articles,  is  reflected  in  the 
records  for  the  national  forests.  The 
annual  area  burned  has  decreased  from 
more  than  5  million  acres  in  1910  and 
2/2  million  acres  in  1919  to  a  level  of 
a  million  acres  in  the  equally  bad  fire 
years  of  1926  and  1929.  Then,  follow- 
ing the  organization  of  the  Civilian 
Conservation  Corps,  the  burn  resulting 
from  the  extreme  drought  years  of  1931 
and  1934  was  held  to  half  that  amount. 
In  1947  the  burn  on  the  national  forests 
was  recorded  at  475,000  acres,  only 
slightly  below  those  years,  but  with  an 
average  since  1935  of  less  than  300,000 
acres.  Of  significance  too  is  size  of  the 
area  burned  by  each  fire.  Before  1930, 
the  average  was  more  than  100  acres; 
between  1931  and  1940,  it  dropped  to 
about  40  acres;  since  1940,  the  average 
has  been  31  acres. 

Such  results  would  have  been  re- 
garded as  highly  successful  and  satis- 
factory as  late  as  1930.  But  needs  and 
values  have  been  changing  rapidly ;  the 
commercial  value  of  the  national  forest 
properties  and  the  income  they  pro- 


duce has  more  than  doubled  since  1930. 
The  public  importance  of  adequate 
protection  of  all  forests  from  fire  has 
increased  similarly.  No  longer  can  even 
a  destructive  5,000-acre  forest  fire 
(which  would  be  far  too  small  to  be 
recalled  in  the  forest  history  of  20 
years  ago)  be  regarded  as  anything 
short  of  a  disaster. 

In  short,  no  longer  have  we  any 
place  in  America  where  a  big  forest 
fire  is  not  immediately  destructive  of 
some  more  of  the  wealth  on  which  this 
country  has  been  built. 

A.  A.  BROWN,  a  Kansan,  was  gradu- 
ated in  forestry  from  the  University  of 
Michigan.  He  entered  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice in  1922  in  Montana  as  a  forest  as- 
sistant. He  later  served  on  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  National  Forest  in  Idaho,  and 
as  assistant  forest  supervisor  on  the 
Helena  and  Jefferson  National  Forests 
in  Montana.  In  1935  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  a  forest  fire-control  planning 
project  for  all  the  California  forests  and 
in  1937  was  made  chief  of  fire  control 
in  Colorado,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  South 
Dakota,  and  Wyoming.  He  was  made 
chief  of  the  Division  of  Fire  Control  in 
Washington  in  1947. 


BAD  BUSINESS;  YOUR  BUSINESS 

R.  F.  HAMMATT 


On  suitable  areas  and  under  well- 
planned  use  and  control  programs, 
fire  may  be  a  good  tool  in  sound,  long- 
term  management  of  land  and  re- 
sources. H.  H.  Chapman,  professor 
emeritus  of  the  Yale  University  School 
of  Forestry,  declared  that  the  proper 
use  of  fire,  and  not  complete  fire  pre- 
vention, is  the  only  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem of  future  forestry  in  the  South. 
R.  Merton  Love  and  Burle  J.  Jones,  of 
the  California  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station,  say  that  if  governed 
burning  is  followed  by  revegetation 
and  controlled  grazing,  some  Califor- 
nia brushlands  can  be  converted  into 


grasslands  that  produce  more  meat, 
hides,  and  wool. 

But  those  statements  do  not  hold  for 
wildfires.  Wildfires  are  bad,  a  scourge 
to  man  and  beast. 

Consider  what  happened  in  Maine, 
for  instance:  In  four  fateful  days  in 
the  fall  of  1947  some  50  small  wildfires, 
fanned  by  strong  winds,  seared  a  quar- 
ter of  a  million  acres  and  took  16  lives. 

Another  instance:  In  the  decade 
that  ended  in  1940,  more  than  2,100,- 
000  wildfires  swept  forests  and  fields 
in  the  United  States.  That  was  at  the 
rate  of  575  each  day.  Those  fires  black- 
ened an  area  more  than  seven  times 


480 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  size  of  Maine  and  all  the  other  New 
England  States.  According  to  estimates 
made  several  years  ago  by  the  Associa- 
tion of  American  Railroads,  the  total 
amount  of  labor  it  took  to  put  out 
those  fires  could  maintain  a  right-of- 
way  wide  enough  and  long  enough  for 
nine  trains  to  travel  abreast  from  New 
York  to  San  Francisco. 

Destroyed  by  wildfires  in  those  10 
years  were  billions  of  little  trees  that 
might  have  become  forests  when  for- 
ests may  be  more  sorely  needed — 10, 
20,  50  years  hence.  Killed  were  enough 
big  trees  to  keep  all  our  daily  and  Sun- 
day papers  in  newsprint  for  11  years; 
or  enough  large  trees,  if  made  into  5- 
room  houses,  to  wipe  out  the  entire 
1947  housing  shortage  of  the  United 
States,  as  estimated  by  the  National 
Housing  and  Home  Finance  Agency, 
and  leave  some  left  over. 

Trees  hoary  with  age  offer  evidence 
that  wildfires  also  occurred  centuries 
ago.  In  Great  Forest  Fires  of  America, 
John  D.  Guthrie  tells  of  basal  scars 
that  record  conflagrations  in  Califor- 
nia's big  tree  forests  as  far  back  as 
A.  D.  245.  Venerable  Engelmann 
spruces  still  bear  scars  from  fires  that 
swept  Colorado's  mountain  slopes  in 
1676,  1707,  and  1781,  he  reports,  and 
white  spruce  trees  register  wildfires 
that  must  have  covered  around  200 
square  miles  in  Maine  2  years  before 
the  frigate  Old  Ironsides  was  launched 
at  Boston. 

As  calamities,  great  wildfires  rank 
with  floods,  famines,  and  earthquakes. 
Such  calamities  may  not  have  been  so 
important  when  Indians  formed  the 
only — and  a  sparse — population  in 
America,  when  they  used  fire  as  an  aid 
in  collecting  acorns  and  grasshoppers 
for  food,  and  when  forests  seemed  in- 
exhaustible. But  many  conditions  have 
changed  since  then,  and  chronicles  of 
the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries 
reveal  what  seems  to  be  ample  justifi- 
cation for  the  statement. 

Those  chronicles  tell  us,  for  example, 
that  160  lives  were  lost  when  the  Mi- 
ramichi  fire  of  1825  roared  across  3 
million  acres  in  New  Brunswick,  and 


that  1,500  people  were  killed  by  flames 
and  smoke  and  crashing  trees  when  the 
Peshtigo  wildfire  of  1871  wiped  out 
whole  settlements  as  it  ravaged  a  mil- 
lion and  a  quarter  acres  in  Wisconsin. 

Headstones  in  a  forest-fringed  ceme- 
tery at  St.  Maries,  Idaho,  tell  of  the 
death  of  74  fire  fighters  who  were 
trapped  and  burned  in  northern  Idaho 
and  western  Montana  by  raging  walls 
of  flame  that  jumped  wide  rivers 
and  laid  waste  a  strip  of  mountain 
country  20  to  35  miles  wide  and  120 
miles  long.  That  was  in  1910,  after 
wearied  men  had  brought  90  large 
wildfires  and  3,000  small  ones  under 
control,  despite  months  of  high  tem- 
peratures and  low  humidities.  Then 
came  sudden  winds — and  catastrophe. 

High  temperatures,  low  humidities, 
and  sudden  winds  also  set  the  stage  for 
the  Tillamook  wildfire  of  August  1933. 
In  11  days  it  roared  through  267,000 
acres  of  the  finest  virgin  forests  in 
Oregon,  and  burned  timber  equal  in 
amount  to  the  entire  lumber  cut  of  the 
United  States  in  1932. 

But  the  damages  wildfires  do  are 
not  confined  to  the  timber  killed  and 
the  homes  destroyed.  Pocketbooks  also 
suffer. 

The  1947  Pellegrin  fire,  for  instance, 
was  in  a  mixture  of  brush  and  grass 
that  may  have  seemed  quite  worthless 
to  the  casual  passerby.  But  the  burning 
of  this  range  forced  ranchers  to  find 
other  feed  for  500  cattle  for  6  months. 
And  it  threatened  heavy  winter  losses 
among  a  herd  of  deer  that  for  years  had 
attracted  hunters — and  their  dollars — 
to  California  communities. 

Farmers  who  manage  their  woodlands 
for  maximum  returns  on  a  long-time 
basis,  and  who  like  to  go  hunting 
now  and  then,  know  that  even  surface 
fires  often  weaken  cash-crop  trees  so 
they  are  more  easily  thrown  by  the 
wind.  They  know,  too,  that  those  fires 
can  kill  young  trees  and  destroy  cov- 
erts and  nests  of  game  birds  and  small- 
game  animals. 

Fishermen  report  that  wood  ashes  in 
streams  sometimes  kill  large  numbers 
of  trout.  Sportsmen  say  it  is  not  un- 


Bad  Business;  Your  Business 


common  for  whole  coveys  of  bewil- 
dered quail  to  turn  back  into  fires  from 
which  they  have  just  fled,  then  drop 
in  the  waves  of  heat  and  gas  before  be- 
ing touched  by  the  flames.  Fire  fight- 
ers tell  of  rabbits  that  have  been 
blinded  and  of  deer  with  feet  so  badly 
burned  in  hot  ashes  that  they  were  easy 
prey  for  varmints. 

There  are  many  more  small  wildfires 
than  big  ones.  Many  people  think 
small  fires  do  no  damage,  but  they  are 
mistaken.  Even  small  wildfires  gener- 
ally set  in  motion  events  that  are  often 
more  far  reaching  and  of  greater  im- 
portance than  the  immediate  and  di- 
rect damage  done  by  their  flames. 

One  such  event  was  the  destructive 
flood  that  occurred  in  Salt  Lake  City 
on  August  19,  1945. 

George  W.  Graddock,  of  the  Inter- 
mountain  Forest  and  Range  Experi- 
ment Station,  says  this  flood  came  dur- 
ing the  night.  From  a  city  cemetery,  he 
adds,  it  washed  out  more  than  300 
tombstones  and  many  bodies.  It  spread 
debris,  silt,  gravel,  and  mud  over 
streets  and  sidewalks.  It  clogged  storm 
sewers,  invaded  garages  and  basements, 
cracked  foundations,  soaked  food  and 
furniture. 

It  was  a  man-caused  wildfire  that 
pulled  the  trigger  on  that  flood.  It 
burned  only  about  600  acres  in  grass- 
and-brush-covered  foothill  drainages 
north  of  the  city.  It  was  put  out  11 
months  before  the  flood  came.  But  by 
destroying  the  cover  and  impairing 
the  power  of  the  watershed  to  retain 
moisture,  Craddock  believes,  it  was 
definitely  responsible  for  damage  esti- 
mated at  $347,000. 

Studies  by  M.  W.  Talbot  and  G.  J. 
Kraebel,  of  the  California  Forest  and 
Range  Experiment  Station,  reveal  that 
water  furnished  by  brush-  and  forest- 
covered  mountains  is  essential  in  irri- 
gating more  than  a  million  acres  of 
high-value  croplands  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia, and  in  meeting  domestic  and 
industrial  needs  of  some  4  million  per- 
sons. 

With  about  50  percent  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  State,  they  say,  southern 


California  has  only  2  percent  of  the 
water  supply  in  California.  Despite 
this  shortage,  however,  they  point  out 
that  it  has  serious  flood  problems. 
Kraebel  recently  said  that  many  reser- 
voirs in  the  south  coastal  basin  of  Cali- 
fornia have  lost  approximately  a  fourth 
of  their  capacity  because  of  siltation, 
and  some  of  them  have  been  com- 
pletely filled  with  debris.  Because  of 
this  situation,  he  added,  flood-control 
agencies  that  operate  in  Los  Angeles 
County  have  already  spent  upwards  of 
200  million  dollars  for  flood-control 
works  and  estimate  that  100  million 
dollars  more  is  necessary. 

These  works  are  designed  to  cope 
with  heavy  storm  run-off  that  is  greatly 
accelerated  when  wildfires  burn  steep 
brush-covered  slopes. 

The  need  for  works  of  this  nature — 
and  for  more  help  in  stopping  man- 
caused  wildfires  before  they  can  get 
started — is  illustrated  by  what  has  hap- 
pened in  many  places  at  different  times. 
Typical  on  a  small  scale  is  the  after- 
math of  the  Prankish  Canyon  wildfire 
of  September  16,  1935. 

Only  225  acres  were  burned  in  that 
canyon  then,  but  foresters  believed 
trouble  would  come  to  the  San  Antonio 
section,  near  the  city  of  Upland.  So 
the  burn  was  sowed  with  wild  mustard. 
The  possible  courses  of  floods  were 
traced  by  Clark  H.  Gleason,  Jr.,  who 
made  a  survey  of  potential  flood  haz- 
ards. Warnings  were  issued.  When 
those  went  unheeded,  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice built  a  small  emergency  basin  to 
catch  at  least  some  of  the  expected 
debris. 

Winter  rains  started  before  the  mus- 
tard cover  crop  had  grown  enough  to 
retard  much  run-off.  The  rains  were 
ordinary  in  both  amount  and  intensity, 
but  they  rolled  down  Frankish  Canyon 
in  three  mud-and-boulder-laden  floods. 
The  floods  wrecked  homes,  garages, 
pipelines,  lawns,  and  trees.  Neil  F. 
Meadowcroft  and  Gleason  estimated 
damage  caused  by  this  fire-induced 
flood  at  47  thousand  dollars,  and  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  it  would  have 
been  much  greater  had  it  not  been  for 


802062°— 49- 


-32 


482 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  10,000  cubic  yards  of  debris  caught 
by  the  hastily  built  catchment  basin. 

FIRES  CAN  START  in  many  ways.  Ac- 
cording to  official  records,  a  bay  horse 
feeding  under  a  power  line  in  a  moun- 
tain meadow  switched  his  tail  into  a 
slack  wire  at  1 : 14  p.  m. 

The  resulting  shock  killed  the  horse 
and  at  the  same  time  set  his  mane  and 
tail  on  fire.  This  ignited  the  dry  grass 
and  spread  over  55  acres  of  timber  be- 
fore the  fire  was  brought  under  con- 
trol. The  reason  the  horse  came  in 
contact  with  the  power  line  was  that 
an  insulator  had  been  broken  and  the 
crossarm  burned  off,  so  that  the  line 
sagged  within  a  few  feet  of  the  ground. 
Because  the  insulator  had  been  re- 
ported to  the  power  company  as  defec- 
tive more  than  a  year  earlier,  the  fire 
was  listed  in  the  records  as  a  wildfire 
due  to  man's  negligence. 

This  listing  was  in  line  with  two 
long-time  Nation-wide  averages.  First : 
Although  lightning  starts  10  percent  of 
wildfires,  9  out  of  10  are  man-caused. 
(The  figure  is  higher  in  some  parts  of 
the  West  but  lower  in  most  of  the 
South.)  Second:  Of  every  9  man- 
caused  wildfires,  negligence  and  care- 
lessness are  responsible  for  7,  all  of 
which  could  have  been  prevented  if 
everybody  had  been  careful. 

Loggers  say  that  the  sun  started  one 
fire  they  put  out.  Smoke  began  to  curl 
upward,  they  say,  when  the  rays  of  the 
sun  were  focused  by  a  bottle  of  kero- 
sene (used  to  clean  saws)  onto  a  punky 
log.  That  is  the  only  authenticated  case 
of  its  kind  I  have  found  to  date. 

It  is  a  matter  of  record,  however, 
that  friction  of  a  steel  cable  wound 
around  a  stump  started  the  disastrous 
Tillamook  fire ;  that  many  wildfires  are 
maliciously  set — to  satisfy  pet  peeves, 
to  draw  crowds  and  create  excitement, 
to  make  jobs  during  depressions;  oth- 
ers are  started  in  misguided  attempts 
to  kill  chiggers,  spiders,  and  snakes. 

Incendiarists  start  close  to  28  per- 
cent of  all  man-caused  wildfires,  but 
farmers  and  ranchers  are  largely  re- 
sponsible for  16  percent. 


It  is  not  that  farmers  and  ranchers 
set  fires  maliciously.  They  are  too  often 
careless  about  spark  arresters  on  ma- 
chines like  the  combines  and  threshers. 
Or,  not  realizing  what  flames  and  live 
coals  can  do  when  abetted  by  high 
winds  and  low  humidities,  they  neglect 
to  keep  complete  control  of  the  fires 
started  to  clear  land,  burn  sedge  or 
grass  or  debris,  make  berry  patches  and 
swamps  more  accessible,  "green  up" 
the  woods  for  livestock,  or  smoke  out 
bees. 

Incendiarists  are  haled  into  court 
and  prosecuted.  As  a  preventive  mea- 
sure, so  are  people  who  are  careless 
with  outdoor  fires — there  are  many 
more  of  these.  Who  are  the  careless 
people,  who,  in  the  aggregate,  are  re- 
sponsible for  most  of  our  wildfires? 

Among  them  are  the  people  away 
from  home  who,  in  cars  or  on  saddle 
horses  or  afoot,  flip  glowing  matches 
or  drop  burning  cigarettes  and  cigars, 
with  no  regard  as  to  whether  they  roll 
into  dry  grass,  brown  pine  needles,  or 
dry  leaves;  logging  bosses  who  fail  to 
keep  patrols  on  the  job  and  to  make 
frequent  inspections  of  equipment  and 
tools  during  fire  weather;  trainmen 
who  dump  hot  ashes  from  dining-cars 
on  railroad  rights-of-way ;  hunters, 
campers,  fishermen,  and  picnickers 
who,  besides  being  careless  with 
matches  and  cigarettes,  forget — or  do 
not  know  how — to  put  campfires  com- 
pletely out — dead  out.  In  brief,  these 
people  are  average  Americans — the 
otherwise  law-abiding  citizens  who 
visit  or  travel  through  forests  and  fields, 
who  live  in  or  near  them,  or  who  make 
their  living  in  them. 

SHORTLY  AFTER  PEARL  HARBOR  the 
armed  forces  called  for  intensified  ef- 
forts to  stop  man-made  wildfires  before 
they  started.  Their  reasons  are  worth 
repeating  for  the  persons  who,  when 
they  think  of  forests  and  fields  at  all, 
think  of  them  only  as  pleasant  places 
to  visit: 

1.  Conservation  of  wood  for  war- 
time needs.  (More  wood  than  steel 
was  used  in  war  activities  in  1942.) 


Bad  Business;  Your  Business 


483 


2.  Conservation   of  manpower   for 
raising  food  and  for  war  industries. 
(Records  show  that  almost  a  million 
man-days  of  labor  were  being  drawn 
yearly  from  farms  and  factories  to  put 
out    man-made — and    therefore    pre- 
ventable— wildfires. ) 

3.  Conservation  of  grass  and  stubble 
(food  for  cattle  and  sheep)  on  ranges 
and  farms. 

4.  Removal  of  threats  by  fires  to 
uninterrupted  use  of  vital  railroads, 
truck  lines,  and  war  plants  and  can- 
tonments that  were  in  or  near  forest 
and  range  areas. 

5.  Prevention  of  "black  days"  that 
interrupted  training  schedules  for  air- 
plane pilots  and  gunners.  (Smoke  from 
Wisconsin   wildfires   in    1894   was   so 
dense  over  the  Great  Lakes  as  to  in- 
terfere with  the  movement  of  vessels, 
according  to  John  D.  Guthrie.  He  also 
states   that   smoke   from  wildfires   in 
Washington  and  Oregon  interfered  for 
10  days  in  1910  with  nautical  observa- 
tions 500  miles  at  sea. ) 

Many  methods  for  preventing  the 
start  of  man-caused  wildfires  were  in- 
tensified during  the  war.  Three  that 
seem  to  offer  promise  for  the  years 
ahead  were: 

1.  Personal  appeals  by  forestry  rep- 
resentatives to  key  people  among  lum- 
bermen, ranchers,  resort  owners. 

2.  Cooperation  of  State  and  Federal 
forestry    and    highway    departments 
with  counties,  railroads,  and  industries 
in  locating  and  then  fireproofing  the 
most  hazardous  stretches  along  roads 
and  railroads  and  at  sawmills  and  in- 
dustrial plants. 

3.  Law  enforcement — including  ar- 
rest and  vigorous  prosecution  if  neces- 
sary— against  incendiarists  and  indi- 
viduals   and    organizations    guilty    of 
carelessness  with  outdoor  fires. 

Those  methods  helped  to  reduce  the 
number  of  man-caused  wildfires  dur- 
ing the  4  years  from  1942  through 
1945.  Also  helpful  were  gas  rationing 
and  the  Wartime  Forest  Fire  Preven- 
tion Campaign,  which  was  started  in 
1942. 

The  Wartime  Forest  Fire  Prevention 


Campaign  was  (and  still  is,  under  the 
name  of  Cooperative  Forest  Fire  Pre- 
vention Campaign)  a  Nation-wide 
educational  program  planned  by  the 
Advertising  Council,  which  charted 
drives  like  those  to  save  food  and  buy 
bonds.  The  campaign,  a  cooperative 
effort  by  State  and  Federal  foresters, 
helped  by  winning  support  among  na- 
tional as  well  as  local  merchandisers 
and  advertisers;  by  laying  a  ground 
work  on  which  State  and  local  cam- 
paigns might  build;  and  by  enlisting 
active  cooperation  among  such  na- 
tional organizations  as  the  American 
Red  Cross,  which  continues  to  urge  its 
chapters  to  help  prevent  wildfires  be- 
cause they  so  often  bring  disasters  to 
families  and  communities. 

This  campaign  helped,  but  it  did 
not  take  the  place  of  the  measures  pre- 
viously mentioned — planned  personal 
contacts  by  forest  officers  with  key 
people,  law  enforcement,  or  fireproof- 
ing  of  selected  high  hazards. 

It  was  all  of  those  methods,  rather 
than  any  one  or  two,  that  reduced  by 
18  percent  the  average  number  of 
man-caused  wildfires  during  the  4  war 
years  in  comparison  with  the  average 
number  during  the  4  years  immedi- 
ately before  the  war.  This  18  percent 
is  the  Nation-wide  figure  for  all  forest 
and  grassland  in  all  ownerships  and 
under  organized  fire  protection  in  the 
United  States,  except  Hawaii.  It  is 
derived  from  data  furnished  by  State 
foresters  and  Federal  agencies.  In  the 
4  war  years,  also,  the  number  of  fires 
caused  by  campers  dropped  50  percent 
from  the  number  in  the  4  prewar 
years ;  those  caused  by  smokers  dropped 
29  percent;  by  burners  of  brush,  15 
percent;  by  incendiarists,  13  percent; 
by  lumber  operations,  18  percent;  and 
unknown,  8  percent.  Only  the  number 
caused  by  railroads  went  up,  by  38 
percent. 

The  increase  in  railroad  fires  prob- 
ably was  due  in  large  part  to  the  over- 
loading of  equipment  and  shortage  of 
skilled  workers  during  the  war.  It  is 
interesting  to  note,  however,  that  al- 
though a  comparable  situation  pre- 


484 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


vailed  in  the  lumber  industry,  wild- 
fires for  which  it  was  responsible — 
which  made  up  2  percent  of  the  same 
prewar  total — dropped  18  percent. 

It  is  encouraging  to  see  such  Nation- 
wide decreases  as  50  percent  in  the 
number  of  wildfires  started  during  the 
war  by  careless  campers  and  29  per- 
cent in  the  number  for  which  smokers 
were  responsible.  Encouraging,  too,  are 
the  wartime  records  of  States  like 
Washington  and  Virginia,  particu- 
larly when  compared  with  what  hap- 
pened in  California,  for  instance.  In 
California  an  increase  of  23  percent  in 
civilian  population  was  accompanied 
by  an  increase  of  4  percent  in  the  num- 
ber of  man-caused  wildfires.  But  in 
Washington  and  Virginia,  increases  of 
18  and  5  percent,  respectively,  in  ci- 
vilian population  were  accompanied  by 
wildfire  decreases  of  22  and  39  percent. 

The  war  ended.  The  fighters  re- 
turned. Tanks  could  be  filled  with  gaso- 
line again.  Once  more  the  open  road 
beckoned.  The  trek  to  fields  and  for- 
ests was  in  full  swing  by  the  summer 
of  1946.  Before  the  snow  fell,  the  num- 
ber of  man-made  wildfires  again  had 
started  to  climb.  The  climb  was  only  2 
percent  Nation-wide,  to  be  sure,  but 
enough  to  be  an  ominous  warning  of 
what  can  happen  if  we  are  careless. 

WE  KNOW  THE  HEART  of  the  prob- 
lem is  that  90  percent  of  all  wildfires 
are  still  caused  by  people ;  that  most  of 
these  wildfires  are  due  to  carelessness; 
that  they  are  started  by  travelers, 
smokers,  campers,  hunters,  fishermen, 
farmers — men,  women,  and  children, 
average  Americans  who  live  in  or  near 
forests  and  fields,  who  work  in  or  near 
them,  or  who  visit  them — by  all  of  us. 

We  also  know  that  these  fires  can  be 
stopped  before  they  start  if  each  one 
of  us  does  his  part  instead  of  leaving 
the  job  to  the  other  fellow. 

It  was  in  that  frame  of  mind  that 
citizens  of  California  approached  their 
wildfire  problem  in  the  early  spring  of 
1947.  And  although  both  population 
and  the  number  of  man-made  outdoor 
fires  had  gone  higher  in  1946  than  the 


wartime  average  for  the  State,  progress 
was  made  before  rains  began  in  the  fall 
of  1947,  and  continued  through  1948. 

According  to  State  Forester  DeWitt 
Nelson,  Californians  achieved  a  28- 
percent  drop  from  the  1946  number 
in  their  man-made  wildfires.  Even 
more  noteworthy  was  a  reduction  of 
50  percent  in  one  county,  Sonoma, 
where  498  active  fire-prevention  volun- 
teers were  recruited  by  the  Central  So- 
noma County  Chapter  of  the  American 
Red  Cross,  acting  in  response  to  re- 
quests from  officials  of  the  State  Divi- 
sion of  Forestry. 

What  was  done  in  Sonoma  County 
indicates  some  of  the  things  that  may 
be  done  in  other  years  and  other  places. 
Here  are  highlights  from  a  report  to 
the  Chapter  Chairman  telling  who  the 
volunteers  were  and  what  they  did. 

Every  volunteer,  says  the  report,  is 
a  busy  businessman  or  woman  whose 
name  is  listed  in  classified  sections  of 
local  telephone  directories.  Among 
these  volunteers — who  gave  willingly 
of  their  time  through  a  desire  to  help 
their  own  communities  and  their  own 
county — were  agricultural-implement 
dealers  and  auto-court  owners;  work- 
ers in  banks  and  building  and  loan  as- 
sociations; barbers  and  book  sellers; 
librarians;  employees  of  public  utili- 
ties, service  stations,  and  sporting-goods 
stores;  and  members  of  women's  clubs. 

Among  the  outstanding  volunteers, 
the  report  cites  bank  managers  who 
enclosed  "Smokey  Bear"  bookmarks 
with  monthly  statements  to  depositors ; 
managers  of  sporting-goods  stores  who 
attached  to  each  hunting  and  fishing 
license  they  issued  a  card  with  pithy 
suggestions  about  careful  use  and  dis- 
posal of  matches,  cigarettes,  and  camp- 
fires;  and  owners  of  auto  courts  who 
kept  fire-prevention  blotters  on  desks 
or  tables  in  each  unit,  and  displayed 
posters  on  back  walls  of  garages  where 
they  were  in  plain  view  of  arriving  and 
departing  motorists. 

It  seems  improbable  that  an  educa- 
tional set-up  like  the  one  in  Sonoma 
County  can  do  the  whole  job  of  pre- 
venting man-made  wildfires.  Also  nee- 


Building  a  'Fire  Organization 


485 


essary  will  be  such  measures  as  law  en- 
forcement, planned  personal  contacts, 
and  fireproofing  of  high-hazard  rights- 
of-way  and  industrial  sites. 

Primary  responsibility  for  jobs  like 
these  may  logically  be  considered  to  lie 
with  representatives  of  State  and  Fed- 
eral forestry  and  conservation  agencies 
and  public  utilities,  industries,  and  the 
like.  But  programs  like  that  put  on  by 
the  American  Red  Gross  in  Sonoma 
County  afford  wonderful  opportunities 
for  each  of  us  to  redeem  part  of  our 
wildfire  responsibilities. 

But  only  a  part.  The  rest  of  our  wild- 
fire responsibilities  can  best  be  redeemed 


by    being    careful — eternally    careful. 

R.  F.  HAMMATT,  a  graduate  of  the 
Harvard  University  School  of  Forestry, 
worked  with  the  Forest  Service  from 
1906  until  his  retirement  in  1946,  ex- 
cept for  10  years  as  manager  of  the 
California  Redwood  Association.  At 
various  times  during  the  30  years  with 
Forest  Service,  he  served  as  forest  as- 
sistant, deputy  forest  supervisor,  and 
forest  supervisor  of  the  Shasta  National 
Forest;  as  chief  of  occupancy,  assistant 
chief  of  operations,  forest  examiner, 
assistant  regional  forester,  and  assistant 
to  the  Chief  of  the  Forest  Service. 


BUILDING  A  FIRE  ORGANIZATION 

EARL  S.  PEIRCE,  CARL  A.  GUSTAFSON 


Early  discovery  of  a  fire — whether 
in  forest  or  city — and  speed  and 
strength  in  attacking  it  are  the  corner- 
stones on  which  a  fire-control  organ- 
ization is  built.  The  structure  of  the 
organization  itself  begins  with  the  fire 
fighters,  but  involves  much  more  than 
that.  It  includes  facilities  for  detecting 
and  reporting  fires,  transportation, 
fire-fighting  equipment,  the  supervisory 
personnel,  and  well-trained  forces  for 
the  initial  attack.  Comprehensive  pre- 
liminary plans  are  needed;  so  are 
means  for  carrying  them  out. 

Because  about  one-third  of  the  total 
area  of  the  continental  United  States  is 
forest  land,  which  requires  organized 
protection  against  fire  and  which  varies 
widely  in  most  of  the  many  elements 
related  to  forest  fires  and  their  control, 
three  prerequisites  are  necessary  to  de- 
velop a  forest-fire  organization  for  any 
particular  area :  To  know  the  local  fire 
problem,  to  determine  the  major  ob- 
jectives that  the  efforts  for  protection 
should  reach,  and  to  define  the  meas- 
ures needed  to  attain  the  desired  goal. 

Of  approximately  653  million  acres 
of  forest  lands  in  the  48  States  that 
need  some  protection  against  wildfires, 
about  two-thirds  belongs  to  private 


owners.  The  other  third  is  publicly 
owned.  All  the  public  land  and  three- 
fourths  of  the  private  areas  are  under 
some  degree  of  fire  control,  but  107 
million  acres  of  private  forest  lands  are 
still  without  organized  protection. 

In  1947,  of  80,370  fires  on  protected 
lands,  8,928  occurred  on  Federal  prop- 
erty and  71,442  on  areas  belonging 
to  States  and  private  owners.  Fires 
burned  318,074  acres,  or  0.15  percent, 
of  the  area  protected  on  Federal  lands, 
and  2,814,381  acres,  or  0.86  percent, 
on  State  and  private  lands.  The  tan- 
gible losses  were  estimated  at  $2,972,- 
786  and  $21,378,477,  respectively. 

We  have  no  reliable  comparable 
figures  for  the  lands  without  organized 
protection,  but  we  estimate  that  about 
15  percent  of  those  tracts  burn  over 
each  year. 

In  classifying  forest  fires  by  causes, 
eight  categories  are  generally  used: 
Lightning,  railroads,  campers,  smok- 
ers, debris  burners,  incendiarists,  lum- 
bering, and  miscellaneous. 

Lightning,  incendiarists,  and  smok- 
ers, in  that  order,  are  responsible  for 
most  fires  on  Federal  lands.  On  State 
and  private  holdings,  the  relative  ma- 
jor causes  are  different,  being  incen- 


486 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


diarists,  smokers,  and  debris  burners. 
Lightning  is  a  major  problem  on  the 
more  mountainous  national  forests, 
but  it  is  not  so  important  a  factor  in 
private  fire-control  management  ex- 
cept in  a  few  localities. 

Complete  exclusion  of  forest  fires  is 
rarely  attainable.  The  degree  of  pro- 
tection that  is  necessary  depends  on  the 
purposes  of  management  and  the  dam- 
age that  fires  may  be  expected  to  cause 
in  a  given  area.  A  theoretical  guide  is 
that  it  is  desirable  to  keep  the  total  an- 
nual cost  for  all  fire-control  measures 
plus  annual  fire  losses  to  a  minimum 
figure.  In  other  words,  the  economic 
objective  is  to  secure  adequate  protec- 
tion at  least  cost.  The  problem  is  the 
same  for  State,  county,  municipal,  and 
Federal  agencies,  and  the  index  of  jus- 
tifiable protection — the  goal  of  "least 
cost  plus  damage" — might  also  apply 
to  private  protection  agencies  even 
though  they  are  answerable  to  a  board 
of  directors  rather  than  to  the  public. 

EFFECTIVE  FIRE  CONTROL  requires  a 
careful  analysis  of  all  important  factors 
related  to  the  fire  problem  and  the 
preparation  of  specific  action  plans  for 
each  major  part  of  the  protection  job. 

The  completed  plans  in  combination 
are  termed  "presuppression  plans." 
Their  primary  objective  is  a  fire-con- 
trol organization  that  is  capable  and 
well-trained,  adequately  equipped,  and 
properly  supervised — one  that  will  re- 
duce the  number  of  man-caused  fires 
and  can  handle  the  worst  fire  situation 
that  is  likely  to  arise. 

The  elements  in  the  planning  are : 

1.  The  major  causes  of  fires  and  the 
measures  needed  to  prevent  or  reduce 
those  that  are  man-caused. 

2.  Occurrence  of  fires — past  occur- 
rence and  location,  segregated  by  ma- 
jor causes,  seasonal  periods,  and  times 
of  day. 

3.  Fuels — kinds,  density,  and  their 
relative  inflammability  and  resistance 
to  control  measures. 

4.  Topography — whether  flat,  roll- 
ing, or  rough ;  steepness  of  slopes ;  and 
other  features  affecting  fire  behavior. 


5.  Accessibility — relative     difficulty 
in   reaching   a   fire   with   suppression 
forces    and    the    additional    facilities 
needed  with  transportation  available. 

6.  Visibility — distance  in  miles  a  fire 
observer  may  normally  be  expected  to 
see  an  incipient  fire.  For  example,  in 
the  usually  clear  atmosphere  of  the 
West,  a  small  fire  15  miles  away  can  be 
readily  detected,  but  in  the  Coastal 
Plains  of  the  Southeast  the  visibility 
distance  is  about  6  miles. 

7.  Meteorological  factors :  the  wind, 
temperature,  relative  humidity,  dryness 
of  fuels,   precipitation,   thunderstorm 
activity,  length  of  fire  seasons,  and  the 
like. 

8.  Production  in  fire-control  meas- 
ures per  unit  of  manpower  or  machine. 

Besides  these  basic  factual  surveys, 
consideration  needs  to  be  given  to  other 
features  more  closely  related  to  the 
operational  phases  of  the  protection 
plan.  These  we  shall  mention  later. 

The  significance  and  effects  of  all 
pertinent  factors  must  be  correlated 
and  definite  conclusions  must  be 
reached  and  reflected  in  a  "master" 
presuppression  plan.  The  master  plan 
is  really  not  a  single  document;  it  is  a 
term  applied  to  the  coordinated  prepa- 
ration and  use  of  a  number  or  series  of 
specific  plans  that  cover  each  major 
phase  of  action. 

Different  methods  have  been  devel- 
oped and  used  to  prepare  presuppres- 
sion plans,  but  nearly  all  have  the  same 
objectives  and  fundamental  factors.  A 
good  way  to  depict  a  plan  of  the  usual 
type  is  to  assume  that  we  have  the  task 
of  preparing  one  for  an  area  of  several 
million  acres — a  typical  tract  that  con- 
sists of  wild,  remote,  rugged  forest 
lands  on  which  fires  have  been  bad  and 
losses  high. 

THE  BEST  POINT  AT  WHICH  TO  BE- 
GIN is  with  the  precept  that  the  best 
fire  control  is  to  prevent  fires  from 
starting.  Nine  of  every  ten  forest  fires 
in  the  United  States  result  from  man's 
carelessness  in  his  use  of  fire;  all  of 
them  can  be  prevented.  Our  major  ob- 
jectives, then,  are: 


Building  a  Fire  Organization 


487 


1 .  To  prevent  or  reduce  man-caused 
fires. 

2.  To   lessen   the   probability   that 
fires  will  start  or  spread  by  eliminating 
or  reducing  the  amount  of  inflammable 
material — the  brush  and  grass,  logging 
slash,  and  other  fuels  that  at  times  be- 
come highly  inflammable. 

To  reach  these  objectives,  the  plan 
must  be  based  on  a  thorough  analysis 
of  the  principal  reasons  why  fires  occur 
on  the  area  and  how  the  fires  can  be 
prevented  or  reduced.  The  analysis 
should  include : 

1.  Study  of  risk. 

Analyze  fires  by  causes  for  the  pre- 
ceding 5  years.  To  the  extent  possible, 
the  reason  why  each  fire  started  should 
be  determined. 

Map  the  location  of  fires,  by  major 
causes,  for  the  same  5-year  period.  This 
is  to  earmark  the  areas  of  high  fire  oc- 
currence or  "risk." 

Classify  the  high-risk  areas  and  de- 
termine the  fire-starting  potential  of 
each  area. 

2.  Study  of  special  hazards. 
Delineate  dangerous  areas  from  the 

standpoint  of  potential  fuels,  or  hazard, 
such  as  slash,  the  highly  inflammable 
brush,  debris  along  railroads  and  high- 
ways and  around  sawmills,  and  so 
forth. 

3.  Correlation  of  the  risk  and  hazard 
factors,  with  a  relative  composite  rating 
for  each  problem  area. 

4.  Determination  of  remedial  pre- 
vention measures  needed. 

A  general  principle  to  be  considered 
in  preparing  a  fire-prevention  action 
plan  is  to  recognize  that  forest  fuels 
and  fire  risks  are  the  two  controlling 
indices.  Where  critical  fuels  are  ex- 
posed to  human  risks,  the  prevention 
effort  must  be  aimed  at  reducing  either 
the  fire  risk  or  the  fuel  hazard,  or  at 
minimizing  the  potentials  of  each. 
Often  it  is  possible  to  eliminate  or  re- 
duce abnormal  fire  hazards,  but  where 
that  is  not  feasible  the  main  effort  must 
be  directed  toward  lowering  their  ex- 
posure to  unnecessary  risks. 

Many  devices  and  methods  have 
been  used  to  reduce  human  risk  from 


high-hazard  fire  areas  at  critical  times. 
They  fall  into  two  general  categories, 
education  and  restriction.  The  educa- 
tional efforts,  a  wide  range  of  activi- 
ties, try  to  change  the  attitudes  and 
careless  habits  of  individuals  and  the 
general  public.  Country-wide  fire-pre- 
vention programs  are  helpful,  but  the 
over-all  educational  campaigns  need 
to  be  supplemented  by  particularized 
efforts  that  are  aimed  directly  at  the 
specific  local  needs.  Personal  contacts 
often  are  the  most  effective. 

Few  prevention  plans  can,  however, 
depend  on  education  alone.  High- 
hazard  fuel  areas  may  require  the  re- 
stricted use  of  the  area  by  people — 
forbidding  smoking  except  at  specified 
safe  places,  for  example,  or  limiting 
the  campfires,  or  fixing  the  hours  and 
places  for  burning  debris.  Some  haz- 
ardous areas  might  even  have  to  be 
closed  entirely  to  all  use  during  critical 
periods. 

The  fire-prevention  plan  must  meet 
the  specific  needs.  It  must  be  work- 
able. It  must  be  kept  up  to  date.  It 
must  outline  a  definite  course  of  action 
as  to  what  is  to  be  done  and  by  whom, 
where  and  how  it  will  be  accomplished, 
and  the  period  during  which  it  will  be 
carried  out.  An  effective  program  also 
requires  qualified  and  trained  person- 
nel. Respected  local  residents  are  fre- 
quently the  best. 

To  DETECT  FOREST   FIRES,  vigilance 

must  be  eternal.  Time  is  of  the  es- 
sence. Adequate  facilities  and  person- 
nel are  required  to  assure  that  all  fires 
are  discovered  when  they  start.  That 
generally  demands  a  network  of  look- 
out points,  manned  by  competent 
observers  or  detectors  during  the  fire 
season.  Patrolling  by  foot,  car,  or  air* 
plane  also  is  sometimes  necessary. 

The  first  step  in  preparing  a  detec- 
tion plan  is  to  designate  on  a  map  all 
fires  in  the  previous  5  years,  grouped 
by  major  causes  and  zones  as  to  fre- 
quency. This  is  known  as  the  fire-occur- 
rence business  map,  and  it  represents 
the  number  of  fires  that  experience 
has  shown  must,  on  an  average, 


488 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


be  detected  in  a  5-year  period.  Fire  oc- 
currence is  usually  indicated  by  a  num- 
ber of  broad  classes  representing  the 
anticipated  number  of  fires  per  unit 
of  area.  In  this  way  the  entire  tract  to 
be  protected  is  segregated  into  zones 
of  relative  fire  risk. 

A  survey  is  then  made  to  select  the 
best  observation  points.  The  original 
selection  usually  includes  at  least  twice 
the  number  of  lookouts  needed  and 
finally  chosen.  From  each  potential 
lookout  point  a  map  is  made  that 
shows  the  territory  within  which  a 
small  fire  could  be  readily  seen  from 
that  location.  A  profile  tracing  is  made 
of  each  of  these  "seen  area  maps." 
By  comparing  and  superimposing  these 
tracings  over  the  fire-occurrence  busi- 
ness map,  one  can  determine  the  rela- 
tive value  of  each  lookout  point.  All 
potential  points  can  be  given  a  com- 
parative rating.  Selection  of  the  ap- 
proved lookouts  can  then  proceed  in 
a  businesslike  manner  and  towers  or 
observatories  be  constructed  in  prior- 
ity order. 

Generally  it  is  not  economically 
feasible  in  rough  country  to  construct 
and  maintain  a  detection  system  that 
will  quickly  pick  up  all  fires  that  start. 
That  would  require  complete  ground 
coverage  of  all  fire-occurrence  zones. 
On  the  national  forests,  for  example, 
it  is  considered  that  from  65  to  85  per- 
cent of  full  coverage  will  provide  the 
degree  of  detection  that  is  necessary 
and  justified. 

During  the  original  field  survey  for 
lookout  points,  other  useful  data  can 
be  gathered:  The  needed  height  of 
towers,  character  of  structures,  timber 
to  be  felled,  and  the  situations  and 
requirements  of  transportation  and 
communication. 

THE  COMMUNICATION  PLAN  IS  NEXT. 

In  general,  it  does  no  good  to  discover 
a  fire  unless  the  information  is  passed 
on  to  those  responsible  for  putting  it 
out.  Detectors  must  therefore  have 
some  means  of  rapid  communication. 
Usually  this  is  to  a  dispatching  center, 
which  in  turn  transmits  the  informa- 


tion to  the  appropriate  initial-attack- 
ing forces  with  any  needed  directions 
for  action.  Consequently,  dependable 
communications  are  necessary;  these, 
as  a  rule,  include  an  independent 
telephone  system,  supplemented  by  the 
radio.  Commercial  telephone  facili- 
ties are  usually  relied  upon  for  outside 
calls,  as  when  a  fire  escapes  initial  at- 
tack and  additional  forces  from  a  dis- 
tance are  needed. 

The  communication  plan  should 
fulfill  the  following  minimum  require- 
ments : 

1.  Immediate    communication    be- 
tween : 

Detectors  and   dispatching  center; 

Dispatching  center  and  initial-at- 
tack forces ; 

Dispatching  center  and  the  ground 
command ; 

Dispatching  center  and  selected  co- 
operators  ; 

Dispatching  center  and  work  crews 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  protec- 
tion agency. 

2.  Connection  with  other  facilities: 
Dispatching  center  and  commercial 

facilities ; 

Dispatching  center  and  centers  of 
supply  for  the  reinforcements — woods 
crews,  towns,  mills,  mines,  schools,  and 
the  like; 

Dispatching  centers  and  adjoining 
protection  agencies — State,  other  na- 
tional forests,  private  protection  agen- 
cies. 

After  the  survey  is  made  to  deter- 
mine the  type  of  communication  best 
suited  to  the  needs  of  the  area,  the  exist- 
ing and  proposed  telephone  lines  and 
the  other  communication  facilities  are 
shown  on  a  map,  with  appropriate  sym- 
bols. The  map,  kept  always  up  to  date, 
is  the  communication  plan  for  the  area. 

QUICK  ACTION  is  necessary  in  apply- 
ing control  measures  after  a  fire  has 
been  observed  and  reported.  Action 
too  late  or  too  little  often  means  large 
fires.  The  answer  is  an  immediately 
available  and  well-trained,  adequately 
equipped,  and  properly  supervised  fire- 
suppression  force  that  can  promptly 


Building  a  Fire  Organization 


489 


reach  the  fire,  hit  it  hard,  and  bring  it 
under  control  quickly. 

An  area  that  has  a  large  number  of 
fires  each  year  may  require  small  sup- 
pression crews  strategically  located  and 
in  sufficient  strength  to  assure  rapid 
control  under  normal  conditions.  The 
location  and  strength  of  initial-attack 
forces  must  be  determined  and  ar- 
ranged for  in  advance. 

Weather,  fuels,  and  the  efficiency  of 
personnel  and  equipment  determine 
the  speed  and  strength  of  initial  attack 
needed  for  any  fire.  Planning  the  ini- 
tial attack  is  primarily  concerned  with 
the  manpower  and  equipment  that 
should  be  readily  available  under  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  fire  peril. 

Climatic  conditions,  especially  rela- 
tive humidity  and  wind  velocity, 
greatly  affect  fire  behavior.  Atmos- 
pheric measurements  and  forecasts  and 
various  devices  for  measuring  dryness 
of  fuels  are  therefore  valuable  tools  in 
forest-fire  control.  However,  weather 
factors  are  too  variable  to  be  given 
much  consideration  in  planning  an 
organization  for  initial  attack.  Rather, 
they  are  used  to  alert  the  entire  or- 
ganization and  often  influence  the 
temporary  strength  and  placement  of 
initial-attack  forces. 

Under  a  given  set  of  weather  condi- 
tions, fire  travels  much  faster  in  some 
forest  fuels  than  in  others.  The  speed 
with  which  a  fire  burns  in  a  specified 
type  of  fuel  under  normal  circum- 
stances is  called  the  "rate  of  spread." 
Also,  different  fuels  may  vary  widely  in 
the  relative  ease  or  difficulty  of  con- 
structing fire  lines  or  otherwise  fighting 
a  fire.  "Resistance  to  control"  is  the 
term  applied  to  it.  Forest  fuels  are, 
therefore,  rated  according  to  those  two 
basic  factors. 

Different  methods  can  be  used  for 
classifying  major  fuel  types  on  the  basis 
of  the  two  factors. 

One  is  to  determine  and  assign  a 
composite  rating  for  each  important 
type  of  fuel.  For  example,  dead  grass 
would  be  designated  "LE"  indicating 
"low"  resistance  to  control  and  "ex- 
treme" rate  of  spread. 


Another  method  designates  the  ma- 
jor fuel  types  as  I,  II,  III,  and  IV, 
which  represent  in  relative  order  the 
greatest  spread  plus  highest  resistance 
to  control. 

Regardless  of  the  system  used,  the 
first  step  in  the  development  of  the 
initial-attack  plan  is  the  mapping  of 
the  major  fuels  and  the  rating  of  com- 
bined effects  of  their  respective  resist- 
ance to  control  and  rate  of  spread. 

The  second  step  is  to  set  up  stand- 
ards for  the  time  allowed  the  nearest 
suppression  force  to  reach  a  fire  in 
each  major  fuel-type  zone.  This  is 
called  "travel"  time.  It  must  be  fast 
enough  to  permit  effective  attack  on 
the  front  of  the  fire  before  it  becomes 
too  difficult  to  handle. 

Increasing  the  strength  of  the  ini- 
tial force  by  adding  more  men  or  mo- 
bile equipment,  such  as  tank  trucks, 
will  provide  more  time  to  reach  the 
fire.  In  other  words,  the  greater  the 
strength  of  initial  attack,  the  slower 
the  travel  time  might  be. 

The  third  step  is  to  determine  the 
needed  strength  of  the  initial-attack 
forces.  The  guide  here  is  the  antici- 
pated size  or  perimeter  of  the  fire  in 
the  particular  zone  at  the  time  the  fire 
is  reached.  That  is  determined  by  mul- 
tiplying the  rate  of  the  spread  by  the 
travel-time  standard,  both  of  which 
have  already  been  established.  Even  on 
active,  small  fires  not  more  than  half 
of  the  calculated  perimeter  requires 
immediate  action,  because  if  the  front 
of  the  fire  is  controlled  the  less  active 
parts  can  be  handled  later.  The  forces 
required  to  construct  and  hold  a  fire 
line  along  the  critical  perimeter  can 
be  determined  from  a  study  of  initial- 
control  measures  on  previous  fires  in 
the  zone.  For  small  fires  in  certain 
areas,  this  theoretical  calculation  of 
the  number  of  men  needed  will  prob- 
ably be  larger  than  can  be  economi- 
cally justified.  Other  means  should  be 
explored  in  such  cases  to  reduce  the 
size  of  the  crews.  The  solution  may  be 
tank  trucks,  small  tractor-drawn  plows, 
or  other  machines  that  will  reduce  the 
needed  manpower. 


49° 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Planned  crew  strength  is  based  on 
the  need  under  average  burning  con- 
ditions, and  can  be  raised  or  lowered 
to  conform  to  changing  fire  danger. 
Fire-danger  rating  systems,  which  are 
based  mainly  on  weather  conditions, 
show  the  current  relative  fire  danger 
for  the  area.  This  information,  sup- 
plemented by  weather  forecasts,  indi- 
cates what  temporary  changes  are 
needed  with  respect  to  the  size  and 
movement  of  initial  forces. 

The  fourth  step  concerns  the  loca- 
tion of  initial-attack  forces.  Obviously, 
it  would  be  economically  unsound  to 
place  suppression  crews  where  history 
has  shown  fires  do  not  normally  occur 
or  could  do  little  or  no  damage.  Also, 
it  would  be  poor  business  to  locate  fire 
fighters  at  points  from  which  travel 
time  is  too  slow. 

Here  again  the  fire-occurrence  and 
the  fuel-type  maps  are  helpful.  As  in 
detection  planning,  a  field  survey  is 
made  to  select  temporarily  the  best  lo- 
cations for  initial-attack  forces.  Silhou- 
ettes are  prepared  to  show  travel-time 
coverage  along  existing  roads  and 
trails.  By  superimposing  these  profiles 
over  the  maps  which  show  fire  occur- 
rence, fire  business,  and  fuel  types,  and 
also  taking  into  consideration  travel- 
time  standards,  one  can  get  an  index 
value  for  each  potential  location,  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  in  the  final 
selection  of  lookouts.  Stations  can  then 
be  chosen  and  improved  on  the  basis  of 
their  relative  value  and  to  the  extent 
required — up  to  the  point  of  diminish- 
ing returns.  The  potential  fire  business 
in  many  areas  will  not  justify  complete 
initial-attack  coverage  within  the  trav- 
el-time standards.  In  mountainous  and 
inaccessible  country  it  may  prove  to  be 
cheaper  and  more  effective  to  use  air- 
plane smokejumpers  or  mobile  ground 
fire-fighting  units,  rather  than  to  sta- 
tion suppression  crews  at  set  locations. 

A  FINAL  PHASE  of  initial-attack  plan- 
ning is  to  prepare  a  table  showing  for 
each  station  the  location,  number  of 
men,  fire-fighting  tools,  special  equip- 
ment, and  the  season  during  which  the 


station  should  be  occupied  in  order  to 
provide  adequate  protection  for  the 
area  under  average  weather  conditions. 
The  tabulation  should  further  outline 
how  the  strength  at  each  station  should 
vary  in  accordance  with  ratings  from 
the  fire-danger  rating  system  estab- 
lished for  the  area. 

Even  after  these  initial-attack  plans 
are  worked  out,  it  is  more  than  likely 
that  there  will  be  some  important  areas 
which  still  will  not  be  well  covered. 

PLANNING  FOR  TRANSPORTATION  is 
the  next  step. 

Accessibility  is  important.  Without 
the  degree  of  accessibility  set  up  by  the 
travel-time  standards,  many  fires  will 
escape  the  initial  attack  and  may  cause 
great  damage.  Systematic  planning  for 
an  adequate  transportation  system 
therefore  is  essential.  It  should  be  done 
simultaneously  with  the  preparation  of 
the  initial-attack  plan. 

The  general  procedure  is : 

1.  A  road  study  to  determine  how 
existing  roads  will  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  initial-attack  plan  from 
the  standpoint  of  allowable  travel  time. 
This  can  be  done  by  making  a  road-log 
survey  of  each  existing  road  in  the  area. 
Speedometer  readings  are  shown  on  a 
map  for  all  intersections  and  important 
points,  and  travel  time  to  such  points  is 
computed,    based    on    safe    traveling 
speeds  for  initial-attack  vehicles. 

2.  A  map  is  then  prepared  showing 
areas  which  can  be  reached  within  the 
time  requirements. 

3.  Comparing  this  map  with  the  ini- 
tial-attack plan  will  show  the  extent  to 
which  existing  roads  are  adequate  and 
where  additional  transportation  facili- 
ties are  needed. 

This  determination,  however,  is  only 
one  segment  of  the  transportation  pic- 
ture. Improvement  of  existing  routes 
of  travel  is  not  only  a  job  of  filling  in 
the  gaps  for  each  individual  locality; 
it  must  also  be  a  part  of  and  conform 
to  an  over-all,  balanced  transportation 
system  for  the  area. 

The  decision  as  to  which  new  roads 
are  required  and  can  be  economically 


Building  a  Fire  Organization 


491 


justified  is  difficult.  In  rough  country 
the  desired  accessibility  by  road  is  often 
not  feasible  because  of  high  construc- 
tion costs.  The  final  road  plan  is  usually 
a  compromise  of  many  conflicting  fac- 
tors, but  it  should  make  possible  the 
maximum  coverage  which  can  be  de- 
fended economically.  Often  roads  will 
be  used  for  purposes  other  than  pro- 
tection— to  remove  wood  products,  for 
example — so  the  total  cost  of  road  con- 
struction and  maintenance  frequently 
need  not  all  be  charged  against  pro- 
tection. 

In  country  where  road  building  is 
very  expensive  or  in  areas  where  the 
fire  hazard  is  low  and  the  speed  of  the 
initial  attack  need  not  be  great,  roads 
may  not  be  needed  at  all.  Trails  may 
be  the  only  means  of  transportation 
that  can  be  justified.  Planning  for 
trails  would  follow  the  same  general 
procedure  as  that  for  roads. 

The  final  transportation  plan  should 
show  on  a  map  of  the  area  all  existing 
and  proposed  roads  and  trails  by  de- 
scriptive symbols.  In  addition,  infor- 
mation (in  atlas  form)  is  desirable, 
giving  the  name  of  the  road  or  trail, 
its  length,  termination,  and  number  in 
the  transportation  system.  It  may  con- 
tain also  data  on  specifications,  cost, 
and  date  of  completion. 

THE  DISPATCHING  PLAN  comes  next. 
Any  organization  dealing  with  condi- 
tions subject  to  rapid  change,  as  in  fire 
control,  must  be  flexible  and  ready  to 
handle  emergencies  that  demand  quick 
action.  Every  fire  that  starts  is  the  be- 
ginning of  a  potential  emergency; 
hence,  in  a  fire  organization  a  means 
must  be  provided  to  enable  quick  ac- 
tivation of  the  fire-fighting  forces  and 
equipment.  If  the  initial  attack  fails,  a 
plan  of  follow-up  action  must  be  ready. 
It  is  much  like  a  field  army  in  action. 

No  fire  organization  would  be  com- 
plete without  a  key  individual  whose 
job  is  to  receive  and  evaluate  reports 
from  lookouts  and  dispatch  initial-at- 
tack forces  and  equipment  to  fires.  In 
emergencies  he  must  quickly  arrange 
for  sufficient  additional  help  in  the 


form  of  fire  fighters,  equipment,  and 
supervisory  personnel.  He  is  known 
as  the  dispatcher.  He  should  be  capa- 
ble and  familiar  with  the  country  and 
fire  fighting ;  in  large  measure  he  is  the 
sparkplug  of  the  whole  fire-control 
organization. 

Essentials  of  a  dispatching  plan  are : 

1.  Proper  location  of  the  dispatch- 
ing center.  This  is  usually  controlled 
by   communication   facilities   because 
the  dispatcher  must  be  stationed  where 
he  has  rapid  communication  with  both 
the    lookouts    and    his    initial-attack 
forces.  Where  it  is  feasible,  he  should 
also  be  able  to  get  in  contact  quickly 
with  nearby  work  crews.  Commercial 
communication     facilities     must     be 
available  in  the  event  it  is  necessary 
to  obtain  additional  outside  help  from 
cooperators,  the  neighboring  protection 
agencies,  or  other  sources. 

2.  A  list  containing  the  names  and 
locations  of  all  detectors  and  the  loca- 
tion and  strength  of  all  initial-attack 
forces. 

3.  A  fire-danger  rating  system  that 
gives  daily  information  on  the  fire  dan- 
ger in  the  area. 

4.  Fire-weather  forecasts. 

5.  A  manning  plan  for  each  detec- 
tor or  initial-attack  station  showing 
when  and  under  what  conditions  they 
will  be  manned  and  the  strength  to  be 
maintained  as  fire  danger  decreases  or 
increases. 

6.  Information  on  the  availability  of 
all  additional  fire  fighters  in  or  near 
the  area;  the  location,  the  quantity, 
and  the  kinds  of  equipment  available; 
food,  camp  cooks,  cooking  equipment, 
bedding,  and  such. 

7.  Information  on  wage  rates  and 
contracts  for  hire  of  private  equip- 
ment. 

8.  Information  on  the  availability 
of  additional  fire-control  supervisory 
personnel. 

THE  TOOLS  AND  EQUIPMENT  used  in 
fire  fighting  are  different  in  different 
sections  of  the  country.  What  is  most 
effective  in  one  section  may  be  useless 
in  another.  The  types  of  hand  tools 


492 

and  heavy  equipment  needed  depend 
mainly  upon  the  kind  of  fuel,  character 
of  the  country,  soils,  and  the  avail- 
ability of  water. 

The  equipment  plan  should  show  the 
kinds  and  numbers  of  tools  and  equip- 
ment to  be  furnished  each  initial- 
attack  station  and  also  specify  the 
types  and  number  of  tools  to  be  kept 
at  strategic  caches  throughout  the  area. 
It  should  likewise  designate  the  best 
locations  for  heavy-equipment  depots 
and  should  include  information  on  the 
location  and  availability  of  suitable 
tools  and  equipment  belonging  to  other 
nearby  protection  agencies  and  private 
companies. 

The  equipment  inventory  should  be 
kept  up  to  date  so  that  the  protection 
forces  will  not  be  hampered  by  de- 
ficiencies, as  to  kind  or  quantity. 

MEN  assigned  fire-control  responsi- 
bilities must  be  carefully  selected  for 
special  physical  and  mental  qualifica- 
tions of  strength,  alertness,  persever- 
ance, initiative.  They  are  the  backbone 
of  the  organization.  They  should  be 
employed  for  specific  periods  and, 
whenever  possible,  for  the  entire  fire 
season. 

When  fires  escape  the  efforts  of  the 
initial-attacking  force,  large  numbers 
of  temporary  fire  fighters  must  some- 
times be  employed  to  cope  successfully 
with  a  bad  situation.  The  job  of  super- 
vising these  men  falls  to  a  few  key  indi- 
viduals in  the  regular  protection  or- 
ganization. Selection  and  employment 
of  manpower  of  the  right  kind  for  both 
regular  and  temporary  employment  re- 
quires a  carefully  considered  plan  for 
recruitment. 

Accomplishment  in  controlling  for- 
est fire  depends  largely  on  the  ability 
and  efficiency  of  the  protection  forces. 
Many  individuals  are  employed  for 
such  diversified  positions  as  lookout, 
suppression  crew  foreman,  fire  fighter, 
patrolman,  the  radio  operator,  clerk, 
packer,  truck  driver,  tractor  operator, 
cook,  telephone  lineman,  supervisory 
officer,  and  many  others.  Usually  it  is 
not  possible  to  get  individuals  who  are 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


experienced  in  these  lines  of  work. 
Thorough  training  in  all  the  phases  of 
their  jobs  is  essential. 

The  training  plan  usually  outlines 
the  duties  of  each  fire-control  position 
and  provides  for  a  type  of  instruction 
that  will  qualify  the  individual  for  the 
responsibility  and  the  work  to  which 
he  is  assigned. 

PROPER  SUPERVISION  of  the  entire 
fire  organization  for  a  specific  area  is 
needed.  Even  the  best  prepared  plans 
and  their  execution  sometimes  fail  to 
control  fires  in  their  early  stage.  Some 
fires  have  needlessly  become  disastrous 
conflagrations.  When  situations  de- 
velop that  are  too  much  for  the  initial- 
protection  forces  to  handle,  a  directing 
head  or  ground  command  must  be 
available.  On  the  national  forests,  the 
district  rangers  usually  have  this  re- 
sponsibility. On  non-Federal  lands,  the 
State  rangers  or  the  company  fire  chief 
is  the  ground  command.  Regardless  of 
the  title,  provision  for  a  ground  com- 
mand should  be  made  in  planning  pro- 
tection for  an  area. 

Even  after  the  main  requisites  in 
fire-control  planning  have  been  care- 
fully worked  out,  there  still  is  the  in- 
tangible human  element  which  mate- 
rially influences  the  effectiveness  of  a 
fire  organization. 

Suitable  living  accommodations  and 
food  must  be  planned  for  and  provided 
in  order  to  care  for  the  men  properly, 
maintain  morale,  and  obtain  maximum 
efficiency. 

Loyalty  and  esprit  de  corps  of  the 
personnel  is  important  and  must  not 
be  overlooked.  Every  key  individual 
must  feel  that  he  is  an  important  cog 
in  the  machine  and  that  his  best  effort 
is  needed  to  keep  it  going.  Lookouts 
must  feel  that  the  entire  organization 
is  depending  upon  them  to  detect  all 
fires  while  they  are  still  small.  Initial- 
attack  men  must  believe  that  their  fail- 
ure to  control  small  fires  will  result  in 
disastrous  conflagrations.  Maintenance 
men  must  realize  that  the  condition  of 
roads  and  telephone  lines  will  mean 
success  or  failure  in  the  control  of  fires. 


Forest  Fire  Danger 


493 


Dispatchers  must  recognize  and  accept 
their  positive  responsibility  for  quick 
thinking  and  sound  judgment.  All 
members  of  the  fire-control  team  must 
be  ready  and  willing  to  take  the  initia- 
tive and  responsibility. 

No  specific  formula  can  be  given 
that  will  achieve  automatically  such 
elements  of  morale  and  loyalty  to  the 
work.  They  are  compounded  of  mu- 
tual respect,  a  high  regard  for  each 
other's  ability,  honesty  in  dealing  with 
others,  leadership,  and  many  another 
quality  of  dignity  and  virility. 

On  the  shoulders  of  the  fire  manager 
or  fire  chief  rests  probably  the  heaviest 
responsibility  of  all.  It  is  he  who  must 
direct  and  supervise  all  fire-control  ac- 
tivities, not  the  least  of  which  is  to  keep 
everyone  in  the  organization  pulling 


together — and  constantly  on  the  alert. 

EARL  S.  PEIRGE^  who  has  been  chief 
of  the  Division  of  Cooperative  Forest 
Protection,  Forest  Service,  since  1935, 
is  a  graduate  of  Yale  University  and 
the  Yale  Forest  School.  He  joined  the 
Forest  Service  in  1910,  and  has  held 
various  positions  in  Wyoming,  Colo- 
rado, South  Dakota,  Wisconsin,  and  in 
Washington,  D.  C. 

CARL  A.  GUSTAFSON  is  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Fire  Control  in  the  Forest 
Service.  He  began  work  with  the  Forest 
Service  in  1921  on  the  Nezperce  Na- 
tional Forest;  subsequent  assignments 
were  on  the  Wasatch,  Sierra,  Klamath, 
and  Plumas  National  Forests  and  as 
fire  staff  officer  in  the  California  Re- 
gional Office. 


FOREST  FIRE  DANGER 


G.  LLOYD  HAYES 


The  0.62  inch  of  rain  that  fell  Sep- 
tember 22,  1947,  in  southern  Maine 
was  the  last  most  residents  were  to  see 
in  47  days.  Before  the  next  rain  came, 
the  headlines  told  a  sad  story:  Boats 
Evacuate  Blazing  Bar  Harbor,  on 
October  24;  Maine  Fires  Uncon- 
trolled, 11  Dead,  Damage  $6,000,000, 
on  October  25;  and  President  Orders 
Aid  to  Maine,  on  October  26.  Dam- 
age and  distress  were  great  also  in  New 
York,  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts. 
In  November,  rain  finally  ended  one  of 
the  most  catastrophic  periods  of  forest 
fires  in  history. 

The  fires  came  after  the  fire  season 
was  officially  ended;  October  15  ordi- 
narily marks  the  end  of  serious  fire 
weather.  But  fire  seasons  do  not  follow 
the  calendar.  Fire  fighting  cannot  be 
scheduled  the  way  operations  in  farm- 
ing and  manufacturing  can  be  sched- 
uled. Fires  must  be  fought  when  they 
occur. 

Foresters  learned  many  years  ago 
that  the  only  way  to  avoid  catastrophic 


losses  on  bad  fire  days  was  to  have  large 
numbers  of  men  and  large  amounts  of 
fire-fighting  equipment  available  for 
instant  use.  At  the  same  time  they 
recognized  that  it  would  be  inefficient 
and  even  impossible  without  unlimited 
funds  to  retain  so  many  men  on  the 
pay  rolls  during  the  many  easy  days 
when  they  would  not  be  needed.  Be- 
sides, highly  variable  conditions  com- 
plicate the  work  of  controlling  forest 
fires.  One  day  a  combination  of  factors 
might  mean  only  a  few  fires  that  spread 
slowly  and  are  easily  controlled.  The 
next  day  fearsome  numbers  of  fires, 
which  spread  rapidly  and  violently  and 
which  are  controlled  only  with  large- 
scale  effort  and  cost,  might  break  out. 
The  variation  in  the  number  of  fires 
from  day  to  day  in  the  Eastern  States 
is  shown  by  the  records  for  April  8—14, 
1943,  in  Connecticut.  On  those  7  days 
there  were  8,  25,  34,  71,  11,  12,  and  3 
fires,  respectively.  The  3  fires  on  April 
14  were  put  out  with  an  equivalent  of 
34  man-hours  of  labor,  but  the  7 1  fires 
on  April  11  required  nearly  1,000.  In 


494 

another  case,  on  the  Kaniksu  National 
Forest  in  northern  Idaho,  which  usu- 
ally averages  about  1  fire  a  day  from 
man's  carelessness,  lightning  set  207 
fires  on  July  12  and  13,  1926. 

Such  conditions  made  foresters  real- 
ize that  their  goal  should  be  to  employ 
each  day  all  the  men  they  needed  to 
handle  all  the  fires  that  might  occur 
that  day — but  no  more.  Even  before  a 
start  could  be  made  toward  the  goal, 
however,  some  means  had  to  be  de- 
veloped that  would  indicate  the  ap- 
proximate number  of  fires  that  would 
be  fought  each  day  and  how  much  work 
would  have  to  be  done  to  suppress 
them.  Consequently,  methods  of  rating 
the  danger  of  forest  fire  were  developed 
to  be  used  to  guide  fire-control  action 
before  fires  start. 

Eleven  different  systems  for  rating 
fire  danger  are  now  in  use  in  the  United 
States,  each  one  having  been  adapted 
for  specific  conditions  of  weather  and 
fuel  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 

The  systems  have  five  advantages. 
They  are  based  on  scientific  measure- 
ments of  the  key  factors  that  create  fire 
danger,  and  they  eliminate  such  indefi- 
nite opinions  and  guesses  as  "high 
danger,"  "very  bad  conditions,"  "low 
danger,"  and  "not  so  bad." 

They  focus  attention  on  the  really 
important  factors  that  influence  fire 
danger. 

They  point  out  the  small  changes  in 
burning  conditions  that  are  frequently 
overlooked  but  that  may  mean  big  sav- 
ings in  men,  money,  equipment,  and 
area  burned. 

They  prevent  men  from  getting 
caught  in  the  off-season  let-down  or 
in  peak  danger  conditions — something 
that  might  happen  even  to  experienced 
men. 

They  provide  indexes  that  can  be 
translated  into  decisive  preparedness 
and  action  toward  suppression. 

THE  DIFFERENT  SYSTEMS  all  recog- 
nize  certain  key  factors  that  have  to 
do  with  the  chances  of  fires  starting  and 
the  speed  with  which  they  will  spread. 
Foremost  are  wind  and  fuel  moisture. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Other  factors  are  condition  of  vegeta- 
tion, the  relative  humidity,  days  since 
last  rain,  amount  of  last  rain,  air  tem- 
perature, and  time  of  year. 

Wind  velocity,  the  amount  of  mois- 
ture in  the  forest  fuels,  and  condition 
of  vegetation  are  the  most  important 
variables. 

Strong  winds  cause  some  of  the  most 
dangerous  conditions  because  they 
spread  fire  rapidly  and  make  control 
difficult. 

Green  vegetation  retards  fire.  Dead 
or  dry  vegetation  spreads  fire  and  in- 
creases the  likelihood  that  fires  will 
start :  The  degree  of  dryness  of  the  for- 
est fuels,  more  than  any  other  item, 
determines  whether  fires  will  start  and 
burn  at  all.  But  forest  fuels  are  com- 
plex. They  vary  from  fine  material 
(such  as  dead  grasses  and  pine  needles, 
which  dry  rapidly)  to  the  slow-drying 
fuels,  like  dead  trees. 

Most  systems  use  either  direct  meas- 
urements of  the  moisture  content  of 
a  representative  kind  of  fine  fuel  on 
the  surface  or  measurements  of  the 
relative  humidity  and  temperature  of 
the  air,  to  which  fuel  moisture  is  closely 
related.  Some  systems  supplement 
measurements  of  fine-fuel  moisture 
with  humidity  and  other  measure- 
ments. Some  recognize  the  dryness  of 
the  larger,  more  slowly  drying  fuels  by 
including  the  amount  of  the  last  rain, 
days  since  last  rain,  and  time  of  year. 

Time  of  year  also  has  other  impor- 
tant effects  because  the  length  of  the 
dry  part  of  the  day  and  the  intensity 
of  the  heat  from  the  sun  change  from 
month  to  month. 

The  several  components  of  fire  dan- 
ger are  measured  at  stations  that  are 
placed  in  strategic  locations.  A  typical 
station  has  various  instruments,  among 
them  an  anemometer  for  determining 
the  velocity  of  the  wind,  a  rain  gage, 
and  basswood  or  ponderosa  pine  sticks, 
which  are  carefully  weathered  and 
calibrated  and  placed  a  few  inches 
above  the  forest  floor,  where  they  re- 
spond to  the  same  weather  which  de- 
termines the  wetness  or  dryness  of  the 
natural  forest  fuels.  Sensitive  scales  are 


Forest  Fire  Danger 


U.  S.  Deportment  of  Agriculture 

Forest  Service 

Southeastern  Forest  Experiment  Station 

Asheville,  N.  C. 

Meter  Type  5-W 
July  1,1947 


used  to  weigh  the  sticks  to  detect 
changes  in  moisture  accurately.  The 
measurements  are  integrated  by  a  de- 
vice called  a  fire-danger  meter  into  a 
single  numerical  rating.  In  the  eastern 
part  of  the  United  States,  five  danger 
classes  are  recognized,  in  which  class  1 
represents  the  lowest,  and  class  5  the 
highest. 

Although  the  discussion  to  follow  is 
based  on  these  classes,  the  meter  has 
recently  been  converted  to  one  with 
100  classes.  The  conversion  permits 
more  detailed  expression  of  gradations 
in  fire  danger  and  a  more  precise 
evaluation  of  it.  The  chart  illustrates 


how  this  new  danger  meter  works,  and 
shows  the  relation  between  the  five 
danger  classes  and  the  newer  100-class 
scale. 

A  scale  of  fire  danger  is  much  like 
the  Fahrenheit  scale  of  temperature. 
Many  phenomena  are  related  to  tem- 
perature, such  as  the  freezing  and  boil- 
ing points  of  water  and  the  melting 
points  of  the  different  metals.  Likewise, 
many  of  the  most  significant  fire  phe- 
nomena are  related  to  fire  danger :  The 
likelihood  that  fires  will  start,  their  rate 
of  spread,  the  cost  of  suppression,  the 
damage  they  cause,  and  the  amount  of 
work  needed  to  suppress  them.  Rec- 


496 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  FIRES,  AREA  BURNED, 
COST  OF  SUPPRESSION,  ESTIMATED  DAM- 
AGE, AND  SUPPRESSION-JOB-LOAD  PER 
DAY  FOR  FIVE  CLASSES  OF  FIRE  DAYS. 
FROM  RECORDS  OF  14  NORTHEASTERN 
STATES  FOR  OCTOBER  1942  THROUGH 
DECEMBER  1944 

Class  of  day 


Item 


1234 


Number  of  fires .     4         21         94         266  53° 

Area  burned 

(acres) 49  300  I,  852  9,  490  34,  5°° 

Suppression  cost 

(dollars) 77  738  3,  293  II,  877  33,000 

Damage  (dol- 
lars)  158  1,596  8,947  37.663  110,000 

Suppression-]  ob- 
load  (man- 
hours)  13  133  894  3, 463  8,  100 

1  All  figures  for  class  5  days  were  estimated  by 
extrapolation. 

ords  from  the  Northeastern  States  for 
1943  and  1944  are  summarized  in  the 
accompanying  table  to  show  how  these 
features  of  the  work  of  controlling  a 
fire  vary  with  the  fire  danger. 

The  number  of  fires  proved  to  be 
about  5  times  greater  for  a  class  2  day 
than  a  class  1  day,  23  times  greater  for 
a  class  3,  66  times  greater  for  a  class  4, 
and  probably  132  times  greater  for  a 
class  5  day.  The  more  rapid  spread  and 
difficulty  of  control  for  the  higher 
classes  are  indicated  by  the  greater 
area  burned,  despite  the  better  advance 
preparation  and  stronger  control  ac- 
tion usually  taken.  The  acres  burned 
averaged  6,  38,  194,  and  704  times 
greater  for  class  2,  3,  4,  and  5  days,  re- 
spectively, than  for  class  1.  Suppression 
costs,  damages,  and  job-load  varied  in 
a  similar  way. 

This  type  of  information  enables  the 
forester  to  interpret  fire-danger  classes 
in  terms  of  his  fire-control  job  and  per- 
mits him  to  prepare  more  nearly  for 
each  new  day  with  enough  but  not  too 
many  men,  and  with  adequate  fire 
equipment. 

New  uses  for  danger  ratings  are  still 
being  discovered.  They  extend  beyond 


the  forewarning  that  permits  the  for- 
ester to  prepare  better  for  the  amount 
of  suppression  work  brought  by  each 
new  day.  They  also  are  used  to  pro- 
mote better  fire  prevention,  better  ac- 
tion on  each  fire  that  starts,  and  more 
equitable  distribution  of  funds  among 
districts. 

Funds  available  for  fire  prevention 
are,  of  course,  an  important  determi- 
nant of  successful  fire  control.  Fire- 
control  organizations  endeavor  to  use 
them  when,  where,  and  how  they  will 
do  the  most  good.  It  is  better  business 
to  concentrate  certain  prevention 
activities  on  the  higher-class  days  be- 
cause each  fire  prevented  will  save 
more  in  fire-fighting  costs  and  in  dam- 
ages and  because  many  more  fires 
might  be  prevented.  It  has  therefore 
proved  profitable  in  some  areas  on  the 
higher-class  days  to  issue  newspaper 
and  radio  warnings  urging  the  public 
to  use  care  with  fire.  Debris-burning 
permits  are  canceled.  Railroads  are  re- 
quired to  be  sure  that  locomotive  ash- 
pans  are  tight  and  that  spark  arresters 
function.  Fire  patrols  follow  all  trains. 
Teachers  are  asked  to  caution  all  chil- 
dren, especially  in  rural  schools.  Such 
activities  can  produce  greater  benefits 
on  high-  than  on  low-class  days.  A  sin- 
gle fire  prevented  in  the  Northeast  on 
a  class  4  day  will  save  the  people  $187 
in  costs  and  damages;  for  class  1  the 
saving  would  be  $58. 

As  an  aid  to  preparedness,  fire-dan- 
ger ratings,  combined  with  weather 
forecasts,  make  possible  advance  prep- 
aration for  bad  days  and  savings  on 
easy  days.  On  the  national  forests  of 
the  West,  where  a  relatively  large  force 
of  men  is  employed  throughout  the 
summer,  the  whole  force  may  be  held 
in  readiness  for  fire  duty  on  bad  days. 
But  on  class  1  and  2  days  it  is  a  justi- 
fiable risk  to  use  the  men  for  other 
necessary  work  like  repairing  tele- 
phone lines  and  roads.  Fire-control 
organizations  in  the  East  typically 
have  a  smaller  regular  organization, 
which  is  enlarged  for  bad  fire  days  by 
hiring  farmers  and  other  cooperators 
who  have  been  trained  to  work  in  well- 


Forest  Fire  Danger 


497 


AVERAGE    COSTS    AND    DAMAGES    PER    FIRE 
FOR    EACH    CLASS    OF    DAY 


Class  of  day 


Item 


345 


Suppression  costs $19    $35     $35     $45    $62 

Damages 39      77      95     J42    2°8 

Total 58     112     130     187    270 

organized  crews  under  fire  wardens. 
On  bad  days,  these  trained  men  leave 
their  regular  businesses  to  strengthen 
the  fire-control  force;  when  they  are 
not  needed,  they  return  to  their  usual 
work. 

By  considering  fire  danger  and  other 
factors  that  affect  the  speed  with 
which  a  fire  will  spread,  the  forester  or 
fire  dispatcher  can  determine  the  num- 
ber of  men  and  amount  of  equipment 
it  will  take  to  suppress  the  fire  edge 
faster  than  it  will  grow,  and  thereby 
bring  it  under  control.  It  may  be 
calamitous  to  send  too  few  men,  but 
more  than  the  bare  minimum  fre- 
quently cannot  be  spared — especially 
on  bad  days  when  numerous  fires  may 
tax  the  capacity  of  the  control  organi- 
zation to  provide  crews  for  all.  Each 
fire  on  a  class  2,  3,  4,  or  5  day  in  the 
Northeast  in  its  initial  stages  has  been 
found  to  require  an  average  of  ap- 
proximately 2,  3,  4,  and  5  times  more 
work,  respectively,  than  a  fire  on  a 
class  1  day. 

The  danger  measurements  are  used 
again  in  rating  the  size  of  the  seasonal 
job-loads  on  different  protection  dis- 
tricts. Administrators  can  then  dis- 
tribute available  funds  more  equitably 
among  the  fire-control  districts  accord- 
ing to  the  needs  of  each. 

Another  practical  value  of  danger 
measurements  was  recognized  in  1942, 
when  smoke  from  forest  fires  blanketed 
the  Atlantic  coast  and  so  permitted 
enemy  submarines  to  roam  in  com- 
parative safety.  Over  the  land,  the 
smoke  on  some  days  made  flying  un- 
safe and  halted  pilot  training.  The 
Army  asked  help  to  remove  the  smoke 
obstacle.  All  State  and  Federal  forest 
fire-control  organizations  responded. 

802062° — 49 33 


One  of  their  first  steps  was  to  revise  a 
network  of  approximately  150  fire- 
danger  measuring  stations  from  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky  to  Maine.  Forty 
two  stations  were  moved  to  critical 
areas  to  measure  the  severity  of  burn- 
ing conditions  in  all  parts  of  the  coastal 
States.  Stations  were  operated  by  14 
States,  6  national  forests,  9  units  of  the 
National  Park  Service,  the  Army,  and 
the  Marine  Corps.  With  the  ratings 
obtained  from  the  stations,  the  State 
and  Federal  foresters  were  better  able 
to  recognize  dangerous  days  and  in- 
tensify fire-prevention  and  control  ac- 
tivities. Consequently,  smoke  density 
has  been  reduced  since  1942. 

FIRE-DANGER  RATINGS  can  be  com- 
puted either  from  measurements  or 
from  forecasts  of  the  contributing  var- 
iables. For  determining  how  many  men 
to  send  to  each  new  fire  or  for  rating 
seasonal  job-loads,  ratings  based  on 
actual  measurements  are  used.  In  pre- 
paring for  a  bad  day,  however,  the 
forester  must  arrange  in  advance  for 
such  fire-prevention  activities  as  radio 
and  newspaper  warnings,  and  mobilize 
in  advance  the  men  and  equipment 
that  will  be  needed.  For  those  pur- 
poses the  severity  of  danger  is  rated  a 
day  in  advance  by  use  of  the  special 
weather  forecasts  now  issued  by  the 
Weather  Bureau,  as  a  regular  service. 

As  early  as  1911,  the  Forest  Service 
in  the  West  turned  to  the  Weather 
Bureau  for  general  weather  forecasts. 
But  these  did  not  consider  specifically 
enough  the  weather  conditions  that 
affect  fires.  Accordingly,  starting  in 
1913,  fire-weather  warnings  were  is- 
sued when  bad  fire-weather  threat- 
ened. In  1924,  regular  fire-weather 
forecasts,  localized  by  use  of  weather 
measurements  from  the  forests  them- 
selves, were  started  and  in  1926  the 
modern  fire-weather  service  was  born. 
Reports  now  include  a  forecast  of  the 
weather  (degree  of  cloudiness,  fog, 
smoke),  precipitation,  wind  direction 
and  velocity,  temperature,  relative  hu- 
midity, visibility,  and  the  extent,  direc- 
tion, and  progress  of  lightning  storms. 


498 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Such  forecasts  cover  three  of  the 
eight  factors  that  are  used  in  rating 
fire  danger,  plus  lightning,  which  is 
the  primary  fire  starter  in  the  West, 
and  the  likelihood  of  rain,  which  is  the 
best  fire  extinguisher  everywhere.  Of 
the  other  factors,  condition  of  vegeta- 
tion is  determined  by  observation  and 
the  amount  of  rain  and  number  of  days 
since  the  last  rain  from  local  records. 
It  is  rare  that  a  fire  watcher  is  so  iso- 
lated as  to  be  ignorant  of  the  date.  This 
leaves  only  fuel  moisture  to  be  pre- 
dicted, and  it  can  be  estimated  with 


sufficient  accuracy  by  consideration 
of  today's  fuel  moisture,  tomorrow's 
weather  forecast,  and  correlations  that 
have  been  developed  between  the  two. 
Tomorrow's  fire  danger  can  then  be 
computed  by  any  fire-danger  meter. 

G.  LLOYD  HAYES  is  leader  of  the 
Cascade-Siskiyou  Research  Center, 
Forest  Service,  at  Roseburg,  Oreg.  He 
was  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Idaho  in  1934,  and  took  graduate  work 
in  forestry  at  Yale  University  and  the 
University  of  California. 


THE  FIRE  ON  CEDAR  CREEK 

FRANK  J.  JEFFERSON 


(Except  for  the  names,  this  is  a  true 
account  of  how  a  forest  fire  started 
and  was  stopped.  It  is  the  composite 
of  the  experiences  of  a  man  who  has 
fought  fires  in  the  West  for  38  years. 
He  changed  the  names  of  places  and 
men  so  that  he  could  bring  in  details 
and  facts  that  happened  at  one  place 
or  another,  although  all  of  them  did 
not  occur  at  any  one  place  at  one 
time. ) 

The  telephone  at  the  Red  River 
ranger  station  rang  urgently  early  one 
Saturday  afternoon  in  August.  Hurry 
Earle,  the  district  fire  dispatcher,  took 
a  message  from  Guy  Roberts,  the  for- 
est ranger  at  the  Snag  Flat  fire  camp. 

Roberts  reported: 

"Fire  caught  by  bad  whirlwind. 
More  sparks  and  hot  embers  from 
burning  snags  scattered  across  Red 
River  than  patrolmen  can  put  out. 
New  fire  headed  up  ridges  both  sides 
Cedar  Creek.  Fire  on  east  ridge  climb- 
ing fast  in  grass.  Rate  about  mile  an 
hour.  Spreading  up  ridge  and  to  east 
slope.  Will  hit  timber  about  mile  up 
ridge.  On  west  side,  fire  moving  up 
ridge  slower.  Ridge  rocky  with  scat- 
tered fuel  but  bad  brush  field  just 
ahead  of  fire.  Six  patrolmen  on  north 
side  of  river  trying  to  prevent  east  and 


west  sides  of  fire  spreading  farther  up 
or  down  river.  No  more  men  can  be 
spared  from  Snag  Flat  without  taking 
chance  of  losing  it  and  having  a  bad 
fire  on  both  sides  Red  River. 

"Call  Swanson's  40-man  logging 
crew  with  bulldozer.  Have  them  start 
right  away  for  mouth  of  Cedar  Creek. 
Start  full  Rock  Creek  road  crew  of 
25  men  and  2  bulldozers  for  same 
point.  Also  Strawberry  Flat  4-man 
tanker  crew.  Establish  camp  on  road  at 
mouth  Cedar  Creek.  Send  in  100-man 
camp  outfit,  including  2  backfiring  out- 
fits. Phone  forest  supervisor's  office  ad- 
vising him  of  the  situation  and  action 
taken.  Make  clear  to  him  all  fire-con- 
trol resources  of  this  district  now  called 
into  action.  Ask  him  to  arrange  for 
additional  help  as  he  believes  needed. 
Tell  him  will  use  logging  and  road 
crews  to  try  and  keep  fire  from  crossing 
either  Ant  Creek  or  Fly  Creek.  Wind 
southwest.  Humidity  is  8.  Goodbye, 
Hurry — but  hurry!" 

Thus  was  control  work  on  the  Cedar 
Creek  fire  started. 

The  forest  supervisor,  who  had  taken 
over  for  his  central  dispatcher  during 
the  lunch  hour,  in  turn  received  the 
call  from  the  local  Red  River  dis- 
patcher. Fire-weather  forecasts  had 
been  critical  for  several  days.  Years  of 


The  Fire  on  Cedar 


SNAG  FLAT  FIRE 


Original  fire 
Spot  fires 

Calculated  control  line 


CEDAR  CREEK   I 
FIRE 


Approximate  scale  :     1/2  inch  =  1  mite 


experience  and  observation  of  the  ex- 
plosive burning  conditions  that  could 
develop  by  a  continued  alliance  of  dan- 
gerous degrees  of  wind,  temperature, 
and  humidity  had  given  the  supervisor 
a  prescience  that  warned  him  this 


could  be  a  worse  Saturday  afternoon 
than  even  the  forecast  for  the  day  had 
indicated.  Today,  if  decisions  were 
needed,  they  had  to  be  quick  and  sure. 
So  he  had  stayed  in  his  office  this  Sat- 
urday afternoon,  ready  for  whatever 


500 

might  happen;  he  had  alerted  a  top- 
flight fire-control  overhead  crew;  he 
also  had  asked  his  assistant,  Loitved, 
a  man  well  trained  in  fire  suppression, 
to  be  on  call  at  home  over  the  week 
end  for  emergency  service. 

The  supervisor  scanned  a  map  and 
made  his  decisions.  First,  the  new  fires 
that  were  spreading  across  the  Red 
River  from  Snag  Flat  should  be  han- 
dled as  a  separate  operation.  (Ranger 
Roberts  himself  and  his  men  already 
had  been  through  a  gruelling  fight  and 
would  do  well  if  they  completed  the 
job  of  controlling  the  still  dangerous 
main  fire  on  their  side  of  the  river. 
Certainly  Roberts  should  not  be  called 
on  to  handle  both  jobs.)  The  super- 
visor dispatched  the  alerted  overhead 
crew  with  instructions  to  its  fire  boss, 
Johnson,  that  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
new  fire,  and  to  call  back  from  the  Red 
River  ranger  station  for  further  in- 
structions. 

Next,  a  message  was  sent  to  Roberts 
advising  him  of  the  decision  and  agree- 
ing with  his  plan  for  use  of  the  road 
and  logging  crew.  Roberts  was  in- 
structed that  he  was  to  do  everything 
possible  until  Johnson  arrived  to  check 
the  new  fire  without  risking  further 
break-over  from  Snag  Flat.  A  prompt 
report  on  the  Snag  Flat  situation  also 
was  requested. 

The  forest  supervisor  decided  fur- 
ther to  have  Loitved  make  air  recon- 
naissance of  both  fires  and  then  go  into 
Snag  Flat  to  do  whatever  correlation 
was  needed  between  the  two  jobs. 

By  then,  the  dispatcher  had  returned 
from  lunch,  and  Loitved,  whom  the 
supervisor  had  called,  arrived.  The 
three  men  got  out  aerial  photographs 
and  type  maps  and  hurriedly  conferred 
on  a  plan  of  action. 

It  was  plain  that  one  back-country 
fire  camp  out  of  reach  of  roads  would 
have  to  be  established  quickly  by  air- 
plane. The  best  bet  for  the  back-coun- 
try job  was  to  obtain  the  specially 
trained  30-man  crew  of  fire  fighters, 
known  as  the  "hot-shot  outfit,"  on  the 
adjacent  Blackjack  Forest,  if  they 
could  be  spared.  Those  men  had  been 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


carefully  chosen  and  trained  for  this 
sort  of  work  and,  because  of  their  skill, 
could  absorb  reinforcements  of  a  rea- 
sonable number  of  green  men. 

The  forest  dispatcher  went  into  ac- 
tion. He  called  the  nearby  airport  and 
obtained  a  plane  equipped  for  cargo 
dropping  for  immediate  use.  He  also 
instructed  the  forest  warehouseman  to 
take  an  air-borne  camp-and-tool  out- 
fit for  50  men,  including  water  and 
backfiring  torches,  to  the  airport.  He 
requested  the  Lake  District  ranger 
headquarters  to  send  three  tanker  out- 
fits to  Cedar  Creek.  He  placed  a  call 
for  the  regional  dispatcher  to  ask  that 
the  Blackjack  hot-shot  crew  be  sent  to 
Cedar  Creek  if  it  were  available  and 
that  he  be  advised  promptly  as  to  the 
outcome  of  this  request  and  the  esti- 
mated hour  of  arrival  at  Cedar  Creek. 
The  Red  River  dispatcher  was  in- 
structed to  send  four  saddle  horses  to 
Cedar  Creek  without  delay. 

The  supervisor  and  his  assistant, 
Loitved,  knew  that  Cedar  Creek  itself 
had  been  logged  for  cedar  poles  many 
years  earlier,  that  it  was  not  accessible 
by  road,  and  that  it  was  full  of  old 
slash,  which  is  good  fuel  for  fire.  They 
also  knew  that  on  the  east  a  road  of 
sorts  ran  4  miles  up  Ant  Creek,  the 
next  stream  up  the  river  from  Cedar 
Creek,  that  Ant  Creek  was  open  timber 
interspersed  with  glades,  that  the  slope 
was  moderately  steep,  and  that  on  the 
west  a  road  extended  about  2  miles  up 
Fly  Creek,  the  first  stream  down  river 
from  Cedar  Creek.  A  good  trail  ran 
east  from  it  to  the  divide  at  the  head 
of  Cedar  Creek.  The  east  side  of  Fly 
Creek,  for  the  first  2  miles  upstream, 
was  mostly  covered  by  oak  and  brush, 
which  changed  to  timber  at  the  first 
large  easterly  branch  of  the  stream. 
The  slope  into  the  stream  was  steep 
and  cliffy.  The  west  side  of  Fly  Creek 
and  its  headwaters  above  the  trail  sup- 
ported a  valuable  stand  of  mature  tim- 
ber, as  did  Ant  Creek.  The  photo- 
graphs and  maps  showed  that  the 
divide  at  the  head  of  Cedar  Creek  was 
sparsely  timbered,  steep,  and  rocky. 

One  conclusion   the  men  reached 


The  Fire  on  Cedar 


501 


immediately :  Saving  any  part  of  Cedar 
Creek  was  out  of  the  question — with 
running  fire  flanking  it  on  both  sides, 
it  was  doomed.  Its  large  volume  of 
dried-out  slash  would  blow  up  during 
the  afternoon  and  scatter  spot  fires  in- 
to the  cliffs  and  ravines  at  the  head- 
waters of  the  stream.  They  would  have 
to  hold  the  fire  on  the  two  ridges,  keep 
it  out  of  the  heads  of  Fly  and  Ant 
Creeks,  and  prevent  it  from  crossing 
either  of  the  streams. 

The  surest  and  fastest  way  to  do  that 
would  be  to  backfire  the  roads  up  Fly 
Creek  and  Ant  Creek  to  points  from 
which  effective  fire  lines  could  be  built 
to  the  head  of  Cedar  Creek.  The  back- 
firing and  construction  of  the  lines 
would  have  to  be  timed  carefully  to 
avoid  being  flanked  by  either  backfires 
or  by  the  main  fire. 

From  quick  calculation  of  the  prob- 
able rate  of  spread  of  the  fire,  based  on 
study  of  the  cover  and  topography  as 
shown  in  the  aerial  pictures  and  the 
reported  wind  and  humidity,  it  seemed 
logical  to  the  three  men  that  lines 
could  be  constructed  up  side  ridges 
from  the  two  creeks  in  time  to  be  suc- 
cessful. The  ridge  to  be  used  from  Fly 
Creek  was  designated  Trail  Ridge ;  the 
one  from  Ant  Creek  on  the  east  was 
designated  Swamp  Flat  Ridge.  Trac- 
tors could  be  used  on  both  ridges,  but 
the  ridge  at  the  head  of  Cedar  Creek 
would  have  to  be  handled  by  men 
working  along  the  edge  of  the  main 
fire  after  it  had  quieted,  putting  out  all 
hot  stuff  found.  That  would  be  hard  to 
do:  Spot  fires  beyond  this  edge  would 
have  to  be  picked  up  later  as  they 
showed  up.  The  country  was  too  rough 
for  any  other  sort  of  action.  The  west 
side  of  the  fire  would  move  slowly 
against  the  wind,  mostly  a  problem  of 
putting  under  control  such  fire  spread- 
ers as  rolling  logs  and  pine  cones.  The 
probability  of  spread  with  the  wind 
into  Ant  Creek  made  that  sector  a  dan- 
gerous one.  First  attention  must  focus 
there. 

Thus  the  possibilities  were  quickly 
determined — more  quickly  than  they 
can  be  explained — and  Loitved  an- 


nounced,  "Chief,  I'm  off  to  see  this 
thing  from  the  air.  I'll  phone  you  from 
Red  River." 

The  supervisor  calculated  the  re- 
quirements of  the  job  ahead.  If  held  on 
the  lines  initially  planned,  the  fire 
would  have  a  probable  ultimate  perim- 
eter of  8  miles,  excluding  the  river 
front  facing  the  Snag  Flat  fire,  which 
required  no  work  except  holding  at 
both  ends.  Of  the  8  miles,  3/2  miles 
would  be  backfired  road  up  the  two 
creeks.  The  photographs  showed  that 
there  should  be  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
of  bulldozer  line  in  easy  country,  taking 
off  from  these  roads  along  Trail  Ridge 
and  Swamp  Flat  Ridge,  then  a  mile  of 
bulldozer  line  in  tough  country,  a  mile 
of  hand-work  burn-out  line,  and  a  mile 
of  control  of  hot  spots  at  the  head  of 
Cedar  Creek  along  an  otherwise  dor- 
mant line.  There  also  would  be  an  im- 
portant spot-fire  control  job,  ahead  of 
the  main  fire  edge,  at  the  head  of 
Cedar  Creek  and  beyond. 

To  allow  a  margin  of  safety,  he  as- 
sumed that  the  patrolmen  would  fail 
to  hold  the  up-and-down  spread  along 
Red  River,  and  that  closing  those  gaps 
would  be  the  first  job  for  the  road,  log- 
ging, and  tanker  crews,  which  had 
been  ordered  and  part  of  which  should 
be  arriving  shortly. 

His  calculations  were  interrupted  by 
a  call  from  the  regional  dispatcher: 
The  hot-shot  crew  would  arrive  about 
8  p.  m.,  equipped  with  back-pack  fire- 
fighting  outfits  ;  he  was  warned  that  the 
situation  throughout  the  region  was 
tough  and  that  he  would  have  to  use 
local  resources  to  the  limit.  No  further 
quick  help  could  be  expected. 

The  supervisor  proceeded  with  his 
planning,  knowing  the  rate  of  produc- 
tion of  safe  fire  line  that  could  be  ex- 
pected from  machines  and  men.  The 
bulldozers,  tankers,  and  flame-throw- 
ers that  were  en  route  apparently 
would  be  enough;  their  power,  skill- 
fully applied,  equals  the  effort  of  many 
men  and  does  some  things  a  man  can- 
not do.  Men  would  be  needed,  how- 
ever, to  hold  the  ground  gained  by  the 
machines  and  to  go  into  places  that 


502 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


machines  could  not  reach.  Fifty  ad- 
ditional men  could  be  used  to  advan- 
tage during  the  evening  and  early  night 
to  strengthen  the  crews  now  under  way. 
Fortunately,  both  the  logging  and  road 
crews  had  several  men  who  could 
pinch-hit  as  squad  leaders,  or  straw- 
bosses.  Given  an  even  break,  the  fire 
should  be  flanked  on  both  the  Ant 
Creek  and  Fly  Greek  sides  by  night. 
If  the  plans  worked,  tomorrow's  job 
should  be  principally  to  squelch  the 
fire  completely,  to  mop  up  along  the 
backfire  lines,  and  to  clean  up  spot 
fires  ahead  of  the  solid  fire  edge  around 
the  head  of  Cedar  Creek.  Tomorrow 
morning,  it  appeared,  he  would  need 
about  100  men  with  fresh  bosses  and 
strawbosses,  exclusive  of  the  hot-shot 
crew.  If  spot  fires  were  not  too  nu- 
merous, the  fire  might  be  corralled  be- 
fore tomorrow's  dangerous  burning 
period  began  at  about  10  a.  m.,  an  hour 
that  has  special  significance  to  fire 
fighters  in  planning  the  control  of  big 
fires.  It  is  a  sort  of  deadline  they  have 
set  for  themselves,  based  on  long  ex- 
perience. 

The  Cedarville  Employment  Service 
was  called  and  asked  to  round  up  50 
good  men  to  be  sent  immediately  to 
Cedar  Creek  by  bus  and  to  send  an  ad- 
ditional 100  to  arrive  by  9  p.  m.  for 
the  morning  shift.  Calls  went  to  other 
ranger  districts  for  crew  bosses  and 
strawbosses  to  handle  the  new  forces. 
The  top  overhead  would  have  to  carry 
on  through  another  shift  without  rest 
or  sleep,  but  that  was  usual  and  ex- 
pected in  such  emergencies. 

Johnson,  the  boss  of  the  overhead 
fire  crew,  called  in.  He  was  brought  up 
to  date  on  the  task  and  the  plans  to 
meet  it:  Loitved  would  drop  him  a 
parachute  message  at  Cedar  Creek, 
giving  the  information  obtained  from 
the  plane  reconnaissance.  Ranger  Rob- 
erts' camp  would  have  the  facts  on  all 
control  forces  available  for  both  the 
Snag  Flat  and  Cedar  Creek  operations 
by  the  time  of  his  arrival. 

Loitved  dropped  a  map  and  the 
message  for  Johnson,  advising  that  the 
fire  was  rolling  into  Ant  Creek  faster 


than  expected  but  that  the  main  Cedar 
Creek  blow-up  would  likely  not  get 
out  of  the  drainage  during  the  after- 
noon; that  he  had  taken  Freeman  on 
the  trip  with  him  and  that  Freeman 
would  return  to  serve  him  as  boss  for 
the  spot-fire  area.  That  was  good 
news — but  Loitved's  message  also  said 
that,  with  a  wind,  the  burning  dead 
snags  on  Roberts'  side  of  the  river 
could  give  more  trouble  and  that,  if  at 
all  possible,  Johnson  should  assign  him 
a  couple  of  saw  gangs  from  Swanson's 
crew  to  make  sure  of  getting  all  the 
snags  cut  down  before  morning.  John- 
son knew  what  that  meant:  "Looks 
like  a  rough  night  for  the  boys." 

A  message  came  from  Roberts' 
camp:  The  road  crew  should  be  in 
about  2:45;  the  Swanson  outfit  about 
3.  The  tanker  crews  and  Johnson  and 
his  overhead  were  on  the  job.  Roberts' 
patrolmen  and  the  tanker  crews  had 
cooled  down  the  hot  sectors  cornering 
on  the  Red  River  road.  That  was  luck. 

Johnson  made  a  quick  trip  up  Fly 
and  Ant  Creeks  to  see  the  situation 
first-hand.  For  the  moment  he  would 
have  to  depend  upon  the  information 
in  Loitved's  message  as  to  what  might 
happen  in  the  head  of  Cedar  Creek. 
He  took  his  fire-crew  bosses,  Ellsworth 
and  Armstrong,  with  him  on  this  sur- 
vey because  they  would  direct  the 
work  on  the  lines.  The  rest  of  the  over- 
head crew  were  left  to  help  the  tanker 
crews  on  the  hot  sectors  stemming  from 
the  Red  River  road. 

The  fire  on  the  Fly  Creek  slope  was 
found  to  be  moving  slowly  downhill 
against  the  wind.  The  rolling,  fiery 
pine  cones  and  acorns  as  well  as  the 
red-hot  rocks  were  the  main  source  of 
spread.  Fire  on  the  Ant  Creek  slope  was 
spreading  downhill  pretty  fast  with 
long  fingers  developed  from  rolling  em- 
bers and  flaming  cones,  but  there  were 
not  many  snags  to  be  dealt  with.  He 
could  probably  trench  around  most  of 
the  snags  before  backfiring,  and  then 
hold  fire  from  them  with  the  tankers; 
thus  he  could  spare  two  saw  gangs  for 
transfer  to  Roberts.  If  a  decision  had 
to  be  made  between  quick  holding  of 


The  Fire  on  Cedar  Cree\ 


503 


his  fire  and  avoiding  any  new  break- 
overs at  Snag  Flat,  the  choice  must  be 
to  hold  Snag  Flat.  Even  so,  snags  on 
his  area,  too,  would  have  to  be  felled 
early  next  morning. 

The  fire  boss  rapidly  made  his  plans. 
His  first  effort,  Johnson  decided,  would 
be  to  hold  the  fire  on  the  Ant  Creek 
road  and  check  its  forward  spread  on 
both  ridges.  At  first  he  would  have  to 
rely  on  the  help  of  the  wind  on  the 
Fly  Creek  slope  and  be  content  to  con- 
trol such  burning  stuff  as  might  roll  to 
the  road.  He  would  assign  the  Swan- 
son  crew  to  the  job  of  constructing 
tractor  and  hand-built  lines  up  Swamp 
Flat  Ridge  and  backfiring  and  hold- 
ing the  Ant  Creek  road.  The  road 
crew  would  be  assigned  to  Fly  Creek 
to  hold  that  road  and  get  the  tractor 
and  hand  lines  constructed  on  Trail 
Ridge.  As  soon  as  the  50  emergency 
laborers  arrived  from  Cedarville,  he 
would  be  able  to  reinforce  the  Ant 
Creek  crew  for  line-holding  purposes 
and  to  start  backfiring  operations  on 
Fly  Creek.  If  no  unexpected  emergen- 
cies developed  before  the  hot-shot 
crew  arrived  at  8  p.  m.,  he  would  move 
them  directly  into  the  new  camp,  at 
the  head  of  Cedar  Creek,  for  which 
supplies  had  been  dropped  by  the  cargo 
plane.  This  would  give  them  an  early 
morning  start  on  the  hot-spotting  job. 
If  things  broke  badly  on  Ant  or  Fly 
Creek,  he  might  have  to  use  a  few  of 
them  on  the  night  shift  and  reinforce 
the  Cedar  Creek  hot-shot  crew  in  the 
morning  with  men  from  the  expected 
100-man  morning  shift.  Since  the  hot- 
shot crew  was  a  thoroughly  competent 
outfit,  a  reasonable  number  of  the  un- 
trained men  could  be  paired  off  with 
the  fire-trained  experts. 

In  the  meantime,  planned  action 
progressed  behind  the  lines.  Necessary 
supplies  arrived  for  the  Cedar  Creek 
camp.  A  safe  location  was  picked  on 
the  river  flats  at  Cedar  Creek.  A  volun- 
teer group  from  the  Red  Cross  arrived 
to  handle  the  kitchen.  The  camp  boss 
and  a  couple  of  helpers  from  Snag 
Flat  came  across  the  river  to  set  up  the 
new  camp. 


Loitved,  the  forest  supervisor's  right- 
hand  man,  had  used  the  cargo-drop- 
ping plane  for  reconnaissance.  On  his 
way  to  the  airport  he  had  met  Free- 
man. Freeman,  the  woods  boss  for  the 
Lee  Company,  had  once  worked  in  the 
Forest  Service  and  could  direct  many 
men  on  a  fire  line;  he  had  time  off 
over  the  week  end,  so  Loitved  took  him 
along.  As  a  result,  the  pilot  knew  pre- 
cisely where  the  camp  equipment  was 
to  be  dropped;  Freeman  knew  a  lot 
about  the  spot-fire  situation.  Already 
he  and  two  scouts  with  a  radio  set 
were  en  route  by  car  and  saddle  horse 
to  assemble  the  Cedar  Summit  camp 
and  reconnoiter  the  fire  on  the  ground. 
Later,  one  of  the  scouts  would  meet 
the  hot-shot  crew  on  Trail  Ridge  and 
act  as  a  guide.  The  cargo  dropping  was 
to  be  done  about  7  p.  m.,  by  two  planes. 

Johnson  returned  to  Cedar  Creek  at 
2:45.  A  message  was  waiting  at  the 
camp  advising  that  the  Swanson  outfit 
would  arrive  at  5  p.  m.,  instead  of  3 
o'clock,  as  expected.  He  could  not  de- 
fer action  on  Ant  Creek  that  long.  He 
would  have  to  put  the  road  crew  on 
Ant  Creek  and  supplement  them  later 
with  part  of  the  Swanson  crew  and 
hold  up  all  of  the  proposed  action  on 
Fly  Creek  for  the  Swanson  outfit.  The 
road  crew,  by  good  timing,  arrived  at 
2:50. 

Armstrong  had  been  assigned  the 
Ant  Creek  section.  Now,  with  his  crew 
of  a  few  men  and  one  tractor  with 
angle-dozer  attachment,  he  was  start- 
ing a  control  line  to  cut  off  the  danger- 
ous unburned  triangle  between  the  Red 
River  and  Ant  Creek  road.  He  sent 
another  tractor-dozer  and  10  men  to 
Swamp  Flat  to  start  the  fire-control 
line  on  Swamp  Flat  Ridge.  The  other 
men,  with  two  tankers,  were  assigned 
to  the  backfiring  job  along  the  road  on 
Ant  Creek. 

A  foreman  from  the  road  outfit,  who 
was  familiar  with  the  upper  reaches  of 
Cedar  Creek,  was  designated  to  take 
charge  of  the  10  men  from  the  Swan- 
son  crew  who  were  to  be  assigned  to 
the  hot-spotting  job  on  Swamp  Flat 
Ridge  as  soon  as  they  arrived. 


504 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  Swanson  crew  arrived  at  5 
o'clock.  They  were  fed,  and  started  for 
the  lines  about  an  hour  later.  Ten  were 
sent  to  Armstrong  for  the  hot-spotting 
job  on  Swamp  Flat  Ridge;  the  others 
were  assigned  to  Ellsworth,  who  sent  15 
men  and  a  bulldozer  up  the  Fly  Greek 
road  to  start  the  trail-builder  line  on 
Trail  Ridge.  Another  foreman  and  10 
men  of  his  crew  were  scheduled  for 
the  job  of  building  a  line  by  hand  from 
the  end  of  the  tractor-dozer-built  line 
on  Trail  Ridge  to  the  head  of  Cedar 
Creek.  Ellsworth  went  along  with  these 
two  crews  to  distribute  them  properly 
over  the  jobs. 

Two  saw  gangs  were  immediately 
put  across  the  river  to  Snag  Flat. 

The  laborers  from  Cedarville  ar- 
rived about  7.  Twenty  of  them  were 
assigned  to  Armstrong  to  assist  in  his 
backfiring;  20  were  assigned  to  Ells- 
worth to  start  the  backfiring  job  on 
Fly  Creek;  the  other  10  were  held  in 
camp  to  augment  the  hot-shot  crew, 
since  a  radio  message  from  Freeman 
indicated  that  the  hot-spotting  job  at 
the  head  of  the  creek  would  be  heavier 
than  expected. 

Johnson  had  brought  two  good  fire- 
crew  bosses  with  him,  Ellsworth  and 
Armstrong.  When  Johnson  had  ar- 
rived at  Cedar  Creek,  he  had  not  an- 
ticipated additional  overhead  of  the 
caliber  of  Freeman  and  had  planned 
to  handle  the  situation  by  dividing  the 
total  fire  perimeter  into  two  segments, 
with  Ellsworth  and  Armstrong  each  in 
charge  of  a  segment.  The  segments 
would  be  long  and  difficult  to  super- 
vise. News  of  Freeman's  availability 
therefore  was  most  welcome.  Johnson 
now  planned  to  use  three  segments  and 
give  Freeman  the  entire  hot-spotting 
and  line-holding  job  from  the  ends  of 
the  tractor  lines  on  Trail  Ridge  and 
Swamp  Flat  Ridge  (which  are  indi- 
cated by  the  symbol  X  on  the  map) . 
This  would  make  three  well-balanced 
sections  and  give  closer  supervision  and 
better  execution  all  along  the  line. 

At  7 : 45  a  radio  message  from  one  of 
Freeman's  scouts  reported  that  the 
Cedar  Divide  camp  had  been  dropped 


all  right  and  that  all  cargoes  were  lo- 
cated and  retrievable — more  welcome 
information.  The  fire  boss'  base  for  ac- 
tion was  now  sure.  The  message  also 
advised  that  there  were  many  small 
spot  fires,  that  water  would  be  essen- 
tial for  mopping  these  up,  and  that  a 
plentiful  supply  should  be  dropped  at 
camp  early  next  morning. 

Because  the  odds  were  that  the  area 
would  be  wholly  befogged  by  dead 
smoke  in  the  morning  and  that  there- 
fore operation  of  a  plane  would  be  im- 
possible, Johnson  placed  an  order  for 
a  pack  train  from  the  White  resort  to 
be  at  the  road  end  on  Fly  Creek  by 
morning,  equipped  with  a  full  comple- 
ment of  water-carrying  equipment, 
with  instructions  to  load  water  at  Fly 
Creek  and  proceed  to  the  Cedar  Di- 
vide camp. 

Another  message  to  Johnson  said 
that  only  75  men  would  arrive  for  the 
morning  shift ;  no  more  were  available. 

Loitved  arrived  about  8: 15  from  a 
check-up  at  the  Snag  Flat  camp.  The 
assistant  forest  supervisor  and  Johnson 
made  a  hurried  trip  over  the  Fly  Creek 
and  Ant  Creek  lines  to  check  progress 
and  get  facts  upon  which  to  base  morn- 
ing plans.  They  found  that  progress 
was  satisfactory.  The  Ant  Creek-Red 
River  road  line  was  completed  and  all 
inflammable  material  close  to  the  line 
had  been  disposed  of.  The  bulldozer 
had  been  moved  ahead  and  was  now 
being  held  in  reserve  in  the  event  that 
spot  fires  might  start  from  the  back- 
firing operations.  Backfiring  was  going 
to  slow  down  soon  because  of  increas- 
ing humidity,  but  the  flame-throwers 
would  be  most  useful — with  their  in- 
tense heat,  they  could  partly  overcome 
the  effect  of  increasing  dampness  of 
night  and  safely  destroy  inflammable 
material;  such  an  operation  would  be 
dangerous  in  the  heat  of  the  next  day. 

Loitved  and  Johnson  met  Arm- 
strong at  Swamp  Flat.  Armstrong,  the 
fire-crew  boss  who  had  been  assigned 
to  the  Ant  Creek  section,  had  found 
conditions  better  than  expected  on 
Swamp  Flat  Ridge  and  had  been  able 
to  establish  control  lines  directly  at  the 


The  Fire  on  Cedar 


505 


fire  edge  on  a  long  section  at  the  upper 
end.  That  line  was  done;  only  three 
men  were  needed  to  hold  it.  The  dozer 
and  the  rest  of  the  crew  were  now 
headed  down  the  main  ridge,  still  on 
direct  attack,  but  they  were  instructed 
to  change  tactics  and  come  directly 
down  the  spur  ridge  to  Swamp  Flat, 
backfiring  as  they  went  if  it  seemed 
likely  that  fire  on  the  lower  slopes  of 
the  ridge  could  outflank  them  before 
they  reached  Swamp  Flat.  Armstrong 
thought  that  the  work  of  this  crew 
and  that  of  the  road  backfiring  crew 
should  tie  together  at  Swamp  Flat 
about  10  p.  m. 

Loitved  and  Johnson  next  went  to 
Fly  Greek.  Work  there  was  progressing 
well.  The  dozer  and  hand  lines  would 
connect  with  the  road  in  time  for  the 
backfiring  operations.  The  tanker 
crews  had  done  a  good  job  of  holding 
the  fire  at  the  road.  While  Johnson  was 
talking  with  Ellsworth,  the  other  fire- 
crew  boss,  at  the  trail  and  road  junction, 
the  hot-shot  crew  arrived.  Johnson 
told  the  foreman  to  report  to  Freeman, 
the  volunteer  under  whose  direction 
he  would  work  and  who  now  had  a 
guide  waiting  further  up  the  creek 
trail. 

The  weather  forecast  for  next  day 
promised  unchanged  wind  and  humid- 
ity, with  slightly  lower  temperatures. 

Johnson  and  Loitved  then  returned 
to  Cedar  Greek  camp  to  make  plans 
for  the  next  morning.  This  section  at 
the  head  of  Cedar  Creek  was  now  defi- 
nitely manned  and  equipped  for  early 
morning  action.  The  problem  of  the 
moment  was  planning  distribution  of 
the  75  fresh  men.  It  was  decided  to  as- 
sign 45  of  them  to  the  Ant  Creek  divi- 
sion, the  rest  to  Fly  Creek.  The  two 
tankers  would  be  pulled  from  Fly 
Creek  about  10  p.  m.  to  give  the  crews 
a  chance  to  rest  for  the  early  morn- 
ing shift.  One  would  then  be  assigned 
to  each  of  the  two  road  divisions.  Loit- 
ved felt  from  what  he  had  seen  on 
Snag  Flat  that  if  the  power-saw  out- 
fits arrived,  Snag  Flat  should  be  able 
to  release  the  Swanson  saw  gangs  for 
the  morning  shift  on  the  Cedar  Creek 


fire.  He  was  going  back  to  Snag  Flat 
shortly  to  check.  If  the  crews  were 
available,  they  would  be  assigned  to 
snag-falling  along  the  two  tractor 
lines.  He  would  have  information  for 
Johnson  as  to  their  availability  later 
that  evening. 

Johnson  told  Loitved  that  he  felt 
things  were  pretty  safe  on  the  two 
lower  divisions;  that  he  was  going  by 
saddle  horse  that  night  to  the  Cedar 
Divide  camp  to  be  sure  that  work  was 
well  correlated  among  the  three  sec- 
tions. He  would  get  in  touch  by  radio 
with  Loitved,  Ellsworth,  and  Arm- 
strong early  in  the  morning. 

Just  before  Loitved's  departure,  the 
75  emergency  laborers  arrived.  They 
were  fed  at  once,  given  the  numbers 
of  their  crew  units,  and  bedded  down. 
During  the  evening  contacts  with 
Ellsworth  and  Armstrong,  Johnson 
consulted  with  them  on  plans  for  the 
early  morning  shift  and  decided  on  the 
best  distributions  of  the  new  men  to 
strengthen  the  tractor  and  hand  lines 
on  Trail  and  Swamp  Flat  Ridges.  A 
tanker  and  small  crew  would  be  used 
on  each  division  along  the  road  to  hold 
backfired  sections  during  early-morn- 
ing patrol.  Plans  called  for  strengthen- 
ing all  along  the  line  on  both  divisions 
at  about  10:30  a.  m.  by  utilizing  all 
men  who  were  released  from  the  lines 
by  midnight  that  night  and  the  bull- 
dozers and  the  remaining  two  tankers. 
Accordingly,  Johnson  called  together 
the  foremen  and  strawbosses  who  were 
on  hand  for  morning  shift,  gave  them 
their  assignments  for  morning,  and  dis- 
cussed the  nature  of  the  next  day's  job 
with  them.  Then  they  turned  in. 

Johnson,  wanting  to  reassure  him- 
self as  to  the  outcome  of  the  backfiring 
at  a  treacherous  angle  in  the  Ant  Creek 
road,  went  out  to  have  a  look,  after 
gulping  a  cup  of  coffee  that  the  Red 
Cross  cook  had  given  him.  He  found 
that  what  he  had  feared  had  hap- 
pened— the  fire  had  broken  over  the 
road.  Fortunately  the  reserve  bulldozer 
had  arrived  in  time  to  surround  and 
control  it.  Lines  had  been  connected 
to  Swamp  Flat,  and  that  side  of  the  job 


506 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


now  looked  secure  for  the  night.  Arm- 
strong told  him  that  he  planned  to 
leave  only  a  small  holding  force  on 
after  midnight;  that  he  and  the  rest 
of  his  crew  would  be  in  camp  at  about 
that  time.  He  asked  that  coffee  and 
food  be  ready  for  the  crew  when  they 
came  in. 

On  return  to  camp,  Johnson  met 
Ellsworth,  who  had  a  similar  plan. 
Ellsworth  reported  that  in  the  dark  a 
man  had  been  hit  by  a  rolling  rock; 
several  ribs  had  been  fractured  and 
the  man  had  been  sent  to  the  Cedar- 
ville  hospital. 

Johnson  then  bade  Ellsworth  good 
night  and  success,  and  started  his  long 
trek  to  Freeman's  Cedar  Summit  camp. 
The  night  was  quiet.  On  his  left  he 
heard  the  nighttime  rustles  and  whis- 
pers of  the  living  forest;  on  his  right 
he  saw  the  funeral  pyres  of  a  forest's 
passing. 

The  hot-shot  crew  had  already  pro- 
ceeded up  Trail  Ridge  to  the  Cedar 
Divide  camp.  The  meeting  of  Freeman 
and  the  crew  foreman  surprised  them 
both.  For  a  moment  they  stared  speech- 
less at  each  other.  Then  Freeman  stuck 
out  his  hand. 

"Ray,  you  old  slab-sided  son-of-a- 
gun,"  he  exclaimed.  "I  have  been  won- 
dering how  I  was  going  to  get  this  fire 
out — and  you  show  up!  It's  a  cinch 
now." 

The  two  men  had  been  forest  fire- 
men together  in  northern  Idaho  15 
years  earlier.  Both  knew  the  rough- 
and-tumble  art  of  single-handed  fire 
fighting  and  spot-fire  control;  each 
knew  and  respected  the  other's  ability. 
The  foreman  told  Freeman  that  he  had 
40  men  with  him,  30  of  whom  were 
trained  fire  fighters  who  had  already 
worked  on  15  fires  this  season.  Freeman 
had  studied  his  problem  well  during 
his  evening  of  scouting  and  knew  the 
location  of  critical  spots  for  early  morn- 
ing attack.  These  he  outlined  on  a  map 
for  the  foreman. 

The  afternoon  rush  of  the  fire  had 
died  down  when  it  hit  the  rocky  cliffs, 
and  it  was  necessary  only  to  control  a 
few  hot  spots  to  hold  the  main  front. 


That  would  take  a  few  competent  men. 
The  big  problem  was  the  spot  fires  in 
the  cliffs;  they  carried  a  threat  of  fur- 
ther spotting  from  snags  and  from 
burning  embers  rolling  down  from  one 
cliff  to  another.  It  was  a  job  for  indi- 
vidual workers  and  a  couple  of  strategi- 
cally located  spot-fire  lookouts. 

By  the  time  this  discussion  was  over 
the  crew  had  been  bedded.  Freeman 
and  the  foreman  likewise  went  to  bed 
to  rest  up  for  their  5  o'clock  take-off. 

Johnson  arrived  in  the  camp  about 
midnight  but  he  disturbed  no  one.  He 
would  get  his  facts  in  the  morning. 
He  rolled  up  in  a  blanket  until  camp 
activities  wakened  him.  At  3  o'clock 
the  noise  of  a  butcher  knife  pounded 
on  a  frying  pan  broke  the  morning 
stillness;  the  cook  was  calling  the 
sleeping  to  action. 

"Roll  out,  roll  out!"  he  shouted. 
Roll  out  they  did.  Johnson,  Freeman, 
and  the  foreman  discussed  the  Cedar 
Creek  situation. 

Johnson  told  Freeman  the  scope  of 
his  section,  making  it  clear  exactly 
what  crews  would  be  coming  up  the 
hill  in  the  morning  under  competent 
foremen  to  report  to  him  and  work 
these  lines.  Freeman  and  his  scouts  had 
the  Cedar  Creek  situation  well  studied. 
The  scouts  could  guide  men  to  the 
danger  spots  and  distribute  them  as  he 
and  the  foreman  had  agreed  upon. 
Freeman's  chief  concern  was  water, 
but  he  learned  that  a  good  water  sup- 
ply was  at  hand  in  Cedar  Creek  about 
a  mile  from  the  fire  edge.  With  a  pack 
train  on  the  job,  the  problem  of  water 
distribution  could  be  solved.  When  told 
of  the  pack-train  assignment  already 
arranged,  he  was  pleased.  He  apolo- 
getically told  Johnson,  however,  that 
he  was  not  sure  that  he  could  have  all 
the  spot  fires  rounded  up  by  10  o'clock. 

Breakfast  over,  the  hot  spotters 
shouldered  their  back-pack  pumps  and 
picked  up  their  tools.  It  was  just  break- 
ing day.  Guided  by  Freeman  and  the 
scouts,  they  proceeded  to  undertake 
the  job  they  were  there  for — single- 
handed  fire  fighting. 

After  a  quick  trip  through  the  area 


The  Fire  on  Cedar  Cree\ 


507 


to  size  up  the  situation,  Johnson  re- 
turned to  camp  and  radioed  Loitved, 
asking  him  to  make  certain  the  new 
foremen  coming  in  on  both  ridges 
were  properly  guided  and  fully  in- 
structed that  their  boss  was  Freeman 
and  that  either  Freeman  or  Johnson 
would  check  in  with  them  on  the  line 
shortly  after  their  arrival.  Unless  some- 
thing serious  had  developed  on  the 
lower  divisions  during  the  night,  he, 
Johnson,  wanted  to  spend  the  morning 
on  the  division  of  the  Cedar  Greek  Di- 
vide because  that  now  was  the  key  to 
buttoning  up  the  fire. 

Loitved  told  Johnson  that  he  had 
succeeded  in  freeing  four  saw  gangs 
from  Snag  Flat,  instead  of  two.  John- 
son asked  that  the  two  extra  gangs  be 
sent  in  immediately  as  reinforcements 
for  the  hot-shot  crew. 

Johnson  then  talked  with  Armstrong 
and  Ellsworth  and  explained  the  morn- 
ing situation  as  he  saw  it  at  Cedar 
Divide  and  on  the  upper  end  of  their 
divisions.  He  asked  that  when  the 
crews  came  on  at  10:30  o'clock  they 
send  substantial  strength  of  skilled  men 
to  those  parts  of  their  divisions.  The 
job  of  putting  out  scattered  spots  of 
fire  here  was  heavy  and,  further,  Free- 
man might  need  quick  support. 

Work  proceeded  on  Fly  and  Ant 
Creeks.  The  worth  of  skilled  and  ear- 
nest men  had  proved  itself.  The  fire 
was  checked ;  the  principal  job  now  was 
mop-up.  The  tankers  were  busy  drown- 
ing out  hot  embers  along  the  road.  Up 
the  slopes,  small  groups  of  men 
equipped  with  shovels,  Pulaskis,  and 
back-pack  pumps  were  similarly  en- 
gaged in  watering  out  and  destroying 
the  fire  in  stumps,  logs,  and  hot  embers. 

On  the  Cedar  Creek  Divide  section, 
active  war  was  still  on,  guerilla  fash- 
ion. The  edge  of  the  main  fire  was  at 
the  moment  no  problem,  just  a  job.  It 
was  quiet  and  had  been  put  out  on 
many  long  stretches  of  light  fuel.  It 
was  a  job  that  morning  for  the  fighters 
who  knew  how  to  put  out  the  hot  spots 
remaining  and  test  seemingly  cold  fire 
edges  with  their  bare  fingers  to  prove 
whether  hot  or  cold.  If  they  became 


careless,  the  hot  spots  would  warm  up 
and  be  active  fire  lines  before  noon.  It 
was  a  job  for  experts.  Ray,  the  foreman, 
assigned  three  of  his  hot-shotters  to  this 
work  with  two  pick-up  laborers  apiece 
as  helpers. 

The  spot  fires  in  the  cliffs  were  quite 
a  different  problem.  They  were  dor- 
mant except  for  an  occasional  blazing 
log.  The  banked-in  smoke  cut  visibility 
to  a  few  yards.  These  fires  had  to  be 
ferreted  out  by  men  who  clambered 
around  in  the  cliffs.  The  location  work 
of  the  night  before  by  Freeman  and  his 
scouts  was  so  effective  that  all  men 
were  placed  quickly  on  active  fires. 
The  scouts  proceeded  to  search  for 
dormant  fires  and  at  9  o'clock  two  look- 
outs were  placed  to  keep  watch  over 
the  most  doubtful  areas.  The  pack 
train  moved  in  water — and  still  more 
water — as  fast  as  they  could. 

Shouts  were  heard :  "Hey,  Pete,  look 
across  the  gulch;  you've  got  a  sleeper 
there."  Two  boys  borrowed  a  rope 
from  the  packer  and  let  themselves  and 
water  down  the  cliff  to  the  spot  fire. 

Ray  moved  through  the  cliffs  among 
his  men,  observing,  encouraging,  teach- 
ing. Small  wonder  that  his  crew  was 
good.  Freeman's  scouts  were  diligent. 
Freeman  checked  the  job.  It  looked  as 
if  Ray's  boys  had  the  job  in  hand. 
Came  9 : 30  o'clock,  and  a  lifting  in  the 
smoke  pall.  Not  an  unlocated  smoke 
finger  could  be  seen.  Ray  and  Freeman 
met,  dirty  and  smoke-blackened,  and 
grinned  at  each  other.  "By  golly, 
Jingles,  I  believe  we  made  it  again." 
"Yep,"  said  Freeman.  "What  did  you 
expect?  I've  got  to  be  back  on  the  job 
in  the  morning." 

Ten  o'clock — the  deadline  hour. 
Johnson  had  checked  the  tractor  and 
hand-line  jobs.  They  looked  good.  The 
10:30  crews  could  mop  up,  and  there 
would  be  strength  enough  if  an  after- 
noon flare-up  occurred.  He  met  Free- 
man and  heard  his  story. 

Wearily,  they  sat  down  and  sent  a 
radio  message  to  Armstrong  and  Ells- 
worth :  "Lots  of  mop-up,  but  no  threats 
to  the  line." 

Another  message  went  to  the  Cedar 


508 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Greek  camp  for  relay  to  the  supervisor: 
"Cedar  Greek  fire  corralled  9 : 55  a.  m. ; 
6,000  acres. 

"All  under  control." 

FRANK  J.  JEFFERSON  is  assistant  re- 
gional forester,  in  charge  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Fire  Control,  in  Region  5  (Cali- 
fornia) of  the  Forest  Service.  Since  he 
joined  the  Forest  Service  in  1911  he 


has  been  ranger  on  the  Lewis  and 
Clark  National  Forest;  assistant  super- 
visor of  the  Lewis  and  Clark,  Nezperce, 
and  Clearwater  National  Forests;  su- 
pervisor of  the  Selway  and  Kootenai 
National  Forests;  assistant  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Operation  in  Region  1,  with 
headquarters  at  Missoula,  Mont.;  and 
assistant  chief  of  the  Divisions  of  En- 
gineering and  Operation,  Region  5. 


FIGHTING  FIRES  FROM  THE  AIR 

CLAYTON  S.  CROCKER 


The  roar  of  the  motors  faded  al- 
most to  silence  as  the  patrol  plane  dis- 
appeared behind  a  gray  peak.  Then  it 
came  again,  its  rumble  a  conglomerate 
of  echoes  bouncing  from  one  canyon 
wall  to  the  other.  It  lurched  each  time 
it  crossed  over  the  craggy  divide  on 
either  side  of  the  mile-deep  canyon. 
Updrafts  boosted  it  like  a  feather,  then 
dropped  it  hundreds  of  feet  toward  the 
timbered  country  below — the  Selway 
Wilderness  Area  in  the  Bitterroot  Na- 
tional Forest  in  Montana,  one  of  the 
most  rugged  and  inaccessible  areas  in 
the  United  States. 

Midway  on  the  mountainside  below 
was  a  small,  steadily  smoking  fire ;  light- 
ning had  touched  off  a  dry  tree.  In  an 
hour  it  would  spread  through  the  tim- 
ber and  race  up  the  steep  slope,  leaving 
devastation  in  its  wake.  No  man  on  foot 
or  horse  could  reach  the  blaze  in  less 
than  2  days ;  there  are  no  roads  near  it. 

The  plane  leveled  off.  It  slowed  al- 
most to  a  stalling  speed  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  to  windward  and  a  half  mile  above 
the  fire.  In  rapid  succession  three  men, 
mere  dots  in  that  tremendously  big  sky 
and  background  of  giant  mountains, 
jumped  out.  Above  each  smoke- 
jumper — the  minuteman  of  the  na- 
tional forest  fire  organization — a  thin, 
white  streamer  billowed  out,  waved 
crazily  for  a  moment,  then  took  on  the 
shape  of  a  snowy  umbrella. 

Updrafts,  downdrafts,  side  winds 
opposed  each  smokejumper,  dangling 


30  feet  below  his  parachute,  in  his  ef- 
fort to  alight  on  the  spot  he  had 
selected.  He,  in  turn,  manipulated  his 
chute  to  compensate  for  the  contrary 
currents.  His  life  and  that  of  the  forest 
depended  upon  his  safe  landing.  He 
dumped  the  air  from  the  chute  and 
plummeted  like  a  rock  so  as  to  offset  too 
much  side  drift.  Then,  to  avoid  being 
speared  by  sharp-topped  snags,  he  col- 
lapsed one  side  of  the  canopy  and 
glided  rapidly  forward,  falling  all  the 
while  at  the  rate  of  16  feet  a  second. 
His  selected  landing  spot  was  the  top 
of  a  hundred-foot  green  tree.  With 
feet  close  together,  he  crashed  through 
the  branches ;  twigs,  needles,  and  cones 
flew  in  all  directions.  Then  his  chute 
tangled  amid  the  top  branches  and 
jerked  him  to  a  stop,  his  feet  70  feet 
above  the  rocky  mountainside.  To  the 
trunk  of  the  tree  he  quickly  fastened 
one  end  of  the  rope  he  carried  con- 
veniently at  his  side;  with  it  he  clam- 
bered down. 

Five  minutes  later,  he  and  two  com- 
panion smoke  jumpers  attacked  the 
fire.  In  2  hours  they  had  put  it  out,  in 
what  to  them  was  routine  fashion,  a 
routine  part  of  a  day.  Besides  saving 
the  virgin  timber  from  devastation, 
they  exemplified  the  precept  that  ef- 
fective fire  fighting  depends  on  the  fast 
mobilization  of  men  and  tools.  Mo- 
bilization depends  on  transportation. 
Transportation  now  depends  increas- 
ingly on  aircraft,  the  fastest  and  most 


Fighting  Fires  from  the  Air 


509 


effective  method  developed  since  sys- 
tematic protection  against  forest  fires 
began  in  1905. 

That  year  a  small  group  of  pioneer 
foresters  started  to  set  up  a  system  to 
reduce  the  tremendous  yearly  losses  in 
the  inaccessible  and  priceless  forest 
wildernesses.  Transportation  then  was 
by  pack  horses  or  by  pack  humans. 
Trails  were  few.  Fire  fighters  struggled 
afoot  across  deep  canyons  and  up 
mountain  divides  12,000  feet  high. 
They  had  no  marked  routes  or  de- 
pendable maps.  It  was  hard  to  detect 
fires,  and  many  became  running  con- 
flagrations before  they  were  sighted. 
A  fire  could  spread  from  a  spark  to  a 
disaster  while  the  smokechaser  back- 
packed  wearily  cross  country  2  or  3 
or  5  days  to  begin  his  attack. 

The  spirit  of  the  pioneers  is  a  glori- 
ous challenge  to  men  of  all  times,  a 
lesson  in  courage  and  sacrifice — but 
glory  puts  out  no  fires.  The  odds 
against  them  were  hopeless.  The  in- 
adequacy of  their  system  was  demon- 
strated in  the  great  fires  of  1910,  which 
pointed  up  the  need  for  accessibility 
and  more  speedy  attack.  As  a  result, 
in  1911  to  1925,  a  network  of  trails 
was  built,  and  hundreds  of  pack  mules 
were  used  to  reduce  travel  time  to 
fires.  Even  so,  the  2/2  miles  an  hour 
over  the  great  distances  within  the 
national  forests  was  too  slow.  Too 
many  fires  still  got  out  of  hand;  the 
costs  and  losses  were  still  too  heavy. 

Then  came  the  automobile  and 
road  era.  Between  1926  and  1938,  the 
development  of  low-cost  truck  trails 
opened  many  forest  areas  to  automo- 
bile transportation.  Travel  time  was 
speeded  up  to  15  miles  an  hour  and 
it  became  possible  to  put  out  fires  that 
otherwise  might  have  grown  into  dis- 
asters. Costs  and  losses  were  reduced 
materially — further  proof  that  speed 
of  attack  is  the  determining  factor. 

But  at  a  certain  point  road  trans- 
portation ceases  to  be  economically 
sound;  in  the  remote  areas  rugged 
terrain  makes  the  cost  of  construction 
prohibitive.  Besides  millions  of  acres 
of  valuable  forest  remain  outside  the 


reach  of  road  transportation.  From 
that  problem,  air  transport  was  born. 

The  terrible  fires  of  1910  left  for- 
esters desperate  and  willing  to  try  any- 
thing that  held  any  hope  of  solution. 
Airplane  patrol,  searching  for  fires,  was 
tried  in  a  few  flights  in  the  Lake  States 
in  1915.  The  results  were  negative. 
Flying  equipment  was  not  dependable. 

In  1919  the  Army  Air  Force  pro- 
vided airplanes  and  experienced  pilots 
for  patrol  work  over  California  forests. 
Not  much  came  of  it.  The  planes  avail- 
able were  poorly  adapted  to  the  pound- 
ing they  got  in  the  currents  that  rush 
through  the  mountain  country.  Often 
the  downdraft  was  greater  than  the 
climbing  ability  of  the  planes.  Pilots 
took  tremendous  risks;  many  had  to 
make  forced  landings  amid  towering 
trees  or  on  cliffs  and  rock  slides. 

Experiments  were  continued  never- 
theless in  an  attempt  to  make  the  air- 
plane a  useful  tool  in  combating  forest 
fires.  By  1926  the  airplane  was  accepted 
as  an  adjunct  to  the  lookout  system  of 
the  Northwest.  Air  patrolmen  helped 
in  observing  and  reporting  going  fires 
and  obtaining  information  on  the  head 
end  of  fast-running  fires  in  remote 
timberlands.  Photographs  taken  from 
high-flying  planes  gave  some  informa- 
tion for  maps,  but  equipment  was  poor, 
and  cost  and  risk  were  great.  Foresters 
were  beginning  to  see  the  possibility  of 
uses  other  than  fire  observation. 

A  few  landing  strips  were  built  in 
the  1930's  in  central  locations  in  the 
most  remote  forests,  and  fire  fighters 
were  flown  to  the  one  nearest  a  fire. 
From  there  they  walked,  and  they  cut 
hours,  often  days,  from  the  time  re- 
quired by  the  old  trail-travel  system. 
Even  so,  the  landing  strips  were  few, 
and  the  men  still  had  to  trudge  long 
distances  and  reach  a  fire  fatigued  and 
only  partly  effective.  Fires  still  had 
from  4  to  36  hours  to  spread  before 
the  attackers  could  reach  them. 

In  1929,  a  bad  fire  season,  a  crew  at 
the  head  of  a  fire  was  cut  off  from  all 
ground  transportation.  They  held  a 
key  point,  far  up  on  the  mountainside. 
To  maintain  their  stand,  they  required 


5io 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


additional  equipment;  without  it,  they 
would  lose  the  fire,  and  great  tracts  of 
valuable  timber  lay  ahead.  There  was 
no  possibility  of  getting  pumps  and 
other  tools  through  by  pack  mule;  all 
trails  were  shut  off  by  fire.  To  man- 
pack  the  heavy  equipment  over  the 
many  miles  of  rough,  log-strewn  coun- 
try would  have  taken  too  many  hours. 
The  fire  would  not  wait.  The  fire  boss, 
more  interested  in  saving  the  forest 
than  in  his  own  personal  safety,  sug- 
gested dropping  the  equipment  from 
an  airplane.  That  was  done.  Axes, 
shovels,  and  hand  pumps,  bundled  in 
excelsior  and  blankets,  were  tossed  out, 
as  the  little  plane  bounced  through  the 
churning  air  at  treetop  level.  Many 
handles  were  splintered,  pumps  were 
smashed  against  boulders,  and  much 
of  the  equipment  was  damaged.  But 
enough  was  salvaged  to  do  the  job  at 
hand.  The  fire  was  held.  That  was  the 
beginning  of  aerial  delivery  of  supplies 
direct  to  fire-fighting  forces. 

Since  then,  air  transportation  has 
developed  rapidly.  As  aircraft  was  im- 
proved in  performance,  so  were  tech- 
niques for  dropping  cargo.  Pilots,  the 
so-called  bush  variety,  learned  to 
maneuver  planes  into  almost  impossi- 
ble spots  amid  spikelike  peaks,  into 
narrow  rock- walled  canyons,  and  in  the 
difficult  air  currents  that  prevail  in 
such  country  during  the  turbulent 
weather  of  the  fire  season. 

In  the  early  years  of  cargo  dropping, 
bundles  were  released  at  treetop  level, 
to  fall  free  at  the  target  site.  Extreme 
accuracy  was  essential  because  an  over- 
shot of  a  few  feet  might  carry  the  pack- 
age far  down  into  a  canyon  beyond  the 
target.  Breakage  was  severe  in  the  free 
falls,  and  packaging  to  lessen  that 
damage  was  costly  and  bulky — there 
was  more  insulation  material  than 
actual  pay  load.  Parachutes,  first  used 
for  dropping  supplies  in  1936,  elimi- 
nated the  need  for  bulky  packaging. 

The  principle  of  the  static  line,  or 
mechanical  tripping  of  the  ripcord, 
was  discovered  by  a  forest  pilot  and  fire 
fighter  in  1937.  It  permitted  abandon- 
ment of  free-fall  methods  and  made  the 


job  more  efficient  and  safer.  By  1938 
much  of  the  initial  supply  of  food, 
equipment,  and  material  necessary  in 
the  attack  upon  inaccessible  fires  was 
delivered  by  cargo  chute. 

A  specialized  use  of  the  freight  chute, 
one  that  greatly  simplifies  fire  fighting 
and  lowers  costs,  is  the  delivery  right 
on  the  fire  line  of  prepared  hot  meals 
for  the  fire  fighters.  The  practice  is 
favored  when  the  fire  is  in  country  so 
far  from  trails  that  the  use  of  pack 
mules  would  be  costly  and  in  instances 
when  reliance  on  K-rations  is  imprac- 
ticable and  the  nature  of  the  job  does 
not  warrant  a  field  kitchen. 

Air-delivered  meals  are  prepared  by 
restaurateurs  according  to  a  standard 
menu.  Hot  meat,  vegetables,  gravy, 
and  other  foods  are  packaged  in  tin 
buckets.  Each  5-gallon  bucket  is  insu- 
lated by  a  kapok-stuffed  canvas  cover, 
which  retains  the  heat  for  several 
hours.  Paper  plates,  forks,  spoons,  and 
cups  are  included.  Cold  water  in  milk 
cans  and  hot  coffee  in  insulated  5- 
gallon  cans  go  along  with  the  meal. 
This  method  of  feeding  the  crews  elim- 
inates their  need  for  leaving  the  fire 
line  for  meals.  Breakfast,  dinner,  or 
supper  is  dropped  at  the  edge  of  the 
fire  and  there  is  no  mess  gear  to  be 
packed  back  to  base  after  the  fire. 

THEN  GAME  an  exciting  experi- 
ment— parachuting  men  directly  to  the 
fire.  The  idea  had  come  and  gone 
many  times,  but  before  1939  nobody 
had  been  willing  to  advocate  such 
seeming  fantasy  of  sending  a  live  man 
crashing  down  among  spearlike  snags, 
sheer  precipices,  ragged  peaks,  foam- 
ing streams,  rough  underbrush,  and 
dense  stands  of  trees.  Airmen  had 
smiled  and  walked  away  when  the  sub- 
ject was  mentioned;  they  thought  of 
the  vicious  currents,  the  rarified  air  at 
high  elevations,  and  the  unpredictable 
winds  over  the  rough  mountains.  But 
a  handful  of  Forest  Service  smoke- 
chasers  did  it  in  the  summer  of  1939. 
They  had  no  precedent,  no  informa- 
tion about  that  type  of  parachuting. 
Their  equipment  was  crude  according 


Fighting  Fires  from  the  Air 


to  present-day  standards.  They  had  as- 
sembled their  protective  clothing  from 
whatever  they  could  get — football 
padding,  baseball  masks,  and  such. 
They  had  only  the  standard  emergency 
parachutes.  So  equipped,  they  were 
at  the  mercy  of  the  elements. 

Their  first  jumps  were  aimed  at  soft, 
grassy  meadows  high  on  the  mountain- 
side. Such  sites  are  few  in  the  wilder- 
ness forests,  and  the  original  concept 
of  the  possibilities  of  jumping  was  re- 
stricted to  that  limitation.  Then,  dur- 
ing some  trial  jumps,  a  gust  of  wind 
chanced  to  carry  a  jumper  away  from 
the  meadow  and  slammed  him  down 
into  a  thicket  of  tall  trees,  the  accident 
that  all  had  dreaded.  The  jumper, 
swinging  lightly  down  from  the  spring- 
like branches,  reported  the  most  gentle 
landing  he  had  experienced.  There- 
after, jumpers  attempted  purposely  to 
land  in  green  trees,  which  they  call 
"feathers." 

Eleven  fire  seasons  have  passed  and 
a  war  has  been  won  since  those  first 
timber  jumps.  The  smokejumpers,  as 
they  are  now  called,  have  had  an  im- 
portant part  in  both. 

From  the  group  that  pioneered  the 
first  jumps,  the  crew  of  smokejumpers 
has  grown  to  an  organization  of  225 
men,  many  of  them  college  students  of 
forestry.  Stationed  in  squads  at  stra- 
tegic points  through  the  Northwest, 
the  men  perform  a  spectacular  and 
dangerous  task.  I  believe  that  they  ac- 
complish more  actual  fire  protection 
for  each  dollar  spent  than  any  other 
department  or  phase  of  the  fire-control 
activity  in  the  northern  Rockies. 

Protective  clothing  has  been  de- 
signed to  prevent  injury  from  sharp 
tree  limbs  and  rocks.  Maneuverable 
parachutes  have  been  invented,  de- 
signed, and  redesigned  for  maximum 
safety.  Opening  of  the  parachute  is 
made  automatic  by  use  of  a  static-line 
ripcord.  Slotted  canopies  and  guide 
lines  permit  considerable  control  over 
direction  and  speed  of  descent. 

A  rigorous  course  of  calisthenics, 
low  jumps,  and  exercises  on  the  ground 
and  over  hurdles  and  obstacles  toughen 


their  muscles,  train  them  to  be  agile, 
and  teach  them  how  to  fall,  and  de- 
velop the  smokechasers  into  skilled 
parachutists.  The  smokejumpers,  after 
they  have  been  thoroughly  trained, 
travel  140  miles  an  hour  in  airplanes 
and  reach  a  point  above  a  fire  in  the 
most  inaccessible  wilderness  in  a  matter 
of  minutes  after  it  is  reported.  They 
bail  out  1,500  feet  above  ground  in 
numbers  consistent  with  the  need  of 
the  job  to  be  done  and  land  within 
yards  of  the  embryo  fire.  Tools,  rations, 
radio-phone,  and  all  other  necessary 
equipment  follow  by  parachute.  Un- 
like the  first  smokechaser  who  reached 
a  fire  weary  from  walking  many  miles, 
the  jumpers  are  fresh  and  alert  when 
they  attack  their  fire.  They  have  had 
a  chance  to  observe  the  fire  and  sur- 
rounding area  from  above  and  have 
knowledge  of  its  probable  course.  They 
know  that  fellow- jumpers  are  available 
as  reinforcements  within  an  hour  or  so. 

Smokejumping  is  dangerous.  It  is  no 
job  for  the  timid  or  physically  unsound. 
The  men  risk  their  lives  with  each 
jump,  but  it  is  a  calculated  risk,  taken 
in  the  interest  of  saving  an  essential  re- 
source. Some  accidents  have  occurred. 
Some  bones  have  been  broken,  and 
jumpers  have  returned  over  mountain 
trails  on  stretchers  carried  by  their 
comrades,  but  in  thousands  of  jumps 
over  hazardous  terrain,  no  one  has  been 
permanently  injured  or  killed.  Jumps 
by  squads  of  2  to  100  men  have  been 
made  in  the  most  remote  sections  of 
Montana,  Idaho,  Oregon,  Washing- 
ton, California,  and  New  Mexico. 

During  the  war,  the  smokejumper 
organization  helped  the  Air  Force  by 
training  para-doctors  and  providing 
the  specially  designed  jumping  equip- 
ment that  is  essential  to  precision  para- 
chuting. This  service  helped  save  many 
lives  when  military  craft  had  crashed 
in  inaccessible  locations.  The  coopera- 
tion with  the  Air  Force  is  still  active. 
Search  and  rescue  specialists  are  being 
trained  each  year  at  the  smokejumper 
base  near  Missoula,  Mont. 

A  civilian  physician  in  Helena, 
Mont.,  similarly  trained,  jumps  with 


512 

his  emergency  kit  to  the  scenes  of  acci- 
dents on  the  fire  line  in  the  national 
forests.  An  injured  employee,  struck  by 
a  falling  snag,  suffering  from  a  rup- 
tured appendix,  or  bleeding  from  an 
ax  wound,  can  thus  have  expert  atten- 
tion with  less  delay  than  would  often 
occur  had  the  injury  been  received  in 
a  large  city. 

Statistics  on  10,000  timber  jumps 
offer  some  interesting  information.  For 
instance,  men  older  than  29  years  can- 
not jump  without  high  risk  of  injury. 
Nor  can  men  weighing  more  than  180 
pounds  expect  to  hit  the  ground  with- 
out broken  bones.  The  record  indicates 
that  fewest  accidents  occur  after  the 
jumper  has  made  13  descents. 

BESIDES  SMOKE  JUMPING,  air  trans- 
portation has  made  other  contributions 
to  the  control  of  forest  fires.  They  can 
be  illustrated  by  the  sequence  followed 
in  suppressing  a  back-country  fire  in 
the  Rockies,  in  heavily  forested  terri- 
tory that  straddles  the  most  rugged 
part  of  the  Continental  Divide.  It  is  a 
roadless  expanse  of  deep,  cliff-sided 
canyons  and  spectacular  granite  moun- 
tains up  to  2  miles  above  sea  level.  The 
bottoms  are  scorching  hot;  the  heights 
are  chill  from  the  air  over  glaciers  and 
slides.  The  wind  is  a  chaos  of  currents. 
Pack  trails,  which  switch  back  steeply 
over  the  passes  and  skirt  the  precipitous 
walls,  provide  access  to  this  wilderness 
of  forests  and  wildlife.  Once  these  trails 
were  the  tenuous  supply  route  to 
the  widely  separated  lookouts  atop  the 
peaks,  and  up  them,  when  lightning 
started  fires,  the  smokechaser  and  fire 
crews  labored  at  2  or  3  miles  an  hour 
on  their  slow  way  to  the  battles.  They 
were  often  too  late  in  arriving — as 
great  burned  scars,  thousands  of  acres 
of  ghost  trees,  testify. 

On  a  few  well-distributed  flats  along 
the  bottom  of  major  canyons  are  short 
landing  strips,  suitable  for  use  by  small, 
slow-flying  aircraft.  Larger  strips  are 
not  possible  because  of  topographic 
obstacles.  At  one  of  these  strips  is  lo- 
cated the  ranger  station,  which  serves 
as  a  control  center  for  air  operations 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


and  in  which  a  battery  of  instruments 
indicate  current  fire  conditions,  among 
them  fuel  moisture,  humidity,  and 
wind  movement.  If  burning  conditions 
are  dangerous  an  observer  in  a  patrol 
plane  takes  off  to  see  if  fires  have 
broken  out.  His  flight  follows  a  care- 
fully plotted  course,  worked  out 
through  a  study  of  topographic  pro- 
files, the  location  of  the  most  hazard- 
ous fuel  bodies,  the  angle  of  the  sun's 
rays,  direction  and  strength  of  the 
wind,  and  similar  factors  that  together 
tell  him  where  and  how  to  make  the 
most  of  each  minute  of  flying.  The  ob- 
server is  trained  in  map  reading,  fuel 
identification,  and  fire  behavior.  On 
his  analysis  of  conditions  at  a  fire  de- 
pends the  action  of  the  fire  fighters. 
The  pilot,  too,  is  schooled  in  naviga- 
tion and  map  reading,  so  that  he  can 
find  any  specified  quarter-acre  spot 
in  a  forest.  He  knows  the  air  currents 
in  all  the  canyons,  and  he  also  is  a 
qualified  fire  observer. 

The  observer  spots  a  wisp  of  smoke 
no  larger  than  that  from  the  chimney 
of  a  residence  in  a  far  corner  of  the 
forest.  The  pilot  swings  the  plane  over 
to  investigate  at  close  range.  The  ob- 
server switches  on  his  radio  and  noti- 
fies the  ranger  station  that  he  sees  a 
fire.  The  suppression  forces  get  the 
alert  signal;  the  jumpers  are  readied 
for  the  take-off;  a  transport  plane  is 
warmed  up. 

The  observation  plane  slides  in  over 
the  fire  at  treetop  level.  Its  exact  loca- 
tion was  plotted  on  the  map  as  the 
approach  was  made ;  now  the  job  is  to 
determine  just  what  the  fire  is  doing 
and  what  are  its  potentials.  This  in- 
formation determines  the  suppression 
action  to  be  taken. 

Within  3  minutes  the  observer  has 
surveyed  the  situation  and  radios  to 
headquarters.  Calculations  indicate  the 
need  for  five  men  within  the  hour. 
Otherwise,  because  of  the  dense,  highly 
inflammable  fuels,  it  will  become  a 
fast-running,  forest-consuming  mon- 
ster. It  is  40  miles  from  the  nearest 
road  and  10  miles  from  the  nearest 
trail.  In  1920,  or  even  in  1940,  the 


Fighting  Fires  from  the  Air 


513 


situation  surely  would  have  meant  a 
big,  costly  fire;  now  it  is  practically  a 
routine  affair. 

Within  minutes  of  the  observer's  re- 
port, the  jumper  plane  from  head- 
quarters points  its  nose  into  the  direc- 
tional bearing  plotted  by  the  patrol 
observer.  As  it  climbs  for  elevation  on 
its  direct  course  to  the  fire,  five  young 
men  quickly  get  into  their  padded, 
white,  strongly  made  jumping  cover- 
alls under  the  watchful  eye  of  a  jump- 
master  or  spotter.  Dressing  and  don- 
ning their  harness  in  the  restricted 
space  inside  a  plane,  which  is  pitching 
in  the  turbulent  air  like  a  Montana 
bronc  at  a  rodeo,  is  no  simple  task,  but 
when  the  jumpers  have  done  so,  a  com- 
plete check  of  rigging  is  made  by  the 
spotter.  By  that  time  the  plane  is  near 
the  fire. 

The  jump  ship  swings  wide  around 
the  fire  as  the  spotter  and  jumpers 
orient  themselves  as  to  the  nearest  trail 
on  which  to  return,  survey  the  geogra- 
phy and  forest  conditions  around  the 
smoke,  and  check  on  the  best  jumping 
sites.  One  site  appears  most  suitable, 
and  the  pilot  crosses  directly  over  it, 
1,500  feet  above  the  trees.  The  spotter 
drops  a  drift  chute,  a  36-inch  proto- 
type of  the  real  chutes.  Its  drift  from 
a  true  vertical  descent  is  recorded,  and 
the  spotter  calculates  the  adjustments 
necessary  in  dropping  his  men. 

The  ship  is  maneuvered  accordingly. 
When  it  is  over  the  desired  spot,  the 
five  men  leap  in  quick  succession  from 
the  door.  The  chutes  pop  like  large 
firecrackers  as  the  static  line  jerks  them 
open.  They  fall  rapidly  in  a  downdraft, 
then  catch  in  dead  air,  and  perhaps 
drift  rapidly  off  to  the  side  for  a  mo- 
ment. By  that  time,  the  jumper  has 
checked  his  canopy  and  lines  and  is 
getting  ready  to  land.  He  is  confident, 
unafraid,  because  months  of  training 
have  given  him  the  skill  that  is  essential 
if  he  is  to  land  where  he  wishes  and 
without  injury.  He  closes  one  7-foot 
slot  in  the  chute  and  turns  to  face  the 
direction  he  wishes  to  travel.  If  the 
wind  is  drifting  him  past  the  target, 
he  collapses  the  canopy  and  plummets 

802062° — 49 34 


closer  to  the  ground.  If  he  is  offside, 
he  tips  the  chute  and  planes  in  the 
desired  direction.  He  has  selected  a 
bushy  clump  of  trees,  and  as  he  plows 
through  the  trees,  the  nylon  shroud 
lines  and  canopy  tangle  with  the  top- 
most branches  and  brings  him  to  a 
gentle,  bouncing  stop.  As  he  swings,  40 
feet  above  the  log-  and  boulder-strewn 
ground  surface,  he  produces  a  light 
cotton  rope  from  a  pocket  in  his  canvas 
jumper  suit  and  attaches  it  to  the  chute 
rigging.  Detaching  himself  from  the 
harness,  he  descends  on  the  rope. 
Another  minute  and  he  is  free  of  the 
jumping  regalia,  and  with  a  bright 
yellow  ribbon  of  crepe  paper  he  lays 
out  a  signal  that  indicates  in  code  to 
the  plane  that  all  is  well.  The  plane 
circles  low  and  drops  packages  con- 
taining complete  fire-fighting  equip- 
ment, radio,  rations,  and  drinking 
water.  Some  packages  hang  up  in  tall 
trees  but  are  retrieved  through  the  use 
of  telephone-climber  spurs  dropped 
with  the  jumpers. 

Within  5  or  10  minutes  more,  the 
fire  is  being  attacked  by  the  well- trained 
men,  who,  conditioned  like  athletes,  are 
free  from  the  travel  fatigue  that  weak- 
ened the  old-time  ground  force  before 
it  struck  the  first  blow. 

Such  action  by  smoke  jumpers  has 
stopped,  at  small  size  and  low  cost, 
hundreds  of  fires,  which,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  aerial  attack,  would  have 
raged  over  mountain  and  valley. 

THE   LOCATION    AND   BEHAVIOR   of   a 

fire  must  be  known  by  the  men  who 
plan  the  attack.  To  get  the  information 
by  use  of  foot  travel  would  take  4 
hours,  maybe  12.  During  that  time  the 
fire  would  move  on,  conditions  would 
change,  and  the  tardy  reports  would 
be  inaccurate.  To  meet  this  problem, 
aerial  scouting  has  been  developed  to 
a  high  degree  of  dependability. 

A  scout  plane  is  put  into  action  im- 
mediately after  a  fire  "blows  up."  The 
plane  circles  the  fire,  and  a  photogra- 
pher-scout takes  pictures  of  all  sides  at 
an  angle  of  about  45  degrees.  He  photo- 
graphs also  the  area  ahead  of  the  fire. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Beside  him  in  the  seat  is  a  small  box, 
much  like  the  one  a  doctor  uses  to 
check  palpitation.  It  is  actually  a  small 
laboratory.  Its  top  is  covered  with 
black  cloth  in  which  are  attached  two 
sleeves,  which  are  closed  with  elastic 
bands  and  through  which  the  photog- 
rapher-scout works  with  his  hands  in- 
side the  dark  box.  Within  15  minutes 
from  the  moment  he  made  his  last 
exposure,  he  has  completed  the  de- 
veloping and  printing  job.  His  pictures 
are  ready  to  be  dropped  to  the  fire  boss 
on  the  ground.  The  prints,  still  wet, 
are  placed  in  a  paper  tube  to  which 
is  attached  an  orange-colored  ribbon 
10  feet  long.  The  tube  is  weighted  with 
sand  to  make  it  fall  vertically. 

The  orange  streamer  permits  those 
on  the  ground  to  keep  the  falling  tube 
in  view  and  to  find  it  should  the  land- 
ing be  in  dense  brush  or  a  thicket. 
From  those  photographs,  the  planners 
of  the  fire-fighting  job  obtain  far  more 
detailed  information  than  could  pos- 
sibly be  included  in  the  maps  and  re- 
ports originally  provided  by  ground 
scouts.  The  conditions  shown  by  the 
pictures  are  up  to  date  within  20  min- 
utes. This  intelligence  service  speeds 
up  the  action  on  the  fire  line. 

ANOTHER  PHASE  of  air  transporta- 
tion is  the  movement  of  fire-control 
specialists  quickly  to  the  scene  of  action. 
Sometimes  several  thousand  men  and 
tons  of  equipment  and  supplies  are 
needed  to  control  a  fire.  Many  ma- 
chines, pack  trains,  and  fleets  of  motor- 
trucks are  essential  in  mobilizing  and 
operating  these  forces  under  certain 
conditions.  A  small  army  like  that  re- 
quires trained  organizers,  planners  of 
strategy,  and  crew  bosses  experienced 
in  handling  large  numbers  of  men  un- 
der the  emergency  conditions  prevail- 
ing on  large  fires.  Such  specialists  are 
few,  and  often  must  travel  hundreds 
of  miles  to  the  fire;  the  airplane  re- 
duces their  travel  time  to  a  few  hours. 

Each  summer,  hundreds  of  fire 
fighters  are  flown  from  work  projects 
and  employment  centers  across  miles 
of  mountainous  country  to  a  forest 


landing  strip  nearest  the  fire  that  has 
become  too  large  for  the  first  attack 
force.  A  few  hours  of  walking  and  they 
arrive  at  the  fire — a  vast  difference 
from  the  day  15  years  ago  when  they 
would  have  walked  5  days  to  the  spot. 

NOW  WE  ARE  WORKING  ON  PROCE- 
DURES to  fight  fires  with  bombs  con- 
taining water  or  chemicals.  The  first 
attempts  to  do  so  were  made  in  1930 
by  a  bush  pilot  and  an  old-time  fire 
fighter,  who  used  a  trimotored  air- 
plane. They  had  no  bomb  sights, 
ballistics  table,  or  the  other  scientific 
aids  that  enabled  the  war  bombardiers 
of  1945  to  pin-point  their  targets;  the 
first  experiments  were  with  a  half- 
dozen  wooden  barrels  filled  with  water 
and  plugged  tightly.  The  forester 
marked  a  white  circle  on  the  ground  as 
a  target  and  climbed  in  the  plane. 
When  he  was  over  the  target,  he  rolled 
a  barrel  out  the  door.  Catapulted  by 
the  plane  at  90  miles  an  hour,  and 
falling  free  for  only  100  feet,  the  bar- 
rels smashed  around  the  target.  None 
made  direct  hits,  and  the  water,  driven 
straight  down  by  the  force  of  the  fall, 
wetted  a  spot  little  larger  than  the 
barrel  itself.  The  result  was  hardly  en- 
couraging— small  fires  could  not  be  hit 
directly,  and  the  water  covered  too 
small  an  area. 

Next,  the  same  men  attempted  to 
spray  fires  with  a  hose  attached  to  a 
tank  of  water  in  the  plane.  Water 
streamed  out  the  end  of  the  hose  as  it 
was  flown  back  and  forth  over  the 
blotters  that  had  been  laid  out  to  check 
the  moisture  that  reached  the  ground. 
Another  failure.  The  water  vaporized 
immediately  as  it  left  the  end  of  the 
fast-moving  hose,  and  practically  none 
reached  the  ground. 

Seventeen  years  later,  more  produc- 
tive experiments  in  fire  bombing  be- 
came possible.  Bombing  techniques 
were  improved  during  the  Second 
World  War,  and  precision  instruments 
were  developed  for  accurately  drop- 
ping missiles  of  large  volume  and 
weight.  The  Forest  Service  and  the 
Army  Air  Forces  cooperated  in  com- 


Fighting  Fires  from  the  Air 


prehensive  fire-bombing  tests.  The  Air 
Forces  made  available  their  best  equip- 
ment and  personnel ;  the  Forest  Service 
provided  the  fire  technicians  and  other 
facilities.  The  preparation  and  study 
of  materiel,  ballistics,  and  application 
techniques  were  assigned  to  the  Prov- 
ing Ground  Command,  and  this  phase 
of  the  experiment  was  conducted  at 
Eglin  Field,  Fla. 

After  18  months  of  study  of  factors 
such  as  type  of  bomb  and  plane,  bomb 
sights,  and  dropping  procedures,  the 
Air  Force  in  the  summer  of  1947  car- 
ried the  experiments  into  the  forests. 
The  project  was  moved  to  Missoula, 
in  the  heart  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
in  Montana,  where  tests  could  be  made 
under  the  greatest  variety  of  geo- 
graphic and  meteorological  conditions. 

All  that  summer,  a  big  bomber  and 
two  fighter  planes,  all  equipped  with 
modern  devices  and  manned  by  highly 
competent  personnel,  dropped  water- 
filled  bombs  on  test  fires.  They  plas- 
tered small  target  fires  with  mud  and 
water  from  high  altitudes,  and  they 
glide-bombed  them  at  treetop  level. 
Big  bombs  and  little  bombs  were  hurled 
at  smokes  on  mountaintops  8,500  feet 
above  sea  level  and  in  the  bottoms  of 
narrow  canyons.  Careful  technical 
study  was  made  of  the  effectiveness  of 
each  bomb  drop  on  the  fire. 

Various  types  of  water  bomb  were 
used.  Some  were  designed  to  function 
through  impact,  like  an  egg  thrown 
against  the  pavement.  Others  were  ex- 
ploded at  varying  heights  above  the 
treetops  by  internal  burster  charges. 
The  experiments  tested  every  reason- 
able suggestion  that  bore  on  an  answer 
to  the  question :  "Can  small  forest  fires 
be  retarded  or  put  out  from  the  air?" 

The  answer,  according  to  a  board 
of  survey  that  comprised  State  for- 
esters and  members  of  private  forest- 
protective  associations  and  the  Forest 
Service,  was  affirmative. 

The  experiments  demonstrated  that 
forest  fires,  if  attacked  by  water-bomb- 
ing aircraft  while  still  small,  can  be 
retarded,  and,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, extinguished.  If  facilities  for 


515 

bombing  are  available,  many  poten- 
tially dangerous  fires  can  be  stopped  or 
held  down  by  bombing  until  smoke- 
jumpers  or  ground  forces  can  reach 
the  scene.  Foresters  also  believe  that 
an  attack  by  a  dozen  heavy  bombers 
upon  the  head  of  a  big,  running  fire 
might  well  influence  the  rate  of  spread 
to  the  point  where  ground  control  can 
be  greatly  expedited. 

So  far,  plain  water  appears  to  be  a 
satisfactory  retardant  for  use  in  bomb- 
ing fires.  Wetting  agents,  foam,  and 
other  chemicals  have  advantages  un- 
der some  circumstances  and  will  cer- 
tainly be  used  if  fire  bombing  becomes 
a  common  practice. 

Large-scale  bombing  of  forest  fires 
is  not  economically  practicable  now, 
if  the  entire  operation  must  be  paid  out 
of  funds  available  for  forest  protec- 
tion— bombers  are  costly  and  their 
operation  is  expensive.  I  suggest,  how- 
ever, that  the  peacetime  functions  of 
the  U.  S.  Air  Force  might  logically 
include  the  cooperative  use  of  bombing 
facilities  in  defense  of  our  forests 
against  fire. 

So  FAR,  THE  BENEFITS  from  airplane 
transportation  have  resulted  from  the 
speed  with  which  aircraft  can  deliver 
fire-fighting  facilities  to  the  point  of 
need.  That  same  speed  in  conventional, 
fixed-wing  airplanes  restricts  their  use 
and,  in  some  phases  of  the  work,  re- 
duces their  value.  The  conventional 
airplane,  because  of  the  speed  required 
to  take  off  and  land,  requires  a  long 
runway  or  landing  strip.  Sites  of  suffi- 
cient length  are  scarce  in  much  of  our 
western  forest  area,  and  few  landing 
strips  are  available  for  receiving  fire 
crews  and  picking  up  smoke  jumpers 
for  the  return  to  base.  The  speed  of 
the  modern  airplane  again  lowers  its 
value  for  fire  protection  when  it  is  as- 
signed to  patrol  duty.  The  observer 
usually  must  scan  a  strip  of  rapidly 
changing  geography  at  least  10  miles 
wide;  at  the  normal  flying  speed  of 
ordinary  planes,  he  must  scan  each 
ravine,  ridge,  and  pocket  while  moving 
at  the  rate  of  more  than  100  miles  an 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


hour.  Hence,  he  must  view  more  than 
12,000  acres  a  minute.  Each  acre  re- 
ceives observation  for  only  a  small 
fraction  of  a  second,  and  the  incipient 
lightning  fire  may  be  making  less  smoke 
than  a  small  campfire.  Slower  air- 
craft would  afford  better  patrol  obser- 
vation. 

Then,  speed  again  operates  against 
efficiency  in  such  jobs  as  dropping  sup- 
plies and  jumpers.  Delay  by  a  dropper 
approximating  the  time  of  two  heart 
beats  can,  while  flying  120  miles  an 
hour,  cause  loss  of  the  vital  cargo  re- 
leased. Just  that  fraction  of  a  second 
could  cause  overshooting  the  target 
badly.  Jumpers,  too,  must  compensate 
for  forward  plane  speed,  and  they  take 
a  terrific  shock  as  their  chutes  open  at 
100  or  120  miles  an  hour — like  a  jump 
from  a  tall  building  with  a  15-  or  20- 
foot  rope  attached  to  the  roof  and  to 
a  person's  shoulders;  the  jerk  of  the 
sudden  stop  is  severe. 

THE  TREND  in  airplane  design  is  in 
the  direction  of  faster  and  faster  craft, 
away  from  the  ideal  type  for  forest-fire 
operations.  The  helicopter,  however, 
promises  to  fulfill  the  need  for  slower 
movement  in  the  air. 

Still  in  its  infancy,  the  helicopter  has 
already  been  used  in  fire  fighting.  It 
needs  only  an  opening  in  the  timber 
for  a  landing  site.  Its  use  is  not  re- 
stricted to  costly  and  widely  separated 
landing  fields.  It  can  fly  slowly  to  per- 
mit thorough  scrutiny  of  any  spot  that 
looks  suspicious  to  the  observer.  It  can 
almost  stand  still  in  midair  while  the 
patrolman  plots  the  location  and  con- 
ditions of  a  fire. 

During  the  summer  of  1947,  a  heli- 
copter quickly  moved  a  large  crew  of 
fire  fighters  from  the  road  end  in  the 
valley  bottom  to  the  point  of  critical 
need  on  a  fire  high  up  on  an  inacces- 
sible mountain.  There  was  no  landing 
strip,  only  a  brush-free  spot  on  the 
mountain,  but  the  task  was  accom- 
plished without  mishap. 

Helicopters  now  do  not  carry  enough 
pay  load  to  make  them  a  major  factor 
in  delivering  supplies,  men,  or  fire- 


extinguishing  bombs,  but  that  lack 
might  soon  be  overcome.  If  the  hover- 
ing type  of  aircraft  is  made  capable  of 
carrying  a  ton  or  more,  it  will  be  the 
final  answer  to  the  dreams  of  the  fire 
fighters.  It  will  follow  lightning  storms 
across  the  forests,  hovering  at  treetop 
level  to  examine  each  strike.  The  pa- 
trolman can  be  lowered  to  the  ground 
by  rope  ladder  to  extinguish  any  smol- 
dering spark.  He  will  climb  back  into 
the  helicopter  and  proceed  systemati- 
cally to  the  next  danger  spot,  stopping 
in  midair  here  and  there  to  scrutinize 
suspected  areas.  When  a  small  blazing 
fire  is  discovered,  the  helicopter  will 
hover  directly  above  it,  just  out  of  reach 
of  the  heat,  and  water  or  chemical  will 
be  poured  or  squirted  directly  on  the 
fire.  Smokejumpers  will  be  replaced 
with  "heli-firemen,"  and  the  most  dan- 
gerous and  spectacular  action  in  fire- 
control  work  will  be  discontinued  in 
favor  of  an  easier,  safer,  yet  as  effec- 
tive, method  of  getting  to  the  point  of 
attack.  Then,  when  the  last  spark  is 
killed,  the  "heli-fireman"  will  not  face 
that  long,  hard  hike,  20  or  30  miles 
cross-country  under  a  heavy  back  pack, 
to  the  old  landing  field.  He  will  merely 
radio  for  the  helicopter  and  climb  up 
the  rope  ladder  to  a  good  comfortable 
ride  back  to  the  base. 

He  will  be  available  for  assignment 
to  another  fire  hours,  perhaps  days, 
earlier  than  under  the  1949  system  of 
"jump  to  the  fire  and  crawl  back  when 
you  get  her  licked." 

CLAYTON  S.  CROCKER  began  sea- 
sonal work  in  forest-fire  protection  on 
the  Selway  National  Forest  in  north- 
ern Idaho,  and  for  31  years  has  been 
engaged  in  forest-fire  control  activi- 
ties in  the  Rocky  Mountain  country. 
His  fire-control  experience  includes 
active  participation  through  the  eras 
of  the  pack  trail,  the  mountain  truck 
road,  and  development  of  aerial  for- 
estry. Since  1944  Mr.  Crocker  has  been 
assistant  regional  forester  in  charge  of 
fire  control  for  the  Northern  Region  of 
the  Forest  Service,  and  is  stationed  in 
Missoula. 


FIRE  AS  A  TOOL  IN  SOUTHERN  PINE 


ARTHUR    W.    HARTMAN 


For  three  centuries  people  in  the 
South  have  practiced  woods  burning. 
The  custom  began  in  the  Coastal 
Plain  flatwoods,  where  groups  of  set- 
tlers had  to  clear  ground  for  farm- 
ing and  then  for  their  livestock.  They 
soon  learned  that  late  winter  was  a 
critical  period  for  their  stock — the 
ground  had  a  cover  of  dead  grass, 
needles,  and  litter,  and  the  animals 
fared  badly.  But  on  a  fresh  winter  burn 
new  and  succulent  grass  would  spring 
up  to  tide  their  stock  over  until  spring. 
They  set  fires  also  to  clear  the  woods 
of  varmints. 

The  settlers,  observing  some  bene- 
ficial effects,  came  to  believe  the  whole 
practice  beneficial  and,  with  the  pas- 
sage of  time,  the  population  developed 
customs  and  community  procedures 
for  burning  the  Coastal  Plain  pinelands 
about  every  second  or  third  winter. 
When  the  people  migrated  inland  to 
the  rolling  uplands  of  the  Piedmont 
and  the  Appalachian,  Arkansas,  and 
Missouri  Mountains,  they  carried  with 
them  the  custom  of  "light  burning." 
It  became  universal  across  the  South. 
They  had  no  way  of  knowing  the  ex- 
tent to  which  the  custom  had  grown 
away  from  beneficial  application  and 
become  seriously  detrimental  to  the 
then  abundant  timber  stands. 

When  trained  foresters  carefully  ob- 
served the  results  they  concluded  that 
light  burning  had  been  detrimental  to 
the  health,  growth,  and  yielding  capac- 
ity of  the  stands  affected;  that  it  was 
the  limiting  factor  to  good  forestry 
practice  in  the  Coastal  Plains;  and 
that  eventually  it  would  destroy  the 
hardwoods  and  less  fire-resistant  pine 
stands  of  the  uplands.  Three  figures 
show  the  magnitude  of  the  problem  in 
11  Southern  States:  In  1947,  there 
were  158,425  fires  that  burned  over 
21,005,581  acres  in  the  total  forest  area 
of  185,416,000  acres. 

One  must  not  assume  that  a  major 


part  of  a  population  knowingly  and 
maliciously  practices  or  tolerates  for 
a  long  time  a  custom  detrimental  to  the 
community.  Rather,  one  must  under- 
stand that  generations  of  observation 
by  the  people  point  to  some  solid  rea- 
sons for  burning,  even  though  applica- 
tion sometimes  drifted  into  extremes. 

A  few  early  foresters  investigated 
and  concluded  that  all  use  of  fire  was 
not  evil  and  that  fire  correctly  used 
under  specific  conditions  and  for  pre- 
determined results  could,  in  fact,  be 
beneficial.  Furthermore,  they  devel- 
oped the  thesis  that  the  long-estab- 
lished and  deeply  ingrained  custom 
would  be  broken  only  after  foresters 
themselves  had  clearly  identified  and 
separated  the  helpful  from  the  harm- 
ful application  of  fire  and  then  proved 
the  identity  of  the  two. 

Progress  toward  the  identification  of 
the  effects  to  be  had  from  fire  has  been 
under  way  for  many  years.  Here  and 
there  observant  landowners  worked 
out  and  applied  some  uses  of  fire  on 
their  own  lands.  The  work  of  such  men 
as  H.  M.  Wilson  and  William  Ottmeier 
produced  valuable  lines  of  approach. 

As  far  as  the  records  reveal,  the 
investigations  of  H.  H.  Chapman  were 
the  first  attempts  to  identify  scientif- 
ically and  define  woods  conditions 
that  might  be  bettered  by  fire,  to  meas- 
ure results  from  actual  use,  to  create 
guide  lines  for  proper  fire  intensities, 
and  to  measure  the  influences  of  cli- 
matic conditions  on  fire  behavior. 

The  Southern  Forest  Experiment 
Station  twenty  years  ago  began  a  series 
of  studies  to  determine  some  phases  of 
fire  effects  in  longleaf  pine  stands.  The 
studies  progressed  until,  by  1940,  there 
was  evidence  that  net  benefits  were 
obtainable  from  fire  under  certain  spe- 
cific sets  of  conditions.  In  the  mean- 
time, pilot  studies  were  conducted  on 
longleaf  pine  lands  in  national  forests. 
The  sum  of  the  evidence  disclosed  a 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


need  for  burns  to  be  carried  out  over  a 
large  area  and  under  varied  conditions. 
In  considering  the  program  under- 
taken, certain  facts  and  principles  must 
be  kept  in  view : 

1.  The  term  "prescribed  burning" 
is  meant  to  describe  and  apply  only 
when  on-the-ground  examination  and 
analysis  has  revealed  some  unsatisfac- 
tory condition  that  can  be  bettered  if 
fire  (of  a  specified  intensity  and  under 
prescribed  conditions  of  season,  fuel 
moisture,  wind  direction  and  velocity) 
is  applied  at  the  proper  time  and  only 
to  the  designated  area. 

2.  Timbered   land  should  be  pro- 
tected from  wildfire  at  all  times. 

3.  The  burden  of  proof  is  on  the 
land  manager  each  time  he  uses  fire 
as  a  tool.  Use  of  fire  on  timber  stands 
must  be  viewed  as  akin  to  surgery  on  a 
human  being.  It  is  justified  only  after 
competent  diagnosis  of  an  unsatisfac- 
tory condition  indicates  that  oppor- 
tunity for  gain  will  be  in  excess  of  losses 
and  cost  and  must  presuppose  accept- 
able skill  in  execution. 

4.  Generalizations,  such  as  "south- 
ern pines,"  must  be  avoided;  in  all 
cases  reference  must  be  made  to  the 
tree  species  involved  on  any  one  area 
considered  for  treatment  by  fire. 

5.  In    evolving    prescribed-burning 
practices,  it  is  equally  as  essential  to 
determine  where  and  when  use  of  fire 
is  detrimental  as  it  is  to  clarify  when 
it  can  be  beneficial. 

WHEN  THE  PROGRAM  of  prescribed 
burning  was  started,  available  infor- 
mation indicated  that  it  should  be 
tested  for  its  value  in  meeting  the  fol- 
lowing situations: 

1.  Preparation    of   seedbed.    Long- 
leaf  pine  yields  a  good  seed  crop  at 
intervals  of  5  to  8  years.  Characteristic 
ground  cover  in  this  timber  type,   2 
years  or  more  after  being  burned,  is  a 
mat  of  dead  grass  and  pine  needles  so 
dense  that  it  prevents  all  but  a  small 
part  of  the  seed  fall   from  reaching 
mineral  soil  and  becoming  established. 

2.  Sanitation  burning  to  eradicate 
brown  spot  needle  disease  from  long- 


leaf  pine  seedlings  in  the  grass  stage. 
Where  the  disease  is  prevalent  and  not 
cleaned  off,  either  on  the  natural  or 
planted  seedlings,  infected  plants  fail 
to  make  growth,  gradually  lose  health 
and  vigor,  and  in  5  to  8  years  may 
suffer  90  to  100  percent  mortality. 

3.  Subjection    of   healthy    longleaf 
grass-stage  seedlings  to  a  smothering 
cover  of  grasses  and  overstory  of  brushy 
plants.  Root  competition  for  food  and 
moisture,  coupled  with  shading  from 
sunlight,  starve  a  seedling  from  start- 
ing height  growth  for  as  much  as  12 
years.  Fire  can  remove  the  shade  and 
reduce  competition. 

4.  Encroachment  of  any  undesirable 
growth.  Edges  of  ponds,  bays,  swamps, 
and  streams  support  growths  of  titi, 
gallberry,  myrtle,  and  other  commer- 
cially worthless  species.  Under  com- 
plete fire  exclusion,   this  growth  en- 
croaches and  occupies  good  pine  sites 
with  thickets  so  dense  as  to  exclude 
pine  reproduction.  In  Florida  such  en- 
croachments have  taken  over  as  much 
as  25  percent  of  the  best  pine  sites.  On 
the  drier  longleaf  sites,  volunteer  lob- 
lolly can  become  an  undesirable  species. 
Fire  can  reclaim  such  areas  for  estab- 
lishment of  productive  growth. 

5.  Protective  burning.   This   phase 
of  burning  is  full  of  divergent  inter- 
pretations and  misunderstanding  and 
controversy.  The  basic  idea  in  the  in- 
vestigation has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
periodic  light  burning  of  woods  as  a 
substitute  for  full  protection  against 
fire.  The  simple  fact  that  over  Coastal 
Plain  pinelands  a  wildfire  will  again 
burn  rapidly  within  6  months  or  a  year 
after  having  been  burned  would  ren- 
der any  such  protection  scheme  futile. 

Opportunities  for  protective  burn- 
ing are  typified  by  the  Osceola  Na- 
tional Forest  in  Florida.  There  the 
ground  cover  is  such  that  an  intensive 
fire-protection  organization  would  fail 
frequently  and  to  the  extent  that  the 
sum  of  fire  losses  could  equal  the  in- 
crement of  the  area  over  a  rotation 
period. 

Fire  exclusion  was  practiced  there 
for  15  years.  It  is  an  area  of  lush  and 


Fire  as  a  Tool  in  Southern  Pine 


519 


prolific  growth.  Longleaf  and  slash 
pine  seedlings  came  in  profusely  fol- 
lowing wildfires  just  previous  to  es- 
tablishment of  fire  protection.  Dense 
stands  resulted,  understoried  by  rank 
growths  of  the  tolerant  palmetto,  gall- 
berry,  and  grasses.  Pine  needle  cast, 
which  lasts  many  years  without  ap- 
preciable decay,  drapes  over  the  lower 
pine  branches,  bushes,  and  grass  ac- 
cumulations and  creates  a  floor  of  man- 
high  fuel  heaps.  By  measurement, 
there  were  25  tons  of  flash  fuel  per  acre. 

As  the  fuel  accumulated,  the  dan- 
ger of  fire  increased  constantly.  Dur- 
ing the  long  dry  periods  in  late  spring 
and  early  summer,  the  stands  reached 
almost  explosive  conditions.  Whether 
a  fire  was  caused  by  man  or  lightning, 
a  moderate  wind  could  fan  it  into  a 
fast-running  crown  fire  before  a  man 
could  reach  it.  Then  the  only  chance 
of  breaking  the  head  lay  in  backfiring 
a  road  that  might  be  several  miles 
away.  Burns  of  thousands  of  acres  were 
in  prospect,  particularly  because  the 
highest  incidence  of  incendiarism  in 
the  country  is  found  in  parts  of  this 
vulnerable  region. 

The  manager  of  such  a  forest  land 
must  calculate  carefully  his  risks.  On 
the  one  hand,  can  he  burn  out  the  fuel 
at  a  cost  of  about  15  cents  an  acre  and 
the  equivalent  of  one-half  of  a  year's 
growth  of  his  stand  when  a  killing  ac- 
cumulation of  fuel  develops?  On  the 
other  hand,  should  he  take  a  chance 
that  wildfire  will  not  get  into  his  stand 
when  it  is  worth  upwards  of  $20  an 
acre?  The  factors  he  must  take  into 
account  are  frequency  of  incendiary 
fires,  the  amount  of  local  sentiment 
against  having  range  go  back  to  tim- 
ber, the  probability  of  accidental  fires, 
the  size  and  location  of  his  investment 
with  regard  to  constant  surveillance, 
and  the  degree  of  certainty  to  which 
local  fire  forces  can  be  relied  upon  to 
hold  incendiary  settings  of  fire  to  small 
size.  He  might  also  have  to  consider 
the  chances  of  fire  that  exist  when  a 
plantation  or  an  equally  valuable 
stand  of  natural  young  growth  is  lo- 
cated in  an  area  of  high  risk — near  a 


settlement,  railroad,  sawmill,  or  a  fre- 
quented fishing  site. 

6.  Scrub    oak    control.    Following 
heavy  cutting  on  longleaf  ridges,  scrub 
oaks  tend  to  take  over  the  sites,  produc- 
ing a  closed  canopy  that  excludes  pine 
reproduction.  Some  observers  believe 
that  fire  can  be  used  to  thin  out  or 
even  remove  these  scrub  oak  thickets. 

7.  Planting    preparation.    Burning 
just     before     planting    removes     the 
"rough,"  or  mat  of  dead  grasses  and 
leaves,  and  facilitates  planting  opera- 
tions. Brown  spot  disease  is  removed 
from  whatever  volunteer  seedlings  are 
present,  and  infection  in  planted  stock 
is  reduced.  Also,  it  insures  the  costly 
plantation  from  destruction  by  wild- 
fire during  its  most  vulnerable  period. 

8.  Wildlife  burns.   In   many  areas 
under  complete   fire   protection,   the 
food  supply  of  deer,  turkey,  quail,  and 
other  wildlife  decreases  seriously  and 
game  birds  lose  nesting  places.  There 
is  evidence  that  fire  can  be  used  to 
increase  game  foods  and  keep  nesting 
areas  open  and  sanitary.  Sites  burned 
for  such  purposes  are  an  insignificant 
fraction  of  wooded  areas,  and  the  de- 
sired effects  may  often  be  provided  by 
burns  carried  out  for  other  purposes. 
However,  for  the  guidance  of  those 
land  managers  who  choose  to  practice 
multiple  use  and  make  some  sacrifice 
of  timber  production  to  favor  wildlife, 
a  program  of  prescribed  burning  is 
obligated  to  test  and  assess  methods 
and  scope  of  fire  use  for  such  a  purpose. 

9.  Exploration  in  the  loblolly  and 
shortleaf  pine  types.   Indications  are 
that  fire  can  have  a  favorable  effect 
under  certain  limited  conditions. 

The  sites  recently  subjected  to  heavy 
cutting  particularly  need  study.  Typi- 
cally, most  of  that  ground  is  covered 
with  logging  debris  and  litter,  which 
keeps  the  seed  from  reaching  mineral 
soil  or  smothers  the  seedlings.  Usually 
present  are  numerous  shrubs,  vines, 
and  brush  and  worthless  hardwood 
species,  which  grow  vigorously  and 
close  over  the  site  when  the  canopy  is 
removed  by  logging.  Thus  they  prevent 
most  of  the  random  pine  catch  from 


520 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


developing  and  from  coming  through. 

An  answer  must  be  sought  to  the 
question  as  to  whether  fire  can  be  used 
to  remove  the  soil  cover  sufficiently 
to  obtain  a  satisfactory  natural  stand 
of  pine  reproduction  and  at  the  same 
time  kill  or  set  back  the  shrubs  and 
hardwoods  to  the  point  where  the  pine 
seedlings  can  successfully  compete  for 
the  site. 

Other  areas  that  warrant  special  in- 
vestigation are  the  extensive  areas  that 
contain  few  natural  barriers  and  have 
nearly  even-aged  stands  of  saplings  and 
small  pole-sized  growth.  Conditions 
occur  periodically  in  which  fires  spread 
rapidly.  Unusually  strong  fire-fighting 
forces  cannot  stop  such  fires  without 
great  losses. 

One  solution  in  the  past  was  to  break 
up  the  larger  vulnerable  areas  by  clear- 
ing wide  fire  lanes  and  keeping  those 
lanes  devoid  of  vegetation — an  expen- 
sive practice.  We  hope  that  the  danger 
of  big  fires  can  be  reduced  by  using 
a  pattern  of  strips  from  which  the  fuel 
has  been  removed  by  careful  burning. 

Studies  are  under  way  to  ascertain 
the  amount  of  damage  such  burning 
would  do  to  saplings  in  the  strips.  If 
the  damage  is  low  enough  to  allow 
good  growth  and  yield  on  the  strips, 
such  use  of  fire  might  be  cheap  and 
quick  insurance  against  major  fire 
losses  on  any  one  area. 

Of  the  183  million  wooded  acres  in 
the  South,  122  million  are  in  small 
ownerships.  Some  100  million  acres 
are  in  ownership  blocks  of  500  acres 
or  less.  Further,  small  tracts  are 
owned  by  some  1,500,000  individuals. 
In  brief,  about  66  percent  of  the  po- 
tential timber  capacity  of  the  South  is 
in  small  tracts  that  are  interspersed 
and  integrated  with  many  farming  op- 
erations, including  dairying  and  rais- 
ing beef  cattle.  Some  of  the  herds  are 
large. 

The  question  is:  Can  grazing  and 
timber  growing  be  adjusted  to  a  mini- 
mum of  conflicts,  so  that  each  can 
contribute  a  maximum  of  benefits? 
Broadly  speaking,  the  factors  in  the 
problem  relate  to  the  major  timber 


types,  to  the  basic  questions  of  best 
land  use.  By  and  large,  each  major 
timber  type  is  a  key  to  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent combination  of  soil,  topography, 
climate,  species  of  grasses,  under- 
growth, and  vulnerability  to  fire. 

In  late  years,  grazing  practices  have 
been  undergoing  significant  changes 
in  the  mountain  shortleaf  pine  type, 
the  flatwoods  shortleaf,  mixed  short- 
leaf-loblolly,  and  (to  some  extent)  in 
the  loblolly  type.  Twenty  years  ago 
most  animals  were  of  native  stock  and 
improved  pastures  were  rare. 

Usually  the  animals  were  turned 
loose  to  roam  at  will  over  any  un- 
fenced  land,  even  in  winter,  when  the 
range  offered  only  dead  grass  of  low 
nutritive  value.  The  stock  was  so 
cheap  and  poor  that  owners  could  not 
afford  other  winterf eed.  A  late  winter 
fire  would  remove  the  dead  forage  and 
be  followed  by  a  fresh  growth  of  grass 
that  could  tide  the  animals  over  that 
critical  period.  At  best,  that  type  of 
stock  industry  must  be  classed  as  un- 
stable and  uneconomic.  This  combi- 
nation of  factors  was  the  genesis  of 
perhaps  90  percent  of  the  incendiary 
woods  fires  in  the  South. 

With  the  help  of  the  county  agricul- 
tural agents,  schools  and  colleges  of 
agriculture,  progressive  citizens,  and 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  a 
program  was  instituted  that  included 
elimination  of  the  Texas  fever  tick, 
distribution  of  blooded  bulls  among 
the  herds,  and  the  creation  of  fenced, 
improved  pastures.  The  program  was 
years  in  the  making,  but  now  it  is  in 
practice  widely,  but  in  various  degrees 
of  application. 

Over  most  of  the  shortleaf  and  lob- 
lolly areas,  herds  have  been  improved. 
Milk  stock  is  preponderantly  of  good 
blood.  Good  breeding  of  beef  stock 
has  raised  conformation  and  weight  to 
a  point  where  the  product  commands 
a  high  market  price.  The  owners  find 
it  profitable  to  hold  their  cattle  on 
improved  pastures  and  winterfeed 
them.  In  the  areas  where  the  progress 
is  more  advanced,  such  as  in  the  Oua- 
chita  Mountain  shortleaf  part  of  Ar- 


Fire  as  a  Tool  in  Southern  Pine 


kansas,  range  burning  has  nearly  dis- 
appeared. Few  cattle  are  seen  in  the 
woods,  and  the  conflict  between  graz- 
ing and  timber  raising  has  practically 
disappeared. 

Many  of  the  soils  found  in  the  non- 
mountainous  belts  of  shortleaf,  mixed 
shortleaf-loblolly,  and  loblolly  favor 
the  development  of  improved  pastures. 
Many  exist,  and  more  are  appearing. 

This  trend  creates  the  reasonable  ex- 
pectation that  causes  of  grazing  fires  in 
the  shortleaf  and  loblolly  pine  types 
may  soon  disappear.  There  are  single- 
purpose  foresters  who  would  deny  the 
mixed  use  of  the  same  ground  for  tim- 
ber growing  and  stock  grazing.  That 
position  can  be  granted  to  the  few  land 
managers  who  are  fortunate  enough  to 
have  consolidated  blocks  under  fence 
or  located  where  livestock  does  not 
have  legal  right-of-way.  But  there  are 
owners  of  sizable  areas  of  wooded  land, 
men  whose  business  is  stock  raising; 
timber  will  be  produced  on  their  lands 
only  to  the  extent  that  they  are  con- 
vinced it  need  not  seriously  interfere 
with  stock  raising.  In  between  are  all 
degrees  of  mixed  use.  Undoubtedly 
there  always  will  be  some  stock  run  in 
these  types  of  woods,  but  such  dual 
uses  need  not  be  considered  entirely  in- 
compatible. Further,  more  and  more 
people  doubtless  will  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  wildfire  in  shortleaf  and 
loblolly  timber  types  is  undesirable  and 
harmful  to  incidental  woods  grazing  of 
good  cattle.  With  the  elimination  of 
grazing  fires  in  the  timber  types  I  men- 
tioned, conflict  of  uses  will  disappear. 

The  problem  for  foresters  is  to  work 
out  an  adjusted  use  and  through  edu- 
cational efforts  to  overcome  the  graz- 
ing fire.  We  do  not  foresee  a  relation- 
ship between  planned  silvicultural 
burning  and  grazing  by  grade  cattle 
in  the  shortleaf  or  loblolly  pine  types. 

The  true  longleaf  and  mixed  long- 
leaf-slash  pine  types  (more  than  22 
million  acres)  present  another  prob- 
lem. 

The  typical  longleaf  sites  are  low 
ridges  with  loose,  porous,  sandy  soils. 
Humus  and  available  mineral  nutrients 


521 


leach  down  beyond  the  reach  of  most 
plant  life.  The  establishment  of  good 
pastures  that  contain  the  more  nu- 
tritive grasses  has  been  relatively  rare, 
and  experimentation  has  yet  to  prove 
that  a  general  development  of  im- 
proved pastures  on  such  soils  will  be 
economically  feasible. 

Herd  improvement  of  range  cattle 
in  longleaf  areas  has  lagged,  partly  be- 
cause many  experienced  stockmen  be- 
lieve that  breeds  that  originate  in  cold 
climates  cannot  thrive  in  a  region  of 
high  temperatures,  insects,  and  poor 
forage.  But  cattle  with  Brahman  blood 
are  good  rustlers  and  can  run  the  open 
range. 

Under  normal  market  conditions  the 
sale  price  of  native  cattle  will  be  low. 
Economically  there  can  be  but  little 
winter  feeding  of  such  cattle.  Yet,  from 
the  owner's  viewpoint,  whatever  he 
does  realize  from  them  will  be  nearly 
all  profit.  Present  laws  in  many  States 
permit  this  stock  to  roam  wherever  it 
can  without  regard  to  landownership. 
Prospects  are  that  no  significant  part  of 
the  vast  area  in  this  type  will  ever  be 
fenced.  From  the  viewpoint  of  the 
stock  owner,  winter  burning  of  a  part 
of  the  old  rough  to  expose  and  speed 
growth  of  new  grass  is  essential  to  this 
phase  of  animal  husbandry. 

Continued  large  numbers  of  woods- 
grazing  cattle  must  be  expected.  The 
situation  is  complicated  because  gen- 
erally the  stockman  owns  but  a  small 
part  or  none  of  the  land  he  is  grazing. 
Whether  or  not  the  landowner  wishes 
to  grow  timber,  stock  will  be  present 
and  wildfires  will  continue. 

The  combination  of  these  factors  has 
created  the  outstanding  concentration 
of  woods  fires  in  the  country;  the 
burned  acreage  annually  exceeds  the 
total  burned  by  woods  fires  from  all 
causes  in  all  other  parts  of  the  United 
States.  The  situation  has  changed  little 
for  generations. 

As  a  matter  of  firm  fact,  on  more 
than  12  million  acres  of  longleaf  pine 
lands,  the  conflict  right  now  is  so  acute 
that  no  organized  attempt  is  being 
made  to  suppress  the  fires.  The  owners 


522 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  these  lands  have  not  found  justifica- 
tion for  making  the  business  invest- 
ments required  to  embark  on  good 
forestry  practice  in  the  face  of  the 
present  certainty  of  heavy  fire  losses. 

The  most  promising  solution  in  sight 
lies  in  the  possibilities  occurring  from 
the  use  of  fire  as  a  silvicultural  tool. 
We  are  in  no  way  advocating  the  burn- 
ing of  longleaf  woodland  for  the  pri- 
mary purpose  of  grazing  benefits.  That 
is  just  what  we  must  get  away  from. 

Available  experience  does  hold  the 
hope  that  planned  burning  for  seedbed 
preparation,  brown  spot  control,  re- 
moval of  brush  encroachments,  and 
removal  of  dangerous  fuel  accumula- 
tions will  together  produce  enough 
burned  land  on  a  managed  area  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  stock.  Also,  when 
cattlemen  are  informed  of  the  burning 
program  and  pattern,  and  find  they 
can  depend  upon  its  execution,  much 
of  the  cause  for  wildfire  will  have  dis- 
appeared. 

WHEN  THE  PROGRAM  of  prescribed 
burning  began  in  the  winter  of  1943, 
there  were  approximately  3  million 
acres  of  national  forest  lands  in  the 
longleaf  and  longleaf-slash  types.  Re- 
connaissance of  the  lands  disclosed  that 
far  more  needed  burning  than  we  had 
facilities  for.  Then  and  since,  the  prob- 
lem has  been  to  select  the  most  critical 


conditions  for  the  priority  of  treatment. 
The  net  areas  treated  in  five  different 
seasons  and  the  costs  per  acre  were : 

1943-44:   142,677  acres $0  114 

1944-45:   180,091  acres 

1945-46:   154,617  acres 

1946-47:    110,126  acres 

1947-48:  216,055  acres 


104 
116 
155 
153 

The  average  area  burned  annually 
represents  5.35  percent  of  the  national 
forest  longleaf-slash  pine  lands. 

The  main  purposes  for  burning  and 
the  area  in  acres  involved  in  each 
were: 

Seedbed  preparation 228,  000 

Brown  spot  disease  control 365,  000 

Longleaf  seedling  release 14,  500 

Control  of  brush  encroachment 50,  000 

Fuel  reduction 121,500 

Scrub  oak  control 2,  000 

Planting  preparation 16,  000 

Wildlife  burns 3,  000 

Loblolly  exploration 3,  500 

The  distribution  of  prescribed  burns 
by  States  was: 

Acres 
Alabama 55,  100 

Florida 333,  600 

Louisiana 100,  800 

Mississippi 216,  700 

North    Carolina 11,100 

South    Carolina 41,  100 

Texas 45,  100 

The  major  efforts  of  the  first  year 
were  concentrated  in  Florida.  There 
(particularly  on  the  Osceola  National 
Forest,  with  its  dense  stands  of  ad- 
vanced reproduction  and  heavy  flash 
fuel)  the  burning  was  extremely  risky, 
with  chances  of  severe  losses.  But  a 
force  of  men  experienced  in  handling 
wildfires  was  available  there;  we  be- 
lieve that  whatever  the  risk  from  burn- 
ing, the  risk  from  doing  nothing  was 
even  greater.  The  conditions  appeared 
to  be  worse  there  than  elsewhere  in 
the  South,  so  that  successful  prescribed 
burning  would  assure  solution  and 
techniques  on  which  to  base  success- 
ful operations  elsewhere. 

Research  men  currently  recorded 
the  factors  present  and  the  methods 
involved  in  each  burn,  measured  ap- 
parent damage,  and  thereafter  have 
annually  remeasured  the  representa- 
tive plots  to  compute  delayed  or  slowly 


Fire  as  a  Tool  in  Southern  Pine 


523 


appearing  damage.  As  a  result,  90,000 
acres  of  the  Osceola  National  Forest 
have  been  burned  with  a  negligible 
amount  of  damage.  Most  of  the  meas- 
urable damage  occurred  on  those 
burns  deliberately  pushed  to  identify 
safe  limits  of  action — too  early  or  too 
late  in  the  season  and  too  long  after 
a  rain. 

Foresters  who  have  inspected  and 
studied  the  results  obtained  on  the 
Osceola  National  Forest  have  con- 
cluded that  the  stands  benefited  from 
the  treatment. 

A  significant  fact:  This  150,000- 
acre  forest  is  heavily  stocked  with 
range  cattle,  but  incendiarism  has 
nearly  disappeared,  and  the  average 
area  burned  annually  from  wildfires 
of  all  causes  has  dropped  from  3.4  to 
0.033  percent  of  the  area. 

THE    RESULTING    CATCHES    of    long- 

leaf  pine  seedlings  on  areas  where  the 
mineral  soil  has  been  exposed  by  burn- 
ing a  year  or  less  before  a  seed  fall 
have  been  successful.  An  example: 
On  26,000  acres  in  southern  Alabama, 
burned  just  before  the  1947  seed  fall, 
a  catch  grading  from  satisfactory  to 
heavy  was  obtained  on  90  percent  of 
the  area,  and  at  1  percent  of  the  cost 
of  planting.  On  many  burned  areas 
following  the  period  of  seed  germina- 
tion, examination  showed  that  good 
catches  can  be  obtained  on  roughs  a 


year  old  or  less ;  that  on  a  2-year  rough, 
there  is  some  catch  but  not  satisfactory 
stocking;  and  on  roughs  of  3  years  or 
more,  the  catch  is  insignificant. 

Results  we  obtained  from  seedbed 
burns  in  units  of  more  than  300  acres 
in  size  are  not  in  line  with  results  from 
small-area  experimental  burns.  Ro- 
dents are  pretty  well  eliminated  from 
the  larger  burns,  and  their  damage 
is  confined  to  edges.  The  seed-loss 
damage  characteristic  from  bird  con- 
centration on  small  burns  is  reduced 
when  they  can  feed  over  larger  areas. 
Increased  distances  from  brown  spot 
infection  sources  delays  infection  of 
the  new  seedlings. 

BROWN  SPOT  needle  disease  is  pres- 
ent in  varying  degrees  over  the  entire 
pine  belt;  mostly  the  infection  on  un- 
burned  grass-stage  seedlings  ranges 
from  serious  to  epidemic.  The  effects 
are  equally  adverse  to  natural  seed- 
lings or  planted  stock. 

Area  examinations  usually  reveal  a 
considerable  degree  of  infection  on 
3-year-old  stock.  Then  the  disease  has 
not  seriously  reduced  the  vitality  of  the 
plant,  but  if  it  is  not  overcome,  it  will 
spread  rapidly,  increase  in  severity, 
progressively  weaken  the  seedlings,  and 
destroy  all  but  a  few  stragglers  in  the 
following  3  to  5  years. 

A  fire  during  the  dormant  period 
(late  December  through  February) 
will  control  the  infection  if  it  is  hot 
enough  to  defoliate  the  grass-stage 
seedlings,  and  has  flames  high  enough 
to  consume  the  infection-carrying 
needles  on  any  reproduction  up  to  10 
feet  in  height.  If  burned  early  enough, 
before  the  infection  has  reduced  the 
vitality  of  the  seedlings,  the  seedlings 
will  produce  a  full  crown  of  healthy 
needles  the  following  growing  period. 
The  speed  with  which  a  reinfection 
may  occur  appears  to  be  proportionate 
to  the  size  of  the  area  given  a  sanitary 
burn.  A  burn  of  40  acres  is  hardly 
worth  while.  The  disease  left  in  the 
surrounding  unburned  area  will  rein- 
feet  to  a  depth  of  several  hundred  feet 
within  a  year. 


524 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Experience  dictates  that  a  burn  for 
this  purpose  include  at  least  200  acres; 
results  would  be  better  on  even  larger 
units.  The  occurrence  and  virulence  of 
brown  spot  disease  is  so  variable  that 
no  time  formula  for  treatment  can  be 
followed.  In  some  areas  the  disease 
was  not  sufficiently  prevalent  to  justify 
burning,  while  in  others  a  dangerous 
degree  of  infection  did  not  appear  un- 
til the  fifth  year.  Of  considerable  sig- 
nificance are  indications  that  one  fire 
treatment  often  is  enough  to  bring  the 
seedlings  through  into  height  growth. 

Our  best  guide  is:  Never  burn  un- 
less necessary;  necessity  must  be  deter- 
mined by  an  annual  reconnaissance 
that  computes  the  extent  of  infection 
present  and  maps  for  treatment  any 
areas  where  infection  is  severe. 

Experience  indicates  that  when  (be- 
cause of  tardy  treatment)  only  about 
one-quarter  of  the  stock  recovers  its 
health,  there  is  a  net  gain  from  reburn- 
ing  2  years  after  the  first  fire.  The  in- 
fection must  therefore  be  detected  and 
burned  promptly,  before  the  disease 
has  had  time  to  sap  the  vigor  of  the 
plants. 

The  results  from  fire  treatment  have 
generally  been  successful.  Plantations 
and  areas  of  natural  reproduction 
which  were  treated  in  time  are  now 
healthy,  well-stocked  stands  of  sap- 
lings. Even  in  plantations  where  fire 
was  excluded  so  long  that  some  mor- 
tality had  set  in  and  the  remainder 
looked  hopeless,  the  recovery  resulted 
in  healthy  if  understocked  stands. 

RELEASE  BURNING  is  another  aspect. 
For  reasons  not  yet  clearly  measured, 
longleaf  seedlings  not  seriously  diseased 
sometimes  will  remain  in  the  grass 
stage  and  fail  to  start  height  growth 
for  as  long  as  12  years.  The  reason 
probably  is  a  combination  of  deficien- 
cies in  food,  moisture,  and  sunlight,  be- 
cause of  the  competition  of  dense 
stands  of  grasses  and  shrubs.  Frequently 
it  was  noted  that  height  growth  began 
after  a  wildfire  had  burned  such  areas. 

To  determine  whether  some  of  these 
lost  years  of  growth  could  be  saved,  a 


program  was  started  for  burning  vary- 
ing age  classes  of  the  delayed-growth 
stands.  The  study,  not  yet  completed, 
indicates  tentatively  that  height  growth 
will  begin  the  second  spring  following 
a  prescribed  burn  that  removes  the 
grass  mat  and  kills  back  the  bushes, 
worthless  brush,  and  hardwood  species. 

Fire  has  been  used  successfully  to 
kill  back  encroachments  of  titi,  gall- 
berry,  and  myrtle  and  permit  the  estab- 
lishment of  pine  seedlings.  A  large  area 
in  Florida  burned  for  this  purpose  now 
supports  a  good  stand  of  slash  pine 
seedlings. 

Scrub  oak  thickets  have  been  burned 
in  all  seasons  and  with  varied  intensi- 
ties of  flame.  Usually  fuel  under  the 
thickets  is  light  and  patchy;  in  them, 
high-intensity  fires  are  impossible. 
Summer  fires  have  given  favorable  re- 
sults on  small  areas  here  and  there 
within  a  large  burn.  We  are  unable  yet 
to  point  to  conclusive  examples  of  suc- 
cessfully reducing  by  fire  treatment  the 
scrub  oak  canopy  generally  over  com- 
mercial-size areas. 

The  valuable  loblolly  pine  assumes 
the  role  of  an  undesirable  species 
when  it  encroaches  on  a  true  longleaf 
pine  site  that  has  a  stand  of  grass-stage 
seedlings.  If  it  is  not  controlled,  the 
loblolly  takes  early  ascendancy  and 
usually  smothers  out  the  longleaf.  The 
loblolly  lacks  the  long  taproot  with 
which  nature  equips  the  tree  she  de- 
signed for  this  site  and  cannot  reach 
down  through  the  dry  topsoils  to  the 
water  table.  It  soon  loses  its  vigor,  be- 
comes easy  prey  to  deforming  or  killing 
Cronartium  infection,  and  produces  an 
inferior  stand. 

Burning  in  loblolly  sapling  stands  to 
remove  fuel  in  strips  has  been  under 
controlled  tests  for  only  one  season. 
Preliminary  findings  are  that  the  areas 
treated  show  low  damage;  perhaps 
burning  techniques  can  be  evolved  that 
will  make  it  practical,  at  low  cost  and 
low  damage,  to  break  large  areas  of 
fire-vulnerable  stands  into  small  blocks 
within  which  an  intensive  fire  can  be 
confined. 

Loblolly  areas  in  parts  of  southeast- 


Fire  as  a  Tool  in  Southern  Pine 


ern  Texas  (since  establishment  of  tight 
fire-protection  practices)  are  being 
taken  over  by  dense  thickets  of  yaupon. 
A  joint  project  with  the  Southern 
Forest  Experiment  Station  is  testing 
the  possibilities  of  fire  use  to  restore 
these  areas  for  pine  stands. 

GENERAL  LESSONS:  The  lowest 
damage  to  timber  stands  from  pre- 
scribed fires  occurred  under  the  fol- 
lowing conditions: 

Burns  between  December  20  and 
February  28; 

The  second  and  third  day  following 
a  rain; 

Backfiring  against  a  cold,  steady 
north  wind  having  a  velocity  of  5  to  8 
miles  an  hour  at  ground  level ; 

The  area  broken  by  clean-plowed 
lines  at  10  to  20  chain  intervals  run- 
ning right  angles  to  the  wind  direction; 

Work  done  during  the  daylight, 
starting  about  10  a.  m.  and  completed 
soon  after  dark; 

Areas  of  vulnerable  reproduction  lo- 
cated, plowed  around,  and  from  which 
fire  was  excluded. 

DANGEROUS  PRACTICES  : 

Plowing  3  weeks  or  more  before 
burning — leaves  and  needles  drift  into 
fire  lines  and  they  do  not  hold ; 

Burning  just  before  a  rain — winds 
always  become  shifty  and  create  hot 
spots  or  head  fires; 

Using  other  than  backfire — excep- 
tion can  be  made  and  flank  fire  used  in 
seedbed  or  planting  preparation  where 
there  is  little  of  value  already  on  the 
ground;  short-head  fires  are  required 
to  remove  brush  encroachments; 

Burning  against  any  but  a  northerly 
wind;  others  are  not  reliable; 

Burning  with  no  wind — the  hot  gas- 
es, not  being  dissipated  by  winds,  rise 
directly  upward  and  create  high  and 
severe  needle  scorch; 

Burning  at  night — there  is  more 
probability  of  a  calm  setting  in,  result- 
ing in  high  scorch.  It  affords  less  op- 
portunity for  good  supervision;  men 
may  lose  direction  and  make  mistakes. 
When  dew  falls,  the  line  burns  un- 


525 


evenly,  and  parts  of  the  fire  go  out; 
the  fire  may  not  burn  to  the  control 
line,  and  conditions  might  be  danger- 
ous the  following  day; 

Laying  out  a  burning  plan  without 
first  carefully  reconnoitering  and  map- 
ping the  area; 

Burning  in  longleaf  reproduction 
after  it  has  started  height  growth  and 
before  it  exceeds  8  feet  in  height; 

Leaving  a  burning  job  to  unskilled 
hands; 

Trying  to  burn  even  though  weather 
conditions  begin  to  change  from  those 
expected — it  pays  to  put  out  the  fire 
and  send  the  crew  home. 

ESTABLISHED  FACTS: 

Fire  can  be  backed  against  strong 
winds  through  our  heaviest  roughs, 
under  longleaf  and  slash  pine  saplings 
12  feet  or  more  in  height,  and  the 
scorch  confined  to  the  lower  one-third 
of  the  needles. 

Slash  pine  reproduction,  growing 
over  a  moderate  fuel  accumulation, 
will  have  90  percent  survival  at  6  feet 
in  height  if  properly  burned. 

Grass-stage  longleaf  seedlings  2 
years  or  more  of  age  store  sufficient 
reserve  food  in  root  systems  to  fully 
refoliate  following  a  single  burn. 

DANGER  SIGNALS  are  these:  The 
height  of  the  scorch  line  gives  a  good 
ocular  measure  of  the  quality  of  a 
burning  job.  For  advanced  longleaf 
and  slash  pine,  when  the  scorch  in- 
volves less  than  the  lower  one-third  of 
the  live  needles,  no  measurable  slow- 
ing down  of  growth  follows.  A  scorch 
between  the  lower  one-third  and  one- 
half  of  the  needles  results  in  a  loss 
equivalent  to  one  year's  growth.  As 
the  scorch  rises  into  the  upper  half  the 
growth  loss  rises  rapidly,  creating 
mortality. 

SEVERAL  DIRECTIONS  and  precau- 
tions can  be  given. 

If  the  examination  has  shown  a 
need  for  burning,  the  area  involved  is 
mapped,  and  a  burning  plan  is  laid 
out.  It  should  set  forth  the  desired 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


wind  direction  and  velocity,  tempera- 
ture, number  of  days  following  rain, 
and  the  approximate  dates  desirable 
for  burning. 

Areas  of  from  300  to  500  acres  in 
size  are  the  most  economical  to  handle. 

The  area  is  prepared  for  a  day  with 
the  proper  characteristics  by  plowing 
parallel  lines,  their  ends  tied  into  bar- 
riers or  a  surrounding  plowed  line. 

Distance  between  interior  parallel 
lines  may  be  from  10  to  20  chains. 
Spacing  distance  is  determined  in  each 
case  by  the  nature  and  value  of  the 
stand,  and  the  speed  at  which  fire 
may  be  expected  to  back  in  that  par- 
ticular fuel. 

Where  fire  backs  at  a  rate  of  l1/^ 
chains  an  hour  and  an  8-hour  dura- 
tion of  burning  is  planned,  the  lines 
should  be  placed  at  intervals  of  about 
12  chains. 

When  conditions  for  burning  are 
favorable,  instruct  each  man  as  to  the 
lines  he  is  to  fire  and  their  sequence, 
and,  if  possible,  arm  each  with  a  drip 
torch. 

As  soon  as  test  sets  indicate  that 
conditions  are  right,  start  a  number 
of  fire  lines  simultaneously. 

Three  men  can  fire  all  the  lines  in 
a  500-acre  block  within  50  minutes. 
Two  safety  men  are  needed  to  guard 
the  downwind  line  until  the  fire  has 
eaten  into  the  point  of  safety. 

The  foreman  and  other  men,  upon 


completion  of  firing,  should  prowl 
their  assigned  interior  and  any  ex- 
terior plowed  lines  for  break-overs. 

Five  men  are  desirable  to  start  a 
500-acre  burn.  Two  men  can  guard 
it  after  it  is  under  way. 

Good  burning  days  are  relatively 
scarce,  so  it  is  our  practice  to  utilize 
them  to  the  fullest.  From  the  inven- 
tory of  blocks  planned  and  prepared 
for  treatment  under  existing  condi- 
tions, additional  areas  are  selected 
and  the  crew  fires  new  blocks  until 
safety  assignments  absorb  them. 

A  fire-plow  unit  is  kept  either  at  the 
scene  or  where  it  can  be  reached  by 
radio  in  case  of  trouble. 

When  conditions  are  right  and  large 
blocks  are  available,  a  five-man  crew 
can  successfully  burn  up  to  1,500  acres 
a  day  in  difficult  areas. 

REGARDING  COSTS,  we  view  as  an 
error  any  attempt  to  reduce  the  cost 
of  prescribed  burning  at  the  expense 
of  quality.  Rather,  the  objective  must 
be  a  burning  operation  resulting  in 
predetermined  acceptable  damage. 
Costs  are  then  reducible  to  the  extent 
that  organization  skill,  training,  and 
efficient  supervision  can  eliminate  ex- 
cess manpower  and  lost  motion. 

Averages  are  misleading.  Seedbed 
burning  is  done  for  as  low  as  8  cents  an 
acre.  Fuel  reduction  in  valuable  young 
stands  often  justifies  as  much  as  25 


Machines  and  Fires  in  the  South 


cents  an  acre.  Ninety  percent  of  the 
burns  in  national  forests  fall  within  the 
range  of  12  to  18  cents  an  acre. 

On  a  typical  15-cents-an-acre  long- 
leaf  burn,  the  costs  break  down  about 
as  follows:  Reconnaissance  and  plan- 
ning, 2.1  cents;  plowing  lines,  7.2 
cents;  and  burning,  5.7  cents  an  acre. 

ARTHUR  W.  HARTMAN  is  chief  of 
the  Division  of  Fire  Control  in  the 
Southern  Region  of  the  Forest  Service. 


527 

He  received  his  early  training  on  the 
Klamath,  Natural  Bridge,  and  White 
Mountain  National  Forests.  He  was 
forester  for  War  Department  lands  at 
West  Point,  N.  Y.,  until  he  joined  the 
Army  in  the  First  World  War.  Later 
he  was  district  forest  ranger,  timber 
management  assistant,  assistant  super- 
visor, and  supervisor  on  the  Ouachita 
National  Forest  and  the  Kisatchie 
National  Forest.  He  is  a  graduate  in 
forestry  of  Pennsylvania  State  College. 


MACHINES  AND  FIRES  IN  THE  SOUTH 

ARTHUR  W.  HARTMAN 


After  30  years  of  effort  by  pri- 
vate, State,  and  Federal  organizations 
to  protect  their  forests  against  fire, 
some  97  million  acres  of  the  private 
wooded  land  in  the  South  are  under 
some  kind  of  protection.  An  additional 
15  million  acres  are  protected  by  the 
national  forest  organization.  More 
than  80  million  acres  of  forest  and 
potential  forest  land,  however,  receive 
no  protection  at  all. 

Of  every  100  acres  under  organized 
protection  by  State  forest  services,  an 
average  of  1  /2  acres  suffer  burns  each 
year.  As  late  as  1943,  when  fire  sup- 
pression depended  mostly  on  men  with 
only  hand  tools,  fires  burned  29  million 
acres  and  destroyed  values  estimated 
at  72  million  dollars. 

The  record  was  not  good.  Several 
explanations,  if  not  excuses,  can  be 
given.  Because  fast-spreading  fires  can 
start  in  flash  fuels  in  the  South  a  few 
hours  after  a  rain  any  time  during  8 
to  12  months  of  the  year,  forest  lands 
are  in  almost  constant  jeopardy.  Com- 
binations of  low  humidity  and  high 
wind  often  create  conditions  of  ex- 
treme hazard,  when  fires  may  burn 
with  an  intensity  beyond  the  ability  of 
men  to  control  unless  they  have  proper 
machines — but,  although  yesterday's 
long  lines  of  pick-and-shovel  ditch  dig- 
gers have  been  replaced  largely  by 
powered  trenching  machines  operated 


by  a  few  men,  there  are  still  lines  of 
sweating,  exhausted  men  who  try  to 
stop  the  fires  with  shovels  and  rakes. 

For  the  delays  in  getting  machines 
for  fire  fighting,  one  can  assign  several 
reasons.  Fires  occur  intermittently; 
during  times  of  low  hazard,  the  fighters 
are  scattered  to  perform  other  tasks. 
In  periods  when  burning  intensity  is 
not  severe,  fires  are  handled  so  easily 
that  men  may  lull  themselves  into  a 
false  security.  Funds  and  facilities  were 
insufficient  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
broad-scale  planning,  creating,  testing, 
experimenting,  as  well  as  developing 
the  special  equipment  needed  for  suc- 
cessful fire-line  performance.  And,  as 
always,  there  was  the  human  resistance 
to  change. 

Nevertheless,  attempts  were  made  to 
adapt  the  available  machines  to  the 
need.  Foresters  and  an  implement 
manufacturer  in  Florida,  for  example, 
made  over  a  heavy  tractor-plow,  which 
turned  out  to  be  useful  under  some 
conditions  but  expensive  and  too  big 
to  be  easily  moved  from  one  fire  to 
another.  Elsewhere  farm  tractors  were 
pressed  into  service.  Men  in  Arkansas 
developed  a  pusher-type  plow  on  a 
crawler  tractor.  Fire  fighters  in  Texas 
made  progress  with  a  garden-tractor 
plow.  Others  used  jeeps,  or  any  ve- 
hicle at  hand,  to  pull  light  plows  and 
haul  water  tanks  and  pumps.  With 


528 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


such  makeshifts,  however,  nobody  was 
satisfied. 

Then  came  two  developments  ^  at 
one  time.  The  Civilian  Conservation 
Corps,  which  had  supplied  so  many 
trained  and  vigorous  men  for  the 
work,  was  discontinued.  Then,  the  war 
drained  the  towns  and  back-country 
of  able-bodied  men.  The  situation  left 
one  choice :  Mechanize  or  burn. 

State,  industrial,  and  Federal  for- 
esters, despite  wartime  handicaps, 
began  to  attack  the  problem  on  the 
scale  the  situation  demanded.  The  few 
previous  trials  and  errors  gave  them 
some  guides  and  principles,  but  they 
needed  information,  action,  and  deci- 
sions on  five  points :  Thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  terrain,  soil,  cover,  and 
fire  behavior  over  all  forested  areas 
from  the  Carolinas  to  Texas;  reports 
on  the  design  and  performance  of 
equipment  that  had  been  tried  out; 
goals  for  each  general  timber  type; 
specifications  of  units  that  would  give 
the  results  they  were  after;  time  and 
funds  to  test  new  ideas. 

Several  other  essentials  complicated 
their  problem:  All  designs  had  to  as- 
sure reasonable  safety  to  the  operators. 
Each  unit  had  to  balance  the  factors 
of  least  cost,  lightest  weight,  fastest 
travel  and  operation,  dependability, 
the  widest  range  of  use  over  a  major 
area.  The  designs  had  to  use  standard 
parts  and  techniques  of  shop  pro- 
cedure to  facilitate  repairs  and  main- 
tenance. Accessories,  such  as  backfiring 
devices  and  communications,  had  to  be 
identified,  selected,  or  developed.  The 
size,  use,  and  organization  of  crew  that 
would  be  most  efficient  and  effective 
had  to  be  determined.  Men  had  to  be 
trained. 

All  that  had  to  be  done  quickly — 
the  forests  and  the  world  were  burn- 
ing up. 

Information  at  hand  or  quickly  ac- 
cumulated provided  several  first  prin- 
ciples: A  plow-constructed,  mineral 
soil  line  was  superior  to  other  types  of 
fire  lines.  The  multiple  disk-type  of 
plow  was  fastest  and  most  efficient 
wherever  it  could  be  used.  The  mid- 


dle-buster type  of  plow  was  next  best 
on  stony  ground  where  the  disks  would 
not  stand  up.  The  crawler- type  trac- 
tors were  the  most  satisfactory  power 
units.  Multiple-drive  transports  were 
better  than  those  with  2-wheel  drives 
for  back-country  travel.  The  main  uses 
of  tankers  in  the  region  were  to  help 
hold  the  fire  line  at  plowed  lines,  catch 
spot  fires,  and  do  mop-up. 

Further  investigations  brought  out 
that  plows  of  five  classes  would  meet 
most  of  the  needs. 

1.  The  heavy  disk  plow,  of  2,500 
pounds,  for  dense  stands  with  luxuriant 
undergrowth  of  palmetto,  shrubs,  and 
grasses  common  to  the  lower  Coastal 
Plain. 

2.  The  medium  disk,  of  950  pounds, 
in  the  less  dense  belts  of  the  Coastal 
Plain. 

3.  The  light  disk,  of  475  pounds, 
where  the  fuel  is  principally  the  pine 
straw  and  grass  found  in  the  upper 
Coastal  Plain  and  Piedmont. 

4.  The   lightweight  middle  buster, 
of  475  pounds,  in  the  stony  ground  of 
the  lower  hills  and  on  Appalachian 
slopes  of  less  than  25  percent  grade. 

5.  The  flyweight,  cultivator  type,  of 
125  pounds,  in  the  open  short-grass 
areas  in  the  southwestern  parts. 

Heavy  disk-type  plows  which  would 
operate  successfully  were  available 
commercially;  the  problems  were  to 
determine  the  lightest  tractor  that 
could  ride  down  and  pull  the  plow 
through  the  different  densities  of 
ground  cover,  and  to  design  speedy 
transports  that  could  haul  the  tractor 
and  plow  closer  to  the  back-country 
fires.  In  the  final  assignment  of  loca- 
tions, places  were  found  for  all  sizes  of 
tractors,  from  22's  to  50's.  Hi-low 
trailers  were  designed  in  varied  weights 
to  fit  their  loads.  They  were  rigged  as 
prime  movers,  and  ranged  from  1/j- 
ton  two-wheel  drives  to  2/2 -ton  6  x  6's, 
according  to  loads  and  travel  condi- 
tions. Eleven  of  these  assemblies  were 
completed  in  1944  and  placed  in 
service. 

Meanwhile,  a  lightweight  unit  was 
being  tested.  A  key  specification  for  it 


Machines  and  Fires  in  the  South 


529 


was  that  the  tractor  and  plow  in  com- 
bination must  be  light  enough  to  be 
transported  on  a  IJ/a-ton  truck.  We 
found  finally  that  a  commercial  18- 
horsepower  tractor,  with  several  altera- 
tions, would  fit  the  need.  Then  we  de- 
signed a  truck  chassis  to  make  loading 
and  unloading  easier.  Seventeen  of  the 
units  (called  Ranger  Pals)  were  as- 
signed in  1944  to  10  high-fire-occur- 
rence ranger  districts.  Experience  with 
them  in  the  field  revealed  opportuni- 
ties to  make  further  improvements, 
which  we  did.  Twelve  other  light- 
weight units  and  10  more  heavy  units 
were  placed  in  operation  in  1945. 
Radio  receivers  were  installed  in  about 
half  of  the  units.  The  development  and 
field  testing  of  a  middleweight  unit  was 
under  way. 

Eight  improved  lightweight  units 
and  10  heavy- transport  units  were 
added  in  1946.  Since  then,  6  middle- 
weight, 8  lightweight,  and  2  fly  as- 
semblies, and  nine  4x4  power  wagon 
tankers  have  reached  the  fire  lines. 
Most  of  them  have  sets  for  radio  com- 
munication. 

At  the  same  time,  several  State 
foresters  and  private  owners  adopted 
some  of  the  machines  and  worked  to 
perfect  others.  Their  difficulty,  how- 
ever, was  that  they  had  few  pieces  of 
equipment  and  large  areas  to  protect. 

Men  on  the  national  forests  faced  a 
like  situation  of  not  enough,  and  we 
had  to  choose  between  spreading  the 
equipment  generally  or  making  some 
concentrations.  To  obtain  the  great- 
est use  and  protection  and  at  the  same 
time  measure  the  economic  aspects,  we 
chose  to  favor  the  ranger  districts  that 
had  the  worst  combinations  of  high 
fire  occurrence  and  fast  rates  of  fire 
spread.  A  number  of  other  districts 
that  were  favorable  for  plow  use  were 
left  without  mechanical  units.  Because 
there  were  so  many  critical  areas,  we 
believed  then  that  it  was  impractical 
to  equip  fully  any  one  ranger  district 
with  what  we  have  come  to  believe 
since  is  the  minimum  number  of  units. 

By  1946,  however,  six  of  the  worst 
fire  districts  had  enough  equipment  to 

802062  ° — 49 35 


handle  their  situation  on  all  but  the 
most  hazardous  fire-weather  days. 

Meanwhile,  experience  produced 
improved  tactics,  increased  the  effec- 
tiveness of  each  unit,  and  made  it 
possible  to  compare  and  analyze  equip- 
ment, work,  and  trends. 

One  analysis  brought  together  data 
for  three  fire  seasons  on  seven  ranger 
districts  in  Mississippi  and  Louisiana. 
The  first  was  in  1940  ( 1941  records  for 
two  districts),  when  315  fires  were 
fought  with  muscle-power  and  the  fire 
fighters  were  boys  and  men  of  the 
Civilian  Conservation  Corps  —  well 
trained,  well  organized,  and  readily 
available,  and  with  their  own  fast 
transportation.  The  second  season  was 
the  same  months  of  1946,  when  526 
fires  were  fought  on  those  districts  with 
mechanical  suppression  units  in  num- 
bers adequate  to  permit  the  proper 
strength  on  the  larger  fires  but  often 
inadequate  for  prompt  attacks  on  addi- 
tional fires. 

The  third  season  was  1947,  when, 
with  added  numbers  of  equipment 
units,  627  fires  were  controlled.  It  is 
significant  that  in  1947,  during  pe- 
riods of  high  fire  occurrence,  fewer 
fires  had  to  be  left  to  burn  unattended 
until  equipment  could  be  disengaged 
and  dispatched  from  another  fire  and 
that  new  equipment  enabled  us  to 
assign  two  or  more  suppression  units 
to  potentially  bad  fires.  Each  of  these 
units  had  three  men  and  could  build 
as  much  fire  line  as  30  men  without 
like  equipment;  furthermore,  to  the 
extent  that  radio  sets  were  available 
for  them,  they  could  be  placed  at  stra- 
tegic travel  points.  The  greater  the 
danger  of  fire,  the  greater  was  the 
number  of  units  activated;  the  result 
was  that  the  equivalent  of  a  strong 
suppression  force  was  ready  to  attack 
a  few  minutes  after  a  fire  was  dis- 
covered. 

The  results  of  the  analysis — man- 
power alone  in  1940,  mechanized 
equipment  in  1946,  and  increased 
mechanized  equipment  in  1947 — are 
given  in  the  table  on  page  531.  (Not  in- 
cluded are  fires  on  fewer  than  5  acres 


530  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

COST  OF  EQUIPMENT PURCHASES  MADE  AT  DIFFERENT  TIMES  UNDER  CHANGING  MARKET 

CONDITIONS  (ROUNDED  AVERAGES) 

Mediumweight  Featherweight 

Item  Heavy  plow  unit  unit  Light  plow  unit  plow  Tanker 


Truck              .      . 

Size 
.  .     2^-ton, 

Cost        Size 
$2,  ooo    2-ton, 

Cost 
$1,800 

Size 
I  J^-ton 

Cost       Size       Cost 
$800     

Size        Cost 
H-T,      $1,800 

6x6 

4x4 
800 

800 

4x4 

Tractor 

D-4 

4,000    T-6 

2,400 

HG- 

1,400     $315 

Plow 

7CO     . 

700 

Cletrac 

27C                             CO 

Radio 

4.CO     . 

4  CO 

4CO      . 

4.  CO 

4.OO 

Total.. 

8,000    . 

6,  ico 

2,  92C                         36C 

2,  6co 

CHARACTER  OF  FIRE  PROTECTION  ON  COMMERCIAL  FOREST  LANDS,  UNITED  STATES,  1945 

Percentage  of  acreage  rated — 


Commercial 
Ownership  class  and  geographic  section                        area          •( 

Private:                                                                                       Mil.  acres    P 
North                                                                                              T/^n 

Good        Fair 

'ercent    Percent 
22            60 

7          35 
64          27 

Poor        None 

Percent    Percent 
12                6 
37            21 
9              o 

South 

167 

West  

38 

Total              

'jj.C 

19 

44 

24 

i 

24 

0 

13 

'  — 

0 

6 

o 

Public: 
North      

-n 

76 
60 
94 

23 

10 

6 

South                   

16 

West                           .    . 

69 

Total  

116 

85 

10 

4 

I 

All  lands: 
North  

171 

32 
ii 

83 

53 
33 
13 

10 

36 
4 

5 

20 

o 

South           

181 

West      

IO7 

Total.. 

*fc 

16 

•K 

IQ 

10 

NUMBER   OF    FIRES,    BY    CAUSES,    1947 

[Protected  lands  only] 

Light-       Rail-       Camp-     Smok-     Debris     Incen-  Lum-  Mis  eel- 
Land  ownership            ning        roads          ers           ers       burning     diary  bering  laneous        Total 

Federal 4, 502          117          481       1,377          256      1,521  86  588        8,928 

State  and  private 1, 919      4,701       2, 860     16,430     12,043     22,172  1,476  9,841       71,442 

Total 6, 421       4,  818      3, 341     17,  807     12,  299     23, 693  I,  562  10,  429      80,  370 


Machines  and  Fires  in  the  South 


and  fires  that  burned  from  outside  the 
national  forests  and  were  simply  held 
at  the  boundary.) 

In  assessing  these  data,  it  should  be 
remembered  that  had  manpower  only 
been  available  in  1946  and  1947  the 
results  would  have  been  poorer  than 
those  of  1940.  Crews  then  and  now 
would  have  to  be  recruited  from  dis- 
tant towns,  scattered  farms,  sawmills, 
and  logging  camps  at  a  greater  cost  of 
time  in  reaching  the  fires. 

The  seven  ranger  districts  covered 
in  the  analysis  contain  1,133,000  pro- 
tected acres.  On  them,  an  average  of 
1,074  fires  occur  each  year.  Twenty- 
eight  plow  units  are  assigned  to  them, 
at  a  rate  of  one  unit  to  40,500  acres 
and  38  fires.  The  investment  in  trac- 
tors, plows,  transport,  and  radio  for 
the  units  was  $124,000,  and  the  annual 
depreciation  of  the  equipment  was 
about  $10,000. 

The  cost  per  fire,  5  acres  or  over  in 
size,  fought  with  power  equipment  in 
1947  was:  Depreciation,  $9.31 ;  opera- 
tion and  repair,  $3.75 ;  and  pay  of  crew 
for  suppression,  mop-up,  and  travel 
time,  $13.91— or  a  total  of  $26.97. 

On  the  basis  of  past  experience  in 
manpower  requirements  and  present- 
day  wages,  it  would  have  cost  $52  a 
fire  to  have  fought  these  fires  with  men 
and  hand  tools  alone.  The  direct  sav- 
ing by  using  machinery  was  $25.03  a 
fire,  or  $15,694  for  the  627  fires. 

Comparing  the  burned  acreage  re- 
sulting from  like  fires  fought  under  the 
two  methods  of  suppression,  we  find 
that  if  the  same  1941  supply  of  man- 
power had  been  available  and  used  on 
the  1947  fires,  65,700  more  acres  would 
have  been  lost  than  were  actually 
burned  when  machines  were  used. 
What  the  additional  fire  damage  to 
timber  and  young  trees  would  have 
been  is  speculative ;  our  estimates  show 
it  would  exceed  $3  an  acre,  or  a  total 
of  $200,000. 

Less  assessable  values,  such  as  the 
effects  on  water,  soil,  wildlife,  and 
recreation,  were  not  estimated.  Other 
intangible  gains  from  the  mechaniza- 
tion are  increased  public  support  for 


ANALYSIS  OF  SIZE  OF  FIRES  ON  SEVEN 
RANGER  DISTRICTS  IN  THE  SOUTH, 
UNDER  VARIOUS  CONTROL  METHODS, 
1940, 1946, 1947 

Average  size  of  fires 


Hand-tool 

control 

-*^ 

1940 


Plow  control 


19462 


1947  3 


Size  at  Size  at  Size  at 

begin-  begin-  begin- 

Class     ning  of  Final  ning  of  Final  ning  of  Final 
fire  day    attack     size    attack    size    attack    size 

Acres  Acres  Acres  Acres  Acres  Acres 

3 23.0    57.2  14.4  28.7     II. o  23.2 

4 45-6    93-7  i?-7  36.5     12.9  27.2 

5 49. 8  422. 2  22.  i  67. 9    16.  o  49. 5 

1  Based  on  records  of  315  fires. 

2  Based  on  records  of  526  fires. 
a  Based  on  records  of  627  fires. 


PERCENTAGE    OF    TOTAL    FIRES    REACHING 
CLASS    D   AND    CLASS    E    SIZE 

[By  hand-tool  and  plow  suppression] 

Class  D  size  Class  E  size 

(100-300  acres)        (over  300  acres) 


Hand 

Class       tools 
fire  day     1940 


Plows 


1946 


Hand        Plows 
s   tools  '  " 

1947    1940    1946    1947 


Pet.  Pet.  Pet.  Pet.  Pet.      Pet. 

3 18.6      2.6  0.6      2.0  

4 ii. 2      5.1  i.i      4.0      0.4       0.3 

5 22.5  ii. 2  2.5  16.9      2.8       3.0 

the  work  of  suppressing  fires  and  pre- 
venting wildfires,  and  greater  con- 
fidence in  the  ability  of  the  fire  fighters. 

As  for  the  forest  rangers,  they  have 
found  that  their  small,  compact  power 
organization  can  handle  any  but  the 
very  worst  situations.  Consequently,  re- 
lieved of  the  feeling  of  insecurity  and 
dread  of  impending  disaster,  they  are 
free  to  search  out  and  remove  the 
causes  of  fires.  Morale  has  improved. 

Benefits  from  mechanization  to  the 
11  States  (Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida, 
Georgia,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  North 
Carolina,  Oklahoma,  South  Carolina, 
Tennessee,  and  Texas)  in  the  Southern 
region  reflect  generally  the  extent  to 
which  they  have  acquired  equipment 


532 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ANALYSIS    OF    FIRE    CONTROLS    ON    SEVEN    RANGER    DISTRICTS    IN    THE    SOUTH, 

1940,  1946,  1947 

Average  maximum  number  men 
Average  time  on  line  building      per  fire  (including  mop-up)  Average  chains  built  line 


Hand  tools 

Plows             Hand  tools 

Plows             Hand  tools 

Plows 

Class  fire  day 

1940  i 

19462 

1947  3 

1940  * 

19462 

1947  3 

19401 

19462 

1947  3 

Man 

Man 

Man 

Number 

Number 

Number 

hours 

hours 

hours 

of  men 

of  men 

of  men 

Chains 

Chains 

Chains 

1 

20.  1C 

C.T7 

4.25 

18.0 

15.6 

5-7 

75.2 

57-  i 

49-7 

2A.  QQ 

5.86 

6.92 

22.6 

6.4 

7-3 

83-2 

67.7 

62.9 

C.  . 

52.51 

10.40 

7-50 

30.3 

8.2 

7-3 

160.3 

83.0 

78.5 

Based  on  records  of  315  fires.     2  Based  on  records  of  526  fires.     3  Based  on  records  of  627  fires. 


and  installed  radio  controls.  A  conclu- 
sive analysis  of  the  benefits  is  not  pos- 
sible, but  the  general  trend  is  shown 
in  some  statistics  for  all  protected  lands 
in  the  States:  The  fires  per  million 
acres  were  572  in  1942,  601  in  1943, 
328  in  1944,  317  in  1945,  382  in  1946, 
and  472  in  1947.  The  percentages  of 
protected  areas  that  burned  were  2.72 
in  1942,  3.02  in  1943,  1.24  in  1944, 
1.52  in  1945,  1.45  in  1946, 1.99  in  1947. 

The  economic  fundamentals  of  con- 
trol of  forest  fires  are  akin  to  the  fire 
insurance  that  an  owner  of  other  types 
of  property  would  buy.  The  basic  items 
are:  The  value  of  the  assets  that  are 
vulnerable  to  fire;  their  intensity  and 
duration  of  exposure;  the  value  of  the 
probable  losses  over  the  years  to  the 
owner  if  his  lands  are  not  protected 
or  are  protected  in  various  degrees  and 
the  point  at  which  the  cost  of  protec- 
tion would  exceed  the  value  of  addi- 
tional decrease  in  losses. 

How  do  those  fundamentals  apply 
to  the  South? 

Forested  lands  in  the  South  contain 
stands  of  reproduction  and  merchant- 
able stems  having  tangible  values  of 
$35  to  $40  an  acre,  or  about  $80,000 
per  township.  They  are  exposed  to  fire 
for  8  to  12  months  a  year.  Of  lands  not 
under  protection,  20  percent  or  more 
burn  annually.  With  manpower  sup- 
pression, 4. 1  percent  of  the  area  studied 
burned  annually.  Of  forest  lands  pro- 
tected by  mechanical  equipment,  1.1 
percent  burned.  A  computation  of  the 
savings  in  cost  of  suppression  and 


losses  from  fire  shows  that  owners  of 
timberland  will  make  a  clear  financial 
gain  by  investing  in  a  tractor-plow  unit 
for  each  25,000  acres  that  need  protec- 
tion. If  the  timber  values  on  their  lands 
vary  from  those  used  in  this  illustra- 
tion, the  justifiable  area  should  be 
adjusted  accordingly. 

In  the  longleaf  and  slash  pine  belt, 
proper  silvicultural  management  re- 
quires the  use  of  fire  at  times  to  expose 
the  soil  for  seed  fall,  to  control  en- 
croachment of  brush  and  worthless 
species,  overcome  infections  of  brown 
spot  disease,  release  grass-stage  seed- 
lings for  height  growth,  and  (under 
some  conditions)  to  reduce  hazardous 
accumulations  of  fuel.  To  use  fire 
safely  and  at  reasonable  cost,  a  plow 
unit  is  essential. 

The  most  valuable  prospect  prom- 
ised by  these  experiences  is  that  wide- 
spread adoption  of  mechanical  sup- 
pression methods  will  make  it  possible 
to  give  reasonable  fire  protection  to 
most  southern  timberlands,  or  better 
than  double  the  present  protection  in- 
tensity for  the  same  average  annual 
sum  now  being  expended  for  suppres- 
sion. With  increased  fire  protection, 
owners  of  lands  now  idle  or  thinly 
stocked  will  find  it  a  good  business  risk 
to  return  them  to  a  productive  condi- 
tion and  develop  them  toward  their 
potential  capacities  to  produce. 

ARTHUR  W.  HARTMAN  is  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Fire  Control  in  the  South- 
ern Region  of  the  Forest  Service. 


Fun  in  the  Forests 


NEW  VALUES  IN  THE  MINDS  OF  MEN 


L.  F.  KNEIPP 


f  f -pECREATION"  and  "recreate" 
JV  mean  refreshment,  to  give 
fresh  life  to,  reanimate,  revive,  divert, 
amuse,  gratify.  The  terms  apply  to 
mind  and  spirit  and  body.  The  ways 
in  which  the  forests  of  the  United 
States  serve  these  purposes  are  many. 
Years  ago,  for  recreation,  most  peo- 
ple oftener  went  away  from  the  forest 
than  toward  it.  But  as  the  country  set- 
tled, as  industry  and  commerce  gained 
ascendancy  over  rural  activities,  as  the 
population  concentrated  in  cities,  the 
forest  gained  increasing  significance  as 
the  scene  of  wholesome  recreation. 

New  living  conditions  modified  nat- 
ural forces  and  elements.  New  forms 
of  economic  activity,  highly  mechani- 
cal and  monotonously  repetitive,  were 
established.  New  tempos  of  thought 
and  action  gave  birth  to  new  tensions 
and  nervous  strains.  Time  brought  in- 
creasing realization  that  physical  and 
spiritual  well-being  required  periodic 
escape  from  the  strains  of  the  new 
modes  of  daily  life. 

Above:  A  scene  typical  (except,  perhaps, 
for  the  size  of  the  fish)  of  many  parts  of 
the  country. 


The  qualities  with  which  their  fore- 
bears met  the  challenge  of  nature  be- 
gan to  assume  new  values  in  the  minds 
of  men  who  felt  a  desire  to  revert  to 
more  primitive  conditions  under  which 
such  skills  and  qualities  could  be  re- 
gained. A  major  contributing  cause 
was  probably  the  changes  that  were 
occurring  in  working  standards  and 
habits.  As  the  average  working  day 
dropped  from  12  hours  to  10  and  then 
to  8,  as  the  average  workweek  dropped 
from  6  days  to  5,  as  the  practice  of 
vacations  ceased  to  be  the  privilege  of 
a  few,  both  the  time  and  the  physical 
energies  requisite  to  the  return  to  na- 
ture became  increasingly  available. 
Then  automobiles  overcame  handicaps 
of  distance  and  immobility,  and  many 
an  American  enthusiastically  became 
outdoor-minded. 

But  while  nature  was  regaining  a 
hold  on  the  minds  and  affections  of 
people,  it  coincidentally  was  losing 
dominance  over  the  land.  Farms  and 
fields  had  occupied  all  land  suitable 
for  such  use  and  much  that  was  not 
suitable.  Hamlets  grew  into  villages 
and  villages  into  cities,  and  their  im- 

533 


534 

pact  on  nature  extended  far  beyond 
their  legal  limits.  To  link  them  to- 
gether, networks  of  highways  came 
into  being,  fringed,  often,  with  garish 
structures  that  closed  off  the  fields  and 
woods  from  the  roads.  Within  the 
zones  tributary  to  roads,  nature  was 
subdued  until  it  offers  little  appeal 
and  no  challenge  other  than  the  walk 
to  the  nearest  filling  station  when  one 
runs  out  of  gas. 

Only  three  major  land  classes  had 
escaped  even  partly  such  modifica- 
tion— the  shores  of  the  oceans  and 
lakes,  the  great  mountain  masses,  and 
the  forests.  Of  the  three,  the  forests 
are  of  the  greatest  extent  and  the  wid- 
est geographic  distribution;  they  also 
are  of  the  greatest  variety  and  diversity 
of  natural  interest — the  major  area  in 
which  future  needs  of  the  American 
people  for  essential  outdoor  play  can 
be  met  in  properly  balanced  coordina- 
tion with  the  needs  of  commerce,  in- 
dustry, and  other  elements  of  the  eco- 
nomic structure. 

PERHAPS  IT  is  THE  INFLUENCE  of 
atavism  that  makes  trees  appeal  so 
strongly  to  human  emotions.  The  forest 
is  the  antithesis  of  the  city,  from  which 
a  respite  is  desired.  Within  the  forest 
confines  peace  and  calm  normally  pre- 
vail. The  play  of  shadow  and  sunlight 
on  majestic  columns,  the  response  of 
leaf,  twig,  branch,  and  trunk  to  the 
movement  of  the  air,  the  complexity  of 
the  biological  pattern,  the  myriad 
forms  of  plant,  insect,  bird,  and  animal 
life,  the  placid  or  turbulent  flow  of 
waters,  the  variations  in  topography 
and  geology,  all  combine  to  stimulate, 
yet  soothe,  the  senses  and  rid  the  body 
and  mind  of  their  adversities.  In  this 
effect  lies  the  general  charm  of  the 
forest ;  but  beyond  that  is  its  illimitable 
capacity  to  gratify  the  individual  in- 
terests and  cravings  of  each  visitor 
within  its  precincts. 

One  visitor  may  desire  no  more  of 
the  forest  than  to  traverse  it  in  a  fast 
automobile  over  a  high-speed  highway, 
but  only  if  his  eyes  can  be  gladdened 
by  long  tangents  closely  margined  by 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


stately  ranks  of  trees  or  by  vistas  that 
reveal  constantly  changing  expanses  or 
perspectives  of  thrifty  and  beautiful 
tree  growth  against  the  majestic  back- 
grounds of  slope,  canyon,  or  peak. 

There  is,  however,  a  less  numerous 
type  of  motorist  whose  greatest  pleas- 
ure is  in  exploring  areas  accessible  only 
by  dim  and  difficult  roads,  that  lead 
into  distant  and  primitive  reaches 
where  his  comforts  will  depend  on  his 
own  skill  and  where  his  normal  world 
temporarily  is  remote. 

Beyond  the  latter  class  is  the  visitor 
who  travels  on  foot  or  with  saddle  and 
pack  horses  or  by  canoe.  He  seeks  quiet 
glades  fringed  with  aspen  or  birch  and 
watered  by  a  trickling  spring,  or  some 
little  meadow  where  the  eventide  clang 
of  horse  bells  will  be  music  to  his  ears, 
or  some  tree-crowned  point  from  which 
he  can  watch  the  golden  birth  of  a  new 
day  or  the  descent  of  dusk  and  dark- 
ness upon  a  lake.  Complete  detach- 
ment from  the  throng  is  his  purpose 
and  his  reward. 

But  most  visitors  to  forests  love  na- 
ture too  greatly  to  be  content  to  expe- 
rience it  only  at  a  speed  of  60  miles  an 
hour,  but  not  enough  to  enjoy  its  close 
intimacy  at  a  speed  of  3  miles  an  hour. 
They  are  gregarious  and  have  no  desire 
to  detach  themselves  completely  from 
the  crowds.  They  are  comfort  loving, 
with  no  inclination  toward  forms  of 
subsistence,  habitation,  and  transport 
that  entail  discomforts  and  depriva- 
tions. They  have  a  love  for  nature  in 
general  and  for  the  forest  in  particular, 
but  they  see  no  inconsistency  in  a  rea- 
sonable intermixture  of  modern  facili- 
ties and  techniques. 

Second  in  numbers  are  the  visitors 
who  frequent  forest  areas  only  between 
dawn  and  dusk  of  a  single  day,  to  lunch, 
play,  ramble,  and  relax.  Over  the  years 
their  habits  in  the  woods  have  been  sub- 
ject to  drastic  changes.  Knowing  more 
about  the  widespread  pollution  of 
streams  and  springs,  they  prefer  loca- 
tions where  water  of  assured  purity  is 
available.  With  responsibility  for  fire 
damage  now  more  rigidly  attached  and 
enforced,  they  see  the  advantage  of 


New  Values  in  the  Minds  of  Men 


535 


building  their  luncheon  fires  in  safe 
fireplaces.  The  more  general  recogni- 
tion of  the  hazards  of  poor  sanitary 
practices,  not  only  to  the  visitors  but  to 
all  users  of  the  watershed,  has  popu- 
larized areas  that  have  good  sanitary 
facilities.  Thus,  this  type  of  forest  recre- 
ational use,  once  so  widely  diffused 
throughout  the  forest  as  to  be  a  menace 
to  health  and  property,  now  largely  is 
concentrated,  at  least  on  those  forests 
under  public  management,  in  picnic 
and  camp  grounds  that  are  equipped 
and  developed  to  afford  full  protection. 

Scores  of  thousands  of  lakes  and 
ponds  and  miles  of  flowing  streams 
intersperse  and  thread  the  forests.  In 
them  the  fresh-water  varieties  of  game 
fish  generally  are  more  abundant  than 
elsewhere.  Only  in  the  forest  environ- 
ment have  game  animals  and  some 
species  of  game  birds  been  able  to  sur- 
vive in  material  numbers. 

Despite  the  increasing  popularity  of 
other  types  of  forest  recreation,  large 
numbers  of  forest  visitors  continue  to 
regard  camping  as  the  most  enjoyable 
form  of  summer  outing.  In  part  static, 
in  part  peripatetic,  its  requirements  in 
equipment,  supplies,  effort,  and  cost 
are  not  burdensome,  while  its  compen- 
sations are  many. 

A  variant  is  the  organization  camp, 
a  fixed  group  of  structures  and  facili- 
ties, created  and  sponsored  by  a  public 
or  quasi-public  agency  and  made  avail- 
able for  fixed  periods  to  associations  or 
groups  which  meet  all  costs  of  opera- 
tion and  maintenance  during  their  oc- 
cupancy. The  primary  objective  of  the 
organization  camp  is  to  create  condi- 
tions under  which  children,  youths, 
workers,  and  other  groups,  for  whom 
summer  vacations  otherwise  would  be 
impracticable  or  impossible,  can  be  af- 
forded vacations  free  or  at  low  cost. 

The  lakes,  ponds,  and  pools  of  the 
forests,  relatively  free  of  industrial 
wastes  and  other  major  forms  of  pollu- 
tion, present  pleasurable  opportunities 
for  swimming  and  annually  attract 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  visitors. 
Thousands  of  miles  of  leafy  roads  and 
trails  lure  the  hiker  and  the  horseback 


rider  in  corresponding  numbers.  A 
great  diversity  and  abundance  of  nuts, 
berries,  mushrooms,  grapes,  persim- 
mons, barks,  roots,  and  other  edible, 
medicinal,  or  ornamental  products  of 
the  forest  are  garnered  each  year  by 
scores  of  thousands  who  find  pleasure 
and  benefit  in  collecting  them  for  per- 
sonal consumption  or  gratification. 

In  the  forest  the  botanist  or  plant 
physiologist,  naturalist,  entomologist, 
ichthyologist,  and  geologist  can  find 
biological  or  geological  patterns  or 
structures  or  associations  quite  differ- 
ent from  those  with  which  they  nor- 
mally are  acquainted.  The  person 
whose  hobby  is  collecting  specimens  of 
plant,  insect,  bird,  or  animal  life  or  of 
minerals  or  examples  of  early  cultures 
can  find  in  forest  areas  rich  additions 
to  their  collections  or  can  explore  new 
fields  of  lore,  tradition,  and  culture. 
To  every  visitor  the  forest  can  offer  a 
new  interest  or  idea  or  experience. 

The  current  and  growing  promi- 
nence and  significance  of  the  forest  as 
a  major  field  for  the  outdoor  recrea- 
tional activities  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  was  not  inspired  or 
promoted  by  foresters.  To  the  con- 
trary, the  trend  initially  was  regarded 
by  many  foresters  as  adverse,  fraught 
with  many  perils  to  sound  programs  of 
forest  management.  Public  careless- 
ness with  fire  was  a  constant  menace  to 
the  forest.  Public  indifference  to  good 
sanitation  was  a  major  hazard  to  the 
health  of  the  populations  which  drew 
their  water  supplies  from  the  forest 
watersheds.  Public  sentiment  prom- 
ised to  be,  and  it  frequently  was,  an 
obstacle  to  the  harvesting  of  forest 
crops,  even  though  such  harvest  might 
be  dictated  or  demanded  by  sound 
principles  of  forest  management  and 
economy. 

Besides  those  major  considerations 
there  were  numerous  minor  irritations. 
Public  camping  in  close  proximity  to 
springs,  tanks,  or  troughs  prevented 
domestic  livestock  grazed  under  per- 
mit from  slaking  their  thirst  and  forced 
them  to  congest  in  other  areas.  Forest 
signs,  erected  at  much  effort  and  ex- 


536 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


pense,  were  popular  targets  for  the 
visitors'  guns.  Ranger  or  guard  stations 
or  storage  buildings  were  subject  to  fre- 
quent depredation.  To  use  the  deeply 
rutted  and  high-centered  wagon  roads, 
the  earlier  autoists  commonly  rilled  the 
ruts  with  rocks,  which  teamsters,  with 
much  effort,  later  had  to  remove  before 
the  teams  could  move  their  loads. 
Thus,  to  many  a  forest  officer  the 
prospect  of  summer  visitations  by  mul- 
tiplying millions  was  far  from  a  cheer- 
ful one  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  sheer 
self-preservation  dictated  that  he  do 
all  he  could  to  reverse  the  trend. 

But  against  the  forces  behind  the 
movement,  the  views  and  the  actions  of 
individual  forest  officers  were  feeble 
and  futile.  The  habits  and  practices  of 
an  entire  Nation  were  then  undergoing 
profound  changes.  New  interests  had 
been  created,  new  desires  aroused,  new 
means  to  satisfy  them  made  available. 
To  the  degree  that  those  new  interests 
and  desires  centered  in  the  forests,  they 
endowed  the  forests  with  purposes  and 
functions  other  than  the  traditional 
ones  of  timber  supply  and  stream-flow 
stabilization.  A  new  era  had  been  born, 
in  which  a  tree  in  place  as  a  living 
element  of  a  landscape  might  be  of  im- 
measurably greater  value  than  if  sawed 
into  boards.  In  the  privately  owned 
forest  this  radical  change  could  be 
ignored,  but  in  the  publicly  owned  for- 
est, as  an  expression  of  the  public  will, 
it  had  to  be  taken  into  account. 

Collaterally  there  developed  wide- 
spread realization  that  the  combina- 
tions of  natural  interest  that  constitute 
the  basis  of  forest  recreation  were  preg- 
nant with  economic  potentialities.  If 
such  an  area  could  attract  from  other 
regions  a  total  of  a  thousand  people 
who,  on  an  average,  locally  expended 
$25  each,  the  local  economy  would  be 
enriched  as  much  as  by  the  production 
and  shipment  of  several  carloads  of 
cattle,  and  with  no  appreciable  dimi- 
nution of  natural  resources.  Despite  its 
brief  and  transitory  nature,  the  influx 
of  visitors  contributed  to  the  market 
for  labor,  services,  and  supplies  and  left 
in  the  community  money  from  outside 


sources  which  otherwise  the  commu- 
nity would  never  have  received.  Thus 
the  recreational  resources,  instead  of 
being  incidental  and  nonprofitable,  in 
time  became  definite  capital  assets  and 
important  factors  in  the  economic  life 
of  the  community.  In  many  communi- 
ties, as  the  mines  were  worked  out  or 
sawmills  "cut  out  and  got  out"  or  as 
depletion  due  to  overstocking  necessi- 
tated reductions  in  numbers  of  domes- 
tic livestock,  the  service  and  supply  of 
summer  visitors  began  to  equal  or  even- 
tually to  surpass  the  other  sources 
of  community  support;  communities 
flourished  which  otherwise  would  have 
dwindled  or  died  out. 

Public  sentiment  and  economic  val- 
ues exert  pressures,  especially  in  pub- 
licly owned  forests.  It  became  obvious 
that  the  dominant  objective  of  the 
greatest  good  for  all  involved  more 
than  merely  the  production  of  timber 
and  of  forage,  that  necessarily  it  must 
comprehend  also  the  conservation  and 
orderly  development  of  that  other  re- 
source. Recognition  of  that  fact  has 
motivated  most  of  the  expansion  of 
forest  recreational  facilities  during  the 
past  quarter-century. 

In  the  earlier  logging  operations  on 
the  national  forests,  utilitarian  consid- 
erations often  dominated  the  esthetic 
ones.  The  operation  of  isolated  bodies 
of  timber  often  entailed  heavy  initial 
expenditures  for  the  construction  of 
roads,  railroads,  camps,  and  other  req- 
uisites. An  economic  cost  per  thousand 
board  feet  was  attainable  only  by  the 
removal  of  the  maximum  volume  of 
timber.  Every  additional  thousand 
board  feet  of  timber  cut  increased  the 
economic  practicability  of  operation; 
every  thousand  feet  withheld  from  cut- 
ting reduced  it.  Even  today,  notwith- 
standing shorter  cutting  cycles  and 
more  extensive  transportation  systems, 
foresters  continue  to  be  wracked  by  this 
problem  of  forest  economy.  Some  of 
the  then  most-scenic  areas  in  the  forests 
owed  their  beauty  and  charm  mainly  to 
blocks  of  trees  that  were  mature  or 
overmature  and  that  represented  large 
monetary  values ;  the  next  cutting  cycle 


Trail  Riding  in  the  Wilderness 


537 


was  assumed  to  be  a  half-century  in 
the  future,  and  the  probability  that  the 
trees  would  live  that  long  seemed  ex- 
tremely remote.  For  those  reasons 
heavy  cutting  seemed  justified. 

But  the  many  who  exalted  forest 
beauty  over  forest  economy  rejected 
this  reasoning  as  specious  rather  than 
sound.  Their  discovery  that  the  stately 
trees  that  fringed  their  most  cherished 
meadow  or  road  or  trail  or  mountain 
slope  had  been  cut  in  a  logging  opera- 
tion frequently  was  followed  by  an 
emotional  explosion.  So  the  practice 
came  into  force  of  reserving  from  cut- 
ting, or  cutting  only  lightly,  selectively, 
and  almost  unnoticeably,  the  stands  of 
national  forest  timber  that  have  defi- 
nite esthetic  values. 

Until  as  recently  as  two  or  three  cen- 
turies ago,  the  chief  purpose  of  many 
forests  and  many  foresters  in  the  older 
countries  was  to  provide  sport  to  the 
wealthy,  the  provision  of  fuel  wood  and 


building  timber  being  purely  incidental 
and  subordinate  purposes.  It  is  im- 
probable that  such  a  narrow  and  illogi- 
cal use  of  forests  will  ever  occur  in  the 
United  States,  but  it  is  not  at  all  im- 
probable that  the  provision  of  whole- 
some types  of  outdoor  sport  will  be  a 
major,  if  not  a  principal,  use  of  many 
American  forests. 

L.  F.  KNEIPP  entered  Government 
service  at  the  age  of  19  by  appointment 
as  a  forest  ranger  in  the  then  Territory 
of  Arizona,  in  April  1900.  In  1904  he 
became  acting  supervisor  of  the  Pecos 
River  Forest  Reserve  in  New  Mexico; 
shortly  thereafter  he  also  assumed 
charge  of  the  adjoining  Jemez  and 
Taos  Forest  Reserves.  After  several 
other  assignments,  in  1920  he  became 
an  assistant  chief  of  the  Forest  Service, 
in  charge  of  land  activities,  a  position 
he  held  until  his  retirement  from  active 
service  in  1946. 


TRAIL  RIDING  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

SHIRLEY  W.  ALLEN 


Because  of  the  very  inaccessibility 
that  gives  charm  and  mystery  to  wild 
places,  few  Americans  in  the  past  40 
years  have  ever  found  themselves  far 
from  the  sound  of  an  automobile  horn. 
Fewer  yet,  but  for  the  foresight  and 
planning  of  the  American  Forestry 
Association,  would  have  been  able  to 
enjoy  the  thrills  that  greet  the  wilder- 
ness traveler  as  he  rounds  a  bend  in  the 
trail  or  stream  and  sees  before  him  the 
flowering  meadow,  the  majestic  moun- 
tain back  of  it,  or  the  wild  animal  which 
looks,  turns,  and  disappears  into  cover. 

Not  everyone  will  want  such  oppor- 
tunities; they  may  be  one  man's  meat 
and  another's  poison.  But  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  those  who  crave  such  adven- 
ture would  number  at  least  a  million  in 
our  country. 

Horseback  trips  (and  to  a  less  ex- 
tent, canoeing)  have  been  available  at 
reasonable  cost  almost  every  year  since 


1933  to  the  members  of  this  association 
of  citizens,  which  serves  as  a  rallying 
place  for  friends  of  forestry,  whether 
they  be  trained  foresters  or  plain  pub- 
lic-spirited folk.  It  is  the  latter  group 
that  forms  the  bulk  of  the  membership, 
and  many  of  them  had  their  introduc- 
tion to  the  program  by  signing  up  as 
"Trail  Riders  of  the  Wilderness." 
Once  exposed,  they  are  incurable  con- 
servationists. 

The  idea  of  exploring,  studying,  and 
enjoying  the  wilderness  country  on 
horseback  expeditions  came  to  the 
American  Forestry  Association  in  1932 
from  the  West.  The  desire  for  such  ad- 
venture had  there  found  its  best  chance 
in  terms  of  the  small  party  and  horse- 
back travel.  The  occasion  might  arise 
as  a  "go-along"  venture  from  a  cattle 
or  sheep  ranch  when  routine  work  of 
the  range  had  to  be  done.  It  might  start 
with  a  hunting  season  that  required 


538 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


saddle  and  pack  animals  to  get  the  ad- 
venturer into  back  country,  carrying 
his  outfit,  and  bring  him  back  with  his 
kill.  Or  a  planned  and  guided  visit  to 
wilderness  country  from  ranch,  resort, 
or  dude  ranch,  with  less  definite  ob- 
jectives in  mind,  may  have  taken  a 
family  or  a  group  of  friends  into  one  of 
those  priceless  and  unspoiled  parts  of 
America,  set  aside  to  maintain  their 
own  precious  values  and  usually  lo- 
cated in  the  national  forests  or  national 
parks. 

In  all  of  those  early  forays,  from  the 
days  of  Jim  Bridger  and  the  exploring 
expeditions  in  the  Yellowstone  to  the 
one-night-out  trip  from  today's  most 
expensive  resort,  certain  features  are 
common. 

Primitive  modes  of  transportation; 
penetration  of  wild  and  infrequently 
visited  country;  camping  and  cooking 
with  limited  equipment  and  the  sorts  of 
foods  that  can  be  easily  carried  or  that 
can  be  captured  daily;  sleeping  under 
the  stars;  gathering  in  close  and 
friendly  companionship  at  the  camp- 
fire,  with  the  singing,  the  tall  stories, 
the  banter,  and  the  long  moments  of 
dreamy  silence;  the  flood  of  ques- 
tions on  the  trail  and  in  the  camp; 
the  grist  of  minor  adventures  with 
horses,  storms,  yellow- jackets,  moun- 
tain climbing,  and  fishing;  the  amateur 
but  serious  nature  study;  the  photog- 
rapher, in  the  role  of  pest  or  friend; 
the  distinctive  dress ;  the  understanding 
that  develops  between  horse  and  rider; 
the  color  and  culture  of  the  local  peo- 
ple who  go  along  as  guides,  cooks,  and 
wranglers — all  these  in  the  mountain 
trips  make  up  the  daily  program,  and 
the  record  in  thousands  of  diaries, 
hearts,  and  photographic  collections. 
Added  to  these,  from  the  canoe  coun- 
try, may  be  the  many  ways  of  getting 
wet,  the  portage,  the  fast-water  inci- 
dents, and  a  good  bit  more  under  the 
heading  of  "the  big  fish." 

But  left  to  the  American  Forestry 
Association  was  the  development  of  the 
trail  ride  as  an  expedition  of  15  to  30 
persons  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  of 
all  ages,  and  of  widely  varying  back- 


grounds, brought  together  with  only 
their  duffel,  clothing,  personal  effects, 
and  anticipations,  to  ride  together  with 
competent  guides  and  helpers,  for  10 
days  to  2  weeks,  deep  into  the  wildest 
parts  of  the  country.  No  service  of  sup- 
ply, no  quartermaster's  department, 
and  no  long-organized  travel  service 
with  its  established  connections  figured 
in  those  bold  ventures,  which  were 
launched  in  1933. 

The  first  trip  left  from  Helena, 
Mont.,  for  the  South  Fork  Wilderness 
(now  a  part  of  the  Bob  Marshall  Wil- 
derness area)  on  July  1 1,  1933,  with  22 
riders,  from  10  different  States  and  the 
District  of  Columbia.  There  were  two 
guides,  two  cooks,  a  boss  packer,  and 
four  wranglers.  Fifty-five  horses  and 
mules  were  required.  The  first  day's 
ride  was  18  miles,  and  the  party  spent 
6  days  in  the  wilderness.  They  called 
themselves  the  "Pioneers."  All  returned 
safe  and  enthusiastic.  As  their  telegram 
at  the  end  reported,  the  venture  "was 
a  complete  success  and  through  coun- 
try we  never  dreamed  existed." 

The  log  of  that  trip,  kept  by  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  association,  is  punc- 
tuated with  references  to  frost  on  the 
sleeping  bags,  seas  of  wild  flowers,  ac- 
counts of  meals  that  make  one  hungry 
to  read,  songs  to  banjo  accompani- 
ment, battles  with  wary  trout,  and, 
over  and  over,  references  to  the  sur- 
prise and  wonderment  as  the  journey 
proceeded.  The  second  trip  that  year 
went  into  the  Sun  River  country  in  the 
same  general  region;  it  was  successful, 
but  a  severe  August  snowstorm  turned 
the  party  back  short  of  the  Great  Wall, 
its  objective.  It  was  no  soft  expedition, 
however,  for  only  when  travel  became 
unsafe  did  the  members  turn  back.  The 
riders  treasure  not  only  the  joys  of  this 
ride  but  memories  of  the  touch  of  hard- 
ship and  the  conquering  of  obstacles. 

Since  that  year  the  American  For- 
estry Association  has  arranged  and  car- 
ried out  75  expeditions,  in  which  more 
than  1,000  riders  explored  19  wilder- 
ness areas  in  9  States.  More  than  200 
of  the  riders  have  repeated  the  ride;  a 
score  or  more  have  been  on  5  to  12  of 


Trail  Riding  in  the  Wilderness 


539 


the  trips.  The  average  party  includes 
from  20  to  30  riders,  and  requires  from 
50  to  70  saddle  and  pack  animals, 
counting  those  for  the  guides,  helpers, 
and  cooks.  A  canoe  trip  penetrated  the 
roadless  area  on  the  Superior  National 
Forest  in  1941 ;  it  was  repeated  in  1948. 
Over  the  years  a  rather  definite  sys- 
tem has  been  worked  out.  During  the 
winter  the  association  arranges  with 
local  guides  and  packers  the  proposed 
itineraries  and  equipping  of  the  trail 
riders  for  the  following  summer.  Some- 
times it  has  been  possible  for  an  asso- 
ciation representative  or  a  member  of 
the  Forest  Service  actually  to  ride  the 
trip  beforehand  with  the  guide  and  to 
select  alternate  routes.  Early  in  the  year 
the  expeditions  are  announced  in  the 
American  Forests,  the  monthly  maga- 
zine of  the  association,  a  prospectus  in 
pamphlet  form  is  prepared,  and  letters 
are  sent  to  former  riders  and  inquirers. 
Routes,  dates  and  costs,  recommended 
clothing  and  equipment,  and  the  ways 
of  reaching  the  meeting  places  are 
included. 

PREPARATIONS  for  starting  on  a  trail 
ride  begin  with  correspondence  or  an 
interview,  in  which  the  American  For- 
estry Association  wants  to  make  sure 
that  the  applicant  is  in  good  health; 
has  some  acquaintance  with  horses  and 
riding ;  can  really  be  counted  on  to  stay 
by  a  decision  to  make  the  trip;  under- 
stands that  while  there  is  no  advantage 
in  being  uncomfortable  the  accommo- 
dations in  general  are  pretty  rugged; 
really  wants  to  go  on  the  trip;  and  is 
ready  to  pay  the  moderate  cost,  which 
over  the  years  has  run  from  $125  to 
$188  for  10  days'  to  2  weeks'  travel.  It 
is  also  important  that  the  prospective 
trail  rider  understands  that  this  cost 
is  from  the  "jumping  off  place"  and 
not  from  his  home.  Take-off  points 
have  included  Ely,  Minn.,  Asheville, 
N.  G.,  Silver  City,  N.  Mex.,  Kemmerer, 
Wyo.,  Glenwood  Springs,  Colo.,  Mis- 
soula,  Mont.,  Sun  Valley,  Idaho,  Se- 
attle, Wash.,  Bishop,  Calif.,  and  Lone 
Pine,  Calif. 

As  the  parties  fill  up,  an  association 


representative  is  selected  to  meet  the 
riders,  check  their  preparations,  ar- 
range such  things  as  transportation  to 
the  horses  or  canoes,  last-minute  pur- 
chases such  as  a  poncho  here,  a  western 
hat  there,  and  most  important,  fishing 
tackle  and  fishing  licenses. 

How  a  trail  rider  dresses,  provides 
himself  with  small  comforts,  and  takes 
things  which  can  actually  be  put  on  a 
pack  horse  or  in  his  own  small  bag 
carried  on  the  saddle  (duffel  weight 
must  not  exceed  50  pounds  a  person) 
are  items  that  the  association  tries  to 
make  plain  in  its  literature.  Always, 
however,  they  have  to  be  checked  just 
before  the  trip  by  the  representative  of 
the  association  and  frequently  this  is 
done  in  the  evening  after  the  group  has 
gathered  preparatory  to  the  take- 
off the  next  day.  Trail  riding  has  its 
moments  of  dust,  wetness,  wear,  and 
even  loss  of  bits  of  equipment.  So  it 
is  good  to  give  thought  to  essentials  of 
clothing,  plus  cameras,  fishing  tackle, 
tree,  shrub,  and  animal  identification 
books,  and  toilet  articles,  all  of  which 
go  to  make  up  the  individual's  equip- 
ment. Dungarees  are  popular  for  both 
men  and  women.  Riding  boots  are 
worn  but  not  recommended  unless  they 
are  of  the  cowboy  type  for  riding  only. 
Some  comfortable  shoes  for  the  hours 
around  camp  are  needed.  Bathing  suits 
come  in  handy.  The  right  kind  of  hats 
to  cut  down  the  sacrifice  to  the  sun 
gods  needs  to  be  thought  about  and 
obtained.  The  favorite  sets  of  spurs, 
the  rider's  own  saddle,  trick  riding 
breeches,  and  other  unusual  items  of 
costume  are  not  recommended. 

Then,  with  full  instructions,  the 
party  assembles,  the  evening  before 
taking  off,  for  final  questions,  meeting 
local  forest  officers,  learning  each  oth- 
ers' names,  storing  baggage,  and  de- 
positing valuables.  Then,  also,  the 
leader  extracts  from  each  rider  a  prom- 
ise not  to  oversleep  or  hold  up  the  take- 
off early  the  next  morning.  Usually 
there  is  a  long  stage  ride  to  the  point 
where  the  horses  or  canoes  are  to  be 
assigned.  Upon  arrival,  each  rider  is 
sized  up  by  the  head  guide  and  his 


540 

helpers  and  matched  with  a  horse  that 
will  be  his  for  the  duration  of  the  ride. 
Stirrups  are  adjusted,  try-outs  staged  if 
there  is  time,  and  a  part  of  the  ride 
acomplished  by  the  end  of  the  first  day 
out.  There  are  no  mantelpieces  to  eat 
from  in  the  wilderness. 

IF  ONE  TRIED  to  complete  a  compos- 
ite of  the  trail  rider,  male  or  female,  he 
might  come  out  with  something  like 
this.  The  woman  would  be  in  her  thir- 
ties, a  teacher  or  perhaps  a  stenog- 
rapher who  lives  in  a  city,  whose  riding 
experience  likely  has  been  confined  to 
the  sort  of  horses  you  get  out  of  a  riding 
stable,  who  has  a  profound  love  of  the 
out-of-doors,  who  systematically  saves 
for  her  vacation,  who  is  naturally 
friendly,  and  who  is  not  so  heroic  that 
she  does  not  occasionally  ask  the  cook 
for  a  basin  of  warm  water  on  a  cool 
morning  or  perhaps  hope  that  some- 
times she  may  have  toast  instead  of 
pancakes.  The  man  would  be  a  busi- 
nessman, somewhat  older  than  the 
woman,  who  is  determined  to  get  off 
the  beaten  trail,  frequently  is  interested 
in  fishing,  is  a  somewhat  better  horse- 
man, is  given  to  philosophizing,  and  is 
anxious  to  share  with  his  family  the  joy 
which  he  has  experienced. 

Invariably  a  forest  officer  is  on  hand 
as  the  journey  starts,  usually  with  his 
own  saddle  horse  and  pack  mule,  to 
accompany  the  party  on  the  entire  trip, 
or,  if  he  happens  to  be  the  local  ranger, 
to  ride  with  the  group  while  in  his  dis- 
trict, turning  them  over  to  the  next 
ranger  as  the  ride  proceeds.  This  will 
also  be  true  of  the  national  park  offi- 
cers as  the  expeditions  enter  their  terri- 
tory. The  representative  of  the  associa- 
tion who  leads  the  group  may  be  one 
of  its  officers,  or  a  member  who  may  be 
a  forestry  teacher,  or  a  well-informed 
individual  who  lives  near  the  scene  of 
the  ride.  He  tries  to  prepare  answers 
for  all  questions  with  the  help  so  read- 
ily available  from  forest  and  national 
park  officers  who  may  accompany  the 
party. 

Nor  must  the  medical  officer  be  neg- 
lected. Adequate  attention  to  health  is 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


assured  by  the  provision  for  this  im- 
portant officer  on  each  trail  ride.  Con- 
siderable study  is  given  by  him  and  the 
association  to  his  medical  kit,  and  he  is 
not  only  a  valuable  friend  in  case  of 
distress  but  an  asset  to  the  party  itself. 
The  few  minor  accidents  have  been 
skillfully  handled ;  the  even  fewer  cases 
where  people  became  ill  and  had  to  be 
gotten  out  involved  no  serious  travel 
troubles.  Emergency  messages  are  de- 
livered, and  sometimes  even  mail  is 
received  during  the  progress  of  the  trip. 

The  guides  are  local  stockmen  or 
people  who  make  their  living  princi- 
pally from  the  recreation  industry. 
They  are  good,  honest,  picturesque,  in- 
teresting men,  full  of  common  sense, 
good  humor,  and  spirit-lifting  banter. 
Invariably  there  are  natural  entertain- 
ers among  the  packers,  wranglers,  and 
cooks,  and  wonders  never  cease  at  the 
hidden  talent  among  the  riders  them- 
selves. It  is  a  comfort  for  the  pro- 
spective trail  rider  to  know  that  he  will 
be  in  capable  hands  and  that  resource- 
fulness is  a  commonplace  among  the 
western  mountain  people. 

By  the  end  of  the  second  day's  ride, 
there  may  arise  the  rare  instance  of  a 
saddle-weary  or  homesick  rider  who 
wants  to  turn  back,  but  usually  all  will 
have  settled  into  the  routine,  staked  out 
claims  on  choice  spots  for  that  night's 
sleeping  under  the  stars,  insisted  to  the 
cowboy  wranglers  on  special  care  for 
Blackie,  Old  Paint,  Susie,  Biscuits,  or 
another  mount,  and  taken  on  that  feel- 
ing of  well-being  that  only  the  healthy 
tiredness  of  outdoor  adventure  can 
offer. 

THE  USUAL  STOP  of  the  party  is  one 
night.  The  camp  sites  are  selected  for 
beauty,  convenience  of  terrain,  good 
water  for  camp  use,  bathing  and  fish- 
ing, and  proximity  to  adequate  feed 
areas,  so  that  the  saddle  and  pack  ani- 
mals can  be  held  and  recovered  for 
the  next  day's  work. 

The  wranglers  have  their  own  tricks 
for  the  latter  detail,  from  sleeping  at 
the  pass  where  the  animals  might  es- 
cape from  an  otherwise  mountain- 


Trail  Riding  in  the  Wilderness 


locked  series  of  meadows,  to  the  old 
device  of  hobbling  the  more  influential 
members  of  the  transportation  depart- 
ment. When  feed  is  scant  or  badly  scat- 
tered, the  wranglers  are  sometimes 
without  sleep  most  of  the  night,  but  in- 
variably, although  not  always  on  exact 
schedule,  the  sound  of  bells  and  hoofs 
will  greet  the  waking  campers  in  the 
morning.  Often,  deep  in  the  night,  one 
hears  the  far-off  music  of  bells  as  the 
grazing  animals  drift  to  the  high  edge 
of  the  plateau  where  they  are  pastured. 
And  then,  of  course,  there  are  times 
when  the  bells  seem  to  harmonize  less 
pleasantly,  should  the  four-footed 
members  reason  that  the  best  pasture 
was  being  slept  on  by  their  riders.  Yet 
everybody  by  this  time  has  heard  the 
saying,  "you  might  as  well  be  dead  as 
afoot."  So  they  roll  over  and  go  to  sleep. 

Another  feature  considered  in  select- 
ing the  camp  sites  is  the  opportunity 
for  special  adventure  offered  by  a  day's 
lay-over.  Perhaps  the  fishing  is  particu- 
larly good,  as  at  Lake  Imogene  in  the 
Sawtooth  country  of  Idaho  or  Lake  In- 
sula  in  the  Arrowhead  section  of  Min- 
nesota. Or  there  may  be  a  Mount 
Whitney  to  climb  in  the  high  Sierra, 
or  a  look  into  Old  Mexico  to  capture 
from  Magollon  Baldy  in  the  Gila  River 
country  of  New  Mexico.  Or  in  this 
same  Gila  wilderness,  the  party  may 
camp  near  the  unfrequented  and  un- 
manned cliff  dwellings,  where  bits  of 
ancient  pottery  can  be  seen  in  the 
gravel  wash  at  the  mouth  of  the  canyon 
below  the  great  caves.  Even  more  ex- 
citing may  be  the  chance  to  stalk  elk 
and  mountain  goats  along  the  Great 
Wall,  in  the  Flathead-Sun  River  area 
in  Montana.  In  1945,  one  day's  lay- 
over there  gave  members  of  the  party 
a  view  of  more  than  20  elk  staging  a 
frolic  on  an  enormous  sunlit  snowbank 
less  than  a  mile  from  a  perfect  ringside 
seat;  mountain  goats  and  coyotes  were 
seen  at  closer  range. 

From  these  lay-over  camps,  large  or 
small  groups,  under  safe  leadership, 
make  their  own  explorations.  What 
will  the  top  of  that  "funny-looking  big 
rock"  yield  in  new  adventure  and  view? 


Where  does  this  stream  really  start? 
Can  that  cliff  actually  be  scaled?  Who 
dares  to  take  his  shower  under  that 
waterfall?  Did  they  really  take  gold  out 
of  that  old  mine  where  we're  going? 
Where  are  the  evergreen  trees  in  the 
Great  Smokies?  Can  we  get  enough 
blueberries  for  pie?  Is  the  spring  water 
really  hot?  Those  are  some  of  the 
things  trail  riders  talk  about  and  find 
out  on  lay-over  days,  unless  they  are 
fishermen,  or  figure  that  the  week's 
laundry  needs  attention,  or  choose  to 
reorganize  the  duffel  after  a  rainy  ride 
the  previous  day. 

These  special  2-day  camps  have  a 
practical  aspect,  too.  The  head  guide 
and  his  crew  may  take  advantage  of 
them  to  send  out  a  pack  string  to  some 
ranch  or  settlement  within  a  half  day's 
ride  to  replenish  supplies.  Two  or  three 
of  the  wranglers  who  are  expert  fisher- 
men may  undertake  to  supply  one  meal 
of  trout,  if  the  riders  are  not  doing  too 
well.  Horses  and  mules  may  need  to  be 
shod,  for  the  trails  are  rough  and  there 
are  no  blacksmith  shops  in  the  wilder- 
ness. And  animals  need  occasional  rest 
and  an  extra  day's  grazing.  As  the  ex- 
pedition passes  a  band  of  sheep  (graz- 
ing of  domestic  livestock  is  permitted 
in  national  forest  wilderness  areas),  a 
fat  lamb  may  be  purchased  and  a  bar- 
becue worked  out  with  all  the  cere- 
mony that  an  extra  day  allows. 

Time  for  brief  side-line  travel  and 
adventure  is  available  also  at  single- 
night  camps  when  the  day's  ride  is  not 
too  long  and  the  camp  is  reached  well 
before  suppertime. 

The  program  normally  on  such  a 
day  starts  with  breakfast  at  7  o'clock. 
Tents  are  struck,  folded,  and  placed 
at  a  convenient  packing  center  by  8 
o'clock;  meanwhile,  all  bedding  and 
duffel  are  packed  and  assembled.  Rid- 
ers do  this  work  themselves,  of  course. 
Saddle  horses  are  made  ready  and  rid- 
ers mount  well  before  8  o'clock.  A 
"lunch-mule"  is  packed  with  food  for 
the  group  at  noon,  or  each  rider  puts 
up  and  carries  his  own  lunch  from  ma- 
terial set  out  by  the  cook.  Or,  possibly, 
when  coffee  is  not  to  be  made  at  noon, 


542 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


food  for  a  common  lunch  is  distributed 
in  the  saddlebags  of  a  number  of  the 
riders.  Whatever  the  system,  there  is 
always  lunch  and  plenty  of  it. 

After  the  riders  are  on  the  trail,  with 
the  head  guide  leading,  experienced 
riders  distributed  in  the  line,  and  a 
wrangler  riding  behind,  the  remaining 
packers,  cooks,  and  wranglers  complete 
breaking  camp,  load  the  pack  animals, 
and  pass  the  riders  while  they  are  rest- 
ing for  lunch  at  noon.  This  puts  the 
pack  train  into  the  next  camp  ahead  of 
the  riders.  If  all  goes  well,  the  latter 
will  spot  a  tent  fly  and  a  curl  of  smoke 
along  a  stream  or  lake  sometime  be- 
tween 3  and  5  o'clock  and  start  prac- 
ticing their  "cowboy  yells."  For  that  is 
the  camp.  The  cook  has  the  coffee  on. 
The  duffel  is  off  the  pack  animals. 
From  then  on  it  is  a  matter  of  riders 
and  crew  getting  up  sleeping  tents  and 
flies  where  weather  or,  on  rare  occa- 
sions, insects,  make  them  necessary. 

Mostly  the  "camping  operations" 
consist  of  locating  good  spots  to  bed 
down  in  the  open,  with  due  attention 
to  relative  privacy,  sanitary  precau- 
tions, the  distance  that  duffel  must  be 
carried,  and  noninterference  with  the 
"kitchen,"  temporary  corral,  and  water 
for  cooking  and  drinking.  This  takes 
some  planning  and  agreement.  Areas 
for  women,  for  men,  for  families  and 
couples  have  to  be  picked.  Minimum 
but  adequate  sanitary  arrangements 
must  be  located.  Swampy  or  sloping 
ground  must  be  avoided.  On  the  1941 
canoe  trip  one  camp  was  made  on  a 
small  island — so  small  that  it  was  most 
difficult  to  stay  on  it.  Usually  there  is 
plenty  of  room.  Usually  the  previous 
occupants  have  left  the  site  in  orderly 
condition.  Sometimes  there  are  old 
buildings,  a  dilapidated  log  cabin,  or  a 
well-maintained  but  unoccupied  for- 
est-guard's quarters  for  short-season 
use,  or  a  cattle-  or  hunting-camp  struc- 
ture. Some  of  the  riders  are  sure  to 
appropriate  these  as  camps,  if  the  cooks 
do  not  get  there  first. 

AVAILABLE  for  this  sort  of  wilderness 
travel  are  77  established  or  proposed 


wilderness  and  wild  areas  in  the  na- 
tional forests.  Wilderness  areas  cover 
at  least  100,000  acres  each;  wild  areas 
are  smaller.  Eight  of  the  former  con- 
tain more  than  500,000  acres  each. 
There  are  large  areas  of  wilderness  in 
most  of  the  national  parks.  By  far  the 
greater  number  of  the  wilderness  and 
wild  areas  are  relatively  untouched.  A 
few  are  recaptured  lands  on  which 
lumbering  or  mining  and  prospecting 
was  relatively  active  in  the  past.  Some 
of  them  exhibit  a  natural  condition 
that  would  compare  with  those  at  the 
time  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 

Besides  the  places  named,  the  Trail 
Riders  have  penetrated,  in  Colorado, 
the  Maroon-Snowmass,  the  Flat  Tops, 
and  the  San  Juan  Wilderness  Areas ;  in 
Montana,  the  Spanish  Peaks  Wild 
Area;  in  North  Carolina,  the  Great 
Smoky  Mountains  National  Park;  in 
Washington,  the  Olympic  National 
Park;  and,  in  Wyoming,  the  Wind 
River  Wilderness. 

Because  practically  all  the  areas,  ex- 
cept the  canoe  country  in  Minnesota, 
are  high,  the  time  when  travel  is  safe 
extends  only  from  late  June  to  early 
September.  At  that,  the  elements  are 
not  always  kind.  Rainstorms  on  the 
trail  are  uncommon,  but  certainly  not 
unknown.  Trail  riders  do  not  claim  to 
enjoy  such  weather,  but  it  is  a  part  of 
the  whole  adventure,  and  they  are  usu- 
ally equipped  with  slickers  or  ponchos 
that  keep  them  reasonably  dry.  Always 
there  is  a  blazing  campfire  in  the  eve- 
ning and  reasonable  assurance  of  a 
warm,  dry  night's  rest. 

Many  of  the  riders'  lasting  memories 
center  around  the  campfire  conversa- 
tions, the  friendly  arguments,  and  ques- 
tionings. At  those  gatherings  there  is 
always  serious  discussion,  and  always 
singing,  with  fiddle,  guitar,  accordion, 
or  banjo  accompaniment;  often  special 
stunts  are  arranged  by  the  guides  and 
helpers  and  by  the  riders  themselves. 

Anyone  who  plays  a  musical  instru- 
ment that  is  not  too  bulky  or  hard  to 
handle  can  contribute  that  to  his  duffel. 
Mouth  harps,  banjos,  guitars,  accor- 
dions, and  ukeleles  are  frequently  taken 


Trail  Riding  in  the  Wilderness 


543 


along.  Almost  always  there  is  a  theme 
song  for  the  trip  that,  if  it  does  not  be- 
come too  monotonous,  long  after  re- 
calls wonderful  days  in  the  mountains ; 
this  will  be  anything  from  "She's  Com- 
ing Around  the  Mountain"  to  "Only  A 
Rose,"  usually  with  only  one  phrase 
that  is  sung  over  and  over. 

At  the  campfire,  the  leadership  may 
come  from  the  head  guide,  one  of  the 
wrangler-musicians,  or  from  a  natural- 
born  master  of  ceremonies.  Sometimes 
the  leader,  representing  the  American 
Forestry  Association,  takes  over.  More 
often  the  entertainment  is  spontane- 
ous, with  no  lack  of  talent  or  of  things 
to  discuss.  What  the  day's  ride  has 
shown  in  the  way  of  new  high-altitude 
trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers,  or  in  the  way 
of  game  animals,  birds,  rodents,  or 
predators  is  sure  to  bring  a  flood  of 
questions  to  the  forest  officer  or  park 
officer.  He  may  be  a  local  cowman 
type,  a  scientist,  a  practical  forester,  a 
"90-day  wonder"  on  his  first  national 
park  assignment,  a  ranger-naturalist, 
or,  in  rarer  instances,  a  forest  super- 
visor or  a  park  superintendent  or  a  rep- 
resentative from  a  regional  office  of  one 
of  the  two  bureaus. 

National  forest  and  national  park 
policies  come  in  for  thorough  discus- 
sion. The  riders  carry  back  to  their 
homes  and  their  friends  such  factual 
gleanings  as  the  real  difference  be- 
tween a  national  forest  and  a  national 
park,  the  strange  ends  to  which  adap- 
tation can  go  in  animal  forms,  the  fact 
that  the  marmot  actually  "makes  hay" 
in  his  rocky  fastnesses,  the  reasons  be- 
hind fish  and  game  laws,  the  difference 
between  fir  trees  as  a  group  and  spruce 
trees,  the  way  forest  fires  start  and  are 
controlled,  the  age-old  and  little- 
changed  procedures  of  burden  carrying 
by  pack  animals,  the  strange  realiza- 
tion that  the  amount  of  snowfall  in 
the  mountains  the  previous  winter  may 
mean  water  or  no  water  in  the  next  2 
years  for  the  valley  below ;  the  fact  that 
coyotes,  vultures,  eagles,  and  hawks 
are  good  sanitary  officers,  the  economic 
value  of  many  flowering  plants  hereto- 
fore considered  only  beautiful,  the  in- 


dication that  plants  give  of  soil  char- 
acteristics and  range  condition,  the  in- 
evitable use  for  recreation  of  any  land 
that  is  sufficiently  attractive  to  tempt 
the  adventurer. 

Amateur  botanists  and  students  of 
other  nature  lore  find  ample  interests 
and  have  at  their  disposal  some  forestry 
or  park  official  or  the  leader  of  the  trip 
from  whom  advice  and  actual  identifi- 
cation of  specimens  may  be  obtained. 
The  photographer,  amateur  or  profes- 
sional, keeps  busy  and  may,  if  too  in- 
sistent on  photography,  find  himself 
left  behind  and  robbed  of  his  subject  or 
roundly  berated,  but  the  total  collec- 
tion of  artistic  action  and  even  funny 
photographs  over  the  years  is  impres- 
sive. Frequently  an  exchange  of  pic- 
tures is  arranged  by  the  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation, and  black-and-white  prints  are 
sent  in  by  various  riders,  labeled  and 
priced  per  copy,  for  a  round-robin  cir- 
culation among  members  of  the  ride. 

BUT  ALL  THIS  TIME,  the  increasing 
consciousness  of  rocks,  rills,  woods,  and 
templed  hills  has  made  both  new  and 
old  trail  riders  appreciate  more  fully 
their  own  country  and  the  bureaus  of 
their  Government  that  are  responsible 
for  managing  the  wild  lands.  Their 
association  has  put  them  in  touch  with 
this  wilderness  and  made  friends  of 
them  for  the  movement  to  conserve  the 
resources  which  it  represents. 

In  this  day,  these  natural  resources 
of  solitude  and  life  and  beauty  and 
freedom  and  grandeur,  integrated  into 
the  one  natural  resource  we  call  the 
wilderness,  are  no  easy  things  to  con- 
serve and  defend.  The  wilderness,  with 
its  characteristic  of  vastness,  combined 
with  cover  which  could  be  translated 
into  profit,  may  sometimes  be  ques- 
tioned sharply  from  the  viewpoint  of 
equitable  distribution  when  it  is  real- 
ized that  relatively  few  can  ever  make 
use  of  such  sources  of  strength  and  in- 
spiration. Moreover,  if  the  million  peo- 
ple who  have  an  incurable  taste  for 
wilderness  travel  all  decide  to  penetrate 
one  wilderness  at  the  same  time,  they 
can  trample  it  to  death.  And  there  are 


544 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


those  who  argue  that  the  least  destruc- 
tive mode  of  wilderness  travel  would 
be  in  seaplanes,  that  would  land  on  in- 
terior waters  and  eventually  take  off, 
leaving  no  trace. 

But  wildernesses  we  must  have,  if 
only  to  dream  about  and  cherish  as 
saved  specimens  of  the  America  we 
love.  And  many  groups  whose  chance 
to  see  one  of  the  great  dedicated  areas 
is  remote  work  constantly  for  the  idea. 
A  "Wilderness  Society"  insists  that  wil- 
derness is  a  necessary  natural  resource, 
that  mechanized  civilization  in  terms 
of  sights  and  sounds  must  not  be  per- 
mitted to  clash  with  the  values  of 
primeval  environment,  and  that  wil- 
dernesses belong  to  the  whole  people 
and  must  be  defended.  The  Sierra 
Club,  the  Appalachian  Mountain 
Club,  and  similar  organizations  have 
long  cooperated  with  public  agencies  in 
keeping  great  areas  inviolate.  As  time 
goes  on,  the  need  for  wilderness  values 
will  increase. 

Almost  no  additional  area  can  now 
be  recaptured  and  restored.  Always  the 
priceless  opportunity  for  renewal  and 
inspiration  will  justify  the  same  effort 
at  conservation  that  is  more  readily  ap- 


preciated in  thinking  of  the  material 
values. 

As  L.  F.  Kneipp,  who  was  closely 
associated  with  the  early  Forest  Service 
wilderness  policies,  has  said,  "It  must 
be  an  attractive  and  interesting  sort  of 
solitude ;  one  which  enriches  and  stim- 
ulates the  mind,  which  develops  the 
body  by  creating  the  need  for  physical 
qualities  which  through  all  history 
have  commanded  the  admiration  of 
men,  qualities  of  hardihood,  endur- 
ance, strength,  resistance  to  adverse 
natural  forces,  combined  with  skill  in 
interpreting  and  effectively  conform- 
ing to  the  laws  of  nature." 

SHIRLEY  W.  ALLEN  is  a  graduate  of 
Iowa  State  College.  Since  1909  he  has 
served  in  numerous  capacities  with  the 
Forest  Service  and  for  several  years  in 
the  1930's  as  consultant  to  the  National 
Park  Service.  He  was  forester  to  the 
American  Forestry  Association  from 
1924  to  1928  and  since  that  time  has 
been  professor  of  forestry  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan.  He  has  been  the 
American  Forestry  Association  repre- 
sentative on  eleven  of  its  trail  rides  into 
wilderness  country. 


TREASURES  OF  THE  NATION 

CONRAD  L.  WIRTH,  J.  H.  GADSBY 


Many  of  the  great  and  spectacular 
parks  in  the  United  States  are  included 
in  the  national  park  system,  which  pre- 
serves for  always  and  for  everybody  the 
outstanding  scenic,  historic,  and  scien- 
tific treasures  of  the  Nation  and  pro- 
vides places  for  unusual  experiences. 

The  national  parks  had  their  begin- 
ning in  1872  with  the  establishment  of 
the  Yellowstone  Park.  Gradually  some 
other  areas  of  paramount  importance, 
such  as  Yosemite,  Mount  Rainier,  and 
Sequoia,  were  set  aside  by  Congress  to 
preserve  areas  of  scenic  grandeur  from 
commercial  exploitation,  because  their 
special  and  unique  qualities  made  them 
the  concern  of  all  the  people.  Also  es- 


tablished were  the  national  monu- 
ments— the  areas  of  diverse  size  and 
interest  that  are  notable  for  scientific 
or  historic  reasons. 

Congress  recognized  the  need  for  co- 
ordinated administration  of  the  areas 
in  1916  by  creating  the  National  Park 
Service  in  the  Department  of  the  In- 
terior. Congress  then  stated  the  ideal 
when  it  enjoined  the  new  bureau  to 
"conserve  the  scenery  and  the  natural 
and  historic  objects  and  the  wildlife 
therein  and  to  provide  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  same  in  such  manner  and 
by  such  means  as  will  leave  them  unim- 
paired for  the  enjoyment  of  future 
generations." 


Treasures  of  the  Nation 


545 


The  requirements  of  this  dual  func- 
tion, providing  for  protection  and  for 
human  use,  have  been  observed  even 
through  a  period  of  total  war.  The 
principle  now  seems  firmly  established 
that  the  features  that  make  the  areas 
worthy  of  preservation  should  not  be 
sacrificed,  even  for  purposes  of  war,  ex- 
cept as  a  last  resort. 

The  protection  of  these  superlative 
areas  naturally  involves  certain  restric- 
tions and  regulations,  which  at  times 
may  interfere  with  their  untrammeled 
use.  Precautions  against  destruction  by 
fire,  carelessness,  or  vandalism  must  be 
taken.  Locations,  therefore,  are  desig- 
nated for  such  uses  as  camping,  pic- 
nicking, and  making  fires.  Rangers  are 
assigned  to  guard  against  misuse  of  the 
public's  property  and  to  assist  those 
who  need  any  direction  or  advice.  The 
wildlife  has  to  be  protected  from  visi- 
tors and  the  visitors  from  wildlife. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Service 
maintains  a  staff  of  naturalists,  histo- 
rians, and  other  persons  to  explain  the 
wonders  of  nature  and  the  notable 
events  of  our  history  to  the  end  that 
people  can  have  full  use  and  enjoyment 
of  the  areas.  Lecturers,  campfire  talks, 
and  tours  are  available  so  that  visitors 
can  get  the  most  information  in  a  short 
time.  Where  advisable  and  practicable, 
museums  are  at  hand  to  assist  in  telling 
the  story. 

In  most  parks,  foot  and  horse  trails, 
suitably  marked  with  directional  and 
explanatory  signs,  lead  to  points  of  in- 
terest. Those  who  are  physically  able 
to  take  advantage  of  trips  on  the  trails 
find  them  an  inspiring  and  satisfying 
recreation.  Then,  too,  fishing  is  excel- 
lent in  many  places.  Inland  fishing  is 
governed  by  regulations  to  fit  local  con- 
ditions; in  some  places  only  fly  fishing 
is  permitted,  or  creel  limits  are  set,  for 
example.  In  most  cases  State  laws  ap- 
ply and  State  licenses  must  be  carried. 

Some  national  parks  present  oppor- 
tunities for  swimming  and  boating. 
Where  such  is  the  case,  full  advantage 
is  taken  of  the  fact,  and  necessary  facil- 
ities are  provided.  Usually  bathing  is 
of  small  importance,  but  boating  facil- 

802062° — 49 36 


ities  will  be  found  that  vary  from  row- 
boats  for  fishing  or  pleasure  to  fairly 
large  excursion  boats. 

Hunting  is  prohibited  in  all  national 
parks  and  monuments  because  they  are 
wildlife  sanctuaries.  But  the  gain  is 
great :  The  camera  enthusiasts  and  the 
many  persons  who  want  to  see  the  wild 
creatures  of  the  forests  in  their  natural 
surroundings  generally  are  well  re- 
warded. Frequently,  also,  the  increase 
in  the  numbers  of  animals  spreads  be- 
yond the  park  boundaries,  so  that 
hunting  is  better  in  adjacent  territory. 

Winter  in  the  parks  where  snow  falls 
is  often  the  loveliest  season  of  all.  The 
quiet,  peaceful  beauty  and  the  witchery 
of  soft  snow  on  trees  and  undergrowth, 
the  airy  creations  of  frozen  spray  from 
waterfalls,  and  the  snow  sculpture  of 
the  winds  combine  with  the  superb 
surroundings  to  make  a  breath-taking 
scene.  It  is  no  wonder  that  some  of 
the  areas,  the  ones  that  are  especially 
adapted  to  winter  sports,  are  beloved 
of  skiers.  For  them,  roads  are  kept  open 
all  winter,  the  ski  runs  are  maintained 
where  it  is  possible  to  do  so  without 
detriment  to  fundamental  park  values, 
and  lodges  are  in  full  operation.  Some 
parks  also  offer  opportunities  for  to- 
bogganing, skating,  snowshoeing,  and 
other  winter  sports. 

THE  PARKWAYS  are  a  new  classifica- 
tion of  areas  that  has  been  added  in 
recent  years  to  the  national  park  sys- 
tem. Of  particular  interest  to  motorists, 
they  are  first-class  motor  roads  with 
right-of-way  in  the  form  of  elongated 
parks.  They  are  located  so  as  to  reach 
points  of  great  historic  interest  (such 
as  Mount  Vernon  and  Yorktown),  to 
follow  historic  routes  (like  the  Natchez 
Trace),  or  to  provide  an  outstanding 
scenic  drive  (like  the  Blue  Ridge 
Parkway  between  the  Shenandoah  and 
the  Great  Smoky  Mountains  National 
Parks).  Access  to  parkways  is  limited 
so  as  to  promote  the  greatest  safety  and 
contribute  to  pleasure.  The  right-of- 
way  is  under  strict  control  to  preclude 
unsightly  structures  and  damage  to  the 
growth.  At  appropriate  locations  there 


546 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


are  provided  parking  overlooks,  places 
and  facilities  for  picnicking,  and,  along 
the  longer,  remote  parkways,  accom- 
modations for  meals  and  sleeping. 

The  congregation  of  large  numbers 
of  people  in  the  remote  wilderness  ne- 
cessitates arrangements  for  housing, 
feeding  and  the  maintenance  of  health, 
and  a  reasonable  degree  of  comfort. 
Most  of  these  services  are  provided  by 
concessionaires  who  have  invested  in 
buildings  and  equipment  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  accommodations  include 
free  public  camp  grounds,  simple  cab- 
ins, housekeeping  cabins,  lodges,  and 
complete  modern  hotel  service.  In 
nearly  every  park  are  picnic  grounds 
maintained  free  to  the  public  by  the 
Government  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  only  have  a  short  time  to  stay. 
Boats,  fishing  tackle,  guide  service, 
mountain-climbing  equipment,  con- 
ducted automobile  tours,  pack  animals, 
riding  horses,  and  other  conveniences 
are  offered  according  to  the  particular 
needs  of  the  area. 

Anyone  desiring  general  information 
regarding  the  national  park  system  can 
get  it  by  writing  to  the  Director,  Na- 
tional Park  Service,  Washington  25, 
D.  G.  Many  private  enterprises,  among 
them  oil  companies  and  several  west- 
ern railroads,  distribute  excellent  lit- 
erature concerning  the  national  parks 
and  monuments.  Some  will  plan  com- 
plete trips  on  request.  Such  agencies 
as  the  American  Automobile  Associa- 
tion are  well  informed  on  the  subject 
and  can  give  complete  directions  to 
their  members.  Information  and  tour- 
ist bureaus  of  various  States  gladly  sup- 
ply pamphlets  concerning  those  areas 
within  their  boundaries.  For  the  latest 
complete  information  in  regard  to  pre- 
vailing conditions  and  rates  in  any  par- 
ticular area,  however,  it  is  best  to  ad- 
dress the  park  superintendent  directly. 

STATE  PARKS,  recreation  areas,  and 
monuments  also  offer  opportunities  for 
recreation. 

About  80  years  ago  the  first  State 
park  was  established  in  the  Yosemite 
Valley  in  a  move  to  save  that  outstand- 


ing scenery  from  despoliation.  For 
many  years  thereafter  other  State  parks 
were  set  aside  for  similar  reasons. 
When  automobiles  came  into  general 
use,  the  need  became  more  urgent  to 
seek  out  and  preserve  some  of  the  re- 
maining wild  areas  for  the  crowds 
who  were  beginning  to  travel  afield  in 
the  quest  for  places  of  relaxation  and 
recreation.  The  decade  1920-30  was 
a  period  of  great  expansion  of  park 
systems  in  the  States  that  had  accepted 
the  new  concept  and  were  aware  of 
their  responsibility  to  meet  the  grow- 
ing demand.  It  was  not  until  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Civilian  Conservation 
Corps  and  other  emergency  agencies, 
however,  that  many  of  the  States  found 
themselves  financially  able  to  inaugu- 
rate park  systems.  With  the  Federal 
assistance  then  available,  the  growth 
of  physical  facilities  began  to  catch  up 
in  some  measure  with  the  needs.  New 
areas  were  rapidly  acquired  and  new 
facilities  provided  in  the  older  parks 
until  at  present  most  States  have  some 
provision  for  out-of-door  recreation  in 
natural,  forested  surroundings. 

In  the  beginning,  State  parks,  like 
national  parks,  were  created  to  pre- 
serve some  scenic  or  scientific  marvel, 
but  the  changed  attitude  brought  about 
by  transportation  by  automobile  re- 
sulted in  the  selection  of  new  areas  so 
situated  as  to  serve  centers  of  heavy 
population.  Scenic  quality  was  a  sec- 
ondary consideration  in  many  of  these, 
but  water  for  recreational  use  was  a 
requirement.  Consequently,  many  of 
the  most  heavily  used  areas  represent 
average,  rather  than  outstanding,  seg- 
ments of  a  State.  They  were  chosen  for 
accessibility  and  adaptability,  although 
frequently  a  happy  combination  of 
scenery  and  recreational  usefulness  was 
attained.  One  of  the  main  considera- 
tions, perhaps,  was  that  there  should 
be  trees,  at  least  in  those  regions  where 
trees  grow.  The  finer  the  trees,  the 
more  favorable  is  the  park. 

In  the  State  parks  that  were  estab- 
lished primarily  for  the  protection  of 
exceptional  resources  are  some  of  the 
finest  stands  of  remaining  virgin  dm- 


Treasures  of  the  Nation 


547 


her.  Thus  are  preserved  some  outstand- 
ing redwoods,  Douglas-firs,  white  and 
southern  pines,  and  other  native  trees 
of  species  that  elsewhere  have  been  so 
relentlessly  cut  to  fill  the  needs  of  in- 
dustry. Many  other  State  parks  are 
notable  for  some  natural  attraction, 
such  as  an  exceptional  waterfall,  gorge, 
beach,  or  mountain,  but  usually  it  has 
also  been  possible  to  preserve  or  restore 
the  forest  cover. 

One  of  the  strongest  contrasts  be- 
tween national  and  State  parks  is  in 
the  forms  of  recreation  provided. 
State  parks  and  recreation  areas,  be- 
ing intimately  associated  with  the  lo- 
cality, are  heavily  used  by  those  bent 
on  a  day's  outing  or  at  least  a  visit  of 
short  duration.  Depending  on  the 
character  of  the  reservation  and  prox- 
imity to  concentrations  of  population, 
they  have  facilities  for  swimming, 
boating,  fishing,  camping,  picnicking, 
organizational  camps,  vacation  cab- 
ins, horseback  riding,  hiking,  small 
games  ( such  as  volley  ball,  badminton, 
horseshoe  pitching) ,  dancing,  and  win- 
ter sports.  Frequently  there  are  outdoor 
theaters,  that  are  used  for  various  cele- 
brations or  festivals,  and  sometimes 
golf  courses,  tennis  courts,  and  polo 
fields  have  been  provided.  It  is  being 
increasingly  recognized  that  nature 
study  in  State  parks  is  of  interest  to 
many  visitors,  and  the  employment  of 
naturalists  and  the  establishment  of 
museums  for  this  activity  is  becoming 
common. 

Overnight  accommodations  vary  so 
greatly  that  it  is  possible  only  to  men- 
tion some  of  the  types  here.  One  of  the 
most  popular  features  of  many  State 
parks  is  the  vacation  cabin,  which  can 
usually  be  rented  at  a  reasonable  rate, 
either  completely  equipped  for  house- 
keeping or  lacking  only  linens  and  table 
silver.  In  regions  where  tent  camping 
is  favored,  camp  sites  are  available 
usually  with  individual  outdoor  cook- 
ing arrangements  as  well  as  community 
bathing  and  sanitary  facilities.  Closely 
related  are  areas  set  aside  for  parking 
trailers,  where  it  is  possible  usually  to 
plug  into  an  electric  outlet  and  connect 


to  a  running  water  system.  Such  con- 
veniences, however,  are  not  uniformly 
to  be  found  in  all  cases.  In  the  effort  to 
provide  for  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
visitors,  hotels  and  lodges  have  been 
erected  in  some  parks  where  they  seem 
warranted.  Accommodations  in  those, 
while  comfortable,  are  generally  simple 
in  character  and  moderate  in  price. 
Some  of  them  are  suitable  for  use  in 
winter.  For  those  who  do  not  desire  to 
do  their  own  cooking  and  for  casual 
visitors,  many  State  parks  have  refec- 
tories or  restaurants. 

Where  the  acreage  is  large  enough 
and  where  sufficient  privacy  can  be 
had,  together  with  an  adequate  swim- 
ming place,  State  parks  and  recreation 
areas  lend  themselves  readily  to  group 
or  organizational  camping.  Not  infre- 
quently the  group  camps  are  partly  or 
wholly  subsidized  by  one  or  more 
branches  of  the  State  Government  in 
order  to  provide  camping  experience 
for  crippled  children  or  for  those  from 
families  in  the  lower  income  groups. 
In  the  main,  however,  such  groups  as 
churches,  Scouts,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  or 
Y.  W.  G.  A.,  4-H  Clubs,  and  Future 
Farmers  of  America  are  the  main 
users  of  the  camps.  The  applications  of 
all  worthy  organizations  receive  sym- 
pathetic consideration. 

The  group  camps  are  planned  to 
take  advantage  of  site  and  topography 
so  that  economy  of  operation  and  ease 
of  control  can  be  achieved  by  centraliz- 
ing dining  facilities,  wash  houses,  in- 
firmaries, and  such  necessities,  while 
segregating  the  sleeping  cabins  into 
small,  separated  groups.  Thus  re- 
motely located,  the  cabins,  that  ordi- 
narily are  the  simplest  sort  of  shelter 
for  about  four  children  each,  convey 
the  impression  of  being  out  in  the 
woods — actually  camping. 

The  administrators  of  State  park  and 
recreation  areas  are  anxious  for  their 
visitors  to  enjoy  themselves  with  a 
minimum  of  regulatory  interference. 
However,  it  is  always  necessary  to 
adopt  a  few  simple  rules  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  areas  and  for  the  peace, 
comfort,  and  health  of  the  visitors.  The 


548 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


rules  and  regulations  vary  somewhat 
from  State  to  State  and  even  between 
areas  in  the  same  State,  but  they  are 
based  on  the  common  welfare  in  each 
case.  It  is  also  necessary  for  the  ad- 
ministrators to  be  eternally  vigilant  to 
prevent  accidents  or  sickness  as  far  as 
possible.  To  that  end  competent  life- 
guards are  assigned  to  the  beaches 
during  hours  that  swimming  is  al- 
lowed; first-aid  stations  are  main- 
tained; water  systems,  swimming  wa- 
ters, and  kitchens  are  given  regular 
inspections  by  health  authorities ;  every 
effort  is  made  to  keep  buildings  clean. 

The  States  sometimes  support  minor 
forested  areas  (minor  only  in  that  rec- 
reation is  less  extensive) ,  such  as  park- 
ways and  waysides,  at  desirable  loca- 
tions along  highways.  These  are  small 
areas  of  a  few  acres,  and  simple  picnic 
facilities,  water,  toilets,  and  parking 
are  generally  all  that  is  necessary. 

It  is  easy  for  any  interested  person 
to  get  information  about  the  State 
parks  and  related  areas  in  his  State 
or  vicinity.  Locations  generally  are 
shown  on  road  maps.  The  central  park 
authority,  with  only  few  exceptions,  is 
located  in  the  capital  of  the  State; 
either  he  or  the  superintendent  of  any 
park  in  the  State  will  be  glad  to  furnish 
literature  and  information  on  request. 

SEVERAL  FEDERAL  AGENCIES,  other 
than  the  National  Park  Service,  which 
administer  public  lands,  foster  recrea- 
tional use  of  areas  that  are  suitable  and 
where  interference  with  the  primary 
purpose  of  the  areas  is  not  serious. 

The  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  of  the 
Department  of  the  Interior  has  de- 
veloped limited  recreational  facilities 
for  day  use  and  overnight  camping  in 
a  number  of  the  national  wildlife  ref- 
uges. These  are  largely  for  local  use. 

Water-control  projects  of  the  Corps 
of  Engineers  and  the  Bureau  of  Recla- 
mation often  present  opportunities  to 
install  various  recreational  facilities. 

The  Tennessee  Valley  Authority  has 
recognized  recreation  as  an  important 
collateral  use  of  its  chain  of  lakes  on 
the  Tennessee  River  and  its  tributaries. 


Except  for  demonstration  parks,  how- 
ever, it  does  not  have  authority  to  de- 
velop and  operate  parks  and  recreation 
areas,  but  cooperates  with  State  and 
Government  agencies  by  leasing  lands 
for  the  purpose  and  by  consultative 
assistance. 

The  reservoirs  that  are  impounded 
by  the  Bureau  of  Reclamation  and  the 
Corps  of  Engineers  are  growing  in  im- 
portance in  the  recreation  program  of 
the  country.  People  naturally  want  to 
use  these  large  bodies  of  water  for 
personal  pleasure  even  though  their 
primary  function  of  storing  water  for 
irrigation,  flood  control,  or  power  de- 
velopment means  a  fluctuation  in  the 
water  level,  which  detracts  from  the 
ideal  for  recreation  areas.  Fortunately, 
the  periods  of  greatest  draw-down 
often  do  not  coincide  with  the  time  of 
heavy  recreational  use.  In  such  in- 
stances, recreational  developments  are 
included  in  over-all  plans,  their  extent 
and  importance  varying  greatly  with 
such  factors  as  accessibility,  proximity 
to  other  more  desirable  areas,  char- 
acter of  topography,  plan  of  reservoir 
operation,  and  density  of  population 
within  a  reasonable  distance.  Most  of 
these  areas  are  of  local  importance 
only,  and  are  or  will  be  administered 
by  the  State  or  a  political  subdivision. 
In  arid  or  semiarid  sections  they  may 
loom  large  in  the  recreational  picture, 
however.  Occasionally  one  of  the  reser- 
voirs may  be  so  located  that  it  is  of  more 
than  local  or  regional  significance. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has 
directed  that  the  recreational  features 
of  reservoirs  in  this  category  that  are 
constructed  by  the  Bureau  of  Reclama- 
tion shall  be  administered  by  the  Na- 
tional Park  Service,  unless  they  lie 
within  the  boundaries  of  areas  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  other  Federal  agen- 
cies, such  as  the  Forest  Service,  Fish 
and  Wildlife  Service,  and  Bureau  of 
Indian  Affairs. 

Recreational  development  at  reser- 
voir sites  may  consist  of  simple  or  elab- 
orate facilities,  depending  on  determi- 
nation of  development  possibilities  and 
probable  attendance.  Nothing  more 


Treasures  of  the  Nation 


than  a  place  to  launch  and  moor  boats 
for  fishermen  may  be  necessary  or,  at 
the  other  extreme,  most  of  the  facil- 
ities normally  found  in  a  State  park, 
including  group  camps,  may  be  desir- 
able. The  use  of  the  lands  surrounding 
reservoirs  is  considerably  less  restricted 
than  that  of  national  and  State  parks, 
because  usually  there  is  no  compelling 
need  to  preserve  the  natural  scenery. 
Consequently,  after  adequate  provision 
has  been  made  for  public  use,  certain 
lands  may  be  set  aside  that  can  be 
leased  for  summer-home  sites  to  be  con- 
structed by  the  lessee — a  practice  not 
permitted  in  the  national  parks  or  in 
most  State  parks. 

Hunting  is  permitted  except  in  the 
heavily  used  parts  and  in  parts  estab- 
lished as  wildlife  refuges.  It  has  been 
found  that  grazing  and  farming  can  be 
permitted  when  the  land  area  is  so 
large  that  such  uses  will  not  be  incom- 
patible with  uses  of  greater  priority. 
Because  of  the  diversity  of  agencies  ad- 
ministering these  reservoir  areas,  there 
is  no  central  agency  from  which  to  ob- 
tain information  about  all  of  them.  In- 
quiries directed  to  Federal,  State,  or 
local  park  agencies  should  elicit  infor- 
mation about  any  such  areas  under 
their  jurisdiction. 

COUNTY  AND  METROPOLITAN  parks 
are  transitional  between  State  parks 
and  municipal  parks.  The  former  have 
many  characteristics  of  both  of  the  lat- 
ter. They  average  larger  than  munici- 
pal parks,  and,  being  close  to  centers 
of  dense  population,  have  many  of  the 
same  provisions  for  recreation  that  are 
found  in  the  larger  municipal  parks. 
Their  size  and  forested  character,  how- 
ever, allow  and  encourage  emphasis  on 
naturalistic  development  and  on  the 
activities  that  depend  on  spaciousness, 
such  as  hiking,  boating,  horseback  rid- 
ing, and,  to  some  extent,  camping. 
Picnicking  is  a  favorite  use  of  these 
parks.  Large-scale  preparations  have 
been  made  for  it — shelters,  tables  and 
benches,  and  fireplaces,  yet  on  Sun- 
days and  holidays  it  is  well  to  arrive 
early  to  be  sure  of  finding  a  place. 


549 

Information  regarding  county  and 
metropolitan  parks  should  be  obtained 
from  the  office  of  the  administering 
agency  or  from  the  superintendent  of 
the  individual  area.  Reference  to  the 
telephone  directory  will  generally  be 
sufficient  for  this  purpose. 

SPECIAL-USE  AREAS  in  some  parks 
have  been  found  desirable  because  of 
the  growth  of  interest  in  and  enthu- 
siasm for  winter  sports,  particularly 
skiing.  From  the  national  parks  and 
forests  down  through  the  list  of  lesser 
areas,  administrators  are  confronted 
with  the  demand  for  ski  runs  and  other 
facilities  wherever  there  are  usable 
slopes  and  enough  snow.  It  is  not  al- 
ways possible  to  acquiesce  in  those  de- 
mands where  preservation  of  natural 
conditions  is  of  primary  importance. 
However,  many  such  facilities  do  exist 
in  all  classes  of  parks,  attendance  at  the 
most  accessible  ones  naturally  being 
the  heaviest.  Ski  lifts,  tows,  jumps,  and 
lodges  are  provided  in  some  of  the 
areas,  but  in  the  national  parks  and 
related  areas  they  are  limited  some- 
what by  problems  of  access,  safety, 
and  likelihood  of  interference  with 
other  uses.  Where  those  problems  have 
been  solved,  informal  skiing,  ice  skat- 
ing, and  tobogganing  are  encouraged. 
A  policy  of  noncommercial  use  is  fol- 
lowed, and  no  undue  disfiguration  of 
important  landscapes  is  allowed. 

In  a  few  county  and  metropolitan 
parks,  toboggan  slides  have  been  suc- 
cessful and  popular.  There  are  also 
many  lakes,  ponds,  and  artificial  rinks, 
which  are  located  in  areas  close  enough 
to  cities  to  be  heavily  patronized  by 
skaters.  Snowshoeing,  it  seems,  is  now 
mostly  for  practical  purposes. 

THIS  ADVICE  to  those  who  are  novices 
in  the  use  of  park  and  recreation  areas 
is  important  and  will  help  the  new- 
comers derive  greater  satisfaction  and 
pleasure  from  their  first  outing. 

By  all  means,  choose  the  proper — 
but  not  necessarily  expensive — cloth- 
ing. Common  sense  prescribes  light 
clothes  for  warm  latitudes  and  heavier 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


ones  for  cool  latitudes  and  for  the 
higher  altitudes.  Strong  fabrics  are  im- 
portant. So  are  shoes  that  fit  well  and 
that  are  tough  enough  for  severe  use; 
with  those  specifications  met,  they 
should  be  as  light  as  possible  for  ordi- 
nary walking.  Mountain  climbing  and 
skiing  call  for  special  footgear.  Socks 
should  be  of  the  proper  size  to  avoid 
wrinkling  from  being  too  large  or  dis- 
comfort from  being  too  small.  Most 
people  prefer  a  light  wool,  white  sock, 
although  some  prefer  cotton. 

Campers  would  be  well  advised  to 
include  in  their  kits,  in  addition  to  the 
regular  cooking  and  sleeping  equip- 
ment, some  form  of  protection  against 
insects,  such  as  mosquitoes,  unless  they 
have  competent  advice  that  it  will  not 
be  necessary.  Mosquito  nets  are  often 
useful,  as  are  the  insecticides  and  repel- 
lents that  were  developed  during  and 
since  the  last  war.  In  those  sections  of 
the  country  where  chiggers,  sometimes 
called  "red  bugs,"  are  prevalent, 
dimethyl  phthalate  or  benzyl  benzoate 
will  give  good  protection. 

Fishing  tackle  and  other  gear  usually 
can  be  bought  in  or  near  the  parks,  but 
if  one  is  partial  to  certain  types  or 
brands  he  would  do  well  to  check  his 
equipment  thoroughly  before  leaving 


home.  When  traveling  by  automobile 
for  a  considerable  distance,  it  may  be  of 
great  advantage  to  have  the  best  route 
planned  in  advance  by  someone  who  is 
familiar  with  that  sort  of  thing. 

Since  there  are  usually  severe  restric- 
tions on  pets,  it  would  be  better  to  leave 
them  behind  if  possible;  otherwise  it 
would  be  advisable  either  to  visit  an 
area  where  it  has  been  determined  by 
advance  information  that  pets  are  al- 
lowed or  to  accept  the  fact  that  the 
animal  will  have  to  be  confined  or  re- 
strained on  a  leash. 

Familiarity  with  all  regulations  will 
be  found  helpful  in  avoiding  confusion 
and  embarrassment  and  will  contribute 
much  to  the  enjoyment  of  an  outing 
or  a  vacation  as  well  as  assist  in  the 
preservation  of  the  area  visited. 

CONRAD  L.  WIRTH  is  chief  of  the 
Land  and  Recreational  Planning  Di- 
vision in  the  National  Park  Service.  He 
has  supervision  of  work  related  to  park 
boundaries,  land  purchases,  recreation 
studies,  and  cooperation  with  States 
and  their  political  subdivisions.  Mr. 
Wirth  engaged  in  private  practice  as  a 
landscape  architect  in  San  Francisco 
and  New  Orleans  following  graduation 
from  the  University  of  Massachusetts. 
He  was  employed  by  the  National  Cap- 
ital Park  and  Planning  Commission  in 
1928,  and  transferred  to  the  National 
Park  Service  in  1931. 

J.  H.  GADSBY  is  a  park  planner  in 
the  Land  and  Recreational  Planning 
Division  of  the  National  Park  Service. 
He  holds  a  degree  in  landscape  archi- 
tecture from  the  University  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  practiced  his  profession 
for  2  years  before  going  into  public 
work,  first  in  the  Park  Division  at  Mi- 
ami, Fla.,  and  later  with  the  South 
Carolina  State  Park  Division. 

The  last  section  of  this  Yearbook 
contains  a  list  of  areas  administered  by 
the  National  Park  Service,  a  list  of 
national  forests  and  their  opportunities 
for  recreation. 

The  end-paper  maps  show  the  forest 
areas  and  the  main  highways  to  them. 


EVERYONE  IS  WELCOME 


JOHN  SIEKER 


Every  year  Americans  make  2 1  mil- 
lion visits  to  the  national  forests.  They 
come,  they  say,  to  picnic,  or  (in  order 
of  preference)  to  fish,  ski,  hunt,  camp, 
swim,  hike,  ride,  look,  and  sit.  They 
come  from  every  State;  some  are  tour- 
ists seeing  America;  others  are  out  for 
a  day  or  a  weekend.  Some  want  to  do 
only  one  thing ;  many  want  to  combine 
various  of  the  pleasures  at  hand :  Pitch- 
ing camp  in  a  shady  spot,  fishing  in 
early  morning  and  late  afternoon,  hik- 
ing in  the  forenoon,  swimming  be- 
tween times,  sitting  around  the  camp- 
fire  at  night,  and  sleeping  like  a  log  in 
the  cool  of  the  night.  But  whatever 
they  want  to  do,  all  get  a  sincere  wel- 
come. 

The  men  who  supervise  the  forests 
and  work  in  them  believe  that  recrea- 
tion is  a  major  value  of  the  forests,  that 
the  woods  and  mountains  should  be 
enjoyed  by  their  owners,  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  and  that  all  have 
an  obligation  to  care  for  the  forests 
they  have  come  to  enjoy. 

The  21  million  visits  a  year  (which 
aggregate  33  million  days  of  use) 
create  problems  of  sanitation,  fire  pro- 
tection, and  public  welfare;  because 
that  many  people  could  easily  destroy 
the  environment  they  have  sought  out, 
some  regulations  and  preparations  are 
necessary  for  the  people's  enjoyment 
and  comfort  and  the  forests'  protec- 
tion. In  them,  simplicity,  appropriate- 
ness, and  a  minimum  of  rules  are  the 
keynotes.  The  types  of  recreation  are 
encouraged  that  are  suitable  in  the 
forest. 

Simplicity  of  design  and  construc- 
tion are  stressed  in  all  improvements, 
which  generally  are  limited  to  those 
necessary  to  the  health,  safety,  and 
the  convenience  of  the  users.  Latrines, 
water  systems,  and  fire  grates  have  first 
priority.  Camp  and  picnic  tables,  shel- 
ters, ski  trails,  and  parking  areas  come 
next. 


Most  people  who  use  the  recreation 
areas  appreciate  the  privilege  of  en- 
joying the  forest,  but  a  few  destroy 
property  and  beauty  and  are  thought- 
less of  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
others.  They  cost  the  Government — 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  includ- 
ing themselves — large  sums  each  year 
when  they  destroy  property.  They  spoil 
the  pleasure  of  other  people.  Under 
Federal  laws,  those  who  destroy  Gov- 
ernment property  are  subject  to  pun- 
ishment, but  the  supervisors  of  the 
forests  prefer  the  precept  of  noblesse 
oblige:  These  national  forests  belong 
to  all  Americans  for  all  Americans  to 
enjoy;  please  protect  your  forest;  please 
leave  a  camp  or  picnic  site  as  clean  as 
you  would  like  to  find  it;  have  fun 
in  the  forest,  and  let  others  have  fun  in 
it,  too. 

PUBLIC  RECREATION  areas  are  found 
in  all  national  forests,  although  some 
are  more  favorably  situated  than  oth- 
ers and  have  more  land  suitable  for 
recreation.  Most  forests  in  snow  coun- 
try have  at  least  one  winter-sports  area. 

The  4,500  camp  and  picnic  places  in 
the  forests  have  43,000  family  size 
units.  They  can  accommodate  280,000 
persons  at  one  time;  in  1947,  they  re- 
ceived 8,780,132  visits. 

All  of  them  have  safe  drinking  wa- 
ter, flyproof  latrines,  fire  grates,  and 
tables.  Some  of  them,  along  back  roads, 
are  small  and  lightly  used;  others, 
along  major  routes  of  travel  or  near 
cities,  are  large  and  heavily  used. 

Some  of  these  recreation  areas  are 
only  for  picnicking,  but  many  of  them 
can  be  used  for  overnight  camping  as 
well.  Some  are  near  good  fishing;  some 
are  near  fine  hiking  country;  some 
have  swimming  places. 

At  some  of  the  larger  national  forest 
recreation  areas  a  small  charge  for 
camping  and  picnicking  is  made  to 
reimburse  the  United  States  for  the 


552 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


cost  of  keeping  the  area  clean  and 
usable.  Some  charge  areas  are  operated 
by  concessionaires  who  act  under  a  spe- 
cial-use permit;  others  are  operated  by 
the  Forest  Service. 

For  those  who  desire  free  camping 
or  picnicking,  there  are  many  areas 
which  are  equally  attractive  but  at 
which  there  may  not  be  regular  and 
systematic  clean-up. 

Neither  cabins  nor  tents  are  fur- 
nished or  rented  at  camp  and  picnic 
areas.  Campers  should  go  prepared  for 
the  night  with  tents  and  sleeping  bags 
or  blankets.  Straw  is  not  available,  and 
boughs  may  not  be  cut  for  beds.  One 
may  not  cut  trees  for  tent  poles.  Fire- 
wood is  usually  available  in  random 
lengths  but  must  be  cut  up  into  fire- 
wood size.  An  ax  is  a  necessity.  Many 
campers  find  portable  gasoline  stoves 
very  convenient  for  cooking — espe- 
cially after  a  shower  when  wood  is  wet. 
Stores  are  seldom  close  by,  and  camp- 
ers and  picnickers  should  take  their 
food  for  the  day  or  for  several  days. 

Some  popular  camp  grounds  are  so 
heavily  used  that  it  is  necessary  to  limit 
the  length  of  time  a  camper  may  stay, 
to  give  more  people  a  chance.  When 
limits  are  imposed,  2  weeks  is  the  usual 
time  permitted ;  the  places  so  restricted 
are  conspicuously  posted. 

Only  the  largest  camp  and  picnic 
areas  have  full-time  guards  or  attend- 
ants, and  visitors  select  their  own  sites. 
Camping  or  picnicking  is  prohibited 
between  the  prepared  sites  to  avoid 
overcrowding  the  area.  The  sites  are 
not  reserved.  It's  first  come,  first 
served;  late  arrivals  must  go  on  to  an- 
other area.  Many  of  the  camps  cannot 
be  cleaned  up  daily,  and  users  are  ex- 
pected to  leave  a  clean  camp  or  picnic 
spot — as  they  would  like  to  find  it.  Gar- 
bage pits  or  cans  are  always  nearby. 
Papers  should  be  burned  in  the  grate. 

Fires  should  be  built  only  in  fire- 
places or  stoves.  Campfire  permits  are 
required  (even  at  the  improved  camp 
grounds)  in  the  national  forests  of 
California  and  some  other  States,  but 
generally  campfire  permits  are  required 
only  for  camping  or  picnicking  at  un- 


improved areas.  Campfire  permits  may 
be  obtained  without  charge  from  any 
forest  ranger.  One  should  check  with 
the  local  foresters  about  permits.  Fires 
should  always  be  built  in  a  safe  place, 
not  against  the  trees  or  on  deep  duff. 
Fires  must  be  thoroughly  put  out,  with 
water  and  puddling.  Heavy  penalties 
are  provided  by  law  for  leaving  a 
campfire  burning. 

Everyone  is  urged  to  use  the  regular 
improved  camp  and  picnic  areas  even 
though  camping  and  picnicking  are 
permitted  elsewhere  in  the  national 
forests  except  in  closed  areas,  because 
of  danger  of  forest  fire  and  water  pollu- 
tion. The  water  in  many  streams  and 
springs  is  not  fit  to  drink  even  though  it 
may  look  clear  and  good.  It  is  better 
to  be  safe  and  drink  only  the  water 
at  improved  camp  and  picnic  areas. 
Persons  who  camp  or  picnic  at  other 
than  improved  areas  must  refrain  from 
polluting  land  or  water.  All  refuse 
must  be  buried  deep. 

THE  236  WINTER-SPORTS  AREAS  in 
the  national  forests  cover  82,000  acres 
and  received  more  than  2J/2  million 
visits  in  the  1947-48  season.  It  is  said 
that  3  million  Americans  are  skiers. 

Ski  areas  are  developed  principally 
for  the  average  skier.  Emphasis  is  on 
the  ski  slope,  practice  slope,  and  inter- 
mediate trails.  Expert  trails  and  jumps 
are  usually  built  by  local  ski  clubs. 
Most  areas  have  lifts  and  tows,  oper- 
ated by  concessionaires.  Some  have  sep- 
arate toboggan  slides,  but  toboggans 
may  not  be  used  on  ski  slopes  or  ski 
trails. 

Most  ski  areas  are  located  near  high- 
ways, which  the  State  highway  depart- 
ments keep  cleared  of  snow.  Many 
have  shelters  and  lunchrooms. 

Public  shelter  and  parking  are  free, 
but  charges  are  made  for  use  of  lifts 
and  tows.  The  charges  for  lifts  are 
around  $2.50  a  day;  tows  cost  less. 

Most  of  the  winter-sport  areas  are  in 
the  Northern  States,  but  some  excellent 
ones  have  been  developed  at  high  ele- 
vations in  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and 
southern  California.  Most  of  them  in 


Everyone  is  Welcome 


553 


the  national  forests  are  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  area  and  westward  in  the 
Cascades  and  Sierras,  but  there  are 
also  some  in  Minnesota,  Wisconsin, 
Michigan,  New  Hampshire,  and  Ver- 
mont. The  Lake  States  and  New  Eng- 
land States  have  many  winter  areas  on 
private  and  State  land. 

THE  NATIONAL  SKI  ASSOCIATION 
has  organized  the  National  Ski  Patrol, 
whose  members  are  qualified  first-aid 
men  and  expert  skiers  and  moun- 
taineers. They  are  volunteers  who  serve 
without  pay,  except  at  some  larger 
areas  where  paid  ski  patrols  are  main- 
tained. 

The  National  Ski  Association  has  7 
divisions  and  384  member  clubs  from 
coast  to  coast  throughout  the  snow  belt. 
The  Association  and  the  National  Ski 
Patrol  have  helped  greatly  by  consult- 
ing with  the  Forest  Service  on  the  needs 
in  development  and  administration, 
planning  the  expansion  of  sports 
centers,  finding  new  areas,  and  caring 
for  the  injured. 

Skiing  is  done  under  widely  varying 
conditions.  In  some  places  the  temper- 
ature may  be  just  below  freezing  and 
storms  may  be  rare;  in  others,  sudden 
blizzards  and  temperatures  of  20°  be- 
low zero  are  common.  Snow  conditions 
and  danger  of  avalanche  also  vary.  All 
skiers  are  advised  to  learn  about  such 
conditions  when  they  are  in  areas  new 
to  them  and  to  be  guided  by  the  forest 
ranger,  the  National  Ski  Patrol,  or 
experienced  local  skiers.  They  are  ad- 
vised also  to  be  on  the  alert  for  warn- 
ing signs — especially  warnings  of  dan- 
gers of  avalanches. 

A  good  skier  is  a  safe  skier.  He  is  not 
reckless.  He  respects  the  rights  of  other 
skiers.  He  skis  only  the  trails  he  can 
handle  and  enjoy.  He  knows  when  he 
is  tired.  He  saves  time  and  money  and 
gets  more  skiing  by  not  getting  hurt. 

ORGANIZATION  GAMPS,,  65  in  all, 
have  an  average  capacity  of  100  each. 
They  generally  include  the  bunkhouses, 
mess  hall,  and  the  recreation  building. 
Running  water  and  electricity  are  usu- 


ally available.  In  1947,  visits  that  to- 
taled 242,000  days  were  made  to  them. 

The  camps  are  rented  on  a  noncom- 
mercial basis  to  organizations  inter- 
ested in  providing  a  low-cost  vacation 
to  people  who  otherwise  would  not  be 
able  to  have  one. 

Organizations  using  these  camps 
must  generally  furnish  bedding,  mat- 
tresses, dishes,  counsellors,  and  kitchen 
and  janitor  help.  The  Government 
equipment  is  limited  to  cots,  stoves, 
icebox,  light  plants,  and  similar  equip- 
ment. 

All  camps  are  located  in  attractive 
forest  settings,  have  ample  play  areas, 
and  are  relatively  isolated  from  other 
uses  that  might  interfere  with  camp 
programs.  Many  have  facilities  for 
swimming. 

All  arrangements  for  using  these 
camps  are  handled  by  the  local  forest 
supervisor. 

WILDERNESS  AND  WILD  AREAS,,  77  in 
number  and  some  14  million  acres  in 
extent,  are  preserved  in  as  primitive  a 
condition  as  is  consistent  with  their 
protection.  The  only  improvements  in 
the  areas  are  those  that  are  essential 
for  fire  protection.  No  commercial  tim- 
ber cutting  is  done. 

Most  wilderness  areas  are  in  high 
back  country  and  above  timber  line 
where  commercial  timber  values  are 
small.  Watershed  values  are  tremen- 
dously important  and  the  areas  are  ex- 
tremely valuable  for  watershed  protec- 
tion and  water  production  as  well  as 
for  wilderness  recreation.  There  is  no 
conflict  between  water  and  wilderness. 

These  areas  represent  the  last  fron- 
tier of  the  United  States.  There  will  be 
little  opportunity  to  increase  their 
number  or  size,  and  it  is  therefore  im- 
portant that  they  be  preserved  as  far 
as  possible  from  invasion. 

Wilderness  areas  are  ideal  for  pack 
trips.  The  American  Forestry  Associ- 
ation conducts  trail-rider  trips  through 
some  of  the  areas  each  year  at  a  cost 
of  about  $10  a  person  a  day.  Inquiries 
about  them  should  be  addressed  to  the 
American  Forestry  Association  at  919 


554 

Seventeenth  Street  NW.,  Washing- 
ton 6,  D.  C. 

Many  people  travel  the  wilderness 
areas  on  their  own,  either  afoot  with 
back  pack  or  with  rented  horses. 
Horses  can  often  be  rented  without  a 
guide  or  packer  by  persons  competent 
to  handle  and  care  for  them.  It  would 
be  foolish  for  persons  not  familiar  with 
horses  to  attempt  a  trip  without  hiring 
a  packer.  Furthermore,  feed  for  horses 
is  often  difficult  to  find  in  wilderness 
areas,  and,  because  camps  must  be 
made  close  to  horse  feed  by  horse 
parties,  familiarity  with  the  country  is 
necessary. 

Especially  noteworthy  is  the  Supe- 
rior Roadless  area  in  the  Superior  Na- 
tional Forest  in  Minnesota.  It  is  in  the 
border-lakes  country  along  the  Cana- 
dian boundary.  It  is  accessible  only 
by  canoe,  and  one  can  travel  for  days 
through  small  lakes  and  streams  with- 
out meeting  another  person.  The 
surrounding  country  is  timbered  and 
attractive,  and  the  fishing  is  excellent. 
Travel  in  the  area  is  best  after  July  15, 
when  there  are  fewer  mosquitoes  and 
flies.  It  would  be  unwise  for  nonswim- 
mers  or  those  not  familiar  with  han- 
dling a  canoe  to  plan  a  trip  there 
without  a  guide,  but  persons  who  can 
handle  a  canoe,  swim,  and  take  care  of 
themselves  in  the  woods  can  enjoy  a 
vacation  at  low  cost. 

Many  persons  travel  into  the  wil- 
derness areas  from  the  western  guest 
ranches  that  are  in  and  near  wild  sec- 
tions of  the  national  forests.  The 
ranches  provide  saddle  horses,  pack 
stock,  guides,  and  packers  for  their 
guests.  The  Dude  Ranchers'  Associa- 
tion, Billings,  Mont.,  will  send  infor- 
mation about  the  privately  owned 
resorts. 

The  camp  and  picnic  areas,  winter- 
sports  areas,  and  organization  camps  I 
have  described  comprise  about  one- 
hundredth  of  the  total  national  forest 
area.  The  wilderness  areas  represent 
less  than  8  percent. 

THE  123,800  MILES  OF  THE  FOREST 
HIGHWAYS  and  roads  pass  through 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


fine  forested  country  and  mountains. 
Most  of  the  roads  are  work  roads,  but 
many  are  open  to  pleasure  drivers. 

There  are  144,000  miles  of  trails, 
which  thousands  of  people  enjoy  each 
year  afoot  or  on  horseback.  Some  of 
the  trails  are  famous,  among  them  the 
Appalachian  Trail  from  Maine  to 
Georgia  (which  runs  through  the  east- 
ern forests),  the  Cascade  Crest  and 
Oregon  Skyline  Trail  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest,  and  the  John  Muir  and 
Sierra  Trails  in  California.  Most  of 
them,  however,  were  built  only  to  en- 
able forest  rangers  to  get  through  the 
forest  for  purposes  of  protection  and 
management;  even  so,  they  often  pass 
through  beautiful  wild  land  and  lead  to 
some  of  the  best  fishing  in  the  United 
States. 

Forest  Service  maps  show  the  loca- 
tions of  trails  and  are  available  from 
the  forest  supervisors.  More  detailed 
maps  are  available  from  the  Appalach- 
ian Trail  Conference,  Washington, 
D.  C.,  for  the  Appalachian  Trail,  and 
from  the  Pacific  Crest  Trail  Confer- 
ence, Green  Hotel,  Pasadena,  Calif., 
for  the  trails  through  the  Cascades  and 
Sierras. 

The  national  forests  have  90,000 
miles  of  fishing  waters.  Those  that  can 
be  reached  by  car  are  not  as  good 
fishing,  of  course,  as  the  more  remote 
streams  to  which  one  must  walk  or  ride. 

Most  of  the  lands  are  open  to  hunt- 
ing. Big-game  animals,  the  elk,  deer, 
moose,  antelope,  mountain  sheep,  and 
grizzly  bear,  can  be  found  and  hunted 
in  season.  Small  game  and  predators 
are  abundant  in  places.  Game  birds, 
including  pheasant,  grouse,  quail,  and 
wild  turkey,  are  common. 

All  game  animals,  game  birds,  and 
fish  on  the  national  forests  are  subject 
to  State  game  laws.  All  persons  who 
hunt  or  fish  must  observe  the  State 
laws  as  to  license,  bag  limits,  seasons, 
and  so  on.  State  wardens  and  forest 
rangers  are  always  glad  to  give  infor- 
mation on  the  local  laws  governing 
hunting  and  fishing  and  advice  on  the 
best  places. 

All  persons  are  welcome  to  travel 


Everyone  is  Welcome 


555 


through  the  national  forests  on  the 
roads  or  highways,  along  the  trails,  or 
into  the  back  country. 

Some  States  require  the  nonresident 
hunters  to  hire  a  guide,  but  no  one  has 
the  right  to  require  a  person  to  employ 
a  guide  for  recreation  travel  over  the 
national  forests. 

One  should  remember,  however, 
that  much  of  the  back  country  is  primi- 
tive. An  injured  person  or  one  who  is 
lost  might  die  before  he  is  found.  It  is 
unwise  for  inexperienced  or  poorly 
equipped  persons  to  travel  in  the  back 
country.  All  persons  who  contemplate 
such  a  trip  should  get  the  advice  of  the 
forest  ranger  as  to  routes  of  travel, 
equipment,  clothing,  and  supplies:  It 
can  get  extremely  cold  any  month  of 
the  year  at  high  elevations;  only  the 
foolhardy  novice  goes  poorly  shod, 
clothed,  and  equipped  into  the  back 
country. 

Although  many  public  facilities  are 
provided  in  recreation  areas,  some 
people  want  the  comfort  and  conven- 
ience of  a  cabin  or  a  hotel  room.  Con- 
sequently, private  capital  has  been 
permitted  to  construct  hotels,  lodges, 
and  cabin  camps  in  national  forests. 
The  prices  charged  are  subject  to 
approval  by  the  Forest  Service,  and  the 
fees  collected  for  the  use  of  the  land  go 
to  the  United  States  Treasury. 

Many  persons  have  also  been  per- 
mitted to  construct  summer  homes  on 
Government  land,  in  places  not  needed 
for  public  use.  The  owner  of  a  summer 
home  pays  an  annual  rental  to  the 
Government. 

Organizations,  such  as  units  of  Boy 
Scouts,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Y.  W.  G.  A.,  mu- 
nicipalities, and  churches,  have  been 
permitted  to  construct  organization 
camps  for  their  own  use  in  places  where 
there  will  be  no  interference  with 
more  public  uses.  The  camps  perform 
much  the  same  function  as  organiza- 
tion camps  owned  by  the  Government, 
but,  being  privately  owned,  are  for  the 
primary  use  of  the  organization  that 
owns  them. 

The  forest  supervisors  and  rangers 
who  are  in  charge  of  the  individual 


national  forests  and  ranger  districts  are 
the  men  who  are  intimately  acquainted 
with  local  conditions ;  they  are  the  men 
who  administer  the  recreation  areas. 

Only  general  rules  can  apply  to  rec- 
reation areas,  which  extend  from  New 
Hampshire  to  Florida  and  from  south- 
ern California  to  Minnesota.  Some 
areas  are  at  sea  level;  others  are  at 
10,000  feet.  Some  are  in  the  rain- 
soaked  forests  of  the  western  slopes  of 
Oregon  and  Washington;  others  are 
in  the  deserts  of  New  Mexico  and  Ari- 
zona. Some  recreation  areas  are  open 
to  the  public  yearlong.  Others  are  open 
only  in  summer.  Some  forest  areas  are 
closed  to  all  use  during  periods  of  high 
fire  hazard.  On  some  forests,  campfire 
permits  are  required,  even  at  estab- 
lished camp  and  picnic  areas. 

Because  of  all  these  different  condi- 
tions, anyone  who  is  planning  a  trip 
through  a  national  forest  should  find 
out  in  advance  what  local  conditions 
are,  what  facilities  are  available,  and 
what  equipment  is  recommended. 

GENERAL  INFORMATION  can  be  had 
by  writing  to :  Regional  Forester,  For- 
est Service,  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture — 

Bankers  Securities  Building,  Phila- 
delphia 7,  Pa.  (For  information 
about  national  forests  in  the  New  Eng- 
land and  Eastern  States  as  far  south 
as  Virginia.) 

Madison  Building,  Milwaukee  3, 
Wis.  (For  information  about  national 
forests  in  the  Lake  States  and  States 
along  the  Ohio  River  and  the  Missis- 
sippi River  as  far  south  as  Missouri.) 

Glenn  Building,  Atlanta  3,  Ga.  (For 
information  about  national  forests  in 
the  Southern  States  and  Gulf  States 
as  far  west  as  Texas  and  north  to 
Arkansas. ) 

Federal  Building,  Missoula,  Mont. 
(For  information  about  national  for- 
ests in  the  Inland  Empire — Montana 
and  the  Panhandle  of  Idaho.) 

Post  Office  Building,  Denver  2,  Colo. 
(For  information  about  national  for- 
ests in  the  Central  Rocky  Mountains — 
Colorado  and  Wyoming  [east  of 


556 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  Continental  Divide]  and  South 
Dakota.) 

Forest  Service  Building,  Ogden, 
Utah.  (For  information  about  national 
forests  in  the  Intermountain  Region — 
Utah,  southern  Idaho,  Nevada,  and 
western  Wyoming.) 

Post  Office  Building,  Portland  8, 
Oreg.  ( For  information  about  national 
forests  in  Oregon  and  Washington.) 

630  Sansome  Street,  San  Francisco 
11,  Calif.  (For  information  about 
national  forests  in  California.) 

Post  Office  Building,  Albuquerque, 
N.  Mex.  (For  information  about  na- 
tional forests  in  New  Mexico  and  Ari- 
zona.) 

Persons  who  know  the  national  for- 
est they  plan  to  visit  will  obtain  more 
specific  information  faster  if  they  write 
to  the  supervisor  of  the  particular 
forest. 

The  Forest  Service  cannot  supply 
information  as  to  resort,  hotel,  or  cabin 


accommodations  available  in  the  na- 
tional forests.  Information  of  that  kind 
often  can  be  obtained  from  chambers 
of  commerce  in  nearby  towns  or  from 
an  automobile  association. 

National  forest  lands  are  open  for 
use  unless  conspicuously  posted  as 
closed.  Areas  are  closed  only  when  fire 
hazard  requires  it.  Some  forest  de- 
velopment roads  are  closed  when  haul- 
ing is  being  done  by  heavy  log  trucks, 
because  pleasure  cars  would  be  in 
danger. 

JOHN  SIEKER  is  a  graduate  of  Prince- 
ton University  and  the  Yale  School  of 
Forestry.  He  entered  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice in  1926  as  a  forest  ranger.  He  later 
served  as  assistant  forest  supervisor  of 
the  Harney  National  Forest  and  as 
supervisor  of  the  Shoshone  National 
Forest.  He  is  now  chief  of  the  Division 
of  Recreation  and  Lands,  a  position  he 
has  held  since  1938. 


SAFETY  FOR  FOREST  VISITORS 

ROBERT    S.  MONAHAN 


Too  many  forest  outings  have  been 
marred,  if  not  ruined,  by  faulty  plan- 
ning, inadequate  equipment,  or  poor 
judgment.  Regardless  of  whether  the 
recreational  travel  involves  a  wilder- 
ness expedition  or  an  afternoon  walk 
in  the  suburbs,  it  should  be  a  source  of 
happy  memories  instead  of  a  cause  for 
regret.  Those  who  plan  carefully,  equip 
themselves  for  the  unexpected,  and  use 
their  heads  are  sure  to  look  back  upon 
their  outings  with  pleasure. 

Many  vacationists  have  found  that 
one  of  the  most  enjoyable  features  of 
their  trips  is  the  fun  that  comes  from 
planning  them.  Long  before  departure, 
itineraries  are  outlined  (and  a  copy 
left  with  a  responsible  individual  who 
is  not  making  the  trip) ,  the  equipment 
is  checked,  and  questions  are  asked. 
Such  preliminaries  are  not  only  inter- 
esting, they  provide  sound  insurance 
for  the  enjoyment  and  safety. 


Maps  are  now  available  for  almost 
any  area  in  the  United  States.  They 
vary  in  degree  of  detail  and  reliability, 
but  one  should  get  the  most  recent 
editions  and  make  the  most  of  them. 
Even  though  you  may  know  from  pre- 
vious experience  the  country  you  plan 
to  visit,  carry  the  maps  with  you — cir- 
cumstances might  develop  that  will 
cause  you  to  travel  in  areas  that  you 
have  not  seen  before. 

Do  not  hesitate  to  ask  questions, 
either  before  you  leave  or  while  you 
are  approaching  your  objective.  Re- 
member that  even  the  forest  ranger 
generally  has  to  request  information 
when  he  visits  the  big  city.  Intelligent 
travelers  ask  questions  of  those  quali- 
fied to  give  helpful  answers. 

A  GOOD  PLAN  includes  the  route  you 
expect  to  follow  and  alternatives  in 
case  of  unfavorable  weather.  It  lists 


Safety  for  Forest  Visitors 


557 


the  supplies  and  equipment  needed  to 
complete  the  journey,  with  a  margin 
for  safety.  It  anticipates  the  unex- 
pected— illness,  accident,  and  stormy 
weather.  It  is,  indeed,  the  first  essen- 
tial of  any  trip  to  the  hinterland. 

Probably  more  outings  have  resulted 
in  discomfort,  if  not  disaster,  from  in- 
adequate equipment  than  from  any 
other  cause.  Again,  do  not  hesitate  to 
ask  questions.  Experience  is  a  hard 
teacher;  one  can  learn  the  easy  way 
by  presenting  his  problems  to  those 
who  should  know  the  answers. 

Whether  you  are  climbing,  fishing, 
hunting,  photographing,  or  enjoying 
any  of  the  other  pursuits  that  attract 
people  into  the  back  country,  the 
equipment  should  be  practicable  and 
absolutely  dependable. 

Outing  equipment  is  too  varied  to 
make  possible  any  detailed  suggestions. 
A  few  general  principles  apply,  regard- 
less of  any  particular  activity :  Woods- 
wise  travelers  test  their  gear  before 
they  leave  home.  They  make  sure  that 
their  ski  bindings  are  adjusted  prop- 
erly. They  test  the  sights  of  their  rifles. 
They  are  satisfied  that  their  tackle  box 
contains  every  inducement  for  what- 
ever fish  may  be  encountered.  Most 
important  of  all,  they  inspect  the  first- 
aid  kit  to  be  positive  that  it  is  complete. 
Veteran  campers  check  their  list  of 
items  for  parts  needing  replacement 
during  the  trip:  Generators  for  gaso- 
line lanterns,  flashlight  batteries  and 
bulbs,  bandages  for  first-aid  kits,  and 
matches  in  waterproof  containers.  If 
traveling  in  snake  country,  they  make 
sure  that  the  snake-bite  kit  is  complete 
and  that  every  member  of  the  party 
knows  how  to  use  it.  Those  who  are  to 
climb  mountains  carefully  check  the 
condition  of  their  ropes.  If  a  winter 
expedition  is  contemplated,  they  make 
doubly  sure  that  they  are  prepared  for 
whatever  weather  may  develop. 

There  is  no  substitute  for  good 
judgment  when  one  is  on  his  own.  It 
can  be  acquired  only  through  expe- 
rience; it  can  be  exercised  only  by 
determination  to  keep  a  cool  head, 
regardless  of  circumstances. 


The  development  of  a  sound  judg- 
ment is  one  of  the  really  worth  while 
byproducts  of  back-country  travel.  If 
one  cannot  learn  to  think  for  himself, 
perhaps  he  should  limit  his  outings  to 
the  fringes  of  civilization. 

Judgment  is  especially  important  in 
the  hunting  season,  whether  or  not  one 
is  actually  hunting. 

The  unarmed  traveler,  no  less  than 
the  hunter,  takes  his  own  chances  in 
game  country  and  should  avoid  any 
possibility  of  being  mistaken  for  ani- 
mals or  birds.  Hunters  are  exposed  to  a 
barrage  of  safety  suggestions,  which  de- 
serve full  compliance.  Above  all,  hunt- 
ers should  be  positive  of  their  target 
before  they  shoot. 

THE  VACATION  COUNTRY  is  a  friendly 
land,  but  there  are  specific  dangers 
that  should  be  recognized.  Let  us  meet 
and  get  acquainted  with  some  of  them, 
before  they  surprise  us. 

Most  mountain  roads  are  safer  than 
they  may  appear  to  flat-landers  who 
are  not  accustomed  to  narrow  widths, 
sharp  turns,  and  heavy  grades.  Before 
attempting  such  roads,  have  your  car 
checked,  particularly  the  tires,  brakes, 
lights,  clutch,  and  cooling  system.  Be 
sure  your  gasoline  and  oil  are  ade- 
quate— filling  stations  may  be  few  and 
far  between.  Use  second  or  low  gear 
while  climbing  or  descending  steep 
grades.  Drive  slowly,  so  that  your  pas- 
sengers may  enjoy  the  countryside  and 
your  car  will  stay  in  the  wheel  track. 

Always  reconnoiter  a  strange  stream 
or  lake  before  you  bathe  in  it.  Never 
attempt  diving  until  you  are  positive 
the  water  is  deep  enough.  Watch  out 
for  treacherous  eddies,  hidden  holes, 
slippery  underwater  ledges  and  roots, 
broken  glass,  and  rusty  tin  cans.  A  dip 
in  a  cool  mountain  lake  or  stream  is  a 
wonderful  tonic  after  a  hot  day  in  the 
saddle  or  afoot,  but  remember  that 
what  starts  as  a  refreshing  stimulant 
may  end  in  disastrous  shock,  if  the 
water  is  especially  cold  and  your 
physical  condition  is  below  par.  Do  not 
swim  alone. 

The  least  a  forest  visitor  can  do  in 


558 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


deference  to  the  landowner,  future  va- 
cationist, and  his  own  conscience  is  to 
make  sure  that  his  fire  is  out — dead  out. 
If  local  rules  forbid  lighting  fires,  there 
is  a  good  reason  for  the  regulation  and 
for  obeying  it.  Use  plenty  of  water  in 
drowning  your  fire;  make  sure  that  it 
has  soaked  into  the  ground  thoroughly. 
Take  the  time  to  stir  the  water  into 
the  soil  with  a  shovel  or  stout  stick. 
Never  let  it  be  said  that  you  found  a 
green  camp  site  and  left  it  a  ruin. 

If  there  is  any  doubt  as  to  the  purity 
of  the  water  supply,  search  for  a  re- 
liable source,  and  boil  the  water  for  15 
minutes,  or  add  one  of  the  purifying 
agents  available  at  most  camping-sup- 
ply stores.  Take  no  chances  with  ques- 
tionable drinking  water. 

Learn  to  identify  poison-oak,  poison- 
ivy,  and  poison  sumac.  Avoid  them.  If 
contact  is  impossible  to  avoid,  one  home 
remedy  is  to  wash  all  exposed  parts  of 
your  body  with  a  strong  laundry  soap. 
If  you  set  out  to  rid  a  patch  of  poison- 
ous plants,  wear  gloves  at  all  times;  if 
you  have  to  burn  the  plants,  keep  out  of 
the  smoke. 

Ticks  of  various  kinds,  from  mid- 
April  to  mid-August,  may  be  a  source 
of  infection;  the  "sick"  ticks  are  poten- 
tial carriers  of  spotted  fever.  After  a 
day  in  the  woods,  search  for  ticks  that 
may  have  become  attached  to  the  skin. 
Check  carefully  under  armpits  and  in 
body  creases.  If  you  find  a  tick,  be  sure 
that  you  remove  his  head  as  well  as  his 
body.  Cautious  forest  rangers,  loggers, 
and  stockmen  who  work  in  the  tick 
country  properly  respect  the  "sick" 
tick;  they  are  inoculated  before  the  tick 
season  starts. 

The  little  ones  of  the  forests  can 
cause  great  discomfort;  they  should  be 
anticipated  when  assembling  supplies 
for  the  trip.  The  bites  of  mosquitoes, 
punkies  (midgies  or  no-see-ums) ,  black 
flies  and  other  biting  flies,  and  chiggers 
or  red  bugs  (mites)  can  be  avoided 
by  repellents,  which  have  little  or  no 
odor  and  remain  effective  up  to  several 
hours,  even  when  those  bothersome  in- 
sects assemble  in  large  numbers.  Re- 
pellents developed  primarily  for  mili- 


tary use  have  been  adopted  widely  for 
civilian  purposes.  Detailed  information 
is  furnished  in  a  leaflet,  Use  of  Insect 
Repellents  and  Miticides,  distributed 
by  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  and 
Plant  Quarantine,  Agricultural  Re- 
search Administration,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  Washing- 
ton 25,  D.  C.  The  leaflet  recommends 
the  following  mixtures  of  repellents  as 
effective  against  a  wider  range  of  insect 
species  and  on  more  individuals  than 
any  one  of  the  chemicals  when  used 
alone  (all  parts  are  by  weight) : 

Formula  1 

Dimethyl   phthalate 3  parts 

Indalone 1  part 

Rutgers   612 1  part 

Formula  2 

Dimethyl    phthalate 1  part 

Indalone 1   part 

Rutgers    612 1   part 

Formula  3 

Dimethyl    phthalate 3  parts 

Indalone 1   part 

Dimethyl  Garbate 1   part 

Mosquito  nets  often  are  useful. 

Learn  also  to  identify  the  poisonous 
snakes.  Three  of  them  (copperheads, 
water  moccasins,  and  rattlesnakes)  are 
easily  distinguished  from  the  harmless 
species  by  their  four  nostrils.  If  one 
does  not  care  to  get  close  enough  to  a 
questionable  reptile  to  count  his  nos- 
trils, his  larger,  triangular-shaped  head 
(in  contrast  to  the  smaller,  oval-shaped 
heads  of  the  harmless  snakes)  is  usually 
a  safe  distinction.  The  other  poisonous 
snake,  the  coral  snake,  can  be  identi- 
fied by  its  brilliant  coloring.  It  is  sel- 
dom longer  than  2  feet  and  is  encircled 
with  alternate  red,  yellow,  and  black 
bands.  It  occurs  only  in  the  Deep 
South,  but  it  is  the  most  poisonous  of 
all.  Do  not  kill  every  snake  you  en- 
counter, but  you  will  be  doing  a  service 
to  mankind  by  dispatching  the  ones 
that  have  the  large,  triangular  heads 
(especially  those  that  rattle)  and  those 
in  the  South  with  brilliant  coloring. 

If  a  lightning  storm  overtakes  you, 
do  not  seek  shelter  under  a  single  tree 


Safety  for  Forest  Visitors 


H.R 


or  any  prominent  lone  landmark.  Do 
not  remain  on  a  ridge  or  summit,  and, 
above  all,  get  out  of  the  water,  if  you 
are  swimming.  Artificial  respiration 
should  be  given  a  victim  of  lightning, 
as  in  the  case  of  a  near  drowning. 

Make  sure  your  axes  and  knives  are 
well-sheathed.  When  chopping,  re- 
move overhanging  branches  which 
might  deflect  your  blow.  Be  sure  that 
the  arc  of  your  swing  does  not  end  at 
your  foot. 

THE       TRAVEL-WISE       ADVENTURERS 

have  learned  the  hard  way  that  ten 
rules  are  vital.  The  experience  of  those 
who  have  disregarded  them  also  em- 
phasizes their  importance : 

1.  Never  travel  alone,  especially  on 
overnight  trips  or  through  hazardous 
country.  Never  go  into  wild  country 
without  letting  someone  know  where 
you  are  going  and  when  to  expect  you 
back. 

2.  No  matter  how  sure  you  may  be 
of  reaching  your  destination  on  sched- 
ule, include  in  your  kit  a  powerful 
flashlight,  dry  matches,  and  emergency 
rations. 

3.  Wear  nothing  more  than  is  nec- 
essary for  comfort,  but  always  carry 
extra  clothing  for  unexpected  changes 
in  the  weather.  The  proper  clothing  is 
not  necessarily  expensive  clothing. 

Common  sense  prescribes  light 
clothes  for  warm  latitudes  and  heavier 
ones  for  cool  latitudes  and  for  the 


559 

higher   altitudes.    Strong   fabrics    are 
important. 

4.  An  accurate  compass,  preferably 
of  the  floating-card  type,  makes  no 
mistakes  unless  used  near  steel  or  iron 
accessories,  such  as  a  pocketknife  or 
buckle,  or  near  iron-ore  deposits.  Have 
faith  in  your  compass  but  remember 
that  its  use  is  limited  without  a  reliable 
map  and  knowledge  of  the  terrain.  Do 
not  believe  that  you  have  an  unfailing 
sense  of  direction — no  one  has.  If  fog 
develops  or  snow  starts  to  fall,  you 
will  get  turned  around  unless  you  know 
the  country  or  stay  on  a  trail — trust 
your  compass  rather  than  your  hunch. 
Always  keep  yourself  located  approxi- 
mately on  a  map.  Know  the  major 
drainages  in  your  locality  and  the  gen- 
eral direction  in  which  they  flow.  Have 
the  general  topography  of  the  area  in 
mind.  Find  out  at  what  declination 
your  compass  is  set  and  what  the  local 
declination  is.  Remember  the  compass 
needle  points  in  slightly  different  di- 
rections in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. There  is  no  reliable  way  to  tell 
north  by  the  moss  on  trees  or  rocks. 
The  only  reliable  way  to  tell  direction 
is  by  the  sun,  the  stars,  or  a  good  com- 
pass. Know  the  watch  direction  for- 
mula, and  know  the  North  Star. 

5.  Have  plenty  of  rest  and  food  be- 
fore undertaking  long  walks  or  diffi- 
cult climbs.  Respect  your  age.  Know 
your  limitations.  Do  not  think  you  are 
an  experienced  woodsman  because  you 
have  walked  along  a  few  trails. 

6.  It  is  always  better,  especially  in 
alpine  travel  above  the  timber  line,  to 
turn  back  and  retrace  your  route  over 
familiar  territory  than  to  press  on  into 
the  unknown  until  it  becomes  too  late 
to  return  to  safety.  Remember  that  you 
cannot  exert  yourself  at  high  eleva- 
tions as  you  can  at  sea  level. 

7.  If  in  trouble,  fire  three  shots  at 
intervals,  light  three  fires,  or  indicate 
your  need  for  help  by  any  device  em- 
ploying three  units. 

8.  Maintain  a  slow  but  steady  pace, 
rather  than  a  fast  one  with  frequent 
stops.   The   progress  of  the   party   is 
limited  to  the  speed  of  its  slowest  mem- 


56o 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


her,  and  if  he  becomes  exhausted,  the 
whole  group  is  jeopardized.  Your 
chances  to  "walk  out"  are  slim  if  you 
break  a  leg.  Take  it  easy. 

9.  You  are  just  as  good  as  your  feet, 
and  they  are  just  as  good  as  the  shoes 
that  protect  them.  Tight  boots,  new 
shoes  not  well  broken-in,  overgreased 
leather   in    cold-weather   travel,    and 
slippery  soles  can  cause  trouble.  Shoes 
should  fit  well  and  be  tough  enough  for 
severe  use.  Those  specifications  met, 
they  should  be  as  light  as  possible  for 
ordinary  walking.  Mountain  climbing 
and  skiing  call  for  special  footgear. 
Socks  should  be  of  the  proper  size  to 
avoid  wrinkling  (from  being  too  large) 
or  discomfort  (from  being  too  small) . 

10.  If  you  get  lost,  sit  down  and 
think  through  your  predicament.  The 
resourceful  wanderer,  who  remembers 
his    bearings,    follows    water    courses 
downhill  to  inevitable  civilization,  and 
refuses  to  become  panicky,  may  be  con- 
fused, but  he  is  seldom  lost.  Do  not  fret 
about   food — you   can    live    for   days 
without  any  food  and  suffer  no  perma- 
nent harm.  So  far  as  we  know,  no  visitor 
has  ever  starved  to  death  in  the  na- 
tional forests,  but  some  have  frozen  to 
death  or  died  of  exposure  or  exhaus- 
tion.  Neither  you  nor  your  rescuers 
should  ever  call  quits — the  record  is 
filled  with  cases  where  the  lost  sur- 
passed their  endurance  and  the  rescuers 


found  the  object  of  their  search  after 
all  hope  had  been  abandoned.  Take  it 
easy.  Do  not  travel  at  night.  It  might 
take  you  several  days  to  reach  civiliza- 
tion, but  the  chances  are  excellent  that 
you  will ;  you  will  be  tired  and  hungry, 
but  not  harmed.  Guard  your  matches, 
and  keep  them  dry.  If  you  smoke,  do 
not  use  your  matches  recklessly;  you 
may  need  them  to  build  fires.  One  night 
in  the  cold  of  a  high-mountain  storm 
has  finished  off  tough  men,  so  look  for 
a  cave  or  overhanging  rock  early  in  the 
afternoon  and  gather  good  dry  wood. 
Whether  it  is  better  to  search  for  help 
or  to  wait  for  help  depends  on  whether 
you  are  injured  and  whether  you  have 
let  anyone  know  where  you  were  going 
and  when  you  would  be  back.  It  is  use- 
less to  wait  for  someone  to  find  you  if 
no  one  knows  about  where  you  are. 
Passers-by  are  rare  in  some  wild  parts 
of  the  national  forests. 

ROBERT  S.  MONAHAN,,  general  man- 
ager of  the  Dartmouth  Outing  Club 
and  Dartmouth  College  Forester,  has 
combined  his  professional  forestry 
career  with  leadership  in  recreational 
activities.  His  15  years  in  the  United 
States  Forest  Service  took  him  from 
Maine  to  California  and  provided 
unusual  opportunities  to  become  well 
acquainted  with  all  major  forms  of  out- 
door recreation. 


"V 


Forests  and  Wildlife 


WILDLIFE  IN  THE  SMALL  WOODLAND 

EDWARD  H.  GRAHAM 


O  MALL  WOODLANDS  are  natural 
O  homes  for  such  valuable  fur  bearers 
as  the  skunk,  opossum,  mink,  raccoon, 
fox,  and  weasel.  Among  game  animals, 
woodlands  harbor  squirrels  of  various 
kinds,  woodcock,  ruffed  grouse,  rabbit, 
and  snipe.  Fox  and  raccoon  provide 
sport  as  well  as  pelts.  In  the  woods  also 
live  flying  squirrels,  chipmunks,  pocket 
gophers,  mice,  and  other  forest  rodents. 
Song  and  insect-eating  birds  are  abun- 
dant— the  thrushes,  warblers,  wood- 
peckers, and  nuthatches,  kinglets,  and 
whippoorwills.  Predators,  hawks  and 
owls,  live  in  the  woods  and  feed  upon 
insects,  snakes,  frogs,  and  small  verte- 
brates. 

Many  kinds  of  wildlife  that  live  in 
woodlands  are  found  nowhere  else. 
When  the  woodland  is  harmed  or  de- 
stroyed, these  creatures  become  fewer 
or  disappear.  To  protect  the  useful  and 
beautiful  wild  things  of  the  woodlands, 
we  must  first  protect  their  woodland 
homes,  where  they  get  food,  shelter,  a 
place  to  breed  and  hide  and  live. 

Above:  The  bear  was  once  a  respected 
animal  of  the  western  range  and  forest 
country. 

802062°— 49 37 


The  things  to  do  to  help  woodland 
wildlife  are  much  the  same  as  the  rules 
to  be  followed  in  growing  the  trees,  for 
when  trees  are  protected  they  make 
homes  for  wild  animals. 

The  rules  for  the  management  of 
the  woodland  wildlife  are :  Protect  the 
woodland  from  uncontrolled  fire,  pro- 
tect the  woodland  from  intensive  graz- 
ing, cut  the  trees  selectively,  preserve 
den  trees,  develop  woodland  borders. 

Wildlife  usually  benefits  most  when 
fire  is  kept  out  of  the  woodland.  In  the 
few  instances  in  which  fire  is  employed 
as  a  tool  in  forest  management,  it  must 
be  carefully  supervised.  Reckless  burn- 
ing destroys  cover  that  is  used  by  wild- 
life for  nesting,  escape  from  enemies, 
roosting,  and  other  purposes  vital  to 
their  survival.  Uncontrolled  fire  also 
reduces  the  food  supply  of  wildlife  and 
may  burn  them  to  death  as  well.  After 
a  serious  fire  it  may  take  years  for  the 
woodland  trees  to  recover  and  as  long 
to  recreate  the  proper  habitat  for  the 
birds  and  mammals. 

The  woodland  that  is  subjected  to 
intensive  grazing  is  usually  a  poor  place 
for  wildlife.  Constant  trampling  and 

561 


562 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


disturbance  by  cows,  sheep,  goats,  or 
horses  is  especially  damaging  to  wild 
animals  that  live  on  or  near  the  ground. 
Severe  grazing,  which  destroys  young 
trees,  affects  the  existing  conditions  and 
the  future  conditions  under  which  the 
wildlings  live. 

Studies  by  Charles  A.  Dambach  in 
Ohio  disclosed  that  eastern  woodlands 
that  are  protected  from  grazing  have 
twice  as  many  species  and  numbers  of 
plants  as  grazed  woodlands.  Under 
protected  conditions  are  found  about 
twice  as  many  kinds  of  birds  that  nest 
on  or  near  the  ground  and  nearly  twice 
as  many  kinds  of  mammals  than  are 
found  in  comparable  woods  that  are 
grazed. 

Harvesting  trees  as  they  mature  here 
and  there  throughout  the  woods  in- 
stead of  cutting  the  whole  lot  at  one 
time  is  especially  valuable  to  wildlife. 

An  even-aged  stand  of  trees  has  less 
variety  of  wild  birds  and  mammals 
than  a  woodland  that  has  a  mixture  of 
mature  and  young  trees.  The  more 
variety  in  the  habitat,  the  more  variety 
in  the  wildlife  it  supports.  Further- 
more, openings  where  trees  are  felled 
are  especially  valuable  to  certain  kinds 
of  wild  cre'atures.  In  them  there  is  a  va- 
riety of  herbaceous  and  shrubby  species 
along  with  young  trees,  and  such  spots 
make  the  woodland  more  desirable  for 
grouse,  rabbits,  and  other  living  things. 

Some  of  the  most  useful,  interesting, 
and  valuable  animals  of  woodlands  are 
missing  when  there  are  no  trees  with 
hollow  trunks  or  hollow  limbs.  For 
some  kinds  of  wildlife,  a  hollow  tree  is 
essential.  The  raccoon,  for  instance,  is 
rarely  found  where  there  is  not  a  hol- 
low tree  for  a  den.  Another  fur  bearer, 
the  opossum,  also  holes  up  in  hollow 
trees.  Flying  squirrels  use  the  holes  for 
homes,  and  so  do  other  squirrels,  the 
wood  duck,  screech  owl,  sparrow  hawk, 
chipmunk,  nuthatch,  crested  flycatch- 
er, chickadee,  bluebird,  purple  martin, 
and  chimney  swift. 

In  Europe,  the  foresters  found  that 
the  woodlands  composed  of  even-aged 
stands  of  a  single  tree  species  supported 
practically  no  wildlife.  Injurious  in- 


sects were  also  abundant.  So  much 
damage  was  done  by  forest  insects  that 
nest  boxes  were  finally  set  up  to  attract 
birds.  The  birds  fed  upon  and  helped 
to  control  the  harmful  insects.  Wood- 
lands that  compose  a  natural  commu- 
nity of  living  things  give  us  less 
trouble  than  artificial  plantings.  A  few 
scattered  den  trees  help  a  great  deal 
toward  maintaining  a  natural  balance 
in  our  small  woodlands.  They  are  es- 
pecially valuable  near  streams  or  near 
the  margins  of  the  woodland. 

At  the  outer  margin  of  the  small 
woods,  where  it  adjoins  a  field  or  pas- 
ture, a  border  of  shrubs  is  especially 
valuable  to  wildlife.  It  is  a  principle  of 
wildlife  management  that  there  are 
more  wild  creatures  in  the  edge  of  a 
particular  type  of  vegetation  than 
within  the  type.  Counts  of  birds  and 
mammals  show  more  species,  and  more 
individuals,  along  the  shrubby  margin 
of  a  woodland  than  within  the  wood- 
land or  in  the  adjacent  pasture  or  field. 
Protecting  the  woodland  edge  thus  in- 
creases wildlife.  Often  fruit-  and  seed- 
bearing  shrubs  grow  there  naturally. 

A  simple  method  of  producing  shrub 
borders  is  to  cut  the  trees  within  20  to 
30  feet  of  the  woodland  edge.  Certain 
kinds  of  shrubs  and  other  materials 
can  be  planted  successfully  along  the 
margins  of  woodlands  to  improve  them 
for  wildlife. 

The  most  valuable  for  the  Eastern 
States  are:  Bicolor  lespedeza  (Lespe- 
deza  bicolor) ,  bayberry  (Myrica  caro- 
linensis) ,  hazelnut  or  American  filbert 
(Corylus  americana) ,  flowering  dog- 
wood (Cornus  florida) ,  highbush 
cranberry  or  American  cranberrybush 
( Viburnum  trilobum) ,  the  silky  cornel 
or  the  silky  dogwood  (Cornus  amo- 
mum) ,  and  the  Tatarian  honeysuckle 
(Lonicera  tatarica) . 

For  the  Western  States:  Squaw- 
bush  or  skunkbush  (Rhus  trilobata) , 
American  plum  (Prunus  americana), 
chokecherry  (Prunus  demissa) ,  the 
buffaloberry  (Shepherdia  argentea) , 
tamarisk  (Tamarix  gallic a) ,  and  Rus- 
sian-olive (Elae-agnus  angustifolia) . 

Nurserymen  will  be  able  to  suggest 


Wildlife  in  the  Small  Woodland 


563 


other  shrubs  and  trees  that  are  adapted 
to  one's  own  locality,  that  can  fill  a 
double  or  triple  purpose  in  woodland 
or,  indeed,  on  any  country  place,  and 
that  have  fruits  that  are  especially  ap- 
pealing to  the  particular  birds  a  person 
might  want  to  attract.  Among  the  sug- 
gestions might  be  redcedar  (Juniper us 
virginiana)  that  is  relished  by  more 
than  50  species  of  birds,  including  the 
bobwhite,  pheasant,  and  the  mourning 
dove;  the  sumacs,  whose  berries  attract 
more  than  100  birds  and  mammals; 
the  elderberry,  food  for  more  than  100 
birds;  and  snowberry,  eaten  by  30 
species  of  birds. 

Such  shrubs  need  not  be  costly,  espe- 
cially if  one  buys  them  in  small  sizes. 
They  are  not  hard  to  plant  and  care 
for.  Or,  another  suggestion  is  that 
neighbors  exchange  cuttings,  slips,  or 
roots  of  shrubs.  What  better  project 
can  neighbors  or  communities  or  or- 
ganizations— better  in  the  enhance- 
ment of  friendship,  beauty,  and  money 
values — carry  out  than  one  in  which 
groups  of  persons  buy  and  exchange 
shrubs  for  woodlands,  roadsides,  waste 
places,  parks? 

The  precepts  given  here  will  assure 
an  abundance  of  wild  creatures  in  the 
small  woodland.  The  woodland  wild- 
life has  many  values.  It  is  interesting 
and  attractive.  It  provides  sport  in  the 
way  of  hunting.  It  yields  a  crop  of  fur- 
bearer  pelts  that  brings  cash  to  the 
landowner.  Wild  creatures  provide  a 


service  that  we  often  fail  to  appreciate 
because  it  is  not  obvious — they  con- 
tribute to  the  natural  balance  that 
helps  keep  woodlands  in  condition. 

A  few  examples  illustrate  this  im- 
portant contribution  by  wildlife.  In 
northeastern  forests,  small  mammals 
occur  in  remarkably  large  numbers. 
Studies  by  W.  J.  Hamilton,  Jr.,  and 
David  B.  Cook  show  that  these  animals 
number  about  100  to  the  acre.  They 
eat  an  astonishing  number  of  insects. 
Forest  rodents — mice,  chipmunks,  and 
flying  squirrels — have  a  diet  that  is  20 
percent  insects,  even  though  they  are 
considered  to  be  primarily  plant 
feeders.  The  food  of  the  woodland 
shrews  and  moles  runs  from  50  to  75 
percent  insects.  The  insect-destroying 
value  of  such  woodland  mammals  is 
high  also  because  they  are  voracious 
creatures,  many  of  them  eating  each 
day  enough  food  to  equal  nearly  one- 
third  of  their  weight.  Unlike  most 
birds,  they  are  resident  creatures  and 
are  more  or  less  active  throughout  the 
year. 

In  the  Western  States,  the  pandora 
moth  attacks  Jeffrey  and  ponderosa 
pines,  and  under  some  conditions  it 
injures  lodgepole  pine.  A  large-scale 
attack  was  made  upon  lodgepole  pine 
in  1937  in  north-central  Colorado. 
How  much  more  severe  the  damage 
from  the  infestation  might  have  been 
if  wildlife  had  been  absent  is  indicated 
by  an  investigation  of  the  situation  by 
N.  D.  Wygant.  He  found  that  "squir- 
rels and  bears  were  destroying  many  of 
the  pupae  .  .  .  Bears  had  overturned 
many  flat  stones  and  the  squirrels  had 
dug  cone-shaped  holes  in  the  ground 
in  search  of  pupae  and  .  .  .  Animal 
feces  composed  almost  entirely  of  pan- 
dora moth  eggs  were  found." 

The  value  of  birds  in  woodlands  has 
been  evident  since  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  began  its  research  on  the 
food  of  wild  animals  of  farm  lands  some 
50  years  ago.  A  large  amount  of  food  is 
consumed  by  birds,  and  injurious  in- 
sects are  among  the  items  that  compose 
the  diet  of  many  species.  Investigators 
have  found  5,000  ants  in  the  stomach 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  a  flicker,  a  nighthawk  with  a  stom- 
achful  of  500  mosquitoes,  and  a  yellow- 
billed  cuckoo  that  had  consumed  250 
tent  caterpillars. 

Wildlife  is  a  natural  part  of  the  small 
woodland.  It  belongs  there  just  as  the 
trees  themselves,  the  duff  on  the  wood- 
land floor,  and  the  rich  soil  beneath 
the  trees.  Without  wildlife  the  small 
woodland  is  a  poor  place ;  with  wildlife 
the  small  woodland  is  a  better  place  for 
the  trees,  and  a  more  productive,  use- 
ful, and  attractive  place  for  people. 


EDWARD  H.  GRAHAM  is  chief  of  the 
Biology  Division  of  the  Soil  Conserva- 
tion Service.  Before  he  joined  the  De- 
partment in  1937,  Dr.  Graham  was  for 
years  engaged  in  botanical  studies  for 
the  Carnegie  Museum  in  Pittsburgh. 
He  has  written  many  scientific  and 
technical  papers  on  plant  sciences  and 
wildlife  ecology,  and  is  the  author  of 
several  books,  among  them  a  treatise  on 
the  application  of  biological  principles 
to  the  management  of  land,  Natural 
Principles  of  Land  Use. 


FORESTS  AS  A  WILDLIFE  HABITAT 

LLOYD  W.  SWIFT 


The  amount  and  quality  of  food,  the 
difficulty  in  getting  it,  and  the  assur- 
ance that  there  will  be  some  next 
winter  determine  many  of  the  activities 
and  habits  of  man  and  beast — how 
hard  one  works,  where  one  lives,  how 
well  one  is  nourished.  So,  too,  with 
shelter,  weather,  and  moisture  (which 
we  sum  up  in  the  word  habitat) ,  which 
determine,  for  instance,  whether  a  deer 
can  live  in  a  desert,  whether  a  variety 
of  corn  can  grow  in  Alabama,  whether 
one  can  transplant  a  wild  flower  from 
its  native  woods  to  a  garden.  Almost 
any  change  in  habitat  can  change  the 
number  and  kind  of  living  things  in  it. 
Wild  things,  wild  mammals  and  birds, 
reflect  more  exactly  than  tamer  crea- 
tures the  conditions  of  their  habitat, 
which  nature  and  man  are  constantly 
changing. 

The  minute  they  put  foot  on  these 
shores  the  first  settlers  from  Europe 
started  changing  the  habitat  of  wild- 
life. They  (and  their  descendants) 
pursued  and  killed  the  birds  and  ani- 
mals for  food,  clothing,  or  recreation, 
or  because  the  wildlife  conflicted  with 
crops  or  livestock ;  they  also  caused  far- 
reaching  changes  in  habitat  by  clearing 
land,  logging,  and  fires. 

Originally  in  the  eastern  half  of  the 
United  States,  much  of  the  cover  was 
of  hardwoods,  to  which  many  kinds  of 


wildlife  were  adapted  and  in  which 
the  nuts  or  mast  from  oaks,  hickories, 
chestnuts,  walnuts,  and  beech  and  the 
fruits  and  berries  of  gum,  grape,  dog- 
wood, persimmon,  and  other  trees, 
vines,  and  shrubs  gave  ample  food. 
The  hardwood  forests  also  provided 
small  tree  dens  for  squirrels,  larger  ones 
for  raccoons,  and  trunk  dens  for  big 
animals,  like  the  black  bear.  Less  fav- 
orable a  habitat  were  the  original  conif- 
erous forests  in  the  East;  the  pine, 
hemlock,  and  spruce  stands  furnished 
a  smaller  variety  and  quantity  of  food, 
and  dens  were  less  frequent  and  satis- 
factory. Therefore,  the  animals  of  the 
conifer  forests  were  likely  to  be  more 
specialized,  or  at  least  closely  asso- 
ciated with  the  more  restricted  food 
and  the  cover  conditions  found  in  the 
conifer  forests. 

Where  the  two  types  overlapped 
and  made  a  mixture  of  hardwoods  and 
conifers,  or  where  the  local  climate  was 
modified  by  protected  and  exposed 
sites,  such  as  in  the  mountains,  the 
variety  of  food  and  cover  undoubtedly 
favored  a  greater  variety  of  wildlife, 
but  not  necessarily  a  greater  quantity 
than  in  the  food-rich  hardwood  forests. 

In  the  West,  the  forests  were  largely 
conifers — junipers  commonly  occupied 
the  low  places  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  adjacent  areas,  spruces  the  higher 


Forests  as  a  Wildlife  Habitat 


565 


elevations,  and  pines  in  between.  There 
the  stands  were  often  bisected  by  fin- 
gers of  open  grassland,  meadows,  or 
brush  fields;  the  native  forest  had  ex- 
tensive borders  or  edges,  a  condition 
that  is  generally  favorable  to  wildlife; 
the  volume  of  nuts  and  fruit  was  not 
ordinarily  high  in  the  forest  areas,  but 
the  forage  conditions  frequently  fa- 
vored browsing  and  grazing  animals. 

The  forests  on  the  Pacific  coast,  west 
of  the  crest  of  the  Cascade  Mountains, 
were  of  a  closed  conifer  stand,  which, 
under  the  influence  of  favorable  mois- 
ture and  growing  conditions,  were 
characteristically  dense  and  tall.  The 
ground  was  commonly  in  permanent 
shade.  Wildlife  was  more  restricted 
than  in  an  open  forest  or  a  hardwood 
stand,  but  those  forests  were  outstand- 
ing in  the  character  of  the  fish  life  in 
the  streams  and  the  rivers,  which  were 
spawning  grounds  of  the  sea-run  sal- 
mon and  trout. 

Thus,  although  the  hardwood  forest 
undoubtedly  was  the  home  of  a  greater 
variety  and  quantity  of  wildlife,  all 
forest  areas  were  likely  to  support  some 
deer,  bear,  squirrels,  beaver,  and 
wolves.  Some  variety  of  grouse  was  na- 
tive to  all  areas,  except  the  forests  of 
the  Coastal  Plain  in  the  South  and 
Southeast.  Elk  ranged  in  nearly  all 
regions,  except  the  South.  Beaver  were 
present  in  nearly  all  forests.  Turkey 
were  distributed  from  New  England  to 
Colorado  and  Arizona.  The  bighorn 
sheep  lived  in  the  mountains  of  the 
Western  States,  mountain  goat  in  the 
country  north  of  the  Columbia  and 
Snake  Rivers,  and  moose  in  the  north 
woods  and  northern  Rocky  Mountains. 

Beaver  were  most  abundant  where 
suitable  water  was  associated  with  fa- 
vored food  species,  such  as  aspen,  cot- 
tonwood,  and  the  willow.  The  turkey 
range  appeared  to  be  adjusted  to  the 
availability  of  mast — acorns,  chestnuts, 
and  pine  nuts,  particularly  in  winter. 
Different  species  of  grouse  had  de- 
veloped rather  specialized  feeding 
habits,  and  could  winter  on  the  buds 
of  conifers  or  hardwoods  where  it  lived. 

Similar  relationships  could  be  cited 


for  other  species,  and  the  food  prefer- 
ences of  some  predators,  such  as  the 
cougar  or  puma  for  deer,  could  be  men- 
tioned. Those  examples  are  sufficient, 
however,  to  illustrate  the  point  that  the 
animals  were  distributed  according  to 
a  habitat  pattern,  in  which  their  basic 
needs  for  food  and  cover  were  met. 
In  that  respect,  the  character  of  the 
forest  was  paramount  in  determining 
the  kind  of  wildlife  that  would  fit  in 
and  how  abundant  it  might  become. 

SETTLEMENT  AND  HUNTING  soon 
changed  the  situation.  In  colonial  and 
pioneer  communities,  game  laws  were 
commonly  thought  unnecessary;  the 
few  that  were  passed  were  liberal  and 
seldom  enforced.  The  feeling  was  gen- 
eral that  the  people  who  settled  an  area 
or  owned  land  were  entitled  to  unre- 
stricted use  of  the  wildlife  resources,  a 
philosophy  that  prevailed  in  some  sec- 
tions of  the  country  until  a  few  years 
ago  and  that  was  particularly  char- 
acteristic of  forest  communities.  Fur- 
ther, until  the  present  generation,  many 
State  fish  and  game  departments  were 
so  inadequately  financed  that  they 
could  not  maintain  an  adequate  war- 
den force,  let  alone  investigate  the 
status  of  the  wildlife  resource. 

Under  those  circumstances,  game 
and  fur  animals  suffered.  A  few  species 
were  exterminated.  Others  disappeared 
from  large  sections  of  their  native 
range,  and  only  recently  were  reestab- 
lished through  programs  of  restocking. 
In  the  East,  the  white-tailed  deer  had 
mostly  disappeared  by  1910;  the  elk 
were  all  gone  by  1870.  In  many  parts 
of  the  West,  elk  were  killed  out.  One 
species,  the  Merriam  elk  of  the  South- 
west, had  been  exterminated  by  1898. 
Beaver  were  so  persistently  trapped 
that  they  were  exterminated  from  large 
areas  of  the  Eastern  States,  and  became 
scarce  in  the  Lake  States  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  once  abundant 
passenger  pigeon  disappeared  entirely. 

Forest  animals  that  came  into  con- 
flict with  man  often  became  the  object 
of  eradication  campaigns,  which  in- 
cluded bounties  and  professional  hunt- 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ers.  They  exterminated  the  gray  timber 
wolf  from  virtually  all  its  range  ex- 
cept a  small  part  of  the  Lake  States, 
yet  originally  the  timber  wolf  and  sub- 
species, such  as  the  buffalo  wolf,  occu- 
pied nearly  all  of  the  territory  now  in 
the  United  States,  except  California. 
The  cougar,  or  mountain  lion,  once 
was  associated  with  all  forest  regions; 
now  it  is  found  in  the  rougher  sections 
of  the  West,  but  in  the  East  is  limited 
to  a  few  individuals  in  Florida.  The 
grizzly  bear,  once  a  respected  animal 
of  the  western  range  and  forest  coun- 
try, now  is  confined  to  the  wilderness 
sections  only  of  Montana,  Idaho,  and 
Wyoming.  The  last  known  California 
grizzly,  the  Golden  Bear  of  the  Cali- 
fornia State  flag,  was  killed  in  1922. 

THE  CLEARING  OF  FORESTS  for  agri- 
culture  and  the  widespread  cutting  and 
burning  of  the  remaining  wooded 
areas  profoundly  affected  the  wildlife 
habitat.  One  important  change  was 
the  increase  in  the  borders  and  edges 
in  the  remaining  forest  and  woodland 
areas ;  another  was  the  tremendous  in- 
crease in  the  herbaceous  and  shrubby 
cover,  which  favored  browsing  and 
edge  animals,  such  as  deer,  bobwhites, 
rabbits,  and  grouse. 

The  relation  of  forest  changes  to 
deer  management  in  the  East  and  the 
Lake  States  is  of  particular  interest. 
The  virgin  forests  were  not  particularly 
well  suited  to  deer,  because  openings 
and  browse  areas  were  limited.  But 
after  the  forests  were  opened  up  by 
lumbermen,  and  further  changed  by 
fires,  the  browse  supply  became  exten- 
sive. At  about  the  same  time,  some 
States  started  to  protect  and  restore  the 
white-tailed  deer.  Through  restocking 
where  needed  and  the  adoption  of  laws 
favorable  to  building  up  the  herds,  the 
deer  were  especially  encouraged  just 
when  the  food  supply  became  most 
abundant. 

The  deer  thrived  beyond  expecta- 
tions. Instead  of  a  few  hundred  or  a 
few  thousand  deer,  States  like  Penn- 
sylvania and  Michigan  soon  had  sev- 
eral hundred  thousand.  All  seemed  for 


the  best,  until  it  was  realized  that  the 
deer  had  exceeded  the  food  supply. 
The  browse  shortage  was  intensified  b^ 
the  fact  that  under  improved  fire  pro- 
tection the  forests  were  recapturing  the 
land.  The  stems  and  twigs,  which  had 
been  good  browse  for  deer,  had  de- 
veloped into  pole-sized  stands  of  sec- 
ond-growth forests.  As  the  trees  grew 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  deer,  they 
formed  a  closed  canopy  and  shaded 
out  the  shrubs,  vines,  and  herbs. 

The  deer  and  elk  have  made  marked 
increases  also  in  the  western  forests,  but 
the  situation  has  been  somewhat  differ- 
ent. There  was  the  same  public  support 
for  herd  protection,  but  logging  and 
fires  had  affected  but  a  small  propor- 
tion of  the  forest  area.  The  western  for- 
ests, with  certain  exceptions,  however, 
were  grazed  by  cattle  and  sheep.  There- 
fore, when  big-game  species  increased, 
they  often  did  so  on  land  that  was  al- 
ready being  grazed  too  heavily  by  do- 
mestic livestock.  The  situation  created 
many  problems  on  public  and  private 
land,  and  much  good  livestock  and 
game  range  has  been  seriously  over- 
used. As  in  the  East,  the  reduced  food 
supply  has  brought  about  starvation  of 
big  game  in  localities  where  the  hunt- 
ers have  not  harvested  the  surplus. 

Although  the  cut-over  and  burned 
forest  favored  deer,  elk,  and  grouse,  it 
was  not  good  for  species  that  required 
stands  of  old  growth;  the  tree  squirrels 
found  less  food  and  fewer  dens;  the 
marten  and  fisher  could  not  exist  in 
the  new  environment;  the  turkey  also 
found  the  young,  open  forests  unsatis- 
factory because  they  were  deficient  in 
mast. 

The  change  in  the  forest  cover  also 
changed  the  stream  conditions  and  fish 
life.  Under  the  virgin-forest  conditions, 
the  streams  were  normally  in  a  stabi- 
lized condition.  And  the  forest  cover 
checked  the  runoff;  streams  ran  clear; 
flows  were  normal ;  channels  tended  to 
be  stable,  and  water  temperatures 
fluctuated  only  a  little.  But  when  wa- 
tersheds were  seriously  disturbed  by  log- 
ging, fire,  or  grazing,  the  streams  were 
subjected  to  flood  conditions  and  dis- 


Forests  as  a  Wildlife  Habitat 


567 


turbance  of  channels ;  the  aquatic  hab- 
itat suffered ;  insect  life  was  smothered 
by  silt  or  injured  by  abrasion;  gravel 
spawning  beds  silted  up;  food-produc- 
ing ability  was  lowered;  and  summer 
temperature  was  raised.  In  cases  of  ex- 
treme change,  good  trout  waters  be- 
came nearly  barren  of  such  fish. 

When  the  general  public  realized,  a 
generation  or  more  ago,  that  the  wild- 
life resource  was  so  seriously  impaired, 
there  was  support  for  wildlife  protec- 
tion and  restoration.  The  first  reaction 
was  to  restrict  the  take,  often  to  the 
point  of  yearlong  closed  seasons.  In  ex- 
treme cases,  such  as  the  bighorn  sheep, 
the  ptarmigan,  and  certain  other  spe- 
cies, some  States  have  had  closed  sea- 
sons for  20  years  or  more.  Other 
methods  of  restricting  the  take  as  a 
measure  to  protect  the  breeding  stock 
included  refuges,  short  seasons,  small 
bag  limits,  and  restrictions  on  sex  and 
age.  Such  forest  big  game  as  deer  and 
elk  were  subjected  to  the  "buck  laws," 
which  designated  male  animals  with 
certain  antler  developments  as  legal 
game,  providing  full  protection  to  fe- 
males. Refuges  became  popular  in  the 
1920's;  vast  areas  of  forest  lands  were 
included  in  the  State  game  refuges, 
and  smaller  areas  in  Federal  refuges. 

The  restocking  of  game  and  fish 
assumed  a  prominent  place  in  the  pro- 
tection and  restoration  programs.  Be- 
tween 1910  and  1920,  elk  from  the 
Northern  Yellowstone  and  Jackson 
Hole  herds  were  released  in  11  West- 
ern States  and  in  many  places  in  the 
East.  Most  of  the  western  plants  and 
reestablishments  were  in  public  forest 
land  formerly  occupied  by  elk.  Insuffi- 
cient wilderness  areas  and  conflict  with 
farming  districts  prevented  acceptance 
of  elk  restoration  in  the  East. 

The  trapping  of  wild  big  game, 
mostly  deer,  for  stocking  has  continued 
in  some  areas  up  to  now.  Dependence 
for  turkey  stock,  however,  too  often  has 
been  placed  upon  game  farms.  Pen- 
raised  birds  were  frequently  of  mixed 
domestic  strains,  and  have  not  suc- 
ceeded in  the  wild. 

Fish  hatcheries  were  developed  by 


both  State  and  Federal  agencies,  and 
in  the  mountain  areas  large  numbers  of 
trout  were  produced.  Through  indis- 
criminate stocking  programs,  the  trout 
species  were  widely  and,  too  often,  un- 
wisely mixed. 

Present  knowledge  shows  that  some 
of  these  restoration  programs  were  ill- 
advised;  some  were  good  at  first  but 
were  continued  too  long.  It  is  now 
generally  accepted  that  the  planting  of 
small  trout  and  fry,  except  in  barren 
waters,  is  of  little  value.  The  survivals 
of  fry  to  reach  a  fisherman's  creel  are 
extremely  few,  although  the  returns 
from  stocking  of  adult  trout  during  the 
fishing  season  are  usually  high. 

Perhaps  much  of  the  big-game  over- 
population trouble  came  from  public 
pressure  to  retain  large  refuges  long 
after  the  deer  and  elk  were  abundant, 
and  from  retention  of  the  "buck  law" 
when  females  should  have  been  har- 
vested to  control  or  reduce  the  herd. 
The  overselling  of  the  "buck  law"  has 
probably  been  the  major  hindrance  to 
good  big-game  management  in  the 
United  States.  Even  today  many  big- 
game  ranges  in  the  Lake  States  as  well 
as  in  the  West  are  in  a  serious  stage  of 
depletion. 

GAME  LAWS  of  the  Old  World  have 
had  a  bearing  on  the  legal  status  of 
wildlife  in  this  country.  The  main  in- 
fluence came  directly  from  England. 
Before  the  conquest  by  the  Norman 
kings,  landowners  there  were  privi- 
leged to  pursue  wildlife  on  their  own 
holdings;  afterward,  William  the  Con- 
queror took  over  forests  as  crown 
property.  Hunting  became  the  pastime 
of  the  royalty;  the  game  became  the 
property  of  the  sovereign.  Offenders 
of  the  King's  game  laws  were  severely 
punished;  sometimes  they  paid  for  the 
offense  with  an  eye,  a  hand,  or  even 
their  lives.  The  laws  were  liberalized 
in  the  Magna  Charta,  the  Charta 
Foresta,  and  other  steps  in  the  thir- 
teenth century;  a  man  would  not  lose 
his  hands  or  life  for  killing  a  deer,  but 
he  could  be  fined  and  imprisoned. 

The  idea  that  game  was  the  property 


568 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  the  crown  was  transferred  to  the 
Colonies  in  a  form  that  made  wildlife 
the  qualified  property  of  the  State. 
Consequently,  the  States,  acting  in  a 
sovereign  capacity  for  all  citizens,  exer- 
cised control  over  fish  and  game. 

The  Colonists  had  to  learn  how  to 
hunt;  in  England  they  had  had  scarcely 
any  opportunity.  In  the  new  country, 
wildlife  was,  so  to  speak,  something 
which  belonged  to  all  the  people. 
When  game  laws  became  necessary,  the 
State  replaced  the  crown,  and  all  per- 
sons held  an  equal  interest  in  the  wild- 
life resources.  So  today  all  citizens  are 
entitled  to  hunt  and  fish  for  resident 
wildlife  under  the  laws  promulgated 
by  the  States. 

The  game  laws  in  the  United  States 
have  created  a  situation  wherein  suc- 
cessful game  management  hinges  on 
the  cooperation  of  the  States  and  the 
landowners,  because  the  State,  although 
it  is  responsible  for  the  protection 
and  restoration  of  wildlife,  depends 
practically  on  farmers,  timber  owners, 
and  other  landowners  for  a  place  to 
produce  the  wildlife.  The  condition 
and  use  of  the  land  has  a  major  influ- 
ence on  the  kind  and  amount  of  fish 
and  game  that  can  be  supported. 

THIS  COORDINATION  of  forestry  and 
wildlife  brings  us  back  to  the  all- 
important  point  of  habitat. 

The  restrictive  measures  of  the  past 
to  protect  breeding  stocks  and  to  plant 
fish  have  turned  out  to  be  tools  of 
wildlife  management  that  are  likely  to 
help  wildlife  only  if  the  habitat  is  fav- 
orable. We  know  now  that  the  basic 
need  for  wildlife  is  a  suitable  habitat, 
one  that  will  carry  all  the  animals 
through  the  entire  year  and  will  vary 
with  the  species,  according  to  their 
food  preferences  (whether  browse, 
grass,  fruits,  nuts,  insects,  or  other  ani- 
mals) and  their  cover  needs  (whether 
tree  dens,  thickets,  brush,  or  weeds). 
If  these  requirements  are  not  provided, 
the  forest  animals  cannot  respond  to 
protection  given  them  by  seasons  of 
hunting,  bag  limits,  or  other  laws  to 
perpetuate  the  breeding  stock.  The 


land-management  practices  are  there- 
fore of  direct  importance  to  the  ani- 
mals. What  is  done  to  the  land  and  its 
cover  determines  how  much  wildlife 
can  be  produced. 

In  the  national  forests,  attention  has 
been  given  to  the  relationship  be- 
tween forest  management  and  wildlife 
management.  The  method  of  cutting 
the  trees  is  one  important  factor :  Light 
selective  cuttings  have  negligible  value 
for  wildlife  because  they  ordinarily  do 
little  to  open  the  forest  canopy  to 
promote  reproduction  and  develop- 
ment of  the  shrubbery  or  herbaceous 
growth.  Light  cuttings  to  remove  dead 
and  defective  trees  can  safeguard  wild- 
life interests  fairly  well  if  at  least  one 
den  tree  is  left  on  an  acre.  Heavy  selec- 
tive cuttings  can  improve  wildlife  con- 
ditions by  creating  small  openings  in 
the  forest  canopy;  the  grass,  weeds,  and 
other  vegetation  come  in  under  these 
breaks  and  enhance  the  habitat. 

Of  the  various  cutting  methods  now 
in  use,  wildlife  interests  are  best  served 
by  fairly  heavy  selective  cutting  or  clear 
cutting  in  relatively  small  blocks.  An 
important  consideration  is  the  cruising 
range  of  wildlife  species  and  the  length 
of  the  cutting  cycle,  because  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  system  depend  on 
maintaining  a  broad  range  of  timber- 
age  classes  within  the  travel  range  of 
game.  If  wildlife  is  not  considered  in 
timber-stand  improvement  work,  food 
supplies  may  be  depleted  by  the  heavy 
cutting  of  species  like  beech,  dogwood, 
sassafras,  and  persimmon,  but  appro- 
priate consideration  and  planning  can 
serve  both  timber  management  and 
wildlife  management. 

Another  factor  is  the  maintenance  of 
the  streamside  forest  cover.  The  forest 
canopy  provides  shade,  which  governs 
maintenance  of  water  temperatures 
favorable  to  trout.  Moreover,  the  in- 
sects that  fall  into  the  water  from  over- 
hanging vegetation  are  food  for  fish. 
Also,  the  roots  of  trees  and  shrubs  on 
stream  banks  bind  the  soil,  hold  the 
banks  in  place,  and  afford  retreats  for 
fish  and  habitat  for  aquatic  life. 

Another  point  has  to  do  with  forest 


Forests  as  a  Wildlife  Habitat 


569 


roads.  If  they  are  built  too  close  to 
stream  banks,  erosion  and  damage  to 
fishing  values  result.  Properly  located 
roads  in  forests  make  it  possible  to  sell 
forest  products  in  small  quantities  and 
thus  to  encourage  variations  in  ages 
and  types  of  vegetative  cover.  Forest- 
edge  effects  along  roadways  improve 
food  for  many  forms  of  wildlife.  A  net- 
work of  roads  can  also  be  important  in 
distributing  hunters. 

Log-loading  areas  frequently  pro- 
vide open  areas  in  the  forest  that  can 
be  retained  as  valuable  wildlife  clear- 
ings between  periodic  cuttings.  Other 
small  openings  in  the  forest  ( 5  acres  or 
less)  can  be  retained  for  their  wildlife 
value.  Plantations  of  conifers  inter- 
mingled with  hardwood  stands  fur- 
nish good  cover. 

ON  PUBLIC  FOREST  LANDS,  as  on  pri- 
vate lands,  the  greatest  benefits  to  for- 
est wildlife  will  accrue,  by  and  large, 
through  the  coordination  of  wildlife 
needs  with  the  timber  use.  But  on  pub- 
lic lands,  cover  is  often  manipulated 
and  improvements  installed  directly  for 
the  benefit  of  the  fish  and  game  species. 
In  the  eastern  half  of  the  country,  edges 
have  been  created  in  the  solid  second- 
growth  forest  stands  by  clearing  small 
areas  of  a  quarter  or  half  acre  on  the 
better  sites.  Often  such  plots  are 
cleared  by  cutting  back  the  forest  and 
shrub  growth  that  invades  old  fields. 
Such  steps  are  regarded  as  initial  meas- 
ures, because  the  long-time  programs 
should  be  based  on  the  development  of 
clearings  as  a  step  in  coordinating  wild- 
life needs  with  sales  of  timber. 

Although  the  work  has  been  of  a  lim- 
ited nature,  both  Federal  and  State 
agencies  have  planted  shrub  and  tree 
species  in  forest  and  woodland  areas  to 
provide  food  and  cover  for  the  newly 
stocked  or  underpopulated  wildlife 
species.  However,  on  wild  land  such  as 
national  forests,  emphasis  has  been  on 
the  manipulation  of  the  native  vegeta- 
tion, rather  than  on  the  introduction 
of  nonnative  species. 

Stream  improvement  has  been  done 
on  many  miles  of  streams  in  the  na- 


tional forests  and  on  other  lands.  The 
aim  has  been  to  convert  a  stream  of 
continuous  riffles  into  a  mixture  of 
pools  and  riffles,  so  that  there  will  be  a 
combination  of  food-producing  and 
resting  areas  for  trout.  The  best  results 
were  obtained  with  simple  log  or  rock 
dams,  that  looked  like  a  natural  part 
of  the  stream.  Many  more  lakes  and 
ponds  could  be  created  on  forest  lands. 

COOPERATIVE  PROGRAMS  are  a  useful 
development.  Thirty-two  cooperative 
wildlife-management  areas,  nearly  2 
million  acres  in  all,  have  been  estab- 
lished on  the  national  forests  in  the 
South  and  the  Southeast.  In  each  of 
the  projects,  at  least  30,000  acres  of 
Federal  land  has  good  wildlife  food 
and  cover,  and  boundaries  suitable  for 
hunter  and  fisherman  control  are  ordi- 
narily included. 

In  the  projects,  the  States  and  other 
public  agencies  work  to  build  up  the 
numbers  of  wildlife.  The  protection  is 
intensified.  The  kill  is  adjusted  to  the 
available  portion  of  the  wildlife  popu- 
lation; for  the  most  part,  hunting,  fish- 
ing, and  trapping  are  regulated. 

Without  such  controls,  the  excessive 
demand  would  result  in  the  overhar- 
vesting  of  the  animals  and  in  one 
season  could  seriously  reduce  the  popu- 
lations built  up  over  a  period  of  several 
years.  But,  as  in  timber  management, 
it  is  possible  to  maintain  a  sustained 
yield  of  fish,  fur,  and  game,  so  they 
will  be  available  to  more  people  in  the 
long  run  than  would  be  possible  if  the 
areas  were  open  to  unlimited  hunting 
and  fishing. 

The  cooperative  programs  also  pro- 
vide for  carrying  out  work  on  habitat 
improvement.  This  phase  has  perhaps 
been  carried  further  in  Virginia  and 
West  Virginia  than  any  of  the  other 
States.  As  in  other  cooperative-man- 
agement areas  of  the  East  and  the 
South,  the  Forest  Service  may  provide 
a  dwelling  in  the  area;  the  State  hires 
a  man  as  the  resident  game  man  on 
the  area  or  part  of  it.  His  responsibility 
is  to  carry  out  the  activities  related 
to  the  intensive  wildlife-management 


570 

program.  The  work  is  done  under  a 
plan  that  is  prepared  by  the  State  and 
the  Forest  Service  and  reviewed  each 
month  by  the  ranger  and  the  local  State 
game  warden  or  other  official. 

The  game  manager  posts  the  bound- 
aries, puts  out  salt  for  game,  controls 
predators,  and  helps  with  the  fish  and 
game  stocking.  He  checks  licenses  and 
permits  for  hunting  and  fishing,  and 
checks  the  catch  and  kill.  In  places 
where  the  forest  is  dense  and  openings 
are  needed,  the  manager  cuts  out  the 
invading  woody  growth  in  small  clear- 
ings and  creates  new  clearings  as  di- 
rected. He  maintains  old  sawmill  sites, 
log  landings,  and  similar  openings  so 
that  these  provide  wildlife  edges  in 
the  years  between  cutting  operations. 
He  plants  species  that  are  needed  for 
cover  and  food,  and  otherwise  en- 
courages the  type  of  growth  that  is 
helpful  to  turkey,  deer,  grouse,  squirrel, 
and  other  game  under  management. 

Land-use  programs  are  closely  co- 
ordinated with  the  wildlife  needs.  Tim- 
ber sales  are  administered  so  that 
stream-side  vegetation  is  maintained. 
Occasional  den  trees  are  left.  An  at- 
tempt is  made  to  maintain  a  variety  of 
forest  growth,  such  as  persimmon, 
grape,  dogwood,  and  haw,  for  wildlife 
food.  Some  species,  like  white  oak, 
black  walnut,  and  shagbark  hickory, 
are  recognized  as  valuable  for  their 
wood  and  for  the  food  they  produce  for 
wildlife. 

Some  of  the  work  is  paid  for  from  a 
special  fund  that  is  collected  by  the 
States  and  shared  with  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice. The  Southeastern  and  Southern 
States  have  enabling  legislation,  which 
is  permissive  rather  than  mandatory, 
for  the  collection  of  special  fees.  In  Vir- 
ginia, a  State  law  requires  that  all 
hunters  and  fishermen  who  use  the  na- 
tional forests  possess  a  national  forest 
stamp,  which  costs  $1.  The  money  so 
collected  is  used  in  cooperation  with 
the  Forest  Service  to  finance  and  oper- 
ate the  program. 

The  cooperative  wildlife-manage- 
ment programs  in  national  forests  in 
the  Western  States  have  usually  been 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


concerned  with  big  game,  and  partic- 
ularly with  adjusting  the  herds  to  the 
yearlong  food  supply.  Surveys  have 
been  made  of  the  winter  range  condi- 
tions and  the  composition  and  vitality 
of  the  herds.  Areas  have  been  reserved 
for  wintering  deer  or  elk,  although  fre- 
quently the  animals  drift  off  the  na- 
tional forests  in  winter.  All  available 
information  has  been  pooled  to  de- 
velop management  plans  for  big 
game. 

In  some  places  coordination  is  ob- 
tained by  a  series  of  meetings,  perhaps 
forest  by  forest,  at  which  State  and 
Federal  employees  review  information 
on  the  abundance  of  game  and  fish, 
study  conditions  of  stream  and  range, 
and  discuss,  among  other  matters,  the 
relation  of  seasons  to  forest-fire  haz- 
ards. Available  data  is  weighed  and 
used  to  prepare  joint  recommendations 
on  seasons  and  bag  limits  for  consid- 
eration by  the  State  fish  and  game 
commission;  management  plans  on  re- 
stocking of  fish,  beaver,  and  other  wild- 
life are  brought  up  to  date;  and  pro- 
vision is  made  for  the  distribution, 
camping  needs,  and  other  problems 
that  are  normally  associated  with  han- 
dling the  thousands  of  hunters  and 
fishermen  who  use  the  national  forests. 

Everywhere  the  land  available  to 
wildlife  is  being  reduced  through  the 
extension  of  towns,  cities,  industries, 
and  transportation  facilities,  and  the 
burden  on  the  forest  areas  grows.  Al- 
though our  present  forests  are  better 
suited  to  such  species  as  the  deer  and 
grouse  (because  of  the  irregularity  of 
the  forest  cover,  including  openings 
and  different  age  classes  of  trees),  and 
there  are  undoubtedly  more  deer,  bob- 
whites,  rabbits,  and  opossums  now  than 
300  years  ago,  the  forests  are  less 
productive  of  the  species  that  benefit  by 
old-growth  stands,  such  as  tree  squir- 
rels, turkey,  marten,  and  other  true 
forest  animals.  The  stream  conditions 
generally  have  declined  in  productive 
capacity. 

It  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  give 
constant  thought  and  effort  to  improve 
these  all-important  factors  of  habitat 


Trees  and  'Pood  from  Acorns 


571 


without    which    there    would    be    no 
wildlife. 

LLOYD  W.  SWIFT  is  chief  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Wildlife  Management  in  the 
Forest  Service.  A  graduate  of  the  Uni- 


versity of  California,  he  has  been  with 
the  Forest  Service  since  1929.  He  has 
worked  on  range  management  and  re- 
search and  wildlife  management  at 
several  field  stations  as  well  as  in  the 
Washington  office. 


TREES  AND  FOOD  FROM  ACORNS 

ALBERT  A.  DOWNS 


Acorns  are  more  valuable  than  many 
persons  realize.  From  them,  obviously 
enough,  come  oak  trees.  From  them 
also  (because  they  are  rich  in  carbo- 
hydrate, fat,  and  vitamins)  come  feed 
for  hogs,  deer,  turkeys,  and  squirrels, 
and  food  for  humans. 

Oaks  produce  good  crops  of  acorns 
once  in  3  or  4  years,  on  an  average — 
unlike  the  red  maple  and  the  birches, 
which  have  good  crops  of  seed  almost 
every  year,  and  the  longleaf  pine,  the 
beech,  and  some  other  trees,  which 
yield  seed  only  at  long  intervals. 

We  do  not  know  why  yields  vary 
from  year  to  year,  but  weather  is  prob- 
ably an  important  factor.  Late  frosts 
may  kill  flowers  before  fertilization  and 
even  the  fruit  when  it  is  in  the  young, 
tender  stage.  Possibly  oaks  need  more 
than  one  growing  season  to  build  up 
food  reserves  for  a  large  crop  of  fruit; 
oaks  of  the  white  oak  group  (white, 
post,  and  chestnut  oaks)  ripen  their 
acorns  in  one  season,  but  oaks  of  the 
red  oak  group  (northern  red,  scarlet, 
and  black  oaks)  need  2  years  to  ripen 
their  seed. 

The  number  of  acorns  produced  by 
different  trees  appears  to  depend  only 
on  the  size  of  the  crown  of  the  tree. 
Because  the  size  of  the  tree  crown  and 
the  diameter  of  the  trunk  are  corre- 
lated, diameter,  which  is  easier  to  meas- 
ure, is  used  as  a  guide  to  the  productive 
capacity  of  a  tree.  From  a  7-year  study 
of  five  species  of  oak  in  northern  Geor- 
gia and  western  North  Carolina,  we 
found  that  scarlet  oak  was  the  best 
producer,  and  that  acorn  production 
decreased  in  the  larger  diameters  of 


the  white  oak  and  the  northern  red  oak. 

The  production  of  acorns  varies  not 
only  from  year  to  year  but  from  tree  to 
tree  of  the  same  sizes  in  the  same  year. 
In  1942,  a  27-inch  scarlet  oak  produced 
approximately  46,000  acorns;  other 
scarlet  oaks  nearby  of  the  same  size  pro- 
duced a  fraction  of  that  number.  Very 
likely  some  trees  are  good  producers  by 
heredity,  and  some  are  poor  producers. 

In  most  years,  oaks,  except  the  chest- 
nut oak,  produce  more  small  aborted 
acorns  than  well-developed  ones.  These 
small,  undeveloped  seeds,  often  un- 
recognizable as  such,  may  be  the  result 
of  early  insect  damage  or  bad  weather. 

It  would  seem  that  plenty  of  seed 
would  be  available  to  reproduce  oak 
woodland.  But  that  is  not  so.  Only  a 
small  percentage  of  the  acorns  ever 
have  the  chance  to  germinate  and 
grow.  Studies  show  that  at  the  time  of 
seed  fall  24  percent  were  damaged  by 
squirrels  and  birds  and  30  percent  by 
insect  larvae.  Only  46  percent  were 
sound.  In  years  of  small  crops,  the  pro- 
portion damaged  by  insects,  squirrels, 
and  birds  is  greater,  and  in  years  of 
large  crops  it  is  less.  On  the  ground, 
insects  destroy  many  more  of  the  sound 
seed,  and  deer,  turkeys,  squirrels,  chip- 
munks, and  mice  feed  on  them. 

In  one  place  where  deer  were  es- 
pecially numerous — one  deer  for  about 
30  acres — the  entire  crop  was  eaten, 
except  in  the  heavy  crop  years.  In  an- 
other area  where  the  deer  population 
was  estimated  at  one  deer  on  2,000 
acres,  many  acorns  were  eaten,  but  a 
fair  surplus  was  left  from  good  crops. 
In  general,  when  game  is  plentiful,  few 


572 

or  no  seed  are  left  to  germinate  except 
in  heavy  crop  years. 

One  system  of  managing  oak  forests 
for  timber  products  is  by  growing  the 
trees  in  even-aged  stands.  When  the 
trees  are  mature  and  ready  to  cut, 
there  may  be  no  small  trees  established, 
in  which  case  the  area  must  be  repro- 
duced by  sprouts  or  seed. 

If  superior  seedling  reproduction  is 
wanted,  two  points  must  be  kept  in 
mind.  First,  acorns,  unlike  pine  seed, 
are  heavy  and  not  dispersed  far  from 
the  parent  tree.  Thus,  the  number  of 
acorns  to  the  acre  is  not  significant 
unless  they  are  well  distributed.  Sec- 
ond, excessive  drying  due  to  long 
exposure  to  sun  and  wind  kills  acorns. 

In  a  good  seed  year,  8  to  10  trees  an 
acre,  17  inches  in  diameter  at  breast 
height,  would  produce  1,500  to  2,000 
sound  acorns  above  those  destroyed  by 
insects  and  animals.  With  50  percent 
germination,  there  would  be  500  to 
1,000  seedlings  to  the  acre.  But  even 
with  the  best  spacing  of  those  seed 
trees,  some  of  the  seedlings  would  be 
crowded  under  parent  trees  and  die. 
Better  than  that,  leaving  20  trees  to 
the  acre,  12  to  16  inches  in  diameter, 
would  provide  the  same  number  of 
acorns  but  they  would  have  wider  dis- 
tribution and  more  protection  from 
drying  because  of  shade  and  the  cover 
provided  by  fallen  leaves.  This  is  only 
one  method  of  managing  oak  forests 
and  represents  the  minimum  as  far  as 
the  seed  requirements  are  concerned. 
Other  methods  leave  larger  numbers  of 
trees  to  the  acre  for  growth  and  seed 
production,  giving  better  distribution 
of  seed  and  more  favorable  moisture 
conditions. 

Acorns  are  important  in  the  feed  of 
deer,  squirrels,  and  turkeys  in  autumn 
and  early  winter.  In  deciding  how 
much  game  an  area  can  support,  game 
managers  need  to  know  the  amount  of 
food  available  annually.  The  part  sup- 
plied by  acorns  can  be  computed  from 
the  table  if  the  number  of  oaks  to  the 
acre,  by  diameter  classes,  is  known.  In 
the  southern  Appalachians,  oak  stands 
that  have  been  cut  rather  heavily  in  the 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


POUNDS  OF  ACORNS  PRODUCED  IN  AN 
AVERAGE  YEAR  FOR  TREES  OF  DIF- 
FERENT SIZES  AND  SPECIES 


Diameter 
of  trunk     Chest- 
4^  feet        nut 
from  ground    oak 


White 
oak 


North- 
ern 
red  oak 


Black 
oak 


Scarlet 
oak 


Inches      Pounds  Pounds  Pounds  Pounds  Pounds 


12.  .  .  . 

1  O 

*r  / 
I    4. 

•t»«r 

2  2 

I   7 

*o 

3Q 

14..  . 

r  o 

2  8 

C  7 

2   1 

•  y 

C  6 

16 

6  0 

A     C 

IO  O 

*«J 

2  8 

j'  u 

8  o 

18 

8  i 

6  7 

Id.  C 

3          A 

12   I 

22  .... 

0.8 

II   1 

14.  ^ 
17   I 

•4 
4.  6 

17    C 

26  

10  c 

11  I 

ii  8 

c  8 

1  /•  5 

iR  i 

1O.  . 

10.8 

12.  <; 

IO.O 

5.  o 
7.O 

10.  J 

18.  i 

past  annually  produce  from  100  to  150 
pounds  of  acorns  an  acre. 

Experimental  work  has  shown  that 
the  nutritive  value  of  acorns  for  fatten- 
ing hogs  is  fairly  high.  If  the  acorn  ra- 
tion is  held  down  to  one-fourth  of  the 
food  eaten,  acorns  are  in  no  way  harm- 
ful for  fattening  pigs.  Excessive  quan- 
tities may  cause  constipation,  soft  pork, 
or  growth  below  normal.  As  a  further 
precaution,  the  protein  content  of  the 
meal  mixture  should  be  increased 
somewhat  while  feeding  acorn  rations, 
because  they  are  high  in  carbohydrates 
but  low  in  proteins.  During  the  finish- 
ing-off  period,  acorns  may  be  withheld, 
in  order  to  correct  any  tendency  toward 
soft  pork. 

Any  farmer  knowing  the  sizes  and 
numbers  of  oaks  in  his  wood  lot  can 
determine  from  the  table  the  amount 
of  acorns  he  can  expect  annually  for 
hog  feed.  If  this  kind  of  feed  is  worth  a 
cent  a  pound,  the  average  oak  wood  lot 
is  worth  $1.50  a  year  for  each  acre  just 
for  the  hog  feed  it  produces.  That  is 
about  half  as  much  as  can  be  expected 
from  the  wood  lot  in  timber  values.  In 
small  wood  lots,  farmers  can  know 
their  trees  as  individuals  and  weed  out 
the  poor  producers  when  any  cutting  is 
done.  In  that  way  the  yield  of  acorns 
per  acre  can  be  increased.  Aside  from 
heredity,  trees  with  well-developed, 
healthy  crowns  are  likely  to  produce 
the  most  acorns. 


Managing  Utah's  Big-Game  Crop 


573 


The  use  of  acorns  as  food  for  hu- 
mans is  not  uncommon.  The  Indians  in 
California  grind  the  acorn  kernels  to  a 
fine  meal  or  flour  and  leach  out  the  bit- 
terness with  warm  water.  The  meal  is 
then  dried  and  stored  to  be  used  later 
as  a  cooked  mush  or  baked  bread.  In 
the  Eastern  States,  the  white  oak  and 
chestnut  oak  acorns  had  been  used 
similarly  by  Indians.  Generally,  the 
acorns  of  the  white  oak  group  are 
sweeter  than  those  of  the  black  oak 
group,  and  the  acorns  of  the  swamp 
chestnut  oak  are  said  to  be  especially 
sweet  and  edible.  In  Europe  many 
species  of  acorns  are  eaten,  and  in 
times  of  food  scarcity  boiled  acorns  are 


used  as  a  substitute  for  bread.  In 
Spain,  acorns  of  the  Gramont  oak  are 
regarded  as  superior  to  chestnuts. 

For  those  interested  in  hunting,  a 
good  crop  of  acorns  can  attract  deer, 
turkeys,  and  squirrels. 

It  is  possible  that  someone  with  in- 
genuity may  discover  a  new  method  of 
preparing  acorns  for  human  consump- 
tion— maybe  even  a  delicacy. 

ALBERT  A.  DOWNS  is  a  silviculturist 
at  the  Lake  City  Branch  of  the  South- 
eastern Forest  Experiment  Station.  He 
has  done  silvicultural  research  for  10 
years  in  the  Northeastern  and  South- 
eastern States. 


MANAGING  UTAH'S  BIG-GAME  CROP 

D.  IRVIN  RASMUSSEN,  DAVID  M.  GAUFIN 


Fifteen  persons  of  every  hundred 
men,  women,  and  children  in  Utah 
bought  a  license  to  hunt  big  game 
in  1948.  One  deer  was  killed  by  each  10 
individuals  in  the  State — all  told,  more 
than  64,000  deer  and  750  elk.  The 
management  of  big  game,  the  recrea- 
tion that  hunting  provides,  and  the 
services  connected  with  it  form  a  truly 
important  business.  A  visitor  to  Utah  in 
late  October — the  time  of  the  hunting 
season,  the  time  of  a  general  exodus  to 
the  mountains  from  city,  town,  farm, 
and  ranch  in  car,  truck,  buckboard, 
wagon,  and  pack  outfit — feels  in  the 
air  how  general  and  how  enthusiastic 
is  the  response  there  to  hunting. 

It  was  not  always  so.  Deer  have  been 
much  more  abundant  in  recent  years 
than  at  any  time  since  white  men  first 
visited  the  area.  We  do  not  know  ex- 
actly how  all  the  factors  and  forces 
operated  that  were  responsible  for 
producing  this  wildlife  resource,  but  we 
do  know  its  history,  which  is  the  story 
of  early  depletion  and  of  man's  efforts 
and  success  in  restoring  the  herds  to 
numbers  exceeding  even  those  that  the 
pioneers  found. 

The  restoration  of  numbers  has  not 


meant  the  end  of  the  big-game  prob- 
lem, nevertheless.  Instead,  situations 
have  developed  where  the  animals 
have  become  too  abundant  for  their 
own  good  and  have  come  in  conflict 
with  ranching  and  livestock  grazing. 
New,  almost  revolutionary,  programs 
have  therefore  become  necessary  to 
guarantee  a  continuation  on  a  perma- 
nent basis  of  both  the  herds  of  big  game 
and  the  production  of  suitable  forage 
on  the  ranges. 

THE   FIRST  WRITTEN  RECORD  of  the 

native  animals  and  plants  in  the  ter- 
ritory that  is  now  Utah  is  contained 
in  the  report  known  as  Father  Escal- 
ante's  Journal,  the  story  of  the  travels 
of  a  small  party  lead  by  two  Franciscan 
friars  that  left  Santa  Fe  on  July  29, 

1776,  and  returned  there  January  1, 

1777,  without  having  reached   their 
objective  of  Monterey,  in  California. 
The  party  spent  September  and  Oc- 
tober of  1776  in  the  Utah  country. 

Father  Escalante  told  of  killing  a 
buffalo  near  the  present  Colorado- 
Utah  border,  taking  large  trout  with 
a  bow  and  arrow  in  Utah  streams,  and 
seeing  many  grouse,  waterfowl,  and 


574 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


rabbits.  He  heard  that  buffalo  roamed 
not  far  north.  Utah  Lake  he  reported 
as  teeming  with  several  kinds  of  fish, 
which  formed  a  major  food  of  the 
Indians.  Traveling  south  from  Utah 
Lake,  however,  the  party  ran  out  of 
food.  They  had  difficulty  in  obtaining 
even  small  amounts  of  grass  seeds, 
pinyon  nuts,  and  fruit  of  the  prickly- 
pear  from  the  Indians,  and  found  it 
necessary  to  kill  a  number  of  their 
horses  for  food.  Once  they  got  a  small 
amount  of  dried  meat  of  what  un- 
doubtedly was  bighorn  sheep.  The  men 
traveled  through  and  around  country 
that  now  is  among  the  best  big-game 
hunting  grounds  in  Utah,  but  no  men- 
tion is  made  of  deer  or  elk,  both  of 
which  they  noted  in  southwestern 
Colorado. 

The  next  reports  were  the  published 
letters,  journals,  and  notes  of  the 
"mountain  men"  and  explorers  in  the 
1820's,  but  from  them  it  is  difficult  to 
determine  the  actual  game  conditions. 
The  accounts  described  the  western 
part  of  the  State  as  devoid  of  game, 
but  they  reported  its  presence  in  the 
mountains,  particularly  in  the  north- 
ern part.  Buffalo  and  antelope  appar- 
ently were  abundant  in  the  northern 
valleys.  The  book,  Leonard's  Narra- 
tive, gives  an  account  of  Gapt.  Joseph 
R.  Walker  and  a  party  of  some  40  men 
who  journeyed  westward  and  reached 
the  shores  of  Great  Salt  Lake  in  August 
of  1833.  On  the  advice  of  the  Indians, 
before  starting  westward  they  killed 
buffalo  and  antelope  until  "in  a  few 
days  each  man  was  provided  with 
about  60  pounds  of  substantial  meat, 
which  was  packed  upon  our  horses." 

On  August  22,  in  1826,  Jedediah 
Strong  Smith  left  the  Great  Salt  Lake 
with  15  men  for  southern  California. 
Smith's  route  was  by  Utah  Lake  and 
southward  through  the  valley  of  the 
Sevier  River  in  central  Utah.  The  ac- 
count of  this  trip  is  given  by  Harrison 
C.  Dale  in  The  Ashley-Smith  Explora- 
tions. In  a  letter  dated  July  12,  1827, 
Smith  wrote,  "From  this  lake  (Utah) 
I  found  no  more  signs  of  buffalo ;  there 
are  a  few  antelope  and  mountain 


sheep,  and  an  abundance  of  black 
tailed  hares." 

J.  Cecil  Alter  in  an  article,  W.  A. 
Ferris  in  Utah,  1830-1835,  quoted  that 
trapper  as  follows : 

"September  4,  1834,  four  Indians 
calling  themselves  'Sann-pitch5  came 
into  camp  bringing  to  my  surprise,  sev- 
eral deer  skins.  .  .  .  The  barrenness 
of  their  country,  and  scarcity  of  game, 
compel  them  to  live  by  separate  fam- 
ilies, either  in  the  mountains  or  in  the 
plains.  .  .  .  Here  the  women  and  chil- 
dren are  employed  in  gathering  grass- 
hoppers, crickets,  ants,  and  various 
other  species  of  insetcs  which  are  care- 
fully preserved  for  food,  together  with 
roots  and  grass  seed.  From  the  moun- 
tains they  bring  the  nuts  ...  of  the 
pine,  acorns  from  the  dwarf  oaks,  as 
well  as  the  different  kinds  of  berries 
and  the  inner  bark  of  the  pine.  ...  In 
the  meantime,  the  men  are  actively 
employed  in  hunting  small  animals 
such  as  prairie  dogs,  squirrels,  and  field 
mice,  and  larger  animals  or  birds, 
which  fortune  sometimes  places  within 
the  reach  of  their  arrows.  They  like- 
wise take  fish,  with  simple  instruments 
of  their  own  invention.  .  .  ." 

Ferris'  camp  was  pitched  near  what 
is  now  the  geographical  center  of  the 
State. 

The  year  1847  saw  the  entrance  of 
the  Mormon  pioneers  into  the  valley  of 
the  Great  Salt  Lake  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  first  white  settlements. 
Contemporary  writers  recounted  the 
hardships  the  pioneers  endured  and 
their  difficulty  in  obtaining  enough 
food  to  survive,  but  they  seldom  men- 
tioned big  game. 

Capt.  Howard  Stansbury  in  his  book, 
Exploration  and  Survey  of  the  Valley 
of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  of  Utah,  re- 
ported :  "During  the  winter  and  spring 
(1847-48)  the  inhabitants  (of  Salt 
Lake  Valley)  were  much  straightened 
for  food ;  and  game  being  very  scarce  in 
the  country,  they  were  reduced  to  the 
necessity  of  digging  roots  from  the 
ground,  and  living  upon  the  hides  of 
animals  which  they  had  previously 
made  use  of  for  roofing  their  cabins, 


Managing  Utah's  Big-Game  Crop 


575 


but  which  were  now  torn  off  for  food." 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  com- 
ing of  civilization,  with  its  free  and  its 
unregulated  use  of  the  ranges,  with  un- 
restricted hunting,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  ranches,  towns,  and  cities  soon 
reduced  seriously  the  numbers  of  deer, 
elk,  bighorn  sheep,  and  antelope  that 
were  originally  present. 

With  the  first  settlers  came  the  first 
domestic  livestock,  which  were  grazed 
near  the  valley  towns.  In  1860,  milk 
cows  and  draft  oxen  constituted  62 
percent  of  the  34,000  cattle  reported  in 
the  agricultural  census  for  the  Terri- 
tory. After  the  danger  of  Indian  depre- 
dations had  ceased  and  the  need  for 
additional  ranges  developed,  the  cattle 
and  sheep  were  moved  into  the  canyons 
and  onto  the  mountains.  By  1890,  suit- 
able grazing  areas  of  the  entire  State 
were  being  exploited  in  severe  and  un- 
restricted free  use  by  domestic  live- 
stock. That  year,  360,000  cattle  and 
2,000,000  sheep  were  reported  in  the 
Utah  Territory. 

At  the  turn  of  the  century  the 
mountain  ranges  had  been  depleted  of 
much  of  their  native  forage,  and  num- 
bers of  big  game  had  declined  until 
action  was  necessary  to  save  both. 

THE  FIRST  CONSERVATION  measures 
came  in  the  1890's.  In  1897,  the  first 
Utah  forest  reserves  were  established. 
Additional  areas  were  set  aside  in  the 
next  decade.  The  regulation  of  grazing 
by  livestock  was  then  inaugurated. 

A  fish  and  game  department  was  es- 
tablished in  Utah  in  1894,  but  few  reg- 
ulations or  restrictions  were  set.  The 
open  season  on  deer  extended  for  5  or 
6  months.  Several  animals  were  per- 
mitted each  hunter.  No  hunting  li- 
cense was  required  of  residents  until 
1907. 

The  destruction  of  big  game  had 
proceeded  so  far  that  in  1908  it  was 
deemed  wise  to  prohibit  all  hunting  of 
elk,  deer,  antelope,  and  bighorn  sheep 
for  5  years.  The  people  realized  that 
immediate  and  drastic  action  was  ne- 
cessary to  prevent  a  famine  of  game. 

The  legislature  in  1913  enacted  a 


"buck  law"  that  forbade  the  killing  of 
doe  deer,  because  the  female  had  to  be 
protected  if  deer  were  to  increase.  The 
hunting  season  was  shortened  to  15 
days  in  early  October,  and  elk,  ante- 
lope, and  bighorn  sheep  were  given 
complete  protection. 

The  Utah  Fish  and  Game  Commis- 
sioner's tenth  biennial  report,  which 
included  the  year  1913,  said  in  defense 
of  the  new  regulation:  "The  season 
opens  generally  before  snowfall,  which 
gives  good  protection  to  the  deer.  It 
assists  him  in  escaping  the  aim  of  the 
huntsmen,  and  hampers  the  huntsmen 
in  his  efforts  to  track  the  game."  The 
report  also  gave  the  first  recorded  esti- 
mate of  the  number  of  deer  taken  by 
hunters:  "From  the  best  information 
obtainable  approximately  six  hundred 
deer  were  killed  in  Utah  this  year,  yet 
an  increase  is  observed."  In  1916,  the 
forest  rangers  reported  there  were 
some  8,400  deer  on  the  national  forests 
of  the  State. 

Later,  the  State  legislature  estab- 
lished a  series  of  large  game  preserves, 
which  included  many  of  the  more  fa- 
vorable deer  and  elk  ranges.  By  1925 
there  were  11  State  game  preserves 
covering  940,000  acres  in  the  national 
forests.  Enforcement  of  game  laws  by 
wardens  and  forest  rangers  became 
more  strict,  and  stockmen  waged  con- 
stant war  against  coyotes,  wolves,  bob- 
cats, and  mountain  lions  to  protect 
their  flocks  and  herds.  The  regulated 
use  of  the  mountain  ranges  meant  bet- 
ter forage  and  vegetative  cover.  Suit- 
able conditions  for  big  game  thus  were 
created — food,  cover,  control  of  pred- 
ators, and  protection. 

Under  the  protection  given  them, 
the  mule  deer  increased  remarkably. 
The  deer  population  in  the  national 
forests  increased  from  13,500  in  1920, 
to  18,500  in  1925,  to  55,000  in  1930. 
The  State  game  department  and  wild- 
life enthusiasts  were  proud  of  the  re- 
sults. An  estimated  800  bucks  were 
killed  in  1920,  1,400  in  1925,  and  6,400 
in  1930. 

But  the  protection  apparently  did 
not  benefit  the  antelope  and  bighorn 


576 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


sheep.  Except  for  one  small,  isolated 
herd,  the  native  elk  had  been  extermi- 
nated. Protection  alone  could  not  be 
depended  upon  to  restore  their  num- 
bers. An  attempt  was  made  therefore 
to  reestablish  them  by  importing  ani- 
mals. From  1912  to  1915,  155  elk  from 
the  Jackson  Hole  and  northern  Yellow- 
stone herds  were  released  in  6  locali- 
ties. Sportsmen,  ranchers,  and  other 
interested  persons  paid  the  costs  of 
handling  and  shipping  them. 

The  imported  elk  multiplied  rap- 
idly— so  fruitful  were  they  in  their  new 
homes  that  conflicts  with  the  private 
property  owners  soon  arose.  By  1921 
the  legislature  had  to  authorize  the 
game  commissioner  to  kill  elk  that  were 
damaging  farms  or  other  property. 

OVERPOPULATION  soon  occurred. 
The  herds  of  elk  had  grown  by  1925 
to  the  extent  that  some  of  the  suitable 
areas  were  fully  stocked,  and  compe- 
tition with  the  domestic  livestock  on 
private  and  public  lands  was  reported. 
The  problem  no  longer  could  be  solved 
by  killing  a  few  marauding  elk. 

Game  wardens  and  forest  officers 
learned  from  field  investigations  that 
the  summer  range  in  some  places  was 
fully  stocked  and  that  the  winter  ranges 
were  being  seriously  over-browsed  by 
too  many  big-game  animals. 

Surveys  in  winter  disclosed  hundreds 
of  deer  and  elk  in  some  localities,  but 
townspeople,  unimpressed,  questioned 
the  accuracy  of  the  investigators  and 
branded  as  heresy  any  suggestion  of  a 
change  in  the  laws  that,  within  a  gen- 
eration, had  helped  to  restore  the  ani- 
mals to  the  ranges.  To  sportsmen,  any 
game  official  who  made  such  a  pro- 
posal was  guilty  of  violating  a  sacred 
trust.  The  general  public  refused  to 
believe  that  there  actually  could  be  too 
many  big-game  animals. 

Thus  the  job  of  the  game  admin- 
istrators was  complex.  It  was  one  thing 
to  recognize  that  overpopulations  of 
big  game  did  exist,  and  quite  another 
to  try  to  take  corrective  action  with- 
out adequate  authority. 

The  problem  of  administration  was 


complicated  also  by  the  competition 
between  big  game  and  domestic  live- 
stock for  forage  on  the  ranges.  The  so- 
called  "public-land  States"  in  the  West 
have  a  comparatively  small  amount  of 
cultivated  land  but  large  areas  of  range 
land.  Some  of  the  range  is  privately 
owned,  but  most  is  administered  by 
Federal  and  State  agencies.  Utah,  for 
example,  has  52,700,000  acres  of  land, 
of  which  only  3.2  percent  is  cultivated. 
Nearly  all  of  the  rest  has  economic 
value  as  either  summer  or  winter  graz- 
ing lands  for  domestic  livestock.  In 
truth,  the  only  lands  not  grazed  by 
livestock  are  certain  barren  or  inacces- 
sible sections,  a  comparatively  small 
area  of  national  parks,  and  some  small 
tracts  protected  as  city  watersheds.  Of 
the  grazing  land,  5,000,000  acres  are 
in  private  ownership;  9,000,000  are 
national  forests;  25,000,000  are  ad- 
ministered by  the  Bureau  of  Land 
Management;  1,740,000  are  Indian 
reservations;  and  3,650,000  are  owned 
by  the  State  and  counties. 

As  a  rule,  therefore,  wherever  big- 
game  animals  are  present  one  also  finds 
domestic  livestock.  Both  depend  on 
native  plants.  Competition  for  forage 
(sometimes  real,  at  other  times  imagi- 
nary) is  a  factor  that  must  be  con- 
sidered in  any  big-game-management 
program  in  the  West. 


Managing  Utah's  Big-Game  Crop 


THE  ELK  HERD  on  the  Nebo  range 
in  central  Utah  exemplifies  the  prob- 
lems. The  herd,  which  has  passed 
through  the  cycle  of  early  depletion, 
restoration,  and  overpopulation,  ranges 
over  a  relatively  small,  narrow,  rugged 
area  of  approximately  250,000  acres 
of  national  forest,  State,  and  private 
lands.  Farms,  towns,  and  major  high- 
ways surround  the  unit.  The  moun- 
tains, more  than  5,000  feet  above  the 
valley  floor,  are  bisected  by  the  steep, 
timbered  canyons.  An  unknown  num- 
ber of  native  elk  were  present  on  the 
ranges  when  the  pioneers  settled  in  the 
valleys  below;  the  last  ones  probably 
disappeared  about  1880. 

In  1913  and  1914,  48  head  obtained 
from  the  Yellowstone  were  released  on 
the  Nebo  range.  They  flourished  in 
their  new  environment  under  the 
watchful  eyes  of  an  interested  public 
and  sympathetic  landowners.  Every- 
thing went  well  for  the  next  few  years. 
Then  the  elk  began  visiting  haystacks 
and  cultivated  fields  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain.  The  Utah  State  Fish  and 
Game  Department  attempted  to  settle 
for  damages  to  haystacks  and  hired 
herders  to  drive  the  invading  elk  back 
into  the  hills.  Neither  action  was  sat- 
isfactory. The  damage  still  continued. 
Game  wardens  killed  84  trespassing 
bull  elk. 

In  1924,  when  the  48  elk  had  in- 
creased to  an  estimated  450,  it  became 
apparent  to  the  land  administrators, 
landowners,  and  game  officials  that 
some  new  and  drastic  control  measures 
would  be  necessary.  Landowners  and 
stockmen  demanded  reduction  of  the 
herd.  Sportsmen  and  the  general  pub- 
lic opposed  the  demands  at  first  but 
finally  agreed  to  shooting  bulls.  The 
idea  of  killing  the  cows,  however,  was 
abhorrent  to  them. 

In  1925,  in  the  first  elk  hunt  by 
sportsmen,  100  bulls  were  killed.  The 
hue  and  cry  for  and  against  the  elk 
arose  again.  Many  considered  killing 
the  elk  a  mistake.  Others  contended 
the  mistake  was  in  planting  elk  in  the 
first  place,  maintaining  that  damage 
to  private  property  and  range  could 


577 

not  be  avoided  regardless  of  the  num- 
ber of  animals.  No  hunt  was  held  in 
1926. 

To  resolve  the  dilemma,  the  Utah 
Legislature  in  the  year  1927  established 
a  supervisory  committee,  the  State 
Game  Refuge  Committee  and  Board 
of  Elk  Control,  whose  members  in- 
cluded representatives  of  sportsmen, 
wool  growers,  cattle  and  horse  breed- 
ers, the  Forest  Service,  the  State  Park 
Commission,  and  the  commissioners 
of  the  county  in  which  a  particular 
game  refuge  was  situated.  The  State 
Fish  and  Game  Commissioner  was 
chairman. 

The  duties  of  the  board  were  to 
supervise  the  establishing,  adjusting, 
opening,  and  closing  of  elk  refuges; 
designating  seasons  and  localities  in 
which  elk  hunting  could  be  done,  and 
determining  the  sex  and  the  number  of 
animals  that  could  be  killed.  Regula- 
tion of  the  kill  was  accomplished  by 
the  sale  of  nontransferable  permits  to 
hunt  elk  to  sportsmen  selected  by  pub- 
lic drawing. 

At  its  first  meeting  in  1927  the  board 
authorized  the  sale  of  150  permits  for 
bulls  on  the  Nebo  area;  100  bulls  were 
killed.  Afterwards,  an  argument  devel- 
oped as  to  the  size  of  the  elk  popula- 
tion. The  estimates  ranged  from  500  to 
1,500,  and  it  was  evident  that  more 
information  was  necessary.  In  Febru- 
ary 1928,  State  wardens,  forest  rangers, 
and  others,  taking  advantage  of  heavy 
snow  that  had  crowded  the  elk  onto 
the  foothills,  made  an  actual  count  of 
637  animals. 

In  the  fall  of  1928  there  was  another 
hunt  for  150  bulls.  Landowners  and  the 
stockmen  maintained  that  the  taking 
of  surplus  bulls  only  was  not  correcting 
the  situation  because  there  continued 
to  be  more  cows  with  calves  and  the 
total  herd  was  increasing.  Sportsmen, 
however,  remained  adamant  in  their 
opposition  to  shooting  cows. 

Finally,  in  a  meeting  of  land  admin- 
istrators, stockmen  and  farmers,  and 
sportsmen,  it  was  agreed  that  the  elk 
population  should  be  maintained  be- 
tween 500  and  600  head.  That  agree- 


802062° — 49- 


-38 


578 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


ment  has  been  the  basis  of  manage- 
ment ever  since.  The  board  has  au- 
thorized the  sale  of  permits  on  the 
basis  of  the  best  estimates  of  number 
and  what  the  herd  would  produce. 
Experience  has  shown,  however,  that 
the  estimates  of  both  herd  numbers 
and  productivity  have  been  conserva- 
tive and  that  for  several  years  the  herd 
was  larger  than  the  number  provided 
for  in  the  agreement. 

By  1929,  opposition  to  killing  cows 
was  lessening.  A  hunt  for  300  elk  of 
either  sex  was  authorized,  and  140 
bulls  and  101  cows  were  killed.  Since 
1929,  special  permits  have  been  issued 
regularly  for  elk  of  both  sexes.  There 
is  now  little  or  no  general  opposition 
to  shooting  cow  elk.  In  places  where 
hunters  must  make  a  choice,  the  de- 
mand for  permits  to  kill  cows  exceeds 
that  for  permits  to  kill  bulls. 

Twenty-one  special  hunts  have  been 
conducted  on  the  Nebo  range  since 
the  first  hunt  in  1925.  The  areas  on 
which  the  hunting  has  been  permitted 
have  varied.  The  ratio  of  sexes  au- 
thorized to  be  killed  has  been  adjusted 
from  year  to  year  so  as  to  maintain  a 
balanced  and  healthy  herd.  The  suc- 
cess of  hunters  has  been  about  90 
percent. 

The  outstanding  result  of  this  flexi- 
ble form  of  management  is  that  ap- 
proximately 600  elk  remain  on  the 
Nebo  range — this  despite  the  fact  that 
4,397  animals  have  been  removed  by 
sportsmen,  173  have  been  trapped  by 
State  officials  and  transplanted  to  new 
ranges,  and  219  have  been  killed  on 
farm  by  wardens  to  prevent  damage 
to  crops.  Under  such  a  management 
program  over  a  35-year  period,  the 
original  plant  of  48  elk  has  increased 
twelvefold  and  produced  4,789  elk. 

THE  MULE  DEER  also  were  creating 
an  acute  situation  in  the  early  1930's. 
Efforts  of  the  State  Fish  and  Game 
Department  and  sportsmen  for  the  pre- 
vious two  decades  had  been  directed  to 
the  production  of  more  deer.  That 
there  could  be  too  many  deer  was  as 
hard  to  comprehend  as  it  had  been  to 


realize  that  there  were  too  many  elk. 

Does  were  still  legally  protected  un- 
der the  "buck  law."  Killing  bucks  only 
could  not  regulate  numbers.  No  one 
had  the  authority  to  take  corrective 
action.  The  most  serious  result  of  this 
inaction,  from  the  standpoint  of  wild- 
life management,  was  that  the  winter 
game  ranges  were  being  seriously  over- 
browsed  and  permanently  damaged  by 
the  excessive  number  of  deer.  Winter 
losses  also  were  becoming  alarmingly 
heavy. 

The  Board  of  Elk  Control  had  effec- 
tively managed  the  elk  herds  for  6 
years.  In  March  1933,  the  legislature 
amended  the  law,  changed  its  name, 
and  extended  its  powers. 

The  new  committee  was  designated 
the  State  Game  Refuge  Committee 
and  Board  of  Big  Game  Control.  It  had 
five  members — representatives  of  cattle 
and  horse  breeders,  wool  growers, 
sportsmen,  the  Forest  Service,  and  the 
State  Fish  and  Game  Director,  who 
was  chairman.  Their  acts  were  to  have 
the  full  force  and  effect  of  law. 

The  new  board  was  authorized  to 
define  more  accurately  the  boundaries 
of  the  game  preserves  and  regulate 
travel  on  them ;  to  designate  additional 
refuges  for  big  game;  and  to  conduct 
investigations,  as  a  basis  for  designat- 
ing special  hunting  seasons  and  areas 
and  the  number  and  sex  of  big-game 
animals  to  be  killed.  Thus,  adequate 
authority  to  handle  the  mule  deer 
problem  was  provided.  The  exercise  of 
this  authority,  however,  was  another 
matter. 

Public  resistance  to  any  reduction  in 
the  deer  herds  became  apparent  at 
hearings  of  the  board  in  1934.  After 
lengthy  discussions,  the  board  au- 
thorized the  issuance  of  1,600  special 
permits  for  antlerless  deer  for  3  over- 
stocked areas.  In  consequence,  posters 
and  editorials  all  over  the  State 
pleaded,  "Don't  shoot  the  does!"  Al- 
though threatened  with  injunctions, 
the  board  stood  by  its  decision.  But 
only  728  of  the  1,600  permits  were  sold. 
The  public  had  not  learned  that  the 
preservation  of  the  deer  depended 


Managing  Utah's  Big-Game  Crop 


upon  the  proper  harvest  of  the  surplus. 

Education  as  to  actual  conditions 
and  the  need  for  action  had  been  in- 
sufficient. Sportsmen  were  invited  to 
visit  overbrowsed  winter  ranges  to  see 
for  themselves  that  when  the  numbers 
of  animals  and  their  food  supply  were 
out  of  balance  nature  took  wasteful 
corrective  measures.  The  carcasses  of 
deer  under  the  high-lined  and  de- 
pleted browse  convinced  most  of  them 
that  the  winter  food  supply  was  in- 
sufficient and  that  something  had  to 
be  done. 

Some  agreed  that  the  herd  had  to 
be  reduced  to  prevent  waste  of  ani- 
mals, preserve  the  food  supply  of  the 
deer,  and  utilize  the  surplus.  Others 
thought  that  the  way  out  was  to  pro- 
vide additional  feed;  among  them 
were  individuals  who  attributed  most 
of  the  damage  to  the  range  to  grazing 
by  sheep  and  cattle.  They  suggested 
that  all  the  forage  on  the  winter  game 
ranges  be  reserved  for  the  deer.  Still 
others  believed  "hard  winters"  were  to 
blame,  and  the  trouble  could  be  cor- 
rected by  feeding  hay  to  carry  the  deer 
over  winter. 

Trained  range  men  were  convinced 
that  the  most  serious  grazing  problem 
grew  out  of  the  competition  of  deer 
against  deer  for  the  limited  amount  of 
winter  forage,  rather  than  deer  against 
livestock. 

Supplemental  winter-feeding  pro- 
grams appealed  to  the  public  as  a  hu- 
mane and  logical  procedure.  Game 
administrators  started  to  do  so  on  sev- 
eral areas,  but  the  deer  continued  to 
die  even  where  they  were  fed  various 
kinds  of  hay  and  concentrates. 

It  became  obvious  that  the  program 
had  serious  faults,  and  an  attempt  was 
made  to  check  on  what  was  happening 
and  the  possibility  of  improving  the 
methods  or  rinding  new  and  suitable 
foods.  In  a  study,  Supplemental  Win- 
ter Feeding  of  Mule  Deer  in  Northern 
Utah,  it  was  shown  that  winter  losses 
of  nearly  20  percent  occurred  from 
malnutrition  even  during  average  win- 
ters, despite  the  intensive  supplemental 
feeding  of  a  variety  of  feeds  on  the 


579 

crowded  areas.  On  the  other  hand, 
heavy  winter  losses  were  shown  to  be 
abnormal  among  mule  deer  wherever 
enough  native  forage  was  available.  On 
the  basis  of  these  investigations,  it  was 
recommended  that  hunting  removals 
be  sufficient  to  reduce  the  population 
to  the  carrying  capacity  of  the  winter 
range  on  all  areas  where  supplemental 
feeding  appeared  necessary. 

Despite  some  continued  opposition, 
the  board  went  ahead  with  special 
hunts  of  antlerless  deer  and  deer  of 
either  sex  on  the  problem  areas.  The 
special  hunts  have  been  held  every 
year  since  1934,  except  1936  and  1937. 
Under  this  program,  more  than  150,- 
000  deer  have  been  taken  by  sports- 
men, besides  the  regular  buck  kill. 

At  public  hearings  by  the  board, 
conducted  annually  in  different  parts 
of  the  State,  all  interested  persons  have 
opportunity  to  voice  their  opinions. 

The  hearings  are  followed  by  an  ex- 
ecutive session  in  which  the  problems 
of  individual  game  herds  and  local 
viewpoints  are  considered.  In  the  man- 
agement of  big  game  and  range,  the 
board  has  the  help  of  three  specialists, 
and  representatives  of  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice, Bureau  of  Land  Management,  and 
the  Utah  State  Fish  and  Game  Depart- 
ment, who  make  detailed  field  investi- 
gations and  coordinate  information 
obtained  through  census  and  forage- 
utilization  surveys  conducted  coopera- 
tively by  local  game  wardens,  forest 
officers,  and  graziers.  The  board  then 
formulates  the  hunting  program. 

The  effectiveness  of  the  program  of 
regulated  hunting  is  illustrated  by  a 
comparison  of  the  Kaibab  Plateau  deer 
herd  of  Arizona  with  the  Fishlake  For- 
est deer  herd  of  Utah.  After  20  years 
of  protection,  the  Kaibab  herd  reached 
an  estimated  peak  of  nearly  100,000 
deer.  Because  of  opposition,  hunting 
was  not  permitted  until  the  peak  year 
of  1924,  and  then  only  a  few  hundred 
animals  were  taken.  In  the  years  im- 
mediately following  1924  thousands  of 
deer  died  of  starvation — the  direct  re- 
sult of  cumulative  range  depletion. 

A   similar   upward    trend    in    deer 


58o 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


numbers  on  the  Fishlake  Forest  was 
largely  checked  by  an  aggressive  pro- 
gram of  controlled  hunting.  Even 
there,  however,  some  range  depletion 
occurred  and  losses  from  malnutrition 
were  not  entirely  prevented. 

Between  1920  and  1947,  34,000  deer 
were  harvested  from  the  Kaibab 
through  hunting  and  trapping  live  ani- 
mals for  restocking  purposes.  This  is 
but  16  percent  of  the  208,000  herd 
that  have  been  removed  through  legal 
hunting  from  the  Fishlake  herd  during 
the  same  period.  Furthermore,  the 
number  of  deer  on  the  Fishlake  in  1947 
was  three  to  four  times  greater  than  on 
the  Kaibab.  Thus,  with  a  smaller  herd 
in  1920  (actually  one-eighth  as  large), 
the  Fishlake  area  has  produced  six 
times  as  many  deer  for  the  hunters  and 
now  has  nearly  four  times  as  many 
deer.  It  is  believed  that  had  the  Kaibab 
herd  been  stabilized  at  30,000  or  so 
(the  desirable  number  for  the  range) 
and  the  net  increase  removed  annually 
through  hunting,  it  also  could  have 
produced  nearly  200,000  deer. 

WHAT  CAN  AND  CANNOT  be  done  is 
shown  by  the  experience  in  Utah. 

Simply  to  protect  big  game  from 
hunting  will  not  insure  a  high  level  of 
production  in  the  future.  Neither  can 
the  number  to  be  harvested  be  deter- 
mined solely  by  the  desires  of  the  hunt- 
ers. The  number  of  big  game  that  can 
be  maintained  and  produced  for  sports- 
man hunting  must  be  based  upon  the 
optimum  amount  of  feed  in  the  form  of 
forage  that  the  range  will  produce.  To 
allow  our  game  herds  to  build  up  be- 
yond the  ability  of  the  range  to  supply 
adequate  forage  is  a  form  of  deficit 
spending.  It  may  produce  good  hunt- 
ing for  a  few  years — only  a  few  years. 
There  must  be  a  sustained  yield  of 
forage  for  the  animals  to  guarantee  a 
sustained  yield  of  big  game. 

While  we  cannot  crop  our  big-game 
herds  as  efficiently  as  livestock  herds, 
the  harvest  can  be  increased  if  hunters 
keep  crippling  losses  to  a  minimum, 
predators  are  controlled,  and,  most  im- 
portant of  all,  the  number  of  animals 


is  kept  in  balance  with  available  food 
supply.  The  latter  can  only  be  accom- 
plished by  the  removal  of  the  surplus 
animals,  male  or  female. 

Although  it  is  generally  accepted 
that  some  cow  elk  can  be  hunted  with- 
out reducing  an  elk  herd,  many  hunters 
in  Utah  still  believe  that  the  sole 
objective  in  removing  doe  deer  is  to  re- 
duce the  total  number  of  deer.  Others 
still  believe  that  killing  does  is  never 
justified.  It  is  true  that  does  must  be  re- 
moved if  herds  are  to  be  reduced,  but 
even  in  properly  managed  and  healthy 
herds,  removals  of  does  are  justified 
and  necessary.  The  annual  increase, 
which  consists  of  both  males  and  fe- 
males, must  be  cropped  by  hunter  har- 
vest if  the  herd  is  to  be  stabilized. 

Experience  in  Utah  and  Idaho  has 
shown  that  healthy  mule  deer  herds 
can  produce  annually,  on  a  sustained- 
yield  basis,  approximately  25  animals 
per  100  deer  in  the  winter  population, 
if  the  kill  consists  of  both  sexes.  This 
type  of  removal  results  in  maximum 
returns  in  deer  to  the  sportsmen,  pro- 
vides for  perpetuation  of  the  capital 
resource — the  forage  supply — and  in- 
sures healthy  and  stabilized  deer  herds. 

D.  IRVIN  RASMUS  SEN  is  in  charge 
of  wildlife  management  for  the  Inter- 
mountain  Region  of  the  Forest  Service. 
Since  1928,  he  has  been  engaged  pri- 
marily in  research  and  management  of 
western  fish  and  game  animals.  He  is 
a  graduate  of  Brigham  Young  Univer- 
sity and  has  graduate  degrees  from  the 
University  of  Illinois. 

DAVID  M.  GAUFIN  holds  a  degree  in 
wildlife  management  from  Utah  State 
Agricultural  College.  His  first  work  was 
with  the  Utah  Cooperative  Wildlife 
Research  Unit  on  sage  grouse  nesting 
and  predation  studies  in  southeastern 
Idaho  in  1939^-0.  He  was  with  the 
United  States  Corps  of  Engineers, 
1941-46;  and  served  as  Federal-aid 
project  leader,  Utah  Fish  and  Game 
Department,  on  big-game  studies  from 
1946  to  1947.  He  is  now  supervisor  of 
game  management  in  the  Utah  State 
Fish  and  Game  Department. 


58i 


FORESTS  AND  FISH 

PAUL  R.  NEEDHAM,  FRED  W.  JOHNSON 


Nearly  all  of  our  forest  waters  are 
trout  waters,  except  those  in  the 
warmer  localities  in  the  Middle  West 
and  South.  We  do  not  know  the  full 
extent  of  fishing  waters  in  all  our  for- 
ests, but  in  the  national  forests  alone 
there  are  more  than  90,000  miles  of 
streams  and  1 .5  million  acres  of  ponds 
and  lakes. 

Several  factors  determine  the  suit- 
ability of  streams  for  trout.  Size  of 
stream  or  lake  is  of  little  moment; 
temperature,  food,  and  general  aquatic 
conditions  are  the  items  that  count. 

Just  as  our  forests  and  other  soil 
covers  developed  where  soil  conditions 
and  climate  permitted,  fish  life  that 
we  now  know  evolved  slowly  and  sur- 
vived through  generations  to  fit  into 
definite  environments  with  interde- 
pendent patterns  of  habitat.  It  follows, 
then,  that  any  misuse  of  these  heredi- 
tary watersheds  and  the  streams  drain- 
ing them  will  change  environmental 
conditions  favorable  to  trout  and  other 
life  that  is  associated  with  a  good  for- 
est cover. 

A  multitude  of  physical,  chemical, 
and  biological  conditions  affect  the 
average  trout  waters :  Oxygen,  carbon 
dioxide,  alkalinity  of  the  water,  food, 
shade,  floods,  ice,  droughts,  and  tem- 
perature, among  others. 

The  best  trout  waters  usually  range 
from  65°  to  75°  F.  in  the  hottest  times 
of  the  year.  Eastern  brook  trout  can 
stand  short  periods  of  exposure  to  tem- 
peratures close  to  80°,  and  rainbow 
trout  have  been  taken  in  water  of  85°, 
but  these  are  not  good  conditions. 
Brown  trout,  too,  can  tolerate  tempera- 
tures higher  than  81°;  in  excessively 
hot  periods  they  work  themselves  into 
the  gravel  bottoms  of  pools  that  are 
cooled  by  upwelling  water.  The  tem- 
perature tolerances  of  salmon  and 
steelhead  parallel  those  of  rainbow 
trout. 

Removal  of  shade  from  the  margins 


of  streams  and  exposure  to  the  full 
heat  of  the  sun  is  the  principal  reason 
why  the  lower  reaches  of  many  once 
excellent  trout  streams  have  become 
too  warm  for  trout  under  modern  con- 
ditions. Many  streams  (especially  in 
the  Eastern  States)  that  used  to  pro- 
duce good  eastern  brook  trout  fishing, 
by  reason  of  high  temperatures,  have 
become  better  suited  to  brown  trout. 
Leaving  the  cover  strips  of  streamside 
vegetation  (as  now  practiced  by  Fed- 
eral agencies  in  logging  operations) 
to  shade  watercourses  of  small  streams 
from  the  full  heat  of  the  sun  will  go 
far  toward  preventing  excessive  stream 
temperatures,  especially  in  the  down- 
stream reaches  at  lower  elevations. 

THE  OXYGEN  required  by  fish  is  dis- 
solved in  the  water  and  is  absorbed 
through  the  thin  membranes  of  their 
gill  filaments.  In  clean,  clear,  trout 
streams,  oxygen  is  always  present  in 
ample  quantities  for  fish  life. 

In  polluted  waters,  however,  oxygen 
is  consumed,  and  carbon  dioxide  and 
other  gases  of  decomposition  are  in- 
creased in  the  oxidation  and  reduction 
of  organic  or  inorganic  wastes.  When 
this  condition  prevails,  destruction  of 
fish  life  may  occur.  Under  conditions 
of  severe  pollution,  all  aquatic  life  may 
be  destroyed.  Man-caused  pollution 
has  rightly  been  termed  our  "national 
shame." 

Natural  pollution  can  also  occur. 
One  such  is  the  winterkilling  of  fish 
in  lakes — usually  due  to  gradual  reduc- 
tion of  oxygen  in  water  under  a  layer 
of  ice  and  snow,  coupled  with  a  great 
increase  in  carbon  dioxide. 

TROUT  FOODS  are  supplied  from  both 
land  and  water.  Insects  are  blown  or 
fall  into  water  from  streamside  vege- 
tation. Analyses  of  stomach  contents 
have  indicated  that  approximately  10 
percent  of  the  food  of  trout  is  supplied 


582 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


from  the  land  and  90  percent  by  the 
water  itself.  Riffles  are  the  larders  of 
streams.  To  stones  in  any  normal  riffle 
cling  a  myriad  of  immature  insects  of 
all  sizes,  shapes,  and  varieties. 

Stream  larders  are  usually  well- 
stocked  with  food  of  many  kinds.  Trout 
waters  draining  granitic  or  rocky  basins 
and  lacking  in  dissolved  mineral  food- 
stuffs are  usually  those  poorest  in  foods. 
Strongly  alkaline  waters  that  drain  rich 
soils,  either  forested  or  farmed,  are  the 
richest  in  foods.  The  maintenance  of 
the  soil  cover  through  good  watershed 
management  improves  the  capacity  of 
streams  to  produce  fish. 

The  dominant  stream  foods  eaten  by 
trout  are  the  immature  forms  of  in- 
sects such  as  Mayflies,  stone  flies,  cad- 
disflies,  aquatic  trueflies,  beetles.  The 
immature  stages  of  dragonflies  and 
damsel  flies  frequently  bulk  large  in 
the  diet  of  trout,  as  also  do  crayfish, 
hellgrammites,  small  snails  and  clams, 
and  small  fish. 

THE  STOCKING  of  hatchery-reared 
fish  is  conducted  on  a  large  scale  by 
the  State  conservation  agencies,  the 
Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Interior,  and  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture.  Many  mil- 
lions of  fish,  principally  trout,  are 
annually  transported  in  tank  trucks 
and  widely  distributed  in  both  streams 
and  lakes.  Back-country  streams  and 
lakes  remote  from  roads  are  planted 
from  pack  strings  of  horses  and  mules 
that  carry  small  cans  of  fish  long  dis- 
tances by  trails.  Today,  except  in  the 
most  remote  districts,  few  lakes  remain 
barren  of  fish  life.  Without  hatcheries, 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  estab- 
lish fish  in  many  lakes  and  streams  that 
were  originally  barren  of  fish  life. 

Although  the  establishment  of  trout 
populations  in  barren  waters  has  pro- 
vided much  excellent  sport,  planting 
hatchery  fish  in  the  streams  where  fish 
were  already  abundant  has  not  pro- 
duced results  commensurate  with  costs 
of  the  process.  Indeed,  only  in  recent 
years  have  we  found  out  that  in  our 
best  trout  streams,  nature  does  better 


work  of  stocking  than  man  does.  Since 
it  was  discovered  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury that  eggs  of  fish  could  be  pressed 
by  hand  from  fish,  fertilized,  and 
reared  artificially,  it  has  been  assumed 
that  hatcheries  were  the  answer.  No 
critical  analysis  of  the  survival  of  hatch- 
ery-reared fish  was  made  until  after  the 
First  World  War.  Investigations  at 
that  time  caused  an  almost  complete 
reversal  of  opinion  with  respect  to  fish 
hatcheries:  During  more  than  a  cen- 
tury, millions  of  dollars  had  been  spent 
on  hatchery  programs  without  question 
or  test  of  their  value. 

It  used  to  be  commonly  believed 
that  there  was  virtually  a  total  loss  of 
the  eggs  naturally  spawned  by  trout  in 
streams.  Several  investigators  have 
since  proved  that  the  opposite  is  true. 
A.  S.  Hazzard  discovered  that  approx- 
imately 80  percent  of  eastern  brook 
eggs  survived  through  hatching  in 
streams  near  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  and  D.  F. 
Hobbs,  working  in  New  Zealand  on 
introduced  trout  and  salmon,  found  an 
average  mortality  to  hatching  of  only 
8.7  percent.  He  also  found  the  effi- 
ciency of  fertilization  to  be  more  than 
99  percent.  All  the  observations  indi- 
cate a  high  survival  of  eggs  and  fish  to 
the  time  they  leave  the  gravel  nests  in 
the  stream  beds;  after  that,  the  losses 
may  be  heavy  because  of  floods,  pred- 
ators, and  other  conditions. 

Creel-counts  on  the  survival  of  2- 
to  3 -inch  fingerlings  planted  in  streams 
have  indicated  extremely  low  survivals 
to  anglers  of  usually  less  than  3  per- 
cent, the  average  being  about  1  per- 
cent. Of  yearling  6-inch,  legal-size 
fish  planted  during  open  fishing  sea- 
sons, 70  to  80  percent  have  survived  to 
be  caught.  Even  with  fish  of  that  size, 
average  survivals  are  usually  less  than 
25  percent  in  streams.  In  lakes,  much 
better  survivals  have  been  obtained 
with  legal-size  fish.  South  Twin  Lake 
in  the  Deschutes  National  Forest  in 
Oregon  regularly  returns  around  60  to 
65  percent  of  6-  to  8-inch  fish  planted 
in  it. 

Research  in  fisheries  has  demon- 
strated that  the  planting  of  large  fish 


Forests  and  Fish 


583 


just  before  or  during  angling  seasons 
produces  much  better  survivals  than 
plantings  in  late  summer  or  fall. 

Few  hatchery-reared  fish  can  survive 
overwinter  in  streams.  The  wild  and 
naturally  propagated  trout  do  suffer 
heavy  overwinter  mortalities,  too,  but 
their  rates  of  survival  are  considerably 
higher  than  those  of  hatchery  fish. 
Work  at  Convict  Greek  in  eastern  Cal- 
ifornia by  Paul  R.  Needham,  J.  W. 
Moffett,  and  D.  W.  Slater  demon- 
strated that  overwinter  losses  of  wild 
brown  trout  of  all  sizes  averaged  62 
percent  and  that  more  than  85  percent 
of  the  fish  hatched  in  the  stream  in  any 
given  year  would  be  lost  in  the  first  18 
months  of  life.  Variable  survival  con- 
ditions in  any  given  season,  rather  than 
the  number  of  young  produced,  deter- 
mined the  number  of  fish  that  later 
reached  catchable  size.  It  was  also 
shown  that  over  a  5-year  period  nat- 
ural reproduction  in  Convict  Creek 
contributed  each  year  an  average  of 
2,750  fingerlings,  3  to  4  inches  long, 
to  each  mile  of  stream. 

These  facts  lead  to  the  conclusion 
that  we  badly  need  a  critical  review 
and  revision  of  hatchery-rearing  pro- 
grams and  methods  to  get  the  most  out 
of  the  costly,  hatchery-reared  fish.  We 
can  also  conclude  that  with  hatcheries 
we  can  only  supplement  to  a  slight  ex- 
tent the  fish  produced  by  natural 
propagation. 

It  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  look 
toward  stream  improvement  and  main- 
tenance of  the  stream  habitat  as  offer- 
ing a  better  solution  of  our  problems 
than  the  questionable  and  uneconomi- 
cal program  of  merely  planting  more 
fish.  Good  fishing  in  streams  depends 
mainly  on  good  forestry  and  land  man- 
agement. The  streams  furnish  the 
"room  and  board"  for  fish.  In  turn,  if 
their  environment  is  maintained  and 
improved,  it  will  provide  the  long-term 
basis  for  continued  and  permanent 
good  fishing  in  our  forest  waters. 

DAMS  may  be  another  threat  to  mi- 
gratory fish.  The  large,  multiple-pur- 
pose development  projects  under  way 


in  many  major  western  river  basins 
hold  an  ominous  and  uncertain  future 
for  the  continued  maintenance  of  the 
salmon  and  steelhead  runs.  With  many 
high  dams  already  constructed  and 
many  others  planned  or  under  con- 
struction, it  is  imperative  that  good 
forest  practices  be  followed  on  the 
watersheds  that  are  still  open  and 
available  to  migratory  fish.  In  fact,  if 
the  main  rivers  are  blocked  by  high 
dams,  much  good  can  be  accomplished 
on  tributaries  that  remain  accessible 
for  spawning  purposes  if  our  modern 
standards  are  applied  in  timber  re- 
moval, grazing,  road  building,  and 
other  factors. 

Our  stake  is  heavy  in  sea-run  fishery 
resources  such  as  salmon  and  steel- 
head  of  the  Pacific  coast.  The  salmon 
and  steelhead  fishery  of  the  Columbia 
River  alone  brings  in  approximately 
1 7.4  million  dollars  annually ;  the  entire 
fishery  in  California,  Washington,  and 
Oregon  adds  50  million  to  60  million 
dollars  each  year  to  our  national  econ- 
omy. Every  effort  is  being  made  by  the 
Fish  and  Wildlife  Service,  as  well  as 
by  conservation  agencies  of  the  States 
concerned,  to  work  out  feasible  mainte- 
nance programs  in  light  of  the  prob- 
lems presented. 

The  Willamette  River  in  Oregon 
has  a  fine  run  of  large,  spring  chinook 
salmon,  for  which  there  is  an  intense 
sport  fishery.  This  run  alone  produces 
around  a  million  dollars  annually. 
With  such  values  represented,  it  is  a 
basic  necessity  that  unblocked  tribu- 
taries of  the  lower  Snake,  Columbia, 
Willamette,  and  Sacramento  Rivers, 
and  other  western  streams  that  drain 
large  forests  be  fully  protected  with  the 
best  and  most  modern  watershed-man- 
agement plans. 

Fish  ladders  may  help  on  low  dams, 
but  they  are  useless  on  high  dams.  Pro- 
tection of  soils  and  the  forests  on  the 
watersheds  is  more  important  by  far. 
Control  of  the  lands  will  result  in  con- 
trol of  the  rivers. 

One  answer  to  this  problem  would 
be  to  set  aside  by  legislative  action  cer- 
tain streams  as  fish  refuges  for  spawn- 


584 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ing  purposes  on  which  no  dams  would 
ever  be  permitted.  Another  answer 
being  considered  is  to  develop  lower 
tributaries  that  remain  unblocked  into 
spawning  and  nursery  streams  for 
salmon  and  steelhead.  Many  of  the 
headwater  tributaries  lie  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  national  forests, 
where  long-range  land-  and  water- 
management  plans  aid  these  resources. 
A  major  weakness  of  many  of  the 
basin-wide  water-development  pro- 
grams is  that  of  starting  work  at  the 
wrong  ends  of  our  rivers.  Water  con- 
trol should  begin  in  the  headwaters 
where  the  rains  fall  and  the  streams 
originate. 

WATERS  OF  NORMAL  STREAMS  are 
supplied  mainly  by  seepage  from  rain- 
fall stored  in  soils.  Denuded  soils  can- 
not efficiently  hold  back  rainfall  and 
melting  snow.  With  rapid  runoff  from 
eroded  lands,  heavy  floods  occur  and 
cause  millions  of  dollars'  damage  an- 
nually. Floods  often  are  followed  by  ex- 
tremely low  stream  flows  in  summer, 
springs  dry  up,  and  ground  water  is 
reduced.  Excessively  high  water  tem- 
peratures usually  accompany  low  flows 
and  in  both  the  East  and  the  West 
thousands  of  miles  of  potential  trout 
waters  have  been  eliminated  by  this 
cause  alone. 

Most  of  us  have  observed  that  in 
areas  where  fires  are  controlled,  where 
good  practices  are  followed  in  graz- 
ing forest  and  farm  lands,  and  where 
sufficient  ground  cover  remains  to  hold 
the  soil  in  place,  the  streams  produce 
the  best  angling.  On  watersheds  where 
good  upstream  management  is  prac- 
ticed, extremes  of  flows  in  winter  and 
summer  are  avoided.  Where  poor  land 
management,  ill-planned  cutting,  for- 
est fires,  or  forest  practices  deplete  the 
cover  of  headwater  basins,  the  result- 
ing increase  in  rate  of  discharge  car- 
ries topsoil  downstream  in  flash  floods, 
scouring  out  aquatic  life  and  reducing 
the  productivity  of  streams  for  years 
to  come. 

Rains  that  follow  forest  fires  some- 
times pour  large  quantities  of  ash  and 


other  debris  into  streams  and  make 
them  strongly  alkaline  so  that  fish  are 
killed.  Spawning  beds  become  clogged 
with  silt  and  eggs,  and  fish  foods  are 
destroyed.  Logging  debris  left  in  the 
streams  and  piled  into  huge  log  jams 
by  floodwaters  can  completely  block 
off  access  by  fish  to  their  upstream 
spawning  grounds.  The  clear-cutting 
in  past  years  of  the  Douglas-fir  forests 
in  the  West  has  harmed  many  trout 
waters,  and  conservation  agencies  are 
faced  with  a  major  problem  in  keep- 
ing migratory  routes  open  and  free 
from  log  jams. 

Good  watersheds  are  popularly  as- 
sociated with  mature  forests,  but  they 
may  not  necessarily  be  the  most  effi- 
cient watershed  cover  because  trees  in 
dense  stands  intercept  snow  and  rain 
and  much  of  the  moisture  therein  may 
be  evaporated  before  it  can  reach  or 
enter  the  soil.  Trees,  both  large  and 
small,  soil  litter,  herbaceous  vegetation, 
and  grasses  can  be  manipulated  by 
man;  climate,  soils,  and  underlying 
geological  formations  cannot. 

It  is  good  to  write  that  forest  prac- 
tices initiated  by  several  agencies  in 
connection  with  logging  operations  on 
public  lands  are  doing  much  to  correct 
the  poor  practices  we  have  described. 
The  distributed  cutting  of  small  blocks 
of  timber,  leaving  ample  seed-tree 
plots,  saving  streamside  strips,  elimi- 
nating logging  across  or  down  streams, 
removing  or  burning  slash,  and  other 
corrective  measures  are  doing  much  to 
preserve  our  national  aquatic  values. 
Destructive  logging  is  not  universal  or 
necessary.  Our  forests  can  be  harvested 
in  a  way  that  works  a  minimum  of 
harm  to  fish  life. 

From  the  standpoint  of  maintenance 
of  good  trout  waters,  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible to  increase  flows  through  proper 
logging  and  manipulation  of  timber 
stands.  It  is  possible  to  have  good  trout 
waters  when  watersheds  are  conserva- 
tively used  by  domestic  livestock  in 
grassy  and  browse-covered  areas.  Most 
important  is  the  degree  of  use  made 
of  these  resources.  Herein  lies  the  dif- 
ference between  proper  and  exploitive 


Forests  and  Fish 


585 


use.  The  importance  of  properly  main- 
taining our  watersheds,  of  regulating 
and  correlating  the  uses  to  which  they 
are  put,  cannot  be  overemphasized. 

IN  THESE  DAYS  when  evaluations 
are  being  made  of  all  our  natural  re- 
sources, it  would  be  well  to  consider 
the  value  of  clean,  productive  waters 
to  the  economy  of  the  Nation.  Corn, 
wheat,  automobiles,  and  percolators 
can  all  be  easily  evaluated,  but  the 
value  of  a  fish  in  a  creel  is  difficult  to 
determine.  Various  agencies,  Federal 
and  State,  and  private  individuals  have 
made  an  effort  to  appraise  fishery  re- 
sources, but  even  today  there  is  no 
standard  method  in  use.  The  problem 
is  extremely  important  in  view  of  the 
irrigation,  power,  and  flood-control 
programs  being  developed  on  prac- 
tically all  major  stream  systems  in  order 
to  measure  the  benefits  or  damages 
that  may  result  to  wildlife  resources 
from  the  proposed  improvements. 

The  Oregon  State  Game  Commis- 
sion has  used  a  figure  of  $5  a  pound 
for  sport-caught  trout — the  amount 
that  it  costs  a  fisherman  in  gasoline,  oil, 
hotels,  food,  tackle,  and  other  items  to 
catch  a  pound  of  trout.  On  that  basis, 
four  popular  fishing  lakes  in  Oregon — 
Diamond,  South  Twin,  East,  and 
Paulina — in  1947  produced  a  total  of 
85,130  pounds  of  trout  as  determined 
from  creel-census  work  on  them.  At  $5 
a  pound,  the  catch  was  worth  $425,650 
to  the  economy  of  the  State. 

How  much  citizens  of  the  State  ben- 
efited in  health  and  fun  from  the  rec- 
reation and  outdoor  activity  is  a  matter 
of  values  that  are  hard  to  measure  but 
of  great  importance.  If  one  could 
attach  a  money  value  to  the  sport,  say 
$10  a  pound  for  the  trout,  the  four 
lakes  alone  would  have  produced  close 
to  a  million  dollars  in  a  year.  One  can 
apply  his  own  arithmetic  to  the  other 
hundreds  of  lakes  and  thousands  of 
miles  of  streams  in  Oregon  that  are  in- 
tensively fished  each  year  by  some 
265,000  persons. 

But  the  arithmetic  cannot  measure 
the  value  fully.  Nor  should  it.  As  every 


fisherman  knows,  "There  is  more  to 
fishing  than  fish." 

And,  to  summarize,  good  fishing  is 
more  than  water.  Good  fishing  depends 
on  good  land  management. 

As  Dr.  Ira  N.  Gabrielson,  Director 
of  the  Wildlife  Management  Institute, 
has  said,  "Soil  and  water  are  the  two 
most  vital  resources  of  this  Nation  and 
their  proper  management  is  of  vital 
concern  to  every  citizen.  The  retention 
and  best  management  of  the  fertile 
soils  and  the  greatest  possible  utiliza- 
tion of  the  biological  productive  capac- 
ity of  the  water  is  of  increasing  neces- 
sity to  the  maintenance  of  national 
health  and  prosperity." 

PAUL  R.  NEEDHAM  received  a 
doctor's  degree  from  Cornell  Univer- 
sity in  1928.  He  taught  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Rochester  for  2  years  and  joined 
the  research  staff  of  the  Fish  and  Wild- 
life Service  in  1931.  From  1932  to 
1945  he  was  in  charge  of  trout  and 
salmon  work  in  California.  In  1945  he 
joined  the  Oregon  State  Game  Com- 
mission as  director  of  fisheries.  He  re- 
signed in  late  1948  to  accept  a  post  as 
fishery  management  biologist  with  the 
Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  on  the  Co- 
lumbia River  program.  He  is  now  pro- 
fessor of  zoology  at  the  University  of 
California.  He  is  the  author  of  the  book 
Trout  Streams  and  other  publications 
dealing  with  fish  culture,  hatcheries, 
stream  and  lake  stocking,  and  manage' 
ment  problems. 

FRED  W.  JOHNSON  did  undergrad- 
uate work  in  forest  and  range  manage- 
ment at  Ohio  State  University  and 
graduate  work  at  the  University  of 
California.  From  1928  to  1939,  he  was 
ranger,  range  examiner,  assistant  forest 
supervisor,  and  wildlife  manager  in 
California  national  forests.  From  1939 
to  1944  he  served  as  wildlife  manager 
on  the  national  forests  of  the  Southwest 
and  forest  supervisor  of  the  Kaibab 
National  Forest.  In  1946  he  trans- 
ferred to  the  Forest  Service  regional 
headquarters  in  Missoula,  Mont., 
where  he  is  in  charge  of  the  section  of 
wildlife  management. 


586 


ACTION  ON  THE  BLUE  RIDGE 

THEODORE  C.  FEARNOW,  I.  T.  QUINN 


Two  persons  met  by  chance  on  the 
banks  of  a  Blue  Ridge  Mountain 
stream  in  the  George  Washington  Na- 
tional Forest  one  day  in  the  early 
1930's.  One  was  the  new  forest  ranger; 
the  other  was  a  local  resident.  They 
paused  for  a  friendly  exchange  of  words, 
as  is  the  custom  in  the  Blue  Ridge  coun- 
try, and  tarried  on  the  banks  of  the 
clear  trout  stream  to  eat  their  lunches. 

As  they  sat  there,  a  squirrel  frisked 
nervously  in  a  nearby  hickory  tree  and 
finally  dodged  into  a  hollow  limb.  The 
Virginian,  obviously  a  man  interested 
in  wildlife,  turned  to  the  ranger  and 
asked,  "You  foresters  look  after  the 
trees,  but  why  don't  you  also  look  after 
the  squirrel  that  lives  in  them,  the  tur- 
key that  roosts  in  them,  and  the  deer 
that  browses  under  them?" 

The  ranger  explained  that  wildlife 
in  the  national  forest  was  "primarily 
the  responsibility  of  the  State"  and  that 
consequently  a  Federal  employee  could 
not  do  much  about  it.  That  was  a  right 
bad  state  of  affairs,  the  Virginian  re- 
marked, pointing  out  that  the  squirrel 
"belonged"  to  the  State,  but  the  tree 
that  gave  it  both  food  and  shelter  was 
the  "property  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment," and  that  the  poor  squirrel  was 
like  the  man  without  a  country. 

The  ranger  and  the  Virginian  pon- 
dered the  situation  carefully,  then  and 
later.  The  ranger,  A.  R.  Cochran,  be- 
came supervisor  at  Roanoke  of  the 
Jefferson  National  Forest.  The  Vir- 
ginian, Justus  H.  Cline,  of  Stuarts 
Draft,  later  became  a  director  in  the 
American  Wildlife  Federation  and  a 
leader  in  the  Virginia  Academy  of 
Science.  During  the  years  that  fol- 
lowed, both  men  became  active  in 
shaping  a  plan  for  cooperative  wild- 
life management.  The  plan  was  de- 
signed to  bring  "the  squirrel,  the  den 
tree,  and  the  hickory  nut  crop"  under 
a  coordinated  program  of  manage- 
ment. The  meeting  of  those  two  men 


has  come  to  be  generally  recognized  as 
the  starting  point  for  the  widely  known 
Virginia  Plan  for  State-Forest  Service 
cooperation  in  handling  the  wildlife 
resources  on  l/2  million  acres  of  na- 
tional forest  land  in  Virginia. 

UP  TO  THEN,  the  management  of 
wildlife  in  the  Blue  Ridge  had  been 
confined  mostly  to  a  few  game  refuges, 
and  the  history  of  wildlife  there  was 
monotonously  like  the  history  of  wild- 
life in  most  parts  of  the  United  States. 
In  three  centuries,  from  the  settlement 
of  Jamestown  in  1607,  the  wildlife  had 
gone  from  abundance  to  depletion. 

In  the  haze-shrouded  Blue  Ridge 
forests  of  oaks,  hickories,  and  pines, 
chestnut,  yellow-poplar,  and  hemlock, 
sassafras,  the  persimmon,  chinquapin, 
pawpaw,  and  wild  grape  lived  the 
white-tailed  deer,  a  staple  item  of  food 
for  the  early  Virginia  settlers ;  it  is  often 
said  that  the  shooting  eyes  that  won  the 
American  Revolution  owed  much  of 
their  skill  to  experience  gained  in  hunt- 
ing this  fleet-footed  animal.  As  settlers 
occupied  the  land,  the  buffalo,  elk, 
puma,  and  wolf  were  gradually  exter- 
minated. Later,  mountain  farming  in 
the  Blue  Ridge  hastened  soil  erosion 
and  depletion  of  fertility.  The  strug- 
gling population,  existing  at  a  hard- 
ship level,  created  (as  it  always  does) 
a  serious  threat  to  wildlife;  hunting 
and  fishing,  relentlessly  pursued  with 
little  regard  to  season  or  other  restric- 
tions, left  the  Blue  Ridge  an  impover- 
ished wildlife  province  by  the  turn  of 
the  present  century.  Exhaustion  of  the 
wildlife  resource  was  in  many  ways  in- 
dicative of  the  general  debility  brought 
on  by  abusive  occupancy  of  the  land. 

When  the  national  forest  program 
was  launched  in  Virginia  in  1912,  the 
Blue  Ridge  was  known  as  a  region  of 
low  economic  status.  Erosion  had  ex- 
posed bare  red  soil  in  many  places.  For- 
ests had  been  logged  off  and  burned. 


Action  on  the  Blue  Ridge 


Wildlife  had  been  depleted  until  much 
of  the  native  fauna  had  been  extermi- 
nated and  the  more  resistant  species 
reduced  to  a  mere  remnant  of  their 
former  numbers.  Even  the  white-tailed 
deer  (Odocoileus  virginianus) ,  named 
by  scientists  in  honor  of  Virginia,  had 
virtually  reached  the  point  of  extinc- 
tion. Agriculture  had  ceased  to  be 
profitable  on  much  of  the  area.  Small 
wonder  that  a  prominent  Virginian, 
familiar  with  Blue  Ridge  history  and 
a  resident  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
referred  to  it  as  "the  most  abused 
mountain  range  in  America." 

But  now  the  people  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  have  a  good  deal  of  enthusiasm 
as  they  assume  an  active  role  in  the 
broad  program  of  restoring  the  re- 
sources. 

THE  COOPERATIVE  PROGRAM  for  re- 
storing  wildlife  to  Virginia's  mountain 
counties  is  rooted  in  a  number  of  im- 
portant actions.  In  1911,  Congress 
passed  the  Weeks  Law,  which  author- 
ized a  program  of  purchases  of  forest 
lands  for  watershed  protection,  under 
which  important  forest  areas  on  the 
headwaters  of  major  rivers  were  added 
to  the  national  forest  system.  Scat- 
tered units  in  the  Appalachians  in  Vir- 
ginia have  been  consolidated  to  form 
two  national  forests,  the  George  Wash- 
ington and  the  Jefferson.  The  forests 
included  1,409,060  acres  on  June  30, 
1948 ;  approximately  40,000  acres  more 
have  been  approved  for  purchase.  The 
two  forests  follow  the  backbone  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  for  several  hundred  miles 
in  Virginia  and  extend  westward  and 
northward  to  the  crest  of  the  Alle- 
gheny along  the  Virginia- West  Vir- 
ginia border. 

The  national  forest  work  program 
brought  modern  forest-fire  protection 
to  much  of  the  Blue  Ridge  as  early  as 
1913 ;  besides,  the  Virginia  Forest  Serv- 
ice has  done  an  effective  job  of  fire 
protection  for  many  years.  This  work 
has  been  an  important  contribution 
toward  restoring  the  Blue  Ridge  as  a 
satisfactory  habitat  for  wildlife. 

Establishment  of  the  Virginia  De- 


ll.R 


partment  of  Game  and  Inland  Fish- 
eries in  1916  marked  the  first  State- 
wide administration  of  Virginia's  wild- 
life. A  reorganization  in  1926  created 
the  present  Commission  of  Game  and 
Inland  Fisheries,  a  progressive  step 
that  placed  the  State  in  a  position  to 
work  more  closely  with  sportsmen  and 
with  other  conservation  agencies.  Pro- 
fessionally trained  game  and  fish  ad- 
ministrators were  employed.  The  stage 
was  set  for  renewed  efforts  to  restore 
wildlife,  and  many  sportsmen  in  the 
mountain  counties  dipped  into  their 
own  pockets  to  match  the  dollars  of  the 
struggling  new  Commission  to  buy 
game  animals  for  restocking  purposes. 
The  Emergency  Conservation  Pro- 
gram in  1933  put  a  new  reservoir  of 
manpower  at  the  disposal  of  the  na- 
tional forests  for  the  work  on  natural 
resources.  The  first  Civilian  Conserva- 
tion Corps  camp  in  the  United  States 
was  constructed  in  the  Blue  Ridge  foot- 
hills of  Shenandoah  County,  in  the 
George  Washington  National  Forest. 
There  followed  a  public  demand  for 
the  use  of  emergency  conservation 
funds  to  carry  on  wildlife  development 
projects,  and  kindred  interests  brought 
sportsmen,  the  Commission,  and  the 
Forest  Service  into  a  close  but  informal 
partnership  to  restock  and  restore  wild- 
life habitat  on  the  national  forests. 
That  was  a  prelude  to  the  cooperative 
wildlife  program  now  in  effect  on  Vir- 
ginia's two  notional  forests. 


588 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


With  the  launching  of  the  coopera- 
tive wildlife  program,  efforts  were 
made  to  spread  the  work  over  much 
more  of  the  national  forest  acreage. 
A  formal  agreement  placing  both  the 
George  Washington  and  Jefferson  Na- 
tional Forests  under  cooperative  wild- 
life management  became  effective  on 
June  13,  1938. 

Legislative  action  by  the  Virginia 
General  Assembly  in  1938  provided  for 
collection  of  a  fee  of  a  dollar  by  the 
Commonwealth  for  the  privilege  of 
hunting  or  fishing  on  national  forest 
land  and  earmarked  all  funds  so  col- 
lected for  wildlife  restoration  and 
management  on  the  cooperative  area. 
This  special  license,  in  the  form  of  a 
stamp,  is  issued  each  year  to  cover 
hunting,  fishing,  and  trapping  on  all 
national  forest  land  in  Virginia.  The 
purchaser  affixes  this  stamp  to  his 
regular  hunting  and  fishing  license. 

One  of  the  cardinal  principles  of  co- 
operative wildlife  management  under 
the  Virginia  program  has  been  the  re- 
quirement that  all  plans  and  programs 
be  jointly  developed  and  administered 
under  a  pattern  of  mutual  participa- 
tion and  assistance.  The  policy  starts 
with  joint  preparation  of  each  year's 
budget  by  the  Director  of  the  Commis- 
sion of  Game  and  Inland  Fisheries  and 
the  forest  supervisors.  The  budget  is 
shaped  to  finance  an  annual  work  pro- 
gram for  wildlife,  which  is  also  jointly 
conceived,  discussed,  and  approved. 

The  diversion  of  a  part  of  wildlife- 
license  receipts  to  the  national  forests 
to  provide  funds  for  developing  and 
maintaining  wildlife  habitat  marked  a 
new  approach  to  wildlife  restoration 
in  Virginia.  This  action  stemmed  di- 
rectly from  the  concept  that  wildlife 
is  a  product  of  the  land  and  that  active 
participation  of  the  land  manager  was 
essential  to  continued  production  of 
game  and  fish. 

The  joint  plans,  formulated  on  the 
ground,  cover  stocking  of  game  and 
fish,  law  enforcement,  planting  of  wild- 
life food  and  cover,  mowing  old  fields 
to  retain  them  as  wildlife  clearings, 
pruning  and  releasing  trees  and  shrubs 


of  value  for  wildlife  food  and  cover, 
control  of  predators,  emergency  feed- 
ing of  game  when  the  ground  is  covered 
by  deep  snows,  and  a  score  of  related 
jobs.  Periodic  inspections  by  represent- 
atives of  the  Commission  and  the  For- 
est Service  insure  adherence  to  the 
work  plans  and  faithful  compliance 
with  job  specifications. 

When  the  cooperative  program  was 
launched,  wildlife-management  units 
ranging  from  5,000  to  25,000  acres 
were  created  on  many  of  the  ranger 
districts.  Usually  these  areas  were 
chosen  because  of  solid  Government 
ownership  and  well-defined  geographic 
boundaries.  Quite  commonly,  an  entire 
stream-drainage  area  was  incorporated 
into  a  management  area  and  a  small 
cabin  provided  for  the  resident  wild- 
life manager.  Many  of  the  units  were 
originally  closed  to  all  hunting.  Bound- 
aries were  clearly  posted  and  marked 
with  a  single  strand  of  wire  drawn  at 
waist  height.  An  extra  margin  of  pro- 
tection and  law  enforcement  has  been 
provided  for  these  areas,  and  they  have 
served  as  centers  on  which  to  restock 
deer,  wild  turkey,  and  other  game.  Ad- 
ministrative units  of  this  type  are  now 
located  along  the  full  length  of  the 
national  forests  for  a  distance  of  300 
miles. 

Most  important  of  all  in  the  pro- 
gram was  the  employment  and  assign- 
ment of  resident  wildlife  managers  to 
assume  direct  supervision  over  wildlife- 
management  areas  in  the  national 
forests.  Great  care  was  given  to  the  se- 
lection of  men  for  the  work;  the  usual 
choice  was  a  local  resident  who  was 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  moun- 
tains and  forests  of  his  locality  and  in- 
terested in  wildlife,  one  who  had  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  his  neigh- 
bors. The  employees  were  selected  for 
intelligence,  stamina,  knowledge  of  lo- 
cal terrain,  and  familiarity  with  in- 
digenous wildlife. 

When  large  areas  of  national  forest 
land  were  closed  during  the  early  stages 
of  the  program,  the  wildlife  managers 
explained  the  action  to  nearby  resi- 
dents and  others  who  had  been  ac- 


Action  on  the  Blue  Ridge 


589 


customed  to  hunt  in  the  area.  The  sup- 
port of  the  citizens  has  been  important 
in  the  prevention  of  illegal  hunting  and 
other  forms  of  trespass  on  the  units. 

A  major  problem  at  first  was  the 
free-roaming,  self-hunting  dogs.  The 
managers  often  captured  the  animals 
within  the  wildlife  areas  and  returned 
them  to  their  owners,  with  a  courteous 
request  that  they  be  restrained.  Some- 
times sterner  measures  became  neces- 
sary, but  mostly  action  was  prompt  and 
complete  when  the  people  came  to 
understand  the  efforts  of  the  manager 
to  reestablish  wildlife  in  the  mountains. 

The  resident  wildlife  manager  is  not 
a  law-enforcement  officer  in  the  usual 
sense,  but  his  presence  day  and  night 
on  the  unit  has  strongly  deterred 
would-be  poachers.  When  he  is  con- 
fronted with  a  violation  of  game  laws, 
he  does  not  hesitate  to  summon  the 
violator  to  court,  but  he  usually  sends 
a  copy  of  the  summons  to  the  county 
game  warden,  who  assumes  responsi- 
bility for  prosecuting  offenders.  The 
manager's  work  is  related  to  that  of  the 
enforcement  officer,  but  it  is  even  more 
closely  related  to  land  management 
and  animal  husbandry.  The  tools  of  his 
profession  are  principally  the  brush 
hook,  pruning  saw,  and  planting  hoe, 
rather  than  those  of  the  police  officer. 
His  philosophy  is  that  wildlife  is  a  prod- 
uct of  the  land  and  that  the  key  to  wild- 
life restoration  lies  in  restoration  and 
maintenance  of  satisfactory  habitat. 

As  the  wildlife  restoration  program 
developed  in  Virginia,  strong  emphasis 
was  placed  on  creation  and  mainte- 
nance of  favorable  wildlife  habitat  as 
a  prime  responsibility  of  the  forest 
workers.  With  public  interest  and  de- 
mand for  timber,  water,  and  other 
forest  resources  sharing  with  wildlife 
in  the  need  for  better  management  and 
utilization,  the  value  of  a  well-rounded 
program  of  multiple-use  forest  man- 
agement became  clearly  evident. 

Shortly  after  the  cooperative  wild- 
life work  began,  a  new  stimulus  was 
developed  in  the  Pittman-Robertson 
Federal-aid  program.  Each  year  since 
1940  Federal-aid  projects  have  helped 


finance  environmental  improvement, 
including  planting,  pruning,  and  re- 
leasing game-food  trees  and  shrubs, 
planting  trees  and  shrubs  for  wildlife 
cover,  creating  and  seeding  clearings 
for  game,  and  restoring  old  clearings, 
fields,  orchards,  and  similar  habitats 
of  special  value  to  game  animals.  This 
type  of  development  work  has  brought 
a  third  agency,  the  Fish  and  Wildlife 
Service,  into  the  Virginia  program. 

Guidance  from  the  Cooperative  Wild- 
life Research  Unit,  which  was  formerly 
maintained  at  Virginia  Polytechnic  In- 
stitute at  Blacksburg,  helped  materially 
in  solving  the  numerous  problems  that 
arose  during  the  early  years  of  the 
program.  Similar  assistance  was  later 
provided  by  the  Virginia  Cooperative 
Wildlife  Station,  also  located  at  Blacks- 
burg  and  supported  by  the  Virginia 
Polytechnic  Institute,  the  Commission 
of  Game  and  Inland  Fisheries,  and  the 
Wildlife  Management  Institute.  More 
recently  the  United  States  Fish  and 
Wildlife  Service  has  again  entered  the 
picture  and  the  Cooperative  Wildlife 
Research  Unit  has  been  restored  under 
a  Federal-aid  program. 

One  of  the  immediate  and  direct 
benefits  of  cooperative  wildlife  man- 
agement has  been  an  improved  level  of 
law  observance  in  the  national  forests. 
The  presence  of  resident  wildlife  man- 
agers on  the  major  management  units 
has  gone  far  toward  creating  respect 
for  closed  seasons,  bag  limits,  and  other 
regulations  in  behalf  of  wildlife.  The 
exercising  of  management  prerogatives 
under  the  cooperative  program  has,  of 
itself,  brought  the  wildlife  resource  a 
more  respected  position  among  sports- 
men and  local  residents. 

Restocking  formed  an  important 
part  of  early  wildlife-restoration  efforts 
under  the  cooperative  program.  An 
early  analysis  of  the  fragmentary  deer 
population  on  the  cooperative  area  re- 
vealed the  need  for  numerous  well- 
distributed  spot  plantings  of  deer  on 
unoccupied  areas  of  the  range.  By 
utilizing  funds  from  national  forest 
stamps,  Pittman-Robertson  contribu- 
tions, and  funds  from  the  Commission 


590 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  Game  and  Inland  Fisheries,  it  was 
possible  to  purchase  and  release  a  total 
of  1,783  deer. 

Wild  turkeys  were  originally  found 
throughout  the  forests  but  vast  areas  of 
former  turkey  range  were  no  longer 
supporting  the  birds  at  the  time  the  co- 
operative program  was  launched.  Per- 
sistent efforts  to  restore  this  fine  game 
bird  have  not  been  entirely  successful, 
because  of  the  difficulty  in  obtaining 
a  strain  of  birds  capable  of  retaining 
wild  characteristics.  Some  flocks  have 
been  reestablished  in  depleted  areas  as 
a  result  of  restocking  efforts,  and  it  is 
planned  to  continue  work  on  the  proj- 
ect until  a  solution  is  found. 

Approximately  1,000  raccoons  have 
been  planted  in  the  national  forests 
and  adjacent  areas.  Wildlife  managers 
report  a  noticeable  increase  in  the 
number  of  raccoon  in  recent  years. 

Populations  of  small  game  such  as 
ruffed  grouse  and  squirrel  fluctuate 
from  year  to  year,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
recognize  trends  within  a  few  years, 
but  we  expect  an  increase  in  their 
number  as  food  supplies  and  other  en- 
vironmental factors  are  improved. 

Some  good  streams  that  can  become 
excellent  trout  waters  flow  from  the 
Blue  Ridge,  which,  as  the  easternmost 
range  of  the  Appalachians,  could  pro- 
vide accessible  trout  fishing  for  resi- 
dents of  many  eastern  cities.  The 
restoration  and  maintenance  of  Blue 
Ridge  trout  streams  as  producing  units 
of  aquatic  habitat  is  a  major  objective 
under  the  cooperative  program. 

The  heavy  demand  for  trout  fishing 
in  the  national  forest  waters  has  re- 
quired an  intensive  stream-stocking 
program.  State  and  Federal  hatcheries 
have  supplied  legal-size  trout  annually 
for  the  streams.  To  provide  even  more 
fish,  an  allotment  of  national  forest 
stamp  funds  has  been  made  to  Federal 
hatcheries  in  recent  years  to  purchase 
fish  food.  Under  that  arrangement, 
trout  that  would  otherwise  be  planted 
as  3-  and  4-inch  fish  are  reared  to  8- 
and  10-inch  size  for  stocking  purposes. 

In  the  cooperative  area,  forest-man- 
agement plans  for  important  water- 


sheds are  being  shaped  to  restore  water- 
retention  capacity,  to  stabilize  stream 
banks,  minimize  soil  losses  through 
erosion,  and  provide  shaded  channels 
to  keep  water  temperatures  within 
favorable  limits  for  the  native  brook 
trout.  Already  many  forest  streams 
have  responded  to  the  fire-prevention 
and  watershed-management  practices 
which  date  from  1913.  Under  the 
multiple-use  concept  of  forest  manage- 
ment, increased  emphasis  is  being 
placed  on  harvesting  timber  in  a  man- 
ner that  will  minimize  damage  to  fish- 
ing streams.  Furthermore,  man-made 
stream-improvement  devices,  includ- 
ing dams  and  other  structures,  have 
been  installed  to  create  pools  and  hid- 
ing places  for  trout.  The  ability  of 
many  mountain  streams  to  provide 
shelter  for  fish  has  been  greatly  en- 
hanced through  this  means  and  further 
work  may  be  undertaken  as  funds  be- 
come available.  Stream  improvement 
of  this  type  often  requires  a  heavy  out- 
lay of  funds  for  labor,  but  it  has  proved 
popular  with  users  of  streams. 

The  growing  population  of  deer  has 
already  demonstrated  the  need  for 
planned  forage  production.  The  devel- 
opment of  cleared  areas  at  regular  in- 
tervals throughout  the  forest  has  added 
materially  to  the  forest  edge,  which 
provides  improved  forage  conditions. 
Sawmill  sites,  log-loading  areas,  woods 
roads,  and  "turn  arounds"  have  been 
seeded  to  orchardgrass  and  other  foods 
for  wildlife.  These  permanent  forest 
openings  also  eliminate  the  need  for 
creating  a  fresh  disturbance  to  soil  and 
forest  cover  with  each  new  logging 
operation. 

The  wildlife  managers  were  quick 
to  recognize  the  value  of  numerous  ap- 
ple trees  in  the  young,  second-growth 
forest,  particularly  along  old  logging 
railroad  grades  where  the  loggers  of  a 
preceding  generation  had  uncon- 
sciously planted  them.  Fruit  trees 
around  abandoned  homesteads  also 
provided  a  valuable  source  of  game 
food;  now  the  trees  are  being  pruned 
and  freed  from  competition.  Many  of 
them  now  produce  annual  crops  of 


Action  on  the  Blue  Ridge 


591 


fruit.  The  work  has  been  expanded  to 
include  pruning,  releasing,  and  plant- 
ing of  game-food  species,  such  as  wild 
raisin,  persimmon,  the  thornapple,  and 
wild  grape. 

Resident  managers  now  make  regu- 
lar collections  of  seeds  and  cuttings 
from  shrubs  and  trees  that  produce 
palatable  game  foods.  The  material  is 
sent  to  the  Forest  Service  nursery  at 
Parsons,  W.  Va.,  where  it  is  used  to 
grow  seedlings  that  are  subsequently 
returned  to  the  wildlife  areas  for  plant- 
ing under  the  habitat-improvement 
program.  Clumps  of  conifers  also  are 
frequently  planted  in  hardwood  areas 
to  provide  roosting  and  escape  cover; 
in  coniferous  forest  areas,  spot  plant- 
ings of  hardwoods  are  made. 

The  modern  concept  of  forest  game 
management  relies  to  a  great  extent  on 
manipulation  of  the  vegetative  cover  to 
create  and  maintain  proper  environ- 
ment for  wildlife.  While  wildlife  is  an 
incidental  product  on  practically  all 
forest  areas,  the  cooperative  program 
stresses  coordination  of  forestry  and 
wildlife  objectives  as  a  means  toward 
providing  a  stable  environment  that 
will  maintain  game  and  fish  produc- 
tion at  the  highest  level  compatible 
with  other  land  uses.  Forest  rangers 


and  others  engaged  in  selling  national 
forest  timber  have  been  encouraged  to 
consider  the  wildlife  needs  in  shaping 
future  plans  for  timber  management 
and  this  field  offers  great  promise  for 
maintaining  wildlife  habitat  at  a  fa- 
vorable level. 

Much  of  the  old-growth  timber  in 
Virginia's  mountain  counties  was  cut 
within  a  short  span  of  years,  and  the 
young,  second-growth  forest  is  there- 
fore quite  uniform  in  age.  Old-growth 
stands,  which  provide  den  trees, 
acorns,  fruits,  and  other  mast,  are  not 
plentiful.  Young  browse-producing  re- 
production is  becoming  less  abundant 
as  the  second-growth  stand  grows  taller 
and  shades  the  forest  floor.  As  a  result, 
much  of  the  forest  is  now  too  old  for 
browse  and  too  young  for  mast  produc- 
tion. The  situation  is  being  improved 
on  many  areas  by  creating  small  open- 
ings in  the  forest  and  retaining  old 
fields  as  permanent  openings  for  wild- 
life, but  the  final  solution  will  involve 
careful  planning  in  the  field  of  timber 
management.  Sustained  timber  produc- 
tion and  sustained  wildlife  production 
have  many  requirements  in  common 
on  forested  areas. 

The  cost  of  clearing,  planting,  and 
otherwise  developing  forest  areas  as 
wildlife  habitat  is  too  great  to  be  borne 
by  revenue  derived  solely  from  the  sale 
of  hunting  and  fishing  permits.  For 
economy  and  effectiveness,  wildlife- 
habitat  improvement  must  be  corre- 
lated with  forest  management  at  every 
step.  Experimental  work  under  the  co- 
operative program  has  done  much  to 
point  the  way,  and  the  close  working 
relationship  between  the  Commission 
of  Game  and  Inland  Fisheries  and  the 
United  States  Forest  Service  has  de- 
veloped a  new  consciousness  of  wild- 
life needs  in  the  over-all  program  of 
forest  management.  Under  the  Vir- 
ginia plan,  1^2  million  acres  of  forest 
are  being  carefully  developed  under  a 
long-term  program  for  wildlife  pro- 
duction. 

Meanwhile,  the  number  of  white- 
tailed  deer  on  the  two  forests  has  in- 
creased from  2.400  in  1938  to  18.000 


592 


in  1947.  The  trend  is  still  upward.  In 
the  same  time,  the  population  of  black 
bear  has  increased  from  500  to  1,200. 
From  an  estimated  2,600  in  1938,  the 
number  of  wild  turkeys  went  up  to 
3,400  in  1947. 

Always  the  emphasis  has  been  on 
wildlife  production  for  public  use,  and 
the  withdrawal  of  large  acreages  from 
hunting  and  fishing  has  been  discour- 
aged. Many  closed  areas  have  been 
opened  to  provide  additional  hunting 
grounds.  The  dispersal  of  hunting 
pressure  over  the  full  available  land 
area  is  considered  desirable,  because 
every  acre  withheld  from  use  tends  to 
build  up  pressure  elsewhere.  Even  in 
the  Big  Levels  Federal  refuge  area  of 
the  George  Washington  National  For- 
est, certain  parts  have  been  opened  for 
deer  hunting  during  limited  periods, 
and  the  advisability  of  harvesting  wild- 
life on  the  entire  refuge  is  being  seri- 
ously considered. 

A  comparison  of  big-game  harvests 
shows  that  40  black  bear  were  taken  on 
the  two  Virginia  forests  in  1938,  com- 
pared to  112  in  1947.  Total  deer  kill 
for  1938  was  230  animals,  compared  to 
1,383  in  1947.  Big-game  animals  killed 
on  the  cooperative  area  are  tagged  and 
examined  at  checking  stations,  so  that 
an  inventory  is  had  each  year. 

Hunting,  fishing,  and  trapping  on 
the  cooperatively  managed  area  in 


of  Agriculture  1949 


Virginia  has  increased  from  70,000 
man-days  a  year  in  1938  to  more  than 
one-half  million  in  1947.  The  sale  of 
national  forest  hunting  and  fishing 
stamps  increased  from  11,690  in  1938 
to  41,388  in  1947. 

Another  measure  of  the  success  of 
the  program  is  the  support  it  has 
among  sportsmen  and  the  general  pub- 
lic. As  evidence,  several  counties  in  the 
national  forest  area,  acting  through 
county  boards  of  supervisors,  have  en- 
tered into  formal  agreements  with  the 
State  and  the  Forest  Service  to  supply 
additional  funds  for  extension  of  wild- 
life management  under  the  program. 

THE  LONG-BARRELED  SQUIRREL  RIFLE 

has  vanished  from  the  mountains  of 
Virginia,  along  with  the  deerskin- jack- 
eted pioneers.  In  their  place  have  come 
busy  farmers,  businessmen,  doctors, 
lawyers,  schoolboys — not  pioneers,  but 
men  and  boys  who  get  from  hunting  a 
diversion  from  the  worries  of  modern 
life  and  who  look  to  the  Virginia 
Plan — the  Blue  Ridge  Plan — as  an  as- 
surance that  the  privilege  of  fishing  and 
hunting  will  be  theirs  for  always. 

THEODORE  C.  FEARNOW  is  a  native 
West  Virginian.  He  joined  the  Forest 
Service  as  a  wildlife  biologist  in  1935. 
Previously  he  worked  with  the  Division 
of  Scientific  Inquiry,  United  States  Bu- 
reau of  Fisheries.  He  was  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Fisheries  in  the  West  Vir- 
ginia Conservation  Commission  from 
1927  to  1933. 

I.  T.  QUINN,  for  17  years,  was  com- 
missioner of  Conservation  of  Game, 
Fish,  and  Seafoods  for  the  State  of 
Alabama.  He  was  president  of  the  In- 
ternational Association  of  Game,  Fish, 
and  Conservation  Commissioners  from 
1927  to  1928;  president  of  the  South- 
ern Association  of  Game  Officials  from 
1931  to  1939;  and  president  of  the 
American  Fisheries  Society  fro'm  1937 
to  1938.  During  the  war  he  worked  in 
Washington,  D.  C.,  and  returned  to 
conservation  work  as  executive  director 
of  the  Virginia  Commission  of  Game 
and  Inland  Fisheries  in  1946. 


Forests  and  Water 


TIMBER  CUTTING  AND  WATER  YIELDS 

H.  G.  WILM 


THE  VALUE  of  forest  vegetation 
in  protecting  watershed  land  has 
been  so  clearly  demonstrated  that  its 
development  and  maintenance  are  rec- 
ognized more  and  more  as  a  powerful 
tool  to  control  erosion  and  floods. 

Forests  are  useful  for  this  purpose  in 
wide  areas  of  the  United  States — in 
the  Ohio  River  Valley,  the  southern 
Mississippi  River  Valley,  and  the  Ap- 
palachian Mountains;  on  the  rolling 
countrysides  of  New  England  and  the 
rough,  steep  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Front  Range.  In  all  of  those  places 
and  in  many  more,  deterioration  of 
watershed  conditions  due  to  the  re- 
moval of  forest  cover  has  led  to  flashy, 
destructive  stream  flow  and  greatly  in- 
creased soil  erosion  and  sediment  pro- 
duction. Wherever  such  conditions 
exist  on  land  that  is  adapted  to  grow- 
ing forest  vegetation,  the  logical  solu- 
tion is  to  restore  the  forest  by  any 
available  means. 

But  it  is  less  widely  recognized  that 
the  same  virtues  of  the  forest  that  make 

Above:  A  watershed  like  this,  a  burned-over 
area  in  the  Rockies,  requires  a  careful  use. 
8020(5?° — 4!) 89 


it  valuable  in  the  control  of  erosion 
and  floods  may  become  disadvantages 
in  other  areas,  where  such  problems 
are  small  but  water  shortages  are  acute. 

Water  troubles  with  this  different 
aspect  can  be  found  on  long  belts  of 
high-altitude  watershed  land  along  the 
big  backbone  of  the  Rockies  and  in  the 
upper  areas  of  other  mountain  ranges : 
Land  that  produces  large  volumes  of 
water  and  sends  it  down  the  mountain 
canyons  to  spreading  plains  and  arid 
valleys  below,  places  where  almost  every 
available  drop  is  consumed  by  cities, 
towns,  and  irrigated  farms. 

For  many  years  the  people  of  dry 
areas  like  these  throughout  the  West 
have  worried  about  their  water  sup- 
plies. Water  there  is  so  precious  that 
it  is  bought  and  sold  by  the  acre-foot 
or  even  by  the  gallon;  it  is  so  greatly 
in  demand  that  in  some  places  existing 
legally  established  water  rights  exceed 
the  highest  recorded  annual  flow  in 
the  streams. 

Under  such  intense  pressure  for 
water,  naturally  these  people  look  to 
the  mountain  watersheds  that  are  the 

593 


594 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


source  of  their  water,  and  they  wonder 
whether  they  are  getting  all  that  might 
be  made  available.  Knowing,  for  in- 
stance, that  plants  of  every  kind  use 
water  in  considerable  quantities  to 
maintain  life  and  produce  vegetable 
matter,  they  speculate  as  to  whether 
any  water  might  be  saved  if  watershed 
vegetation  could  be  thinned  or  even 
completely  removed. 

This  conjecture  has  given  rise  to 
long-standing  arguments,  first  brought 
to  a  peak  by  Col.  H.  M.  Chittenden  in 
an  article  which  was  published  in  1909. 
Rather  significantly,  Ghittenden  had 
been  studying  western  water  problems 
for  some  time  and  was  engaged  in  the 
development  of  water  resources  for  the 
general  region  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. He  argued  that  forests  diminish 
total  runoff  through  evaporation  and 
transpiration,  and  that  they  are  not 
so  valuable  in  reducing  floods  as  had 
been  believed.  This  contention  was 
raised  by  others  repeatedly  in  ensuing 
years  and  gained  support  by  engineers 
and  others  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  water  resources. 

Partly  as  a  result  of  such  arguments, 
people  have  learned  much  about  the 
true  value  of  forest  cover  in  watershed 
protection  since  those  early  days,  and 
realize  that  it  serves  an  extremely  im- 
portant function  in  stabilizing  soil  and 
in  reducing  floods. 

But  on  arid  western  lands  the  need 
for  water  is  sometimes  so  great  that 
people  are  still  willing  to  take  the  risk 
of  floods  and  erosion  in  order  to  get 
it.  In  the  unusually  dry  but  highly  de- 
veloped valleys  of  the  Southwest,  men 
have  been  heard  to  say:  "Give  us  the 
water,  clean  or  dirty — we'll  take  care 
of  the  mud  somehow!" 

Obviously  that  kind  of  talk  shows  an 
incomplete  understanding  of  the  dis- 
astrous consequences  of  soil  depletion 
and  erosion — or  perhaps  it  shows  a 
loss  of  perspective,  resulting  from  the 
extreme  need  for  water  in  those  areas. 
Anyway,  such  statements  give  a  pic- 
ture of  how  acute  water-supply  prob- 
lems can  be  in  the  West  and  how  im- 
portant it  is  for  watershed  managers 


to  get  every  drop  that  can  be  produced 
safely  on  mountain  watershed  lands. 
We  dare  not  overlook  the  chance  that 
Chittenden  and  others  may  have  had 
a  strong  basis  for  their  contentions — 
that  there  may  be  areas  where  vegeta- 
tion can  safely  be  removed  and  water 
yields  thereby  increased. 

At  first  glance  it  does  look  like  a 
hard  problem.  For  any  given  area  we 
have  to  learn  whether  it  is  necessary 
to  maintain  a  complete  forest  cover 
and  accept  the  resulting  water  con- 
sumption in  the  interest  of  protection, 
or  to  what  extent  we  can  relax  this 
requirement  in  order  to  reduce  water 
losses.  In  working  on  this  problem  we 
must  also  remember  that,  wherever  a 
watershed  contains  merchantable  tim- 
ber, protection  may  mean  depriving 
people  of  badly  needed  lumber  and 
other  products.  We  want  to  insure  rea- 
sonable use  rather  than  unnecessary 
protection. 

WHAT  HAPPENS  TO  WATER  IN  THE 
FOREST  is  the  basis  of  forest  manage- 
ment for  maximum  water  yields  under 
safe  conditions. 

When  snow  or  rain  falls  on  a  forest, 
some  of  it  is  intercepted  by  the  tree 
crowns  and  is  stored  for  the  time  being 
on  leaves  and  twigs.  A  large  part 
reaches  the  ground  by  dripping  from 
branches  or  running  down  the  trunk, 
but  a  part  of  it  remains  on  the  crowns, 
where  it  is  lost  by  evaporation  after 
the  storm  is  over. 

If  the  yearly  precipitation  on  any 
area  is  made  up  of  small  storms  sepa- 
rated by  periods  of  clear  weather,  this 
evaporation  from  crowns  is  high — as 
much  as  35  to  50  percent  of  the  yearly 
total.  Where  storms  are  larger  and 
much  cloudy  weather  occurs,  the  rela- 
tive amount  of  crown  interception  and 
loss  is  smaller.  Interception  varies  also 
with  the  kind  and  the  density  of  the 
crowns :  Thick  spruces  catch  and  hold 
more  water  than  thin-crowned  pines, 
while  leafless  cottonwoods  and  aspen 
intercept  much  less  winter  precipita- 
tion than  any  of  the  conifers.  Hence  it 
should  be  feasible  to  cut  down  the 


Timber  Cutting  and  Water  Yields 


amount  of  loss  from  this  source  by  thin- 
ning the  forest  and  reducing  the  over- 
all density  of  the  canopy  on  a  given 
area.  Similar  results  might  be  accom- 
plished by  encouraging  the  growth  of 
hardwood  vegetation  like  aspen  in- 
stead of  conifers  like  spruce  or  fir. 

After  precipitation  passes  through 
the  forest  canopy,  what  is  left  piles  up 
on  the  ground,  if  it  occurred  as  snow, 
and  remains  there  until  warm  weather 
makes  it  melt.  When  this  happens,  or 
if  it  fell  as  rain  in  the  first  place,  it  be- 
gins to  move  toward  the  nearest  stream. 
In  a  forest  it  does  this  ordinarily  by 
entering  the  litter  and  humus  on  the 
soil  surface,  then  going  down  through 
porous  layers  of  soil  toward  the  ground- 
water  table.  If  the  soil  was  dry  when 
melting  began  or  the  rain  occurred, 
some  of  the  water  is  held  by  the  soil 
itself  and  may  not  reach  the  ground- 
water  table  at  all.  But  after  the  soil 
reservoir  is  filled  to  capacity,  any  addi- 
tional water  from  the  rain  or  melting 
snow  reaches  the  water  table  and  moves 
through  it  to  the  stream.  Because  the 
soil  is  a  complex  body  with  varied 
layering  and  structures,  the  movement 
of  water  may  be  quite  complicated,  but 
this  is  its  general  course. 

When  water  has  entered  the  soil  it 
is  exposed  to  another  influence  of  the 
forest  on  water  yields:  During  warm 
weather  a  part  of  the  soil  water  is 
drawn  out  by  the  trees.  This  draft,  to- 
gether with  evaporation  directly  from 
the  soil  rather  than  through  the  roots 
and  crowns,  is  what  has  made  the  soil 
under  the  forest  relatively  dry  before 
rain  comes  or  winter  snows  are  stored 
on  the  ground.  In  a  heavy  forest,  tran- 
spiration is  likely  to  be  high  because  of 
the  large  volume  of  tree  crowns  that 
are  exposed  to  air  and  heat.  Direct 
evaporation  from  the  soil  or  from 
stored  snow,  on  the  other  hand,  is  likely 
to  be  low  because  the  ground  is  shaded, 
and  soil  evaporation  is  further  reduced 
where  the  ground  is  covered  with  litter. 

When  the  forest  is  thinned  or 
removed  entirely,  transpiration  is  re- 
duced or  even  eliminated.  But  evap- 
oration goes  up  as  the  ground  becomes 


595 

more  and  more  exposed  to  the  sun 
through  the  removal  of  the  shading 
canopy  and  the  loss  of  organic  litter. 
So,  evaporation  and  transpiration  tend 
to  offset  each  other  to  some  extent — 
if  one  is  reduced,  the  other  is  increased. 
On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  believed 
that  losses  of  water  from  the  soil  are 
decreased  by  thinning  or  removing 
forest  vegetation.  And  when  savings 
due  to  reduced  interception  are  in- 
cluded, the  increase  in  potential  stream 
flow  is  likely  to  be  substantial. 

But  there  is  a  real  flaw  in  the  story 
as  told  up  to  this  point. 

It  seems  generally  agreed  that  the 
removal  of  forest  vegetation  almost  al- 
ways results  in  some  deterioration  of 
the  soil  and  site,  and  that  the  rate  at 
which  the  soil  can  take  in  and  trans- 
mit water  may  be  lessened  to  a  greater 
or  smaller  extent  and  for  a  varying 
length  of  time.  Then  the  water  may 
not  all  go  through  the  soil;  some  of  it 
may  run  off  over  the  land  surface.  If 
it  does  so  in  any  appreciable  volume, 
it  moves  much  faster  than  it  can 
through  the  pores  of  the  soil.  Unless 
the  ground  is  protected  by  a  heavy  sod 
or  a  deep  layer  of  humus  and  litter, 
this  water  picks  up  soil  particles  as  it 
travels.  The  result  is  a  quick  accumu- 
lation of  muddy  water  in  the  streams — 
we  see  it  in  our  valleys  in  the  form  of 
flashy,  destructive  floods  and  clouded 
rivers.  In  contrast,  water  that  moves 
through  the  soil  does  so  more  slowly 
and  stays  free  of  sediment;  we  see  the 
result  in  clear,  well-regulated  brooks 
and  rivers. 

Whether  or  not  surface  runoff  is 
actually  produced  depends,  of  course, 
on  more  than  just  the  reduction  of  the 
infiltration  capacity  of  the  soil.  It  re- 
quires also  a  rate  of  water  application 
in  excess  of  this  capacity.  If  the  peak 
rainfall  intensity,  for  instance,  is  rela- 
tively high  (say,  3  to  4  inches  an  hour) , 
any  reduction  in  the  capacity  of  even 
a  porous  soil  to  take  in  water  may  re- 
sult in  excessive  surface  runoff.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  rates  of  snow-melt  or 
rainfall  intensity  are  quite  low,  reason- 
able reductions  in  infiltration  capacity 


596 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


may  do  no  harm ;  the  remaining  capac- 
ity may  be  enough  to  take  in  all  the 
water  that  is  applied. 

As  a  variation  of  this  principle,  sur- 
face runoff  may  sometimes  occur  after 
the  soil  column  has  been  saturated 
down  to  some  less  permeable  layer,  if 
the  rate  of  water  application  exceeds 
the  rate  at  which  this  denser  layer  can 
transmit  it.  Then,  of  course,  infiltration 
is  limited  by  this  layer  rather  than  by 
the  soil  above  it.  In  such  cases,  the 
presence  or  absence  of  forest  cover  may 
have  little  effect  on  the  magnitude  of 
floods,  as  the  peak  flows  may  come  from 
water  that  moves  off  the  watershed 
rapidly  by  surface  and  subsurface  flow, 
relatively  unaffected  at  that  stage  by 
the  infiltration  and  storage  capacity 
of  the  forest  soil. 

Even  under  such  circumstances, 
however,  forest  vegetation  ordinarily 
does  a  great  service  in  preventing  soil 
erosion  and  sediment  movement 
through  the  stabilizing  action  of  its 
litter,  humus,  and  roots.  Those  who 
know  the  high,  cold  spruce  forests  of 
the  Rockies  and  elsewhere  will  recall 
the  wet,  boggy  mountainsides  toward 
the  end  of  the  snow-melt  season.  Water 
runs  freely  and  rapidly  down  the  steep 
slopes,  but  causes  no  erosion  at  all 
because  of  the  thick,  spongy  layer  of 
organic  material  on  the  ground.  As 
one  man  remarked,  "That  isn't  surface 
runoff" — you're  just  standing  up  to  your 
ankles  in  ground  water." 

These  discussions  on  the  behavior  of 
water  in  the  forest  can  be  interpreted 
in  terms  of  conditions  that  are  com- 
monly encountered.  Where  growing 
conditions  for  the  forest  are  poor; 
where  precipitation  rates  are  high  and 
the  soil  is  unstable;  where  the  effects 
of  timber  cutting  are  aggravated  by 
fire,  destructive  logging  methods,  or 
overgrazing ;  or  under  any  combination 
of  such  conditions,  the  removal  of  for- 
est cover  may  be  followed  by  severe  re- 
ductions in  organic  matter  and  in  the 
ability  of  the  soil  to  take  in  and  trans- 
mit water.  The  consequence  is  usually 
an  accelerating  cycle  of  flash  floods 
and  erosion.  Surface  runoff  starts  soil 


movement;  the  eroded  particles  help 
clog  soil  pores,  which  in  turn  increases 
runoff;  the  increased  runoff  intensifies 
the  soil  movement  again,  and  so  on. 
Finally  runoff  and  erosion  become 
stabilized  at  a  high  rate,  cutting  away 
the  soil  and  carrying  large  volumes  of 
sediment  to  the  rivers.  The  result  is 
lasting  injury  to  the  watershed,  low- 
ered production  of  timber  and  other 
vegetation,  and  probably  disastrous 
damage  to  cities,  farms,  reservoirs,  and 
other  installations. 

Under  gentle  climatic  conditions, 
however,  it  is  possible  to  harvest  timber 
by  sound  silvicultural  methods  so  as  to 
keep  the  forest  producing  wood  and 
other  products,  and  at  the  same  time 
benefit  the  water  supplies.  In  some 
cases  conservative  management  is  ad- 
visable, where  too  severe  cutting  might 
start  the  exposure  of  relatively  un- 
stable soil.  There  the  forester  plans  the 
removal  of  individual  trees  or  small 
groups  of  trees  in  light  or  moderate 
selection  cuttings.  On  watersheds  that 
are  inherently  more  stable,  it  is  possible 
to  apply  the  heavier  cutting  methods. 
Where  good  silviculture  prescribes  it, 
even  the  removal  of  all  merchantable 
trees  is  sometimes  a  sound  practice,  as 
in  the  overmature,  even-aged  stands  of 
lodgepole  pine  at  high  altitudes  and 
on  stable  soil. 

Where  watershed  conditions  are  un- 
usually safe,  even  forest  fire  has  failed 
in  some  places  to  cause  any  substantial 
or  permanent  damage.  Where  the  soil 
is  stable  and  the  climate  cool,  with  slow 
rates  of  snow  melt  and  gentle  summer 
rains,  no  appreciable  excesses  of  water 
have  resulted  and  therefore  the  cycle 
of  erosion  and  floods  has  not  occurred. 
In  the  Colorado  Rockies,  for  instance, 
many  old  burned-over  areas  provide 
satisfactory  and  stable  conditions  for 
water  production  and  there  is  little 
evidence  of  damaging  past  erosion.  Ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule  are  found  where 
repeated  fires,  overgrazing,  or  peren- 
nial wood  cutting  and  hauling  have 
perpetuated  and  intensified  any  de- 
terioration caused  by  the  first  fire. 

Thus  far  we  have  discussed  what 


Timber  Cutting  and  Water  Yields 


597 


happens  to  water  after  it  falls  on  the 
forest  and  what  may  be  expected  when 
the  timber  is  removed.  Ample  experi- 
mental evidence  has  been  obtained  and 
published  on  the  bad  effects  of  unwise 
timber  removal  and  destructive  log- 
ging, especially  in  the  areas  that  are 
sensitive  to  soil  deterioration  and  to 
erosion.  But  what  about  less  delicately 
balanced  areas?  Is  there  any  evidence 
to  show  that  water  supplies  can  be 
increased  by  timber  harvesting  on  such 
lands  without  damaging  the  watershed 
or  causing  serious  erosion  and  flood 
production? 

There  is  evidence  on  this  aspect  of 
watershed  problems,  though  less  than 
on  erosion  and  flood  damages  caused 
by  excessive  timber  use  or  unskillful 
watershed  management.  Several  inves- 
tigations have  been  conducted  in  the 
United  States  for  the  special  purpose 
of  showing  how  the  forests  influence 
stream  flow  and  water  yields  and  how 
this  influence  is  changed  by  timber 
removal. 

The  first  major  study  was  started 
by  the  Forest  Service  and  the  United 
States  Weather  Bureau  on  the  famous 
Wagon  Wheel  Gap  watersheds  in 
southern  Colorado  at  about  the  time 
Colonel  Chittenden  published  his 
report.  Near  the  headwaters  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  two  small  watersheds 
were  controlled  by  means  of  rain 
gages,  stream-gaging  stations,  sediment 
basins,  and  other  scientific  equipment. 
After  they  had  been  studied  for  8  years 
in  their  original  condition — covered 
largely  with  a  forest  of  conifers  and 
aspen — all  of  the  woody  vegetation 
was  removed  from  one  of  the  areas. 
During  the  following  7  years,  total 
water  yields  increased  about  1 5  percent 
under  this  treatment,  and  yields  during 
the  snow-melt  period  rose  about  22 
percent.  Even  the  summer  and  autumn 
stream  flow  was  built  up  to  some  ex- 
tent. Melting  started  a  little  earlier  in 
the  spring,  but  not  enough  to  cause  any 
important  change  in  flood  peaks  or  in 
the  amount  of  water  available  during 
the  irrigation  season. 

The  increased  yields  seemed  to  be 


due  to  decreased  losses  from  evapora- 
tion and  transpiration  rather  than  to 
reduced  soil  porosity  and  storage,  as 
the  augmented  late-season  stream  flow 
indicated  an  ample  supply  of  water  to 
the  ground-water  table.  Also,  no  ap- 
preciable erosion  was  caused  by  the 
complete  removal  of  the  forest  cover. 

Little  sediment  was  caught,  and 
practically  all  of  it  seemed  to  have 
come  from  the  minor  logging  roads 
that  had  been  built  into  the  watershed. 

Judging  from  those  findings,  timber 
removal  obviously  had  a  gentle  effect 
on  both  water  yields  and  erosion.  There 
are  several  good  reasons. 

First,  the  climate  of  this  area  is  mild 
from  the  hydrologist's  viewpoint — cool, 
with  long  winters  and  slow  melting 
rates  of  snow  and  with  relatively  low 
rates  of  summer  rainfall.  In  those  re- 
spects it  resembles  vast  areas  of  forested 
watershed  along  the  top  of  the  Rockies, 
including  10  million  acres  or  more  from 
the  Rio  Grande  to  Montana. 

Second,  the  forest  cover  was  rather 
thin  before  treatment,  so  that  even  the 
removal  of  all  the  woody  vegetation 
did  not  cause  so  drastic  a  change  as 
might  be  expected.  Because  a  consid- 
erable part  of  the  forest  was  aspen,  too, 
winter  interception  losses  must  have 
been:  low,  and  the  aspen  grew  up  rap- 
idly after  treatment  so  that  the  effects 
of  denudation  were  relatively  short- 
lived. 

Finally,  the  soil  on  those  areas  was 
fairly  porous  and  apparently  did  not 
deteriorate  badly. 

Thus,  the  quantitative  results  of  the 
investigation  can  be  applied  only  in  a 
limited  way  to  other  areas.  They  do 
indicate  the  general  effects  of  timber 
removal  in  a  region  like  the  backbone 
of  the  Rockies  and  similar  mountain 
ranges — that  timber  removal  may  not 
cause  damage  and  may  even  benefit 
water  yields. 

Thorough  as  it  was,  too,  that  experi- 
ment did  not  really  show  the  influence 
of  silviculture  on  water  supplies,  be- 
cause every  stick  of  woody  vegetation 
was  removed  from  the  treated  area. 
While  clear  cutting  is  a  perfectly  sound 


598 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


silvicultural  method,  it  is  not  so  com- 
monly usable  in  watershed  manage- 
ment as  some  other  methods,  such  as 
selection  cutting.  In  this  way,  though, 
the  Wagon  Wheel  Gap  studies  were 
similar  to  the  other  watershed  research 
that  has  been  conducted. 

Until  quite  recently  there  has  been 
a  singular  dearth  of  studies  employing 
practical  silvicultural  methods;  only 
two  seem  to  need  mention  here. 

In  California,  Dr.  Joseph  Kittredge 
made  a  number  of  experiments  to  find 
out  various  aspects  of  forest  influences. 
Using  those  experiments  as  a  back- 
ground, as  early  as  1936  he  set  up 
what  may  be  considered  a  first-class 
objective  of  watershed  management  in 
areas  where  water  shortages  exist :  "To 
select  species  of  minimum  foliage  vol- 
ume and  transpiration  and  to  main- 
tain them  by  forest  management  at 
minimum  sizes  and  densities  compati- 
ble with  protection  of  the  soil." 

In  Idaho,  Charles  A.  Connaughton 
examined  the  accumulation  and  melt- 
ing of  snow  as  they  were  affected  by 
mature  ponderosa  pine,  with  and  with- 
out an  understory  of  young  trees  or 
reproduction;  by  reproduction  stands 
alone;  and  by  open  land,  with  and 
without  a  cover  of  sagebrush.  Taking 
the  open  areas  without  sagebrush  as 
100  percent,  he  found  the  following 
relative  amounts  of  snow  stored  in  the 
other  cover  types  at  the  time  of  greatest 
snow  accumulation  in  the  spring: 
Sagebrush,  100.9  percent;  pine  repro- 
duction, 94.6  percent;  virgin  pine 
without  reproduction,  75.5  percent; 
and  virgin  pine  with  reproduction, 
70.2  percent.  The  last  snow  disap- 
peared almost  simultaneously  on  open 
and  brush-covered  areas,  about  3/> 
days  later  in  the  virgin  forest  without 
reproduction,  and  about  8  days  later 
in  the  stand  of  reproduction  alone  and 
where  it  occurred  under  virgin  timber. 

Although  this  did  not  give  quanti- 
tative data  on  factors  other  than  snow, 
it  did  demonstrate  how  forest  and 
other  vegetation  with  different  kinds 
of  crown  and  densities  of  canopy  af- 
fected interception  and  shading  and 


therefore  the  storage  and  melting  of 
snow. 

It  was  not  until  Mr.  Connaughton 
moved  to  Colorado  in  1936  that  ex- 
periments were  finally  started  to  show 
how  selective  timber  cutting  of  high- 
altitude  conifers  would  influence  all  of 
the  more  important  factors  associated 
with  water  yields.  In  conjunction  with 
the  Division  of  Timber  Management 
Research,  the  Division  of  Forest  In- 
fluences in  the  Rocky  Mountain  For- 
est and  Range  Experiment  Station 
began  a  series  of  studies  with  this  ob- 
jective in  1938.  They  consisted  of  20 
harvest-cutting  plots  located  in  a  for- 
est of  mature  lodgepole  pine,  covering 
a  small,  rugged  drainage  basin  in  the 
headwaters  of  the  Colorado  River  near 
Fraser,  Colo.  The  timber  on  the  plots 
ranged  in  merchantable  volume  (in- 
cluding only  trees  larger  than  9/2 
inches  in  diameter)  from  7,600  board 
feet  an  acre  to  about  17,000  board 
feet,  and  averaged  11,900  board  feet. 

One  of  the  primary  objects  of  those 
plot  experiments  was  to  learn  how 
timber  cutting  by  selection  methods 
affects  the  growth  and  reproduction 
of  this  type  of  forest.  Along  with  the 
studies,  however,  detailed  records  were 
collected  on  a  series  of  important  fac- 
tors involved  in  water  production: 
The  storage  and  melting  of  snow,  the 
amounts  of  net  precipitation  reaching 
the  snow  or  ground  under  the  forest 
canopy,  and  the  relative  dryness  of  the 
soil  under  the  forest  at  the  end  of  each 
summer's  growing  period,  when  tran- 
spiration and  evaporation  had  finished 
drawing  out  soil  moisture. 

The  records  were  first  collected  in 
1938  and  1939,  before  any  timber  cut- 
ting was  done  on  the  plots,  to  show 
how  the  various  factors  behaved  under 
a  virgin  forest.  Then  16  of  the  plots 
were  cut  over  in  1940  by  selection 
methods,  so  as  to  leave  stands  of  sev- 
eral different  densities,  and  4  of  them 
were  left  uncut  as  a  check.  On  another 
set  of  4,  all  of  the  merchantable  timber 
was  removed  so  that  only  trees  smaller 
than  10  inches  in  diameter  remained 
to  provide  a  partial  cover  and  help  pro- 


Timber  Cutting  and  Water  Yields 


599 


tect  the  soil.  Other  similar  sets  of  plots 
were  left  with  reserve  stands  of  2,000, 
and  4,000,  and  6,000  board  feet  of 
merchantable  timber  an  acre,  so  that 
a  considerable  variety  in  remaining 
canopy  densities  was  provided.  It 
should  be  emphasized  that  even  the 
heaviest  cutting  by  no  means  cleared 
off  the  plots.  On  the  average,  each 
acre  still  contained  147  trees  in  the 
diameter  range  between  S1/?  and  9/j 
inches,  as  well  as  a  number  of  still 
smaller  trees  and  a  little  underbrush. 

After  the  plots  were  cut  over,  fur- 
ther records  were  obtained  on  all  of 
the  water-yield  factors  until  1944, 
when  the  study  was  temporarily  dis- 
continued. In  addition  to  these  quan- 
titative data,  observations  have  been 
made  each  year  since  1940  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  different  cuttings 
had  damaged  the  plots  appreciably, 
whether  erosion  was  beginning,  and 
how  rapidly  the  plots  were  becoming 
covered  again  with  conifer  reproduc- 
tion and  other  vegetation. 

The  results  of  all  this  detailed  rec- 
ord-taking showed  a  decided  increase 
in  the  amount  of  the  water  available 
for  stream  flow  as  a  result  of  the  timber 
cutting.  Out  of  a  total  precipitation 
of  about  24/2  inches  a  year,  about  32 
percent  was  absorbed  by  canopy  inter- 
ception in  the  uncut  stand,  as  com- 
pared to  only  11  percent  in  the  most 
heavily  cut-over  plots.  This  smaller 
amount  of  interception  was,  of  course, 
caused  by  trees  smaller  than  9/j  inches 
in  diameter. 

Additional  losses  due  to  other  forms 
of  evaporation  and  to  transpiration 
averaged  about  26  percent  of  the  total 
precipitation  on  the  uncut  plots  and 
about  34  percent  on  the  heavily  cut- 
over  areas.  When  all  forms  of  water 
consumption  were  combined,  the  re- 
mainder was  only  about  10/j  inches 
of  water  available  for  stream  flow 
under  virgin-forest  conditions  as  com- 
pared to  about  13/2  inches  as  a  result 
of  the  heavy  cutting.  Thus  the  severe 
opening  of  the  forest  increased  the 
amount  of  available  water  a  full  30 
percent  as  compared  to  uncut  condi- 


tions. To  back  up  those  results,  the 
other  timber-cutting  treatments  fell  in 
line  between  the  two  extremes :  For  the 
light,  moderate,  and  the  dense  reserve 
stands  the  amounts  of  water  available 
for  stream  flow  were  11/s,  12/3,  and 
about  12^2  inches. 

Such  gains  are  definitely  worth 
while.  In  round  terms,  they  mean  that 
removing  merchantable  timber  on  each 
4  to  5  acres  of  high-altitude  watershed 
land  should  make  it  possible  to  irri- 
gate another  acre  of  valuable  land  in 
the  valleys  below.  Not  only  that,  but  it 
will  increase  the  capital  value  of  the 
watershed  land  itself  through  a  treat- 
ment which  ordinarily  pays  for  itself 
and  almost  always  gives  a  profit  to  the 
landowner  and  the  timber  operator; 
and  it  will  supply  wood  products  to 
western  people. 

That  is  true,  of  course,  only  if  the 
treatment  does  not  do  damage  to  the 
land  by  starting  an  accelerating  cycle 
of  erosion  and  land  depletion.  Under 
the  climatic  conditions  of  the  high 
mountain  areas  this  is  not  likely  to  oc- 
cur and  is  certainly  not  indicated  by 
observations  made  since  the  plots  were 
cut  over.  As  in  the  Wagon  Wheel  Gap 
study,  the  only  traces  of  erosion  up  to 
1947  were  small  gullies  cut  in  skid  roads 
and  trails  that  contribute  insignificant 
quantities  of  sediment  to  the  streams. 
Except  in  those  places,  almost  no  bare 
soil  is  exposed,  and  a  new  stand  of 
conifer  reproduction  is  slowly  begin- 
ning to  occupy  areas  opened  on  the 
plots;  in  some  places  aspen  is  beginning 
to  come  in. 

SIMILAR  INCREASES  in  the  available 
water  have  shown  up  in  other  experi- 
ments, in  which  snow  storage  and  rain- 
fall were  studied  in  stands  of  young 
lodgepole  pine,  aspen,  and  open  areas. 
The  last  of  these,  several  acres  in  extent 
and  somewhat  exposed  to  wind,  stored 
a  little  less  snow  than  was  found  in 
leafless  aspen  stands,  but  the  smallest 
amounts  were  found  under  the  dense 
cover  of  pine.  Snow  storage  and  rain 
penetration  in  the  young  pine  forest 
have  been  substantially  increased  by 


6oo 


YearbooJ^  of  Agriculture  1949 


thinning  the  stands,  though  enough 
trees  were  left  to  provide  a  future  for- 
est and  to  give  partial  shade  and  soil 
protection. 

Still  further  studies  have  been  started 
more  recently  in  the  spruce-fir  forest 
type,  which  occupies  watershed  lands 
even  higher  in  altitude  than  lodgepole 
pine,  reaching  on  up  to  timber  line. 
While  these  experiments  are  only  well 
under  way,  the  preliminary  results  are 
similar  in  trend  to  those  obtained  in 
lodgepole  pine. 

These  influences,  you  may  say,  have 
been  observed  only  on  plots  up  to  this 
time;  perhaps  things  are  different  on 
a  watershed.  In  order  to  test  this  possi- 
bility, small  watersheds  have  been 
placed  under  experimental  control  at 
the  Fraser  Experimental  Forest  and 
elsewhere  in  the  Colorado  Rockies, 
with  plans  for  treating  one  watershed 
at  each  place  by  desirable  silvicultural 
methods.  The  results  of  these  tests  will 
not  be  available  for  several  years. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  the  plot 
findings  are  fairly  well  supported  by 
the  Wagon  Wheel  Gap  results  and  by 
detailed  observations  of  soil  conditions 
and  erosion  after  timber  cutting  at  a 
number  of  places  in  the  high  Rockies 
of  Colorado  and  southern  Wyoming. 
At  every  cut-over  area  visited,  whether 
recent  or  old,  cutting  in  lodgepole  pine 
and  in  the  spruce-fir  type  has  not 
caused  any  serious  degree  of  erosion  or 
site  deterioration. 

Finally,  although  their  application 
may  be  quite  different,  the  same  gen- 
eral influences  of  timber  cutting  on 
water  yields  seem  to  apply  to  regions 
other  than  the  western  mountains.  In 
watershed  studies  in  the  southern  Ap- 
palachian Mountains,  C.  R.  Hursh 
and  M.  D.  Hoover  found  substantial 
increases  in  total  water  yields  follow- 
ing the  removal  of  a  hardwood  forest. 
When  all  of  the  woody  vegetation  was 
cut  and  laid  on  the  ground  to  protect 
the  soil  and  reduce  evaporation,  an- 
nual yields  were  increased  about  17 
inches.  Worth  while  increases  in  sum- 
mer flow  were  also  found  to  result  from 
cutting  only  the  vegetation  on  narrow 


strips  close  to  the  stream  channels, 
leaving  the  other  watershed  vegetation 
intact. 

WlTH  THE  RESEARCH  INFORMATION 

gained  up  to  now,  we  cannot  supply 
all  of  the  necessary  answers  to  ques- 
tions that  the  watershed  forester  must 
ask  as  he  plans  the  management  of 
water-producing  land.  Detailed  studies 
still  have  to  be  made  under  a  variety 
of  conditions  to  show  how  the  prin- 
ciples now  at  hand  need  to  be  altered 
to  meet  local  problems.  But  we  do  have 
a  set  of  basic  principles  on  which  sound 
but  preliminary  watershed-manage- 
ment plans  can  be  established : 

1.  Forest  vegetation,  like  all  other 
plants,  consumes  water  in  considerable 
quantities  through  interception,  tran- 
spiration, and  evaporation. 

2.  Removing  a  part  or  all  of  the 
forest  cover  by  timber  cutting  should 
reduce  this  water  consumption,  thus 
making  more  water  available  for  total 
yields. 

3.  Such  thinning  or  opening  of  the 
forest  is  likely  to  result  in  some  site 
deterioration,  though  it  may  be  minor 
in  degree.  But  this  point  calls  for  cau- 
tion and  careful  observation  by  the 
manager  as  he  works  with  his  forest. 

4.  If  site  and  soil  deterioration  are 
sufficient  to  cause  rainfall  excesses  (in- 
cluding excesses  in  water  from  melting 
snow)  in  any  substantial  amount,  the 
resulting  overland  flow,  passing  over 
inadequately  protected  soil,  will  almost 
always  cause  soil  erosion  and  flashy, 
silt-laden  floods.  This  will  cause  fur- 
ther site  deterioration  and  the  reduc- 
tion of  soil   storage   and   infiltration 
capacities.  With  more  water  running 
off  over  the  watershed  surface,  less  will 
get  into  underground  storage  and  the 
ground-water  table,  and,  as  a  result, 
summer  flow  of  streams  will  likely  be 
lowered  and  springs  will  dry  up.  To- 
gether with  flashy  spring  freshets  and 
summer  floods,  this  will  mean  a  com- 
plete change  of  stream  habits — entirely 
for  the  worse. 

5.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  no  dam- 
aging rainfall  excess  results  from  tim- 


Timber  Cutting  and  Water  Yields 


601 


her  cutting  and  the  associated  site 
deterioration  is  not  serious,  the  open- 
ing of  the  forest  should  increase  total 
yields  of  usable  water,  build  up  peak 
discharges  to  a  minor  extent,  and  still 
permit  a  normal  supply  of  water  to  pass 
through  the  soil  into  ground  water  and 
therefore  to  produce  sustained  stream 
flow  from  deep  sources,  such  as  peren- 
nial springs. 

These  principles  are  not  yet  com- 
pletely established,  and  they  may  be 
expanded  or  altered  considerably  as 
further  knowledge  is  obtained.  But  it 
is  interesting  to  see  how,  even  now, 
they  can  be  applied  to  a  variety 
of  watershed-management  problems, 
varying  from  the  control  of  erosion  and 
floods  to  the  production  of  maximum 
supplies  of  water. 

Consider  the  first  of  these,  for  ex- 
ample. Where  floods  and  sediment 
cause  damage,  the  streams  have  too 
much  water  and  it  is  concentrated  too 
much  in  short,  abrupt  peaks.  At  the 
same  time  they  carry  large  amounts  of 
sterile  sediment  that  clogs  channels 
and  ruins  farm  lands.  Forest  vegeta- 
tion cannot  do  all  that  is  necessary  to 
remedy  such  conditions,  but  it  does 
stabilize  the  soil  and  minimize  erosion. 
It  also  intercepts  and  evaporates  rain- 
fall and  tends  to  dry  out  the  soil  mois- 
ture, making  as  much  space  available 
as  possible  in  the  great  storage  reservoir 
of  the  soil  on  watershed  land. 

To  help  solve  such  problems,  it  is 
advisable  to  keep  the  forest  cover  as 
dense  as  possible  in  order  to  provide 
maximum  soil  protection  and  oppor- 
tunity for  the  consumption  of  water. 
This  may  mean  only  the  lightest  and 
most  careful  timber  cutting,  or  perhaps 
no  cutting  at  all.  Then  the  forest  will 
reduce  floods  and  erosion  from  its  own 
area,  even  though  its  benefits  may  have 
to  be  supplemented  by  engineering 
works  and  by  soil  and  water  conserva- 
tion measures  on  agricultural  and 
other  nonforest  land. 

As  a  variation  of  this  problem,  per- 
haps our  watershed  may  be  located  in 
an  area  of  considerable  erosion  hazard, 
but  where  there  is  an  intense  demand 


for  water  from  the  irrigated  valleys 
below.  A  good  example  is  provided  by 
the  cut-over,  deteriorated  watershed 
land  in  the  ponderosa  pine  belt  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Front  Range,  with 
credible  soil  derived  from  the  red 
Pike's  Peak  granite.  In  such  cases  there 
is  little  question  as  to  the  proper 
method  of  watershed  management. 
The  land  must  be  protected  and  ero- 
sion rates  slowed  down  and  finally  con- 
trolled as  much  as  possible,  even  at  the 
cost  of  lowered  water  supplies.  Again, 
this  means  building  the  best  possible 
cover  of  forest  and  other  vegetation 
and  using  any  other  measure  neces- 
sary to  remedy  the  cause.  When  the 
spiral  of  flash  floods  and  erosion  has 
been  started  to  any  serious  degree,  the 
losses  due  to  land  depletion  and  sedi- 
mentation far  exceed  the  nominal 
benefits  of  augmented  supplies  of  silt- 
laden  water. 

At  the  other  extreme  of  watershed 
problems,  suppose  we  are  concerned 
with  an  area  within  the  millions  of 
acres  of  high  mountain  country  that 
are  quite  safe  and  stable.  It  produces 
water  for  urban  and  irrigated  areas, 
but  the  area  itself  is  not  susceptible  to 
floods  or  erosion  unless  it  is  severely 
abused.  Here  the  watershed  manager 
can  relax  in  comparative  security, 
looking  at  clear,  perennial  streams 
with  high  yields  but  small  annual  vari- 
ations in  flow.  In  such  an  area  he  can 
design  the  silvicultural  treatment  of 
the  forest  so  as  to  provide  the  best  sup- 
ply of  all  its  resources,  without  having 
a  constant  fear  of  upsetting  a  delicate 
balance.  His  management  may  be  var- 
ied according  to  the  combined  needs 
of  forest  and  watershed  benefits,  from 
light  selection  cutting  to  clear  cutting 
if  that  seems  necessary.  But  whatever 
methods  he  deems  desirable,  his  sound 
and  well-planned  management  of  this 
watershed  will  pay  dividends  to  the 
people  in  the  valleys  below,  through 
more  adequate  supplies  of  usable 
water. 

H.  G.  WILM  is  a  silviculturist  who 
has  specialized  in  research  on  the 


602 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


management  and  protection  of  moun- 
tain watershed  lands.  Most  of  the  con- 
cepts presented  in  this  article  were 
learned  while  he  was  in  charge  of 
watershed  research  for  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region.  At 
present  he  is  applying  research  results 


to  flood-control  problems  in  the  South, 
with  headquarters  in  New  Orleans. 
Dr.  Wilm  is  a  graduate  of  Colorado 
College  and  Cornell  University.  He  has 
published  numerous  technical  and 
popular  articles,  and  is  an  associate 
editor  of  the  Journal  of  Forestry. 


i 


•  n 


TOR/MBE 


"The  watershed  with  good  plant  cover,  litter,  and  humus  (made  up  of  the  decayed  and 
decaying  litter)  functions  like  a  blotter.  It  soaks  up  the  water  from  rain  or  melting  snow. 
Some  of  this  water  goes  back  into  the  air  later  through  evaporation  from  the  ground 
and  plants.  Some  enters  and  is  stored  in  the  soil.  Part  of  the  stored  water  is  held  in  the 
soil  for  plant  use;  the  rest  slowly  moves  downward  to  feed  the  streams  by  underground 
flow.  When  very  heavy  and  long  rains  occur,  the  soil  may  be  unable  to  take  in  all  the 
water  that  falls.  The  excess  water  then  runs  off  over  the  surface,  but  at  a  slow  rate." 
(From  Know  Your  Watersheds,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Agricultural  Information  Series  67.) 


6o3 


WATERSHEDS  AND  HOW  TO  CARE  FOR  THEM 


GEORGE  W.  CRADDOCK,  CHARLES  R.  HURSH 


A  watershed  is  a  concave  or  trough- 
shaped  land  area  in  which  the  runoff 
from  rain  and  snow  drains  toward  a 
single  channel.  A  watershed  may  cover 
less  than  an  acre,  or  it  may  be  a  com- 
plex of  many  watersheds.  Our  entire 
land  surface  is  made  up  of  watershed 
units.  On  them  we  depend  for  our 
supply  of  water. 

Never  before  has  our  interest  been 
greater  than  now  in  water  for  irriga- 
tion, power,  industry,  navigation,  do- 
mestic use,  and  recreation.  Most  of  the 
water  for  those  purposes  has  its  source 
on  the  forest  and  range  lands,  which 
comprise  two-thirds  of  the  land  area  in 
the  United  States.  Stream  flow  is  a 
natural  product  of  most  of  those  lands, 
but  the  usefulness  of  the  runoff  from 
them  hinges  on  their  management. 

Watershed  management  is  a  system 
of  handling  land  resources  within  a 
drainage  primarily  to  achieve  usable 
runoff.  This  generally  involves  the 
same  methods  of  husbandry  that  are 
employed  in  good  forest  and  range 
management,  but  the  objectives  go  be- 
yond the  attainment  of  sustained  tim- 
ber and  forage  production.  Watershed 
management  aims  to  keep  the  land  in 
such  condition  that  there  will  be  maxi- 
mum yields  of  high-quality  water. 

Because  watersheds  have  been  inex- 
pertly handled,  the  water  problems  are 
critical  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  In 
the  past  100  years,  while  population 
increased  from  17  million  to  140  mil- 
lion, the  demands  for  water  increased 
manyfold.  Industrial  development  and 
municipal  expansion  are  now  restricted 
in  many  places  because  of  insufficient 
water.  The  extent  of  destructive  floods 
is  increasing.  Sediment  eroded  from 
the  land  is  filling  reservoirs,  stream 
channels,  and  harbors.  Those  problems 
will  become  more  serious  as  our  popu- 
lations and  business  expand. 

Through  research  on  watersheds  we 
are  finding  out  how  different  types  of 


land  use  affect  runoff  and  water  qual- 
ity, how  to  avoid  past  mistakes,  and 
how  to  restore  and  maintain  our  water 
resources  in  the  future.  Some  40  years 
ago  two  experimental  watersheds  near 
Wagon  Wheel  Gap  in  Colorado  were 
equipped  to  measure  the  effect  of  clear 
cutting  of  timber  on  stream  flow.  A 
few  years  later,  a  pair  of  range  water- 
sheds near  Ephraim,  Utah,  were  simi- 
larly equipped  to  determine  the  effects 
of  grazing  herbaceous  plant  cover  on 
summer  storm  flow  and  erosion.  More 
recently,  additional  forest  and  range 
watershed  laboratories  have  been  es- 
tablished in  the  Rocky  Mountains  of 
Colorado  and  in  the  mountains  of 
Idaho,  Utah,  Arizona,  and  California. 
The  Forest  Service  has  developed  an 
outdoor  hydrologic  laboratory  on  the 
Coweeta  Experimental  Forest  in  west- 
ern North  Carolina.  Research  on  run- 
off and  erosion  problems  of  farm  lands 
also  has  expanded  greatly. 

EVERY  ACRE  of  land  in  a  drainage 
basin  receives  and  disposes  of  precipi- 
tation and  thus  functions  as  an  integral 
part  of  a  whole  watershed.  On  each 
acre,  the  plant  cover  and  soil  mantle 
control  the  reception  and  disposition 
of  precipitation.  The  control  varies 
from  place  to  place,  resulting  in  differ- 
ent degrees  of  balance  between  the 
destructive  forces  of  the  weather  and 
the  developmental  processes  of  soil 
formation  and  plant  succession. 

Before  man  started  to  move  soil 
around,  the  developmental  processes  of 
soil  formation  and  plant  succession 
were  stronger  than  the  forces  of  deg- 
radation on  much  of  the  forest  and 
range  lands.  That  is,  soil  had  been 
formed  on  most  of  those  lands  faster 
than  it  had  eroded.  The  naturally  ad- 
justed balances  between  land  and 
weather  that  had  been  in  the  process 
of  development  for  thousands  of  years, 
however,  were  disrupted  by  land  clear- 


604 


Agriculture  YearbooJ^  1949 


ing,  devastation  logging,  overgrazing 
of  livestock  and  game,  and  fire. 

Changes  took  place  at  the  ground 
surface  that  altered  the  manner  in 
which  precipitation  entered  the  soil. 
The  storage  capacity  of  the  soil  was 
also  altered.  Those  changes  threw  the 
original  control  of  water  and  of  soil 
stability  out  of  balance.  The  result  has 
been  widespread  accelerated  erosion, 
sediment  in  the  streams,  erratic  stream 
flow,  and  damaging  floods.  Nature's 
original  controls  were  maintained  by 
vegetation.  Today,  better  land-man- 
agement practices  must  be  inaugurated 
to  restore  a  more  favorable  plant  cover 
and  soil  structure  if  we  wish  to  main- 
tain land  and  stream  conditions  to 
serve  our  present  and  future  needs  for 
usable  water. 

THE  SOIL  and  the  underlying  rock 
mantle  is  the  key  to  understanding  the 
control  of  water  on  the  land.  Soil  is  ca- 
pable of  storing  water.  Some  of  this 
water  is  retained  by  the  soil  just  as 
water  is  held  behind  a  dam.  But  the  soil 
also  releases  water  when  the  mantle  is 
filled  to  capacity. 

Soils  on  forest  and  range  lands  can 
absorb  and  retain  against  the  force  of 
gravity  from  1  to  3  inches  of  water 
per  foot  of  mantle  depth.  Fine- textured 
soils  with  a  high  content  of  organic 
matter  have  a  greater  retention-stor- 
age capacity  than  coarse  soils — a  dry 
soil  mantle  4  feet  deep  can  absorb  and 
hold  from  4  to  12  inches  of  rain  or 
water  from  melted  snow  without  yield- 
ing a  drop  of  runoff.  This  retention- 
storage  function  is  the  same  as  that 
performed  by  a  dam.  Removal  of  the 
soil  by  erosion,  or  otherwise,  reduces 
the  capacity  of  a  site  to  retain  water 
and  so  increases  the  chances  for  greater 
runoff  and  flood  discharges  in  the  same 
way  as  would  the  lowering  of  a  dam. 

Retention  storage  is  only  one  of  the 
storage  functions  of  the  watershed 
mantle.  After  a  soil  mantle  is  wet  to 
its  capacity  to  hold  water  against  the 
force  of  gravity,  it  is  not  yet  saturated. 
Air  space  still  remains  between  the  wet 
soil  and  rock  particles.  This  additional 


storage  space  may  be  equivalent  to  as 
much  as  2  inches  a  foot  of  mantle 
depth.  Water  that  enters  these  spaces 
is  not  retained  by  the  mantle  but  moves 
downward  to  the  subsurface  aquifers, 
where  it  may  replenish  the  ground- 
water  levels,  or  may  emerge  in  channels 
or  at  springs  to  sustain  stream  flow. 

The  percolation  of  the  free  water 
through  the  soil  and  rock  mantle  of  a 
watershed  takes  time — much  longer 
than  the  escape  of  water  over  the 
spillway  of  a  dam.  The  slowness  of  the 
percolation  process  is  attested  by  the 
fact  that  streams  continue  to  flow  for 
periods  as  long  as  a  year  after  free 
water  disappears  from  the  soil  mantle. 

The  delayed  yield  of  water  is  one  of 
the  most  important  and  valuable  func- 
tions of  watershed  lands.  Communities 
and  industries  pay  millions  for  a  sus- 
tained yield  of  water  and  one  of  the 
major  purposes  of  billions  of  dollars 
worth  of  dams  is  to  catch  spring  floods 
and  make  them  useful  in  the  autumn 
droughts.  The  same  functions  are  per- 
formed by  the  soil  on  many  millions  of 
acres  of  forest  and  range  watershed 
lands.  These  natural  and  beneficial 
functions  of  the  soil  must  be  main- 
tained through  good  management. 

PLANTS — herbs  and  shrubs,  as  well 
as  trees — are  important  in  maintaining 
an  efficient  watershed  mantle. 

All  who  have  sought  shelter  under  a 
tree  during  a  rainstorm  do  appreciate 
that  vegetation  intercepts  precipita- 
tion in  its  descent  to  the  earth.  In  a 
40-inch  rainfall  belt,  an  old-growth 
hardwood  forest  will  prevent  6  or  7 
inches  of  rain  from  reaching  the 
ground  during  the  course  of  a  year. 
This  means  that  insofar  as  the  soil  un- 
der the  forest  is  concerned  there  is 
really  only  about  34  inches  of  rain  in- 
stead of  40.  During  individual  storms 
the  plant  canopy  may  intercept  up  to  50 
percent  of  the  precipitation.  The  plant 
canopy,  in  other  words,  is  an  integral 
part  of  the  watershed  reservoir  with  the 
special  function  of  intercepting  and  dis- 
sipating a  part  of  the  precipitation  be- 
fore it  reaches  the  soil  mantle. 


Watersheds  and  How  to  Care  for  Them 


Plants  and  the  plant  debris  on  the 
ground  surface  protect  the  soil  from 
the  direct  impact  of  dashing  raindrops. 
Big  drops  are  broken  into  little  drops 
that  have  less  force.  Tree  trunks,  the 
stems  of  shrubs  and  herbs,  and  dead 
twigs,  leaves,  and  other  trash  on  the 
ground  keep  surface  water  spread  out 
and  moving  at  low  velocities,  thus  re- 
ducing the  capacity  to  erode  the  soil 
and  retarding  movement  toward  chan- 
nels. This  favors  infiltration  of  precipi- 
tation into  the  soil  and  rock  mantle, 
and  the  subsequent  yields  of  water  as 
seepage,  rather  than  overland  runoff. 

Roots  of  plants  also  help  in  the 
process.  They  provide  channels  for  the 
percolation  of  water.  They  bind  the 
surface  soil  against  the  scouring  effect 
of  storm  runoff  and  anchor  the  soil 
mantle  on  steep  slopes  to  the  bedrock. 

Vegetation  lowers  the  air  tempera- 
ture near  the  ground  surface  and  also 
reduces  wind  velocity.  These  influences 
are  especially  important  in  areas  where 
runoff  is  derived  mainly  from  snow, 
for  they  favor  the  accumulation  of 
snow  in  deep  drifts  and  slow  snow- 
melting  rates.  It  is  not  uncommon  for 
snow  in  the  shelter  of  conifer  trees  to 
remain  a  week  or  two  longer  than  in 
the  open.  This  delay  in  snow  melting 
in  turn  means  a  slow  and  prolonged 
yield  of  water. 

Also  to  be  remembered  is  that  plants, 
while  they  produce  good  storage  con- 
ditions, use  a  great  deal  of  water.  An 
ordinary  elm  tree  of  medium  size  will 
get  rid  of  15,000  pounds  of  water  on  a 
clear,  dry,  hot  day.  Losses  of  water  by 
evaporation  and  transpiration  on  well- 
drained  forested  slopes  are  generally 
not  less  than  15  inches  a  year  and  may 
be  twice  that  much  on  sites  where  rain- 
fall is  plentiful  during  the  growing 
season.  Still  greater  volumes  are  lost 
by  plants  along  streams  where  roots 
have  continuous  access  to  water. 

The  ability  of  plants  to  withdraw 
water  from  the  soil  may  be  bad  or 
good,  depending  upon  the  local  water 
problem.  Where  water  is  in  high  de- 
mand and  the  supply  is  limited,  high 
losses  from  transpiration  obviously  ac- 


centuate problems  of  water  shortage. 
But  where  flood  control  is  important, 
the  removal  of  water  from  the  soil  by 
transpiration  maintains  a  greater  op- 
portunity for  storing  storm  water. 

AN  EXAMINATION  of  the  land,  acre 
by  acre,  will  show  whether  watershed 
conditions  are  satisfactory  or  unsatis- 
factory. Water  that  is  not  getting  into 
the  soil  will  accumulate  and  flow  over 
the  surface.  Such  storm  runoff  will 
leave  its  first  traces  in  washed  spots  on 
the  soil  surface,  in  little  rills,  and  small 
piles  of  leaves  and  debris.  Later  the 
signs  are  more  conspicuous — severe 
sheet  erosion  and  large  gullies. 

The  management  plan  for  the  en- 
tire watershed  is  based  on  the  require- 
ments of  its  independent  parts.  Some 
soils  can  erode  so  easily  that  even  the 
slightest  change  in  the  natural  vegeta- 
tion results  in  disastrous  erosion.  On 
them,  it  is  good  land  management  to 
prevent  any  possible  disturbance  of 
natural  conditions ;  if  they  already  have 
been  disturbed,  it  is  good  land  man- 
agement to  try  to  restore  as  much  plant 
cover  as  conditions  will  support  and 
as  soon  as  possible. 

Failure  to  recognize  watershed  de- 
terioration in  its  early  stages  and  to 
start  remedial  action  toward  the  con- 
trol of  abnormal  runoff  and  acceler- 
ated erosion  is  almost  certain  to  lead 
to  still  greater  deterioration  and  a 
more  difficult  and  costly  restoration 
job.  This  has  happened  in  northern 
Mississippi,  where  60-foot  gullies  are 
almost  impossible  to  fill  or  stop. 

Examination  of  channels  and  stream 
deposits  is  another  approach  toward 
determining  watershed  condition.  Un- 
usual deposition,  channel  cutting,  and 
high  watermarks  may  constitute  direct 
evidence  of  abnormal  watershed  con- 
ditions. An  accurate  interpretation  of 
these  downstream  indicators  is  some- 
times difficult  because  of  complex 
geologic  and  climatic  factors.  Even 
under  these  circumstances,  however, 
the  signs  of  flood  runoff  and  siltation 
are  the  best  guide  toward  locating  the 
problem  areas  on  the  watershed.  By 


6o6 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


indicating  the  source  of  the  storm  run- 
off and  sediment,  they  point  to  the 
areas  that  need  better  management. 

The  next  requirement  for  effective 
watershed  restoration  is  the  selection 
of  the  best  remedial  measures.  These 
fall  into  several  categories,  depending 
upon  the  degree  of  deterioration  and 
the  prospects  for  recovery. 

The  first  of  these  are  measures  that 
will  aid  in  the  natural  establishment 
and  growth  of  local  plants.  Protection 
from  fire  is  important.  Regulated  graz- 
ing is  necessary.  In  many  sections  fenc- 
ing out  all  livestock  is  imperative.  Seed 
trees  must  be  left  when  the  timber  is 
harvested.  In  some  cases  all  such  uses 
must  be  curtailed  or  prohibited.  These 
measures  are  applicable  on  areas  where 
there  has  been  but  slight  deterioration 
and  where  it  is  reasonable  to  expect 
rapid  improvement.  Chief  indicators 
of  successful  natural  revegetation  pos- 
sibilities are  an  abundance  of  seed 
plants  and  a  fertile  soil. 

On  certain  areas  that  have  been 
overused  or  damaged  by  fire,  plants 
will  not  come  in  of  their  own  accord, 
because  seed  source  is  inadequate. 
Methods  of  planting  and  seeding  will 
differ  greatly  for  the  different  regions. 
Planted  and  seeded  areas  must  be 
given  intensified  fire  protection  and  at 
least  temporary  protection  from  graz- 
ing and  trampling  until  the  new  vege- 
tation becomes  well  established. 

Mechanical  controls  such  as  contour 
trenches,  water  spreaders,  gully  plugs, 
water  drops,  retaining  walls,  impound- 
ing dams,  and  debris  basins  constitute 
a  third  category  of  watershed-restora- 
tion measures.  They  are  essential  where 
erosion  is  severe  and  active.  Mechani- 
cal measures,  in  nearly  all  instances, 
should  be  considered  as  methods  of  site 
preparation  so  as  to  expedite  vegeta- 
tion establishment. 

It  is  of  utmost  importance  that  the 
need  for  mechanical  controls  be  recog- 
nized. A  too-optimistic  judgment  as  to 
the  probable  success  of  achieving 
effective  restoration  by  natural  and 
artificial  revegetation  will  only  lead  to 
failure  and  a  more  difficult  and  costly 


job  at  some  future  date.  It  is  far  better 
to  overdo  the  restoration  work  than  to 
risk  failure  by  underestimating  needs. 

The  preservation  of  existing  values 
on  a  watershed  is  obviously  a  sounder 
and  cheaper  course  than  restoration  of 
any  kind.  The  primary  objective  of 
maintenance  is  to  preserve  the  water- 
controlling  functions  of  the  land.  This 
means  keeping  storm-flow  discharges 
and  sediment  loads  to  a  minimum. 
Such  an  aim — since  soil  stability  is  the 
key  to  maintaining  normal  hydrologic 
behavior — can  only  be  achieved  when 
the  plant  cover  and  soil  mantle  are  in 
condition  to  withstand  damage  from 
occasional  unusually  heavy  storms. 
That  is  to  say,  a  safety  margin  is  neces- 
sary. In  countless  cases  it  is  the  "usual" 
storm  that  does  the  damage. 

A  high  degree  of  fire  control  is  the 
first  requirement  for  maintaining  sat- 
isfactory watershed  conditions.  The 
purpose  of  fire  control  in  watershed 
management  is  to  prevent  a  reduction 
in  the  density  of  the  plant  cover  and 
litter  and  in  the  organic-matter  content 
of  the  soil.  Fires  that  bare  the  ground 
and  lessen  the  water-holding  capacity 
of  the  mantle  almost  invariably  result 
in  accelerated  erosion  and  increased 
storm-flow  discharges,  even  on  the  sites 
where  vegetation  grows  quickly. 

Fire-control  standards  vary  for  each 
drainage  basin  and  for  parts  of  drain- 
age basins  having  different  runoff  and 
erosion  potentials.  Steep  watersheds 
that  are  subject  to  rains  of  great 
volume  or  high  intensity  obviously  re- 
quire more  protection  from  fire  than 
areas  on  which  there  is  a  lesser  risk  of 
accelerated  erosion  and  flood  runoff. 

Fire-control  plans  must  give  ade- 
quate consideration  to  the  downstream 
values.  The  presence  of  reservoirs,  har- 
bors, canals,  factories,  farms,  com- 
munities, and  other  developments  so 
located  downstream  as  to  be  suscep- 
tible of  flood  and  sedimentation  dam- 
age may  require  a  higher  degree  of  fire 
control  than  is  needed  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  timber,  forage,  or  other 
resources  on  the  watershed  lands.  In 
some  places  the  downstream  values 


Watersheds  and  How  to  Care  for  Them 


607 


may  be  so  great  as  to  warrant  a  fire- 
control  program  tight  enough  to  pre- 
vent the  occurrence  of  any  man-made 
fire,  with  provision  for  the  immediate 
suppression  of  naturally  caused  fires. 

Construction  improvements,  such  as 
roads,  trails,  airfields,  and  the  like,  are 
potentially  hazardous  from  the  stand- 
point of  runoff  and  erosion  because 
they  uncover  extensive  land  areas.  The 
construction  of  such  projects  calls  for 
special  precautions. 

First,  roads,  trails,  and  other  clear- 
ings should  be  located  and  designed  so 
as  to  cause  the  least  possible  soil  dis- 
turbance. Provision  should  be  made  for 
the  immediate  stabilization  of  cut  and 
fill  slopes.  Because  such  projects  in- 
variably produce  some  runoff,  experi- 
ence shows  that  adequate  provision  is 
needed  for  safely  passing  the  drainage 
water  to  the  natural  channels,  or  for 
storing  the  runoff  in  the  adjacent 
mantle  by  contour  trenching  or  ter- 
racing the  land.  Provision  for  regular 
maintenance  and  prompt  repair  of  cut 
and  fill  slope  stabilization  works  and  of 
drainage  facilities  is  essential.  Where 
it  is  not  feasible — physically  or  eco- 
nomically— to  meet  these  requirements 
of  satisfactory  watershed  maintenance, 
the  improvements  should  not  be  built. 

The  construction  of  water  facilities, 
such  as  dams,  canals,  and  transmoun- 
tain  diversions,  present  other  problems. 
These  require  consideration  of  all  pos- 
sible adverse  effects  as  well  as  bene- 
ficial effects  on  watershed  conditions. 
All,  of  course,  must  be  designed  against 
failure.  Adequate  provision  should  be 
made  in  the  design  and  operation  of 
impounding  dams  for  maintaining  an 
effective  habitat  for  fish  and  other 
aquatic  life.  Transmountain  diversions 
should  be  constructed  and  operated  so 
as  not  to  cause  the  scouring  of  chan- 
nels and  consequent  sedimentation  in 
the  areas  to  which  water  is  diverted. 
Full  advantage  should  be  taken  of  op- 
portunities to  spread  the  store  water 
underground. 

HARVEST  CUTTINGS,  timber-stand 
improvement,  thinnings,  and  the  other 


cultural  treatments  of  the  forest  and 
range  cover  offer  possibilities  of  im- 
proving the  usefulness  of  stream  flow 
in  two  ways.  Some  types  of  treatment 
will  result  in  increased,  or  more  timely, 
yields  of  water;  others,  in  less  runoff. 

Removal  of  trees  and  shrubs  from 
along  stream  banks  and  on  valley  bot- 
toms where  the  plant  roots  have  con- 
tinuous access  to  free  water  in  the 
channels  or  valley  fill  is  an  effective 
means  of  reducing  transpiration  losses 
and  thus  increasing  stream  flow  during 
the  growing  season.  Conversion  of  a 
forest  type  to  a  plant  cover  that  re- 
quires less  water  for  growth  offers  an- 
other possibility  of  increasing  water 
yields.  It  may  be  desirable  on  some 
western  watersheds,  for  example,  to 
suppress  the  deep-rooted  aspen,  which 
consumes  up  to  about  20  inches  of 
water  in  a  growing  season,  and  encour- 
age a  plant  cover  of  more  shallow- 
rooted  grasses  and  herbs  that  require 
several  inches  less  water  for  growth. 

In  other  areas,  where  most  of  the 
stream  flow  is  derived  from  winter 
snow,  harvest  cuttings  of  the  conifers, 
which  create  openings  for  deeper  ac- 
cumulation of  snow  and  decrease  in- 
terception losses,  offer  another  chance 
of  obtaining  a  greater  or  a  more  pro- 
longed yield  of  stream  flow.  Studies  in 
Utah  indicate  the  use  of  snowdrift 
fences  may  accomplish  similar  results 
on  high-elevation  and  windswept  snow 
fields.  All  such  measures  should  be  un- 
dertaken, however,  only  when  they  can 
be  accomplished  without  causing  ac- 
celerated erosion  or  a  serious  increase 
of  flood  discharges. 

In  many  parts  of  the  country  the 
flood  hazard  is  high  because  of  pro- 
longed, copious  rainfall,  or  very  high 
rates  of  rainfall  and  of  snow  melt. 
Flood  control  in  such  areas  generally 
requires  the  maximum  possible  cover 
of  vegetation  and  litter.  Here  harvest 
operations  should  be  aimed  at  main- 
taining a  canopy  that  will  intercept 
and  evaporate  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  precipitation  before  it 
reaches  the  ground.  There  should  be  a 
minimum  of  disturbance  to  the  litter 


608 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


or  the  soil  surface,  so  as  to  maintain 
maximum  possible  rates  of  infiltration 
of  water  into  the  mantle.  Harvesting 
methods  should  also  provide  for  the 
encouragement  of  the  species  that  are 
capable  of  transpiring  large  quantities 
of  water  and  thus  maintain  the  great- 
est storage  capacity  in  the  mantle. 

Logging  operations  can  and  often  do 
cause  serious  watershed  impairment, 
even  though  they  leave  the  stand  in 
satisfactory  condition  for  natural  re- 
generation. The  chief  injury  is  that 
brought  about  by  the  clearing  and 
compaction  of  the  soil  along  skid  trails 
and  haul  roads.  Compaction  and  con- 
sequent abnormally  rapid  surface 
runoff  is  known  to  persist  for  many 
years  even  though  the  land  is  quickly 
revegetated.  Skid  trails  and  similar 
disturbances  to  the  soil  should  be  held 
to  a  minimum.  There  should  be  ade- 
quate provision  for  the  immediate 
stabilization  of  loosened  soil,  for  the 
safe  handling  of  drainage,  and  for  the 
reestablishment  of  plant  cover  so  as  to 
prevent  excessive  runoff  and  acceler- 
ated erosion.  Where  these  watershed 
maintenance  requirements  cannot  be 
met,  there  should  be  no  logging. 

The  most  difficult  of  all  watershed- 
management  jobs  is  to  maintain  satis- 
factory watershed  conditions  on  an 
area  heavily  grazed  by  livestock  and  big 
game.  Many  have  considered  this 
solely  a  western  problem.  But  that  is 
erroneous,  for  serious  grazing-water- 
shed  problems  exist  in  the  Central 
States,  in  the  South,  and  in  the  East. 

The  chief  thing  to  avoid  is  overgraz- 
ing. When  the  livestock  overcrop  the 
herbaceous  and  shrubby  forage,  the 
ground  surface  is  bared  to  the  direct 
impact  of  the  rain.  This  condition 
opens  the  canopy,  permitting  the  sun's 
rays  to  hasten  the  disintegration  of  lit- 
ter on  the  ground.  Consumption  of  the 
forage,  though  it  puts  pounds  on  the 
grazing  animals,  robs  the  soil  surface  of 
its  normal  annual  accumulation  of 
dead  grass  stalks  and  leaves.  Continued 
over  the  years,  this  further  exposes  the 
soil  surface.  In  addition,  the  hoofs  of 
the  grazing  animals  compact  the  soil 


or  push  it  down  hill.  All  these  effects 
lower  the  capacity  of  the  land  to  soak 
up  and  store  water  and  therefore  favor 
destructive  overland  flow,  accelerated 
erosion,  and  greater  sediment  loads  in 
the  streams. 

Overgrazing  results  in  progressively 
serious  stages  of  watershed  deteriora- 
tion. With  each  decrease  in  the  capac- 
ity of  a  site  to  take  up  and  store  water, 
less  precipitation  is  required  to  cause 
overland  flow  and  accelerated  erosion. 
Once  the  processes  of  deterioration  get 
under  way,  there  is  less  and  less  control 
of  runoff  and  more  and  more  soil  loss. 
Thus,  without  any  change  of  climate, 
watershed  impairment  results  in  more 
and  larger  storm  flows  and  greater 
sediment  loads. 

The  maintenance  of  satisfactory 
watershed  conditions  under  grazing  re- 
quires extreme  care  in  the  handling  of 
stock  on  the  range  and  in  the  location 
and  use  of  driveways,  water  develop- 
ments, salt  grounds,  bed-grounds,  and 
similar  stock-control  devices  so  as  to 
give  a  minimum  of  soil  disturbance  and 
depletion  of  the  plant  cover.  Grazing 
use  should  be  avoided  when  the  soil  is 
wet,  particularly  on  sites  that  are  sus- 
ceptible to  compaction.  In  some  places 
satisfactory  conditions  can  be  main- 
tained by  postponing  grazing  until  after 
the  season  of  high-intensity  storms. 
Great  care  is  needed  to  make  certain 
that  safely  grazeable  portions  of  a  range 
can  be  used  without  causing  impair- 
ment to  adjacent  lands. 

Finally,  there  is  need  for  adequate 
and  frequent  inspections.  They  should 
be  made  by  men  who  can  determine 
accurately  the  effect  of  grazing  on  the 
condition  and  trend  of  the  range.  They 
must  not  be  limited  solely  to  considera- 
tion of  the  forage  plants  but  must  also 
give  adequate  consideration  to  the  soil 
and  its  litter  surface.  Inspections  must 
be  followed  by  prompt  remedial  action. 

The  achievement  of  effective  water- 
shed management  is  a  big  task,  but  it 
is  not  hopeless.  We  have  learned  much 
by  observing  the  effects  of  unplanned 
exploitation  of  our  forest  and  range 
lands.  Research  in  different  parts  of  the 


To  Help  Control  Floods 


609 


country  is  now  beginning  to  specify 
effective  management  procedures.  Ex- 
perience and  research  show  that  effi- 
cient watershed  management  is  usually 
the  best  possible  forest  and  range  man- 
agement. Good  forests,  good  range, 
good  soil,  good  water  go  together. 

GEORGE  W.  CRADDOGK  has  worked 
with  the  Inter  mountain  Forest  and 
Range  Experiment  Station  since  1929. 
His  work  has  included  4  years  of  re- 
search on  spring-fall  sheep  range  in 
Idaho  and  summer  range  in  Utah,  4 
years  on  watershed  research  in  Idaho, 
4  years  on  flood-control  surveys  with 
the  Intermountain  Region,  and  since 


1946,  he  has  been  in  charge  of  water- 
shed management  and  protection  re- 
search. Mr.  Craddock  is  author  and 
coauthor  of  many  publications  on  sub- 
jects relating  to  his  research.  He  holds 
degrees  in  agriculture  and  forestry 
from  the  University  of  California. 

CHARLES  R.  HURSH  is  forest  ecol- 
ogist  in  charge  of  the  Division  of  Forest 
Influences,  Southeastern  Forest  Ex- 
periment Station.  He  was  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Missouri  in 
1917,  and  received  a  doctor  of  philos- 
ophy degree  from  the  University  of 
Minnesota  in  1923.  Dr.  Hursh  joined 
the  staff  of  the  Southeastern  Experi- 
ment Station  in  1926. 


TO  HELP  CONTROL  FLOODS 

GEORGE  R.  PHILLIPS,  BERNARD  FRANK 


Many  of  our  serious  water  problems 
have  their  roots  in  the  misuse  of  land. 
The  same  human  activities  that  ag- 
gravate water-shortage  difficulties  also 
contribute  to  uncontrolled  water  sur- 
pluses and  all  the  misery  and  destruc- 
tion they  bring  in  their  wake.  Basically, 
the  flood-control  program  of  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  aims  at  more 
than  the  repair  of  damaged  watersheds. 
Even  more  important,  it  seeks  to  help 
those  who  now  hold  the  land  in  trust 
to  pass  it  on  unimpaired  so  that  the 
national  health  and  strength  will  be 
maintained. 

Large  acreages  of  our  finest  bottom 
lands  lie  increasingly  exposed  to  the 
threat  of  recurrent  floods.  Many  farms 
are  ruined  beyond  repair  by  the  re- 
lentless cutting  away  of  fertile  fields 
that  border  on  streams.  The  safety  and 
productivity  of  the  extensive  industrial, 
community,  water-supply,  and  other 
developments  are  seriously  endangered 
by  the  murky  flows  that  so  often  orig- 
inate on  the  improperly  handled  crop, 
forest,  or  range  lands. 

Much  more  damage  is  caused  an- 
nually on  the  average  by  the  more  fre- 
quent floods  on  the  smaller  tributaries 


than  by  the  large,  spectacular  floods 
on  the  main  streams.  Flood  and  sedi- 
mentation damages  alone  now  amount 
to  well  over  300  million  dollars  each 
year  throughout  the  United  States. 
More  than  100  million  dollars  in  losses 
occur  on  the  Mississippi  River  system 
alone — damages  that  are  mostly  above 
and  beyond  the  growing  losses  in  the 
storage  capacities  of  reservoirs  due  to 
filling  with  material  carried  down  from 
eroding  watersheds. 

Progress  has  been  made  in  the  build- 
ing of  works  on  our  major  waterways 
to  reduce  the  flood  losses.  Comparable 
progress  will  have  to  be  made  in  treat- 
ing watersheds  to  reduce  the  greater 
aggregate  damages  we  find  on  the 
smaller  streams  and  to  slow  down  the 
rate  at  which  sediment  is  ruining  reser- 
voirs. 

Engineering  developments  cannot 
by  themselves  overcome  the  problems 
of  floods,  because  they  operate  only 
after  the  floodwaters  have  concen- 
trated in  the  main  channels. 

We  must  begin  where  the  floods  be- 
gin. We  must  retard  the  runoff  and 
reduce  or  prevent  the  loss  of  soil  from 
the  watershed  lands  themselves,  be- 


802062°— 49- 


-10 


6io 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


fore  they  have  a  chance  to  build  up  to 
destructive  potentials  in  the  channels. 

Floods  are  caused  by  the  excess  rain 
water  that  is  not  absorbed  and  tem- 
porarily stored  in  the  soil  or  contained 
within  defined  watercourses.  The  dam- 
age caused  by  these  overflows  and  by 
the  sediment  they  carry  and  deposit 
may  occur  in  fields  adjacent  to  upland 
watercourses,  in  bottom  lands  along 
small  tributary  streams,  and  in  the 
flood  plains  of  great  rivers. 

Programs  to  improve  watersheds  are 
designed  to  work  with  nature  by  retard- 
ing runoff  and  reducing  soil  losses. 
That  is  accomplished  by  managing  the 
soil  and  protective  plant  cover  and  by 
stabilizing  gullies,  watercourses,  and 
stream  banks  to  help  control  the  move- 
ment of  water  from  the  time  it  falls 
as  rain  or  snow  until  it  enters  the  rivers 
and  waterways.  Such  an  approach 
builds  and  conserves  the  soil  so  that  it 
will  function  to  best  advantage  as  a 
natural  reservoir  and  at  the  same  time 
become  more  productive. 

A  highly  important,  lasting  effect  of 
stabilizing  and  improving  the  soil  and 
vegetation  on  a  watershed  is  the  grad- 
ual restoration  by  natural  processes  of 
a  better  balance  between  stream-chan- 
nel conditions  and  the  runoff  they 
carry.  The  amount,  rates,  and  quality 
of  stream  flow  reflect  the  character- 
istics of  a  watershed  during  any  given 
period,  so  any  betterment  in  these  char- 
acteristics in  time  brings  a  correspond- 
ing favorable  adjustment  in  the  habits 
of  the  stream. 

Certain  intense  or  prolonged  rains 
produce  so  much  water  that  even 
watersheds  in  the  best  of  condition  can 
modify  the  occurrence  of  high  flood 
flows  only  to  a  limited  extent.  Proper 
watershed  measures  carefully  installed 
and  maintained  can  lower  the  fre- 
quency of  floods,  especially  the  smaller 
ones,  greatly  lessen  the  chances  of  oc- 
currence of  swift  flash  floods  in  the 
smaller  valleys,  and  materially  reduce 
the  silt  load  that  adds  to  both  the  flood 
volume  and  the  amount  of  damage. 

The  natural  processes  whereby  the 
soil  and  plant  cover  of  a  watershed 


operate  to  reduce  flood  flows  and  sedi- 
mentation are  described  earlier  in  this 
chapter.  Let  us  consider  briefly  here 
the  role  of  the  land  in  the  operation  of 
the  phase  of  the  hydrologic  cycle  that 
pertains  to  flood  discharges. 

Watershed  lands  influence  flood 
flows  and  sedimentation  by  the  manner 
in  which  they  dispose  of  rain  and 
snow  melt.  Flood  runoff  from  the  land 
occurs  when  rain  falls  or  snow  melts 
faster  than  the  soil  can  absorb  it.  The 
ability  of  the  soil  to  take  in  and  hold 
back  water  is  affected  in  turn  by  the 
kind  and  condition  of  the  vegetative 
cover,  as  well  as  by  the  structure  and 
depth  of  the  soil.  Surface  runoff  is  the 
most  destructive.  It  is  a  highly  impor- 
tant factor  in  sheet  and  gully  erosion 
and  in  the  rapid  formation  of  flood 
peaks. 

Rapid  subsurface  discharge  from 
pervious  shallow  soils  or  soils  with  an 
impervious  layer  near  the  surface  can 
also  contribute  to  flood  flows.  Because 
the  storage  capacity  of  such  soils  is 
limited,  it  is  soon  used  up,  and  any  ad- 
ditional water  entering  the  soil  quickly 
drains  off  into  channels.  Subsurface 
discharge,  however,  is  less  destructive 
than  surface  runoff,  in  that  it  seldom 
causes  erosion. 

The  basic  principle  involved  in 
watershed  flood  control  is  to  increase 
the  ability  of  the  soil  to  absorb  water 
and  temporarily  keep  it  from  enter- 
ing stream  channels  and  to  control  the 
runoff  movement  of  water  so  that  it 
causes  a  minimum  of  damage. 

That  is  accomplished  ( 1 )  by  restor- 
ing and  retaining  a  good  cover  of 
vegetation  and  litter  to  protect  the  soil 
against  compaction  and  erosion  and  to 
increase  its  intake  and  storage  capacity 
and  (2)  by  stabilizing  gullies,  water- 
ways, and  tributary  stream  channels. 
During  the  growing  season,  vegetation, 
especially  heavy  forest  growth,  can  also 
increase  the  storage  capacity  of  the 
soil  by  rapid  and  heavy  transpiration. 

THE  FLOOD  CONTROL  ACT  of  1936 
provides  the  basis  for  current  Federal 
flood-control  activities.  It  is  an  out- 


To  Help  Control  Floods 


611 


growth  of  many  years  of  an  increasing 
realization  of  the  importance  of  water- 
sheds in  control  of  floods  and  sedimen- 
tation. It  reflects  a  growing  awareness 
of  the  important  interrelations  between 
the  condition  of  the  watershed  soils 
and  vegetation  and  the  rates  of  runoff. 

The  Flood  Control  Act  is  a  historic 
marker  in  the  growth  of  Federal  legis- 
lation. It  recognizes  that  destructive 
floods  constitute  a  menace  to  the 
national  welfare.  It  declares  that  flood- 
control  investigations  and  improve- 
ments of  rivers  and  other  waterways 
and  their  watersheds  are  of  general 
concern.  It  fosters  local  responsibility 
by  providing  that  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment participate  with  States  and  their 
political  subdivisions  in  the  improve- 
ment of  the  navigable  waters  and  their 
watersheds. 

The  act  provides  that  Federal  inves- 
tigations of  watersheds  and  measures 
for  runoff  and  water-flow  retardation 
and  soil-erosion  prevention  on  water- 
sheds shall  be  undertaken  under  the 
direction  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, and  that  Federal  investigations 
and  improvements  of  rivers  and  other 
waterways  for  flood  control  and  allied 
purposes  shall  be  under  the  direction 
of  the  Chief  of  Engineers,  Department 
of  the  Army.  The  two  Departments 
work  very  closely  together  to  handle 
the  Federal  responsibilities  for  flood 
control.  The  act  also  provides  for  ap- 
propriate correlation  of  such  activities 
with  investigations  and  river  improve- 
ments incidental  to  reclamation  proj- 
ects of  the  Bureau  of  Reclamation. 

WATERSHED  FLOOD-CONTROL  activi- 
ties are  of  two  principal  kinds :  Investi- 
gations (preliminary  examinations  and 
surveys)  of  authorized  watersheds,  and 
installation  of  the  watershed  programs 
set  forth  in  survey  reports  approved  by 
Congress. 

Preliminary  examination  reports  con- 
tain such  information  as  is  necessary 
to  determine  whether  watershed-treat- 
ment programs  appear  to  be  justified 
and  whether  surveys  should  be  made. 
They  are  prepared  largely  from 


available  data  and  generalized  field 
examinations. 

Survey  reports  describe  the  water- 
sheds, their  condition,  flood  history  and 
flood  damages,  and  outline  remedial 
watershed  programs  and  their  esti- 
mated costs  and  benefits.  They  are  pre- 
pared on  the  basis  of  field  studies. 

Both  investigations  and  operations 
are  conducted  on  a  watershed  or  sub- 
watershed  basis.  This  concept  is  con- 
sistently followed  from  the  initiation 
of  the  preliminary  examination  to  the 
completion  of  the  work  program.  The 
surveys  develop  over-all  estimates  of 
the  types  and  quantities  of  remedial 
measures  and  works,  their  anticipated 
costs,  and  their  physical  and  economic 
benefits.  They  do  not  include  plans  for 
the  location  or  designs  for  the  construc- 
tion of  specific  works  at  specific  sites. 
Such  detailed  location  plans  and  con- 
struction designs  are  prepared  as  a  part 
of  the  flood-control  work  plans,  the 
first  step  in  carrying  out  authorized 
operations  on  the  ground. 

The  proposed  watershed-improve- 
ment programs  are  recommended  to 
Congress  for  flood-control  operations, 
where  the  estimated  total  benefits  to 
all  interests  concerned  exceed  the  esti- 
mated total  costs. 

In  developing  these  programs,  con- 
sideration is  also  given  to  the  measures 
and  practices  that  will  help  conserve 
water  for  beneficial  use,  reduce  pollu- 
tion, and  benefit  fish  and  wildlife. 

The  survey  reports  include  recom- 
mendations for  public  lands  as  well  as 
for  privately  owned  lands.  Authorized 
work  is  initiated  on  the  basis  of  agree- 
ments between  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  other  public  agencies 
concerned. 

In  general,  measures  and  practices 
installed  on  the  lands  not  owned  by  the 
Federal  Government  are  maintained 
by  local  interests.  However,  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  has  a  responsi- 
bility in  the  public  interest  to  see  that 
the  installed  improvements  on  such 
lands  are  properly  maintained.  In  the 
case  of  any  major  works,  special  con- 
sideration is  given  to  Federal  responsi- 


6l2 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


bility  for  their  maintenance  or  for 
Federal  supervision  of  their  mainte- 
nance by  other  than  a  Federal  agency. 
Survey  reports  indicate  the  proposed 
maintenance  responsibility  for  the 
recommended  types  of  remedial  meas- 
ures, together  with  the  cost-allocation 
estimates. 

As  a  means  of  testing  effectiveness 
of  the  watershed  programs  and  im- 
proving knowledge  of  watershed  func- 
tioning, survey  reports  often  provide 
for  measuring  the  effects  of  the  work 
upon  flood  flows,  sedimentation,  soil 
deterioration,  and  other  factors  in 
sample  subwatersheds. 

WATERSHED  PROGRAMS  consist  of 
such  measures  as  the  improvement  of 
existing  vegetative  cover,  the  establish- 
ment of  trees  or  other  vegetation  on 
denuded  areas,  and  the  protection  of 
forests  and  grasslands  from  fire.  They 
include  the  adoption  of  the  best  prac- 
tices for  the  management  of  livestock 
and  big  game  and  of  logging  and 
forest-management  practices  that  will 
maintain  a  good  ground  cover.  They 
foster  the  proper  use  of  close-growing 
and  cover  crops  on  tilled  lands  and 
such  changes  in  land  use  and  plant 
cover  as  will  increase  water  absorption 
and  retention  in  the  soil  and  improve 
the  soil  storage  capacity  and  crop  pro- 
duction. 

Still  other  measures  include  such 
soil-  and  water-conserving  practices  as 
contour  cultivation,  strip  cropping, 
and  supplemental  mechanical  devices 
or  structures,  like  terraces,  diversion 
ditches,  check  dams,  small  detention 
dams,  and  debris  basins. 

Whether  the  land  is  privately  or 
publicly  owned,  the  watershed-treat- 
ment programs  are  planned  entirely  by 
subwatersheds,  with  the  various  meas- 
ures coordinated  to  obtain  the  maxi- 
mum effectiveness  of  the  work.  Such 
measures  as  fire  control,  range  reseed- 
ing,  detention  dams,  debris  basins,  and 
stream-bank  stabilization  are  installed 
only  on  a  subwatershed  basis  because 
of  the  nature  of  the  improvements  and 
because  several  types  and  ownerships 


of  land  are  often  involved.  However, 
many  measures  (such  as  adjustments 
in  use  of  land  within  farms,  vegetation 
of  farm  pastures  or  woodlands,  ter- 
races, strip  cropping,  and  contour 
farming)  are  installed  on  a  farm-by- 
farm  basis. 

Altogether,  the  job  of  watershed 
treatment  and  management  is  one  in 
which  individuals,  organizations,  and 
local,  State,  and  Federal  Governments 
are  concerned  and  from  which  all  de- 
rive flood  protection  and  other  bene- 
fits of  physical,  economic,  and  social 
value. 

Unless  all  parts  of  a  watershed  area 
are  in  good  condition,  damaging 
floods,  erosion,  and  sedimentation  may 
still  occur.  Unsatisfactory  conditions 
on  as  little  as  1  or  2  percent  of  a  water- 
shed may  cause  serious  losses.  It  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  the  pro- 
gram for  any  watershed  be  considered 
as  a  whole.  Although  partial  programs 
may  help,  the  maximum  possible  re- 
duction in  flood  and  sedimentation 
damages  and  the  greatest  economy  in 
expenditure  can  best  be  achieved  by 
complete  and  unified  application.  That 
is  the  key  purpose  for  which  the  pro- 
gram is  designed,  and  that  is  the  basis 
upon  which  it  must  be  applied  and 
maintained. 

To  obtain  the  maximum  beneficial 
effects  from  a  watershed-improvement 
program,  installation  should  be  sched- 
uled on  an  orderly  basis.  In  the  case 
of  the  1 1  programs  already  authorized 
by  Congress,  the  periods  specified  in 
the  survey  reports  vary  by  watersheds 
from  10  to  24  years.  The  estimated 
costs  of  installation  and  the  expected 
beneficial  effects  of  the  programs  out- 
lined in  the  reports  are  geared  to  the 
specific  installation  periods.  To  the 
extent  that  delays  occur  in  installing 
the  programs,  further  watershed  dete- 
rioration can  be  expected.  Thus,  the 
more  the  work  is  delayed,  the  greater 
will  be  the  costs  of  installing  the  meas- 
ures, and  the  longer  it  will  take  for 
them  to  achieve  full  effectiveness. 

Two  units  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  the  Forest  Service  and 


To  Help  Control  Floods 


613 


the  Soil  Conservation  Service,  carry 
out  the  Federal  responsibilities  for  the 
work  programs.  The  preparation  of 
the  subwatershed  work  plans  consti- 
tutes the  first  step  in  the  operations 
phase.  The  work  plans  show  what  is  to 
be  done,  where  and  how  it  is  to  be  done, 
who  will  do  it,  what  it  will  cost,  and 
who  will  pay  for  it. 

In  preparing  and  carrying  out  the 
work  plans,  the  Department  cooper- 
ates closely  with  other  public  agencies. 
The  programs  contemplate  local  par- 
ticipation in  installing  and  maintaining 
the  various  measures  and  practices. 
This  involves  furnishing  equipment, 
material,  labor,  financial  aid. 

On  the  private  lands,  the  Depart- 
ment furnishes  the  technical  assistance 
and  the  information  needed  to  de- 
velop the  program.  It  lends,  operates, 
and  maintains  equipment.  It  provides 
material  and,  sometimes,  labor.  It 
furnishes  storage  for  materials  and 
supplies.  It  cooperates  with  States,  soil 
conservation  districts,  and  the  other 
legally  acceptable  organizations  and  in- 
dividuals in  carrying  out  the  job. 

Actually,  many  of  the  measures  are 
installed  by  landowners  and  operators 
themselves  in  cooperation  with  soil 
conservation  districts  and  with  assis- 
tance from  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture and  other  Federal  and  State 
agencies.  The  kind  and  amount  of  as- 
sistance is  based  on  what  is  needed  to 
achieve  the  flood-control  objectives 
and  on  the  direct  and  indirect  public 
benefits  to  be  derived.  The  Depart- 
ment itself  undertakes  the  job  on  lands 
under  its  administration,  such  as  the 
national  forests.  It  assists  in  applying 
flood-control  measures  on  public  lands 
under  the  administration  of  any  other 
Federal  or  any  State  agency  in  the 
same  manner  as  on  privately  owned 
lands,  thus  assuring  proper  integration 
of  the  work  all  over  the  watershed. 

MORE  THAN  600  WATERSHEDS  have 
been  authorized  for  preliminary  ex- 
amination and  survey.  The  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  has  made  prelim- 
inary examinations  of  164  watersheds, 


and  completed  18  survey  reports.  The 
Congress  has  authorized  improvement 
programs  on  1 1  watersheds.  Work  has 
started  on  all  of  them. 

Both  the  Forest  Service  and  the  Soil 
Conservation  Service  are  responsible 
for  making  watershed  examinations 
and  surveys  within  assigned  areas  and 
for  the  technical  and  administrative 
determinations  involved.  They  are  also 
responsible  for  carrying  on  the  oper- 
ations called  for  by  the  approved  pro- 
grams. 

In  the  Forest  Service  the  investiga- 
tions are  undertaken  through  the  forest 
and  range  experiment  stations  in  the 
field  and  under  the  Division  of  Forest 
Influences  Research  in  Washington. 

The  operation  phases  are  carried  out 
through  the  several  administrative 
regional  offices  and  under  the  Division 
of  Watershed  Management. 

In  the  Soil  Conservation  Service, 
both  investigations  and  operations  are 
carried  on  through  the  regional  offices 
in  the  field  and  under  the  Division  of 
Water  Conservation  in  Washington. 

Policy,  coordination,  and  other  de- 
partmental responsibilities  are  handled 
by  the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture. 

The  Department's  flood-control  pro- 
gram bears  an  important  relation  to 
the  work  of  other  public  agencies.  Co- 
operative arrangements  are  worked 
out  and  maintained  from  the  begin- 
ning with  other  Federal  agencies,  and 
with  State  and  local  agencies  at  the 
field  and  the  Washington  levels.  Such 
voluntary  correlation  during  the  de- 
velopment of  the  programs  facilitates 
later  clearance  of  final  reports  before 
their  submission  to  the  Congress. 

WATERSHED  PROGRAMS  cannot  alone 
prevent  floods  nor  can  they  alone  pro- 
tect the  major  river  valleys  from  dis- 
astrous floods.  Properly  installed  and 
steadfastly  maintained,  however,  they 
will  greatly  lower  the  number  of  small 
floods  and  the  damages  to  the  flood 
plains  of  smaller  tributaries.  They  will 
materially  reduce  sedimentation  in  res- 
ervoirs and  in  streams  and  rivers  of  all 


614 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


sizes,  and  modify  the  effects  of  major 
floods  by  maintaining  the  natural 
storage  capacities  of  the  watershed 
soils  and  retarding  surface  runoff. 
Only  a  properly  designed  combination 
of  watershed  and  waterway  treatments, 
encompassing  all  portions  of  a  drain- 
age basin  and  involving  both  water- 
shed improvement  and  reservoirs  and 
other  necessary  engineering  works,  can 
assure  maximum  flood  protection. 

Proper  and  continuing  farm-,  for- 
est-, and  range-management  practices 
are  essential  to  the  permanent  reduc- 
tion of  watershed  damages.  The  repair 
of  watersheds  already  damaged  is  only 
the  first  step.  As  our  people  understand, 
adopt,  and  demonstrate  a  more  posi- 
tive and  responsible  attitude  toward  re- 
source conservation  in  all  its  forms, 
greater  protection  from  flood  and  sedi- 
ment damage  by  both  land  treatment 
and  engineering  activities  will  be 
realized. 

GEORGE  R.  PHILLIPS  handles  the  co- 
ordination and  other  over-all  phases  of 
the  flood-control  program  in  the  Of- 


fice of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 
Since  his  graduation  in  forestry  from 
Michigan  State  College,  he  has  worked 
with  the  Michigan  Land  Economic 
Survey  and  served  as  assistant  State 
forester  of  Indiana,  State  forester  of 
Oklahoma,  State  director  for  the 
Shelterbelt  Project  in  Oklahoma,  chief 
of  the  Division  of  State  Forestry  in  the 
Forest  Service,  and  chairman  of  the 
Farm  Forestry  Committee  and  the 
Water  Facilities  Board  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 

BERNARD  FRANK  is  assistant  chief  of 
the  Division  of  Forest  Influences  of  the 
Forest  Service,  engaged  in  watershed- 
management  research  and  watershed 
flood-control  investigations.  He  was 
graduated  in  forestry  from  Cornell 
University,  and  has  done  graduate 
work  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 
He  worked  with  the  Forest  Service  on 
land-utilization  problems  in  the  south- 
ern Appalachian  Mountains  and  in  the 
Lake  States,  and  served  with  the  Ten- 
nessee Valley  Authority  as  assistant 
chief  forester  on  forest-resource  inves- 
tigations and  planning. 


•j>  -2t^ 
^     I 


Interception  of  rain  and  how  it  is  stored 
on  leaves  and  twigs. 


Interception  of  snow  and  how  it  is  stored 
in  openings  between  trees. 


Wood  In  Use 


THE  WOOD  FOR  THE  JOB 

R.  P.  A.  JOHNSON,  CHARLES  E.  VAN  HAGAN 


BECAUSE  WOOD  is  a  part  of 
every  home  and  because  anybody 
who  can  pull  a  saw  or  lift  a  hammer 
can  work  with  wood,  a  general  knowl- 
edge of  its  properties  and  uses  will 
come  in  handy  to  every  person  who 
lives  in  a  home. 

The  first  point  in  selection  of  mate- 
rial for  satisfactory  performance  de- 
pends on  the  use  of  the  right  wood  for 
the  right  purpose.  The  man — or  wom- 
an— who  intends  to  work  with  wood 
has  to  determine  what  kind  of  service 
he  expects  to  get  from  the  wood.  Will 
it  be  strength  or  hardness,  or  stiffness 
or  resistance  to  decay,  or  beauty  or 
some  other  property? 

The  use  requirements  usually  do  in- 
volve a  combination  of  two  or  more, 
and  selection  involves  finding  the  wood 
that  has  the  best  combination  of  the 
desired  properties. 

The  species  that  have  certain  special 
properties  that  cost  more  (such  as  re- 
sistance to  decay)  should  not  be  used 

Above:  Building  a  prefabricated  house — 
"The  prospective  buyer  can  learn  a  great 
deal  about  quality  if  he  watches  the  work- 
men assemble  a  house." 


unless  those  properties  are  definitely 
needed.  For  example :  People  often  go 
to  considerable  expense  to  get  highly 
decay- resistant  wood  for  diving  boards ; 
they  reason  that  the  constant  wetting 
and  drying  of  the  board  demands  it. 
Actually,  however,  the  most  important 
item  in  a  diving  board  is  strength,  for 
most  boards  fail  mechanically  in  a  year 
or  two  if  they  are  in  continuous  use, 
as  at  public  beaches.  The  proper  wood 
for  this  use,  then,  would  be  compara- 
tively inexpensive  and  strong,  selected 
with  little  regard  to  decay  resistance. 

Similarly,  it  will  be  wasteful  to  pay  a 
premium  price  for  wood  with  a  beauti- 
ful grain  pattern,  like  walnut  or  ma- 
hogany, for  use  in  furniture  that  is  to 
be  painted.  An  inexpensive  wood  with 
equal  or  better  painting  characteristics 
but  with  little  figure  (yellow-poplar, 
for  instance)  would  be  a  more  logical 
choice.  There  is  no  economy  in  paying 
a  high  price  for  wood  with  a  property 
that  is  not  used. 

Thus,  wise  use  of  wood  in  the  home 
requires  consideration  of  the  proper- 
ties needed  and  a  basic  knowledge  of 
the  main  properties  of  the  commercial 

615 


616 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


woods.  The  final  choice  of  the  wood 
may  also  be  affected  by  the  skill  of  the 
worker  and  the  availability  of  the  de- 
sired species.  The  farmer,  for  example, 
who  wants  to  use  wood  growing  on  his 
own  land  has  a  limited  selection  and 
may  not  be  able  to  choose  the  ideal 
wood  for  a  given  purpose,  but  with  the 
actual  demands  clearly  determined,  he 
can  make  the  most  satisfactory  and 
economical  selection  from  the  wood 
that  he  has. 

The  characteristics  vary  among  spe- 
cies, among  the  individual  trees  of  the 
same  species,  and  even  among  pieces 
of  wood  taken  from  different  heights  of 
the  same  tree.  Thus  the  published 
values  for  the  different  properties  are 
averages  and  do  not  hold  for  every  in- 
dividual piece  of  wood. 

One  should  also  understand  that 
wood  does  not  have  the  same  strength 
properties  in  all  directions.  Strength 
depends  on  the  direction  of  the  grain. 
When  tension — pull — is  applied  par- 
allel to  or  along  the  grain,  for  example, 
wood  may  be  300  times  as  strong  as 
when  the  tension  is  applied  at  right 
angles  to  the  grain. 

The  terms  "hardwood"  and  "soft- 
wood" are  used  to  distinguish  between 
two  general  classes  of  wood  and  not  to 
indicate  the  properties  of  the  included 
species.  Hardwood  is  the  name  given 
to  the  group  of  trees  that  are  broad- 
leaved.  Softwood  is  the  name  given  to 
trees  that  have  needlelike  or  scalelike 
leaves  and  are  mostly  evergreen  (cy- 
press, larch,  and  tamarack  being 
exceptions). 

The  hardwoods  are  not  necessarily 
high  in  relative  hardness;  some  woods 
classed  as  softwoods  are  actually  harder 
than  some  classed  as  hardwoods.  The 
softwoods  are  used  principally  in  con- 
struction; the  hardwoods  furnish  most 
of  the  wood  for  implements,  furniture, 
and  other  industrial  uses. 

The  weight  of  wood  in  itself  has  an 
important  bearing  upon  the  selection 
of  a  species  for  many  uses.  Weight  also 
serves  as  a  reliable  index  of  the  strength 
properties  of  dry  wood  and  affords  an 
accurate  comparison  between  the 


strength  properties  of  possible  species 
when  the  degree  of  dryness  and  the 
actual  sizes  are  the  same.  Generally 
speaking,  the  heavier  a  piece  of  dry 
wood,  the  stronger  it  is,  regardless  of 
the  species. 

Changes  in  temperature  have  little 
effect  upon  wood;  they  cause  such 
small  variations  in  size  that  for  ordi- 
nary farm  and  home  uses  the  effect  of 
temperature  can  be  overlooked. 

Changes  in  moisture  content,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  a  considerable  effect 
on  wood,  which  swells  as  it  takes  up 
moisture  and  shrinks  as  it  dries.  Diffi- 
culties may  be  encountered  if  this  prop- 
erty is  disregarded.  When  proper  pre- 
cautions are  taken,  however,  most  of 
the  trouble  due  to  swelling  and  shrink- 
ing can  be  avoided.  The  shrinking  or 
swelling  in  the  width  of  a  flat-grained 
board  is  nearly  twice  that  of  a  quarter- 
sawn,  or  edge-grained,  board  of  the 
same  width;  the  shrinkage  or  swelling 
lengthwise  of  the  grain  in  both  is 
negligible. 

One  can  compensate  for  high  shrink- 
age, if  only  that  kind  of  wood  is  avail- 
able, by  using  edge-grained  pieces, 
which  will  prove  as  satisfactory  as  flat- 
grained  stock  of  species  that  have  lower 
shrinkage  values.  Much  trouble  can 
also  be  avoided  by  using  only  wood 
that  has  been  dried  to  approximately 
the  moisture  content  that  the  finished 
piece  will  have  in  service.  Thorough 
air  drying  will  take  out  about  half  and 
thorough  kiln  drying  about  two-thirds 
of  the  shrinkage  of  wood.  That  is 
enough  for  the  ordinary  uses. 

Warping,  which  is  the  result  of  un- 
even shrinking  or  swelling,  may  occur 
in  wood  that  is  plain-sawed,  or  cross- 
grained,  or  improperly  dried.  It  can  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum  by  the  use  of 
edge-grained,  properly  dried  material. 

Woods  that  are  comparatively  free 
from  warping  include:  Northern  and 
Atlantic  white-cedar,  eastern  and  west- 
ern redcedar,  cherry,  chestnut,  north- 
ern white  pine,  ponderosa  pine,  sugar 
pine,  western  white  pine,  yellow-pop- 
lar, redwood,  walnut,  and  the  eastern, 
Engelmann,  and  Sitka  spruce. 


The  Wood  for  the  Job 


617 


THE  STRENGTH  PROPERTIES  of  WOod 

that  most  concern  the  woodworker  in- 
clude bending  strength,  compression 
strength,  stiffness,  and  toughness. 

Bending  strength  is  a  measure  of  the 
load-carrying  capacity  of  the  members 
that  are  ordinarily  used  in  a  horizontal 
position  and  rest  on  supports. 

High  bending  strength  is  required  in 
barn  rafters,  girders,  stringers,  wagon 
tongues,  and  scaffold  platforms.  If  the 
only  available  wood  is  low  in  bending 
strength  compared  with  better-suited 
species,  the  deficiency  can  be  overcome 
by  increasing  the  size  of  the  member 
used.  An  increase  of  10  percent  in  the 
height  of  a  beam  increases  its  bending 
strength  by  21  percent.  Both  the  vol- 
ume and  bending  strength  of  a  beam, 
however,  increase  in  direct  proportion 
as  the  width  is  increased.  Woods  high 
in  bending  strength  for  farm  and  home 
building  include  ash,  beech,  yellow 
birch,  cherry,  Douglas-fir,  rock  elm, 
hickory,  the  western  larch,  locust,  hard 
maple,  oak,  southern  yellow  pine,  and 
walnut. 

Compression  strength  of  wood  is  the 
measure  of  its  ability  to  resist  a  load 
applied  in  such  a  direction  that  it  tends 
to  crush  the  member,  as  in  a  post  or 
column.  Good  compression  strength  is 
essential  for  members  used  to  support 
houses,  garages,  barns,  storage  bins, 
and  the  like,  because  they  hold  up  a 
load.  It  is  not  important  in  such  items 
as  fence  posts. 

Low  compression  strength  can  be 
compensated  for  in  some  instances  by 
the  use  of  proportionately  larger  mem- 
bers. In  the  construction  of  small 
buildings,  then,  the  size  requirements 
of  posts  where  the  length  is  less  than  1 1 
times  the  smallest  dimension  are  de- 
termined by  bearing  area,  stiffness,  and 
stability  rather  than  by  actual  com- 
pression strength.  Because  these  re- 
quirements necessitate  the  use  of  posts 
large  enough  to  carry  greater  actual 
compressive  loads  than  are  ever  placed 
upon  them,  no  particular  considera- 
tion need  be  given  to  the  compression 
strength  endwise  in  selecting  a  wood 
for  small  houses.  Where  exceptionally 


heavy  loads  are  involved,  as  in  sup- 
ports for  bins  or  root  cellars,  the  com- 
pression strength  of  the  members 
should  be  considered.  If  the  length  is 
greater  than  11  times  the  smallest  di- 
mension, the  stiffness  of  the  member 
becomes  the  controlling  factor,  and  the 
compression  strength  can  be  disre- 
garded. Of  the  woods  used  in  farm 
and  home  building,  those  high  in  com- 
pression strength  include  white  ash, 
eastern  redcedar,  cherry,  Douglas-fir, 
hickory,  western  larch,  locust,  hard 
maple,  southern  yellow  pine,  redwood, 
and  walnut. 

Stiffness  is  a  measure  of  the  resist- 
ance to  bending  or  deflection  under  a 
load.  It  assumes  importance  in  floor 
joists  of  houses  and  in  studding,  where 
it  is  more  important  than  the  actual 
breaking  strength.  Lack  of  stiffness  in 
these  members  will  result  in  plaster 
cracks  in  ceilings  and  vibration  of 
floors.  Stiffness  is  important  also  in 
shelving,  ladder  rails,  beams,  ax  han- 
dles, and  long,  slender  columns.  Con- 
struction practices  can  compensate  for 
the  lack  of  stiffness,  on  the  one  hand, 
or  nullify  the  advantages  of  using  wood 
with  high  stiffness  on  the  other.  In- 
creasing the  size  of  a  member  will  in- 
crease its  stiffness,  but  the  use  of  wood 
that  is  not  fully  dry  at  the  time  of  in- 
stallation will  result  in  a  loss  in  stiffness 
of  the  structure  as  a  whole,  because  the 
wood,  as  it  dries,  may  shrink  or  split, 
so  that  the  fastenings,  bracing,  and 
bridging  will  not  hold  so  well.  Woods 
high  in  comparative  stiffness  that  are 
used  in  farm  and  home  building  in- 
clude white  ash,  beech,  yellow  birch, 
cherry,  Douglas-fir,  rock  elm,  western 
hemlock,  hickory,  western  larch,  locust, 
hard  maple,  oak,  southern  yellow  pine, 
the  Sitka  spruce,  and  walnut.  Defects, 
such  as  knots,  checks,  and  shakes  have 
little  effect  upon  stiffness.  In  light 
building  construction,  therefore,  mate- 
rial of  the  sound,  though  knotty, 
grades  may  be  used  to  good  advantage 
for  joists  and  studs  because  stiffness  is 
more  important  than  breaking  strength 
in  those  items. 

Toughness  is  a  measure  of  the  ca- 


6i8 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


pacity  to  withstand  suddenly  applied 
loads.  Tough  woods,  therefore,  can 
withstand  repeated  shocks  or  blows, 
such  as  are  given  ax  handles,  wheel 
spokes,  and  wagon  tongues.  Because 
they  are  high  in  comparative  tough- 
ness, the  following  woods  are  used  in 
farm  and  home  building  when  tough- 
ness is  desired:  Ash,  beech,  yellow 
birch,  elm,  hackberry,  hickory,  locust, 
hard  maple,  oak,  and  walnut.  Of  those 
woods,  hickory  is  used  most  often  if 
toughness  is  the  main  requirement. 

NAILS,  screws,  and  bolts  for  joining 
his  work  are  a  primary  concern  of  the 
home  woodworker,  although  a  vari- 
ety of  timber  connectors  have  been 
developed. 

Because  the  strength  of  a  unit  de- 
pends on  the  fastenings,  they  merit 
careful  consideration.  The  denser  and 
harder  the  wood,  the  greater  is  its  in- 
herent nail-holding  power.  This  resist- 
ance to  withdrawal  increases  almost 
directly  with  the  diameter  of  the  nail. 
Thus,  if  the  diameter  of  the  nail  is 
doubled,  the  holding  power  is  doubled, 
providing  the  nail  does  not  split  the 
wood  when  it  is  driven.  Nails  have 
been  treated  in  various  ways  in  an 
effort  to  increase  their  holding  power. 
Among  such  nails  that  are  in  common 
use,  the  cement-coated  nail  has  a 
higher  holding  power  than  the  com- 
mon nail  in  well-seasoned  wood,  and 
the  barbed  nail  a  lower  value. 

The  moisture  content  of  the  wood  at 
the  time  of  nailing  strongly  affects  the 
holding  power  of  nails  driven  into  it. 
The  best  guarantee  of  good  joints  and 
high  nail-holding  power  is  to  use  well- 
seasoned  wood.  Nails  driven  into  wet 
wood  lose  as  much  as  three-fourths  of 
their  full  holding  power  when  the  wood 
becomes  dry,  and  such  a  practice  can 
result  in  the  loosening  of  siding,  barn 
boards,  fence  pickets,  and  the  like.  If 
one  has  to  use  unseasoned  wood,  it  is 
best  to  use  barbed  nails  in  it. 

The  holding  power  of  nails  is  greatly 
reduced  if  the  wood  splits ;  even  a  slight 
amount  of  splitting  results  in  a  con- 
siderable loss  in  holding  power.  The 


heavy,  dense  woods,  such  as  maple, 
oak,  and  hickory,  split  more  in  nailing 
than  do  the  lightweight  woods,  such  as 
basswood,  spruce,  and  the  true  firs. 
Woods  of  uneven  texture,  such  as 
southern  yellow  pine  and  Douglas-fir, 
split  more  than  do  the  uniform-tex- 
tured woods,  such  as  eastern  white 
pine,  sugar  pine,  or  ponderosa  pine. 
Splitting  due  to  nailing  can  be  reduced 
by  using  smaller  nails,  but  the  number 
of  nails  must  be  correspondingly  in- 
creased to  obtain  the  same  holding 
power.  Blunt-pointed  nails  have  a 
smaller  tendency  to  split  wood  than  do 
sharp-pointed  nails,  but  blunt-pointed 
nails  have  lower  holding  power.  The 
danger  of  splitting  can  be  reduced  by 
staggering  the  nails  or  by  boring  holes 
for  the  blunt-pointed  nails. 

THE    SURFACE    CHARACTERISTICS    of 

the  wood  affect  its  appearance  and  its 
strength  and  so  should  be  considered 
when  wood  is  selected  for  specific  uses. 

If  maximum  strength  or  fine  appear- 
ance is  desired,  the  material  should  be 
chosen  from  the  select  grades,  from 
which  most  knots,  pitch  pockets,  and 
the  like  are  eliminated.  The  common 
grades,  which  include  those  defects  in 
greater  or  lesser  amounts  depending 
upon  the  wood,  should  be  used  if  ap- 
pearance or  high  strength  is  not  of 
primary  importance  or  if  knots  or  other 
defects  are  desired  for  architectural 
effects,  as  in  knotty  pine  trim. 

A  knot  is  the  part  of  a  branch  or  limb 
that  has  become  embedded  in  the  body 
of  a  tree  and  subsequently  has  been  cut 
through  in  the  process  of  lumber  man- 
ufacture. There  are  various  types  of 
knots,  but  the  distinction  that  the 
woodworker  should  know  is  the  one  be- 
tween an  encased  knot  and  an  inter- 
grown  knot.  An  encased  knot  is  one 
whose  rings  of  annual  growth  are  not 
grown  into  those  of  the  surrounding 
wood.  An  intergrown  knot  is  one  whose 
rings  are  completely  intergrown  with 
those  of  the  surrounding  wood.  Be- 
cause the  grain  of  knots  is  at  a  consid- 
erable angle  to  the  grain  of  the  sur- 
rounding wood,  the  knots  in  a  flat-sawn 


The  Wood  for  the  Job 


619 


board  shrink  at  a  faster  rate  than  the 
remainder  of  the  wood.  If,  as  with 
encased  knots,  the  knots  are  not  an 
integral  part  of  the  wood,  they  may 
become  loosened  even  to  the  extent  of 
falling  out  of  the  board. 

Knots  also  affect  both  the  appear- 
ance and  the  strength  of  a  piece  of 
wood.  Except  for  knotty  finish,  they  are 
considered  objectionable  from  the 
standpoint  of  appearance.  They  reduce 
the  strength  of  lumber  according  to 
their  number,  size,  quality,  and  posi- 
tion in  a  piece.  Strength  is  reduced 
more  by  an  intergrown  knot  than  by 
an  encased  knot,  or  even  a  knot  hole, 
because  the  wood  fibers  are  more  dis- 
torted. 

Where  painting  is  to  be  done,  wood 
that  contains  pitch — which  is  an  ac- 
cumulation of  resin  in  the  wood  cells — 
should  be  avoided  because  it  does  not 
easily  retain  paint  or  varnish.  The 
select  grades  of  lumber  allow  only  a 
small  amount  of  pitch.  Pitch  pockets 
have  a  slight  weakening  effect  on  lum- 
ber, but  their  chief  disadvantage  is  that 
the  liquid  pitch  sometimes  runs  out  of 
the  board  in  use.  Woods  that  tend  to 
have  pitch  pockets  can  usually  be  de- 
tected by  visual  examination. 

WOOD  DETERIORATES  in  use  like  any 
other  material.  Iron  and  steel  may  rust 
upon  exposure;  wood  may  deteriorate 
through  the  action  of  fungi  in  damp 
places.  The  best  way  to  prevent  decay 
in  the  wood  used  in  homes  and  farms 
is  to  use  only  dry  wood  in  the  original 
work  and  to  keep  it  always  dry. 

Most  of  the  wood  used  in  homes  does 
not  come  in  contact  with  moisture 
enough  to  cause  concern.  A  number  of 
the  danger  points,  however,  call  for 
definite  precautions.  Wood  posts  in 
basements  should  rest  on  concrete  foot- 
ings that  rise  about  3  inches  above  the 
flood.  The  same  precautions  should  be 
taken  where  wood  stairs  rest  on  the 
basement  floor.  Points  to  watch  outside 
the  house  include  steps,  siding,  posts, 
and  framework  of  porches  that  are  in 
contact  with  the  ground;  basement 
window  frames  and  siding  that  are  near 


drain  pipes ;  fence  posts ;  and  floors  that 
are  laid  close  to  the  ground  over  un- 
ventilated  areas. 

Untreated  wood  should  be  kept  at 
least  18  inches  above  the  ground  level. 
When  that  is  not  practical,  one  should 
use  heartwood  of  a  decay-resistant 
species  (sapwood  of  all  species  has  low 
decay  resistance)  or  wood  that  has 
been  given  a  good  preservative  treat- 
ment. Wood  that  has  been  pressure- 
treated  with  a  preservative  gives  the 
best  service,  but  the  life  of  fence  posts 
and  similar  items  can  be  extended  by 
preservative  treatment  in  a  bath,  a  pro- 
cess the  farmer  or  home  owner  can  do 
himself. 

Proper  care  of  that  kind  and  proper 
selection  and  use  will  give  further  evi- 
dence of  the  reasons  why  wood  has 
been  one  of  the  foremost  building  ma- 
terials for  thousands  of  years. 

R.  P.  A.  JOHNSON  was  trained  in 
civil  engineering  at  the  Virginia  Poly- 
technic Institute.  He  holds  advanced 
degrees  from  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin. He  entered  the  Forest  Service 
in  1908,  serving  in  Montana,  Arizona, 
New  Mexico,  and  Arkansas.  He  trans- 
ferred to  the  Forest  Products  Labora- 
tory in  1918  and  served  in  the  Division 
of  Industrial  Investigations  and  the  Di- 
vision of  Timber  Mechanics^  of  which 
he  is  now  the  chief. 

CHARLES  E.  VAN  HAGAN  was  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  Wisconsin 
as  a  civil  engineer  in  1936.  After  grad- 
uate work  in  transportation  at  Yale 
University,  he  was  employed  as  an 
engineer  by  two  construction  firms  and 
the  Wisconsin  Highway  Department 
before  joining  the  Forest  Products 
Laboratory  as  an  engineer  in  1944.  He 
is  the  secretary-treasurer  of  the  Forest 
Products  Research  Society. 

The  last  section  of  this  book  con- 
tains more  information  on  the  average 
weights  of  wood,  characteristics  and 
properties)  and  similar  subjects  of  value 
to  the  home  owner.  Attention  is  di- 
rected to  the  list  of  some  of  the  Forest 
Products  Laboratory  publications. 


620 


SEASONING  OF  WOOD 

RAYMOND  C.  RIETZ 


The  living  tree  holds  gallons  and 
gallons  of  water  in  the  walls  and 
cell  cavities  of  the  fibers  that  make  up 
the  structure  of  its  wood.  The  fibers 
dry  out  and  shrink  when  they  are  ex- 
posed to  air.  Thus  the  rough  products 
of  the  tree — poles,  posts,  ties,  boards, 
ax-handle  blanks,  barrel  staves — shrink 
as  the  water  evaporates  from  the  wood. 
This  is  the  seasoning  process — drying 
and  shrinking. 

The  use  to  which  the  seasoned  wood 
is  to  be  put  determines  how  much 
water  is  to  be  removed  in  drying. 
Lumber  for  a  barn,  which  is  exposed 
only  to  changing  outdoor  air  condi- 
tions, need  not  be  dried  to  as  low  a 
moisture  content  as  hardwood  boards 
for  fine  furniture,  which  is  exposed  to 
heated  indoor  air  in  winter.  Another 
example:  Wood  for  a  croquet  ball, 
which  has  to  stay  round  despite  knocks 
and  dampness,  must  be  dried  and 
shrunk  more  than  wood  that  is  to  be 
used  in  a  rough  packing  crate. 

Two  principal  seasoning  processes 
are  in  common  use,  air  drying  and  kiln 
drying,  each  of  which  is  better  adapted 
to  some  uses  than  the  other. 

The  air  drying  of  wood  is  much 
like  drying  the  family  washing,  except 
that  the  boards  cannot  be  so  simply 
hung  on  lines  or  directly  exposed  to  the 
sun  and  the  wind.  It  consists  of  piling 
the  lumber  outdoors  so  that  air  cur- 
rents can  circulate  through  the  pile  and 
carry  away  the  moisture  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  wood.  As  the  surface  dries, 
moisture  from  within  the  board  re- 
places it  and,  in  turn,  is  carried  away 
by  the  air.  It  is  a  slow  process,  but  on 
the  whole  is  quite  satisfactory.  For 
some  special  uses,  such  as  hardwood 
furniture,  flooring,  and  millwork,  air 
drying  in  most  parts  of  the  United 
States  does  not  dry  wood  to  a  low 
enough  moisture  content  for  satisfac- 
tory use.  In  such  cases  the  hardwood 
lumber  is  usually  first  air-dried  at  the 


producing  sawmill  and  then  kiln-dried 
to  a  still  lower  moisture  content  at  the 
woodworking  factory. 

With  a  little  care  and  attention  to 
details,  lumber  can  be  piled  so  that  it 
will  not  warp,  check  excessively,  or  be- 
come infected  with  decay  while  air 
seasoning. 

First,  the  air-drying  yard  should  be 
laid  out  to  make  full  use  of  the  pre- 
vailing winds,  because  the  greater  the 
air  movement  through  the  pile,  the 
quicker  the  lumber  will  be  dried.  The 
bottom  of  the  pile  should  be  designed 
to  allow  free  movement  of  air  under- 
neath, and  this  pile  should  usually  be 
arranged  so  that  it  slopes  from  front 
to  rear  in  order  that  rain  water  will 
drain  away  readily.  The  slope  of  the 
pile  is  determined  by  the  arrangement 
of  the  piers,  those  at  the  front  being 
higher  than  those  at  the  rear  of  the 
pile.  To  reduce  yarding  costs,  some 
producers  are  experimenting  with  hor- 
izontal lumber  piles  built  up  from 
"packages"  of  lumber  moved  about 
with  lift  trucks.  The  pile  piers  are  all 
of  the  same  height  to  accommodate 
the  handling  equipment,  and  the  built- 
up  seasoning  piles  are  flat. 

As  the  pile  goes  up,  it  should  have  a 
forward  pitch  of  about  an  inch  to  each 
foot  of  height.  Over  each  layer  of 
boards,  narrow  strips,  called  stickers, 
should  be  laid  crosswise,  about  2  to  4 
feet  apart,  to  keep  the  layers  separated. 
An  inch  or  two  of  space  should  be  al- 
lowed between  the  edges  of  boards  for 
air  to  move  up  or  down  through  the 
pile.  Boards  should  be  placed  carefully, 
so  that  the  various  air  channels  are  un- 
obstructed. Stickers  likewise  should  be 
lined  up  one  above  the  other;  other- 
wise the  boards  lying  on  them  may  be 
bent  by  the  weight  of  the  boards  above 
and  warp  in  drying.  Finally,  a  roof 
consisting  of  a  double  layer  of  boards, 
the  upper  layer  overlapping  the  lower, 
should  be  put  over  the  pile  so  that  it 


Seasoning  of  Wood 


621 


will  overhang  the  front  end  1  or  2  feet 
and  should  be  held  about  6  inches 
above  the  top  layer  of  boards  by  a  few 
timbers  laid  crosswise  on  the  pile.  Piles 
should  be  built  so  there  will  be  no  over- 
hanging boards  at  the  rear. 

When  conditions  favor  too  rapid 
drying  and  excessive  checking,  the 
checking  can  be  reduced  by  making 
wider  piles,  narrowing  the  space  be- 
tween piles,  piling  the  boards  edge  to 
edge,  narrowing  the  vertical  air  chan- 
nels, using  thinner  stickers,  and,  some- 
times, by  using  shields  around  the  pile 
for  protection  against  wind,  rain,  and 
sun.  When  the  season  of  the  year  re- 
duces likelihood  of  checking,  or  the 
species  being  dried  is  not  likely  to  check 
easily,  the  circulation  of  air  through 
the  pile  can  be  stimulated  by  opening 
up  the  pile.  Faster  drying  is  thereby 
obtained,  and  stain  and  decay  are  re- 
tarded. Roof  boards  or  pile  covers  pre- 
vent exposure  of  the  boards  in  the  top 
layer  to  the  direct  heat  of  the  sun, 
which  will  invariably  cause  checking. 
At  some  plants,  lumber  of  high  value 
is  air-dried  in  open  sheds  to  prevent 
loss  of  quality  by  more  direct  exposure 
to  the  elements. 

KILN  DRYING  is  a  process  designed  to 
hasten  drying  by  circulating  large 
volumes  of  warmed  air  through  care- 
fully piled  lumber.  Modern  drying 
kilns  equipped  with  blowers  or  fans 
can  dry  wood  more  thoroughly  in  a  few 
days  than  can  be  done  by  air  seasoning 
in  months.  For  some  kinds  of  lumber, 
kiln  drying  is  indispensable. 

In  modern  dry  kilns,  conditions  can 
be  had  that  favor  the  fastest  possible 
drying  with  a  minimum  of  drying  de- 
fects. In  kiln  drying,  as  in  air  drying, 
the  atmosphere  is  used  as  the  medium 
whereby  heat  is  conducted  to  the  wood 
to  evaporate  the  water  it  contains.  In 
kiln  drying,  however,  the  atmospheric 
conditions  of  temperature  and  relative 
humidity  can  be  controlled  with  a  rea- 
sonable degree  of  accuracy.  Thus,  the 
dry  kiln  is  independent  of  weather 
conditions. 

Most  modern  dry  kilns  are  of  the 


forced-air-circulation  type.  Steam  coils 
are  generally  used  for  heating  air  that 
is  circulated  through  the  loads  of  lum- 
ber. Recently,  furnace-type  dry  kilns 
have  been  developed  for  use  where  it 
is  not  economical  to  install  steam 
boilers.  In  such  dry  kilns,  the  steam- 
heated  coils  are  replaced  by  large  pipes 
or  manifolds  in  which  the  hot  gases 
resulting  from  the  burning  of  sawdust, 
gas,  oil,  or  other  fuel  are  circulated. 

Good  results  depend  largely  on  good 
piling  practices.  For  kiln  drying,  lum- 
ber is  usually  flat-piled  on  kiln  trucks 
with  an  adequate  number  of  stickers. 
Warping  of  boards  is  prevented  by 
good  piling,  stickers  used  in  good  verti- 
cal alinement,  and  other  mechanical 
devices  that  make  better  loads. 

The  way  air  circulates  within  the 
kiln  determines  how  the  loads  are  to  be 
piled.  Thus,  in  internal-fan  kilns  de- 
signed to  move  air  across  the  loads,  the 
lumber  is  piled  edge  to  edge  in  each 
layer.  In  external-fan  kilns  designed  to 
deliver  air  upward  into  the  load  from 
a  central  delivery  duct,  the  lumber  is 
usually  stacked  with  an  A-shaped  flue 
in  the  middle  of  the  load  to  distribute 
the  delivered  air.  Many  natural-draft 
kilns  are  still  in  use,  however,  and  in 
such  kilns  the  lumber  is  piled  with 
spaces  between  the  boards  and  usually 
with  one  or  more  flues.  In  contrast  to 
the  forced-air-circulation  kiln  with  its 
edge-to-edge  piled  loads,  the  load  as 
piled  for  a  natural-draft  kiln  contains 
considerably  less  volume  or  footage. 

Designing  a  lumber  dry  kiln  requires 
a  knowledge  of  mechanical  heating 
as  well  as  ventilation  engineering.  Some 
kilns  seem  to  be  of  simple  engineering 
arrangement,  but  actually  the  relation 
of  the  size  of  the  room  to  the  size  of  the 
kiln  charge  and  the  placement  of  fans, 
fan  baffles,  ducts,  and  heating  coils  are 
not  simple. 

The  design  of  the  heating  system  and 
the  method  of  coupling  it  to  the  tem- 
perature-control apparatus  (so  as  to 
provide  uniform  temperatures  along 
the  length  and  height  of  the  entering- 
air  side  of  the  kiln  charge)  are  par- 
ticularly important  if  precision  drying 


622 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


is  to  be  done.  The  structural  materials 
in  the  building,  whether  wood,  con- 
crete, brick,  or  tile,  also  have  a  bearing 
on  the  expected  life  and  maintenance 
costs  of  the  kiln.  Manufacturers  of  dry 
kilns  and  engineers  can  provide  such 
engineering  services. 

The  early  dry-kiln  designs  involving 
forced-air  circulation  with  internal 
fans  were  developed  at  the  Forest 
Products  Laboratory,  and  the  patents 
on  them  were  dedicated  to  public  use. 
The  dry-kiln  companies  and  engineers 
whose  designs  are  based  on  those  pat- 
ents attest  to  the  soundness  of  the  de- 
sign. The  development  by  the  Forest 
Products  Laboratory  of  the  internal- 
fan  type  of  dry  kiln  resulted  from  a 
need  for  drying  freshly  sawn  lumber 
quickly,  cheaply,  and  with  control  of 
seasoning  defects. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  aspect 
of  kiln  operation  is  the  changing  of 
the  conditions  of  temperature  and  rela- 
tive humidity  within  the  kiln  so  as  to 
control  the  drying  of  lumber  in  accord- 
ance with  a  definite  schedule.  In  most 
schedules,  the  initial  drying  conditions 
for  lumber  that  is  freshly  sawn  are  mild 
enough  to  prevent  seasoning  defects, 
such  as  end  and  surface  checking.  For 
some  hardwoods,  the  initial  tempera- 
ture may  be  105°  F.;  and  some  soft- 
woods can  be  subjected  to  180°.  The 
initial  relative  humidities  are  quite 
high  (80  percent) ,  but  they  are  rapidly 
reduced  as  the  stock  becomes  drier.  As 
the  lumber  dries,  the  temperature  is 
usually  raised  until  rather  high  tem- 
peratures and  low  humidities  are 
reached  near  the  end  of  the  process. 
Final  temperatures  are  often  near  200% 
and  final  relative  humidities  as  low  as 
15  percent. 

A  typical  drying  schedule  is  based  on 
the  moisture  condition  of  the  lumber, 
and  changes  in  temperature  and  rela- 
tive humidity  are  made  when  certain 
stages  of  lumber  dryness  are  obtained. 
Samples  in  the  kiln  are  periodically 
weighed  to  determine  the  moisture 
condition  of  the  stock,  and  the  rate  at 
which  the  samples  dry  determines 
when  the  changes  in  temperature  and 


relative  humidity  are  made.  Some  of 
the  softwoods,  however,  are  dried  at 
such  high  temperatures  and  in  such 
short  periods  of  time  that  the  changes 
in  drying  conditions  are  placed  on  a 
time  basis.  In  that  case,  freshly  cut 
lumber  is  subjected  to  certain  initial 
drying  conditions  that  are  changed 
after  a  certain  number  of  hours  of  dry- 
ing, the  time  of  the  changes  having 
been  determined  by  previous  studies 
or  experience. 

BEFORE  ANY  CHARGE  of  lumber  is  re- 
moved from  the  dry  kiln,  it  is  desirable 
to  operate  the  kiln  at  conditions  that 
tend  to  bring  all  of  the  boards  to  the 
same  moisture  content.  Some  boards 
dry  faster  than  others  and  the  drying 
conditions  are  changed  so  that  the  dry 
boards  will  not  overdry  but  the  high 
moisture-content  boards  will  continue 
to  lose  moisture.  This  is  called  the 
equalizing  period.  The  time  required 
to  equalize  a  charge  of  lumber  depends 
on  the  species,  its  thickness,  and  the 
degree  of  nonuniformity  of  its  mois- 
ture content  at  the  time  the  stock  is 
ready  for  equalizing.  After  equalizing, 
the  lumber  may  be  subjected  to  a  con- 
ditioning treatment  to  relieve  stresses 
that  develop  during  the  drying  process. 
If  hardwood  lumber,  for  example,  is 
not  properly  conditioned  after  kiln  dry- 
ing, boards,  when  resawn  or  cut  into 
two  thinner  pieces,  will  tend  to  cup 
toward  the  newly  sawn  faces  and  may 
not  be  suitable  for  the  use  intended. 

Wood  that  has  been  kiln-dried  to 
low  moisture-content  values  that  are 
more  nearly  in  equilibrium  with  those 
of  winter-heated  homes  will  absorb 
moisture  from  the  atmosphere  if  it  is 
stored  in  warehouses  where  normal 
outdoor  air  conditions  prevail. 

One  of  two  courses  is  recommended 
for  lumber  stocks  that  have  been  kiln- 
dried  to  low  moisture-content  values, 
such  as  required  in  the  furniture  in- 
dustry. Either  the  dry  lumber  should 
be  fabricated  immediately  and  the 
products  protected  from  moisture 
changes  with  finish  coatings,  or  the 
stock  should  be  stored  in  warehouses 


Preservative  Treatment  of  Wood 


623 


that  are  heated  sufficiently  to  reduce 
the  relative  humidity. 

RAYMOND  C.  RIETZ  was  trained  in 
economics  and  mechanical  engineering 
in  Beloit  College  and  the  University 
of  Wisconsin.  He  was  employed  by  a 
producer  of  southern  hardwood  lum- 
ber in  central  Mississippi  before  he 
joined  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory 


in  1928.  During  the  Second  World 
War  he  was  assistant  to  the  chief  of 
the  Division  of  Materiel  Containers. 
He  directs  research  in  the  seasoning 
and  physical  properties  of  wood  as 
chief  of  the  Division  of  Timber  Physics 
in  the  Laboratory.  He  has  written  sev- 
eral articles  on  the  seasoning  of  wood, 
and  has  developed  a  method  of  kiln 
drying  pine  cones  for  seed  extraction. 


PRESERVATIVE  TREATMENT  OF  WOOD 

THOMAS  R.  TRUAX 


Wood  now  in  useful  service  is  being 
destroyed  in  this  country  by  decay  and 
insects  at  the  rate  of  several  billion 
board  feet  a  year — an  amount  ap- 
proaching the  normal  average  used  an- 
nually in  the  construction  of  dwelling 
units.  The  enormous  drain  upon  the 
resources  of  our  forests  can  be  lessened 
through  greater  use  of  preservative- 
treated  wood,  one  piece  of  which  may 
do  the  work  of  several  replacements  of 
untreated  wood. 

The  railroads  long  ago  found  that 
preservative  treatments  save  wood  and 
money.  In  the  early  days  when  most 
railroad  ties  were  untreated,  railroads 
required  for  replacements  each  year 
approximately  450  ties  to  the  mile;  in 
recent  years  when  a  large  percentage 
of  all  ties  in  service  were  treated,  they 
required  less  than  one-third  as  many  re- 
placements to  the  mile.  The  same  order 
of  savings  also  applies  to  telegraph  and 
telephone  poles  and  to  poles  for  other 
public-utility  lines.  Ninety  percent  of 
all  poles  now  being  set  in  the  ground 
are  either  fully  treated  or  butt- treated. 

Many  other  wood  products  that  are 
exposed  to  decay  and  insect  attack  are 
not  so  extensively  treated.  For  ex- 
ample, a  large  part  of  the  600  million 
fence  posts  set  yearly  are  not  treated, 
although  it  has  been  shown  that  many 
species  of  wood  in  post  size  will  last 
from  3  to  10  times  as  long  when  well- 
treated  as  when  untreated.  The  service- 
able life  of  still  other  products  would 


be  increased  by  preservative  treat- 
ments. 

The  type  of  preservative  used  and 
the  thoroughness  with  which  the  wood 
is  treated  have  much  to  do  with  the 
length  of  service  rendered  by  the  wood. 
Good  preservatives  and  poor  treat- 
ments or  poor  preservatives  and  good 
treatments  are  of  little  value.  The  pur- 
pose of  treating  wood  with  preserva- 
tives is  to  protect  it  against  decay 
organisms,  insects,  and  marine  borers. 

Preservatives  of  various  kinds  are 
used  to  treat  various  classes  of  wood 
products. 

Among  the  wood-preserving  oils, 
coal-tar  creosote  has  long  been  effec- 
tive. It  has  good  penetrating  proper- 
ties and  will  remain  in  the  wood  for 
many  years ;  it  is  safe  to  handle,  harm- 
less to  wood  and  metal,  readily  avail- 
able, and  reasonably  cheap.  It  is  used 
mainly  on  wood  that  is  to  be  in  contact 
with  the  soil  and  water  out  of  doors, 
and  where  its  odor  will  be  unobjection- 
able and  painting  will  be  unnecessary. 

For  wood  that  is  used  indoors  or  not 
in  contact  with  the  ground  or  water 
outdoors,  water-borne  preservatives 
are  usually  favored.  Among  these  are 
zinc  chloride,  chromated  zinc  chloride, 
and  several  proprietary  preservatives 
consisting  of  various  mixtures  of  com- 
pounds of  arsenic,  chromium,  copper, 
or  fluorine,  all  of  which  leave  the  wood 
in  a  paintable  condition. 

Still    other    preservatives,    such    as 


624 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


pentachlorophenol,  that  are  soluble  in 
volatile  oils,  when  they  are  so  used,  pro- 
vide clean,  odorless,  readily  paintable, 
treated  wood  suitable  for  interior  or 
exterior  use. 

Many  proprietary  preservatives  of 
undisclosed  composition  are  on  the 
market.  Some  of  them  are  good,  but 
others  have  little  value.  A  good  pre- 
caution to  take  before  accepting  any 
proprietary  preservative  is  to  have  the 
manufacturer  state  the  ingredients 
used  in  his  products. 

PREPARING  THE  WOOD  FOR  TREAT- 
MENT is  necessary  for  satisfactory  re- 
sults with  any  treating  process. 

In  a  few  methods  the  wood  is  treated 
green  and  sometimes  with  the  bark  on, 
but  usually  it  should  be  well  peeled, 
and,  for  best  results  with  most  proc- 
esses, seasoned.  Because  preservatives 
will  not  make  weak  timber  strong  or 
restore  the  strength  of  timber  that  has 
been  partly  destroyed  by  decay,  only 
sound  timber  should  be  used.  The  cut- 
ting, boring,  and  framing  of  the  wood 
should  be  completed  before  treatment, 
if  possible,  to  avoid  the  exposure  of 
untreated  surfaces  that  often  results 
when  cutting  is  delayed  until  after  the 
treatment. 

Wood  is  treated  by  both  pressure 
or  nonpressure  processes,  although  the 
bulk  of  wood  treated  is  given  a  pres- 
sure treatment.  For  most  uses,  wood 
that  has  been  treated  under  pressure 
gives  the  best  service.  Such  treatments 
require  closed  cylinders  with  vacuum, 
pressure,  and  heating  facilities. 

A  number  of  pressure  processes  dif- 
fer from  one  another  in  a  few  details, 
but  the  general  principle  is  the  same  in 
all.  The  wood,  placed  on  steel  cars,  is 
run  into  a  long  steel  cylinder,  which  is 
then  tightly  closed  and  filled  with  pre- 
servative. The  wood  may  be  steamed 
or  otherwise  heated  to  reduce  its  mois- 
ture content  and  be  subjected  either 
to  a  vacuum  or  to  an  initial  air  pres- 
sure before  the  preservative  is  admitted 
to  the  cylinder.  By  a  proper  use  of  pres- 
sure and  heat,  the  preservative  is 
forced  into  the  wood  until  it  has  ab- 


sorbed the  desired  amount.  In  most 
kinds  of  wood,  this  results  in  a  rela- 
tively deep  penetration.  This  treat- 
ment, when  properly  made  with  a  good 
preservative,  should  add  from  20  to  30 
years  to  the  life  of  untreated  wood  for 
most  uses.  About  200  pressure-treating 
plants  are  in  operation  at  various 
points  in  the  United  States. 

Of  the  nonpressure  methods,  the 
hot-and-cold  bath  method  is  the  most 
effective.  It  involves  less  equipment 
than  pressure  processes  and  is  better 
adapted  to  the  small  commercial  and 
home-use  treatments,  such  as  those 
recommended  for  fence  posts.  This 
method  requires  either  one  or  two  open 
treating  tanks.  In  the  one-tank  method, 
the  wood  is  first  heated  and  then  cooled 
in  the  same  treating  solution.  The 
wood  may  also  be  heated  in  air,  steam, 
or  other  media,  and  then  placed  in  the 
tank  of  cold  preservative.  In  the  two- 
tank  process,  the  wood  is  heated  in  a 
tank  of  hot  preservative  and  then 
quickly  transferred  to  the  other  tank, 
where  it  is  submerged  in  cold  preserva- 
tive and  allowed  to  cool.  In  all  cases 
the  heating  and  subsequent  cooling 
creates  a  partial  vacuum  within  the 
wood  that  aids  penetration  of  the  pre- 
servative. The  treatment,  when  prop- 
erly made  with  a  good  preservative, 
should  increase  the  serviceable  life  of 
the  wood  by  many  years.  With  equal 
penetration  and  absorption  of  the  pre- 
servative, pressure-  and  nonpressure- 
treated  wood  should  be  equal  in 
serviceability. 

Other  nonpressure  methods  of  more 
recent  development  are  the  cold-soak- 
ing of  seasoned  timbers  in  oil  solutions 
of  pentachlorophenol  and  other  oil- 
soluble  preservatives  and  the  steeping 
of  green  or  freshly  cut  timbers  in  water- 
borne  preservatives.  A  single  tank  or 
container  for  the  preservative  is  suffi- 
cient, but  soaking  treatments  usually 
require  a  longer  period  to  get  the  wood 
well-treated  than  when  the  hot-and- 
cold  bath  process  is  employed.  When 
thoroughly  done,  these  soaking  meth- 
ods add  appreciably  to  the  serviceable 
life  of  wood. 


Painting  the  Farm  and  City  Home 


Brushing  or  spraying  a  preservative 
on  wood  adds  only  about  1  to  3  years 
to  its  serviceable  life.  Applied  in  this 
way,  the  preservative  does  not  pene- 
trate the  wood  deeply  enough  to  form 
an  effective  barrier  to  wood-destroying 
organisms,  termites,  or  borers,  so  that 
only  a  limited  degree  of  protection  can 
be  expected. 

For  many  years  the  Forest  Products 
Laboratory  has  conducted  tests  on  pre- 
servative treatments  and  maintained 
service  records  on  treated  and  un- 
treated fence  posts,  poles,  railroad  ties, 
and  other  forms  of  timber  subject  to 
decay  and  insect  attack,  often  in  co- 
operation with  farmers,  railroads,  in- 
dustrial concerns,  experiment  stations, 
and  the  national  forests. 

Service  records  have  shown  the  good 
natural  durability  of  the  heartwood  of 
such  species  as  cedars,  baldcypress, 
chestnut,  black  locust,  Osage-orange, 


and  the  redwood,  and  the  nondurable 
properties  of  the  sapwood  of  all  species, 
and  the  heartwood  of  many,  unless 
protected  by  a  preservative  treatment. 
They  have  also  shown  differences  in 
the  value  of  various  preservatives  and 
methods  of  treatment,  which  provide 
the  basis  for  treating  specifications  on 
which  the  wood-preservation  industry 
is  largely  based. 

THOMAS  R.  TRUAX  is  a  graduate  of 
Iowa  State  College.  From  1913  to 
1918  he  was  a  member  of  the  staff  of 
the  forestry  department  in  that  insti- 
tution. Since  1918  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  research  on  forest  products 
at  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory  and 
now  is  chief  of  the  Division  of  Wood 
Preservation,  which  conducts  investi- 
gations in  the  preservation  of  wood, 
fireproofing,  painting,  glues,  gluing, 
and  veneer  cutting. 


PAINTING  THE  FARM  AND  CITY  HOME 

FREDERICK  L.  BROWNE 


Painting  is  a  good  way  to  make  wood 
houses  attractive  and  to  freshen  or 
change  their  appearance.  Paint  can 
give  wood  an  endless  variety  of  colors. 

The  colors  are  important  elements  in 
design.  White,  or  a  light  color,  makes 
a  small  house  look  larger.  A  dark  color 
makes  a  large  house  look  smaller.  Light 
tints  emphasize  attractive  parts,  and 
dark  shades  suppress  unattractive  parts 
of  a  building.  Pleasantly  contrasting 
colors  can  restore  harmonious  balance 
among  unshapely  parts  of  a  building. 

The  natural  color  of  wood  after  it 
has  been  exposed  to  the  weather  for  a 
few  months  is  dark  gray,  although  at 
high  altitudes  it  is  often  brown.  If  the 
gray  color  is  satisfactory,  wood  build- 
ings can  remain  unpainted  and  the  cost 
of  paint  maintenance  thereby  be  saved. 
Buildings  unprotected  by  paint  are  by 
no  means  unusual;  in  fact,  the  two 
oldest  frame  buildings  in  the  United 
States,  one  in  Dedham,  Mass.,  and  the 

802062°—  49 41 


other  in  St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  have  never 
been  painted.  Surviving  houses  of  the 
Amana  Society  in  Iowa  still  have  un- 
painted wood  siding  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  old. 

The  decorative  program  for  a  wood 
building  should  be  chosen  when  the 
building  is  first  planned.  Woodwork  to 
be  kept  painted  should  consist  of 
smoothly  surfaced  boards  or  plywood. 
Smooth  wood  can  be  painted  with  a 
third  of  the  amount  of  paint  and  with 
far  less  effort  than  is  required  for  wood 
with  the  rough  surface  left  by  sawing 
or  splitting.  The  glossy  paints  used  for 
house  painting  need  smooth  surfaces  if 
the  paint  is  to  show  to  best  advantage. 
On  the  other  hand,  unpainted  wood- 
work exposed  to  the  weather  soon 
becomes  rough ;  economy  therefore  dic- 
tates the  initial  choice  of  unsurfaced 
woodwork  for  such  use. 

Unpainted  woodwork  needs  to  be 
thicker  in  dimension  and  more  firmly 


626 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


fastened  in  place  than  may  always  be 
necessary  for  well-painted  woodwork. 
The  weather,  by  alternately  wetting 
and  drying  the  exposed  surfaces  of 
boards  more  rapidly  than  the  moisture 
content  can  readjust  itself  within  the 
boards,  sets  up  severe  internal  stresses 
within  the  wood.  The  outcome  is,  suc- 
cessively, a  roughening  of  the  wood 
grain;  wood  checking;  a  tendency  for 
boards  to  cup,  to  withdraw  nails,  and 
to  split  if  they  are  unduly  thin  or  short; 
and  a  tearing  loose  of  wood  fibers  from 
the  surface  at  such  a  rate  that  boards 
lose  as  much  as  one-fourth  inch  of 
thickness  a  century.  For  exposure  with- 
out painting,  boards  should  not  be 
thinner  than  one-eighth  their  width 
nor  shorter  than  four  times  their 
width;  they  should  be  kept  firmly 
fastened  with  hardware  that  with- 
stands corrosion  without  painting. 

A  coating  of  house  paint  on  exposed 
wood  surfaces  prevents  weathering  by 
slowing  down  the  entrance  or  exit  of 
moisture  enough  to  keep  nearly  equal 
moisture  content  from  the  center  to 
the  surface  of  the  boards.  Internal 
stresses  are  thus  avoided,  and  the 
boards  stay  flat  and  keep  their  smooth 
surfaces. 

With  white  paint,  which  should  be 
renewed  every  5  years,  it  may  take  50 
gallons  of  paint  a  century  for  each 
1,000  square  feet  of  surface  to  prevent 
the  weathering  away  of  wood.  It  is 
cheaper,  of  course,  to  omit  the  paint 
and  let  the  wood  waste  away  slowly, 
but  the  better  appearance  makes  paint- 
ing worth  its  moderate  cost. 

Transparent  finishes  sometimes  are 
favored.  The  grain  and  color  of  freshly 
cut  and  smoothly  surfaced  wood  are 
attractive  enough  to  appeal  to  persons 
who  like  the  unusual.  In  consequence, 
there  is  a  demand  for  a  transparent 
protective  coating  that  will  serve,  as 
paint  does,  in  preventing  wood  weath- 
ering and  yet  will  not  conceal  the 
wood. 

Spar  varnish  is  one  way  to  do  it,  but 
modernists  seldom  want  the  glossiness 
of  a  varnish  finish.  For  that  reason, 
linseed  oil  or  certain  proprietary  oils 


or  wood  sealers,  sometimes  called  log 
oils,  have  become  popular. 

The  oils  and  sealers  penetrate  into 
the  surface  of  wood  instead  of  over- 
laying it  with  a  coating  as  paint  and 
varnish  do ;  because  the  barrier  against 
the  weather  is  imperfect  when  little  or 
no  coating  is  interposed,  the  oils  and 
sealers  furnish  less  protection  than 
varnish  and  much  less  than  paint.  Also, 
because  the  transparent  finishes  are  less 
durable  than  paint,  they  must  be  re- 
newed about  once  a  year  or  oftener. 
A  century's  protection  for  1,000  square 
feet  of  surface,  therefore,  may  require 
200  to  250  gallons  of  oil,  sealer,  or 
varnish,  whereas  50  gallons  of  paint 
does  the  job  more  effectively.  It  is  no 
wonder  our  thrifty  ancestors  preferred 
paint  when  they  wanted  smooth  wood- 
work! 

The  transparent  exterior  finishes 
have  two  further  disadvantages. 

First,  if  they  are  allowed  to  go  too 
long  before  renewal,  the  wood  begins 
to  turn  gray  from  weathering.  Once 
that  happens,  renewal  of  finish  must 
begin  with  tedious  scraping  or  sanding 
away  of  the  weathered  wood  to  regain 
a  bright  surface. 

Second,  the  transparent  finishes  are 
readily  attacked  by  fungi,  which  dis- 
color the  surfaces  badly.  The  danger  of 
fungus  attack,  or  mildew,  can  be  re- 
duced greatly  by  putting  a  suitable  pre- 
servative in  the  oil,  sealer,  or  varnish. 
Proprietary  sealers  and  varnishes  con- 
taining a  preservative  are  sold  in  paint 
stores.  When  linseed  oil  is  used,  the  pre- 
servative, pentachlorophenol,  can  be 
dissolved  in  it  to  the  extent  of  5  percent 
by  weight.  If  the  wood  contains  sap- 
wood,  in  which  discoloring  fungi  grow 
readily  if  the  wood  becomes  damp,  the 
wood  may  well  be  treated  with  a  com- 
mercial water-repellent  preservative 
before  the  transparent  finish  is  applied. 

Rough,  unsurf  aced  wood,  which  may 
be  unduly  expensive  to  paint,  may 
nevertheless  be  colored  other  than  the 
gray  of  weather-beaten  wood.  Shingle 
stains  are  inexpensive  kinds  of  paint. 
They  are  made  with  pigments,  linseed 
oil,  and  much  volatile  thinner;  they 


Painting  the  Farm  and  City  Home 


627 


are  thin  enough  to  be  applied  easily  to 
rough  wood,  and  they  impart  color 
without  glossiness  and  without  seri- 
ously obscuring  the  rough  texture  of 
the  surface.  A  preservative,  such  as 
creosote  or  a  pale  distillate  from  creo- 
sote, is  often  added  to  shingle  stain. 

Although  paint  prevents  the  weath- 
ering of  wood,  paint  cannot  be  relied 
on  to  prevent  decay.  Decay  comes  from 
the  action  of  fungi  on  damp  wood. 
Nearly  always  it  starts  on  unpainted 
concealed  surfaces  and  it  continues 
usually  well  within  the  wood  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  painted  surface.  Paint, 
in  fact,  even  hastens  decay  if  water 
enters  the  wood  at  unpainted  joints  or 
concealed  faces  and  can  only  dry  out 
through  the  painted  surfaces.  The 
paint  then  slows  the  drying  and  keeps 
the  wood  damp  longer.  Decay  in  build- 
ings is  prevented  chiefly  by  taking  care 
that  masonry  or  other  rot-resistant  ma- 
terial is  used  for  all  contacts  with  damp 
ground  or  other  continuing  source  of 
moisture  and  by  seeing  that  all  wood- 
work will  either  remain  dry  or  dry  out 
promptly  after  it  is  exposed  to  water 
for  a  short  time.  If  wood  must  be  used 
in  damp  places,  it  should  be  the  heart- 
wood  only  of  naturally  durable  woods 
or  wood  that  has  been  thoroughly  im- 
pregnated with  wood  preservative. 

A     PAINTING     PROGRAM     should     be 

planned  before  a  house  is  finished — 
once  it  has  been  decided  to  build  with 
smooth  surfaced  woodwork. 

The  principal  items  in  a  painting 
program  are  a  suitable  kind  of  paint, 
a  reasonable  schedule  for  repainting, 
and  the  proper  amount  of  paint  to  be 
applied  at  each  painting. 

The  ideal  program  is  one  of  repair 
and  renewal  of  coatings  before  they 
break  up  badly  enough  to  require  re- 
placement. Over-all  economy  comes 
from  anticipating  and  forestalling  seri- 
ous failures.  Too  often  paint  mainte- 
nance is  left  entirely  unplanned,  and 
each  job  is  done  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  perhaps  after  the  coating  has 
come  loose.  The  cost  of  repainting  is 
therefore  higher  and  one  is  prone  to 


malign  paint  as  being  less  predictable 
in  performance  than  almost  anything 
else  about  the  house. 

The  most  popular  color  for  homes  is 
white.  Most  wood  homes  are  small  and 
need  the  emphasis  of  white  or  a  light 
color.  For  white  paint  of  good  quality, 
properly  applied,  the  reasonable  sched- 
ule of  maintenance  calls  for  repainting 
every  4  or  5  years.  On  some  woods  that 
are  more  difficult  than  others  to  paint 
well,  special  care  is  needed  to  meet  that 
schedule. 

As  I  described  in  Wood  Properties 
and  Paint  Durability,  Miscellaneous 
Publication  No.  629  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  the  heavier  softwoods, 
like  southern  yellow  pine  and  Douglas- 
fir,  need  a  carefully  chosen  priming 
paint  the  first  time  the  wood  is  painted. 
Aluminum  house  paint  is  the  best  prim- 
ing paint  for  the  purpose.  One  should 
be  sure,  however,  that  it  is  aluminum 
house  paint,  not  aluminum  paint  for 
some  other  purpose.  Two  coats  of  white 
paint,  or  paint  of  light  color,  are  then 
needed  over  the  aluminum  paint.  If 
the  coating  is  then  maintained  by  re- 
painting before  it  wears  away  too 
badly,  the  aluminum  paint  need  not  be 
used  again.  Next  best  to  aluminum 
house  paint  for  priming  the  heavier 
softwoods  are  the  modern  house-paint 
primers  that  contain  no  zinc  oxide  and 
that  have  the  property  commonly 
called  "controlled  penetration."  Most 
dealers  in  house  paint  now  sell  such 
primers. 

White  is  popular  although  it  is  less 
durable  than  good  paints  of  other  col- 
ors. Paints  of  colors  like  cream,  light 
yellow,  light  gray,  buff,  and  tan,  that 
are  light  enough  to  have  much  the 
same  accentuating  effect  as  white,  will 
last  a  year  or  so  longer  than  white  paint 
and  thus  fit  a  schedule  of  repainting 
every  5  or  6  years.  Such  light  colors, 
called  tints,  are  made  by  adding  very 
small  proportions  (usually  less  than  5 
percent  by  weight)  of  colored  pig- 
ments to  a  white  paint.  The  added 
durability  is  remarkably  great  for  such 
a  slight  difference  in  composition. 

Still    greater    durability,    one    that 


628 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


permits  longer  intervals  between  re- 
paintings,  can  be  obtained  with  paints 
made  with  large  proportions  of  col- 
ored pigments  and  little  or  no  white 
pigment.  Colored-pigment  paints,  ex- 
cept for  some  brilliant  yellows  and 
reds,  are  dark  paints  that  tend  to  sup- 
press rather  than  to  accentuate.  The 
brilliant  yellows  and  the  reds  are  too 
gaudy  for  use  on  anything  larger  than 
minor  areas  of  trim  on  buildings;  be- 
sides, they  make  relatively  expensive 
paints.  Duller,  more  grayish  yellows, 
reds,  maroons,  and  browns,  which  are 
made  from  pigments  containing  iron 
oxide,  are  appropriate  for  the  body 
color  of  some  buildings.  Paints  of  such 
colors  may  be  moderate  in  cost  and  of 
exceptionally  long  life;  with  the  best 
of  them,  a  schedule  of  repainting  at 
intervals  as  long  as  10  years,  is  prac- 
ticable. 

Because  the  single-family  home  is 
usually  a  fairly  small  building,  the 
popular  choice  of  white  or  a  light  color 
to  accentuate  it  is  appropriate  even 
though  it  commits  the  owner  to  more 
frequent  repainting  than  might  other- 
wise be  necessary.  Brightly  painted 
homes,  of  course,  may  have  the  paints 
of  dark  color  for  contrast  on  trim  or 
on  parts  that  need  toning  down.  The 
schedule  of  maintenance,  however,  is 
usually  fixed  by  the  requirements  of 
the  least  durable  paint  because  con- 
venience is  likely  to  dictate  that  all 
repainting  be  done  at  one  time. 

THE  FARM  HOME  is  often  a  small 
house  in  the  midst  of  a  group  of  larger 
buildings.  The  American  tradition 
most  appropriately  has  been  to  empha- 
size the  home  with  white  paint,  but 
to  offset  the  dominating  size  of  the 
farm  buildings  by  painting  them  dark 
red,  relieved  by  contrasting  touches  of 
white  trim.  The  home  is  thus  made 
the  center  of  the  picture ;  the  barns  are 
reduced  to  supporting  background; 
and  the  whole  conforms  to  the  philoso- 
phy of  farming  as  a  way  of  life.  The 
scheme  permits  an  economical  paint- 
ing program  of  once  in  4  or  5  years  for 
the  house,  and  once  in  8  or  10  years  for 


the  larger  area  presented  by  the  farm 
buildings. 

Recently  a  vogue  has  developed  for 
painting  farm  buildings  white.  Perhaps 
it  is  to  be  interpreted  philosophically  as 
a  shift  to  the  concept  of  farming  as 
primarily  a  business  in  which  the  hous- 
ing of  cows  is  more  important  than 
the  housing  of  humans.  Certainly  if 
barns  are  to  be  accented  with  bright 
paint,  they  should  be  made  architec- 
turally more  attractive  than  they  gen- 
erally have  been  in  years  past.  Judg- 
ing from  experience,  in  which  many 
farmers  have  been  unable  to  keep  up 
with  the  moderate  10-year  program  for 
red  paint,  it  seems  unlikely  that  a  5- 
year  program  with  white  paint  will 
prove  generally  practicable.  Besides,  a 
white  building  badly  in  need  of  re- 
painting calls  attention  to  itself  far 
more  forcefully  than  does  a  modestly 
dark-red  building  in  a  like  condition. 

OF    THE    MANY    WAYS    OF    MAKING 

PAINT,  some  make  more  durable  or 
more  reliable  paint  than  others.  No  one 
way  is  superior  to  the  others  in  every 
respect,  for  an  improvement  in  one 
property  usually  necessitates  some  sac- 
rifice in  another.  For  example:  Old- 
fashioned,  pure  white  lead  paint  is 
more  reliable  in  performance  and 
wears  out  by  a  fine  crumbling  that 
makes  it  stand  postponement  of  re- 
painting longer  than  other  white 
paints  will,  but  white  lead  paint  has 
the  disadvantage  of  becoming  more 
grimy  with  dirt  than  some  other  paints 
do.  On  the  other  hand,  the  more 
recent  paints  made  with  titanium  di- 
oxide, zinc  oxide,  and  white  lead,  to- 
gether with  other  necessary  pigments 
and  liquids,  remain  relatively  clean  and 
bright  in  appearance.  They  do  not, 
however,  retain  color  so  well  and,  if 
repainting  is  postponed  beyond  the 
proper  time,  they  look  shabbier  and 
are  more  troublesome  to  prepare  for 
repainting  than  white  lead  paint. 

Home  owners  who  plan  their  main- 
tenance programs  carefully  and  stick 
to  them  can  take  full  advantage  of  the 
newer  paints,  but  those  who  may  neg- 


Painting  the  Farm  and  City  Home 


629 


lect  their  repainting  would  be  wiser 
to  use  white  lead  paint. 

CORRECT  THICKNESS  of  coating  is 
necessary  for  reliable  performance  of 
the  paint.  For  linseed-oil  house  paints, 
experience  has  shown  that  correct 
thickness  is  about  0.005  inch.  Coatings 
much  thinner  than  that  wear  away 
sooner  than  is  necessary ;  coatings  much 
thicker  than  that  are  unduly  brittle  and 
are  likely  to  behave  badly.  A  common 
mistake  the  first  time  a  house  is  painted 
is  to  apply  too  little  paint.  Thereafter, 
in  maintaining  the  coating,  the  ten- 
dency in  towns  and  cities  (although  less 
often  on  farms)  is  to  paint  too  often  or 
with  too  much  new  paint  at  a  time. 

For  painting  new  woodwork  it  takes 
about  3.6  gallons  of  prewar  house 
paints,  which  are  rich  in  linseed  oil,  to 
leave  a  coating  0.005  inch  thick  on 
1,000  square  feet  of  surface.  It  can  be 
done  either  with  three  coats  of  about 
1.2  gallons  each  or,  if  the  paint  is  of 
the  best  quality,  with  two  coats  of  1.8 
gallons  each.  Present  paints,  however, 
usually  contain  less  linseed  oil  and 
more  volatile  thinner  than  the  prewar 
paints.  It  therefore  takes  about  4.5  gal- 
lons (three  coats  of  1.5  gallons  each) 
to  leave  the  desired  0.005  inch  of  coat- 
ing on  1,000  square  feet.  Two  coats 
with  such  paint  would  require  2.25 
gallons  each,  which  is  more  paint  than 
it  is  practicable  to  apply  on  smooth 
surfaces  at  one  time. 

REPAINTING  should  not  be  done  until 
much  of  the  coating  has  worn  away, 
say  0.002  inch  of  the  original  0.005 
inch.  The  repainting  should  then  re- 
store the  lost  thickness  but  not  much 
more.  That  can  be  done  with  1.4  gal- 
lons of  prewar  paint,  or  1.8  gallons  of 
present  paint,  on  1,000  square  feet  of 
surface.  The  repainting  in  such  cases 
can  be  done  with  one  heavy  coat  or 
two  thin  ones. 

The  present  method  of  selling  paints 
by  trade  brands  without  conforming  to 
trade  standards  of  any  kind  makes  it 
exceedingly  difficult  for  paint  users  to 
exercise  choice  in  selecting  kinds  of 


paint  or  to  learn  how  they  are  best 
used.  The  manufacturers'  directions  for 
applying  paint,  for  example,  fail  to  in- 
dicate the  important  difference  in  the 
methods  of  applying  the  prewar  and 
the  present  paints.  The  user  is  allowed 
to  assume  that  he  may  properly  spread 
the  present  paints  over  as  much  surface 
as  he  formerly  did  the  prewar  paints. 
Most  responsible  paint  manufacturers 
report  the  composition  of  their  paints 
on  the  labels,  as  the  laws  of  some  States 
require,  but  the  formulas  are  stated  in 
a  complicated,  highly  technical  man- 
ner. Paint  users,  who  are  able  and  will- 
ing to  learn  how,  can  get  the  needed 
information  from  the  formulas  by 
calculations.  Methods  of  making  the 
calculations  are  described  in  my  book- 
let, Classification  of  House  and  Barn 
Paints,  Technical  Bulletin  804  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture.  The  bul- 
letin points  out  a  method  of  classify- 
ing paints  by  group,  type,  and  grade 
that,  if  adopted  by  the  industry,  would 
simplify  the  explanation  of  paint  to 
paint  users  and  permit  painting  pro- 
grams for  buildings  to  be  set  forth  in  a 
reasonably  simple  manner. 

THIS  CLASSIFICATION  of  native 
woods  for  relative  ability  to  hold  paint 
coatings  may  be  helpful. 

Type  A  are  paints  that  wear  out  by 
checking  and  crumbling,  such  as  pure 
white  lead  paint. 

Type  B  are  paints  that  wear  out  by 
cracking,  curling,  and  flaking,  such  as 
paints  containing  zinc  oxide  mixed 
with  other  pigments. 

Group  1 — Woods  on  which  paints  of 
types  A  and  B  last  longest. 
Softwoods: 
Alaska-cedar. 
Incense-cedar. 
Northern  white-cedar. 
Port-Orford-cedar. 
Southern  cedar. 
Western  redcedar. 
Baldcypress. 
Redwood. 

Group  2 — Woods  on  which  paints  of 
type  B  wear  out  faster  than  they  do  on 
woods  of  group  1 ,  through  paints  of  type 


630 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


A  last  as  long  as  they  do  on  woods  of 
group  1 : 

Softwoods: 

Eastern  white  pine. 

Western  white  pine. 

Sugar  pine. 

Group  3 — Woods  on  which  paints 
of  types  A  and  B  wear  out  more  rap- 
idly than  they  do  on  groups  1  or  2: 
Hardwoods: 

Aspen. 

Basswood. 

Gottonwood. 

Magnolia. 

Yellow-poplar. 
Softwoods: 

White  fir. 

Eastern  hemlock. 

Western  hemlock. 

Lodgepole  pine. 

Ponderosa  pine. 

Eastern  spruce. 

Engelmann  spruce. 

Sitka  spruce. 

Group  4 — Woods  on  which  paints  of 
types  A  and  B  wear  out  more  rapidly 
than  they  do  on  woods  of  group  3 : 


Hardwoods: 
Beech. 
Birch. 
Blackgum. 
Maple. 
Redgum. 
Tupelo  gum. 
Softwoods: 
Douglas-fir. 
Red  pine. 

Southern  yellow  pine. 
Tamarack. 
Western  larch. 

Group  5 — Woods  unsuitable  for  con- 
ventional house  painting  because  wood 
filler  is  required  before  painting  to  fill 
the  large  pores  properly : 

All  hardwoods  with  pores  larger 
than  those  in  birch,  as  ash,  chest- 
nut, elm,  hickory,  oak,  walnut. 

FREDERICK  L.  BROWNE  has  been  in 
charge  of  work  on  painting  and  fin- 
ishing of  wood  at  the  Forest  Products 
Laboratory  since  1922.  He  studied 
chemistry  at  Cornell  University  and 
the  University  of  Wisconsin. 


FUNGI  AND  WOOD 

CARL  HARTLEY 


Wood  is  subject  to  several  kinds  of 
defects  or  blemishes  that  are  caused  by 
fungi  and  bacteria.  They  are  forms  of 
plant  life.  Many  of  them  grow  on  the 
contents  of  the  cells  of  the  wood  but 
do  not  attack  the  cell  walls ;  their  only 
important  effect  is  on  color.  Only  part 
of  the  discolorations  are  due  to  organ- 
isms and  the  causes  of  many  of  them 
have  yet  to  be  determined.  Most  dis- 
colorations of  hardwoods  are  already 
present  before  the  tree  is  cut,  but  sap 
stain  or  blue  stain  usually  occurs  after 
the  lumber  is  sawed. 

The  discolorations  of  yellow-poplar, 
the  tuliptree,  are  particularly  striking. 
In  this  and  several  other  important 
species  most  of  the  discolorations  have 
been  found  to  indicate  no  appreciable 
weakening  of  the  wood.  Browned  or 


bleached  spots  or  streaks,  however, 
commonly  indicate  the  presence  of 
decay  fungi,  which  dissolve  the  cell 
walls  and  thereby  weaken  or  destroy 
the  structure. 

The  decay  fungi  belong  to  a  special 
group,  most  of  which  have  fleshy  spore- 
producing  bodies — toadstools,  mush- 
rooms, brackets.  The  gills  or  the  pores 
found  on  the  under  side  of  the  fruit- 
ing bodies  of  most  of  the  species  have 
a  large  surface  area.  On  these  surfaces 
are  borne  a  myriad  of  microscopic 
spores  that  are  carried  by  wind  to  start 
new  infections.  The  Division  of  Forest 
Pathology  has  about  300  species  of 
these  fungi  growing  in  pure  culture. 

Wood  attacked  by  fungi  is  lowered 
in  toughness  or  shock  resistance  and  ( to 
a  less  degree)  in  bending  or  crushing 


Fungi  and  Wood 


strength  before  it  is  appreciably  sof- 
tened or  reduced  in  weight.  In  wood 
to  be  used  for  paper,  decay  fungi  re- 
duce the  quantity  and  quality  of  pulp, 
depending  on  the  fungus  involved  and 
the  process  to  be  used  in  pulping. 

Plywood  is  generally  quite  as  suscep- 
tible to  decay  as  solid  wood  of  the 
species  from  which  it  is  made,  although 
some  glues  hinder  the  passing  of  fungi 
from  one  layer  of  wood  to  another. 
Wood  or  paper  impregnated  with  a 
high  content  of  phenolic  resin  (as  im- 
preg,  compreg,  or  papreg)  strongly  re- 
sists decay,  but  impregnation  with  urea 
resins  has  given  less  consistent  protec- 
tion in  the  tests  so  far  made. 

MOST  WOOD  DECAY  FUNGI  Will  grow 

rapidly  only  between  60°  and  90°  F. 
They  remain  alive  during  long  periods 
below  freezing,  but  can  be  quickly 
killed  by  heat  at  temperatures  about 
150°. 

The  food  requirements  of  the  fungi 
limit  many  of  them.  The  fungi  that 
merely  discolor  are  generally  unable  to 
attack  heartwood  of  any  species  of  tree 
because  of  its  lack  of  the  sugars  or 
other  readily  digested  food  materials 
that  they  require.  Some  decay  fungi 
can  attack  the  wood  of  the  broadleaved 
species  only;  others  are  limited  to  soft- 
woods; some  are  even  limited  to  a 
particular  genus  of  trees. 

Moisture  is  the  factor  most  impor- 
tant from  a  practical  standpoint.  Fungi 
cannot  grow  in  constantly  air-dry 
wood,  even  in  the  more  humid  parts 
of  the  United  States.  Strictly  speaking, 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  dry  rot.  Wood 
must  contain  moisture  equaling  more 
than  one-fifth  of  the  weight  of  the 
oven-dry  wood  before  decay  or  stain- 
ing fungi  can  develop  in  it.  Decay  fungi 
progress  rarely  or  slowly,  if  ever,  at 
moisture  contents  below  25  percent 
(oven-dry  basis).  The  molds  that 
grow  on  the  sugars  and  other  foods 
present  in  sapwood  or  destroy  the 
starch  or  protein  glues  used  in  bonding 
some  wood  or  wood-fiber  products, 
however,  can  apparently  work  under 
conditions  somewhat  less  moist  than 


would  be  required  for  decay  of  wood. 

Two  of  the  decay  fungi  are  espe- 
cially dangerous  to  buildings  because 
they  can  conduct  water  from  moist  soil 
or  wood  and  thus  attack  wood  parts  of 
buildings  that  otherwise  would  be  too 
dry — but  they  depend  just  as  much 
on  a  source  of  moisture  as  other  fungi. 
Fortunately  these  two  species  are  not 
common  in  the  United  States. 

The  oxygen  requirement  becomes  a 
limiting  factor  for  the  fungi  in  some 
situations.  Wood  that  is  completely 
waterlogged  decays  slightly,  if  at  all. 
No  important  decay  occurs  in  wood 
that  is  under  water. 

The  heartwood  of  naturally  durable 
species  contains  chemicals  that  limit 
the  growth  of  organisms.  These  are 
nearly  insoluble  in  cold  water,  but  most 
of  them  can  be  extracted  in  hot  water. 
Such  woods  as  redwood,  baldcypress, 
black  locust,  pitch-soaked  pine,  and 
several  of  the  cedars  commonly  remain 
free  from  attack  for  decades  of  ex- 
posure to  the  conditions  that  favor 
decay.  Unfortunately,  the  second- 
growth  stands  on  which  we  now  de- 
pend largely  for  lumber  contain  a 
larger  proportion  of  sapwood,  all  of 
which  is  decay-susceptible.  Building 
practices  that  were  reasonably  safe 
with  the  lumber  of  the  past  century 
may  not  be  good  enough  with  the  lum- 
ber we  have  now. 

The  salt  in  ocean  water  also  appears 
to  have  some  importance  in  hindering 
the  decay  in  the  hulls  of  boats.  Am- 
monium salts  in  the  amounts  used  in 
wood  as  fire  retardants  have  prevented 
the  decay  of  wood  in  laboratory  trials, 
although  they  favor  the  growth  of  some 
of  the  relatively  harmless  mold  fungi. 

FOR  LUMBER  ALREADY  DISCOLORED  as 

it  comes  from  the  tree,  all  that  can  be 
done  at  present  is  to  distinguish  colors 
that  indicate  decay  from  those  that  do 
not,  in  order  to  avoid  discarding  harm- 
less discolorations. 

To  avoid  discoloration  from  fungi 
that  develop  in  logs,  the  best  measure  is 
to  get  the  logs  to  the  saw  promptly. 
Where  this  cannot  be  done,  fungi  can 


632 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


be  kept  from  entering  through  the  ends 
of  the  logs  and  spots  where  the  bark 
has  been  knocked  off  by  prompt  spray- 
ing or  brushing  of  the  exposed  wood 
with  solutions  containing  organic  mer- 
cury salts  or  chlorophenols  or  phenates. 

In  warm  weather,  lumber  of  many 
species,  if  not  kiln-dried  or  quickly  air- 
dried,  is  commonly  stained  by  fungi 
within  a  few  days  after  it  is  sawed.  This 
can  be  controlled  by  dipping  the  lum- 
ber in  a  toxic  solution  not  more  than  24 
hours  after  sawing.  The  same  fungi- 
cides are  used  as  for  logs,  but  at  lower 
strengths ;  the  cost  for  materials  is  only 
15  to  20  cents  a  thousand  board  feet 
of  lumber  dipped.  Such  dipping,  if  fol- 
lowed by  good  open  piling  to  dry  the 
lumber,  reduces  to  a  minimum  the 
molding  and  staining  and  also  the  de- 
cay that  sometimes  gets  started  during 
seasoning. 

To  prevent  decay  in  storage  or  use, 
the  most  generally  practicable  method 
is  to  keep  the  wood  dry  all  the  time  or 
for  so  much  of  it  that  decay  fungi  never 
have  a  chance  to  get  started.  Until 
lumber  is  dry,  it  should  not  be  solid- 
piled  or  built  into  parts  of  structures  in 
which  further  drying  is  slow,  unless  it 
has  been  dipped  promptly  after  saw- 
ing in  a  stain-control  chemical  solution. 

To  avoid  decay  in  buildings,  roof 
leaks  must  be  avoided.  Exterior  walls 
must  be  so  constructed  that  there  is  a 
minimum  chance  for  water  to  enter  at 
joints  and  be  trapped  in  the  wall. 
Where  wood  is  on  concrete  laid  on  soil, 
there  should  be  a  dampproofing  layer 
in  or  on  the  concrete;  all  embedded 
stringers  should  be  of  a  decay-resistant 
wood  or  impregnated  with  a  preserva- 
tive. 

Buildings  without  basements  are 
subject  to  a  special  decay  risk.  During 
cold  weather,  moisture  evaporating 
from  the  soil  under  the  building  may 
condense  on  the  cold  surface  of  the 
sills  and  joists,  and  stay  long  enough  to 
let  decay  fungi  get  started.  This  sweat- 
ing can  be  prevented  by  placing  venti- 
lating openings  in  the  foundation  wall 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  building.  Under 
test  buildings  where  the  vents  have 


been  too  few  or  too  small  to  keep  the 
wood  dry,  the  moist  condition  has  been 
relieved  by  simply  laying  a  cover  on 
the  soil  under  the  building.  Heavy  roll 
roofing  (55  Ibs.  or  more  per  108  square 
feet)  rolled  out  on  the  soil  and  lapped 
but  not  fastened,  was  very  effective.  A 
3-inch  layer  of  slag  or  gravel  in  the 
soil,  though  apparently  somewhat  less 
efficient,  was  also  helpful. 

Where  wood  must  be  used  in  con- 
tact with  soil  or  water,  it  should  be 
either  heartwood  of  one  of  the  highly 
durable  species  or  else  it  should  be 
impregnated  with  a  good  preservative. 
Even  in  the  best  species,  the  heartwood 
from  young  trees  or  from  the  central 
heart  of  old  trees  is  likely  to  be  rather 
decay-susceptible.  No  sapwood  of  any 
species  should  be  used  in  contact  with 
soil  without  thorough  preservative 
impregnation.  Treatment  of  sills  and 
first-floor  joists  of  low  buildings  is  a 
desirable — although  not  a  necessary — 
precaution. 

Impregnation  is  best  accomplished 
by  pressure  treatment  at  a  commercial 
treating  plant.  Wood  of  ordinary  lum- 
ber thickness  can  be  reasonably  well 
impregnated  without  pressure  if  given 
a  hot  bath  followed  by  a  cold  bath. 
Dip  or  brush  treatments  have  some 
place  in  wood  members  exposed  to 
rain  or  occasional  moisture,  as  in 
porches  and  window  sash  and  frames, 
if  it  is  too  difficult  to  get  impregnated 
lumber  locally.  Water  and  fungi  enter 
through  exposed  end  grain  more 
readily  than  through  sides;  preserva- 
tive treatment  of  ends  of  members  is 
therefore  especially  profitable.  If  un- 
treated ends  are  exposed,  no  treatment 
is  worth  much.  Paint  can  be  of  value 
for  decay  prevention  if  it  is  unusually 
well  maintained,  with  no  cracks  at  the 
joints.  If  wood  is  painted  when  green, 
its  drying  out  may  be  delayed  and  the 
decay  hazard  actually  increased. 

In  the  special  case  of  boat  construc- 
tion, only  heartwood  of  durable  or 
moderately  durable  species  should  be 
used.  These  would  include  the  woods 
mentioned  previously;  also  teak  and 
mahogany ;  white  or  chestnut  oak,  but 


The  Prefabricated  House 


633 


not  red  or  black  oak;  and  dense  Doug- 
las-fir and  dense  southern  pine.  Sea- 
soned wood  should  be  used  so  far  as 
possible.  Leakage,  especially  of  fresh 
water  or  rain  water,  into  the  boat  must 
be  minimized.  Ventilation  must  be  pro- 
vided for  all  parts  of  the  hull.  More 
attention  must  be  paid  to  ventilation 
when  the  boat  is  laid  up  than  when  it 
is  in  use.  Except  for  the  interior  trim, 
preservative  treated  wood  is  needed  if 
durable  wood  is  not  used,  but  it  is 
difficult  to  employ  with  full  effective- 
ness in  boats  because  the  cutting,  fit- 
ting, and  fairing  so  often  expose  parts 
of  the  wood  that  have  not  been  pene- 
trated by  the  treatment. 

Decay  of  wood  used  in  aircraft  is 
easily  avoided.  The  cases  of  damage  re- 
ported in  service  have  nearly  always 
been  due  either  to  failure  to  put  drain 
holes  at  the  lowest  points  or  careless- 
ness in  allowing  them  to  become 
clogged.  Out-of-doors  storage  in  crates 
that  admit  rain  also  caused  damage. 

The  life  of  plywood  bonded  with 
protein  glue  has  been  greatly  increased 


in  moist  situations  by  the  use  of  chloro- 
phenols  or  phenates  in  the  glue.  The 
resistance  of  fiberboard  to  deteriora- 
tion by  molds  can  be  increased  simi- 
larly by  the  use  of  chlorophenates, 
which  in  this  case  must  be  added  to  the 
fiber  during  manufacture  as  well  as  to 
the  laminating  glue. 

Often,  when  one  replaces  decayed 
members  of  structures,  he  leaves  some 
of  the  old  decayed  material  in  contact 
with  the  new  wood.  This  is  an  invita- 
tion to  trouble.  It  should  never  be  done 
where  moist  conditions  may  continue. 

CARL  HARTLEY  is  a  pathologist  in 
the  Division  of  Forest  Pathology,  Bu- 
reau of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and  Agri- 
cultural Engineering.  Except  for  3 
years  of  general  plant-disease  investi- 
gations for  the  Instituut  voor  Planten- 
ziekten,  Netherlands  East  Indies,  Dr. 
Hartley  has  been  continuously  with  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  since  1909. 
His  principal  contributions  have  been 
on  diseases  of  forest  nursery  stock  and 
deterioration  of  forest  products. 


THE  PREFABRICATED  HOUSE 

RONALD  F.  LUXFORD,  F.  A.  STRENGE 


The  thing  about  a  house,  when  a 
person  buys  or  builds  one,  is  its  perma- 
nence. It  is  probably  the  most  durable 
good  a  man  is  likely  to  get  in  his  life- 
time, other  than  the  ground  it  is  built 
on.  Almost  anything  else — a  car,  a 
binder,  a  suit  of  clothes — is  expected  to 
wear  out  in  a  few  years.  But  a  man's 
home,  his  cottage  or  mansion  or  dream 
house,  is  expected  to  survive  the  ages. 

Into  this  market  has  come  the  pre- 
fabricated house.  No  mystery  need  be 
attached  to  the  prefabricated  house; 
the  prefabricator  has  simply  moved 
part  of  the  building  operations  under 
roof  and  developed  machinery  to  do 
them.  Presumably,  this  shift  of  opera- 
tions combines  the  advantages  of  ma- 
chine speed  and  accuracy  with  the 
elimination  of  the  factor  of  weather 


and  lowers  the  cost  of  many  building 
jobs  otherwise  done  with  hand  tools  at 
the  house  site. 

According  to  his  wishes  and  means, 
the  individual  prefabricator  often  uses 
some  of  the  newer  materials  in  his  de- 
signs— moistureproof  plywood,  insu- 
lation, sheet-type  building  boards, 
spray-type  paints  and  varnishes,  and  so 
on.  The  builder  of  the  conventional 
houses  also  uses  those  materials,  but  the 
principal  material  for  both  conven- 
tional and  the  prefabricated  houses  is 
wood.  Through  economies  of  factory 
operations  and  more  efficient  engineer- 
ing design,  many  prefabricators  figure 
they  can  shave  10  to  20  percent  off  the 
cost  of  a  conventional  house  of  the 
same  size  and  turn  out  a  product  just 
as  good  or  better. 


634 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


To  date,  however,  the  makers  of  pre- 
fabricated houses  have  had  difficulty 
in  convincing  the  buying  public  of  the 
quality  of  their  product.  As  these  man- 
ufacturers are  well  aware,  the  buyer  of 
a  house,  like  any  other  buyer,  prefers 
something  with  a  proved  record  of 
service.  Prefabricated  houses  are  too 
new  to  have  a  long  record. 

Prefabrication  got  its  real  start  dur- 
ing the  1930's  but  most  prefabricated 
houses  are  much  younger  than  that. 
Moreover,  some  prefabricated  housing 
that  was  rushed  out  during  the  war  to 
meet  suddenly  critical  needs  of  defense 
workers  was  designed  for  temporary 
use,  5  years  or  less,  and  sometimes  used 
inferior  or  substitute  materials  that 
somehow  performed  their  emergency 
job  but  subsequently  developed  obvious 
structural  ailments.  The  fact  that  some 
conventionally  built  war  housing  suf- 
fered similar  warp,  decay,  and  struc- 
tural weakness  often  was  not  given 
equal  consideration  because  conven- 
tionally built  housing  has  a  long 
history  of  durable  value  to  offset  the 
shortcomings  of  the  wartime  structures 
of  its  kind. 

About  35,000  or  more  prefabri- 
cated houses  were  produced  by  some 
200  companies  in  1947.  This  was  about 
4  percent  of  the  total  1947  output  of 
the  housing  industry.  A  notable  point 
is  that  a  builder  of  conventional  houses 
is  considered  relatively  successful  if  he 
puts  up  10  houses  a  year,  but  a  number 
of  prefabricators  turn  out  that  many 
or  more  a  week,  and  the  plant  is  small 
indeed  that  does  not  assemble  the  parts 
for  at  least  one  every  workweek. 

Prefabricated  houses  are  appearing 
in  many  communities  of  the  Nation. 
As  these  houses  continue  to  serve  their 
purpose  through  the  years,  public  con- 
fidence in  the  product  of  house  fac- 
tories will  be  guided.  Perhaps  some 
day  soon  the  house  buyer,  like  the  car 
buyer,  will  pick  out  his  make  and 
model  on  the  basis  of  the  maker's  repu- 
tation. Meanwhile,  however,  the  po- 
tential customer  needs  more  specific 
signposts  of  quality  on  which  to  base 
his  decision  to  buy  or  not  to  buy. 


Two  general  kinds  of  prefabricated 
houses  are  being  offered  today.  One  is 
the  semiconventional  house,  the  parts 
of  which — wall,  ceiling,  floor,  and  per- 
haps the  roof  sections — are  of  conven- 
tional size  and  are  preassembled  in  a 
factory. 

The  other  is  the  so-called  stressed- 
cover,  or  stressed-facing,  house,  the 
panels  of  which  usually  consist  of  ply- 
wood or  some  other  sheet  material 
bonded  with  glue  to  a  framework  of 
smaller  studs,  joints,  and  rafters.  This 
type  of  construction  was  first  developed 
at  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory  in 
1934.  On  the  Laboratory  grounds  to- 
day stand  two  1 2-year-old  examples  of 
it;  they  appear  as  sound  as  ever. 

The  panels  of  either  kind  of  pre- 
fabricated house  may  contain  insula- 
tion, vapor  barriers,  electrical  wiring, 
and  other  installations.  Between  the 
two  basic  types  are  many  modifications 
that  result  from  the  adaptation  of  new 
materials  and  production  methods  to 
one  or  the  other  type. 

Perhaps  the  first  inquiry  the  pros- 
pective buyer  can  make  is  whether  the 
particular  house  has  been  approved  for 
his  locality  by  the  Federal  Housing 
Administration,  a  Government  agency 
that  requires  minimum  standards  of 
construction  for  loan-insurance  pur- 
poses. The  standards  are  fairly  uni- 
form, but  in  certain  respects  they  vary 
somewhat  for  different  parts  of  the 
United  States.  For  example,  thermal- 
insulation  requirements  differ  accord- 
ing to  climatic  conditions  of  particular 
regions;  a  house  needs  better  insula- 
tion in  Minnesota  than  in  Florida. 

Further,  the  buyer  can  avail  him- 
self of  certain  technical  guideposts  that 
indicate  the  quality  of  materials,  work- 
manship, and  design. 

The  quality  of  a  prefabricated  house 
is  compounded  of  good  materials  as 
well  as  technical  skill  and  suitable  fac- 
tory conditions.  An  example  is  given 
by  the  stressed-cover,  or  stressed-facing 
house,  which  is  manufactured  by  a 
growing  number  of  prefabricators. 

The  maker  of  stressed-facing  houses 
often  uses  plywood  for  his  panel  covers 


The  Prefabricated  House 


635 


or  facings.  Because  the  strength  of 
those  panels  depends  largely  on  the 
plywood  (as  contrasted  with  the  con- 
ventional frame  house,  whose  strength 
depends  primarily  on  the  framework  of 
studs,  joists,  and  rafters)  the  quality  of 
the  plywood  is  important.  Especially  if 
it  is  used  in  outside  walls  and  roofs,  it 
must  be  highly  water-resistant.  Such 
plywoods  are  known  as  exterior  grades, 
and  moisture  will  not  delaminate  them. 

The  fact  that  stressed-facing  panels 
are  glued  together  emphasizes  the  need 
for  using  well-seasoned  lumber  and  dry 
plywood  in  their  manufacture.  Insuffi- 
ciently dried  framing  lumber  will  put 
excessive  strains  on  the  glue  joints 
when  it  dries  further,  probably  while 
in  the  house  structure;  it  may  even 
warp  the  panel  out  of  shape.  The  good 
manufacturer,  therefore,  not  only  buys 
dry  lumber  and  plywood,  but  stores  it 
carefully  at  his  plant  in  a  protected  in- 
door location.  He  does  the  same  with 
his  finished  panels  until  they  are 
transported  to  the  building  site.  Also 
important  is  the  glue  that  holds  the  fac- 
ings to  the  panel  framework.  Synthetic- 
resin  glues  of  the  phenol,  melamine,  or 
resorcinol  type  are  preferred.  Of  these, 
only  the  resorcinol  glues  can  be  cured 
adequately  at  room  temperatures; 
when  phenols  or  melamines  are  used, 
the  panels  must  be  put  in  a  steam- 
heated  or  electric  press  or  a  heated 
curing  chamber  to  set  the  glue. 

Properly  made  panels  must  have 
well-machined,  smooth,  and  uniformly 
sized  framing.  If  two  framing  members 
meet  at  a  corner  and  do  not  lie  flush 
so  that  the  plywood  will  be  flat  against 
both,  for  instance,  a  good  glue  bond 
cannot  be  made.  There  will  be  a  weak- 
ening gap  at  this  point.  Too  many  such 
gaps  in  a  number  of  house  panels  can 
seriously  affect  the  structural  sound- 
ness of  the  building.  An  indication  of 
good  quality  in  manufacture  is  the  ab- 
sence of  such  gaps  in  the  glue  bond  be- 
tween plywood  and  framing. 

The  way  the  plywood  is  attached  is 
also  to  be  noted.  If  it  is  nailed  to  the 
framework,  the  nails  furnish  the  only 
pressure  to  hold  the  plywood  to  the 


framework  while  the  glue  cures.  Con- 
sequently, to  assure  uniform  pressure, 
they  should  be  spaced  evenly  and  not 
more  than  4  to  6  inches  apart.  The 
thinner  the  plywood  is,  the  closer  the 
nails  should  be  spaced. 

Panels  should  have  vapor  barriers, 
usually  sheets  of  asphalt-treated  paper 
or  aluminum  sheet  materials,  which 
block  passage  of  water  vapor  from  the 
warm  interiors  of  houses  toward  the 
outside  in  winter.  Such  vapor  move- 
ment is  hazardous  because  the  vapor 
may  be  chilled  inside  the  panel  and 
condense  as  frost,  which  later  melts  and 
damages  exterior  paint  and  interior 
ceiling  finish,  and  may  even  encourage 
decay  inside  the  panel.  For  that  rea- 
son, vapor  barriers  should  always  be 
on  the  warm  side  of  wall,  ceiling,  roof, 
and  floor  panels ;  they  are  unnecessary 
in  interior  partitions,  second-story  floor 
panels,  or  first-floor  panels  over  heated 
basements. 

Insulation  is  usually  installed  where 
the  climate  requires  it.  Some  types  of 
insulation,  called  blanket  or  batt  in- 
sulation, come  with  a  paper  backing 
that  may  have  been  treated  for  vapor 
resistance;  with  such  insulation  a  sep- 
arate barrier  may  not  be  needed.  Re- 
flective insulation,  such  as  metallic  foil, 
is  a  good  vapor  barrier.  Barrier  ma- 
terials should  be  well  sealed  to  panel 
framework. 

The  prospective  buyer  can  learn  a 
great  deal  about  quality  if  he  watches 
the  workmen  assemble  a  house.  A  look 
at  the  foundation  is  in  order,  par- 
ticularly if  the  house  has  no  basement. 
In  such  houses,  whether  prefabricated 
or  conventional,  the  space  underneath 
the  floor  is  called  a  crawl  space  and 
should  be  at  least  18  inches  high  be- 
tween ground  and  subfloor.  This  space 
should  be  ventilated  by  openings  re- 
sembling basement  windows  in  the 
foundation  walls — all  such  openings 
should  be  wide  open  at  least  during 
the  spring,  summer,  and  fall  to  insure 
ventilation.  Without  such  openings, 
dangerous  decay  conditions  can  de- 
velop in  the  subfloor  structure.  Prefer- 
ably, the  ground  of  the  crawl  space 


636 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


should  be  covered  with  roofing  paper 
and  several  inches  of  gravel. 

At  the  building  site,  panels  can  be 
inspected  for  good  workmanship  to  see 
if  they  are  true  and  well-made,  with 
continuous  glue  joints  between  frame- 
work and  facings.  How  well  they  fit 
together  while  the  walls,  floors,  ceil- 
ings, partitions,  and  roof  are  being  as- 
sembled is  a  clue  to  their  manufacture. 
Do  panels  join  well  together  at  room 
corners  and  at  the  joints  where  wall, 
floor,  and  ceiling  meet?  Small  gaps 
here  are  to  be  expected  and  can  be 
hidden  with  molding  and  other  trim, 
but  the  finished  job  should  be  neat. 

In  most  modern  houses,  both  pre- 
fabricated and  conventional,  there  is 
an  unfinished  attic  space  between  ceil- 
ing and  pitched  roof.  Insulation  is  laid 
over  the  ceiling.  The  attic  space  is  an- 
other source  of  danger  from  moisture 
vapor.  A  vapor  barrier  should  be  laid 
under  the  insulation.  The  attic  should 
also  be  ventilated;  this  is  usually  done 
by  means  of  louvered  openings  in  both 
gable  ends  to  permit  air  to  pass  through 
the  attic  space.  The  openings  should  be 
ample  in  size;  they  are  more  likely  to 
be  too  small  than  too  large. 

An  inspection  of  the  exterior  of  the 
finished  house  can  be  helpful.  In  par- 
ticular, all  the  exterior  joints  between 
panels,  especially  the  horizontal  joints, 
should  be  especially  well  made  and 
protected  with  metal  flashing,  drip 
caps  over  windows  and  doors,  and 


similar  devices  for  blocking  the  pene- 
tration of  rain  water.  A  roof  with  a 
good  overhang  has  advantages. 

The  critical  buyer  may  want  to 
check  on  several  other  details,  but  he 
should  bear  in  mind  that  the  basic  fac- 
tors are  good  materials,  and  good  work- 
manship, and  good  structural  design. 
Each  depends  on  the  others  and  com- 
plements them.  In  building  with  wood, 
the  designer  keeps  uppermost  the  fact 
that  moisture  can  be  his  greatest  enemy 
and  he  designs  accordingly.  With  the 
proper  safeguards,  he  knows  that  wood 
construction  can  be  entirely  satisfac- 
tory, safe,  and  economical,  whether 
prefabricated  or  conventional. 

RONALD  F.  LUXFORD  has  degrees  in 
civil  engineering  from  the  University 
of  Minnesota  and  the  University  of 
Wisconsin.  He  has  been  with  the  For- 
est Products  Laboratory  since  1918; 
since  1935  he  has  headed  the  work  on 
housing  research. 

F.  A.  STRENGE,  a  native  of  Chicago, 
was  reared  on  a  dairy  farm  in  Wis- 
consin and  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Wisconsin.  After  7  years 
of  newspaper  work,  he  joined  the  staff 
of  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory  in 
1941  as  a  technical  writer.  Since  then 
he  has  written  and  edited  various  Lab- 
oratory publications,  including  a 
Manual  on  Wood  Construction  for 
Prefabricated  Houses  and  a  series  of 
technical  reports  on  housing  research. 


THE  GLUING  OF  WOOD 

DON  BROUSE 


Gluing,  when  properly  done,  is  the 
strongest  known  means  of  fastening 
pieces  of  wood  together.  Joints  made 
with  glue  are  stronger  than  those  made 
with  nails,  dowels,  screws,  clamps,  or 
straps,  because  glue  spreads  in  a  uni- 
form film  that  firmly  binds  together 
every  part  of  the  surfaces  to  be  joined. 
Since  its  discovery,  this  property  of 
glue  has  destined  it  to  an  intimate  as- 


sociation with  wood  in  the  innumer- 
able products  of  joinery,  veneering, 
and  cabinetmaking,  for  which  it  pro- 
vides joints  that  can  resist  high  stress 
and  violent  shocks  and  that  permit  the 
combining  of  wood  into  economical 
thicknesses  and  into  useful  and  ornate 
shapes  otherwise  impossible. 

Although  the  bond  of  all  glues,  ex- 
cept the  synthetic  resins,  can  be  de- 


The  Gluing  of  Wood 


637 


stroyed  by  prolonged  wetting,  with 
customary  care  in  use  the  service  value 
of  a  good  glue  joint  is  reliable,  a  fact 
that  unfortunate  experiences  in  home 
gluing,  the  result  of  faulty  surfaces, 
preparation,  and  methods,  should  not 
obscure. 

Animal  glue,  most  of  it  made  by 
cooking  hides,  fleshings,  tendons,  or 
bones  of  cattle  in  water,  was  long  the 
world's  principal  wood  adhesive  and 
is  still  in  common  use. 

The  development  of  new  glues  be- 
gan with  the  need  of  modern  industry 
for  adhesives  that  were  cheaper  or 
that  would  provide  greater  water  re- 
sistance and  thereby  longer  durability 
under  the  more  severe  service  condi- 
tions of  new  and  potential  uses  for  its 
increasingly  diversified  products. 

The  first  of  the  new  glues,  intro- 
duced about  1905,  were  vegetable  or 
starch  glues,  a  large  part  of  which  were 
derived  from  tropical  cassava  root, 
which  easily  yielded  its  large  starch 
granules  for  the  purpose.  Despite  their 
low  resistance  to  moisture,  the  cheap- 
ness and  prolonged  workability  of  these 
glues  in  the  cold  state  early  recom- 
mended them  for  quantity  manufac- 
ture of  plywood  and  veneer  products. 
The  present  production  volume  of  veg- 
etable glues  equals  or  exceeds  that  of 
animal  glues. 

Present-day  emphasis  upon  water 
resistance  in  glues  began  during  the 
First  World  War,  when  this  property 
became  important  in  aircraft  construc- 
tion. At  the  end  of  that  war,  casein 
glue,  of  ancient  but  vague  history,  had 
won  for  that  purpose  a  recognition 
which  it  still  commands  in  such  man- 
ufactures as  doors,  plywood,  furniture, 
pianos,  and  trucks. 

Casein,  the  dried  and  ground  curd 
of  milk,  is  relatively  inexpensive.  After 
it  is  dissolved  in  water,  water  resist- 
ance is  commonly  imparted  by  adding 
slaked  lime  to  form  with  it  a  jelly  that 
will  set  permanently  and  not  redissolve 
upon  wetting.  Other  chemicals,  usu- 
ally sodium  salts,  are  added  to  provide 
satisfactory  working  properties.  The 
mixture,  applied  cold,  sets  to  a  hard 


and  cementlike  solid,  whose  bonding 
strength  approaches  that  of  animal 
glue.  It  is  commonly  marketed  as  a  dry 
mix  that  contains  all  essential  ingredi- 
ents except  water. 

Blood-albumin  glue,  which  is  made 
from  blood  from  the  packing  house, 
was  a  forerunner  of  the  resins  in  its 
requirement  of  a  hot  press  to  obtain 
proper  setting  and  bonding  of  its  joint. 
In  its  dry  state  it  ranks  somewhat  below 
casein  in  adhesive  strength,  but  it  has 
better  moisture  resistance.  It  has  been 
largely  replaced  by  synthetic-resin  ad- 
hesives. 

Amid  all  the  magic  claimed  for  the 
soybean,  the  recent  development  of  a 
practical  glue  from  it  is  not  surprising. 
Soybean  glue  is  cheap.  It  can  be  ap- 
plied cold.  It  has  inherent  water  re- 
sistance comparable  to  casein  glue,  al- 
though somewhat  lower  in  strength. 
Made  from  the  meal  residue  of  soy- 
bean-oil extraction,  the  glue  has  a 
rather  mushy  texture,  but  sets  to  a  firm 
bond  in  the  cold  press.  It  has  won  a 
commanding  place  in  the  great  Doug- 
las-fir plywood  industry  and  in  other 
fields  like  wooden-box  construction, 
because  its  inexpensive  water-resistant 
joints  permit  mass  production  never 
before  attained.  Because  of  its  rela- 
tively high  alkalinity,  which  may 
cause  staining,  the  glue  is  not  adapted 
to  fine  veneers. 

Synthetic  resins,  the  newest  adhe- 
sives, impart  to  the  glue  joint  the  high- 
est water  resistance  yet  attained.  In 
contrast  to  the  earlier  glues  that  at  best 
could  withstand  only  a  moderate 
amount  of  dampness,  a  first-class  syn- 
thetic-resin glue  appears  to  withstand 
direct  and  repeated  wetting  almost  in- 
definitely. In  tests  at  the  Forest  Prod- 
ucts Laboratory  for  more  than  a  dec- 
ade, certain  synthetic-resin  glues  did 
not  appear  to  soften  or  hydrolyze  even 
on  continued  soaking  of  bonded  wood 
specimens.  These  glues  are  not  at- 
tacked by  molds  or  decay  fungi  and 
maintain  their  hold  as  long  as  there 
is  any  wood  left  to  test.  Thus  the  bond 
that  cannot  be  destroyed  without  de- 
stroying the  wood  appears  to  have  been 


638 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ADHESIVES:    MIXING,    APPLICATION,    AND    REQUIREMENTS    FOR    BEST    USE    OF    GLUES    IN 

COMMON    USE 


Temperature         Water  re- 

Available 

Glue 

Mixing  and  application 

requirements          sistance 

Common  uses 

from  — 

Aniiricil 

Soaked  in  water  and 

Control  of  tern-    Low  

Furniture,  cab- 

Retail  sources; 

melted;    applied 

perature     of 

inet,     and 

s  p  e  c  i  fie 

warm  by  hand  or 

glue,    of 

mi  11  work. 

grades    usu- 

mechanical 

room,  and  of 

ally    obtain- 

spreaders. 

wood    im- 

ed only  from 

portant. 

manu  fac- 

turers. 

Mixed    with    water 

Used  at    ordi-    Very  low  .  . 

Plywood    and 

Manufactur- 

and alkali  usually 

nary     room 

v  en  e  e  r  e  d 

ers. 

with  heat;  applied 

tern  per  a- 

panels    for 

cold  by  mechani- 

tures. 

furniture; 

cal  spreaders;  too 

not  well  suit- 

thick    for     hand 

ed   to  home 

spreading. 

use. 

Ctiscin   ••••••••• 

Mixed  with  water  at 

...  .do  Medium.  .  . 

Used  in  gluing 

Retail  sources. 

room    tempera- 

o         o 

lumber,  mill- 

tures;  applied  cold 

work,    and 

by    hand   or   me- 

plywood. 

chanical  spreader. 

\j  r  c  3.~r  c  s  i  n  *    a* 

Powder  form  mixed 

a    Not  recom-    High   .... 

n.  Furniture, 

a.  R  e  t  a  i  1 

Room  -  temper- 

with     water      at 

mended    for 

cabinet,  and 

sources. 

ature-setting; 

room    tempera- 

use   below 

millwork. 

b.   Heat-setting. 

tures;  liquid  form 

70°  F. 

mixed  with  hard- 

b   Reouires           .*...». 

b.  Plywood.  .  . 

b.  Manufactur- 

ener at  room  tem- 

heat for  cur- 

ers. 

peratures. 

i  n  g  ;      hot 

presses  com- 

monly used. 

Phenol-resin  

Powder  form  mixed 

Requires    heat    Very  high. 

Plywood     and 

Manufactur- 

at room  tempera- 

for    curing; 

laminated 

ers. 

tures   with   water 

hot     presses 

wood    prod- 

or water-alcohol 

commonly 

ucts   for  se- 

mixtures;   liquid 

used   but 

vere  service; 

form  may  require 

kilns    have 

not     well 

addition  of  hard- 

been    em- 

suited   f  o  r 

eners;    film    form 

ployed. 

home  use. 

used  as  received. 

Resorcinol-resin  .  . 

Resin    usually    sup- 

Not     recom-     ....do.... 

Millwork    and 

Retail  sources. 

plied      in      liquid 

mended    for 

laminated 

form  with  which  a 

use    below 

wood    prod- 

powdered  or    liq- 

70° F. 

ucts   for  se- 

uid    hardener     is 

vere  service. 

mixed     at     room 

temperatures. 

Melamine-resins.  . 

Resin  powder  mixed 

Requires    heat     .  .  .  .do.  .  .  . 

Plywood;    not 

Manufactur- 

with water  at 

for      curing; 

well     suited 

ers. 

room  temperature. 

hot     presses 

for    home 

commonly 

use. 

used. 

Chemicals  from  Wood 


639 


realized,  although  even  yet  the  resins 
do  not  promise  that  their  bond  with 
wood  will  be  spontaneous,  for  the  pro- 
duction of  a  good  joint  generally  re- 
quires high  pressure,  with  or  without 
added  heat. 

Phenol-formaldehyde  and  urea-for- 
maldehyde are  the  most  widely  used 
synthetic-resin  glues.  Melamine  and 
resorcinol  glues,  among  the  discoveries 
during  the  Second  World  War,  promise 
good  performance,  the  resorcinols  par- 
ticularly so  because  highly  durable 
bonds  can  be  obtained  without  hot 
pressing.  The  resins  are  available  as 
powders,  solutions,  or  prepared  films. 
Their  special  advantage  is  that  they  re- 
duce surface  swelling  and  the  other 
changes  caused  by  the  water  in  the  less 
concentrated  adhesives,  particularly  in 
furniture  and  other  fine  veneer  work 
in  which  they  are  being  adopted. 

THE  GLUING  OF  WOOD  is  not  a  sim- 
ple, infallible  procedure,  because  wood 
species  vary  chemically  and  physically, 
and  glues  vary  in  source,  methods  of 
preparation,  and  use. 

Findings  at  the  Forest  Products 
Laboratory  after  years  of  research  lead 
to  five  general  recommendations  for 
applying  glue. 


It  is  usually  unnecessary,  and  often 
detrimental,  to  roughen  the  wood  sur- 
face; in  fact,  the  mating  surfaces 
should  be  machined  to  a  smooth,  true 
fit. 

Animal  glue  must  not  be  overheat- 
ed. Heating  the  wood  is  generally  un- 
necessary or  detrimental. 

Glue  should  be  thick,  rather  than 
thin,  in  consistency  when  it  is  pressed. 

A  relatively  heavy  pressure  should 
be  applied  to  bring  the  surfaces  to  be 
joined  into  firm  contact  until  at  least 
partial  setting  has  occurred. 

Minor  details  of  procedure  can  be 
varied  in  any  way  that  will  assure  a 
proper  jellylike  consistency  of  the  glue 
at  time  of  pressing. 

DON  BROUSE,  a  native  of  Indiana, 
joined  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory 
in  1923  and  was  assigned  to  work  on 
the  problems  connected  with  the  ap- 
plication of  wood-working  adhesives. 
He  is  assistant  to  the  chief  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Wood  Preservation  at  the  Labo- 
ratory and  has  general  supervision  over 
investigations  on  adhesives,  veneer  and 
plywood  production,  and  sandwich 
panel  fabrication.  Dr.  Brouse  has  de- 
grees from  Purdue  University  and  the 
University  of  Wisconsin. 


CHEMICALS  FROM  WOOD 

ALFRED  J.  STAMM 


Chemical  processing  of  wood,  up 
to  the  present  time,  has  been  limited 
to  ( 1 )  destructive  distillation,  whereby 
charcoal,  wood  alcohol,  acetic  acid, 
turpentine,  and  tars  are  produced,  and 
(2)  extraction  processes  with  water  or 
petroleum  solvents  that  remove  the  ex- 
traneous materials,  such  as  tannins, 
turpentine,  rosin,  and  essential  oils. 

The  destructive-distillation  process 
in  recent  years  has  not  proved  to  be 
very  profitable,  because  many  of  the 
products  formerly  produced  exclu- 
sively by  the  process  are  now  made 
more  cheaply  by  synthetic  methods. 


The  extraction  process,  although 
highly  profitable  when  applied  to  a  few 
species,  is  not  suitable  for  all  woods 
and  actually  utilizes  only  from  1  to  20 
percent  of  the  weight  of  the  wood. 

Two  rather  new  processing  methods, 
hydrolysis  and  hydrogenation,  show 
promise  of  broader  application.  Hy- 
drolysis changes  the  cellulose  and  other 
carbohydrate  material  into  sugars. 
Hydrogenation  causes  hydrogen  gas  to 
react  with  the  wood  components  at 
high  temperatures  and  pressure  to 
form  liquid  products. 

The  new  procedures,  together  with 


640 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  old,  provide  a  practical  approach 
to  the  chemical  utilization  of  wood 
residues. 

Wood  residues  are  especially  adapt- 
ed for  chemical  processing  because 
wood  of  any  form  or  size  or  quality 
can  be  used.  Sawdust,  shavings,  slabs, 
trimming,  cordwood,  and  cull  logs  are 
all  suitable.  Further,  the  presence  in 
the  residue  of  relatively  large  amounts 
of  knots,  bark,  and  even  wood  in  the 
early  stages  of  decay  does  not  interfere 
with  most  of  the  processes,  although  it 
may  reduce  the  yield  of  chemical  prod- 
ucts. Even  though  it  would  usually  pay 
to  process  the  hardwoods  (broadleaved 
species)  separately  from  the  softwoods 
(cone-bearing  species)  for  the  reason 
that  the  products  and  yields  from  those 
two  general  classes  of  wood  differ,  it 
is  not  necessary  generally  to  separate 
them. 

The  amounts  of  wood  residues  avail- 
able indicate  the  possible  magnitude  of 
a  chemical  industry  based  on  their  full 
utilization.  Naturally,  the  first  wood 
residues  to  be  considered  for  such  an 
industry  would  be  those  that  occur  at 
sawmills,  veneer  mills,  and  secondary 
manufacturing  plants,  because  the  ma- 
terial is  already  at  hand  and  a  large 
part  (in  the  form  of  sawdust  and  shav- 
ings) is  already  reduced  sufficiently  in 
size  for  use.  Some  16  million  tons  of 
such  material  now  remain  unused  each 
year.  An  additional  27  million  tons  are 
burned  to  generate  steam  for  plant 
operations.  As  soon  as  its  chemical- 
processing  value  becomes  greater  than 
its  fuel  value,  which  at  present  averages 
about  $4  a  ton,  this  material,  too,  will 
be  available  for  chemical  processing. 

The  total  mill  residue  is  equal  in 
weight  to  one-fifth  of  the  national  pe- 
troleum production.  Left  unused  in 
the  woods  each  year,  because  their  re- 
moval is  considered  unprofitable,  are 
44  million  tons  more  of  cut  wood, 
chiefly  crooked,  split,  and  partly  de- 
cayed material  unsuitable  for  lumber 
but  admirably  suited  for  chemical  use. 
Still  another  23  million  tons  of  stand- 
ing timber  are  killed  by  fire,  lightning, 
or  insects  each  year  and  left  in  the 


woods ;  a  large  part  of  that  would  also 
be  suitable.  Altogether,  those  residues 
equal  in  weight  about  half  the  present 
petroleum  production.  Enough  wood 
residues  are  available,  then,  to  supply 
a  great  new  chemical  industry. 

Such  a  large  industry  would  not  be 
warranted  unless  its  products  were  in 
sufficient  demand  at  a  price  for  which 
they  could  be  profitably  produced. 
The  nature  and  uses  of  the  products 
obtained  by  the  various  methods  of 
chemically  processing  wood  can  be  a 
measure  of  this  demand  and  value. 

EXTRACTION  differs  from  the  other 
chemical-processing  methods  in  that  it 
is  highly  dependent  upon  species  and 
alters  the  wood  substance  only  slightly. 
The  only  extensive  wood-extraction  in- 
dustry is  the  naval  stores  industry  of 
the  South,  which  extracts  turpentine 
and  rosin  from  old  stumps  of  longleaf 
and  slash  pines  from  which  the  sap- 
wood  has  decayed.  Only  the  heart- 
wood  stumps  of  those  species  are  used 
because  of  their  high  extractive  con- 
tent. The  industry  processes  about 
6,000  tons  of  stump  wood  daily  to  ob- 
tain 12,500,000  gallons  of  turpentine 
and  750,000  drums  (520  pounds  to  the 
drum)  of  rosin  a  year.  Turpentine  is 
used  chiefly  as  a  paint  thinner,  a  me- 
dicinal, and  a  raw  material  for  making 
synthetic  camphor  and  other  valuable 
synthetic  products.  The  rosin  is  used 
chiefly  in  soaps,  paper  size,  paints, 
varnishes,  sealing  waxes,  cements,  and 
plastics.  Large  amounts  of  cymene  and 
a  rosin  residue  are  also  obtained.  The 
latter  is  used  in  plastics  and  as  a  binder 
for  sand  in  foundry  cores. 

Chestnut  wood  chips  and  hemlock 
bark  are  extracted  to  obtain  tannin  for 
tanning  leather.  In  no  case  is  the  tan- 
nin content  of  wood  sufficient  to  make 
extraction  profitable  for  it  alone.  In 
the  case  of  chestnut,  the  extracted 
chips  have  been  used  to  form  pulp  for 
paper  making.  The  chip  residue  might 
also  be  used  for  further  chemical 
processing. 

Years  ago  a  small  industry  existed  in 
the  Northwestern  States  in  which  the 


Chemicals  from  Wood 


641 


butt  logs  of  western  larch  were  ex- 
tracted with  water  to  remove  the  large 
amount  of  water-soluble  gum  that  they 
contain.  The  gum  was  chemically  con- 
verted to  mucic  acid,  which  is  used  as 
the  gas-liberating  acid  in  some  brands 
of  baking  powder.  The  process  was  not 
a  financial  success  because  the  large 
amount  of  chip  residue  was  unused. 

A  number  of  small  plants  scattered 
about  the  country  extract  essential  oils, 
medicinals,  and  flavoring  materials 
from  needles,  bark,  roots,  or  wood  of 
various  species.  Those  plants,  like  all 
other  extraction  plants,  could  profit 
by  chemical  refining  of  their  residues. 

DESTRUCTIVE  DISTILLATION  is  by  far 
the  oldest  wood-chemical-processing 
industry.  For  years  the  charcoal  resi- 
due was  the  only  product  sought.  Char- 
coal is  used  as  a  domestic  and  picnic 
fuel ;  in  smelting  and  reducing  various 
ores;  in  making  such  chemicals  as  car- 
bon bisulfide,  which,  in  turn,  is  used 
in  making  viscose,  rayon,  and  cello- 
phane, and  also  sodium  cyanide,  a 
powerful  disinfectant. 

Now  a  number  of  valuable  volatile 
products  are  also  obtained  by  con- 
densing the  vapors  from  destructive 
distillation.  In  the  case  of  hardwoods, 
methyl  alcohol  (wood  alcohol),  ace- 
tone, and  acetic  acid  are  obtained  as  a 
water-soluble  distillate,  together  with 
the  water-insoluble  tars  and  pitches. 
Methyl  alcohol  is  used  as  an  antifreeze 
agent  in  the  radiators  of  automobiles, 
for  denaturing  grain  alcohol,  as  a  sol- 
vent in  many  industries,  and  for  mak- 
ing formaldehyde,  which,  in  turn,  is 
used  as  a  disinfectant  and  in  making 
plastics.  Acetone  is  used  as  a  solvent  in 
the  rayon  and  plastic  industries,  and 
acetic  acid  in  making  white  lead  paint 
and  acetate  rayon  and  films.  Yields  of 
methyl  alcohol,  acetone,  and  acetic 
acid  are  lower  from  softwoods  than 
from  hardwoods. 

The  pines,  however,  yield  consider- 
able turpentine  and  softwood  tar.  Soft- 
wood tar  is  used  in  the  compounding 
of  rubber,  to  some  extent  in  manu- 
facturing oakum  for  calking  ships,  in 

802062° — 49 42 


cordage,  and  also  in  medicinals.  Both 
softwood  and  hardwood  tars  find  use 
as  flotation  oils  in  mineral  separation 
and  as  gasoline  gum  inhibitors.  The 
heavier  fractions  are  used  as  preserva- 
tives, disinfectants,  and  stains.  The 
pitch  finds  use  as  a  waterproofing  and 
insulating  agent  and  as  a  binder  for 
briquets. 

Although  the  products  obtained  by 
the  two  older  wood-processing  meth- 
ods named  are  of  considerable  indus- 
trial importance  and  could  perhaps  be 
used  in  larger  amounts  than  are  now 
produced,  a  large  expansion  in  their 
production  does  not  now  seem  war- 
ranted. Any  real  increase  in  the  chem- 
ical utilization  of  wood  will  thus  have 
to  be  by  the  processes  which  produce 
products  that  are  in  greater  demand. 

HYDROLYSIS  of  wood  to  sugars, 
followed  in  some  cases  by  their  conver- 
sion to  other  products,  is  a  most  prom- 
ising chemical  approach  to  large-scale 
utilization  of  wood  residues. 

At  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory 
it  was  found  that  sugars  can  be  pro- 
duced to  the  extent  of  about  half  the 
weight  of  the  wood  by  a  simple  process 
of  heating  wood  chips  or  sawdust  with 
a  dilute  solution  of  acid  in  water  un- 
der moderate  steam  pressure.  These 
sugars,  which  are  a  mixture  of  glucose 
and  several  different  pentose  sugars, 
would  be  difficult  to  purify  and  crystal- 
lize, but  can  be  evaporated  easily  to  a 
molasses  that  contains  50  percent 
sugar. 

Experiments  now  under  way  are  us- 
ing this  molasses  as  an  animal  feed. 
The  tests  have  been  sufficient  to  indi- 
cate that  it  is  palatable  to  cattle  and 
sheep.  If  its  nutrient  value  proves 
equal  to  that  of  cane  molasses,  which 
it  resembles  closely,  it  could  find  ex- 
tensive use  as  a  livestock  feed.  Pilot- 
plant  studies  indicate  that  about  180 
gallons  of  molasses  can  be  produced 
from  a  ton  of  dry  wood  at  a  cost  that 
should  not  exceed  10  cents  a  gallon. 
Cane  molasses  sold  on  quantity  basis 
at  25  to  40  cents  a  gallon  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  in  1948.  If  its 


642 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


price  could  be  made  as  attractive  as 
the  pilot-plant  studies  indicate,  the 
demand  for  feed  molasses  from  wood 
could  be  tremendous.  If  livestock  feed- 
ing could  be  built  up  to  the  level  al- 
ready demonstrated  as  possible  with 
cane  molasses  ( about  3  pounds  per  day 
per  head  for  cows,  somewhat  more  for 
beef  cattle,  and  somewhat  less  for 
sheep),  the  amount  of  molasses  used 
for  feeding  could  be  increased  at  least 
75  times.  In  theory,  such  a  goal  could 
utilize  the  equivalent  of  about  two- 
thirds  of  all  available  wood  residues. 
Here,  then,  is  a  potential  use  for  wood 
residue  that  could  consume  large 
quantities  of  it. 

The  sugar  solution  resulting  from 
hydrolysis  can  also  be  fermented  to 
ethyl  alcohol  (grain  alcohol).  Bark- 
free  softwoods  yield  up  to  60  gallons 
of  alcohol  per  ton  of  dry  wood,  and 
hardwoods  about  50  gallons.  Bark  may 
be  present  up  to  50  percent,  but  its 
presence  somewhat  decreases  the  yield. 
This  alcohol  is  suitable  for  many  in- 
dustrial purposes.  A  large  commercial 
plant  capable  of  processing  200  to  300 
tons  of  wood  residue  a  day  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  ethyl  alcohol  has  been  built 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  short  time 
in  which  it  has  operated  has  demon- 
strated the  commercial  possibilities  of 
the  process.  When  shortages  of  petro- 
leum products  occur,  the  ethyl  alcohol 
produced  at  such  plants  could  become 
one  of  our  chief  motor  fuels.  It  can, 
under  present  conditions,  be  produced 
from  wood  at  about  one-fifth  of  the 
cost  of  producing  it  from  grain. 

Only  the  hexose  sugars  are  used  in 
making  alcohol.  The  pentoses  remain 
in  the  stills  after  distillation.  They  may 
be  used  for  growing  yeast  or  for  con- 
version to  furfural,  which  is  a  chemi- 
cal used  as  a  solvent  in  oil  and  rosin 
refining,  in  certain  plastics,  and  re- 
cently as  a  starting  material  in  making 
nylon. 

Tests  are  under  way  to  determine 
the  food  value  of  wood  yeast.  It  is  rich 
in  riboflavin,  a  vitamin,  and  conse- 
quently should  have  greater  food  value 
than  is  indicated  by  its  high  protein 


content  alone.  The  production  of  wood 
yeast  thus  also  shows  promise  of  de- 
veloping into  a  sizable  industry  that 
could  use  up  large  amounts  of  wood 
residue. 

Different  cultures  and  fermentation 
conditions  make  possible  the  manufac- 
ture of  acetic,  butyric,  and  lactic  acid 
from  wood  sugars  and  also  acetone, 
butyl  alcohol,  and  butylene  glycol. 
Butyric  acid  is  used  in  making  cellu- 
lose-butyrate  plastics.  Lactic  acid  is 
used  as  a  food  preservative.  Butyl  alco- 
hol and  butylene  glycol  can  be  used  in 
making  artificial  rubber.  Butylene 
glycol  would  be  a  good  antifreeze  agent 
for  use  in  automobile  radiators. 

When  sugars  are  formed  by  the  hy- 
drolysis of  wood,  a  residue  of  fine  solid 
lignin  remains.  This  material,  a  sub- 
stance that  binds  the  wood  fibers  to- 
gether in  a  tree,  has  a  higher  fuel  value 
than  wood  itself  and  may  be  burned  as 
a  fuel  in  the  processing  plant.  It  shows 
promise  as  a  soil  conditioner.  When 
agricultural  crop  residues  decay,  the 
remaining  humus  is  largely  lignin,  so  it 
is  natural  that  lignin  should  have  soil- 
conditioning  value.  Lignin  from  wood 
hydrolysis  has  not  shown  the  value  in 
plastics  found  in  other  forms  of  lignin 
recovered  from  paper  manufacture. 

HYDROGENATION  has  been  most  ex- 
tensively studied  on  isolated  lignin,  but 
it  may  also  be  applied  to  all  parts  of 
wood.  In  the  process,  the  lignin  is  sus- 
pended, or  preferably  dissolved,  in  an 
organic  liquid  that  itself  does  not  react 
with  hydrogen  and  that  will  not  de- 
compose at  the  high  temperatures  used. 
Most  of  the  work  to  date  has  been  done 
on  batch  lots  placed  in  small  bombs.  A 
metallic  or  metallic-oxide  catalyst  is 
used  to  promote  the  reaction.  A  com- 
plex mixture  of  liquid  products  and  a 
tarlike  residue  are  produced. 

The  liquid  consists  of  a  mixture  of 
complex  cyclic  alcohols,  phenolics,  and 
neutral  oils.  The  cyclic  alcohols,  when 
added  to  gasoline,  show  good  anti- 
knock properties.  They  are  also  good 
solvents,  and  some  of  them  have  toxic 
properties.  The  phenolics  are  a  mix- 


Putting  Unused  Wood  to 


643 


ture  of  those  suitable  for  plastics  and 
some  that  are  not.  Means  of  separating 
them  have  not  yet  been  found. 

The  neutral  oils  are  of  the  hydrocar- 
bon type.  Part  of  them  may  prove  suit- 
able for  lubricating  purposes,  and  all 
as  fuels. 

The  proportions  of  these  three  types 
of  chemicals  formed  in  the  process 
may  be  varied  with  the  hydrogenating 
conditions. 

Wood  may  also  be  hydrogenated  in 
aqueous  alkaline  suspension.  The  lig- 
nin  forms  compounds  of  the  types  just 
described.  When  the  hydrogenation 
conditions  are  mild,  the  cellulose  left 
is  a  pulp  residue;  when  severe,  the  cel- 
lulose is  broken  down  into  sugars  and 
glycerine.  The  industrial  possibilities 
of  such  a  glycerine-forming  process 
must  await  further  research. 

Before  the  hydrogenation  of  either 
lignin  or  cellulose  can  become  an  in- 
dustrial reality,  methods  for  carrying 
on  the  process  in  continuous-flow 
equipment  will  have  to  be  developed. 
The  possibilities  of  commercial  hydro- 
genation, however,  are  promising.  One 
is  to  hydrogenate  the  lignin  residue 
from  a  wood-hydrolysis  ethyl-alcohol 
plant  to  obtain  an  optimum  yield  of 


neutral  oils.  Such  a  plant,  it  is  esti- 
mated, could  produce,  by  the  combined 
methods,  from  a  ton  of  dry  wood  about 
110  gallons  of  liquid  fuel  consisting 
chiefly  of  ethyl  alcohol  and  neutral  oils, 
together  with  some  methyl  alcohol  and 
furfural. 

With  all  these  possibilities,  the  chem- 
ical processing  of  wood  residues  may 
well  be  expected  to  expand  rapidly  in 
the  next  few  years. 

ALFRED  J.  STAMM,  a  Californian, 
joined  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory 
in  1925  and  at  present  is  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Derived  Products.  He  has 
published  a  number  of  research  papers 
on  such  subjects  as  particle  size  in 
emulsions,  capillary  structure  of  wood, 
wood  and  cellulose-liquid  relation- 
ships, swelling  and  its  prevention,  elec- 
trical properties  of  wood,  and  molecu- 
lar properties  of  cellulose  and  lignin. 
Dr.  Stamm  has  degrees  in  chemistry 
from  the  California  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology and  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin. In  1928  he  studied  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Upsala,  Sweden,  in  order  to 
apply  the  ultracentrifuge  technique  to 
the  study  of  the  molecular  weight  of 
cellulose. 


PUTTING  UNUSED  WOOD  TO  WORK 


C.  V.  SWEET 


Every  time  a  saw  chews  through 
a  log,  it  spits  aside  sawdust.  Whenever 
a  planer  dresses  the  roughness  off  a 
board,  it  throws  off  shavings.  Square- 
edged  lumber  is  made  only  at  the  cost 
of  slabs,  edgings,  and  trims.  For  every 
log  put  through  the  sawmill  a  consid- 
erable tonnage  of  wood  fiber  is  left  in 
the  forest.  Even  the  digesters  of  pulp 
mills  disgorge  as  unusable  sizable  quan- 
tities of  the  wood  fed  into  them.  And 
so  it  goes  with  nearly  every  operation 
concerned  with  harvesting  and  con- 
verting trees  into  useful  things. 

Those  unused  materials  generally 
have  been  called  waste,  not  in  the  sense 


that  they  signify  neglect  or  carelessness 
but  in  the  sense  that  they  are  not  eco- 
nomically usable.  If  there  is  use  for 
them,  the  margin  of  profit  may  be 
discouragingly  narrow,  the  necessary 
investment  for  equipment  may  be  pro- 
hibitive, or  the  expense  of  handling  and 
hauling  the  raw  material  to  one  point 
may  be  excessive. 

Theoretically,  there  is  a  use  to  which 
practically  every  type  of  unused  wood 
is  or  can  be  put.  The  problem  is  in 
finding  profitable  ways  of  doing  it  on 
an  adequate  basis. 

Only  in  relatively  recent  years  have 
we  come  to  regard  those  unused  forms 


644 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


as  important  to  our  national  economy. 

Without  quite  yet  realizing  it,  we 
have  become  so  desperately  dependent 
upon  our  forests  that  failure  to  get  the 
maximum  use  from  the  annual  timber 
harvest  becomes  increasingly  vital. 

Is  this  unused  wood  close  to  loca- 
tions where  it  can  be  put  to  use?  Just 
why  does  a  waste  occur?  Are  we  mak- 
ing any  headway  in  efforts  to  use  it? 

RESIDUE  occurs  everywhere  that 
wood  is  utilized  to  make  things,  but 
much  of  it  is  in  remote  and  scattered 
locations.  It  happens  for  various  rea- 
sons. One  of  the  most  basic  is  that  na- 
ture did  not  design  trees  wholly,  or 
even  primarily,  for  man's  use.  Nature 
made  them  round,  partially  defective 
usually,  with  buttressed  butts  and  with 
much  of  their  content  in  branches  and 
tops.  We  use  only  the  round  trunk,  as 
a  rule,  and  for  the  most  part  saw  it 
into  strips  with  squared  edges  to  re- 
move the  bark,  although  veneer  is 
peeled  off  like  paper  from  a  roll  and  the 
pulp-mill  chippers  swallow  the  whole 
barked  log.  But  even  the  trunk  has 
knots  and  some  other  defects  which,  for 
many  purposes,  must  be  cut  out. 

The  most  obvious  accumulations  of 
material  discarded  in  processing  occur 
at  small  sawmills,  although  back  in  the 
woods  there  may  be  even  more.  To  the 
layman,  the  great  heaps  of  sawdust 
and  other  scrap  at  the  sawmills  loom 
as  an  impending  evil  and  a  bad  waste. 
The  fact  is,  however,  that  those  piles 
of  refuse  are  in  large  part  unavoidable 
even  with  the  most  efficient  sawmill 
equipment.  The  finest  saw  inevitably 
chews  up  some  of  the  wood  as  it  bites 
through  the  log. 

At  sulfite  pulp  mills,  only  the  cellu- 
lose in  wood  is  extracted  for  manufac- 
ture of  high-quality  book  and  maga- 
zine paper,  rayon  textiles,  plastics,  and 
other  chemical  products.  Roughly,  a 
third  of  the  chemical  constituents  of 
wood,  known  as  lignin,  are  discarded 
because  there  is  no  good  use  for  them. 
Lignin  has  thus  far  defied  the  efforts 
of  a  small  army  of  chemists  to  make 
much  profitable  use  of  it.  Not  only  is  it 


unused;  it  pollutes  the  stream  into 
which  it  is  dumped.  Some  cellulose 
fiber  is  lost  with  the  lignin. 

At  first  glance,  rotary-cut  veneer, 
from  which  most  softwood  plywood  is 
made,  looks  like  an  efficient  way  to 
utilize  logs.  Veneer  bolts  are  mounted 
on  a  lathe  that  rotates  them  while  a 
stationary  knife  cuts  off  a  continuous 
ribbon  of  veneer.  But  logs  are  not  per- 
fect cylinders  of  perfect  wood.  A  good 
deal  of  veneer  has  to  be  removed  piece- 
meal before  the  log  becomes  a  cylinder 
that  yields  a  continuous  sheet  of  veneer 
as  it  revolves  against  the  cutter  blade. 
Knots,  cross  grain,  and  other  defects 
take  a  heavy  toll,  and,  finally,  there  is 
the  unused  core  of  the  bolt,  which  is 
too  small  for  veneer  cutting.  By  the 
time  the  veneer  is  clipped,  trimmed, 
graded,  patched,  and  otherwise  read- 
ied for  the  plywood  presses,  some  40  to 
50  percent  of  the  log  has  been  lost. 

These  and  related  products — in- 
cluding railroad  ties,  cooperage,  mine 
timbers,  shingles,  and  on  down  to 
tongue  depressors  and  pencil  slats — 
make  up  the  output  of  the  wood-using 
industries.  In  total,  the  discarded  ma- 
terial from  these  industries  bulks  almost 
fantastically  large  each  year. 

Follow  the  lumber  from  the  sawmill 
and  you  find  still  more  loss.  There  are, 
for  example,  the  cut-offs  and  degrade 
that  result  from  seasoning.  As  lum- 
ber dries,  considerable  amounts  are 
checked,  warped,  split,  and  honey- 
combed. Knots  loosen  and  fall  out. 
Some  of  the  lumber  becomes  infected 
with  decay.  At  the  planing  mill,  more 
sawdust  and  shavings;  at  the  building 
site,  discarded  ends,  broken  pieces,  and 
warpage  and  splitting  due  to  faulty 
handling  and  piling.  In  the  furniture 
factories  and  millwork  plants,  the  same 
processing  residues  occur. 

A  hundred  million  tons  of  unused 
wood  each  year — 60  million  tons  of 
cellulose  in  a  cellulose-hungry  world — 
constitutes  an  almost  untouched  back- 
log of  raw  material  that  challenges  the 
ingenuity  of  Americans. 

After  the  piles  have  been  out  in  the 
weather  for  a  short  time  they  become 


Putting  Unused  Wood  to 


645 


practically  useless  except  where  they 
can  be  used  in  mixture  with  poisons  to 
control  grasshopper  plagues.  Ultimate- 
ly they  may  find  usefulness  in  some 
areas  as  soil-conditioning  materials  to 
improve  the  physical  make-up  of  soils. 

Sawdust  fresh  from  the  log  has  pres- 
ent and  potential  values  as  fuel  for 
specially  designed  furnaces  and  burn- 
ers. Hickory,  oak,  maple,  and  birch  can 
frequently  be  shipped  over  long  dis- 
tances for  use  in  smoking  meats  at 
packing  plants. 

If  the  sawdust  is  from  dry  wood  cut 
at  factories,  it  has  a  larger  range  of  use 
possibilities. 

Obviously,  this  unused  wood  occurs 
in  comparatively  small  rivulets  all 
along  the  harvesting  and  production 
lines.  But  the  rivulets  never  run  into 
one  big  reservoir  that  can  be  con- 
veniently tapped.  There  is  tremendous 
variation  in  the  kind  and  form  of  the 
residues  that  occur,  and  this  diversity 
complicates  the  task  of  utilizing  them. 

The  task,  of  course,  starts  in  the 
woods.  More  efficient  harvesting  meth- 
ods are  constantly  being  devised.  New, 
fast-working,  labor-saving  equipment 
for  cutting,  skidding,  loading,  and  even 
bundling  has  speeded  forest  operations 
to  the  point  where  it  often  has  become 
profitable  to  relog  after  primary  log- 
ging and  to  salvage  much  cull  timber 
for  lumber  and  pulpwood  that  would 
not  pay  its  way  with  the  ordinary  log- 
ging equipment. 

In  ordinary  logging,  only  the  trunk 
of  the  tree  is  taken  out.  Tops,  branches, 
and  stumps  are  left  behind  to  be  burned 
or  eventually  to  decay.  Sometimes  the 
woods  operators  can  find  markets  for 
a  part  of  this  refuse.  Tops  of  felled 
trees  can  sometimes  be  sold  for  pulp- 
wood  along  with  defective  trees,  thin- 
nings, and  the  noncommercial  species. 
Some  refuse  can  be  used  to  make  char- 
coal where  markets  exist.  Short  logs  of 
good  material  can  be  sawed  into 
boards,  squares,  barrel  staves,  and  nu- 
merous other  small  products.  Some 
short  lengths  cut  from  between  branch 
whorls  may  be  suitable  for  box  veneer 
and  paper  cores.  Stumps,  crotches,  and 


other  parts  of  some  species  provide 
figured  veneer.  Forest  litter  finds  mar- 
kets with  local  nurseries  as  mulching 
material.  Branches  can  be  used  in  such 
items  as  rustic  furniture  and  fencing. 

Everything  that  can  be  used  in  the 
form  of  sawed  and  solid  wood  products 
should  be  recovered  first.  Recovery  for 
pulpwood  and  fiber  products  is  next  in 
order  for  areas  near  established  mills. 

Sawmills,  too,  have  undergone  ex- 
tensive changes.  In  the  older  forest 
regions,  many  of  the  big  stationary 
sawmills  have  shut  down  and  have 
been  supplanted  by  smaller  portable 
mills  that  can  be  moved  from  one  lo- 
cality to  another.  Previously  looked 
upon  as  a  headache  to  lumbermen  and 
foresters,  portable  mills  are  undergoing 
revolutionary  development  and  are 
playing  an  increasing  role  in  our  forest 
economy ;  they  require  less  investment, 
they  can  be  moved  easily,  and  they  can 
operate  economically  where  timber  re- 
sources are  thinner  and  more  scattered. 
The  design  and  operation  of  small  saw- 
mills are  being  studied  for  ways  in 
which  to  make  them  more  efficient. 

Sawmills  vary  widely  in  the  effi- 
ciency with  which  they  cut  up  logs  into 
lumber.  Some  sawdust  is  inevitable. 
Slabs,  edgings,  and  trim  wastes  vary 
widely  in  quantity,  however,  depend- 
ing on  the  efficiency  of  the  mill,  the 
type  of  logs  being  sawed,  and  the  ex- 
tent of  salvage  operations.  The  more 
efficient  mills  cut  lumber  accurately  to 
size,  reducing  waste.  With  large  logs, 
the  proportion  of  slab  and  edging  offal 
is  reduced.  And  at  some  mills  this  slab 
material  is  cut  into  a  great  variety  of 
secondary  products  and  sold. 

Most  of  the  markets  for  sawmill 
refuse  are  specialized  and  either  local 
or  regional  in  character.  In  many  of 
the  larger  cities,  dealers  handle  saw- 
dust and  shavings,  supplying  makers 
of  floor-sweeping  compounds,  the  fur 
workers,  metal  finishers,  toy  makers, 
and  others  that  use  small  quantities. 
Considerable  amounts  go  as  wood  flour 
into  linoleum,  explosives,  and  plastics. 
Probably  the  largest  use,  however,  is  as 
fuel — at  the  sawmill  to  furnish  power 


646 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


and  heat,  in  public  buildings  and  power 
plants,  as  well  as  in  domestic  sawdust 
burners.  Briquets  of  sawdust  and  shav- 
ings compressed  at  high  temperatures 
are  a  fuel  product  of  growing  interest. 

A  great  variety  of  things  are  or  can 
be  made  of  slabs,  edgings,  and  trims, 
depending  on  the  species  and  dryness. 
Seasoned  material  has  a  wider  market 
range  than  green  wood.  At  the  sawmill 
it  may  be  cut  to  rough  size  or  to  fin- 
ished dimensions.  If  softwood,  such 
material  is  called  "cut  stock" ;  if  hard- 
wood, "dimension  stock."  Typical  uses 
are  various  building  materials — floor- 
ing, molding  strips,  sash  and  frame 
stock — and  furniture  flat  stock,  squares 
for  bed  slats,  upholstery  frames,  chair 
backs  and  posts,  core  stock,  core  blocks, 
glue  blocks,  box  and  crate  stock,  handle 
squares,  toys,  stepladder  stock,  tent 
pegs,  washboard  parts,  and  a  long  list 
of  other  articles.  This  material  is  also 
used  for  fiber  products,  including 
building  boards,  container  board,  roof- 
ing felt,  and  even  various  grades  of 
paper.  Its  biggest  single  use,  however, 
remains  as  fuel,  usually  in  mixture  with 
sawdust  but  sometimes  bundled  or 
bagged  for  retail  sale;  as  a  processing 
fuel,  it  is  used  by  bakers  of  some  types 
of  pastries  and  breadstuff's,  in  the  dry- 
ing of  tobacco,  and  to  heat  brooders. 

In  the  pulp  and  paper  mills,  much 
the  same  development  is  going  on. 

The  enigma  of  lignin  is  being  at- 
tacked by  Government  and  privately 
financed  research  in  the  hope  of  find- 
ing uses  for  it.  As  knowledge  of  this 
complex  substance  grows,  it  is  recog- 
nized as  a  potential  source  of  valuable 
industrial  chemicals.  It  is  now  used  as 
a  dispersing  agent  for  portland  cement, 
in  the  negative  plates  of  storage  batter- 
ies, and  for  the  production  of  vanillin 
and  tannins.  The  evaporated  sulfite 
liquor  in  which  it  occurs  is  used  as  a 
binder  for  foundry  cores,  in  linoleum 
cement,  and  as  a  road-surface  binder. 

As  a  source  of  valuable  chemicals, 
wood  is  winning  greater  interest  year 
by  year.  Chemists  are  gradually  devis- 
ing new  methods  of  extracting  those 
chemicals  at  economic  cost  levels,  with 


their  eyes  trained  primarily  on  the 
scrap  piles  now  completely  unused. 

Sawdust  can  be  transformed  into 
grain  alcohol,  vitamin-rich  yeast,  and 
molasses  for  stock  feed,  and,  along  with 
small  percentages  of  pulp  binders,  into 
serviceable  building  boards.  Alcohol  is 
being  manufactured  from  the  spent 
liquors  of  sulfite  pulp  mills.  Molasses 
produced  from  wood  residues  at  the 
Forest  Products  Laboratory  is  being  fed 
experimentally  to  cattle,  hogs,  and 
chickens  to  establish  its  feed  value. 

But  the  task  of  utilizing  wood  resi- 
due does  not  end  in  the  laboratory  with 
the  discovery  of  new  ways  of  using  it. 
Commercially  feasible  processes  must 
be  developed,  financing  obtained,  then 
plants  built  where  steady  supplies  are 
assured  at  practical  costs,  technical 
skills  developed,  and  markets  found. 
All  those  steps  are  necessary  to  trans- 
late research  findings  into  commodities 
available  for  purchase  and  use  at  a 
profit  to  the  manufacturers  and  dis- 
tributors. Unless  the  many  problems  of 
production  and  distribution  can  also 
be  solved,  research  findings  are  likely 
to  remain  curiosities  of  the  laboratory. 

The  attack  on  the  problem  of  un- 
used wood  residues  has  to  be  from 
many  sides.  It  has  to  meet  local  as  well 
as  regional  and  national  needs.  A 
single  large,  centralized  plant  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest  can  perhaps  make 
yeast,  molasses,  alcohol,  and  other  in- 
dustrial chemicals  profitably,  because 
of  the  vast  supplies  of  raw  material 
nearby.  In  the  Lake  States  and  New 
England,  however,  where  supplies  of 
wood  residue  are  more  scattered,  the 
need  is  for  smaller  plants  set  up  per- 
haps as  auxiliaries  to  sawmills  and 
similar  primary  converters. 

Such  small  plants  have  a  special  sig- 
nificance for  farmers,  who  own  about 
36  percent  of  the  timber-growing  land 
of  the  United  States — more  than  is  held 
by  any  other  single  group  of  owners. 
Much  of  this  acreage  is  not  producing 
at  anything  like  its  capacity,  largely 
because  profitable  utilization  and  man- 
agement are  not  practiced.  If,  how- 
ever, new  markets  for  low-grade  tim- 


The  Forest  Products  Laboratory 


647 


her  become  available — as,  for  example, 
new  processing  plants  for  fabricating, 
laminating,  fiber  processing,  and  con- 
verting to  fodder,  molasses,  and  yeast — 
farm  wood  lots  in  the  locality  will 
become  more  profitable. 

An  example  of  what  waste-utiliza- 
tion measures  have  in  store  for  concerns 
too  small  to  run  individual  recovery 
operations  is  a  recent  step  toward  the 
organization  of  a  wood-waste  coopera- 
tive in  one  of  the  Central  States.  The 
prime  movers  are  a  number  of  wood- 
working plants  in  a  metropolitan  area. 
Each  member  company  proposes  to 
contribute  capital  in  proportion  to  the 
weekly  tonnage  of  scrap  wood  it  will 
ship  to  a  central  conversion  plant  for 
making  pressed  board  and  other  prod- 
ucts from  sawdust,  shavings,  and  other 
residues.  Each  member  will  take  out 


finished  converted  products  for  use 
or  sale,  paying  to  the  State,  as  required 
by  State  law  governing  agricultural 
cooperatives,  a  restocking  fee,  in  this 
case  a  fee  sufficient  to  plant  trees  cal- 
culated ultimately  to  produce  a  volume 
of  wood  equal  to  the  wood  residue 
handled. 

Regardless  of  whether  the  proposals 
are  carried  out,  the  plan  represents  a 
new  approach  to  the  utilization  of 
wood  wastes  by  means  of  which  small 
concerns  can  do  together  what  they 
cannot  do  alone. 

C.  V.  SWEET  was  born  and  edu- 
cated (in  forestry  and  wood  technol- 
ogy) in  New  York  State.  After  a  period 
of  work  in  industry  and  for  the  Gov- 
ernment of  India,  he  joined  the  Forest 
Products  Laboratory  25  years  ago. 


THE  FOREST  PRODUCTS  LABORATORY 

GEORGE  M.  HUNT 


The  Forest  Products  Laboratory, 
which  is  maintained  in  Madison,  Wis., 
as  a  unit  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  conducts  research 
to  help  conserve  the  Nation's  timber 
supply  and  make  it  serve  more  satis- 
factorily the  needs  of  the  people  for 
wood  products  of  all  kinds. 

For  nearly  40  years  the  Laboratory 
has  been  doing  this  work.  Today  virtu- 
ally every  use  of  wood  known  to  man  is 
directly  affected  by  it. 

Hardly  a  day  passes  without  visits 
from  representatives  of  forest-products 
industries  seeking  information  about 
wood :  What  is  the  correct  temperature 
and  relative  humidity  to  use  in  drying 
magnolia  for  Venetian  blinds?  Can  the 
new  resin  glues  be  used  in  piano  pro- 
duction? What  is  the  best  type  of  wood 
sheathing  for  house  construction? 
What  grade  of  plywood  is  best  for  out- 
door use?  How  do  you  bag  mold  a  ply- 
wood boat?  What  will  happen  if  I  ap- 
ply white  paint  to  my  red  barn?  Am  I 
entitled  to  the  free  use  of  the  Labora- 


tory's patents  on  the  semichemical 
process  of  paper  making?  How  does  the 
Laboratory  make  molasses  from  wood? 
And  many  other  questions  about  the 
thousands  of  uses  to  which  wood  is  put. 
Each  day  brings  fresh  batches  of  let- 
ters, telegrams,  and  telephone  calls 
from  every  State — from  great  corpora- 
tions and  Government  agencies,  home 
owners,  farmers,  and  operators  of  small 
sawmills,  woodworking  establishments, 
and  factories.  The  questions  range 
from  the  complex  problems  of  aerody- 
namic design  to  paint  peeling  off  a 
house  or  lumber  warping  in  the  sea- 
soning pile.  But  fundamentally  they 
are  alike  in  that  they  generally  involve 
the  basic  problem  of  wood  use — an  un- 
derstanding of  its  fundamental  prop- 
erties, such  as  strength,  wood-moisture 
relations,  and  the  physical  and  chem- 
ical structure  of  this  common  but  high- 
ly complex  substance.  It  is  toward  a 
better  understanding  of  those  funda- 
mental properties  that  the  Laboratory 
has  aimed  its  scientific  inquiries,  on  the 


648 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


assumption  that,  if  you  know  what 
wood  is  and  why  it  behaves  as  it  does, 
you  have  the  information  you  need  to 
solve  your  practical  problems. 

The  more  recent  accomplishments 
of  the  Laboratory,  such  as  transform- 
ing cull  trees,  sawdust,  and  other  wood 
residues  into  sugar-rich  stock  feeds,  or 
building  serviceable  house  walls  from 
sandwiches  of  veneer  and  paper  with- 
out framing  members,  may  appear 
most  striking.  Those  and  other  equally 
solid  applications  of  its  work,  however, 
result  from  its  past  research,  which  not 
only  supplies  a  basis  for  new  concepts 
that  help  make  such  accomplishments 
possible,  but  supplies  means  of  con- 
stantly improving  established  wood 
uses. 

The  applications  of  this  work  start  in 
the  forest,  where  trees  are  cut  into  logs. 
Except  for  the  variations  in  diameter, 
taper,  and  crook,  all  logs  look  much 
alike.  Yet  from  early  lumbering  days 
it  has  been  important  that  timber 
owners  and  mill  operators  be  able  to 
recognize  from  the  outward  appear- 
ance of  logs  the  quality  as  well  as  the 
quantity  of  lumber  that  can  be  cut 
from  them.  A  system  of  grading  logs 
according  to  recognizable  characteris- 
tics has  become  increasingly  necessary 
so  that  buyers  and  sellers  of  logs,  par- 
ticularly from  farm  woodlands,  can 
have  a  basis  for  definite  and  equitable 
dealings.  Applying  knowledge  gathered 
in  the  woods,  sawmills,  veneer  mills, 
and  elsewhere,  the  Laboratory  has  de- 
veloped a  system  of  grading  hardwood 
logs  that  is  now  followed  by  the  Forest 
Service  in  making  timber  inventories 
and  that  is  gradually  coming  into  use 
in  the  commercial  buying  and  selling  of 
logs.  When  once  it  is  firmly  established, 
this  grading  system  promises  substan- 
tial aid  in  forest  management. 

Kiln-dried  lumber  has  become  a 
standard  commodity  throughout  the 
United  States.  To  assure  that  such 
lumber  would  be  dried  to  the  moisture 
content  most  suitable  for  the  use  to 
which  it  is  to  be  put,  the  Laboratory 
developed  schedules  of  temperature 
and  relative  humidity  for  drying  lum- 


ber of  various  thicknesses  rapidly  and 
with  a  minimum  of  damage.  It  has 
made  available  such  schedules  for  al- 
most all  native  American  woods  and 
for  some  foreign  woods.  As  a  result, 
although  there  may  be  local  or  tem- 
porary lapses  from  good  kiln-drying 
standards,  the  general  level  of  excel- 
lence of  wood  seasoning  in  the  United 
States  is  not  equaled  elsewhere  in  the 
world.  The  Laboratory  began  its  work 
on  improved  kiln-drying  methods  in 
about  191 3  by  working  out  and  making 
known  the  physical  laws  governing  the 
rapid  seasoning  of  wood.  Its  efforts 
continue  toward  development  of  still 
better  technical  control  of  the  drying 
processes. 

Most  of  the  5,000  or  more  dry  kilns 
in  use  in  this  country  have  been  de- 
signed by  their  manufacturers  upon 
the  principles  of  the  original  internal- 
fan  kiln  pioneered  at  the  Laboratory. 
Those  kilns,  including  all  of  the  new 
and  most  of  the  remodeled  ones,  have 
given  satisfaction  of  a  high  order. 

The  man  who  now  buys  lumber  at 
a  lumber  yard  for  repairs,  alterations, 
or  new  construction  usually  gets  a 
product  of  standard  dimensions  and 
pattern  that,  within  reasonable  toler- 
ances, will  be  the  same  as  he  bought 
for  a  like  purpose  at  a  previous  time. 
This  was  not  always  true,  because  the 
lumber  from  different  mills  and  areas 
varied  widely  in  dimensions  and  pat- 
tern until  some  25  years  ago.  About 
that  time  the  Forest  Products  Labora- 
tory played  an  important  role,  with  the 
United  States  Department  of  Com- 
merce, in  standardizing  lumber  dimen- 
sions by  assisting  the  manufacturers, 
distributors,  and  consumers  of  lumber 
in  setting  up  American  standards  to 
replace  the  local  and  regional  stand- 
ards previously  existing.  Today,  as  a 
result,  house  flooring,  siding,  and  other 
lumber  can  be  bought  in  the  same 
sizes  whether  made  in  New  England, 
the  Lake  States,  the  South,  or  the  West. 

The  bountiful  supply  of  woods  suit- 
able for  structural  purposes  with  which 
the  United  States  has  been  blessed  has 
been  given  added  value  through  more 


The  Forest  Products  Laboratory 


649 


intelligent  use  and  by  reliable  data  on 
the  growth,  structure,  and  strength 
properties  of  these  species.  More  than 
a  million  tests  have  provided  data  on 
which  to  base  sound  working  stresses 
and  establish  structural  grades  for  use 
in  design  and  for  inclusion  in  building 
codes.  The  test  methods  developed  at 
the  Laboratory  were  recognized  in 
1927  by  the  American  Society  for  Test- 
ing Materials  and  have  been  adopted 
in  many  foreign  countries. 

More  than  175  native  woods,  as 
well  as  some  foreign  species,  have  been 
tested  for  strength.  Companion  data 
needed  by  design  engineers  have  been 
obtained  on  such  types  of  fastenings  as 
nails,  screws,  and  connectors,  and 
studies  have  been  made  to  determine 
the  effect  of  loading  conditions,  defects, 
and  moisture  on  strength.  New  con- 
structions, such  as  plywood  and  sand- 
wich materials,  have  been  investigated 
and  the  strength  of  these  complex 
materials  determined  both  by  actual 
tests  and  by  means  of  mathematical 
analyses  that  short-cut  laborious  and 
time-consuming  tests  of  individual 
specimens.  This  information  has  been 
depended  on  widely  by  the  wood- 
using  industries  in  the  selection  of  ma- 
terial and  species  for  specific  purposes, 
such  as  poles,  structural  timbers,  air- 
craft, boxes,  boats,  and  housing. 

The  development  of  Federal  specifi- 
cations for  wood  and  fiberboard  boxes 
has  been  almost  entirely  a  responsi- 
bility of  the  Laboratory  for  the  past 
30  years.  Although  these  specifications 
were  designed  for  Government  use, 
they  have  been  widely  adopted  as  the 
basis  for  improved  commercial  con- 
tainers that  have  greatly  reduced  ship- 
ping costs.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
the  research  on  containers  has  effected 
annual  peacetime  savings  of  about  40 
million  dollars  through  reduced  dam- 
age to  merchandise,  use  of  thinner  lum- 
ber, and  containers  of  lower  weight 
and  less  volume. 

The  satisfactory  service  rendered  by 
many  wood  products  depends  on  the 
glue  used  as  a  binder  for  their  parts. 
Skill  in  the  gluing  of  wood  has  been 


improving  for  centuries,  with  the  most 
striking  advances  taking  place  within 
recent  years.  Accepted  standards  for 
measuring  the  strength  and  durability 
of  glue  joints  have  been  important  in 
this  development.  To  provide  those 
standards,  we  devised  two  glue-test 
joints,  a  tension- test  joint  for  plywood 
and  a  block-shear-test  joint  for  heavier 
laminated  woods,  and  standard  meth- 
ods of  testing  them  that  have  been 
accepted  by  glue  makers  and  users. 
The  strength  of  new  glues  and  their 
resistance  to  moisture,  heat,  and  decay 
have  been  measured  by  their  perform- 
ance in  these  standard- type  joints,  both 
newly  made  and  after  exposure  to 
severe  conditions  of  service. 

DURING  THE  SECOND  WORLD  WAR, 
more  than  100  new  commercial  resin 
glues  were  tested  for  the  Army  and  the 
Navy.  The  tests  assisted  the  manufac- 
turers in  the  elimination  of  poor  glues 
and  the  rapid  development  of  the  more 
effective  glues.  These  adhesives  have 
made  plywood  and  laminated  wood 
joints  highly  durable  for  outdoor  use. 
They  have  made  practical,  also,  the 
gluing  of  wood  to  metal,  plastics,  and 
other  materials  that  require  adhesive 
properties  not  possessed  by  glues  pre- 
viously used  for  joining  wood  to  wood. 

In  the  field  of  wood  preservation, 
the  work  here  has  contributed  substan- 
tially to  the  development  and  to  the 
standardization  of  preservatives  and 
treating  methods  for  a  wide  range  of 
wood  uses  in  which  durability  is  im- 
portant. An  example  is  the  work 
on  pentachlorophenol,  an  oil-soluble 
chemical,  which  has  come  into  increas- 
ing use  as  a  wood  preservative  until 
now  millions  of  pounds  of  it  are  pro- 
duced annually  for  this  purpose.  One 
of  its  common  applications  is  quick 
treatment  of  window  sash  to  impart 
decay  resistance.  The  development  of 
this  material  as  a  wood  preservative 
dates  back  to  1930,  when  we  suggested 
to  chemical  manufacturers  that,  on  the 
basis  of  observations  and  the  theoreti- 
cal poisoning  effect  of  certain  benzene 
compounds  on  decay  organisms,  chlo- 


650 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


rinated  phenols  would  have  special 
value  as  wood  preservatives. 

To  broaden  the  source  of  raw  ma- 
terials for  the  pulp  and  paper  indus- 
try, such  species  as  the  southern  yel- 
low pines  and  various  hardwoods  have 
been  made  usable  by  means  of  new 
pulping  processes.  Those  species  sup- 
plement the  dwindling  supplies  of 
spruce  and  balsam  that  have  been  most 
favored  by  the  industry.  Research  has 
opened  the  way  to  such  new  materials 
and  processes.  One  entirely  new  proc- 
ess, semichemical  pulping,  was  de- 
veloped and  first  placed  on  a  practical 
basis  by  the  Laboratory  in  about  1924. 
This  process,  that  is  especially  adapted 
to  hardwoods,  yields  about  50  percent 
more  pulp,  with  less  costly  plants,  than 
some  of  the  older  processes.  By  it,  near- 
ly 500,000  tons  of  semichemical  pulp 
are  now  being  produced  annually,  and 
the  amount  is  increasing.  More  recent 
investigations  of  its  possibilities  for  the 
conversion  of  low-quality  wood  and 
wood  residues  are  leading  to  increased 
utilization  of  those  materials  for  many 
kinds  of  pulp  and  paper. 

The  painting  of  wood  has  been 
placed  on  a  more  scientific  basis.  The 
greater  part  of  the  knowledge  on  which 
this  improvement  is  based  has  come 
from  research  and  exposure  tests  at  the 
Laboratory  on  the  paint-holding  ca- 
pacity of  American  woods.  As  a  result, 
the  usefulness  of  paints  for  their  ef- 
fect on  the  appearance  of  woods  (as 
distinguished  from  their  protective 
properties)  is  now  better  understood. 
The  common  woods  have  been  dis- 
tinctly classified  as  to  their  paintability, 
and  the  causes  of  various  types  of  paint 
failure  have  been  determined.  The  dis- 
advantages of  using  unlike  paints  in 
succession  on  the  same  surface,  as  in 
repainting,  have  become  clear,  and  the 
use  of  special  primers  and  control  of 
two-coat  work  developed.  Millions  of 
dollars  were  saved  by  the  armed  forces 
during  the  war  by  applying  the  findings 
to  the  painting  of  military  buildings. 

It  has  been  known  for  years  that 
cellulose  can  be  transformed  into 
sugars.  This  knowledge  was  first  ap- 


plied in  this  country  during  the  First 
World  War  and  later  more  efficiently 
utilized  by  the  Germans.  In  the  last  few 
years,  the  commercial  possibilities  of 
sugar  production  from  wood  have  been 
developed  further  by  reducing  the 
treating  time  to  one-half  of  that  need- 
ed by  the  Germans  and  increasing  the 
yield  to  about  one-half  ton  of  sugar 
from  a  ton  of  wood.  These  sugars  show 
promise  as  molasses  for  animal  feed 
and  as  the  raw  material  for  producing 
alcohol,  yeast,  and  other  products. 

Although  the  Laboratory  staff  has 
been  occupied  largely  by  major  re- 
search problems  of  the  kind  named, 
many  minor  problems,  such  as  deal 
with  a  single  type  of  use  for  a  single 
species,  have  not  been  neglected.  Some 
years  ago,  for  example,  certain  western 
railroads  were  about  to  reject  Engel- 
mann  spruce  as  a  material  for  cross 
ties,  although  it  was  at  hand  in  their 
territory,  because  it  was  difficult  to 
treat  with  preservatives.  The  Labora- 
tory found  a  means  of  reducing  the 
difficulty  and  made  possible  the  con- 
tinued use  of  this  wood.  Similarly,  a 
way  was  devised  to  cut  southern  water 
oak  into  veneer  satisfactory  for  ply- 
wood for  fruit  and  vegetable  contain- 
ers, by  which  a  market  was  provided 
for  this  previously  neglected  species. 
Since  then,  one  operator  produced  in 
3  months  a  half  million  square  feet  of 
water  oak  plywood. 

New  wood  products  developed  in  re- 
cent years  include  moisture-resistant, 
dimensionally  stable,  resin-treated  im- 
preg  and  compreg  used  for  aircraft 
propellers,  knife  handles,  and  for  ship 
decking;  the  high-strength  laminated 
paper  plastic,  papreg,  used  for  table 
tops,  truck  floors,  and  ammunition 
boxes;  and  the  dimensionally  stable, 
resin-free,  compressed  wood,  staypak, 
useful  for  textile  spinning  reels,  shut- 
tles, picker  sticks,  and  mine  guides. 
New  uses  for  wood  have  been  suggested 
by  the  unusual  moisture  resistance,  the 
freedom  from  shrinking  and  swelling, 
the  hardness,  and  the  beautiful  ap- 
pearance of  some  of  these  modified 
woods,  although  their  applications  to 


How  to  Use  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory 


use  have  thus  far  been  limited  by  their 
cost. 

Practical  developments,  such  as 
laminated  wood  for  ships,  highly  mois- 
ture-resistant plywoods,  new  dry-kiln 
schedules  as  well  as  new  paper-making 
processes,  do  not  come  of  themselves, 
however.  Scientific  progress  is  not,  as 
a  rule,  the  fruit  of  accidental  discov- 
eries. It  is  rather  the  result  of  plodding 
analysis  of  facts  unearthed  by  painstak- 
ing research  methods.  The  information 
so  uncovered  is  then  applied  to  so- 
called  practical  developments.  The 
Forest  Products  Laboratory,  therefore, 


keeps  its  sights  leveled  on  the  funda- 
mental aspects  of  research,  pursuing 
developmental  work  as  basic  findings 
warrant. 

GEORGE  M.  HUNT  is  the  director  of 
the  Forest  Products  Laboratory.  He 
has  been  on  the  staff  of  the  Laboratory 
since  1913,  first  as  a  chemist  special- 
izing in  the  preservation  of  wood  and 
later  as  chief  of  the  Division  of  Wood 
Preservation.  He  is  a  native  of  Oregon, 
and  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
California.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Forest  Service  since  1911. 


HOW  TO  USE  FOREST  PRODUCTS  LABORATORY 

F.  J.  CHAMPION 


A  tremendous  amount  of  infor- 
mation on  matters  pertaining  to  wood 
is  available  at  the  Forest  Products  Lab- 
oratory. About  6,000  persons  and  firms 
each  month  send  in  questions  about 
simple  matters  of  burning  wood  for 
fuel,  the  complex  problems  that  arise 
in  the  paper  and  plastics  industries, 
the  precautions  one  should  take  against 
decay  in  building  a  house,  the  weight 
of  common  lumber,  the  wood  to  use 
in  making  shipping  containers,  and 
many  more. 

Farmers  ask  about  simple  methods 
for  making  fence  posts  last  longer. 
Furniture  manufacturers  want  to  know 
how  to  avoid  warping  of  glued-up 
wood  panels.  Lumber  manufacturers 
ask  for  the  latest  kiln-drying  schedules. 
Paper  chemists  want  information  on 
the  newest  discoveries  on  the  physical 
properties  of  the  wood  fiber.  All  the 
inquiries  are  answered  promptly  by  the 
staff. 

For  other  people  who  do  not  know 
about  the  services  and  help  that  are 
available  at  the  Laboratory,  some  sug- 
gestions are  offered  here. 

Because  the  range  of  information 
available  is  so  wide,  a  specific  inquiry 
is  most  apt  to  bring  the  information 
wanted  with  one  letter.  A  request  like, 


"Send  me  directions  for  treating  aspen 
fence  posts,"  is  easier  to  handle  than 
one  like,  "Send  me  information  on 
wood  preservation." 

Many  inquiries  can  be  answered  sat- 
isfactorily and  most  cheaply  with  a 
pamphlet  or  bulletin.  Some  replies, 
however,  require  a  detailed  letter, 
based  on  past  research  or  on  accumu- 
lated experience  and  observations. 

If  the  Laboratory  does  not  have  the 
information,  the  inquirer  is  so  in- 
formed, and,  if  possible,  a  suggestion 
is  given  him  as  to  where  the  desired 
information  can  be  obtained. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  know  anybody 
at  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory  to 
place  your  letter  in  the  hands  of  the 
man  best  qualified  to  answer  it.  Auto- 
matically all  inquiries  are  routed  to  the 
man  or  men  specializing  in  the  subject 
matter  of  the  letter.  Letters  or  postal 
cards  (which  often  do  just  as  well) 
should  be  addressed:  Forest  Products 
Laboratory,  Madison  5,  Wis. 

The  Laboratory  has  available  sep- 
arate lists  of  publications  for  each  ma- 
jor field  of  research,  so  that  a  person 
can  get  only  the  lists  that  are  closest 
to  his  needs.  One  should  ask  for  a  list 
of  publications  covering  wood  season- 
ing, residential  construction,  forest- 


652 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


products  manufacture,  or  whatever 
his  interest  may  be.  The  list  he  gets 
includes  the  titles  of  all  the  other  avail- 
able lists,  and  he  can  go  on  from  there 
should  his  interests  broaden. 

The  titles  of  the  available  Forest 
Products  Laboratory  publication  lists, 
together  with  a  general  description  of 
the  subject  matter  covered  and  some 
of  the  more  popular  publications  men- 
tioned in  those  lists,  are  given  in  the 
last  section  of  this  Yearbook. 

Single  copies  of  any  of  the  available 
Laboratory  publications  are  free  on 
request. 

On  some  subjects  associated  with 
wood,  the  Laboratory  can  offer  little 
help.  For  instance,  it  is  not  the  direct 
source  of  information  on  problems  of 
forest  management,  forest  protection, 
or  general  conservation — subjects  that 
are  in  the  province  of  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice headquarters  in  Washington  and 
the  various  headquarters  of  the  10  For- 
est Service  regions.  The  Laboratory 
has  no  body  of  research  results  on  for- 
est insects ;  that  is  taken  care  of  by  the 
Bureau  of  Entomology  and  Plant 
Quarantine  in  Washington,  D.  G.,  and 
its  field  staff. 

On  the  other  hand,  inquiries  regard- 
ing decay,  stain,  and  mold  organisms 
are  handled  at  the  Laboratory  by  the 
Division  of  Forest  Pathology,  main- 
tained by  the  Bureau  of  Plant  In- 
dustry, Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engi- 
neering. 

Because  research  on  wood  finishing 
at  the  Laboratory  has  dealt  mainly 
with  exterior  finishes,  little  information 
is  available  on  such  matters  as  furni- 
ture finishing  and  refinishing. 

The  information  to  be  had  is  prin- 
cipally in  the  field  of  wood  properties 
and  processing  as  they  may  affect  wood 
utilization.  Trade  practices,  such  as 
carpentry  and  cabinet-work  instruc- 
tions, and  details  of  plant  woodwork- 
ing machinery  and  its  lay-out,  mainte- 
nance, and  operation  are  not  covered. 

The  Laboratory  maintains  a  mailing 
list  for  those  who  wish  to  keep  as  nearly 
up  to  date  as  possible  with  the  results 
of  its  research.  Every  6  months,  those 


on  the  mailing  list  receive  a  brief  com- 
pilation of  abstracts  of  the  reports, 
technical  notes,  and  trade-journal  ar- 
ticles published  during  the  previous  6 
'months.  Any  publications  that  are  of 
specific  interest  can  then  be  requested. 
The  mailing  list  is  made  up  only  of  the 
names  of  people  who  have  asked  to  be 
placed  on  the  list. 

Those  who  read  the  trade  journals 
of  a  particular  wood-using  industry  will 
find  that  a  considerable  amount  of 
information  from  the  Forest  Products 
Laboratory  appears  from  time  to  time 
in  a  number  of  journals  in  the  form  of 
signed  articles  by  staff  members. 

Another  important  means  by  which 
the  results  of  research  at  the  Labora- 
tory are  acquired  by  users  of  forest 
products  is  by  visiting  the  institution. 
In  an  ordinary  year  some  3,000  indi- 
viduals from  every  part  of  the  United 
States,  generally  representing  indus- 
trial plants  (such  as  paper  mills  or 
furniture  factories)  visit  Madison  and 
spend  from  an  hour  to  a  week  ironing 
out  production  problems  concerning 
wood,  acquiring  standard  information 
on  wood,  or  discussing  new  products. 

A  few  individuals  return  periodi- 
cally to  find  out  at  first  hand  about  new 
developments  in  wood  products  and  to 
discuss  those  developments  with  the 
men  working  on  them.  A  visit  to  the 
Laboratory  involves,  for  the  visitor,  the 
expenditure  of  travel  money  and,  on 
the  part  of  the  Laboratory  staff,  con- 
siderable consulting  time.  Neverthe- 
less, where  large  quantities  of  valuable 
forest  products  can  be  conserved,  it  is 
most  productive  of  results.  Although 
the  time  of  the  technical  staff  is  fully 
engaged  by  the  research  program,  vis- 
itors will  find  staff  members  easy  to 
approach  and  ready  to  give  them  care- 
ful and  friendly  attention.  There  is  no 
charge  for  consulting  service. 

The  Forest  Products  Laboratory 
does  no  routine  testing  work.  It  is  not 
possible,  for  instance,  to  bring  stock- 
manufactured  items  of  wood  to  the 
Laboratory  for  testing.  That  is  a  logical 
activity  of  commercial  laboratories. 

The  nearest  approach  to  a  routine 


How  to  Use  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory 


653 


testing  activity  at  the  Forest  Products 
Laboratory  is  its  wood-identification 
service  The  Laboratory  acts  as  Gov- 
ernment headquarters  for  the  identifi- 
cation of  wood.  Several  thousand 
samples  of  wood  products,  ranging 
from  structural  timbers  to  antiques, 
are  received  each  year  and  identified 
as  to  species  by  examination  of  the 
minute  structure  of  the  material. 

In  a  few  cases  in  which  the  Labora- 
tory's research  program,  the  public 
interest,  and  the  needs  of  wood-proc- 
essing groups  are  likely  to  benefit, 
cooperative  research  projects  are  un- 
dertaken. Although  an  outside  agency 
or  a  commercial  firm  may  finance  such 
projects  entirely  or  in  part,  the  publi- 
cation of  the  results  of  such  coopera- 
tion is  controlled  by  the  Laboratory  in 
the  public  interest. 

A  relatively  new  field  organization, 
linking  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory 
to  wood  users  throughout  the  United 
States  for  more  effective  service,  is 
found  in  seven  Forest  Utilization  Serv- 
ice units  located  at  forest  experiment 
stations  of  the  Forest  Service.  Two  or 


more  men,  trained  in  wood  uses  and 
prepared  to  serve  wood  users  directly 
through  expediting  the  handling  of  in- 
dividual and  regional  problems,  are  lo- 
cated at  the  following  stations : 

California  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, Berkeley  4,  Calif. 

Central  States  Forest  Experiment 
Station,  Columbus  15,  Ohio. 

Northeastern  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Northern  Rocky  Mountain  Forest 
Experiment  Station,  Missoula,  Mont. 

Pacific  Northwest  Forest  Experi- 
ment Station,  Portland  5,  Oreg. 

Southeastern  Forest  Experiment 
Station,  Asheville,  N.  C. 

Southern  Forest  Experiment  Station, 
New  Orleans  19,  La. 

F.  J.  CHAMPION  joined  the  Forest 
Products  Laboratory  in  1921  as  an 
illustrator  and  since  that  time  has  en- 
gaged in  a  variety  of  activities  in  the 
Information  and  Educational  Division. 
He  is  the  author  of  numerous  articles 
on  the  utilization  of  wood.  He  was 
born  in  Michigan. 


NEWSPRINT 


SANiTAR",  TiSa't 



How  wood  as  a  raw  material  "flows"  into  the  paper  and  paperboard  industry 

is  shown  above. 


654 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


OWNERSHIP  OF  SAW  TIMBER  ON  COMMERCIAL   FOREST  LAND  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES   BY  REGION  * 


Region 


New  England .  . 
Middle  Atlantic. 

Lake 

Central 

Plains . . . 


South  Atlantic. 

Southeast 

West  Gulf. . . 


Private 


State, 

Federally  owned  or  managed  county, 
' '     and 
All  National  munic- 

ownerships         Total   forests       Other        ipal 


Total 


Indus- 
trial 
and 
Farm       other 


Million      Million    Million    Million    Million    Million    Million    Million 


bd.jt. 


I  ft.      bd.jt.       bd.jt.      bd.jt.      bd.jt.      bd.ft.      bd.ft. 


58,  197 

2,014 

i, 

894 

120 

842 

55. 

34!   12,  214 

43. 

127 

62,045 

1,863 

i, 

652 

211 

3.877 

56, 

305 

15.855 

40,450 

50,  ?io 

4.300 

3. 

285 

1,015 

5.340 

41. 

070 

10, 

910 

30, 

160 

43.  747 

i.  43i 

I, 

253 

I78 

557 

41. 

759 

31. 

825 

9- 

934 

5.730 

138 

3 

135 

i 

5. 

59i 

5. 

565 

26 

North 220,429        9,746      8,087      1,659     10,617200,066    76,369    123,697 


97. 

141 

6,130 

4.3*6 

1,814 

1.427 

89.  584 

5L 

847 

37. 

737 

135. 

887 

6,406 

4.638 

1,768 

386 

129,095 

55. 

743 

73. 

352 

104, 

959 

5.575 

4.873 

702 

847 

98,  537 

26, 

720 

7L 

817 

South 337.987       18,111     13,827      4,284      2,660317,216134,310     182,906 


Pacific  Northwest: 

Douglas-fir  subregion . . 
Pine  subregion 


504,931     265,641208,384     57,257    35.354203,936       8,099     195,837 
125,963      92,860    70,177    22,683      3.856    29,247      2,601      26,646 


Total 630, 894    358,  501  278,  561    79, 940    39,  210  233, 183    10, 700    222, 483 


California 

North  Rocky  Mountain.  . . 
South  Rocky  Mountain  .  . 


227,565     104,192    99,770 

127,229      80,541     73,641 

56,868       51,183    44,531 


4,422  157  123,216     15,348     107,868 

6,900     10,828    35,860      5,424      30,436 
6,652         954      4,731      2, 180        2,551 


West 1,042,556    594,417496,503    97,914    5I.I49  396,990    33.652    363,338 

All  regions. 1, 600,  972    622,  274  518,  417  103,  857    64, 426  914,  272  244, 331     669,  941 

1  Prepared  by  Forest  Service,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  Status  beginning  of  1945.  Includes 
trees  large  enough  for  sawlogs  in  accordance  with  the  practice  of  the  region  regardless  of  the  actual  use. 
Volumes  are  on  lumber-tally  basis.  This  volume  occurs  on  land  capable  of  producing  timber  of  commercial 
quantity  and  quality  and  available  now  or  prospectively  for  commercial  use. 

Minimum  sizes  of  saw-timber  trees: 

New  England,  Middle  Atlantic:  9  inches  D.  B.  H.  for  softwoods  and  II  inches  for  hardwoods. 

Lake,  Plains:  9  inches  D.  B.  H. 

Central:  IO  inches  D.  B.  H. 

South  Atlantic,  Southeast,  West  Gulf:  9  inches  D.  B.  H.  for  pine  and  cypress  and  13  inches  for  hard- 
woods. 

Pacific  Northwest  (Douglas-fir  subregion):  15  inches  D.  B.  H. 

Pacific  Northwest  (pine  subregion):  II  inches  D.  B.  H. 

California:  All  except  redwood  type,  II  inches  D.  B.  H.;  redwood  type,  23  inches  D.  B.  H. 

North  Rocky  Mountain:  II  inches  D.  B.  H.  for  pine,  cedar,  and  hardwood;  13  inches  D.  B.  H.  for 
other  species. 

South  Rocky  Mountain:  II  inches  D.  B.  H. 


The  Foresters'  Calling 


EDUCATION  IN  FORESTRY 

SAMUEL  T.  DANA 


T?  ORESTRY  in  the  United  States 
I/  attained  the  dignity  of  a  profession 
about  50  years  ago,  largely  because  of 
the  inauguration  and  the  rapid  spread 
of  technical  training. 

Two  schools  of  forestry  opened  their 
doors  in  1898,  the  New  York  State  Col- 
lege of  Forestry  at  Cornell  University 
and  the  Biltmore  Forestry  School  on 
the  Vanderbilt  estate  near  Asheville, 
N.  C.  Both  were  headed  by  men  who 
had  been  trained  in  forestry  in  Ger- 
many, B.  E.  Fernow  at  Cornell,  and 
C.  A.  Schenck  at  Biltmore.  Their  es- 
tablishment, at  a  time  when  the  oppor- 
tunities for  the  practice  of  forestry 
were  few  and  too  far  between,  required 
vision  and  courage  and  was  an  essen- 
tial step  toward  providing  trained  men, 
without  whom  progress  would  have 
continued  to  be  slow  and  uncertain. 

In  1900  were  established  the  Yale 
School  of  Forestry  and  the  Division  of 
Forestry  in  the  University  of  Minne- 
sota, which  are  today  our  oldest  schools 
in  continuous  existence.  The  school 

Above:  A  farm  forester  instructs  a  4-H 
group  in  ways  to  plant  ar>d  handle  seedlings. 


at  Cornell  was  discontinued  in  1905  as 
a  result  of  legislative  disapproval  of 
the  management  of  a  tract  of  Adiron- 
dack forest  land  which  had  been 
placed  at  its  disposal.  The  one  at  Bilt- 
more was  discontinued  shortly  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  First  World  War. 
Several  other  institutions,  however,  in- 
troduced forestry  into  their  curricula, 
and  by  1914  schools  of  forestry  were  in 
operation  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

Today  22  schools  are  recognized  by 
the  Society  of  American  Foresters  as 
providing  professional  training  of  a 
caliber  to  justify  the  admission  of  grad- 
uates to  the  Society  without  further 
proof  of  their  competence. 

The  first  three  schools  of  forestry 
had  different  approaches  to  the  meth- 
ods of  professional  training.  The  school 
at  Cornell  was  established  as  a  State 
institution  and  comprised  a  4-year  un- 
dergraduate program  leading  to  the 
bachelor's  degree.  That  at  Biltmore,  a 
private  enterprise,  also  conferred  a 
bachelor's  degree,  although  the  course 
in  forestry  covered  only  a  year  and  was 
devoted  largely  to  practical  work  in 

655 


656 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


the  field.  The  one  at  Yale,  a  privately 
endowed  institution,  was  open  only  to 
men  with  a  bachelor's  degree  and  of- 
fered 2  years  of  study  leading  to  the 
degree  of  master  of  forestry. 

The  pattern  established  at  Cornell 
has  been  pretty  generally  followed  at 
other  institutions.  There  are  today  no 
"master"  schools  similar  to  that  at 
Biltmore,  and  only  three — Yale,  Duke, 
and  Harvard — require  a  bachelor's  de- 
gree for  admission.  All  the  others  ad- 
mit undergraduates  and  are  parts  of 
State-supported  institutions.  The  lat- 
ter fact  undoubtedly  reflects  the  belief 
that  the  importance  of  proper  manage- 
ment of  the  forests  to  the  permanent 
prosperity  of  the  entire  community  is 
such  as  to  warrant  public  support  of 
professional  training. 

Several  features  of  that  training  de- 
serve special  mention.  Without  excep- 
tion, the  schools  require  that  students 
obtain  a  foundation  in  such  subjects  as 
biology,  mathematics,  physics,  chemis- 
try, geology,  and  economics  in  their 
first  2  years.  Courses  in  those  subjects 
are  followed  by  professional  instruc- 
tion in  the  protection  and  harvesting, 
reproduction,  management,  and  utiliza- 
tion of  the  forest  and  its  products. 
Since  thorough  coverage  of  those  sub- 
jects is  obviously  impossible  in  2  years, 
many  of  the  schools  now  offer  an  addi- 
tional year,  leading  to  the  master's  de- 
gree, in  which  the  student's  training 
can  be  broadened  and  intensified. 
Some  encourage  superior  students  to 
take  still  more  intensive  training  for 
the  doctor's  degree.  It  is  significant  of 
the  increasing  demands  being  made 
upon  foresters  that  more  and  more 
students  are  going  forward  to  the 
higher  degrees.  The  master's  degree  is, 
in  fact,  now  commonly  regarded  as 
essential  for  full  professional  training, 
and  the  doctor's  degree  is  becoming  an 
increasingly  valuable  asset  for  men  in 
teaching  and  research. 

Forestry  in  the  broad  sense  is  the 
science,  art,  and  business  of  managing 
forest  lands  for  the  continuous  produc- 
tion of  forest  goods  and  services.  The 
average  practitioner  must  be  qualified 


to  handle  most  of  the  problems  en- 
countered in  the  everyday  management 
of  a  forest  property,  whether  its  size  is 
10  acres  or  100,000  acres  and  whether 
it  serves  primarily  to  produce  wood, 
wildlife,  or  scenery  or  to  prevent  ero- 
sion and  control  stream  flow,  just  as  the 
ordinary  doctor  must  be  prepared  to 
handle  any  disease  that  he  is  normally 
likely  to  run  across.  But  there  is  also 
need  for  highly  trained  specialists  to 
develop  the  underlying  principles  that 
the  practitioner  uses  in  his  daily  work 
and  to  advise  on  particularly  difficult 
or  unusual  problems,  just  as  there  is 
need  for  specialists  in  the  medical  field. 

Consequently,  the  schools  are  now 
graduating  doctors  of  philosophy  who 
are  intensively  trained  to  handle  prob- 
lems that  deal  with  such  matters  as 
the  determination  of  the  contents  and 
growth  of  a  forest ;  methods  of  cutting 
to  obtain  satisfactory  current  revenues 
and  at  the  same  time  assure  the  repro- 
duction of  the  forest;  organization  of 
logging  operations  to  minimize  waste 
and  maximize  profits;  control  of  the 
environment  to  provide  an  abundance 
of  food  and  other  necessary  conditions 
for  the  support  of  the  deer,  muskrats, 
pheasants,  or  ducks ;  provision  of  ample 
forage  for  the  production  of  livestock; 
and  maintenance  of  a  forest  cover  that 
will  control  the  runoff  of  water  in  the 
interest  of  water  users  of  all  classes. 

In  all  these  fields — timber  manage- 
ment, management  of  wildlife,  range 
management,  and  watershed  manage- 
ment— effective  practice  must  be  based 
on  increasingly  accurate  and  compre- 
hensive knowledge.  Education  and  re- 
search therefore  go  hand  in  hand ;  and 
research  is  being  increasingly  recog- 
nized as  a  major  function  of  the  schools. 

Closely  related  to  the  production  and 
harvesting  of  the  forest  itself  is  the 
manufacture  and  marketing  of  wood 
and  its  innumerable  products.  Wood 
technology,  as  this  field  is  now  com- 
monly called,  includes  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  the  structure  and  properties  of 
wood;  the  processes  used  in  its  manu- 
facture and  treatment,  such  as  kiln 
drying,  preservation  from  decay  and 


Education  in  Forestry 


657 


termites,  treatment  to  render  it  fire- 
resistant,  application  of  adhesives  in 
the  manufacture  of  plywood ;  chemical 
utilization ;  and  the  tools,  the  methods, 
and  power  required  in  wood-working 
operations  of  all  kinds.  This  group  of 
activities  might  be  described  as  "tim- 
ber engineering."  It  requires  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  mathematics, 
physics,  chemistry,  and  their  practical 
applications  in  the  form  of  machinery 
and  processes.  Some  schools  now  recog- 
nize the  distinctive  character  of  the 
training  needed  for  their  effective  con- 
duct by  providing  special  training  in 
which  the  basic  and  applied  sciences 
of  particular  interest  to  the  wood  tech- 
nologist are  emphasized. 

Foresters  today  realize  that  forestry 
as  a  business  founded  on  the  commer- 
cial utilization  of  wood  will  succeed 
only  if  there  is  a  profitable  market  for 
products  made  from  wood  and  that  the 
existence  of  such  a  market,  in  turn,  de- 
pends upon  the  cost  and  utility  of  the 
goods  to  the  consumer.  They  them- 
selves, consequently,  need  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  properties  and  uses  of 
woods,  and  they  recognize  the  impor- 
tance of  the  wood  technologist  in  pro- 
viding the  same  kind  of  professional 
competence  in  utilization  of  wood  that 
they  themselves  provide  in  its  produc- 
tion. Wood  technologists,  on  the  other 
hand,  need  to  know  something  of 
the  distribution,  production,  and  man- 
agement of  the  resources  from  which 
they  obtain  their  raw  material,  and 
they  recognize  the  importance  of  the 
forester  in  producing  a  continuous 
supply  of  the  material  without  which 
the  wood  technologist  would  have 
nothing  with  which  to  work.  Schools 
of  forestry  today  are  training  men  for 
both  fields  of  endeavor  and  are  giving 
each  an  appreciation  of  the  other's  work 
as  a  basis  for  effective  cooperation. 

Closely  related  to  the  biological  and 
engineering  aspects  of  forestry  are  its 
economic  and  social  aspects.  Forest 
policies  and  forest  practices  have  to  do 
primarily  with  the  production  and  use 
of  wealth,  whether  the  forests  to  which 
they  are  applied  are  in  private  or  in 

802062° — 49 43 


public  ownership.  The  private  owner  is 
naturally  most  interested  in  obtaining 
a  net  profit  in  dollars  and  cents,  while 
the  public  owner  may  be  equally  inter- 
ested in  services  that  are  difficult  to 
measure  in  financial  terms,  such  as  the 
prevention  of  erosion,  the  regulation  of 
stream  flow,  the  production  of  wildlife 
for  fur  and  sport,  and  the  provision 
of  other  recreational  facilities.  Private 
and  public  forests  alike  therefore  find 
their  ultimate  justification  in  an  eco- 
nomic or  social  return  that  justifies  the 
expenditures  involved. 

This  means  that  professional  train- 
ing in  forestry  now  places  an  em- 
phasis on  the  social  sciences  that  was 
unusual  in  the  early  years  of  the  cen- 
tury. Forestry  must  be  practiced  in  a 
world  of  reality  in  which  income  (in- 
cluding public  benefits)  must  justify 
costs,  in  which  all  operations  must  be 
conducted  within  the  framework  of 
existing  political  and  social  institu- 
tions, and  in  which  the  forester  must 
be  able  to  work  with  other  people  both 
as  individuals  and  groups.  Economics, 
political  science,  sociology,  administra- 
tion, and  psychology  consequently  are 
fields  with  which  the  modern  forester 
is  expected  to  be  familiar,  in  addition 
to  such  fundamental  subjects  as  botany, 
zoology,  chemistry,  mathematics,  and 
surveying.  He  also  must  be  able  to  fit 
his  own  specialty  of  forest  growing  into 
other  activities  that  involve  the  use  of 
cultivated  lands  in  farms  and  of  wild 
lands  elsewhere,  so  as  to  develop  a 
finely  integrated  pattern  of  land  utili- 
zation in  which  each  area  is  devoted  to 
the  use  for  which  it  is  best  adapted 
from  the  combined  view  of  the  biologi- 
cal, engineering,  and  social  sciences. 

That  forestry  is  now  a  profession 
that  offers  an  attractive  career  to  well- 
trained  men  is  due  largely  to  the  effec- 
tiveness with  which  schools  of  forestry 
have  discharged  their  responsibilities 
during  the  past  50  years.  The  profes- 
sion will  doubtless  continue  to  include 
within  its  ranks  many  men  whose  train- 
ing has  been  acquired  in  the  woods, 
in  the  practical  school  of  hard  knocks, 
but  as  the  requirements  become  more 


658 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


rigorous  and  competition  more  keen, 
the  advantage  will  increasingly  lie  with 
those  who  have  had  technical  training 
in  an  academic  institution. 

Today  these  schools  give  the  holder 
of  an  undergraduate  degree  in  forestry 
a  sound  training  in  fundamentals  and 
in  the  major  branches  of  the  profession. 
They  give  the  man  with  a  master's  de- 
gree a  somewhat  broader  foundation 
and  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of 
some  particular  branch  of  the  profes- 
sion, and  they  give  the  holder  of  the 
doctor's  degree  a  sufficiently  intensive 
training  to  qualify  him  as  a  true 
specialist.  In  light  of  the  broad  scope 
of  forestry,  as  it  is  now  conceived,  and 
of  its  increasing  complexity,  the  prob- 
lem is  to  give  the  general  practitioner 
a  training  that  will  be  comprehensive 
without  being  superficial,  and  to  give 
the  specialist  a  training  that  will  be  in- 
tensive without  being  narrow. 

The  successfull  practice  of  forestry 
requires  a  knowledge  and  a  leadership 
that  can  be  supplied  only  by  men  with 
a  professional  competence  which  is 


now  difficult  to  acquire  except  at  a 
recognized  school  of  forestry.  At  the 
same  time,  there  are  many  subordinate 
positions  that  can  be  filled  satisfac- 
torily by  men  with  a  semiprofessional 
or  vocational  training,  just  as  there  are 
many  positions  in  a  hospital  that  can 
be  filled  satisfactorily  by  nurses,  labora- 
tory technicians,  and  orderlies.  Train- 
ing of  this  kind  has  long  been  neglected 
in  forestry,  but  it  is  now  being  offered 
at  several  institutions.  The  probability 
is  that  it  will  increase  in  importance. 

SAMUEL  T.  DANA  has  been  dean  of 
the  School  of  Forestry  and  Conserva- 
tion at  the  University  of  Michigan 
since  1927.  Before  that,  he  served  for 
many  years  in  the  Branch  of  Research 
in  the  Washington  office  of  the  Forest 
Service,  as  Forest  Commissioner  of 
Maine,  and  as  director  of  the  North- 
eastern  Forest  Experiment  Station.  He 
is  a  former  president  of  the  Society  of 
American  Foresters  and  for  6  years  was 
editor  in  chief  of  its  official  publica- 
tion, the  Journal  of  Forestry. 


TEACHERS  AND  CONSERVATION 

JULIEN  L.  BOATMAN 


More  and  more  colleges,  teacher- 
training  institutions,  and  elementary 
schools  and  high  schools  are  offering 
nontechnical  instruction  in  problems 
and  practices  of  forest  conservation 
and  the  methods  of  teaching  them. 
For  rural  youths  and  adults,  forestry 
instruction  is  available  through  agricul- 
tural extension  services  and  vocational 
agriculture  courses.  Several  associa- 
tions and  foundations  and  similar 
organizations  also  give  education  in 
forest  conservation. 

Many  teachers  agree  that  a  good 
place  to  start  the  broad  field  of  con- 
servation education,  of  which  forestry 
is  an  important  segment,  is  in  the  lower 
schools,  in  courses  in  general  science 
and  social  studies. 

An  example  is  the  series  of  illustrated 


bulletins  published  jointly  by  the  In- 
diana Department  of  Conservation,  the 
Department  of  Forestry  and  Conserva- 
tion of  Purdue  University,  and  the 
State  Department  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion of  Indiana.  The  material  brings 
out  the  relationships  among  forests, 
soils,  water,  and  wildlife. 

The  Granite  Falls  School,  of  Gran- 
ite Falls,  Wash.,  has  developed  a  course 
in  practical  forestry  that  is  open  to 
junior  and  senior  students. 

In  four  teaching  outlines  prepared 
by  the  Soil  Conservation  Service  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  forest  con- 
servation is  emphasized  in  its  relation 
to  soil  conservation.  The  outlines  are 
designed  for  elementary  and  secondary 
schools.  They  list  objectives,  topics  for 
study  or  discussion,  classroom  activi- 


Teachers  and  Conservation 


659 


ties,  references,  as  well  as  supplemen- 
tary teaching  aids,  such  as  motion  pic- 
tures, film  strips,  charts,  and  posters. 

Agencies  in  Louisiana  and  South 
Carolina  have  developed  forestry  sub- 
ject matter  for  the  grade-school  level, 
which  has  been  well  received. 

Conservation  of  resource-use  work- 
shops or  special  courses  have  been  con- 
ducted by  several  institutions  of  higher 
learning  in  38  States  and  the  District 
of  Columbia  to  train  teachers  in  gen- 
eral conservation.  Forestry  was  an  im- 
portant segment  of  the  instruction. 
Teachers  of  all  grades  attended.  Ses- 
sions lasted  from  a  few  days  to  8  weeks ; 
time  was  allotted  for  field  trips  and 
the  preparation  of  curriculum  mate- 
rials. In  New  Mexico  one  year  all  the 
teachers'  colleges  conducted  conserva- 
tion workshops  for  teachers. 

IN    THE    VOCATIONAL    AGRICULTURE 

program  of  the  United  States  Office  of 
Education,  forestry  is  often  offered  as 
a  subject  of  classroom  and  field  instruc- 
tion for  high-school  students.  Stu- 
dent participation  in  forest  work  is 
expected  on  the  home  farm  or  some 
other  farm  or  school  plot  to  give  a  stu- 
dent actual  experience. 

As  a  continuing  project,  the  chap- 
ter of  Future  Farmers  of  America  in 
Adrian,  Ga.,  planted  2,500  trees  25 
years  ago.  The  trees  have  had  constant 
care  by  succeeding  members  of  the 
chapter.  Several  thousand  farm  boys 
in  Georgia  have  been  given  practical 
training  in  tree  identification,  tree 
planting,  woodland  management,  esti- 
mating standing  timber,  and  the  con- 
struction of  firebreaks. 

In  Garrett  County,  Md.,  the  voca- 
tional agriculture  teacher  arranged  to 
teach  40  classroom  hours  of  farm 
forestry.  In  Illinois,  the  State  extension 
service  and  the  vocational  agriculture 
department  prepared  detailed  subject- 
matter  outlines  and  three  slide  films  on 
planting  farm  forests,  the  farmstead 
windbreak,  and  improving  and  pro- 
tecting Illinois  woodlands.  The  mate- 
rial has  been  used  by  more  than  350 
high-school  departments  of  vocational 


agriculture.  In  Virginia  a  State-wide 
vocational  forestry  program  is  carried 
on  by  the  vocational  agriculture  high 
schools.  Cooperating  with  the  Vir- 
ginia State  Board  of  Education  in  the 
program  are  the  State  forester,  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  and  the  forest 
industries. 

Effective  programs  of  providing 
nonresident  technical  and  general  in- 
struction in  forestry  have  been  devel- 
oped by  agricultural  extension  services 
in  most  States.  The  work  includes  field 
demonstrations,  group  meetings,  pub- 
lications, and  lesson  materials  for  per- 
sons who  are  not  attending  State 
colleges.  In  the  cooperative  extension 
work,  funds  are  provided  to  hire  State 
extension  foresters  on  the  staffs  of  the 
land-grant  colleges.  The  extension  for- 
esters carry  on  an  educational  farm- 
forestry  program  among  rural  people 
through  the  county  agricultural  agents; 
the  educational  work  may  include  the 
preparation  and  distribution  of  publi- 
cations, group  meetings,  visual  aids, 
on-the-farm  demonstrations  of  meth- 
ods and  results,  and,  sometimes,  in- 
dividual technical  assistance. 

The  subject  matter  used  as  a  basis 
for  such  nonresident  instruction  is 
founded  upon  the  research  done  by 
Federal  and  State  forest  and  agricul- 
tural experiment  stations.  Among 
rural  people  the  education  in  forestry 
consists  of  tree  plantings,  woodland 
management,  wood  preservation,  4-H 
Club  work,  and  the  like.  The  extension 
forester  coordinates  his  forestry  work 
with  other  similarly  employed  special- 
ists, among  them  specialists  in  live- 
stock, dairying,  horticulture,  and  in 
entomology. 

As  a  part  of  the  agricultural  exten- 
sion service  educational  program,  4-H 
forestry  ranks  high  in  conservation 
teaching.  It  has  accomplished  much  in 
getting  rural  people  to  recognize  the 
value  of  forestry.  Through  a  4-H 
project,  a  club  member  works  out  for 
himself  the  principles  and  theories  he 
has  been  taught.  The  project  method 
gives  a  better  understanding  of  subject 
matter  and  develops  a  plan  of  reason- 


66o 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


ing.  Not  infrequently,  through  4-H 
Club  work,  parents  have  been  induced 
to  improve  their  farm  program. 

In  Nebraska,  material  has  been  pre- 
pared to  make  it  possible  for  youngsters 
to  carry  4-H  forestry  projects  for  3 
years.  The  first  year,  club  members 
plant  and  care  for  trees  and  shrubs  on 
the  farm,  besides  studying  five  aspects 
of  forestry  or  allied  problems.  The 
second  and  third  years,  the  tree-plant- 
ing and  tree-study  features  are  con- 
tinued on  an  advanced  basis,  five  new 
problems  being  added  each  year. 

Nebraska  once  had  about  10  percent 
of  the  4— H  forestry  club  enrollment  of 
the  Nation.  Each  club  was  under  the 
direction  of  a  volunteer  leader,  who 
was  trained  by  the  county  agricultural 
agent,  the  State  4-H  Club  leaders,  and 
the  State  extension  forester. 

Massachusetts  has  tree  study  the  first 
year,  tree  planting  the  second  year,  and 
wood-lot  practices  the  third  year. 

Often  a  first-year  project  includes 
tree  identification  or  appreciation,  and 
a  club  member  is  expected  to  collect, 
identify,  and  mount  samples  from  20 
to  30  different  tree  species.  Where  farm 
woodlands  are  available,  a  4-H  wood- 
land-management project  is  usually 
listed  for  a  year's  work  and  includes 
timber  estimating,  making  a  manage- 
ment plan  for  the  area,  and  construct- 
ing firebreaks  for  protection. 

The  American  Forest  Products  In- 
dustries, Inc.,  a  group  of  several  forest 
industries,  has  made  available  awards 
for  outstanding  achievement  in  4-H 
forestry  projects.  Medals  are  offered 
winners  in  each  State;  the  winner  in 
each  of  four  regions  is  awarded  a  trip 
to  the  National  4-H  Club  Congress 
and  a  college  scholarship  of  $200. 

AMONG  OTHER  AGENCIES  that  con- 
duct educational  activities  is  the 
Forest  Service,  which  reports  an  in- 
creasing interest  in  forest  conservation 
among  educators.  From  their  analysis 
of  educators'  problems  and  requests  for 
information,  supplementary  reading 
materials,  and  films,  men  in  the  Forest 
Service  find  a  need  for  three  primary 


approaches :  The  training  of  teachers, 
both  in-service  and  pre-service,  in 
forest-conservation  problems  and  the 
practices  and  methods  of  teaching 
them;  the  inclusion  of  forest  conserva- 
tion in  established  courses  and  the  de- 
velopment of  forest-conservation  units ; 
improved  and  simplified  textbook  ma- 
terials and  supplementary  teaching 
aids,  written  and  audio-visual. 

Besides  helping  teachers,  school 
supervisors,  and  administrators,  the 
Forest  Service  answers  many  requests 
for  assistance  from  organizations, 
agencies,  and  associations  that  co- 
operate with  schools  to  encourage  the 
study  of  conservation. 

An  example  is  the  American  Junior 
Red  Cross,  which  carries  on  its  pro- 
grams through  the  schools.  Because 
forest-fire  disasters  have  been  among 
the  worst  in  which  the  Red  Cross  has 
carried  on  relief  activities,  the  organi- 
zation, through  the  junior  group,  co- 
operates in  teaching  principles  of 
forest-fire  prevention  in  schools.  Its 
interest  extends  to  forest  conservation 
in  general,  however,  because  well- 
managed  forests  protect  watersheds 
and  thus  help  reduce  the  danger  of 
floods.  The  American  Junior  Red 
Cross  has  introduced  the  study  of 
forest  conservation  into  the  curriculum 
of  its  summer  training  centers,  where 
outstanding  high-school  boys  and  girls 
are  instructed  in  the  many  phases  of 
good  citizenship. 

The  American  Forestry  Association, 
the  Charles  Lathrop  Pack  Forestry 
Foundation,  and  the  American  Tree 
Association  are  national  organizations 
dedicated  to  advancing  the  better  use 
of  American  forests. 

Trees  for  Tomorrow,  an  organiza- 
tion supported  by  a  group  of  pulp  and 
paper  mills  in  northern  Wisconsin,  as- 
sists schools  in  preparing  conservation 
programs,  distributing  forest-planting 
stock,  and  teaching  proper  planting 
methods.  It  also  helps  small  landown- 
ers to  make  forest-management  plans, 
and  provides  forestry  scholarships.  The 
Wisconsin  Department  of  Public  In- 
struction and  the  Forest  Service  co- 


Teachers  and  Conservation 


661 


operate  with  Trees  for  Tomorrow  in 
the  training  of  teachers.  Nine  State 
teachers'  colleges  in  Wisconsin  spon- 
sor a  5  weeks'  summer  session  at  a 
Forest  Service  camp  that  is  operated 
under  permit  by  Trees  for  Tomorrow. 

The  Girl  Scouts  and  Boy  Scouts  of- 
fer badges  for  efforts  that  include 
knowledge  of  tree  species  and  uses  of 
the  various  trees.  They  offer  instruc- 
tion in  the  planting  of  forest  trees  and 
forest  protection. 

The  Southern  Pulpwood  Conserva- 
tion Association,  a  private  organization 
supported  by  pulp  and  paper  mills  in 
the  Southern  States,  gives  demonstra- 
tions of  good  cutting  practices  and 
distributes  general  instructions. 

The  American  Forest  Products  In- 
dustries conducts  general  education  on 
forestry  projects.  It  encourages  several 
programs — Keep  America  Green,  for 
forest-fire  prevention;  Tree  Farming, 
for  better  timber  management;  and 
More  Trees,  for  encouraging  greater 
wood  growth  on  small  woodlands. 

Many  railroads  of  the  country  have 
added  technical  foresters  to  their  staffs 
and  have  prepared  educational  mate- 
rials for  the  forest  industries  and  the 
owners  of  woodlands. 

Federal  Reserve  banks  disseminate 
materials  on  forestry  among  owners  of 
farm  woodlands. 

The  Forest  Farmers  Association  rep- 
resents a  fairly  large  group  of  small 
landowners  in  the  Southern  States  and 


distributes  general  information  on  for- 
est management  to  its  members. 

The  National  Committee  on  Policies 
in  Conservation  Education  states  in  its 
report  published  in  1948  that  "not 
enough  attention  has  been  paid  to  edu- 
cation of  teachers  and  school  adminis- 
trators in  the  importance  and  value  of 
using  wisely  our  natural  resources,  the 
assets  upon  which  life  depends.  As  a 
consequence  conservation  education 
has  been  sadly  neglected  in  our  public 
schools."  This  might  also  be  said  about 
the  efforts  that  have  been  made  in 
adult  education. 

The  job  is  so  big  that  the  combined 
efforts  of  all  public  and  private  educa- 
tional agencies  will  be  required  to  pro- 
vide each  citizen  with  a  national 
viewpoint  and  see  to  it  that  this  genera- 
tion and  future  generations  have  an 
ample  supply  of  the  products  from 
the  forests. 

There  are  many  examples  in  the 
various  States  where  an  excellent  edu- 
cational job  in  forest  conservation  is 
being  done  on  a  community  or  State- 
wide basis,  but  the  programs  so  far 
are  sketchy  and  do  not  indicate  that 
there  is  a  concerted  drive  being  made 
to  reach  all  the  citizenry.  If  the  timber 
and  other  natural  resources  are  to  be 
conserved  and  protected,  a  much 
greater  effort  will  be  required  if  the 
average  citizen  is  to  become  conscious 
of  the  importance  of  doing  something 
about  one  of  the  biggest  problems  con- 
fronting the  United  States  today. 

JULIEN  L.  BOATMAN  has  been  chief 
of  the  Division  of  Subject  Matter  in 
the  Office  of  Extension,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  since  1939. 
He  has  served  on  the  Departmental 
Farm  Forestry  Committee,  Tennessee 
Valley  Correlating  Committee,  and 
National  Soil  Survey  Committee.  Pre- 
viously he  was  State  coordinator  and 
regional  agronomist  with  the  Soil  Con- 
servation Service,  and  a  member  of  the 
State  Corn-Hog  Board  of  Review  in 
Iowa.  In  1945-46,  he  was  in  charge 
of  the  Agricultural  School  at  Shriven- 
ham  American  University,  England. 


662 


CONSULTING  FORESTERS 

NORMAN  MUNSTER,  ARTHUR  SPILLERS 


Like  engineering  and  dentistry  and 
other  professions,  forestry  has  oppor- 
tunities for  consultants,  who  sell  advice 
or  their  services.  Usually  the  consulting 
foresters  are  employed  by  landowners 
and  industries  for  a  short  period  and  a 
specific  purpose. 

The  number  of  consulting  foresters 
is  still  small,  but  it  is  rapidly  increas- 
ing. The  Society  of  American  Foresters 
estimates  that  150  firms  now  sell  pro- 
fessional advice  or  services  and  employ 
more  than  200  foresters. 

Forty  years  ago  there  were  probably 
fewer  than  a  dozen  consulting  foresters. 
Most  of  them  did  only  one  type  of 
work — determining  the  volume  of  the 
timber  on  areas  being  traded  or  logged 
by  wood-using  industries.  During  the 
prosperous  1920's  their  number  in- 
creased slowly;  the  depressed  1930's 
gave  them  a  severe  set-back,  but  they 
recovered  in  the  late  1930's  and  after; 
as  business  increased,  a  remarkable 
pulpwood  development  started  in  the 
South  and  the  war  demanded  more 
wood.  Lately  their  practice  has  flour- 
ished with  the  expansion  of  industrial 
plants,  the  need  for  more  forest  prod- 
ucts, and  high  prices  for  stumpage. 

At  the  same  time,  the  consultants 
are  widening  their  field  of  activities. 
No  longer  do  they  confine  themselves 
to  timber  cruising ;  they  have  branched 
out  into  many  other  aspects  of  forestry, 
and,  as  "Gap"  Eldredge  put  it,  "the 
forester  is  in  a  fair  way  of  becoming  a 
working  member  of  the  industrial 
family." 

The  skills  they  offer  are  in  21  fields 
of  specialization,  listed  by  the  Society 
of  American  Foresters  as  arboriculture 
and  tree  preservation,  cost  and  eco- 
nomic studies  of  the  forest  operations, 
forest  and  wood  utilization,  forest 
management  and  the  silvicultural  prac- 
tices, forest  protection  from  disease, 
forest  protection  from  fire,  forest  pro- 
tection from  insects,  forest  taxation, 


game  and  wildlife  management,  log- 
ging engineering,  market  studies  and 
promotion  of  trade  (forest  products), 
naval  stores  operations,  the  pulpwood 
operations,  range  management,  sur- 
veying and  mapping,  timber  valuation 
and  appraisal,  timber  volume  and 
quality  estimates,  planting  of  trees  and 
reforestation  (reproduction  studies), 
preservation  of  wood,  wood  seasoning, 
and  wood  technology. 

A  list  recently  published  by  the 
Society  showed  that  most  of  the  con- 
sultants have  seven  specialties,  the  fore- 
most of  which  are  timber  valuation  and 
appraisal,  forest  management  and 
silvicultural  practice,  and  timber  vol- 
ume and  quality  estimates. 

Some  of  the  oldest  consulting  firms 
are  in  the  Northeast;  the  largest  ones 
probably  are  in  the  South  and  on  the 
west  coast.  Most  of  the  consultants 
work  chiefly  with  the  large  land- 
owners. Sometimes  their  services  are 
brief  consultations  on  specific  prob- 
lems, very  often  with  the  permanently 
employed  foresters  of  the  corporations ; 
sometimes  their  work  is  the  long-term 
management  of  forest  properties.  One 
consulting  forester  spends  practically 
all  his  time  locating  sites  for  new  in- 
dustrial developments.  Another  con- 
centrates on  finding  tropical  forest 
products.  Another  specializes  in  ap- 
praising foreign  timber  investments. 

Nearly  all  large-forest  owners  and 
industries  employ  consulting  foresters. 
The  usual  fees  vary  from  $20  to  $200 
a  day.  Many  owners  of  small  forests 
do  not  have  enough  work  for  consult- 
ants; many  cannot  afford  to  pay  a 
consultant's  fee  or  are  unwilling  to  pay 
fees  large  enough  to  attract  consulting 
foresters.  An  obstacle  to  working  with 
small  ownerships  is  that  the  expense 
and  time  involved  in  travel  are  large 
in  proportion  to  the  services  and  con- 
sequently the  fees  that  have  to  be 
charged.  Few  firms  of  consultants  have 


Consulting  Foresters 


663 


yet  been  able  to  provide  a  service  to 
the  small  landowners  at  a  fee  that  the 
owners  are  willing  to  pay.  But  because 
three-fourths  of  all  privately  owned 
commercial-quality  forest  land  is  in 
holdings  that  average  62  acres,  work 
with  the  small-forest  owners  probably 
offers  the  greatest  future  opportunities 
for  consulting  foresters. 

Eventually,  we  hope,  enough  con- 
sulting foresters  will  be  available  in  all 
regions  to  handle  all  private  forestry 
jobs  for  which  consultants  are  likely  to 
be  employed.  It  is  the  policy  of  public 
agencies  to  encourage  and  assist  in  the 
development  of  the  consulting  forestry 
work.  They  recommend  consulting  for- 
esters to  prospective  clients,  distribute 
lists  of  consultants,  send  them  the 
results  of  research,  and  on  special  prob- 
lems act  as  "consultants  to  the  con- 
sultants." As  it  is,  public  agencies  do 
much  to  help  the  owners  of  small  for- 
ests by  demonstrations  of  good  forest 
management,  technical  services  in  lo- 
calities where  there  are  no  consultants, 
assistance  to  operations  in  the  mill  and 
the  forest,  and  by  showing  that  forestry 
skills  can  improve  woodlands. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Forest  Farmers 
Association  in  March  1948,  in  Jackson, 
Miss.,  Consulting  Forester  John  F. 
Kellogg,  who  has  successfully  special- 
ized in  work  for  small-forest  owners, 
made  the  following  remark:  "In  my 
consulting  work  with  the  small  land- 
owners in  northern  Louisiana  and 
southern  Arkansas  I  have  done  very 
little  in  direct  selling  of  forestry  to 
prospective  customers.  Most  of  the 
landowners  that  have  turned  their  tim- 
ber over  to  me  for  management  have 
been  sold  on  forestry  by  some  of  the 
educational  programs  or  agencies  or 
individual  foresters  prior  to  requesting 
my  services.  I  am  providing  them  with 
the  means  of  putting  into  action  the 
forestry  ideals  and  concepts  on  which 
they  have  been  sold." 

For  anyone  entering  the  profession 
of  consulting  forester,  adequate  busi- 
ness experience  and  good  professional 
training  are  recommended.  A  graduate 
of  a  forestry  school  generally  must 


work  for  someone  else  for  a  few  years 
before  he  hangs  out  his  shingle  as  a 
consulting  forester.  While  getting  ex- 
perience, he  probably  will  find  that  it 
pays  to  specialize. 

The  most  promising  field  now  for 
specialization  is  in  managerial  service 
to  small  landowners.  A  forestry  con- 
sultant should  choose  his  territory  care- 
fully with  respect  to  possible  clients, 
markets,  and  the  timber-growing  possi- 
bilities. Many  consultants  are  con- 
tracting for  the  long-term  manage- 
ment of  small  forest  properties  for  a 
percentage  of  the  forest  yields — an  ar- 
rangement that  the  absent  owner  usu- 
ally prefers  and  the  consultant  likes 
because  it  gives  him  a  steady  income. 

Another  promising  opportunity  for 
forestry  consultants  is  with  forest-prod- 
ucts industries.  Most  of  the  50,000 
forest-products  industries  through  the 
United  States  are  small.  All  need  tech- 
nical assistance  to  increase  their  effi- 
ciency and  profits.  Some  foresters  run 
a  portable  sawmill  or  a  small  pulpwood 
operation  and  are  consultants  for  other 
small  firms  and  landowners.  Cost  ac- 
counting and  aerial  photography  are 
growing  fields  for  consulting  foresters. 

As  the  value  of  professional  advice 
proves  itself  financially  and  demon- 
strates that  the  best  way  to  manage 
timber  is  to  do  it  the  "forestry"  way, 
demands  for  consultants  will  expand 
further.  With  added  demands  will 
come  new  specialization  and  standards. 

NORMAN  MUNSTER,  who  was  born 
and  bred  on  a  farm  in  Wisconsin,  was 
educated  at  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan and  Harvard  University.  He  was 
manager  of  forest  properties  of  the 
University  of  Michigan  and  an  em- 
ployee of  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture before  he  joined  the  Bureau  of  the 
Budget  in  1943. 

ARTHUR  SPILLERS,  a  graduate  of  the 
New  York  State  College  of  Forestry, 
has  worked  with  the  Forest  Service 
since  1929,  except  for  short  periods 
with  the  Tennessee  Valley  Authority, 
the  Southern  Pine  Association,  and  as 
a  lieutenant  colonel  in  the  Army. 


664 


NATIONAL  FOREST  PERSONNEL 


H. DEAN  COCHRAN 


The  Forest  Service,  in  employing 
new  personnel,  seeks  to  hire  men  and 
women  who  are  properly  trained  for 
the  work  and  have  high  ideals  and  a 
strong  desire  to  serve  the  public. 

All  permanent  positions  are  in  the 
classified  Civil  Service.  Examinations, 
through  which  the  force  is  largely  re- 
cruited, are  given  for  junior  foresters 
and  junior  range  conservationists, 
whose  work  is  professional  and  highly 
technical.  Academic  training,  equiva- 
lent to  graduation  from  a  recognized 
college  or  university,  is  required.  Cler- 
ical and  fiscal  employees  also  must  pass 
competitive  civil-service  examinations 
before  appointment. 

Most  junior  professional  recruits  are 
men  who  pass  the  junior  professional 
examinations;  they  are  first  assigned 
to  positions  as  assistants  to  district 
rangers  in  the  national  forests  or  to 
subordinate  lines  of  technical  work. 
The  beginner  thus  supplements  his 
academic  training  by  field  experience 
that  should  qualify  him  for  advance- 
ment to  positions  such  as  that  of  dis- 
trict ranger,  or  to  comparable  positions 
in  research  or  cooperative  work. 

In  the  early  days,  the  forest  ranger 
seldom  had  a  background  of  technical 
training,  nor  did  he  carry  the  respon- 
sibilities that  a  district  ranger  now  does. 
Such  positions  were  often  filled  by  men 
who  passed  examinations  based  almost 
solely  on  practical  experience  in  woods- 
manship  and  handling  livestock.  The 
practice  has  been  changed  with  the 
times. 

The  district  forest  ranger  today  is  an 
administrator  of  a  quarter  million 
acres  or  more  and  is  responsible  for  the 
management  of  all  the  timber,  range, 
wildlife,  water,  and  recreation  re- 
sources within  his  district.  He  needs 
both  technical  training  and  practical 
experience. 

One  line  of  advancement  may  lead 
the  young  forester  or  range  conserva- 


tionist from  the  post  of  assistant  ranger 
to  that  of  district  ranger,  then  assistant 
forest  supervisor,  from  which  he  may 
advance  to  a  supervisor's  position.  Ad- 
ditional promotions  may  eventually 
take  him  to  the  regional  forester's  of- 
fice, or  even  higher. 

Another  line  of  progress  in  national 
forest  administration  may  be  from 
technical  assistant  in  a  forest  ranger's 
district  to  technician  on  the  super- 
visor's staff,  followed  by  assignment  as 
technician  for  an  entire  region.  Other 
lines  of  promotion  may  be  in  the  field 
of  research  or  in  State  and  private  co- 
operation. Varying  combinations  of 
these  lines  of  promotion  may  be  applied 
in  individual  cases. 

Thorough  technical  education  in  ad- 
vance of  employment  and  wide  train- 
ing through  work  experience  are  now 
considered  prerequisite  to  success  in 
handling  current  activities  and  for  ad- 
vancement to  the  higher  positions. 

Training  through  work  experience 
is  provided  in  several  ways.  One  calls 
for  assignments  at  various  periods  dur- 
ing the  career  of  the  employee  (espe- 
cially the  junior  professional  man)  to 
the  many  kinds  of  work  in  which  he 
needs  to  obtain  additional  technical 
skills  and  acquire  broader  viewpoints. 
The  work  is  carried  on  as  a  part  of 
the  man's  day-to-day  duties  under  the 
supervision  of  technicians  who  are 
aware  of  their  responsibility  for  train- 
ing their  assistants.  While  all  super- 
visory officers  receive  instruction  in  the 
correct  methods  of  training  others, 
some  of  the  district  rangers  are  espe- 
cially qualified  in  this  respect;  to  them 
are  assigned  the  young  men  who  show 
promise  of  becoming  rangers. 

Another  method  is  group  training  at 
special  training  camps  and  at  other 
central  points,  where  groups  of  em- 
ployees, younger  men,  or  those  new  in 
their  jobs  are  given  short  periods  of 
special  training  in  lines  of  work  they 


National  Forest  Personnel 


will  be  expected  to  perform  later.  At 
times  the  older  employees  are  brought 
together  for  refresher  courses.  Corre- 
spondence courses,  in  seasons  when  the 
field-work  loads  are  at  the  lowest, 
round  out  the  more  formal  types  of  in- 
service  training.  In  addition,  annual 
group  meetings  of  rangers  and  super- 
visors (together  with  more  frequent 
meetings  of  junior  members  of  the  re- 
gional office  working  as  a  "junior  staff" 
on  study  projects  of  interest  and  value 
to  the  regional  forester  and  his  imme- 
diate assistants)  are  an  important  part 
of  the  planned  in-service  training  for 
technical  and  administrative  workers. 

The  training  of  the  seasonal  person- 
nel, including  the  fire  lookouts,  para- 
chutists, the  timber-  and  range-survey 
crews,  and  other  groups,  is  done  both 
on-the-job  and  at  training  camps  as  an 
indispensable  part  of  administration. 

Employees  are  encouraged  to  take 
special  short  courses  in  universities  and 
colleges  that  relate  to  special  subjects 
for  the  benefit  of  practicing  foresters, 
graziers,  and  technicians  in  wildlife 
management.  Technicians  engaged  in 
forest  and  range  research  are  also  en- 
couraged to  take  suitable  graduate 
work  and  to  seek  higher  degrees. 

To  broaden  his  knowledge  and 
experience,  a  forest  officer  may  be  as- 
signed at  different  times  to  work 
outside  the  field  of  national  forest  ad- 
ministration in  activities  such  as  re- 
search or  cooperative  work.  For  the 
same  reason,  and  often  because  of  the 
stimulating  effect  it  has  on  the  work  to 
be  done,  a  man  may  be  transferred  pe- 
riodically to  other  forests  and  regions. 
In  scheduling  transfers  and  assign- 
ments of  individuals,  consideration  is 
also  given  the  man's  special  aptitudes 
and  interests,  which  are  determined 
early  in  his  career  and  then  are  de- 
veloped through  training. 

A  guiding  principle  in  planning 
transfers  is  to  try  to  assure  sufficient 
length  of  tenure  in  each  assignment 
to  provide  a  reasonably  stabilized  or- 
ganization in  charge  of  each  ranger 
district  and  each  other  national  forest 
administrative  unit.  The  resulting  ben- 


665 


eficial  effects  include  an  increasingly 
greater  knowledge  of  the  problems  and 
needs  of  the  forest  users  and  other 
local  people,  continuity  and  develop- 
ment of  administrative  and  manage- 
ment practices,  and  the  welfare  of  the 
employee  and  his  family.  Normally,  the 
minimum  and  maximum  tenure  guides 
(and  they  are  guides  only)  vary  from 
4  to  8  years  for  the  key  administrative 
positions  in  the  organization. 

For  many  years  civil-service  regu- 
lations, in  recognition  of  the  type  of 
work  involved,  called  for  retirement  of 
rangers,  forest  supervisors,  regional 
foresters,  and  other  national  forest  em- 
ployees at  62  years  of  age.  Amend- 
ments to  the  Federal  Retirement  Act 
in  1942  and  in  1948,  however,  pro- 
vided (among  other  important  and 
related  changes)  for  the  retirement  of 
that  group  of  forest  officers  on  an  op- 
tional basis  beginning  at  age  60,  after 
30  years  of  service. 

The  Forest  Service,  for  the  good  of 
the  employees  and  for  the  good  of  the 
organization,  has  encouraged  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  tradition  of  retirement 
at  62. 

The  career  idea  is  carried  out  as 
above  outlined  by  advancement  as  men 
become  more  proficient  in  their  work. 
Forest  supervisors,  assistant  supervi- 
sors, and  regional  and  national  officers 
have  come  up  through  the  ranks  and, 
in  turn,  will  be  succeeded  by  other  men 
with  a  broad  base  of  technical  knowl- 
edge, training,  and  experience. 

H.  DEAN  COGHRAN  heads  the  Divi- 
sion of  Personnel  Administration  in  the 
Forest  Service  in  Washington.  A  native 
of  Iowa,  he  entered  the  Forest  Service 
in  1920.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Illinois 
College  and  Colorado  State  College. 
He  served  as  technical  assistant  on  the 
White  River  and  the  Routt  National 
Forests.  In  1923  he  was  transferred  to 
the  Forest  Service  regional  office  at 
Denver,  where  he  served  in  various 
capacities,  including  5  years  in  charge 
of  timber  management,  and  assign- 
ments in  connection  with  the  establish- 
ment of  the  shelterbelt  project. 


666 


INDUSTRIAL  FORESTRY  ASSOCIATIONS 


CHAPIN  COLLINS 


Industrial  forestry  is  relatively  new 
in  the  United  States.  The  profession 
has  grown,  particularly  since  1930, 
much  as  American  citizens  have  grown 
in  their  awareness  of  the  practical  sig- 
nificance of  forestry,  of  the  forester's 
relationship  to  national  economics  and 
social  welfare,  of  profit  and  loss  in  the 
forest  enterprise,  of  the  change  that 
came  about  when  forest  industries, 
which  once  had  asked  only  how  much 
timber  stood  on  an  acre,  began  to  ask 
how  much  and  in  how  long  a  time  tim- 
ber would  grow  on  an  acre. 

A  forester,  who  earlier  had  been  able 
to  make  little  contribution  to  an  opera- 
tion that  was  concerned  almost  wholly 
with  the  harvest,  became  essential  to 
an  operation  that  was  concerned  with 
husbanding  what  it  had  and  with  grow- 
ing more  for  future  harvests. 

Then  professional  foresters  began  to 
enter  industry.  By  1930,  nearly  400  of 
them  were  regularly  employed  in  in- 
dustry. By  1940,  there  were  1,000.  In 
1949,  the  number  of  professional  for- 
esters in  private  employ  is  estimated  at 
more  than  2,500.  Public  employment 
still  absorbs  the  majority  of  college- 
trained  men  of  the  woods,  but  today  the 
most  rapidly  expanding  field  of  em- 
ployment is  in  industry. 

This  greater  awareness  of  woodland 
management,  from  seedling  to  harvest, 
was  given  further  impetus  by  the  Cope- 
land  Report  in  1933,  and  also  by  the 
inclusion  of  forestry  provisions  in  the 
National  Recovery  Administration 
codes  established  under  the  National 
Industrial  Recovery  Act  of  1933.  Both 
coincided  roughly  with  wider  recogni- 
tion by  forest  industries,  which  planned 
to  stay  in  business,  that  forest  acres 
must  be  kept  productive  and  that  con- 
scious effort  and  investment  must  be 
made  for  that  purpose. 

The  recommendations  of  the  Cope- 
land  Report  met  with  a  mixed  recep- 
tion, but  the  report  did  focus  attention 


on  the  opportunities  and  responsibili- 
ties of  private  ownership  with  respect 
to  forest  lands.  Under  NRA  in  1934, 
forest  industries  were  the  first  to  adopt 
a  conservation  code,  with  provisions 
tending  toward  forest  practices  that 
would  assure  continuous  and  adequate 
timber  crops.  The  committees  and  ac- 
tivities of  that  comprehensive  program 
did  not  end  with  NRA  in  1935.  The 
thinking  then  engendered  continued  to 
influence  later  action,  and,  in  many  in- 
stances, machinery  then  set  up  by  in- 
dustries continued  to  operate  in  other 
forms. 

A  DISTINCTION  is  to  be  drawn  be- 
tween an  industrial  forestry  association 
and  the  other  organizations  concerned 
with  forests.  In  such  a  broad  and  di- 
verse field  as  the  forests  of  America,  it 
is  not  surprising  that  the  latter  organi- 
zations are  many  and  various.  In  gen- 
eral, their  concern  with  forestry  is 
based  on  broad  considerations  of  na- 
tional welfare.  Some  restrict  their  ac- 
tivities to  individual  States  or  regions. 
Others  have  specific  objectives,  in 
which  forests  play  a  part,  such  as  con- 
servation of  wildlife  and  recreational 
facilities.  For  their  membership,  they 
look  to  public-spirited  citizens  in  gen- 
eral. Although  many  of  them  are 
substantially  supported  by  forest  indus- 
tries, they  are  not  industrial  forestry 
groups  as  such. 

INDUSTRIAL  GROUPS,  in  their  for- 
estry activities,  are  concerned  chiefly 
with  the  business  of  growing,  protect- 
ing, and  harvesting  trees.  Their  sup- 
port comes  from  those  who  use  wood 
as  their  raw  material.  With  other  types 
of  associations  interested  in  forests,  the 
industrial  group  looks  to  permanently 
productive  forests  as  its  objective,  but, 
in  addition,  it  must  consider  costs  and 
techniques.  Although  not  all  the  forest 
industries  are  represented  now  by  such 


Industrial  Forestry  Associations 


667 


groups,  the  major  companies  and  pos- 
sibly major  production  are  so  repre- 
sented. 

The  typical  pattern  of  such  indus- 
trial activities  can  be  found  in  trade 
associations. 

First,  such  activities  took  the  form 
of  consulting  services  for  association 
members,  many  of  whom  believed  they 
could  not  afford  their  own  forestry  de- 
partments. But  this  activity  broadened. 
It  was  obvious,  for  example,  that  forest 
industries  could  not  depend  exclusively 
upon  their  own  lands  for  future  sup- 
ply, because  collectively  they  own  not 
more  than  18  percent  of  the  com- 
mercial tree-producing  lands  of  the 
country.  It  became  apparent,  too,  that 
a  public  unaware  of  tree  growing  as 
a  form  of  agriculture  could  be  a  serious 
obstacle  to  forest  management  on  vast 
areas.  So,  in  many  instances,  the  for- 
estry activities  of  industrial  groups  ex- 
panded to  reach  other  types  of  wood- 
land owners  and  to  enlist  the  under- 
standing cooperation  of  the  public. 

This  broadening  view  has  given  rise 
to  two  young  but  thriving  movements 
in  American  forestry.  One  is  the  Keep 
America  Green  program.  The  other  is 
the  American  Tree  Farms  system. 
Neither  is  exclusively  an  industrial 
activity  now,  but  each  had  industrial 
origin  and  support.  Each,  in  its  field, 
is  contributing  to  better  forest  protec- 
tion and  management,  upon  which  so 
many  agencies,  public  and  private,  are 
at  work.  Both  function  locally,  but 
both  have  spread  across  the  Nation. 

Keep  America  Green  is  popular  edu- 
cation in  forest-fire  prevention.  Twen- 
ty-four States  had  organized  their  own 
Keep  Green  programs  by  the  begin- 
ning of  1949,  directed  in  most  instances 
by  State  Keep  Green  committees,  in 
which  industry  and  other  interests  are 
represented. 

The  Tree  Farm  program  is  a  means 
of  encouraging  better  forest  practices 
by  woodland  owners,  large  and  small, 
and  a  method  of  informing  the  public 
of  the  practical  purposes  and  impor- 
tance of  forestry.  At  the  beginning  of 
1949,  the  Tree  Farm  movement  was 


active  in  23  States.  Its  certified  tree 
farms  totaled  nearly  17  million  acres. 
Although  this  acreage  is  not  great  in  re- 
lation to  the  344,973,000  acres  of  pri- 
vately owned  forest  lands,  tree-farm 
certifications  have  shown  an  average 
increase  of  2  million  acres  a  year  in  the 
first  7  years  of  the  program.  Through 
publicity  and  example,  the  movement 
helps  interpret  the  nature  of  our  forests 
to  many  Americans. 

FOREST-FIRE  ASSOCIATIONS  of  the 
West  were  among  the  early  organized 
industrial  activities  relating  to  forests. 
The  paramount  task  of  controlling  for- 
est fires  was  assumed  by  such  private 
groups,  sometimes  in  advance  of  pub- 
lic action.  Often  a  regional  group  of 
timberland  owners  would  pool  their 
holdings,  meeting  costs  by  a  charge  per 
acre.  Following  disastrous  fires,  such  as 
the  Yacolt  burn  in  1902,  private  pro- 
tection agencies  were  formed  in  Wash- 
ington, Oregon,  California,  and  Idaho 
between  1905  and  1912. 

The  principle  thus  established  of 
each  timber  owner  paying  the  cost  of 
protecting  his  own  property — in  a  co- 
operative arrangement  with  neighbor- 
ing owners — set  an  important  prece- 
dent. The  principle  was  incorporated 
into  several  State  compulsory  patrol 
laws.  The  associations  were  instrumen- 
tal in  developing  Western  State  fire 
codes ;  they  stressed  practical  problems 
first,  such  as  adequate  equipment  in 
the  field,  closed  burning  seasons,  com- 
pulsory slash  disposal,  and  shut-downs 
during  bad  fire  weather.  They  created 
a  consciousness  of  the  necessity  for  joint 
action  in  combating  a  common  enemy. 
Such  experience  contributed  much  to 
the  molding  of  the  Clarke-McNary 
Law  of  1924,  which  expressed  the  Fed- 
eral policy  of  cooperation  with  States 
and  private  owners  in  forest  protection. 

THE  WESTERN  FORESTRY  AND  CON- 
SERVATION ASSOCIATION,  organized  in 
1909,  became  a  sort  of  "grand  lodge" 
of  both  private  and  public  protection 
agencies  in  the  West.  It  is  probably 
senior  today  in  the  industrial  forestry 


668 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


field.  The  genius  of  its  manager,  Ed- 
ward T.  Allen,  gave  western  forestry 
far-reaching  national,  as  well  as  local, 
leadership. 

Its  activities  illustrate  the  changing 
emphasis  resulting  from  changing  con- 
ditions. Originally,  it  was  to  be  a  clear- 
ing house  to  promote  cooperation  in  all 
private,  Federal,  State,  and  provincial 
forestry  activities — chiefly  fire — in 
Idaho,  Washington,  Oregon,  Montana, 
California  and  British  Columbia.  In 
its  early  days  it  concentrated  largely 
on  forest  fires,  and  exchanged  informa- 
tion on  fire-control  problems,  reports, 
and  statistics.  It  sponsored  and  pro- 
moted State  forest  codes.  It  won  quick 
recognition  for  effective  work. 

In  the  years  since,  the  association 
has  undertaken  various  educational 
tasks.  It  published  a  textbook  on  west- 
ern forestry;  made  basic  studies  in 
forest  taxation,  which  led  to  later  im- 
provements in  land  taxes ;  investigated 
timber  insurance  problems;  studied 
pine  blister  rust;  and  provided  profes- 
sional foresters  to  help  western  com- 
panies get  better  forest  production. 

Today  its  emphasis  is  on  education 
in  forestry,  improvement  of  manage- 
ment practices  on  small  holdings,  and 
other  silvicultural  activities  that  tend 
toward  a  sustained-yield  program  for 
its  area.  It  serves  as  a  coordinating 
force  among  private,  State,  Federal, 
and  provincial  agencies.  Its  annual 
meetings  have  become  notable  in  its 
region  as  forums  on  forest  subjects. 

THE  NATIONAL  LUMBER  MANU- 
FACTURERS ASSOCIATION  established  a 
permanent  forestry  committee  pursu- 
ant to  a  resolution  adopted  on  April 
20,  1920.  The  resolution  recognized 
that  "both  national  and  industrial  wel- 
fare demand  early  development  of  an 
American  forest  policy  which  shall 
substitute  for  indifference  or  accident 
an  intelligent,  practical,  equitable,  and 
concerted  program  for  the  perpetua- 
tion of  forest  supplies." 

The  association  is  a  federation  of 
regional  lumber  associations  and  rep- 
resents these  associations  in  broad  na- 


tional policy  and  action.  The  work  of 
its  forestry  committee  and  conserva- 
tion department  has  been  largely  in- 
formational, statistical,  and  legislative. 
The  association  has  usually  employed 
one  or  more  foresters  to  assist  in  these 
activities. 

In  the  field  of  practicing  forestry, 
the  organized  efforts  of  the  lumber 
industry  have  been  concentrated  in 
the  regional  groups.  In  the  field  of  gen- 
eral education  along  forestry  lines,  the 
national  association  has  given  support 
to  the  American  Forest  Products  In- 
dustries. 

THE  SOUTHERN  PINE  ASSOCIATION 
created  its  conservation  department  in 
1934,  but  its  interest  in  forestry  goes 
back  many  years  before  that.  In  1916, 
it  was  instrumental  in  calling  the  first 
Southern  Forestry  Conference,  one  of 
whose  objectives  was  to  initiate  and 
support  State  legislation  to  promote 
forestry  in  the  South.  Five  Southern 
States  had  forestry  departments  then; 
the  conference  and  subsequent  activi- 
ties played  a  part  in  creating  such  de- 
partments in  all  Southern  States. 

The  organization  of  Southern  Pine's 
conservation  department  in  1934  was 
further  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the 
permanent  existence  of  the  lumber  in- 
dustry in  the  Southern  States  depended 
on  the  continuous  production  of  timber 
crops  on  privately  owned  woodlands. 
The  conservation  department  has  rep- 
resented the  southern  pine  lumber 
industry,  in  12  States,  in  efforts  to 
develop  adequate  control  of  forest  fires, 
adopt  sound  cutting  practices  and  equi- 
table taxation  of  forest  lands,  strength- 
en State  forestry  organizations,  and 
develop  legislation  relating  to  forests. 

The  conservation  committee  consists 
of  members  from  each  of  the  southern 
pine-producing  States.  Its  activities  are 
directed  by  a  technical  forester  and  an 
assistant  forester. 

An  outstanding  phase  of  the  commit- 
tee's work  is  the  Tree  Farm  system  in 
the  South,  in  cooperation  with  State 
organizations.  This  program  resulted  in 
the  certification,  by  October  1948,  of 


1,202  tree  farms,  with  9,866,938  acres, 
in  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Missis- 
sippi, North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Texas,  Tennessee,  and  Virginia. 

In  general,  Southern  Pine  Associa- 
tion, through  its  conservation  depart- 
ment, advises  members  on  individual 
forestry  problems;  conducts  timber- 
production  meetings,  which  show  prac- 
tical applications  of  harvesting  and 
logging  methods;  helps  to  establish 
demonstrations  of  cutting  practices; 
provides  an  information  service  on  na- 
tional and  State  activities  and  legisla- 
tion affecting  forest  lands ;  and  engages 
in  general  education  on  forestry,  in- 
cluding a  statistical  service. 

THE  WEST  COAST  LUMBERMEN'S 
ASSOCIATION,,  which  represents  leading 
producers  of  Douglas-fir  lumber,  also 
started  a  conservation  department  in 
1934  to  formulate  and  administer  for- 
est-practice rules  for  the  region  under 
the  National  Industrial  Recovery  Act. 
The  Pacific  Northwest  Loggers'  Asso- 
ciation joined  this  activity,  and  a  joint 
committee  on  conservation  was  set  up, 
with  representatives  of  both  associa- 
tions, the  State  foresters  of  Washington 
and  Oregon,  the  Federal  foresters  of 
the  region,  and  leaders  of  the  two  pri- 
vate forest-fire  associations. 

Although  NIRA  came  to  an  end  in 
1935,  the  joint  committee  on  forest 
conservation  has  continued  to  function 
without  interruption.  It  has  employed 
up  to  five  professional  foresters.  The 
services  of  its  staff  have  been  made 
available  both  to  members  and  others. 

The  committee  has  sponsored  the 
Tree  Farm  program  in  the  Douglas-fir 
region  since  1941.  By  October  1948, 
more  than  2,744,155  acres  of  private 
lands  had  been  certified  as  tree  farms. 
Periodic  inspections  of  the  areas  are 
made  to  check  forestry  performance. 

At  the  same  time,  and  partly  to 
implement  the  Tree  Farm  program, 
the  staff  developed  a  cooperative  in- 
dustrial nursery  at  Nisqually,  Wash., 
which  supplies  members  with  seedlings 
at  cost.  Thus,  for  the  first  time,  a  major 
source  of  planting  stock  became  avail- 


Industrial  Forestry  Associations 

able  to  forest  industries  in 


669 


the  area, 

since  public  nurseries  were  restricted 
by  law  to  use  their  seedlings  for  plant- 
ing on  public  or  farmer-owned  lands. 
By  the  end  of  1947,  the  nursery  had 
shipped  more  than  17  million  seed- 
lings; orders  for  delivery  in  1948  to- 
taled 6  million.  At  an  average  rate  of 
500  seedlings  to  the  acre,  nonrestocked 
lands  replanted  by  the  end  of  1948 
totaled  more  than  45,000  acres. 

The  staff  performs  other  services, 
many  advisory,  such  as:  Cooperation 
with  State  forestry  departments  re- 
garding fire  prevention,  slash  disposal, 
fire-weather  shut-downs,  and  similar 
protection  activities;  assistance  to  pri- 
vate operators  regarding  the  cutting 
problems,  restocking,  partial  cuttings, 
thinnings,  and  other  silvicultural  meas- 
ures; and  advice  on  reforestation,  tax- 
ation, and  public  timber  sales. 

The  committee  serves  also  as  a  liai- 
son body  between  private  and  public 
agencies  on  matters  of  forest  policy  and 
practice. 

THE  WESTERN  PINE  ASSOCIATION 
serves  lumber  manufacturers  in  an 
area  roughly  equal  to  35  percent  of 
continental  United  States.  Its  mem- 
bers manufacture  about  80  percent  of 
the  lumber  made  in  the  area,  chiefly 
from  the  ponderosa,  Idaho  white,  and 
sugar  pines.  It  was  organized  under  its 
present  name  in  1931,  although  prede- 
cessor organizations  date  from  1906. 

The  association  has  been  instru- 
mental in  drawing  up  and  adopting 
forest-practice  rules  to  be  followed  by 
the  industry.  The  rules  have  been  re- 
vised from  time  to  time  and,  in  1945, 
were  published  as  handbooks  for  each 
State  in  the  region. 

By  that  and  other  means,  the  associa- 
tion has  encouraged  the  practical  ap- 
plication of  principles  of  conservation 
and  sustained  production  of  forest 
crops.  Today's  forestry  staff  of  four 
members  is  double  that  of  10  years  ago, 
and  expenditures  in  forestry  activities 
have  tripled.  Its  committee  on  conser- 
vation formulates  forestry  policies. 

Under  this  program,  the  association 


670 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


reports  substantial  progress  in  the 
adoption  of  company  programs  work- 
ing toward  sustained  yield.  In  1937,  18 
companies,  with  a  production  of  763,- 
631,000  board  feet  a  year,  had  adopted 
measures  leading  to  that  goal.  Since 
then,  59  companies,  with  a  yearly  pro- 
duction of  nearly  2  billion  board  feet, 
have  started  working  toward  continu- 
ous forest  production.  The  western  pine 
industry  employs  90-some  foresters. 

Encouragement  is  given  such  activi- 
ties by  the  Tree  Farm  program,  which 
the  association  has  sponsored  in  its  re- 
gion since  1942  and  which  has  spread 
to  6  States  in  the  western  pine  area, 
with  146  certified  tree  farms,  compris- 
ing 2,643,030  acres  of  privately  owned 
forest  lands  by  October  1948.  Inspec- 
tion and  certification  of  tree  farms  are 
supervised  by  the  association  staff. 

In  recent  years,  there  has  been  a 
marked  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  in- 
dustry to  hold  and  acquire  forest  lands 
to  be  placed  under  management  for 
growing  forest  crops.  Employees  of  the 
association  have  helped  in  the  formula- 
tion of  practical  plans  for  such  long- 
range  programs. 

THE  AMERICAN  WALNUT  MANUFAC- 
TURERS ASSOCIATION,  since  1944,  has 
encouraged  widespread  growth  of  wal- 
nut trees  in  the  area  from  which  its 
members  derive  their  raw  material. 
The  work  is  headed  by  a  forester. 

The  association  has  published  a 
booklet,  Growing  Walnut  for  Profit. 
Industrial  mills  help  collect  walnuts, 
which  are  supplied  to  State  nurseries, 
which,  in  turn,  provide  stratified  wal- 
nuts to  farmers  and  others  for  planting. 
State  foresters  in  15  States  cooperate  in 
this  program,  and  it  is  estimated  that, 
in  1948,  up  to  3  million  more  walnuts 
were  planted  than  normally  would 
have  gone  into  the  ground.  The  project 
is  promoted  through  newspaper  and 
radio  publicity.  Buyers  of  wood  for 
member  mills  also  stress  the  advantages 
of  planting  walnuts  for  future  profit. 

THE  CALIFORNIA  REDWOOD  ASSO- 
CIATION has  not  established  a  separate 


forestry  division,  but  it  has  helped 
maintain  close  relationships  between 
redwood  operators  and  agencies  like 
the  State  Division  of  Forestry  and  the 
University  of  California,  both  relating 
to  forest  practices  and  to  research. 

The  association  reports  definite  im- 
provement in  forest  practices,  particu- 
larly since  1935. 

THE  APPALACHIAN  HARDWOOD 
MANUFACTURERS,  INC.,  began  a  for- 
estry program  in  1945.  Lumber  manu- 
facturers, coal  operators,  railroads,  and 
other  timberland  owners  are  members. 

Directed  by  a  forester,  the  program 
is  concerned  chiefly  with  forestry  pro- 
cedures for  its  members  and  with  State 
legislation  favorable  to  better  forest 
practices  in  the  Appalachian  area. 

THE  AMERICAN  PAPER  AND  PULP 
ASSOCIATION  appointed  a  forestry 
committee  in  1938  to  study  the  rela- 
tionship of  the  industry  to  forestry,  to 
collect  and  analyze  data  relating  to  for- 
est resources  and  their  uses,  and  to 
formulate  the  industry's  views  and  rec- 
ommendations with  respect  to  any  Fed- 
eral forestry  legislation.  The  formation 
of  the  committee  was  prompted  by  a 
special  congressional  committee  inves- 
tigation of  the  Nation's  forest  situation. 

Through  the  years  the  forestry  com- 
mittee undertook  to  assemble  informa- 
tion on  forest-land  ownership  in  the 
pulp  and  paper  industry  and  the  char- 
acter of  cutting  programs  employed  by 
companies  within  the  industry.  The 
committee  has  always  advocated  a  pro- 
gram of  cooperation  with  Government 
and  self-regulation  by  industry,  as 
against  Federal  and  State  regulation  of 
industrial  forest  lands. 

To  further  better  forestry  practices 
on  all  woodlands,  five  regional  sub- 
committees of  the  forestry  committee 
were  formed  in  1947. 

Pulp  companies  owned  14.8  million 
acres  of  commercial  timberland  in 
1945,  and,  probably,  through  subse- 
quent acquisitions,  as  much  as  17  mil- 
lion acres  in  1948.  Additional  acreage 
is  owned  in  fee  in  certain  Canadian 


Industrial  Forestry  Associations 


Provinces  by  United  States  pulp  mills. 

Most  pulp  mills  are  cutting  for  con- 
tinuous yield  on  their  own  lands  and 
are  educating  contractors  and  other 
suppliers  to  the  advantages  of  follow- 
ing good  practices. 

Foresters  in  company  employ,  be- 
cause of  increased  freight  rates,  labor 
costs,  and  other  factors,  are  analyzing 
the  costs  of  pulpwood  on  the  basis  of 
transportation  to  varying  distances. 
Those  costs  are  being  balanced  against 
the  costs  of  growing  wood  under  inten- 
sive forest  management  near  the  mills. 
Frequently  a  large  favorable  balance 
rests  with  the  production  of  wood  near 
mills. 

Under  the  stress  of  war  conditions  in 
1945,  management  status  of  pulp  com- 
panies, with  respect  to  forest  lands,  was 
rated  by  the  Forest  Service  (in  The 
Management  Status  of  Forest  Lands  in 
the  United  States,  Forest  Service  1946, 
Report  3— tables  2  and  16)  as  follows: 
14.5  million  of  the  14.8  million  acres 
were  being  operated  with  cutting  prac- 
tices rated  82  percent  fair  or  better. 
The  ratings  were  high,  3  percent ;  good, 
30  percent;  and  fair,  49  percent. 

For  comparison  of  various  types  of 
ownership,  forests  under  extensive  or 
better  management  were  rated  as  fol- 
lows: Pulp  company  forests,  69.3  per- 
cent; all  private  holdings,  23  percent; 
public  forests,  72.8  percent. 

The  rating  of  the  pulp  companies 
was  three  times  as  good  as  that  of  all 
private  holdings  and  close  to  that  of 
public  forests,  indicating  that  pulp  and 
paper  mills  are  thoroughly  aware  of 
the  necessity  for  looking  to  their  wood 
supply  on  a  sustaining  basis.  The  high 
investment  in  a  pulp  mill  practically 
compels  it. 

THE  SOUTHERN  PULPWOOD  CON- 
SERVATION ASSOCIATION  was  organized 
by  the  pulp  and  paper  industry  in  the 
South  in  1939.  Its  member  companies 
consume  about  90  percent  of  all  the 
pulpwood  cut  in  the  region.  Its  pur- 
pose was  expressed  thus : 

"To  formulate  and  promulgate  by 
educational  means  a  practical  program 


of  utilization  and  conservation  of  the 
forest  resources  of  the  South,  in  order 
to  assure  the  prevention  of  a  timber 
shortage  with  a  consequent  dire  effect 
upon  the  pulp  and  other  forest  in- 
dustries involving  the  welfare  of  the 
South  and  of  the  Nation,  (a)  by  vol- 
untary application  of  sound  principles 
of  forest  practices  recognized  and 
accepted  by  the  membership,  and  (b) 
by  a  program  of  education  directed  to 
forest  owners  and  operators  and  to  the 
public." 

The  services  of  the  association  have 
been  made  available  to  independent 
landowners,  wood  suppliers,  and  to  the 
general  public  without  any  distinction. 
The  services  are  concerned  chiefly  with 
growing  more  timber,  preventing  fires, 
and  cutting  wisely. 

The  association  now  employs  20 
field  men  to  carry  on  its  educational 
activities  and  demonstrations  in  the 
field.  The  demonstrations  are  for  wood 
growers,  suppliers,  and  labor.  They 
show  proper  cutting,  tree  planting,  and 
improved  methods  of  fire  fighting  and 
prevention.  In  1947,  although  the  pro- 
gram was  new,  the  245  demonstrations 
were  attended  by  more  than  4,000  per- 
sons. Association  employees  also  check 
pulpwood  cuttings  on  noncompany 
lands  to  determine  results  of  the  asso- 
ciation's cutting  standards. 

Forestry  training  camps,  sponsored 
by  the  association  in  8  of  the  10  States 
of  its  territory,  have  helped  train  farm 
youth  in  the  fundamentals  of  forestry. 
Selected  boys  spend  a  week  in  camp 
to  learn  how  to  handle  a  timber  crop 
on  their  own  woodlands. 

The  association  reports  its  activities 
by  radio  and  newspapers  and  other 
publications,  including  a  periodical, 
The  Unit.  It  has  published,  and  keeps 
current,  Mechanizing  Southern  Forest 
Fire  Fighting,  which  contains  the 
latest  information  on  the  subject.  It 
also  published  a  Mechanization  Man- 
ual. Among  the  films  it  has  produced 
are  several  on  pine  planting,  natural 
pine  reseedings,  and  forest  fire.  Its 
portable  exhibits  and  posters  have  been 
widely  used. 


672 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


TREES  FOR  TOMORROW,  INC.,  is  one 
of  the  more  recent  and  unusual  de- 
velopments in  industrial  forestry.  Its 
activities  are  confined  to  the  Wisconsin 
River  Valley. 

An  outgrowth  of  wartime  campaigns 
to  step  up  production  of  pulpwood,  it 
is  concerned,  as  its  name  implies,  with 
growing  tomorrow's  trees.  So  success- 
ful was  the  tree-harvesting  campaign 
in  the  area  that  a  group  of  pulp  and 
paper  mills  in  the  valley  decided  that, 
by  somewhat  similar  methods,  they 
could  encourage  better  forest  practices 
and  planting  of  trees  in  their  primary 
supply  area  of  Wisconsin.  So,  on  Feb- 
ruary 29,  1944,  Trees  for  Tomorrow, 
Inc.,  was  organized. 

Its  members  include  10  pulp  and 
paper  mills,  which  own  350,000  acres 
of  industrial  forest  land,  on  which  35 
million  trees  have  been  planted.  They 
are  the  Consolidated  Water  Power  & 
Paper  Co.,  Whiting  Plover  Paper  Co., 
Mosinee  Paper  Mills  Co.,  Marathon 
Corp.,  Wausau  Paper  Mills  Co.,  Ward 
Paper  Co.,  National  Container  Corp., 
Tomahawk  Pulp  Co.,  the  Rhinelander 
Paper  Co.,  and  Flambeau  Paper  Co. 

Its  program  is  in  two  parts.  The 
immediate  phase,  carried  on  in  seven 
north-central  Wisconsin  counties,  is  di- 
rected to  the  owners  of  forest  land. 
Since  1944,  2  million  trees  have  been 
distributed  to  many  private  forest-land 
owners  to  plant  unproductive  acres. 
Planting  sites  are  checked  and  survival 
count  is  taken  to  insure  the  best  re- 
sults. Since  1946,  25,000  acres  of  pri- 
vate woodlands  have  been  mapped  and 
management  plans  developed  for  them. 
A  long-range  program  has  adopted 
education  methods,  some  of  which  are 
unique.  Schools  have  been  drawn  into 
the  project  to  the  greatest  possible  ex- 
tent. Each  year,  $2,500  is  awarded  in 
forestry  scholarships.  Help  has  been 
given  to  establish  and  manage  25  school 
forests.  A  Trees  for  Tomorrow  con- 
servation camp  is  held;  in  connection 
with  it,  an  annual  award  of  $200  is 
made  to  the  outstanding  boy  in  4-H 
Club  forestry  projects. 

The  establishment  of  memorial  for- 


ests is  encouraged,  partly  to  help  create 
a  conception  of  forestry  among  citizens 
who  do  not  own  forest  lands.  Assistance 
has  been  given  to  three  such  projects, 
totaling  more  than  11,000  acres.  A 
monthly  bulletin,  Tree  Tips,  advances 
the  general  educational  program. 

In  1947,  1,265  persons  from  67  Wis- 
consin counties  and  42  States  regis- 
tered at  the  conservation  camp,  which 
opened  May  12  and  continued  until 
October  24.  It  is  operated  by  Trees  for 
Tomorrow  in  cooperation  with  the 
United  States  Forest  Service. 

The  organizers  of  Trees  for  Tomor- 
row, believing  that  Wisconsin's  forest 
wealth  can  best  be  restored  through 
understanding  coordination  between 
industry  and  other  agencies  in  the  field, 
have  sought  cooperation  with  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Forest  Service,  the 
State  conservation  department,  and 
the  University  of  Wisconsin  Extension 
Service  in  shaping  its  policies  and  its 
activities.  They  recognize,  as  a  major 
part  of  the  problem,  the  necessity  of 
creating  a  practical  understanding  by 
the  public  of  the  value  and  possibilities 
of  the  State's  forest  resources. 

THE  FOREST  INDUSTRIES  COUNCIL  is 
a  joint  body,  set  up  by  various  forest  in- 
dustries, to  consider  broad  policy  affect- 
ing all  those  industries.  Its  statement 
on  forest  policy  declares : 

"Permanent  industries  capable  of 
producing  continuous  supplies  of  forest 
products  are  essential  to  the  national 
welfare.  The  necessity  for  wise  use  of 
our  forest  resources  in  maintaining 
such  industries  and  the  communities 
dependent  upon  them  is  recognized. 
Having  faith  that  private  enterprise 
and  initiative  can  provide  the  most  ef- 
fective management,  use,  and  renewal 
of  our  Nation's  forests,  the  Forest  In- 
dustries Council  pledges  united  lead- 
ership for  betterment  of  America's 
forests,  and  the  attainment  of  continu- 
ous forest  production." 

To  further  this  policy,  the  Forest  In- 
dustries Council  has  approved  these 
objectives: 

1.  Extension  of  permanent  and  de- 


Industrial  Forestry  Associations 


pendable  protection  against  forest  fire. 

2.  Adoption  of  forest  practices,  by 
all  forest  owners  and  operators,  to  in- 
sure continuous  production  of  timber. 

3.  Encouragement  of  private  owner- 
ship of  forest  lands  that  can  be  profit- 
ably managed,   including  a  national 
land  policy  to  include  the  sale  and  ex- 
change of  public  lands  in  order  to  re- 
store desirable  lands  to  private  owner- 
ship as  well  as  to  consolidate  public 
holdings. 

4.  Encouragement  of  public  owner- 
ship and  management  of  forest  lands 
incapable  of  producing  enough  wood 
to  permit  profitable  private  ownership. 

5.  Equalization  of  State  and  local 
taxes  on  forest  lands. 

6.  Support  of  competent  State  for- 
estry organizations  to  manage  State- 
owned  forest  lands  and  to  enforce  State 
laws  relating  to  privately  owned  forest 
lands. 

7.  Support    of    public     regulation 
where   necessary   or   desirable   under 
State  law. 

8.  Cooperation  with  public  and  pri- 
vate agencies  to  control  forest  insects 
and  diseases. 

9.  More  complete  utilization  of  for- 
est products. 

Within  the  framework  of  the  Forest 
Industries  Council,  various  State  com- 
mittees have  been  formed  under  the 
name  of  Forest  Industries  Information 
Committees.  Most  of  the  committees, 
as  their  name  implies,  undertake  infor- 
mational work,  but  some  have  engaged 
in  forestry  promotional  activities. 

Among  the  latter  are  committees  in 
Idaho,  Minnesota,  and  Wisconsin.  The 
Idaho  committee  was  responsible  for 
launching  the  Keep  Idaho  Green  pro- 
gram by  the  Junior  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce in  1946.  It  has  worked  with  4-H 
Clubs  to  develop  a  tree-planting  pro- 
gram in  cooperation  with  the  State  ex- 
tension service.  Committee  members 
have  been  active  in  such  projects  as 
tussock  moth  control  and  in  legislative 
matters  relating  to  forestry. 

The  Wisconsin  committee  initiated 
the  Wisconsin  system  of  industrial  for- 
ests in  1944.  It  is  somewhat  similar  to 

802062  ° — 49 44 


673 


the  Tree  Farm  program,  but  such  areas 
are  restricted  to  industrial  holdings  of 
1,000  acres  or  more.  Originally,  200,- 
000  acres  of  managed  lands  were  regis- 
tered, but  the  acreage  has  increased  to 
411,000  acres.  Most  of  the  lands  are  in 
conifers  for  pulp  consumption,  but 
about  70,000  acres  are  in  hardwoods. 
Most  of  the  forestry  matters  of  the 
Northern  Hemlock  and  Hardwood 
Manufacturers  Association  are  referred 
to  the  Wisconsin  Forest  Industries  In- 
formation Committee,  largely  because 
of  its  broader  representation. 

In  Minnesota,  the  Forest  Industries 
Information  Committee  initiated  the 
Keep  Minnesota  Green  program,  now 
directed  by  the  State's  Keep  Green 
Committee.  The  Information  Com- 
mittee has  conducted  a  continuing 
public  forest-information  program  and 
sponsored  State  legislation  relative  to 
forestry  subjects.  Among  such  meas- 
ures has  been  an  act  to  permit  the 
State  to  grow  and  sell  forest  nursery 
stock  at  cost,  another  to  provide  for- 
estry aid  to  owners  of  small  woods. 

AMERICAN  FOREST  PRODUCTS  IN- 
DUSTRIES, INC.,  as  an  instrument  of 
education  in  forest  subjects,  started  in 
1941.  Although  an  offshoot  of  the  Na- 
tional Lumber  Manufacturers  Asso- 
ciation, it  recognized  that  all  forest  in- 
dustries, whatever  their  products,  have 
trees  in  common,  and  so  its  program 
included  not  only  lumber  manufac- 
turers but  makers  of  pulp  and  paper, 
?lywood,  and  other  forest  products, 
n  1946,  AFPI  was  reorganized  to  give 
it  a  status  independent  of  any  single 
type  of  forest  industry.  Its  direction 
is  vested  in  trustees  representing  the 
subscribers. 

AFPI  began  with  a  national  sur- 
vey of  public  opinion,  which  revealed 
some  public  misconceptions  regarding 
forests  and  forest  products.  Despite 
rapid  advances  in  wood  utilization, 
large  segments  of  the  public  thought 
of  wood  as  an  outmoded,  old-fashioned 
product,  and  of  the  forests  as  some- 
thing belonging  to  the  past.  There  was 
little  realization  that,  through  man- 


674 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


agement  and  protection,  our  forest 
lands  could  be  made  to  produce  abun- 
dantly forever,  and  that,  moreover,  the 
raw  materials  harvested  from  forests 
were  essential  to  national  welfare. 
Conservation,  in  the  minds  of  many, 
excluded  utilization. 

To  help  counter  such  impressions, 
the  program  started  with  these  objec- 
tives : 

"To  make  the  American  people 
aware  of  the  fact  that  timber  is  a 
crop  which  forest-products  industries 
are  endeavoring  to  grow  and  protect 
continuously,  to  keep  the  people  accu- 
rately informed  about  the  constructive 
contributions  which  these  industries 
are  making  by  creating  forest  products 
through  private  enterprise,  products 
which  promote  the  economic,  social, 
and  defense  progress  of  the  Nation. 

"To  stimulate,  throughout  the  for- 
est-products industries  themselves, 
further  and  continuing  improvement 
in  forest  practices  which  are  worthy 
of  public  approval." 

By  general  educational  methods, 
consisting  of  publicity,  booklets,  and 
motion  pictures,  the  program  sought 
to  impress  the  public  with  certain 
characteristics  of  the  forest  resource, 
with  the  importance  of  wood  as  an 
industrial  raw  material,  and  with  the 
steps  being  taken  to  use  and  to  con- 
serve the  forest  resource. 

Educational  materials  were  fur- 
nished to  schools  and  other  interested 
groups  throughout  the  country.  It  was 
not  long,  however,  before  those  essen- 
tially public  relations  activities  broad- 
ened. By  1948,  in  addition  to  its 
general  educational  program,  AFPI 
was  undertaking  these  projects  in  the 
field  of  forestry : 

1 .  The  extension  of  the  Keep  Amer- 
ica Green  movement,  for  popular  edu- 
cation in  forest-fire  prevention  on  a 
local  basis. 

2.  The  extension  of  the  Tree  Farm 
program,  in  areas  where  the  project 
was  not  already  organized  or  spon- 
sored. 

3.  The    initiation    of    local    More 
Trees  projects,  designed. to  arouse  the 


interest  of  woodland  owners  in  better 
forest  practices  and  to  provide  means 
for  informing  them. 

The  fact  that  Keep  Green  programs, 
organized  in  only  3  States  in  1943,  had 
expanded  to  24  States  in  1948  (with 
more  being  organized)  is  evidence  of 
the  effectiveness  of  this  phase  of 
AFPI's  work  during  the  intervening 
years.  Similarly,  from  1946  to  1948, 
AFPI  helped  to  organize  Tree  Farm 
programs  in  7  other  States. 

In  both  activities,  assistance  is  given 
existing  programs  by  supplies  of  ma- 
terials and  by  counsel.  In  many 
instances,  this  has  resulted  in  the  for- 
mation of  groups  of  interested  citizens, 
localized  even  to  communities  within 
counties.  Although  such  groups,  which 
include  Keep  Green  committees,  are 
not  industrial  as  such,  they  are  largely 
the  result  of  industry-sponsored  pro- 
grams for  forest  betterment. 

A  third  AFPI  forest  program  is  the 
More  Trees  project.  This  most  recent 
activity  began  in  Alabama  in  1948.  Ad- 
dressed primarily  to  dwners  of  small 
woodlands,  it  both  sells  the  idea  of  for- 
est management  for  profit  and  seeks 
to  bring  practical  fundamentals  in 
farm  forestry  to  woods  owners. 

Through  an  informal  partnership 
between  the  American  Forest  Products 
Industries  and  the  Alabama  Forestry 
Council,  representing  public  and  pri- 
vate interests  within  the  State,  nearly 
every  woodland  owner  was  reached 
through  advertising,  publicity,  book- 
lets, motion  pictures,  and  film  strips. 
One  idea  is  stressed :  Good  forest  man- 
agement pays.  Field  demonstrations 
and  short  courses  in  forestry  are  given. 
By  the  end  of  1948  similar  projects 
were  operating  in  Virginia  and  New 
Hampshire,  with  others  being  planned. 

All  three  projects — Keep  Green, 
Tree  Farms,  More  Trees — are  collec- 
tively described  as  the  Trees  for  Amer- 
ica program.  All  three  have  one  thing 
in  common :  They  work  for  increased 
forest  production  on  a  strictly  local 
basis.  In  no  case  does  the  American 
Forest  Products  Industries  direct  or 
manage  them.  It  helps  organize  and 


Industrial  Forestry  Associations 


675 


assists  them  whenever  assistance  is 
wanted,  but  each  program  is  locally 
sponsored  and  directed.  Localizing 
such  projects  has  the  effect  of  drawing 
more  people  into  partnership  for  forest 
progress;  it  is  education  by  partici- 
pation. 

IN  CONCLUSION:  The  contribution 
of  these  and  other  organized  industrial 
groups  to  the  forest  progress  of  the 
United  States  is  doubtless  larger  than 
the  size  of  their  staffs  and  extent  of 
their  expenditures  would  indicate. 
They  came  into  the  field  of  forest  man- 
agement in  response  to  a  definite  need. 
Their  influence  upon  memberships  and 
associates  has  been  direct  and  constant. 
Many  private  industries  have  estab- 
lished their  own  forestry  departments 
as  a  result  of  the  work  of  the  association 
to  which  they  contributed  financially. 
Foresters  in  the  employ  of  associations, 
in  many  instances,  have  introduced 
private  companies  to  the  practical  ad- 
vantages of  a  forestry  program. 

Progress  in  industrial  forestry  has 
been  marked.  In  1933,  the  Copeland 
Report  estimated  that  less  than  5  per- 
cent of  cutting  on  privately  owned 
lands  was  done  with  provision  for  the 
renewal  of  the  forest.  Thirteen  years 
later,  the  Forest  Service  reported  that 
cutting  practices  on  all  privately  owned 
forest  lands  were  28  percent  fair,  7 
percent  good,  and  1  percent  of  high  or- 
der. The  improvement  is  more  marked 
in  ownerships  of  more  than  50,000 
acres,  most  of  which  are  industrial  for- 
ests. In  that  class  of  ownership,  39  per- 
cent of  cutting  is  rated  fair,  24  percent 
good,  and  5  percent  of  high  order. 

Sustained-yield  management  had 
been  applied  to  less  than  1  percent  of 
the  privately  owned  forest  area,  the 
Copeland  Report  said  in  1933.  The 
1946  report  of  the  Forest  Service  con- 
sidered that  22.4  percent  of  all  private 
holdings  were  under  extensive  manage- 
ment, and  0.6  percent  under  intensive 
management.  In  this  respect  industrial 
holdings  again  made  a  relatively  better 
record.  The  management  status  of  lum- 
ber company  holdings  is  rated  as  32.2 


percent  extensive  and  3.4  percent  in- 
tensive. The  management  status  of 
pulp  company  holdings  is  rated  as  66.7 
percent  extensive  and  2.6  intensive. 

A  direct  comparison  of  the  most  re- 
cent Forest  Service  reappraisal  with 
the  Copeland  Report  is  not  statistically 
possible  because  methods,  standards, 
and  thoroughness  of  the  two  surveys 
are  not  identical.  Yet  findings  indicate 
a  striking  change  for  the  better  in  13 
years.  Many  factors  contributed  to  that 
progress.  Among  those  factors,  the  in- 
fluence of  industrial  forestry  associa- 
tions looms  large. 

CHAPIN  COLLINS  is  a  native  of 
Seattle.  He  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Washington  in  1921. 
After  a  year  of  graduate  study,  he 
worked  on  various  daily  newspapers 
and  in  1927  bought  the  Montesano 
Vidette  in  Grays  Harbor  County, 
Wash.  In  his  newspaper  office,  in  a  dis- 
cussion among  several  interested  men, 
the  Tree  Farm  idea  was  born  and  be- 
came a  reality  with  the  dedication  of 
the  nearby  demons  Tree  Farm,  owned 
by  the  Weyerhaeuser  Timber  Co.  Since 
then,  the  Tree  Farm  project  has  as- 
sumed national  proportions.  After  serv- 
ice in  the  Army,  Mr.  Collins  joined  the 
staff  of  the  American  Forest  Products 
Industries  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  in 
1943,  and  became  its  director  in  1945. 
He  resigned  in  1948  to  return  to 
Montesano. 

CORRELATION  OF  GRADE  OF  CUTTING  WITH 
SUSTAINED  YIELD,  UNITED  STATES,  1945 

Percentage  of  acreage  in 
each  cutting  class  that 
was  also  on  sustained 
yield 


High 

Ownership  class  order  Good  Fair 

public:  Percent  Percent  Percent 

National  forests 93  68  ^ 

Other  Federal loo  61  47 

State  and  local 23  44  35 

Private: 

Large  holdings 98  86  36 

Medium  holdings. ...  68  46  16 


676 


PRESCRIPTION  FOR  WOODS  SAFETY 


SETH  JACKSON 


A  woods  crew  was  talking  about 
safety. 

"You  think  most  accidents  come 
from  unsafe  working  conditions  and 
unsafe  acts,"  the  logging  boss  said. 
"That  may  be  true,  but  in  the  woods 
you  can't  do  much  to  improve  what 
you  find  in  the  woods.  Take  Joe  Sa- 
block.  Joe  was  killed  by  a  widow 
maker;  it  dropped  on  him  while  he 
was  chopping  an  undercut.  And  Jim 
Mathews — he  was  killed  on  a  fire  when 
a  rock  came  rolling  down  the  moun- 
tain. Falling  things  kill  or  cripple  lots 
of  woods  workers,  and  we  can't  do 
much  about  it!" 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "there  are  reasons  why 
the  logging  industry  has  a  high  injury 
rate.  But  we  can  do  many  things  to 
improve  the  record." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  about  our 
Joes  and  our  Jims,"  he  said,  "or  about 
the  man  whose  ax  slips  and  he  cuts  his 
foot,  or  the  fellow  who  falls  and  breaks 
his  leg  when  he's  carrying  a  stick  of 
pulpwood?  We  can't  change  woods 
conditions  much.  We  can't  be  around 
enough  to  tell  'em  how  to  swing  an  ax, 
or  lift,  or  walk  carefully." 

The  logging  boss  had  put  his  finger 
on  two  main  reasons  why  the  rates  of 
injury  and  death  in  the  woods  are  five 
times  higher  than  for  industry  as  a 
whole.  Many  woods  working  condi- 
tions are  beyond  the  practical  control 
to  be  had  in  factories,  and  supervision 
is  not  so  close. 

The  logging  boss  had  also  touched 
on  another  reason.  That  is  the  attitude 
toward  safety  that  is  found  among 
woods  workers,  from  top  officials  down. 
These  men,  working  alone  or  in  small 
groups,  give  safety  little  consideration 
compared  with  their  factory  brothers. 
More  thought  could  well  be  given  to 
such  things  as  hard  hats  for  the  Joes 
and  the  Jims  in  danger  areas ;  clearing 
limbs,  brush,  and  vines  out  of  the  swing 
of  hand  tools;  getting  firm  footing;  pro- 


viding protective  devices  for  machine 
equipment. 

"It's  just  too  expensive  to  prevent 
all  accidents  around  here,"  said  the 
woods  superintendent.  "Besides,  the 
boys  in  the  head  office  are  always 
pounding  us  for  more  production." 

"True,"  I  said,  "accident  prevention 
does  cost  money,  but  accidents  cost  a 
lot,  too.  More,  probably,  than  most  of 
us  figure.  Lost-time  injuries  to  Federal 
workers  average  $205  for  direct  com- 
pensation and  medical  payments,  based 
on  332,289  cases.  Industrial  costs  are 
even  higher,  according  to  the  National 
Safety  Council.  In  industry,  occupa- 
tional injuries  average  $274  each  for 
232,068  cases. 

"But  that  isn't  all.  The  generally 
accepted  4  to  1  ratio  for  indirect  costs 
brings  the  total  to  about  a  thousand 
dollars  for  each  lost-time  injury.  Indi- 
rect costs  include  time  lost  by  those 
who  stop  work  to  aid  or  watch  the 
injured;  time  lost  by  supervisors  and 
others  in  investigating  causes,  prepar- 
ing reports,  and  training  replacements ; 
lost  production  due  to  upsetting  other 
workers;  lowered  efficiency  of  the  in- 
jured person  when  he  returns  to  the 
job;  and  damaged  equipment  or  ma- 
terial." 

One  of  the  swampers  in  the  crew 
spoke  up:  "You  brought  out  the  costs 
to  the  company.  It  sets  us  workers  back 
plenty,  too,  when  we  get  hurt.  Besides 
our  own  injury,  our  families  suffer 
from  less  money  in  the  pay  envelope 
while  we're  laid  up.  Compensation 
payments  are  a  lot  less  than  our  usual 
wages." 

The  logging  boss  asked,  "I  wonder 
just  how  much  good  accident  preven- 
tion costs?" 

"Some  companies  spend  as  much  as 
$25  per  employee  each  year,"  I  said, 
"but  amounts  as  low  as  $2  a  year,  or 
less,  will  produce  some  results.  Of 
course,  it  costs  more  at  the  start  be- 


Prescription  for  Woods  Safety 


677 


cause  you  have  a  big  selling  job  with 
all  workers  then.  An  outfit  with  high 
hazards  like  logging  must  spend  more 
than  one  where  dangers  aren't  so  great. 
Many  concerns  pay  more  for  accident 
prevention  than  for  accident  compen- 
sation. They  believe  these  large  sums 
year  after  year  are  more  than  repaid  by 
less  direct  and  indirect  injury  costs, 
improved  production,  efficiency,  and 
morale.  The  National  Safety  Council 
has  recommended  $4.50  to  $6  per 
employee  per  year  for  Government  op- 
erations with  high  hazards,  such  as  con- 
struction and  motor-vehicle  operation. 
This  includes  salaries  and  travel  ex- 
penses of  all  safety  personnel,  pur- 
chase of  publications  and  materials. 
Some  funds  should  be  earmarked  for 
protective  equipment  such  as  guards, 
hard  hats,  goggles." 

"You  know,"  said  the  cat  operator, 
"when  it  comes  right  down  to  it,  every 
accident  we  have  on  the  job  shows  us 
that  something  is  wrong  in  the  outfit 
somewhere.  Each  accident  is  usually 
someone's  fault — lack  of  skill,  careless- 
ness, poor  supervision,  wrong  design, 
haywire  equipment,  poor  job  instruc- 
tion, no  follow-up  on  safety,  and  so 
forth.  We  all  talk  about  a  right  way 
to  do  a  thing.  Isn't  the  right  way  the 
safe  way;  and  the  safe  way  the  best 
way?" 

EVERY  ACCIDENT  is  a  symptom  that 
something  is  wrong  with  men,  methods, 
or  material.  It  should  stimulate  man- 
agement at  all  levels  to  do  something 
about  it.  Accident  prevention  will  pay 
increased  dividends  in  the  form  of 
greater  efficiency  and  production,  bet- 
ter job  satisfaction  and  morale,  finan- 
cial savings  to  both  the  worker  and 
management,  less  loss  and  breakage  of 
equipment  and  materials. 

The  source  of  woods  accidents  is 
something  to  consider.  An  analysis  of 
Forest  Service  injuries  for  1947  shows 
this,  because  its  conditions  of  employ- 
ment are  widely  varied — construction 
and  maintenance  of  the  roads,  trails, 
bridges,  telephone  lines,  lookout  tow- 
ers, buildings;  planting;  timber-stand 


improvement;  and  forest-fire  fighting. 
Most  of  the  work  is  done  under  situa- 
tions found  in  typical  logging  opera- 
tions— workers  largely  on  their  own  or 
with  a  minimum  of  supervision  in  iso- 
lated areas  far  from  medical  help.  As 
often  as  not  they  are  in  rugged,  tim- 
bered country,  which  is  treacherous 
underfoot. 

The  analysis  shows  that  about  one 
out  of  four  injuries  comes  from  hand 
tools,  93  percent  of  which  are  due  to 
unskilled  use.  A  further  break-down 
shows  that  the  ax  is  the  main  offender. 
As  one  would  expect,  most  of  the  really 
serious  cases  come  from  operation  of 
motor  vehicles,  tractors,  and  graders — 
machines — especially  when  they  are 
operating  too  fast  for  existing  condi- 
tions, even  though  the  actual  speed 
may  be  only  15  miles  an  hour  or  less. 
Disregard  for  safe  practices  is  one  of 
the  primary  causes  why  workers  get 
hurt.  Supervision  has  a  direct  responsi- 
bility here. 

Few  accidents  have  single  causes. 
Consider  the  man  who  broke  his  leg. 
He  tripped.  Why?  He  was  holding  the 
load  in  such  a  way  that  he  could  not 
see.  Why?  He  was  carrying  the  load 
improperly.  Why?  He  had  never  been 
told  how.  Why?  His  boss  had  never 
told  him.  Why?  Management  had  not 
held  the  boss  responsible  for  accidents. 
Why?  Management  did  not  require 
bosses  to  plan  for  safety,  to  train  for 
safety,  and  to  follow  up  on  the  job  to 
insure  that  a  safe  job  was  being  done. 
That  makes  seven  causes  so  far,  not 
considering  the  man's  possible  physical 
or  mental  defects. 

A  thorough  investigation  of  all  acci- 
dents is  an  important  part  of  a  good 
safety  program.  And  before  that?  A 
prescription  for  safety  has  three  parts : 
Policy,  planning,  human  engineering. 

The  first,  policy,  concerns  the  neces- 
sity for  the  active  and  full  support  of 
the  head  office.  This  must  go  further 
than  just  signing  directives  or  making 
safety  rules.  A  statement  on  the  safety 
policy  is  needed  that  shows  the  support 
of  management  and  defines  safety  re- 
sponsibilities of  each  individual.  Man- 


678 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


agement  must  demonstrate  its  interest 
in  the  safety  of  all  workers  at  all  levels. 
The  worker  will  do  a  job  if  he  knows 
his  boss  wants  it  done;  by  the  same 
token,  if  the  boss  is  in  earnest  about 
preventing  accidents,  the  workers  will 
work  hard  at  it,  too.  This  principle  ap- 
plies to  any  operation,  regardless  of 
size;  aggressive  interest  by  the  persons 
at  the  top  will  produce  results. 

The  second,  planning,  means  that  if 
one  wants  a  good  safety  program,  he 
must  provide  for  it  in  advance. 

What  is  important  to  keep  the  men 
safe  when  they  work  in  the  next  drain- 
age? Who  is  going  to  watch  out  for 
safety  when  the  planting  crew  starts? 
Who  is  going  to  handle  the  safety  in- 
struction of  the  new  felling  and  buck- 
ing crews?  Is  responsibility  fixed  so 
they  will  not  work  dangerously  close 
together?  Has  provision  been  made  for 
safety  at  the  new  camp  location?  What 
items  should  be  covered  there? 

Most  accidents  come  from  unsafe 
conditions  and  unsafe  acts.  Working 
conditions  in  the  woods  are  subject  to 
some  control,  and  this  phase  of  safety 
should  not  be  overlooked.  Within  prac- 
tical limitations,  plans  should  be  laid  to 
eliminate  hazards  on  all  jobs.  Manage- 
ment can  control  roads,  tools,  equip- 
ment, loading  and  unloading  sites.  The 
workers  can  control,  to  some  extent, 
their  working  areas.  A  disorderly  place 
is  an  unsafe  place  to  work.  In  the  more 
dangerous  work  situations,  hard  hats 
or  even  lookouts  will  help. 

There  is  almost  no  limit  to  what  can 
be  done  to  prevent  unsafe  acts.  The 
drive  to  prevent  them  is  the  third  part 
of  the  safety  prescription.  Human  en- 
gineering means  better  job  relations  in 
all  parts  of  the  operation. 

First,  recruit  only  workers  who  are 
physically  and  mentally  qualified,  and 
put  them  on  the  jobs  they  can  do  best. 

Second,  instruct  them  in  the  safe, 
most  efficient  way  to  do  their  work  as 
soon  as  they  report  for  duty.  A  large 
proportion  of  accidents  is  caused  by 
green  hands  during  their  first  days  or 
weeks  on  the  job.  A  new  worker  will 
never  need  help  more,  nor  be  more 


willing  to  accept  help  than  during  the 
first  hours  on  the  job.  That  is  the  time 
to  make  him  fully  aware  of  the  need  for 
safety.  His  support  should  be  enlisted 
in  a  thorough  effort  to  eliminate  acci- 
dents. It  is  largely  a  question  of  job  in- 
struction. The  pulpmaker  must  be 
shown  how  properly  to  lift  a  heavy  ob- 
ject. The  swamper  must  learn  how  to 
use  his  ax  safely.  The  truck  driver  must 
be  told  the  rules  of  safety  on  the  road. 
Third,  be  sure  that  all  work  super- 
visors make  it  a  point  to  follow  through 
on  safety  in  all  their  contacts  with  the 
workers.  Do  the  men  understand  the 
key  points  of  safety?  Do  they  apply  all 
safety  instructions  conscientiously?  Is 
the  right  man  on  the  right  job?  These 
and  similar  questions  should  be  raised 
by  all  inspecting  officers.  Many  agen- 
cies have  found  that  most  injuries  could 
have  been  prevented  if  supervisors  had 
been  more  alert  to  requirements  and 
standards.  Failure  of  supervision  is  one 
of  the  most  important  of  all  accident 
causes,  and  supervisors  are  the  key  men 
in  any  accident-prevention  program. 

THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  LABOR,  in  a 
study  of  the  pulpwood-logging  industry 
in  1933-44,  found  that  nearly  half  of 
all  disabling  injuries  happened  to  fall- 
ers  and  buckers,  about  16  percent  to 
employees  loading  and  unloading  logs, 
and  another  16  percent  to  those  trans- 


Picturing  Forests  from  the  Air 


porting  logs  and  equipment.  Injuries  to 
legs,  feet,  and  toes  were  most  common. 
Logs,  trees,  hand  tools,  working  sur- 
faces, and  vehicles  were  the  leading  in- 
jury-producing agencies.  Outstanding 
among  unsafe  working  conditions  were 
rough,  slippery,  or  obstructed  working 
areas,  and  decayed  or  dead  limbs  and 
trees.  The  most  common  unsafe  acts 
were  the  unsafe  use  of  equipment,  par- 
ticularly hand  tools,  inattention  to  foot- 
ing, and  unsafe  planning  of  felling. 

In  larger  companies,  a  safety  staff 
should  be  available  to  analyze  facts  of 
accidents,  to  show  the  organization  how 
and  where  its  efforts  will  produce  the 
best  results  in  accident  prevention.  One 


679 


of  the  most  important  functions  of  a 
safety  staff  is  to  see  to  it  that  training 
in  safety  is  followed  through,  that  per- 
formance follows  the  precept.  The  pre- 
cept is:  Injuries  can  be  prevented. 

SETH  JACKSON  worked  in  the  log- 
ging camps  of  northern  Ontario  and 
Michigan  before  his  graduation  in  for- 
estry from  Cornell  University.  After 
2l/2  years  with  the  International  Paper 
Co.  in  Newfoundland,  he  joined  the 
Forest  Service.  He  now  has  charge  of 
the  safety  program.  He  has  held  ad- 
ministrative positions  on  national  for- 
ests in  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  and  in 
Montana. 


PICTURING  FORESTS  FROM  THE  AIR 

RAYMOND  D.  CARVER 


Aerial  photographs  have  many  uses 
in  forestry. 

In  the  management  of  forest  and 
range  lands,  aerial  photographs  sup- 
plement and  sometimes  supplant  plani- 
metric  maps  and  ground  examinations 
in  locating  roads,  trails,  telephone 
lines,  firebreaks,  recreation  areas,  and 
other  improvements.  They  are  used  in 
mapping  and  administering  timber 
sales  and  range  allotments  and  ap- 
praising timber  for  sale.  They  provide 
basic  reference  material  for  forest- 
management  plans.  They  are  an  indis- 
pensable aid  in  certain  types  of  forest 
research,  such  as  country-wide  forest 
surveys.  They  record  forest  conditions 
at  a  given  time  and  place,  and  supply 
the  basis  for  essential  measurements 
for  classifying  timber.  If  they  are  sup- 
plemented by  additional  study  and 
measurements  of  the  timber  on  the 
ground,  the  results  rate  high  as  a  sta- 
tistic in  computing  total  forest  area, 
volume,  and  growth;  the  kind,  age, 
condition,  and  size  of  trees;  general 
accessibility;  areas  of  forest  depletion 
by  cutting,  fire,  and  disease;  and  loca- 
tion of  the  timber  in  relation  to  trans- 
portation. 


They  were  first  used  in  a  practical 
way  during  the  First  World  War. 
Methods  of  making  and  applying  them 
expanded  greatly  during  the  Second 
World  War.  Between  the  wars,  progress 
was  moderate,  and  possibly  the  widest 
application  was  in  planimetric  and 
topographic  mapping,  with  forestry  a 
secondary  objective. 

Aerial  photography  is  employed  in 
Australia,  Canada,  the  Soviet  Union, 
Europe,  Africa,  Central  America, 
South  America,  and  the  United  States, 
where  photographs  are  used  in  ap- 
praising forests. 

The  techniques  in  the  United  States 
and  probably  in  other  countries  are  not 
yet  perfected  to  a  point  where  they 
fully  meet  the  needs  of  foresters,  but 
because  increasing  use  is  made  of  the 
photographs  in  forestry,  study  and  ef- 
fort to  improve  the  technique  of  taking 
the  pictures  and  interpreting  them  are 
going  on  all  the  time. 

The  first  use  of  air  photographs  in 
the  United  States  probably  was  in  1917 
in  mapping  part  of  the  Columbia 
National  Forest  in  Washington.  Dur- 
ing the  past  two  decades  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  United  States  has  been 


68o 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


photographed  from  the  air — often 
called  "flown."  But  on  at  least  half  of 
the  area,  the  pictures  are  more  than  8 
years  old. 

That  is  unsatisfactory,  because  for- 
ests are  changing  all  the  time.  Timber 
stands  decline  in  area  and  volume  be- 
cause of  cutting,  fire,  wind,  decay,  in- 
sects, and  other  losses.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  expand  in  area,  size,  and 
volume  through  growth.  Because  of 
the  changing  factors,  the  old  photo- 
graphs may  not  correctly  show  the 
current  condition  of  the  forests.  They 
may,  however,  correctly  represent  old- 
growth  timber  areas  and  topographic 
features,  such  as  streams  and  roads 
that  have  not  changed  materially.  It 
is  important  to  have  up-to-date 
photographs  in  timber  surveys  and  pe- 
riodically— say  every  5  or  10  years — to 
refly  areas  where  the  forest  cover  has 
changed  significantly.  Although  old 
aerial  photographs  still  have  high 
value  for  engineering  purposes,  new 
pictures  are  preferred. 

Another  problem  is  the  scale.  For- 
esters require  a  larger  scale  for  resource 
studies  than  engineers  need  for  their 
work.  So  far,  it  has  not  been  possible 
to  agree  on  one  scale  that  would  be  best 
for  both  kinds  of  work.  Experienced 
engineers  and  foresters  feel  that  (con- 
sidering costs  and  usability)  the  best 
arrangement  would  be  to  have  a 
special  kind  and  scale  of  photographs 
for  forestry  and  another  for  engineer- 
ing purposes.  Actually,  that  is  only  a 
part  of  the  problem;  the  other  part  is 
the  need  for  improvement  in  the  tech- 
nical aspects  of  taking  photographs 
( such  as  the  best  kind  of  film,  the  scale, 
season  of  the  year,  focal  length  of 
camera),  and  concerted  efforts  to 
adapt  the  pictures  to  the  major  use  for 
which  they  are  being  taken. 

The  scale  of  usable  photographs  in 
forestry  work  is  somewhat  restricted  in 
range— from  1:12,000  to  1:22,000.  A 
scale  of  1 : 15,840  is  commonly  pre- 
ferred; the  figure  means  that  4  inches 
on  the  photograph  covers  1  mile  of 
forest  on  the  ground.  Because  the  scale 
is  the  factor  that  primarily  controls  the 


relative  size  of  the  objects  that  appear 
on  the  photographs,  its  selection  is  im- 
portant and  must  be  adjusted  as  far  as 
possible  to  the  purpose  for  which  the 
photographs  are  taken  and  the  allow- 
able cost.  Some  caution  in  using  scales 
to  determine  distances  on  photographs 
is  necessary,  because  changes  in  altitude 
of  the  plane,  its  tip  or  tilt,  and  varia- 
tions in  elevation  of  the  country  being 
photographed  may  introduce  errors  of, 
say,  10  percent  in  area  determinations 
on  individual  photographs. 

The  two  general  types  of  aerial  pho- 
tographs are  verticals  and  obliques. 
Vertical  photographs — taken  with  the 
camera  in  as  nearly  a  vertical  position 
as  one  can  keep  it  in  a  fast-flying  air- 
plane— are  preferred  for  forest  surveys, 
topographic  and  planimetric  mapping, 
and  on-the-ground  forestry  practices. 
Oblique  photographs  are  taken  with 
the  camera  intentionally  inclined  to 
the  vertical  at  a  given  angle.  They 
cover  large  areas  at  a  low  cost  and  are 
sometimes  used  for  rough  mapping. 

The  best  type  of  film  for  forestry 
photographs  from  the  air  is  still  to  be 
determined  and  perfected.  Three  types 
now  used  are  panchromatic,  infrared 
with  various  filters,  and  color  films. 

Panchromatic  is  most  common,  but 
fails  to  meet  fully  the  foresters'  needs 
in  differentiating  between  forest  types 
and  species  of  trees.  The  infrared 
film,  with  a  minus  blue  filter,  has  pro- 
duced photographs  showing  an  im- 
proved contrast  between  species  and 
forest  types  in  summer  pictures,  but 
needs  further  trial  tests  and  experimen- 
tation. Color  film  has  not  been  tried 
over  a  large  area.  In  theory,  it  looks 
good  for  identifying  species  of  trees, 
particularly  for  hardwoods  in  the  fall 
when  seasonal  coloring  of  the  leaves  is 
at  its  height. 

Besides  type  of  film,  the  season  best 
suited  to  bringing  out  forest  character- 
istics is  important  in  interpreting  the 
aerial  photographs  in  surveys  or  other 
economic  and  management  investiga- 
tions. For  forest-survey  purposes,  spring 
and  fall  are  believed  to  be  the  best 
seasons  for  photographing  forests. 


Picturing  Forests  from  the  Air 


681 


As  a  first  step  in  interpreting  the 
data,  foresters  usually  examine  over- 
lapping pairs  of  aerial  photographs  un- 
der a  stereoscope;  the  effect  is  about 
the  same  as  if  a  person  were  suspended 
over  a  timbered  area  so  as  to  be  able 
to  see  the  three  dimensions  of  the  ob- 
jects below.  From  this  vantage  point, 
the  forest  types  and  stand-size  classes 
are  identified  and  often  delineated  on 
the  contact  print.  The  information  can 
be  plotted  on  a  good  map  by  a  number 
of  methods.  One  simple  plan  for  flat 
country  is  to  transfer  the  forest-type 
boundaries  and  other  timber  data  by 
using  a  divider  and  a  scale.  Another 
method  is  to  use  the  new  radial  plani- 
metric  plotter,  which  helps  correct  for 
differences  in  elevation  of  the  area 
being  mapped. 

The  area  of  the  forest  land  can  be 
determined  directly  from  the  aerial 
contact  prints  or  from  a  forest-type 
map  by  one  of  several  methods.  One 
way  is  to  measure  the  forest  area  by 
means  of  a  planimeter,  a  mechanical 
device  for  measuring  the  surface  area 
on  a  map  by  following  the  boundary 
of  the  forest  land  with  a  pointer  at- 
tached to  a  tabulating  indicator.  To 
get  the  forest-land  area,  the  result  is 
multiplied  by  a  conversion  factor  ad- 
justed to  the  scale  of  the  map. 

Another  method,  called  "counting 
dots,"  is  to  put  a  clear  acetate  sheet,  on 
which  are  regularly  spaced  dots,  over 
aerial  photographs  or  a  map  and  then 
count  the  dots  that  fall  on  and  off  for- 
est land.  It  provides  the  basis  for  com- 
puting the  percentage  in  forest  land; 
the  figure  applied  to  the  total  acreage 
of  the  tract  in  question  gives  the  area 
of  forest  land. 

Another  step  is  to  classify  and  de- 
lineate the  timber  according  to  forest 
type,  tree-size  class,  and  density.  For 
that,  a  code  has  been  developed. 
"P5d,"  for  example,  means  pine  type, 
intermediate  saw  timber  of  good  den- 
sity; "A"  indicates  agricultural  land, 
and  "N"  noncommercial  forest  land. 
The  classification  is  usually  done  by 
examining  the  aerial  photographs  un- 
der a  stereoscope.  The  area  of  the  dif- 


ferent classes  is  determined  by  one  of 
the  methods  listed  previously. 

For  rough  exploratory  work  on  new 
areas  or  for  checks  on  previously  sur- 
veyed tracts,  volumes  per  acre  are 
sometimes  estimated  from  the  photo- 
graphs for  each  stand-size  class  of 
timber,  such  as  saw-timber  areas  and 
pole-timber  areas.  For  a  more  exacting 
timber  inventory,  it  is  considered 
best  to  measure  a  number  of  sample 
areas — say  one-fourth  acre  in  size — in 
each  stand-size  class  on  the  ground  to 
provide  a  factor  for  computing  the 
total  volume  of  the  area  under  study. 

The  height  of  trees  is  sometimes  used 
to  separate  forest  areas  into  height 
classes  by  forest  types.  Several  methods 
can  be  used  to  measure  the  approxi- 
mate height  of  trees  as  shown  on  the 
photographs.  One  is  to  measure  the 
length  of  shadows  and  compute  the 
height  of  the  corresponding  trees  by  a 
rather  simple  formula.  A  solar  ephem- 
eris,  time,  and  latitude  and  longitude 
of  the  tree  are  needed. 

Another  method  is  to  use  one  of  sev- 
eral stereoplotting  instruments,  which 
measure  the  difference  in  parallax  be- 
tween the  top  and  the  base  of  a  tree. 
This  factor,  when  it  is  correlated  with 
the  height  of  the  plane  above  ground, 
the  length  of  the  air  base,  and  the  focal 
length  of  the  camera,  gives  the  height 
of  a  tree. 

Still  another  instrument  is  the  paral- 
lax wedge.  It  is  a  simple  device  that 
has  two  converging  lines  etched  on 
glass  or  other  transparent  material ;  one 
of  the  lines  has  marks  to  indicate  dis- 
tance. When  used  with  a  stereoscope 
and  overlapping  pairs  of  photos,  the 
lines  converge  into  a  single  sloping  line 
that  makes  it  possible  to  determine  the 
height  of  trees.  All  these  methods  are 
considered  precise  enough  to  place 
most  timber  in  10-foot  height  classes 
with  reasonable  consistency. 

Efforts  are  being  made  to  use  timber 
height  and  density  as  controlling  fac- 
tors in  making  volume  estimates.  Some 
tests  have  been  made  with  varying  suc- 
cess. The  aim  is  to  find  a  method  of 
inventorying  timber  from  aerial  photo- 


682 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


graphs  which  requires  only  a  minimum 
of  costly  supplemental  ground  work.  In 
somewhat  oversimplified  terms,  that 
means  the  ability  to  identify  tree  spe- 
cies, to  measure  diameter,  height,  and 
width  of  crown,  and  to  determine  fac- 
tors of  tree  condition,  such  as  sound- 
ness, quality,  and  thrift,  on  aerial 
photos  with  accuracy  and  adequacy. 
The  results  could  then  be  applied  to 
special  tables  to  get  volume,  quality, 
defect,  and  possibly  growth,  without 
any  on-the-ground  measurements. 

To  summarize:  We  need  to  know 
much  more  about  taking  and  reading 
aerial  photographs,  but  present  tech- 
niques are  good  enough  to  aid  greatly 
in  the  Forest  Survey  and  to  meet  emer- 
gency needs  for  a  quick  inventory. 

An  example  is  the  inventory  of  the 
forest  fire  in  Maine  in  1947,  when  220,- 
000  acres  burned  over  in  a  few  days 


and  a  critical  situation  developed  be- 
cause it  was  felt  that  the  fire-killed 
timber  had  to  be  utilized  within  a  year 
before  insects  and  storms  could  destroy 
it.  A  map  and  timber  inventory  to  show 
the  location,  kind,  and  volume  of  the 
timber  was  immediately  needed  to  aid 
in  the  necessary  salvage  plans.  The  area 
was  flown,  maps  were  prepared  from 
the  photographs,  ground  plots  were 
measured,  and  reports  made  ready  in 
only  8  weeks. 

RAYMOND  D.  GARVER  is  director  of 
the  Nation-wide  Forest  Survey.,  Divi- 
sion of  Forest  Economics,  in  the  Forest 
Service.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Nebraska  and  holds  a  mas- 
ter's degree  in  forestry  from  Iowa  State 
College.  For  more  than  30  years  he  has 
worked  in  forest  research  and  adminis- 
tration of  national  forests. 


RAILROADS  AND  FORESTERS 


ROBERT  N.  HOSKINS 


Railroads  have  always  run  on  wood. 
Wooden  rails  made  the  road  over 
which  the  horse-drawn  vehicles  hauled 
brick  and  clay  products  up  Beacon 
Hill  in  Boston  in  1795.  Three  miles 
of  wooden  track  was  the  total  length 
of  the  first  railroad  incorporated  in 
Massachusetts  in  1826.  When  new 
frontiers  opened,  railroads  pushed 
across  the  continent;  for  the  227,355 
miles  of  track  they  laid,  they  needed 
wood — wood  for  cross  ties,  wood  for 
piling,  wood  for  switch  ties,  wood  for 
a  hundred  other  uses.  Their  need  for 
wood  continues  in  an  age  of  steel,  plas- 
tics, and  glass ;  actually,  in  Class  I  rail- 
way track  today  there  are  994,516,000 
wooden  cross  ties. 

The  history  of  railroading  can  be 
told  as  the  history  of  the  use  of  wood. 
With  mechanization,  notably  the  steam 
locomotives,  the  use  of  horses  for  the 
motive  power  was  discontinued.  As 
heavier  equipment  moved  greater  and 
greater  distances,  the  originally  de- 


signed wooden  rails,  capped  by  strips 
of  iron,  became  obsolete  and  were  re- 
placed by  all-steel  rails.  The  demands 
of  the  lusty,  growing  giants,  the  rail- 
roads, and  the  expanding  Nation  they 
served  and,  indeed,  nourished,  grew  as 
the  railroads  grew.  To  meet  the  neces- 
sities of  a  growing  Nation,  our  virgin 
forests  were  cut  over  rapidly.  The 
effort  was  little  and  the  need  small  to 
carry  on  any  program  of  conservation 
to  insure  future  operations  on  those 
timberlands. 

The  real  demand  for  action  to  be 
taken  came  much  later.  One  reason 
for  it  when  the  need  did  arise  was  that 
durable  species  were  declining  in  the 
volumes  needed.  Maintenance  costs 
increased  yearly  because  the  materials 
needed  for  operation  had  to  come  from 
the  less  durable  species  like  the  red  oak, 
gum,  and  pine.  To  meet  the  rising 
costs,  extensive  studies  were  under- 
taken in  wood  preservation.  Railroads, 
aware  of  their  problem,  which  was  one 


Railroads  and  Foresters 


of  constant  tie  replacement,  naturally 
became  one  of  the  first  organizations 
in  the  country  to  establish  wood  pres- 
ervation plants  whose  function  was  to 
impregnate  wood  with  chemicals  which 
guarded  them  against  decay,  length- 
ened their  useful  life,  and  reduced  the 
volume  of  wood  needed. 

The  companies  that  supply  the  rail- 
roads conduct  research  to  find  better 
ways  to  use  wood;  the  railroads  them- 
selves are  continually  making  tests  to 
prove  or  disprove  the  adaptability  of 
new  products,  to  find  superior  mate- 
rials and  to  improve  old  methods,  and 
further  the  forest-products  research.  A 
typical  example  of  increasing  the  life 
of  the  forest  products  is  that  of  treating 
cross  ties  with  creosote. 

In  1937,  Glass  I  railroads  required 
in  maintenance  of  their  tracks  9,594,- 
370  untreated  cross  ties  and  35,554,782 
treated  cross  ties.  In  1946  the  number 
of  untreated  ties  dropped  to  1,840,765, 
with  the  treated  ties  used  for  replace- 
ment totaling  35,429,179.  The  greater 
use  of  treated  ties  has  had  a  direct 
bearing  on  replacement;  within  this 
10-year  period,  7,879,208  fewer  ties 
were  placed  in  service.  An  indication 
of  the  amount  of  money  involved  is  the 
outlay  of  $64,274,000  the  first  8  months 
of  1947  by  Glass  I  railroads  for  cross 
ties.  Another  example:  One  railroad, 
the  Seaboard  Air  Line  Railroad  Com- 
pany, in  1946  alone,  purchased  997,- 
000  cross  ties,  5,083,000  board  feet  of 
treated  and  untreated  switch  ties,  12,- 
419,000  board  feet  of  lumber,  and  337,- 
000  feet  of  piling  for  its  4,000  miles. 

Railroads,  which  are  among  the 
largest  users  of  forest  products,  have 
an  enormous  stake  in  the  future  tim- 
ber supply.  No  satisfactory  substitute 
has  been  developed  for  the  wood  ties. 

The  railroads  derive  millions  of  dol- 
lars in  revenue  from  forest  products 
in  their  many  forms  which  they  trans- 
port, such  as  logs,  lumber,  shingles, 
lath,  pulpwood,  rosin  and  turpentine, 
printing  paper,  paper  bags,  wrapping 
paper,  paperboard,  pulpboard,  wall- 
board,  and  wood  pulp. 

In  the  southern  district  (those  States 


east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  south  of  the 
Ohio  and  Potomac  Rivers,  including 
Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Florida,  Kentucky,  Tennes- 
see, Alabama  and  Mississippi),  Class 
I  railroads,  with  a  total  mileage  of 
35,000,  loaded  741,716  cars  with  for- 
est products  in  1944  and  823,146  cars 
in  1947. 

In  turn,  the  railroads  spend  large 
sums  to  develop  equipment  to  facili- 
tate the  movement  of  this  class  of  ton- 
nage, to  lower  costs,  and  to  provide 
more  safely  for  the  loads.  One  of  the  re- 
sults of  this  endeavor  is  the  woodrack 
car,  which  is  used  in  hauling  pulpwood. 
When  the  pulp  and  paper  industry  be- 
gan its  initial  construction  in  the 
South,  low-side  gondolas,  high-side 
gondolas,  and  box  cars  were  used  to 
move  pulpwood.  The  woodrack  car 
has  effected  cost  savings  in  both  load- 
ing and  unloading  pulpwood.  The 
Seaboard  Air  Line  Railroad  has  in  con- 
struction enough  woodrack  cars  to 
serve  all  paper  mills  along  its  lines. 
More  than  2,000  such  cars  are  in  use. 

Because  railroads  recognize  the  im- 
portance of  forest  products  as  a  source 
of  income  and  of  material  for  opera- 
tion and  maintenance,  they  are  inter- 
ested in  the  management  of  forests. 
Some  of  the  earliest  hand-plantings  of 
trees  were  made  by  railroads.  The  em- 
ployment of  foresters  by  railroads  dates 
from  the  turn  of  the  century,  largely, 
at  first,  in  the  fields  of  wood  utiliza- 
tion, preservation,  and  purchasing. 
Now  railroads  employ  foresters  to  man- 
age company-owned  lands,  assist  land- 
owners, youth  groups,  and  others  with 
their  woodland  problems,  and  to  fur- 
ther the  work  of  conservation  of  timber 
resources,  planning  in  reforestation, 
and  fire  prevention. 

Fourteen  railroads  now  employ  24 
foresters.  They  are  the  Atlantic  Coast 
Line  Railroad;  Central  of  Georgia 
Railway  Company;  Chicago  and 
North  Western  Railway;  Erie  Rail- 
road; Gulf,  Mobile  and  Ohio  Rail- 
road; Illinois  Central  Railroad;  New 
York  Central  System;  New  York,  New 
Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad  Com- 


684 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


pany;  Northern  Pacific  Railway;  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad;  Seaboard  Air  Line 
Railroad  Company;  Soo  Line;  South- 
ern Railway  System,  and  the  Southern 
Pacific  Company. 

The  railroad  foresters,  in  a  meeting 
in  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  1946,  adopted 
the  following  program  to  promote  bet- 
ter forestry  practices: 

To  identify  the  railroads  as  one  of 
the  industries  actively  engaged  in  the 
perpetuation  of  our  forests. 

To  encourage  reforestation  on  for- 
est lands  not  now  producing  revenue. 

To  encourage  forest-fire  prevention. 

To  promote  forest  conservation. 

To  assist  actively  all  forest  agencies 
in  forestry  education. 

To  encourage  use  of  proper  grades 
and  species  of  wood  by  the  railroads. 

A  NEW  POSITION  in  railroading  is 
that  of  the  industrial  forester,  whose 
work  is  to  encourage  the  development 
and  better  utilization  of  forest  lands. 
To  that  end,  he  cooperates  with  the 
farm  youth,  the  farmer,  the  forestry 
associations,  State  and  Federal,  civic 
organizations,  State  departments  of 
education,  and  the  States  served  by 
the  railroad. 

The  Seaboard  Air  Line  Railroad  was 
the  first  to  engage  in  such  activity.  Its 
lines  serve  six  Southeastern  States, 
which  have  more  than  100  million 
acres  in  forest  lands  and  in  which 
numerous  pulp  and  paper  mills  have 
located  since  1937.  The  Seaboard  in- 
itiated a  forestry  program  in  1937.  In 
cooperation  with  the  State  forest  serv- 
ices, extension  services,  the  United 
States  Forest  Service,  and  State  de- 
partments of  vocational  agriculture, 
this  company  has  conducted  woodland- 
improvement  demonstrations  through- 
out the  Southeast.  The  demonstrations 
have  been  well  attended  by  adult 
farmers,  the  veterans  who  receive  on- 
the-farm  training,  students  of  voca- 
tional agriculture,  and  representatives 
of  wood-using  industries.  In  them, 
stress  is  placed  on  the  proper  marking 
and  cutting  of  the  small  farm  wood- 
lands and  the  use  of  varied  types  of 


equipment  which  can  facilitate  eco- 
nomic efficiency  in  the  farm  woods. 
Some  of  the  equipment  demonstrated 
includes  mechanical  power  saws  and 
tree  planters. 

The  Seaboard  has  given  full  cooper- 
ation to  wood  industries  and  others  in 
forming  associations  to  work  for  im- 
provement in  cutting  practices  and  to 
present  facts  on  forestry  to  legisla- 
tive committees.  The  need  to  protect 
forests  from  fires,  a  vital  part  of  the 
program,  is  presented  in  exhibits,  news 
articles,  contests,  and  meetings  with 
civic  organizations,  farm  groups,  and 
railroad  maintenance  forces. 

The  Seaboard  operated  a  forestry 
train  over  its  system  in  1941.  At  more 
than  fifty  stops  the  message  of  better 
protection  and  improved  cutting  prac- 
tices was  brought  to  people  in  the 
Southeast.  Menus  in  Seaboard  dining 
cars  have  featured  information  about 
trees  along  the  route.  Radio  broadcasts 
on  aspects  of  this  railroad's  forestry 
activities  have  reached  large  audi- 
ences. Since  1946  a  forestry  bulletin 
has  been  published  quarterly  for  12,- 
000  readers.  It  has  featured  articles  on 
various  activities  of  Federal,  State,  and 
extension  forest  services,  departments 
of  vocational  agriculture,  and  other 
forestry  associations.  Outstanding  work 
in  forestry  by  farmers,  farm  youth,  and 
others  is  given  recognition  in  each  issue. 

In  cooperation  with  the  vocational 
agriculture  departments  of  the  six 
Southeastern  States,  through  the  State 
supervisors  of  vocational  agriculture 
and  wood-using  industries,  the  com- 
pany has  carried  on  a  program  with 
young  farmers  since  1945.  It  includes 
trips,  scholarships  to  forestry  training 
camps,  and  bonds  that  have  been 
awarded  to  representatives  of  the  na- 
tional organization — Future  Farmers 
of  America — for  their  work  on  their 
own  home  wood  lots.  Classroom  in- 
struction and  on-the-ground  assistance 
is  a  part  of  the  plan.  Plantings  in  Flor- 
ida alone  amounted  to  1,000,000  seed- 
lings during  the  1947—48  planting 
season,  and  in  Alabama  1,400,000  seed- 
lings were  set  out  by  students  enrolled 


Railroads  and  Foresters 


in  vocational  agriculture.  The  antici- 
pated result  of  this  industry-sponsored 
program  can  be  attested  by  the  fact 
that  participation  in  all  Southeastern 
States  has  increased  75  to  200  percent. 
Some  States  have  organized  voluntary 
fire  crews,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
State  divisions  of  forestry.  The  men  in 
charge  believe  that  if  forestry  is  to 
develop  on  a  progressive  basis,  the  edu- 
cation of  young  people  must  receive 
greater  support  from  railroads  as  well 
as  from  other  agencies. 

Other  railroads  are  setting  up  simi- 
lar programs  in  the  States  they  serve. 
Their  aim  is  the  same  as  that  of  any 
wood  industry.  State  or  Federal  forest 
agency — sufficient  timber  to  meet  to- 


day's and  tomorrow's  requirements. 
An  integral  part  of  the  activity  is  on- 
the-ground  training  for  students  of  vo- 
cational agriculture,  with  awards  of 
prizes  and  trips  to  those  who  make  the 
most  progress.  It  is  one  of  several  indi- 
cations that  more  and  more  railroads 
recognize  the  value  of  forestry  pro- 
grams and  the  importance  of  wood. 

ROBERT  N.  HQSKINS  is  employed  as 
industrial  forester  by  the  Seaboard  Air 
Line  Railroad  Company.  After  he  re- 
ceived a  bachelor's  degree  in  forestry 
from  Iowa  State  College  in  1939,  he 
was  employed  with  the  Missouri  Con- 
servation Commission  and  the  Florida 
Forest  Service,  in  Tallahassee. 


THE  CAUSES  OF  ACCIDENTS  AMONG  WOODS  WORKERS 

About  one  out  of  four  injuries  involves  the  unskilled  use  of  hand  tools.    The  ax  is  the 

main  offender.    Most  of  the  serious  accidents  are  due  to  the  operation  of  motor  vehicles, 

tractors,  and  graders  at  speeds  too  fast  for  existing  conditions,  even  though  the  actual 

speed  may  be  only  15  miles  an  hour  or  less. 


TYPE 

Falls  of  persons  _„ 
Handfins  objects  . 

'Failing  objects.  „ 
Motor  vehicles _  „ L._ 

( Striking  against  objects., .  L , 
Animals  _. . 
Machinery__  _  „  „  „  I  _•_  _„  _" 

Burns  and  electricity^ ,_.B 

Poison:,  .:'.,..• 

Exposure ... • 

Explosives  __ I 

Misc.  (the!,  poison-oak), 


PERCENT 


686 


Head  spar 


High-lead  block 
•trip  block 


HIGH-LEAD  YARDING 


Winch 


Haul-back 
block 


Head  spar 


SKYLINE  YARDING 
Tail  spar  Skyline 


LASSO  ill 
CABLEWAY 

(Switzerland) 


These  logging  machines  and  methods  are  discussed  in  the  following  chapter. 


Yesterday  and  Today 


SINCE  THE  DAYS  OF  LEIF  ERICSON 

FRED    C.  SIMMONS 


E'GGING  was  probably  the  first 
commercial  activity  of  white  men 
on  this  continent.  Old  Norse  accounts 
tell  that  Leif  Ericson  went  to  the 
shores  of  a  land  across  the  North  Atlan- 
tic and  brought  back  a  cargo  of  timber 
some  time  about  A.  D.  1000.  There 
are  references  to  other  voyagers  who 
also  visited  that  land  and  brought 
back  timber.  There  is  record  of  a  tim- 
ber-laden ship,  homeward  bound  from 
"Markland"  to  Iceland,  that  was 
wrecked  in  1347  just  before  it  reached 
port. 

Later  explorers  were  also  greatly 
impressed  by  the  timber  that  they  saw 
on  the  North  American  shores.  In 
1605  Capt.  John  Weymouth  of  the 
British  Royal  Navy  nosed  his  ship  into 
one  of  the  harbors  of  what  is  now  the 
coast  of  Maine.  His  men  cut  some 
samples  of  northern  white  pine  timber 
and  he  took  these  back  to  England 
with  him.  This  pine  is  still  known  as 
Weymouth  pine  in  the  British  Isles. 

When    the    colonists    arrived    they 

Above:  A  drawing  after  an  old  photograph 
of    early    big-wheel   logging   in    the    West. 


found  timber  growing  to  the  water's 
edge.  They  had  to  cut  trees  to  make 
room  for  their  homes  and  for  their 
fields.  Houses,  barns,  stockades,  and 
bridges  were  built  of  logs  that  were 
everywhere  readily  available.  The 
small,  round  timbers  were  preferred 
because  they  could  be  handled  easily. 
The  date  of  the  first  sawmill  is  a  mat- 
ter of  debate;  some  contend  that  the 
settlers  in  Virginia  were  using  one 
some  time  between  1608  and  1620. 
There  is  an  authentic  record  of  a  saw- 
mill that  was  established  in  1634  near 
the  site  of  South  Berwick,  in  Maine. 

Captain  Weymouth's  efforts  to  in- 
form his  countrymen  about  the  qual- 
ity of  the  timber  in  North  America 
were  highly  successful — especially 
with  the  Royal  Navy.  Mast  timbers 
were  soon  in  heavy  demand.  White 
pine  from  the  New  England  shores 
and  yellow  pine  from  the  Colonies  to 
the  south  began  to  move  to  England 
in  ships  built  specially  for  this  trade. 
Depletion  of  the  supply  of  tall  trees 
on  the  Baltic  shores  made  the  English 
apprehensive  about  the  preservation 

687 


688 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


of  their  new-found  supply.  Suitable 
trees  in  the  New  England  forests  were 
marked  with  the  King's  broad  arrow 
and  thus  reserved  for  the  exclusive  use 
of  the  Royal  Navy. 

The  colonists  used  logging  equip- 
ment and  methods  of  rudimentary 
character.  The  early  mills  and  shipping 
docks  were  mostly  on  tidewater.  Heavy 
stands  of  timber  grew  on  stream  banks 
or  on  slopes  from  which  logs  could 
readily  be  put  in  water  by  hand  and 
then  floated  to  mills  or  shipside.  Tim- 
ber that  was  more  distant  from  the 
watercourses  and  hardwood  logs  that 
would  not  float  had  to  be  skidded — 
either  by  the  brute  strength  of  men  or 
by  use  of  the  oxen  that  pulled  the 
farmers'  plows.  The  colonists  soon 
found  that  skidding  could  be  done  most 
easily  on  ice  and  snow,  and  wintertime 
became  the  traditional  season  for  such 
work.  Scandinavian  and  Dutch  colo- 
nists added  their  skill  to  the  more  scanty 
experience  of  the  English. 

NEW  METHODS  have  developed,  al- 
though some  of  the  pioneers'  practices 
are  still  used  throughout  the  country — 
principally  on  small  jobs.  The  ax  and 
the  ox  team  are  primitive  logging  tools, 
but  they  can  still  be  found  at  work  in 
the  woods.  The  ax  has  been  improved 
in  design  and  quality  of  its  steel.  Mod- 
ern metallurgy  has  enabled  the  manu- 
facturer to  make  a  top-grade  tool  every 
time,  something  not  possible  when  ax- 
heads  were  forged  by  hand ;  some  were 
good  and  some  were  poor.  When  a 
logger  got  hold  of  a  really  good  ax  he 
guarded  it  jealously — and  might  even 
take  it  to  bed  with  him.  The  crosscut 
saw,  introduced  about  75  years  ago, 
was  at  first  a  crude  cutting  tool. 

The  modern  crosscut  saw  is  made  of 
excellent  steel,  holds  its  set  and  cutting 
edges  well,  and  runs  freely  in  the  cut. 
The  peavey,  invented  about  85  years 
ago  by  a  blacksmith  in  Stillwater, 
Maine,  has  made  the  work  of  rolling 
logs  by  hand  easier  and  safer.  The  pulp 
hook,  the  bow  saw,  the  explosive 
wedge,  and  even  the  tractor,  the  power 
saw,  and  the  motortruck  are  becoming 


commonplace  throughout  the  country, 
even  on  small  logging  jobs. 

But  it  is  in  the  bigger  operations  that 
revolution  after  revolution  in  logging 
methods  has  taken  place.  Big-time  log- 
ging had  its  origin  in  Maine,  where 
heavy  stands  of  pine  and  spruce,  water- 
courses leading  to  good  harbors  on  tide- 
water, and  long,  cold  winters  when 
little  else  could  be  done  provided  a  fa- 
vorable environment.  The  Machias, 
the  Penobscot,  the  Kennebec,  and  the 
Androscoggin  watersheds  were  the 
nursery  from  which  came  a  new  tech- 
nique of  logging  and  a  tribe  of  loggers 
that  later  fanned  out  to  other  timber 
regions  across  the  continent. 

Maine  loggers  developed  the  art  of 
chip-chopping  in  felling  trees  and  in 
cutting  them  into  logs.  They  learned  to 
take  advantage  of  gravity  and  snow 
and  ice  in  skidding  the  logs  to  water- 
courses. They  developed  the  art  of 
driving  the  logs  down  the  streams  to 
sorting  booms  at  tidewater.  Living  in 
rough  camps  far  back  from  the  towns 
and  farming  country,  they  were  a 
tough  and  hardy  brood — now  well 
celebrated  in  song  and  story. 

But  their  very  energy  and  efficiency 
in  time  brought  about  depletion  of  the 
accessible  large  virgin  pine  and  spruce 
of  that  State. 

THE  CENTER  of  large-scale  lumber- 
ing began  to  move  westward — first  to 
the  headwaters  of  the  Connecticut, 
then  the  Hudson,  and  then  the  Susque- 
hanna  and  the  Ohio.  Rafting  was  de- 
veloped on  the  more  placid  waters  of 
the  Susquehanna  and  Ohio,  not  only 
to  keep  the  logs  together  but  also  to 
keep  afloat  the  choice  hardwoods  that 
were  bound  into  the  rafts  with  the  pine. 
Winter  logging  and  stream  driving 
were  developed  still  further  in  the  Lake 
States  to  keep  pace  with  the  increasing 
capacity  of  the  sawmills  and  the  ever- 
expanding  demand  for  lumber.  There, 
too,  the  first  logging  railroad  came  into 
use,  and  cable  skidding  was  developed. 

As  the  virgin  timber  stands  of  the 
Lake  States  neared  depletion,  the  tide 
of  the  lumber-industry  migration  split. 


Since  the  Days  of  Lcif  Ericson 


Some  of  it  moved  into  the  flatland  pine 
stands  of  the  South.  Some  of  it  moved 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the 
great  coniferous  forests  of  the  Pacific 
slope.  In  those  regions,  especially  in 
the  West,  the  use  of  the  cable  skidder 
and  the  logging  railroad  reached  its 
apogee.  The  volume  of  timber  cut  and 
moved  to  the  mills  by  those  methods 
was  astounding.  They  were,  however, 
destructive,  wasteful,  short-sighted. 

Along  the  path  of  the  migrations, 
the  pioneer  loggers  were  joined  by 
hardy  men  from  other  parts  of  the 
country  and  by  a  large  number  of  im- 
migrants from  abroad  —  Scandina- 
vians, French  Canadians,  Austrians, 
men  from  the  Balkans  and  from  Rus- 
sia. All  contributed  to  the  growing 
store  of  logging  lore. 

The  French  Canadians  introduced 
the  travois  or  dray — an  idea  that  they 
had  borrowed  from  the  Indians  of  the 
Plains.  The  Austrians  brought  in  the 
log  chute  and  slide  for  use  on  steep 
slopes.  The  idea  of  cableways  came 
from  Switzerland.  The  English  de- 
veloped the  crawler  track,  used  first  in 
the  steam  log-hauler  in  Maine. 

Some  of  the  best  known  lumber  com- 
panies operating  today  on  the  west 
coast  and  in  the  South  originated  in 
Maine,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the 
Lake  States. 

As  THE  TIDE  of  logging  advanced 
across  the  country,  and  then  eddied 
back  into  the  Rockies,  the  southern 
swamps,  the  Appalachians,  and  the 
wilderness  areas  of  northern  Maine 
and  New  Hampshire,  there  were  al- 
ways ingenious  loggers  who  kept  on 
inventing  new  devices  and  others  who 
were  ready  and  eager  to  try  them  out. 

But  there  also  have  been  loggers  de- 
termined to  resist  any  change  of  the 
methods  that  they  knew  to  be  tried  and 
true.  Men  still  living  can  remember, 
when  the  crosscut  saw  was  introduced, 
how  loggers,  proud  of  their  chip-chop- 
ping skill,  left  camp  rather  than  use  the 
new  tool.  In  recent  years  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  power  chain  saw  was  met 
by  similar  resistance.  Crews  have  been 

802062° — 49 45 


known  purposely  to  leave  a  power  saw 
where  it  would  be  smashed  by  a  falling 
tree  in  order  that  they  might  resume 
the  use  of  their  familiar  crosscut  saws. 

But  still  the  tide  of  change  goes 
on.  In  region  after  region  horses  re- 
placed oxen  because  they  are  faster 
and  more  intelligent.  It  is  interesting 
to  watch  a  good  woods-wise  horse  as  he 
goes  about  his  skidding  job,  often  with- 
out reins  or  word  of  command.  He 
comes  up  the  skid  trail,  turns  around  in 
front  of  a  log,  and  waits  for  the  team- 
ster to  hook  the  skid  chain.  Then  he 
moves  away  down  the  trail  without 
guidance  or  command,  swinging  wide, 
or  even  squaring  away  on  the  curves  to 
keep  his  load  in  the  trail  and  to  avoid 
getting  it  stuck  on  stumps  and  roots. 
Right  up  to  the  skidway  he  goes,  stops 
with  the  load  in  the  correct  position, 
and  waits  for  it  to  be  unhooked. 

As  the  sources  of  timber  became 
more  distant  from  the  mills  or  from  the 
rivers,  it  was  necessary  to  increase 
horsepower  efficiency.  That  was  done 
by  scoots,  sleds,  wagons,  and  bummers. 
The  next  step  was  the  use  of  mechan- 
ical power,  first  applied  in  the  steam 
log-hauler — steam  engines  built  on 
the  pattern  of  the  early  locomotive 
with  the  rear  end  on  crawler  tracks 
and  the  front  on  wheels  or  a  sled.  The 
man  who  did  the  steering  occupied  a 
seat  in  front  of  the  boiler  and  directly 
over  the  front  truck.  Log-haulers  were 
used  to  pull  trains  of  sleds  or  wagons 
out  of  the  woods  to  a  landing.  Later, 
on  many  operations,  they  were  re- 
placed by  logging  railroads  that  han- 
dled bigger  loads  on  longer  hauls. 

The  invention  of  the  geared  loco- 
motive made  it  possible  to  negotiate 
steeper  grades  and  sharper  curves  than 
had  been  possible  with  the  conven- 
tional line-haul  locomotive.  Motor- 
truck log  hauling  has  become  so 
efficient  that  it  is  fast  replacing  the 
logging  railroad  even  in  the  heavy 
timber  of  the  Pacific  Northwest.  This 
change  has  been  greatly  speeded  up  by 
improvements  in  motortrucks  them- 
selves, by  the  construction  of  public 
motor  highways,  and  by  the  bulldozer, 


690 


of  Agriculture  1949 


the  tractor  grader,  and  other  tools  for 
building  low-cost  access  roads. 

Water  transportation  is  still  used. 
River  driving  remains  the  cheapest 
means  for  transporting  large  quantities 
of  wood  over  long  distances.  Elaborate 
systems  of  dams  and  other  works  are 
used  to  provide  the  necessary  flow  of 
water  to  carry  the  wood  down.  In  one 
famous  case,  Maine  loggers  diverted 
water  from  the  St.  John  headwaters 
into  those  of  the  Penobscot  and  precipi- 
tated some  international  complications 
with  Canada.  When  the  drives  must  be 
taken  across  lakes  or  other  bodies  of 
still  water,  it  is  usually  necessary  to 
enclose  acres  of  floating  wood  in  booms 
of  long  logs  chained  end  to  end.  The 
two  ends  are  drawn  together  and  this 
giant  wood-filled  purse  is  then  pulled 
across  the  lake. 

For  longer  voyages  on  big  bodies  of 
water  that  may  be  rough,  various  types 
of  barges  and  rafts  have  been  used.  A 
plywood  company  is  towing  rafts  of 
hardwood  logs  made  buoyant  by  spruce 
frames  the  length  of  Moosehead  Lake 
in  Maine.  Large  quantities  of  pulp- 
wood  are  rafted  across  Lake  Superior 
from  Canada  to  the  United  States. 
On  the  Pacific  coast,  a  cigar-shaped 
structure  bound  together  with  cables 
and  containing  up  to  a  million  board 
feet  of  long  logs  is  pulled  by  a  tug- 
boat. High-grade  spruce  logs  needed 
for  aircraft  manufacture  were  recently 
brought  from  Alaska  to  Puget  Sound 
by  this  method. 

BACK  IN  THE  WOODS  the  methods 
for  skidding  the  logs  to  the  roads  have 
also  become  more  specialized.  As  log- 
ging pushed  into  the  rougher  and  more 
swampy  country,  the  horse  reached  the 
end  of  his  road.  Other  skidding 
methods  had  to  be  found. 

Various  types  of  chutes  and  slides 
have  been  tried,  but  cable  skidders 
have  generally  been  more  successful. 
The  first  was  the  cable  skidder  that 
pulled  the  log  by  a  single  cable  reeled 
in  on  a  steam-powered  drum.  It  was 
soon  found  that  the  inward  pull  of  the 
cable,  carried  through  a  block  hung  on 


a  nearby  tree,  would  also  have  a  lift- 
ing action  sufficient  to  bring  the  log 
over  the  stumps  and  other  obstacles. 
Thus  the  method  known  as  "high- 
lead"  logging  was  born.  Then  another 
drum  was  attached  to  the  winding 
engine  and  a  lighter  cable  was  strung 
through  blocks  out  to  the  scene  of  the 
cutting  and  fastened  to  the  end  of  the 
main  dragline;  in  this  way  it  was  pos- 
sible to  have  a  power  haul-back  on  the 
dragline.  It  was  only  a  step  further 
to  the  idea  of  a  cable  skyline  with  a 
carriage  pulled  in  by  the  dragline  and 
out  again  by  the  haul-back.  The  fur- 
ther development  of  a  locking  and 
tripping  device  made  it  possible  to  pick 
up  the  log  at  its  stump,  pull  it  up  to  the 
carriage,  and  bring  it  to  the  landing 
entirely  suspended  in  the  air.  Many 
and  varied  are  the  adaptations  of  the 
cable  systems — the  North  Bend,  the 
Dunham,  the  Tyler,  the  slack  line,  and 
so  forth.  Each  has  its  merits  for  spe- 
cific localities  or  types  of  timber. 

On  the  more  favorable  terrain,  the 
arts  of  ground  skidding  developed  in 
another  direction.  Loggers  found 
that  their  scoots  and  sleds,  first  used 
for  winter  skidding,  were  effective  also 
in  the  summer.  In  country  with  stony 
and  gravel  soils  these  devices  helped 
to  keep  the  logs  clean  and  free  from  dirt 
that  wrecked  saws  and  chipper  knives 
at  the  mills.  Wheeled  devices  of  var- 
ious kinds  came  into  use — carts,  wag- 
ons, and  bummers.  Finally  came  the 
colorful  high  wheels,  which  sup- 
ported the  front  ends  of  huge  loads  of 
long  logs  as  they  were  dragged  to  the 
landing. 

Ground  skidding,  however,  really 
got  its  new  lease  on  life  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  crawler  tractor 
equipped  with  winch  and  arch.  The 
arch  is  even  more  sturdy  and  effective 
than  were  the  high  wheels.  The  cable 
from  the  tractor  winch  is  carried 
through  a  fair-lead  at  the  top  of  the 
arch,  and  this  gives  some  of  the  high- 
lead  effect  in  the  bunching  of  scat- 
tered loads  of  logs.  The  crawler 
tracks,  or  pneumatic  tires,  upon  which 
the  arch  is  mounted,  provide  a  means 


Since  the  Days  of  Leij  Ericson 


691 


for  carrying  the  front  end  of  the  load. 
Other  devices,  such  as  the  skidding 
pan,  the  tractor-drawn  scoot,  and 
the  tractor-drawn  wagon  on  crawler 
treads,  have  been  highly  successful. 
They  have  nearly  supplanted  cable 
logging  except  in  the  heaviest  timber 
and  on  the  steep  and  swampy  lands. 

LOADING  has  also  gone  through  sev- 
eral stages  of  development.  First  it  was 
found  that  logs  could  be  rolled  up  in- 
clined skids  easier  than  they  could  be 
lifted.  The  skidway  or  brow  built  out 
from  a  hillside  to  hold  logs  off  the 
ground  at  about  the  height  of  the  haul- 
ing vehicle  was  the  next  step  in  the 
development  of  loading  methods.  But 
as  the  logs  and  the  volume  to  be 
handled  got  bigger,  hand  loading  rap- 
idly became  obsolete.  Power  loading 
came  into  use.  First  came  the  cross 
haul,  by  which  horses  or  a  tractor  can 
be  used  to  roll  logs  up  inclined  skids 
onto  the  hauling  vehicle.  Next  came 
the  jammer,  an  inclined  A-frame  with 
a  sheave  at  the  apex  over  which  the 
loading  cable  could  be  passed  to  give 
a  lifting  as  well  as  a  pulling  action. 


Then  came  a  variety  of  jib  booms  and 
cranes,  some  mounted  on  stationary 
spars,  some  on  sleds,  some  on  crawler 
tracks,  and  some  on  pneumatic  tires. 
These  made  the  loading  job  much 
faster  and  easier.  In  recent  years  a 
number  of  types  of  self-loading  trucks, 
with  cross  hauls,  jib  booms,  or  flippers 
powered  from  the  truck  motor  have 
been  put  into  use  on  smaller  jobs. 

The  last  part  of  the  logging  job  to  be 
mechanized  has  been  felling  and  buck- 
ing. Chain  saws,  consisting  of  teeth 
mounted  on  a  bicyclelike  chain,  were 
introduced  from  Germany  about  1924. 
The  cutting  chain  runs  around  a 
grooved  steel  guide  bar  and  is  powered 
by  a  small  gasoline,  electric,  or  pneu- 
matic motor.  Recent  improvements 
have  made  this  a  reasonably  reliable 
tool.  It  is  now  widely  used  through- 
out the  country. 

In  the  flat,  open  pinelands  of  the 
South,  a  circular  saw  mounted  ahead 
of  a  wheeled  frame  like  that  of  a  gar- 
den cultivator  has  proved  useful.  The 
power  is  provided  by  a  small  gasoline 
motor  mounted  between  the  shafts  of 
the  frame.  The  saw  can  be  used  either 


Home-made  calipers  for  measuring  the  diameters  of  trees.     Hold  breast  high  (4Y2  feet 
above  ground)  and  read  diameter  of  tree  direct  from  the  caliper. 


692 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


in  the  horizontal  position  for  felling 
or  in  the  vertical  position  for  bucking. 
Either  type  of  power  saw,  properly 
handled  by  a  well-trained  crew,  enables 
the  crew  to  cut  twice  as  much  wood 
per  man-day  as  would  be  possible  with 
hand  tools.  Portable  circular  slasher 
saws  are  now  commonly  used  to  cut 
short  pulpwood  and  millwood  bolts 
from  tree-length  second-growth  poles 
skidded  into  the  landing.  Powered 
chain  conveyors  are  in  use  to  carry  the 
bolts  from  the  saw  to  the  hauling  ve- 
hicle or  to  a  pile.  Such  equipment  can 
buck  up  to  80  cords  of  4-foot  wood  a 
day. 

SEVERAL  OF  THE  WAR-BORN  devices, 
developed  for  other  uses,  are  being 
adapted  for  use  in  the  woods.  Electric 
generators  that  produce  alternating 
current  of  180  to  360  cycles  (the  stand- 
ard frequency  is  60  cycles)  make  pos- 
sible electric  motors  of  smaller  size 
and  lighter  weight  for  use  as  chain-saw 
power  units.  High-pressure  hydraulic 
systems  utilizing  synthetic  rubber  tub- 
ing are  being  employed  in  light  and 
extremely  flexible  loaders.  One  of 
these,  mounted  on  a  crawler  tractor, 
has  hydraulically  operated  arms  that 
can  be  used  to  gather  up  a  cord  of 
wood  just  as  a  boy  picks  up  an  armful 
of  stove  wood.  The  hydraulic  arms  can 
push  the  load  along  on  the  ground, 
lift  it  into  the  air  to  a  height  of  12 
or  15  feet,  swing  it  around  to  any 
desired  position,  and  drop  it  into  a 
truck  or  railroad  car.  Another  type  of 
hydraulic  crane,  mounted  on  a  truck, 
can  revolve  a  full  circle.  Hydraulic  out- 
riggers push  out  from  the  base  of  the 
machine  to  the  ground  and  thereby 
stabilize  it  while  it  is  in  use.  The  boom 
is  extensible  and  the  cable  is  pulled 
in  by  hydraulic  power.  It  has  an 
hydraulically  operated  grapple  for  use 
in  picking  up  short  wood. 

The  principles  of  package  handling 
are  also  being  adapted  to  logging.  Steel 
straps  and  cables  are  used  to  bundle  a 
cord  or  more  of  short  bolts  or  long 
logs  for  more  convenient  handling  dur- 
ing transshipments.  Pallets  of  wood  and 


tubular  steel  devices  are  used  as  pack- 
aging for  short  bolts.  Some  of  them  can 
be  loaded,  skidded  through  the  woods, 
and  pulled  up  a  ramp  onto  a  truck 
and  off  again  at  the  mill. 

There  are  also  some  developments  in 
cable  skidding — particularly  in  light, 
fast  equipment  that  reduces  the  dam- 
age to  the  remaining  trees.  One  west 
coast  inventor  has  put  his  motive  power 
and  the  operator  into  a  carriage  that 
rides  on  a  skyline.  A  winch  in  the  car- 
riage hoists  the  bundles  of  logs  up 
under  the  carriage;  then  the  carriage 
pulls  itself  along  the  skyline  to  the 
landing.  The  new  equipment  can  carry 
tractors  and  the  other  heavy  equipment 
into  otherwise  inaccessible  places. 

Swiss  engineers  have  developed  sev- 
eral extremely  light  cable-logging  sys- 
tems to  bring  small  logs  or  bundles 
of  wood  off  steep  slopes.  One  consists 
of  an  endless  cable  (suspended  from 
trees) ,  which  makes  a  circuit  from  the 
cutting  area  to  the  landing.  The  cable 
runs  through  star-shaped  wheels.  In- 
dividual bolts  of  wood  are  hung  on 
the  line  by  one  crew  at  the  cutting  area 
and  taken  off  by  another  at  the  landing. 

Rubber  treads  are  being  tried  now  on 
crawler  tractors  to  make  them  more 
adaptable  to  the  rocky  terrain.  A  hy- 
draulic braking  device,  developed  to 
arrest  heavy  planes  landing  on  the 
decks  of  carriers,  has  been  used  to  hold 
trucks  to  a  predetermined  speed  as 
they  come  down  steep  slopes.  Fluid 
drives  are  being  used  in  cable  skidders, 
tractors,  motortrucks,  and  sawmills. 
That  type  of  transmission  gives  greater 
capacity  to  absorb  shocks  and  to  take 
overloads. 

New  steel  alloys  are  utilized  to  im- 
prove cutting  tools  of  all  sorts — axes, 
circular-saw  teeth,  and  chain-saw 
teeth.  New  explosives  and  earth-mov- 
ing machinery  are  also  finding  their 
place  in  logging-road  construction. 
Prefabricated  bridge  units  are  also  be- 
ginning to  find  use  on  these  roads. 

Some  of  these  developments  have 
been  set-backs  to  the  development  of 
forest-management  practices.  Early 
logging  methods  were  not  particularly 


Since  the  Days  of  Leif  Ericson 


harmful  to  the  forest — generally  the 
early  loggers  searched  out  the  biggest 
and  best  trees,  felled  them,  cut  out  the 
best  parts  by  hand,  and  then  skidded 
the  logs  to  the  mill  or  the  water  with 
animals.  By  our  present-day  standards 
those  methods  were  wasteful,  but  they 
did  leave  a  good  stand  of  trees  for  con- 
tinuing growth. 

As  time  went  on  and  the  markets 
for  timber  became  bigger  and  less 
selective,  faster  and  faster  methods  of 
logging  and  more  complete  cuts  be- 
came the  style.  Particularly  harmful 
were  the  high-lead  cable-skidding  jobs 
that  usually  went  with  logging  rail- 
roads. It  was  costly  to  put  a  tempo- 
rary logging  railroad  into  a  timbered 
area,  and  frequently  the  operator 
believed  it  was  necessary  to  cut  every- 
thing merchantable  in  the  area  to 
repay  his  railroad-installation  cost. 
Cable  skidding,  especially  a  carelessly 
used  high-lead,  frequently  knocked 
down  everything  that  was  not  cut. 
Skylines  frequently  are  not  so  destruc- 
tive, except  when  the  line  is  pulled 
directly  from  one  tail  spar  to  another, 
mowing  down  everything  between. 
Both  railroads  and  steam-powered 
cable  skidders  were  also  responsible 
for  starting  many  forest  fires.  Some 
of  the  new  cable-skidding  systems 
powered  by  internal-combustion  mo- 
tors can  be  operated  with  a  minimum 
of  damage. 

Tractor  and  truck  logging  in  itself 
is  not  so  damaging.  Truck  roads  fre- 
quently can  be  built  more  cheaply 
than  railroads,  and  they  have  a  last- 
ing value,  particularly  for  fire  protec- 
tion after  the  logging  job  is  completed. 
Tractors  can  be  operated  efficiently 
on  a  selective-logging  job,  if  proper 
care  is  taken  in  laying  out  the  skid 
trails  and  in  felling  the  trees  so  that 
they  can  be  pulled  directly  into  the 
trail  without  switching  around.  Some 
tractor  drivers,  particularly  of  the 
heavier  and  more  powerful  machines, 
are  responsible  for  much  unnecessary 
damage  as  a  result  of  the  way  in  which 
they  plow  around  in  the  woods. 

The  chain  saw  also  has  been  respon- 


693 


sible  for  some  unnecessary  losses  in  the 
woods.  It  takes  considerable  experi- 
ence with  the  chain  saw  to  learn  to  fell 
trees  as  accurately  as  the  old-time  log- 
gers do  with  hand  tools,  but  it  can  be 
done.  Once  skill  is  acquired,  tricks  can 
be  done  with  it  that  were  impossible 
by  hand  methods.  The  chain  saw  with 
its  faster  cutting  rate  also  makes  it  eco- 
nomical to  recover  sound  portions  from 
partially  rotten  or  poorly  formed  trees 
that  would  not  have  been  touched  by 
men  using  hand  tools. 

INTEGRATED  LOGGING  is  the  harvest 
of  all  the  trees  that  should  be  cut  at  a 
given  time  in  one  operation,  and  the 
distribution  of  each  product  obtained 
to  the  industry  that  can  use  it  to  the 
best  advantage. 

Too  much  of  our  logging  has  been 
one- product  logging:  A  pulp  mill 
would  cut  the  spruce  and  fir  pulpwood 
from  a  stand ;  a  few  years  later  a  veneer 
mill  would  go  into  the  same  area  to  log 
out  the  high-grade  hardwood  veneer 
logs.  That  usually  required  the  con- 
struction of  new  roads  and  camps  or 
the  rebuilding  of  old  ones.  Later  op- 
erations in  the  same  place  might  be 
conducted  by  an  ash  or  hickory  handle- 
stock  concern,  a  white  pine  or  hard- 
wood sawlog  man,  and  finally  a  fuel  or 
distillation-wood  operator.  Many  of 
these  operations  would  leave  lying  on 
the  ground  material  that  could  have 
been  used  to  advantage  by  one  of  the 
other  concerns.  The  sum  total  of  the 
logging  costs  would  be  much  greater 
than  the  total  of  one  integrated  opera- 
tion, recovery  from  the  trees  cut  would 
be  less,  and  in  many  cases  fast-growing 
trees  that  should  have  been  left  would 
have  been  cut  to  help  pay  the  overhead 
costs  of  the  individual  jobs. 

There  are  many  obstacles  to  con- 
ducting completely  integrated  logging. 
When  labor  is  scarce,  each  concern 
wants  to  obtain  the  maximum  amount 
of  material  with  its  force  for^  its  own 
needs.  Different  equipment  is  some- 
times needed  to  log  different  products. 
Unfamiliar  specifications  and  markets 
have  to  be  learned.  But  advantages 


694 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


usually  outweigh  disadvantages.  Pulp 
companies  can  trade  high-grade  veneer 
logs  for  two  to  three  times  as  much 
wood  suitable  for  their  mills.  At  the 
same  time  the  veneer  mills  can  aug- 
ment their  dwindling  and  increasingly 
expensive  supply  of  raw  materials. 

Modern  logging  machinery  and 
methods  make  possible  delivery  of  tree- 
length  logs  to  the  landing  or  even  to 
the  mill,  where  a  trained  crew  can  buck 
out  and  segregate  the  various  qualities 
of  material  that  are  needed  by  different 
industries.  Truck  logging  over  public  or 
private  roads  enables  industries  to  ob- 
tain their  raw  material  from  lighter 
and  more  selective  cuts  over  a  wider 
area. 

THE  OLD  RACE  OF  LOGGERS,,  proud  of 
their  skill  with  loggers'  hand  tools  and 
contented  to  live  a  rough  life,  is  dying 
out.  It  is  almost  impossible  these  days  to 
find  a  crew  that  will  be  satisfied  to  live 
in  a  rough  lumber  camp,  20  miles  back 
from  a  hard  road,  working  from  dawn 
to  dark  all  winter,  and  then  proudly 
bringing  down  the  drive — "walking 
down  the  middle  of  the  river"  the  old 
loggers  used  to  call  it — for  a  brief  pe- 
riod of  roistering  in  town  in  the  spring. 
Such  methods  were  picturesque,  but 
they  wasted  timber  and  manpower. 
Mills  cannot  get  their  full  quota  of  logs 
that  way  any  more. 

The  introduction  of  modern  ma- 
chinery and  the  trend  toward  perma- 
nence of  logging  operations  on  tracts 
managed  for  sustained  timber  pro- 
duction are  beginning  to  bring  a  new 
breed  of  loggers  into  the  woods.  Young 
men  who  once  would  have  shunned 
logging  now  see  better  opportunities  in 
woods  work.  Operators,  alarmed  by 
the  advancing  age  of  the  old-time 
loggers  who  were  willing  to  lead  single 
lives  in  remote  camps,  see  the  need  for 
change.  In  every  region  one  can  now 
find  examples  of  the  new  logging  com- 
munity with  comfortable  homes  for 
families,  with  schools,  churches,  elec- 
tric light  plants,  and  waterworks.  Log- 
ging is  still  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
major  occupations  in  American  indus- 


try, but  operators,  unions,  insurance 
companies,  State  industrial  accident 
commissions,  and  other  agencies  are 
engaged  in  a  concerted  accident-pre- 
vention program,  in  which  they  are 
achieving  substantial  progress. 

All  in  all,  it  is  a  new  day  and  a  better 
day  for  the  loggers  who  want  a  normal 
home  life,  good  working  conditions, 
steady  work,  year-round  employment 
at  good  wages,  and  modern  personnel 
policies  that  pay  attention  to  the  log- 
ger's capabilities  for  advancement  and 
to  safety  and  training  for  the  job. 

FRED  G.  SIMMONS  is  a  specialist  in 
logging  and  primary  processing  at  the 
Northeastern  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 
tion. He  has  worked  with  northeastern 
logging  operators  and  wood-using  in- 
dustries in  improvement  of  their  prac- 
tices since  1944.  He  is  the  author  of 
The  Northeastern  Loggers3  Handbook 
and  numerous  articles  that  have  ap- 
peared in  trade  journals  and  technical 
publications.  Mr.  Simmons  earned  de- 
grees in  forestry  from  Cornell  and  Yale 
Universities  and  has  been  engaged  in 
logging  work  since  1923,  when  he  went 
to  work  on  a  primitive  operation  in  the 
Adirondack^  of  his  native  New  York. 
Since  then  he  has  worked  on  and 
around  logging  operations  in  the  Pa- 
cific Northwest,  Arkansas,  the  South, 
and  the  Northeastern  States. 


695 


LOGGING  THE  PACIFIC  SLOPES 


NEWELL  L.  WRIGHT 


Lumbering  started  on  the  west  coast 
about  1850,  in  the  days  of  the  Gold 
Rush.  Sawmill  machinery  was  brought 
around  Cape  Horn  from  the  East  in 
sailing  vessels.  The  first  mills  were  for 
medium  and  small-sized  timbers.  Logs 
were  furnished  by  farmers  and  land 
clearers  from  the  timbered  areas  that 
adjoined  navigable  waters  wherever  it 
was  cheaper  to  put  them  in  a  stream 
than  to  pile  them  for  burning.  Much  of 
this  was  done  with  the  ax,  saw,  and  log 
jack,  toil  and  sweat,  grunt  and  groan. 

The  start  was  small  but,  step  by  step, 
production  increased,  and  machinery 
was  built  to  saw  the  larger  logs.  This 
called  for  more  power  in  the  woods. 

Timber  was  abundant — much  too 
much  for  the  early  settler,  whose  first 
thought  was  food  and  whose  first  prob- 
lem was  to  find  unforested  areas  or 
clear  fields  for  farming.  Fire  was  the 
great  land  clearer,  and  in  the  early 
1850's  great  forests  went  up  in  smoke. 
Soon  the  timber  line  receded,  and  the 
ox  team  and  skid  road  came  into  being. 
The  big  timber  started  moving  to  the 
crack  of  the  bull  whip  and  the  roar  of 
the  puncher. 

Horses  followed  the  ox  team ;  as  pro- 
duction increased,  speed  as  well  as 
power  was  needed.  The  proper  appli- 
cation of  gravity  was  the  influencing 
factor  in  logging  with  the  ox  and  horse 
team.  Grades  favorable  with  the  load 
were  necessary,  but  logging  shows  were 
plentiful,  and  no  great  engineering 
skill  was  needed. 

A  good  woodsman — usually  the  fore- 
man— did  the  locating.  Rough  ground 
and  poor  timber  stands  were  bypassed. 
Only  the  high-quality  timber  was  cut, 
and  only  the  best  logs  were  removed. 
The  margin  between  costs  and  recovery 
value  was  low,  and  low-grade  material 
could  be  handled  only  at  a  loss.  Fire 
ravaged  much  of  the  lands  that  were 
so  handled ;  some  remained  in  fair  con- 
dition, and  new  growth  was  started; 


practically  all  reverted  to  the  counties 
for  nonpayment  of  taxes. 

As  the  demand  for  lumber  increased 
and  transportation  facilities  (such  as 
adequate  ports  for  seagoing  vessels  and 
transcontinental  railroads  for  land 
shipments)  became  available,  domestic 
and  foreign  markets  expanded.  More 
production  was  needed.  In  logging  this 
meant  greater  increases  in  speed  and 
power.  In  the  early  eighties  there  was 
much  timber  near  the  mills,  but  some 
of  it  was  on  ground  unsuitable  for  ox- 
or  horse-team  logging.  Of  the  various 
steam-powered  machines  that  came 
into  use,  the  most  successful  was  the 
donkey  engine,  which  had  a  horizontal 
drum  and  a  vertical-type  boiler. 

Because  it  had  been  a  slow  and  la- 
borious job  to  haul  the  felled  and 
bucked  timber  to  the  skid  roads,  the 
first  donkey  engines  supplanted  the 
horses  and  oxen  in  this  work.  They 
were  strong  enough  to  pull  logs  out  of 
canyons  with  little  application  of 
blocks,  which  often  were  necessary 
when  horses  and  oxen  were  used.  For 
some  time  the  animals  were  still  used 
for  skid-road  work  and  for  hauling  the 
logs  to  the  water.  The  donkey  engine 
yarded  the  big  logs  to  the  road  and 
made  up  the  turn  for  its  trip  to  the 
water.  It  was  soon  found  that  a  ma- 
chine could  do  it  faster,  however,  so 
reading  donkeys  were  built.  These 
machines  were  bolted  to  huge  log  sleds, 
which  made  good  foundations  and 
made  the  unit  easily  movable  in  the 
woods.  The  unit  was  moved  by  hang- 
ing a  block  some  distance  ahead  and 
running  the  main  drum  line  out 
through  the  block,  then  back  to  the 
sled;  it  was  made  fast  on  the  sled 
runner.  By  applying  steam  to  roll  the 
drum,  the  unit  would  be  moved  toward 
the  block.  It  simply  pulled  itself  by 
its  own  power. 

The  reading  donkey  was  built  with 
huge  drums,  which  had  a  great  line 


696 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


capacity.  When  the  reading  distance 
got  greater  than  the  line  capacity  of 
one  machine,  often  one  and  sometimes 
two  more  machines  were  added  to  relay 
the  logs  to  the  water.  The  building  of 
donkey  sleds  and  skid  and  pole  roads 
became  a  craft  of  importance.  The 
skid-road  builder  sometimes  assisted 
the  foreman  in  making  the  location. 
Straight  roads  on  easy  grades  were 
most  desirable. 

Such  logging  was  successful  in 
limited  areas  of  timber,  but  soon  the 
length  of  haul  compelled  a  different 
line  of  action. 

The  demand  for  lumber  was  good. 
In  1899,  Douglas-fir  lumber  was  aver- 
aging almost  $9  a  thousand  at  the  mill. 
Eastern  lumbermen  were  becoming  in- 
terested in  the  big  timber  of  the  West. 
Large  consolidations  were  under  way. 
By  1905,  timberland  homesteads  were 
being  picked  up  for  $5  or  so  an  acre. 
At  the  turn  of  the  century  railroad 
logging  was  starting.  The  need  for  log- 
ging engineers  was  recognized.  Until 
colleges  supplied  the  training,  some  of 
the  best  logging  engineers  in  the  early 
days  were  trained  woodsmen,  self- 
educated  in  civil  engineering.  Logging 
railroads  became  the  principal  medium 
of  transporting  logs  to  the  mills;  it 
still  is  considered  the  cheapest  for  hauls 
of  more  than  50  miles  when  transpor- 
tation by  water  is  not  possible. 

Always  original  and  ever  a  pioneer, 
the  logger  did  not  follow  the  road 
specifications  of  the  regular  railroad 
systems.  Because  his  capital  was  more 
limited,  he  kept  construction  costs  at  a 
minimum,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  oper- 
ation. Seven-percent  favorable  grades 
and  20°  curves  were  common;  so  there 
was  need  for  the  geared  engine,  which 
sounded,  when  traveling  15  miles  an 
hour,  like  a  passenger  train  going  60. 
It  probably  has  delivered  more  logs  to 
waterways  at  lower  cost  than  any  other 
piece  of  transportation  equipment. 

In  the  western  woods  this  was  the 
age  of  steam.  Three  notable  western 
machinery  builders  expanded  into  the 
heavy  logging-equipment  field,  and  the 
competition  brought  about  great  ad- 


vances in  the  construction  of  the  don- 
key engine. 

DONKEY  ENGINES  were  generally 
listed  by  diameter  of  cylinder  and 
length  of  stroke  in  inches.  One  of  the 
first  prize  machines  was  a  7  by  9  inch, 
with  a  single  drum.  A  line  horse  was 
used  to  pull  the  cable  line  and  the 
choker — a  length  of  cable  with  a  flat 
hook  on  one  end  and  an  eye  in  the 
other  to  be  passed  around  the  log  and 
fastened  to  the  main  haul  line — back 
to  the  woods. 

On  rough  ground  the  haul-back  job 
became  too  hard  for  a  horse,  so  an  in- 
genious mechanical  engineer  designed 
the  haul-back  drum.  A  line  smaller 
than  the  main  line  was  found  sufficient 
for  this  work,  but  it  had  to  be  more 
than  twice  as  long,  because  it  went 
out  to  a  corner  haul-back  block  at 
about  the  main-line  length  from  the 
donkey  engine,  over  to  a  lead  haul- 
back  block.  From  there  it  was  strung 
to  and  hooked  on  the  main  line  at  the 
fair  leads,  on  the  end  of  the  donkey 
sled.  The  haul-back  line  had  first  to 
be  pulled  out  through  the  blocks  by 
hand  and  hooked  to  the  end  of  the 
main  line.  From  then  on,  steam  did 
the  work  until  the  line  needed  chang- 
ing to  reach  more  logs.  Laying  out 
the  haul-back  line  was  an  arduous  task 
and  all  hands  were  called  to  help.  To 
speed  up  the  job,  an  additional  drum 
was  added  to  the  machine.  This  held 
what  is  called  a  straw  line,  about 
three-eighths  inch  in  diameter,  which 
was  easier  strung  out  by  hand  and  was 
used  to  string  out  the  haul-back  line. 
On  simple  yarding  donkeys  this  is  the 
drum  arrangement  in  use  today. 

The  yarding  donkey,  sitting  at  a 
point  near  where  the  logs  were  to  go 
in  the  water,  on  a  skid  road,  or  on 
cars,  dragged  the  logs  in  a  straight 
line  from  a  distant  point.  Immovable 
objects,  such  as  stumps  and  trees  in 
the  line  of  travel,  had  to  be  avoided, 
or  the  log  rolled  or  kicked  around 
them  with  the  main  line.  The  logger's 
term  for  these  obstacles  was  "hang- 
ups." A  poorly  chosen  skid  road  caused 


Logging  the  Pacific  Slopes 


the  rigging  slinger  to  remark  that  he 
had  been  fighting  hang-ups  all  day.  The 
more  hang-ups,  the  fewer  logs  hauled 
out.  The  selection  of  good  donkey  set- 
tings and  skid  roads  greatly  influenced 
the  log  production  and  marked  the 
worth  of  the  crew  boss,  or  hook  tender. 

ASSEMBLING  LOGS  to  facilitate  load- 
ing on  cars  was  important  to  a  smooth- 
working  operation.  It  was  necessary  to 
accumulate  enough  logs  at  one  point 
so  that  a  well-balanced  carload  could 
be  formed.  This  was  done  by  building 
inclined  log-crib  landings  with  jump- 
up  approaches  so  the  logs  would  be 
hauled  first  to  the  higher  part  of  the 
landing  and  then  rolled  toward  the 
front. 

These  landings  served  only  the  tim- 
ber on  one  side  of  the  tracks  and  the 
setting  was  half  of  a  circle  or  square. 
The  selection  of  landings  was  influ- 
enced by  timber  and  topography. 
Because  some  of  the  small  operators 
located  their  roads  to  conform  with 
these  previously  chosen  landings,  ex- 
pensive mistakes  in  railroading  often 
resulted.  The  operators  who  controlled 
larger  bodies  of  timber  did  more  in- 
tensive planning  of  the  railroad  sys- 
tem, built  main  lines  to  more  exacting 
specifications,  and  depended  on  spurs 
to  reach  landings  that  had  been  chosen 
in  advance. 

Loading  in  the  west  coast  fir  re- 
gion— a  region  on  the  Pacific  slopes 
that  is  representative  of  two  distinct 
types — was  done  by  the  gin-pole 
crotch-line  method.  The  loader  was  set 
parallel  to  the  track  facing  the  landing. 
The  gin  pole  was  set  across  the  track 
from  the  landing  and  leaned  toward  it 
so  that  the  lead  block  was  about  plumb 
with  the  outside  rail.  In  the  early  set- 
ups, the  main  line  was  shackled  to  two 
loading  straps  of  equal  lengths,  and  on 
the  end  of  each  was  an  L-shaped  load- 
ing hook.  The  loaders  pulled  the  slack 
of  the  main  line  as  they  carried  the 
loading  hook  to  the  ends  of  the  log  for 
hooking.  The  loading  engineer  placed 
the  log  as  the  head  loader  required  by 
hoisting  it  and  judging  its  swing.  Soon 


697 


the  addition  of  a  haul-back  drum  less- 
ened the  work  of  getting  the  hooks 
back  over  the  log  as  well  as  regulating 
its  placement  on  the  car.  A  third  drum 
was  added  for  use  in  spotting  the  cars 
for  loading  when  the  train  crew  was 
away.  A  somewhat  similar  loading 
method  was  used  in  the  ponderosa  pine 
region — another  Pacific  slope  region — 
although  not  so  extensively. 

It  was  soon  found  that  logging  by  the 
ground-lead  method  resulted  in  less 
hang-up  delay  when  the  logs  were 
pulled  uphill  by  the  donkey.  The  log 
tended  to  follow  up  the  side  of  a  stump 
and  shear  away  from  it.  More  power 
and  speed  were  needed,  which  the  ma- 
chinery builders  supplied  when  they 
turned  out  the  10-  by  12-inch  and  11- 
by  13-inch  compound-geared  yarders 
with  extended  firebox  boilers.  Noting 
the  speed-up  resulting  from  fewer 
hang-ups,  a  versatile  logger  experi- 
mented with  fastening  a  heavy  yarding 
block  on  a  high  stump.  The  idea  caught 
on  at  once.  By  1918,  camp  after  camp 
had  gone  to  the  air,  in  a  manner  of 
speaking. 

HIGH -LEAD  LOGGING  was  under  way, 
and  the  lay  of  the  ground  brought  out 
various  adaptations  to  fit  the  problem. 

Through  the  years  many  changes 
have  been  made  in  loading  devices  in 
order  to  conform  to  the  progress  in 
high-lead  and  high-line  systems  of  log- 
ging. Among  these  various  methods  are 
the  McLean  boom,  the  single  tong 
boom,  and  the  duplex  system. 

In  the  early  1890's  logging  in  the 
pine  region  developed  in  a  big  way. 
Logs  rolled  out  in  an  almost  endless 
procession  of  splendidly  matched  four- 
horse  teams  and  big  wheels. 

Railroad  logging  outfits  had  their 
logs  loaded  on  cars  with  speed  and  pre- 
cision by  use  of  a  steam  jammer,  and 
large  production  was  maintained.  The 
steam  jammer  is  one  of  the  fastest  log 
loaders  in  use  even  today  and,  although 
in  more  general  use  in  the  pine  region, 
it  has  also  found  favor  among  some  of 
the  heavy  fir-log  producers. 

The  greater  flexibility  brought  about 


698 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


by  the  use  of  logging  trucks  demanded 
greater  flexibility  in  loading.  The  rapid 
movement  necessary  for  gathering 
right-of-way  logs  brought  about  the 
converted  shovel  loader,  and  finally 
the  more  mobile  rubber-tired  loader  of 
today. 

Generally  speaking,  logging  in  the 
pine  region  has  followed  a  different 
pattern  than  in  the  more  rugged  coun- 
try along  the  coast.  Some  use  has  been 
made  of  tight-line  skidders,  but  the 
small  volume  from  an  acre  called  for  a 
more  mobile  type  of  equipment.  The 
first  logging  trucks  with  hard  rubber 
tires  required  hard,  dry  soil  conditions 
in  the  woods.  Because  they  could  only 
be  used  on  good  roads,  they  did  not 
go  well  with  the  industry.  It  was  still 
necessary  to  have  a  railroad  for  an  all- 
year  operation.  Steam  logging  con- 
tinued to  a  large  extent  with  the  use 
of  railroads.  Urged  by  the  persistence 
of  high-ball  loggers,  who  demanded 
more  and  more  speed  and  power,  the 
machinery  manufacturers  built  enor- 
mous high-lead  units,  interlocking 
skidders,  and  slack-line  machines.  Only 
a  railroad  could  transport  those  heavy 
machines,  and  large  settings  were 
necessary  for  their  success.  With  these 
machines,  the  then  loggable  timber  was 
swept  from  large  continuous  areas. 
Very  little  reserve  timber  was  left  for 
a  seed  supply,  and  a  surge  of  public 
resentment  influenced  a  change  in 
cutting  methods. 

Near  the  middle  1920's,  logging  with 
steam  equipment  commenced  to  wane. 
Gradually  gasoline  and  Diesel-powered 
drum  units,  tractors,  and  pneumatic- 
tired  trucks  came  into  being;  they 
brought  with  them  better  trained  and 
more  skillful  mechanics  or,  as  the  log- 
gers said,  monkey-wrench  artists.  In- 
stead of  words  like  valve  oil,  gear  dope, 
donkey  doctors,  boiler  flues,  and  ash- 
pans,  we  now  hear  terms  like  cycles, 
torque  converters,  hydrotarders,  toler- 
ances, sludge,  and  floating  power. 

Soon  the  smaller  patches  of  timber 
left  by  the  early  horse  loggers  and 
ground-lead  operators  drew  the  atten- 
tion of  operators  with  little  capital — 


the  "gyppo  loggers."  By  building  truck 
roads  and  using  lighter  equipment,  the 
gyppo  started  the  era  of  truck  logging. 
With  the  pneumatic-tired  light  truck, 
he  found  he  could  operate  on  fairly 
low-standard,  cheaply  built  roads.  His 
first  drum  units  were  about  the  size  of 
those  used  on  the  old  7-  by  9-inch 
steam  donkey  and,  by  sprocket  and 
chain  adaptation,  connected  to  a  farm- 
type  tractor.  The  wheels  were  removed 
from  the  tractor  and  the  whole  unit 
mounted  on  a  log  sled.  This  was  light 
enough  to  haul  on  a  small  logging  truck 
and  made  a  quite  mobile  logging  unit. 
With  this  beginning — a  jump  from 
heavy  steam  equipment  back  to  light, 
mobile,  internal  combustion-driven 
donkey  engines — a  great  change  was 
made  in  logging  methods. 

As  the  most  accessible  of  the  scat- 
tered small  bodies  of  timber  were 
logged,  builders  of  machinery  were 
again  urged  to  turn  out  heavier  units. 
Better  roads,  bigger  trucks,  rougher 
ground,  and  a  fight  for  more  production 
and  lower  costs  have  brought  about 
the  larger  equipment  of  the  present. 

THE  OPERATION  least  affected  by 
change  of  methods  and  equipment 
probably  has  been  the  process  of  get- 
ting the  tree  down  on  the  ground. 

The  tree  is  still  being  cut  off  at  the 
stump  and  allowed  to  drop.  The  fall- 
ing equipment  has  changed  somewhat. 
In  the  early  days,  the  single-bit  pole 
ax  was  the  only  tool,  and  the  trees 
were  guided  to  their  fall  by  skilled 
choppers.  Later  the  ax,  improved  to 
a  double-bitted  falling  ax,  was  used 
only  in  making  the  under  cut,  and  the 
crosscut  saw  supplemented  it.  Then 
falling  of  timber  became  a  two-man 
job.  It  is  still  that,  but  now  one  or  two 
other  men,  called  buckers,  cut  the 
tree  into  log  lengths.  In  many  camps, 
power-driven  chain  saws  have  sup- 
planted the  crosscut  saw  but,  except 
for  skillful  control  of  the  direction  of 
the  fall  by  cutting  and  wedging,  no 
concerted  attempts  have  been  made  to 
let  the  tree  down  other  than  allowing 
it  to  crash.  Expert  fallers  use  other 


Logging  the  Pacific  Slopes 


699 


trees  to  some  extent  for  braking 
power  to  lessen  the  impact  on  the 
ground.  Sometimes  a  nesting  place  of 
level  ground  or  windrowed  slash  is  pre- 
pared to  receive  the  trees. 

As  the  valuable,  large,  high-quality 
trees  become  scarcer,  one  can  expect 
the  development  of  improved  timber- 
falling  units  that  will  cut  and  let  tim- 
ber down  in  places  more  accessible  for 
cutting  into  logs  and  moving  to  yards. 

Loggers  have  done  much  more  in- 
genious things  than  that,  and  when  the 
challenge  becomes  acute,  they  will 
meet  it;  they  will  perfect  some  device 
that  will  eliminate  breakage  and  allow 
them  carefully  to  analyze  the  tree,  cut 
it  to  quality  sections,  and  recover  the 
poorer  grades  in  sizes  that  are  easy  to 
handle.  Our  logged-over  areas,  covered 
with  large-diameter  broken  chunks, 
mixed  with  small  poles,  have  been  and 
still  are  the  eyesore  and  the  shame  of 
the  industry  and  the  public.  Things 
will  be  changed,  I  am  sure. 

So,  ALSO,  must  the  wood-using  in- 
dustry be  ready  to  welcome  change, 
because  it  is  affected  by  a  growing  de- 
mand for  products  from  the  forest.  In 
this,  the  handling  of  raw  products  of 
the  forest  is  always  the  challenging 
problem.  Research  in  forestry  has 
pointed  the  way  to  greater  yields  on 
forest  lands;  research  in  chemistry  has 
enlarged  the  scope  of  utilization;  next 
must  come  the  economical  harvesting 
of  forest  wastes.  Those  who  preach  the 
unfailing  abundance  of  forest  supply 
may  have  overlooked  the  steady  in- 
crease in  world  population  and  the 
growing  demands  for  products  from 
trees. 

To  meet  these  demands  and  keep 
the  lands  productive,  the  logger  is  face 
to  face  with  the  need  for  more  in- 
tensified harvesting  of  lower-quality 
material,  on  rougher  ground  over 
longer  hauls.  For  that,  he  has  the  help 
of  forest  technicians  and  civil  and  me- 
chanical engineers.  The  science  of 
forestry  must  be  linked  more  closely  to 
the  mechanics  of  logging  if  forest  land 
is  to  produce  its  maximum  growth. 


Logging  remains  a  problem  in  trans- 
portation, with  good  roads  a  control- 
ling factor.  The  life  of  a  road  is  its 
foundation  and  drainage  system.  For 
years  operators  have  built  railroads 
and  truck  roads  with  a  view  to  later 
abandonment,  because  they  were  built 
only  to  serve  the  timber  the  operators 
themselves  owned.  Often  permanent 
construction  was  unnecessary,  but  as 
public  timber  becomes  more  in  de- 
mand and  truck  logging  more  univer- 
sal, permanent  roads  will  be  more  com- 
mon and  requirements  of  base  and 
drainage  more  exacting.  As  hauls  get 
longer,  heavier  loading  is  required  and 
higher  speeds  demanded;  therefore, 
heavy-surfaced  roads  have  to  be  built. 

Further,  a  well-built  road  system, 
the  foundation  of  good  forest  manage- 
ment, makes  possible  the  removal  of 
overmature  timber;  closer  utilization 
of  low-grade  material,  which  is  a  re- 
quirement of  good  forestry;  more 
orderly  cutting;  and  the  seasonal  har- 
vesting of  the  higher-elevation  timber 
in  summer  and  the  lower-elevation  tim- 
ber in  winter.  Species  in  demand  can 
be  cut  when  needed  and  the  others  left 
for  future  harvesting.  The  cutting  sys- 
tems necessary  to  the  practice  of  good 
silviculture  and  good  fire  protection 
can  then  be  used  more  successfully. 

Years  ago,  it  was  found  that  better 
equipment  was  needed  to  speed  up 
road  construction.  The  pick  and  shovel 
and  wheelbarrow  were  replaced  by  the 
power  shovel  now  in  common  use  on 
construction  jobs.  In  1925,  while  con- 
structing roads  on  a  forest  project, 
technicians  of  the  Portland  office  of  the 
Forest  Service  fastened  a  revamped 
grader  blade  on  the  old  tractor  in  such 
a  way  that  they  could  push  dirt  with  it. 
They  proved  that  this  arrangement 
would  greatly  exceed  the  grading  work 
done  by  several  horse  teams  working 
with  Fresno  scrapers.  Their  experi- 
mental piece  of  equipment  was  the 
forerunner  of  a  great  development  in 
dirt-moving  practice — the  bulldozer, 
one  of  the  most  valuable  pieces  of  log- 
ging and  road-building  equipment  now 
in  use. 


7oo 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Hand  in  hand  with  the  road  system 
is  planning  the  method  of  cutting  that 
is  best  for  continued  forest  growth,  a 
method  that  takes  into  account  the 
ideal  control  of  the  fall  and  less  damage 
to  reserved  trees.  In  the  west  coast  fir 
region,  damage  in  falling  and  skidding 
is  serious,  because  the  accompanying 
species  are  apparently  more  susceptible 
to  fungus  attack  than  is  ponderosa 
pine.  Also,  the  stands  are  so  much 
denser  in  the  fir  region  that  damage  is 
greater. 

THE  METHOD  OF  CUTTING  by  the 
operators  of  private  timber  in  the  west 
coast  fir  region  has  been  to  clear  out 
the  areas  considered  recoverable  at  a 
profit.  In  the  early  days,  when  no  high 
lead  was  used,  it  was  possible  to  remove 
the  larger  timber  and  leave  a  certain 
amount  of  smaller  trees  to  continue 
growing.  The  remaining  trees  often  re- 
seeded  well.  Much  of  the  land,  aban- 
doned to  the  counties  for  taxes,  has 
since  been  purchased  by  small  opera- 
tors, and,  in  some  cases,  by  large  pulp 
concerns.  Now  the  remaining  large 
trees  are  being  removed  and  the  areas 
networked  with  roads  so  that  younger 
growth  can  be  logged  as  needed. 

When  the  operators  took  to  the  air, 
so  to  speak,  with  high  leads  and  sky- 
line logging,  they  ended  the  system  of 
heavy  selection  cutting.  From  1918  to 
1934,  clear  cutting  meant  taking  the 
timber  that  was  operable  at  a  profit 
and  leveling  the  rest  in  the  process. 
One  often  sees  logged-off  land  on 
which  10,000  board  feet  or  more  of 
good,  sound  timber  an  acre  has  been 
left  to  rot  or  to  be  burned.  Timber 
fallers  were  instructed  to  leave  timber 
less  than  20  inches  in  diameter  because 
it  did  not  pay  to  handle  it.  Pulling  in 
the  larger  logs  with  the  high  lead 
knocked  over  most  of  these  smaller 
trees.  Where  two-storied  stands  were 
common,  this  waste  of  small  timber 
became  enormous.  These  smaller  trees 
had  reached  an  age  where  the  annual 
growth  layer  was  of  high-quality  mate- 
rial. Everyone  recognized  that  cutting 
methods  had  to  be  changed. 


In  the  pine  region  also,  operators 
seemed  to  favor  clear  cutting.  The 
initial  stand  per  acre  was  small,  and  the 
operators  felt  it  necessary  to  remove 
most  of  it  to  amortize  the  opening-up 
costs.  Soon,  however,  it  was  found  that 
high  mortality  losses  necessitated  the 
coverage  of  the  area  in  a  shorter  span 
of  time  in  order  to  remove  first  the  trees 
most  susceptible  to  this  damage. 

In  both  regions,  the  necessary 
changes  in  cutting  methods  required 
changes  in  equipment.  Getting  over  the 
ground  faster  meant  more  roads  of  a 
permanent  character;  so  the  loggers 
turned  to  trucks  and  truck  roads.  The 
development  of  tractor  logging  got 
under  way  and  at  first  found  its  great- 
est success  in  the  pine  region,  where 
the  timber  is  less  dense,  the  slopes 
easier,  and  the  ground  drier. 

In  the  fir  region,  tractors  were  first 
tried  by  smaller  operators.  Their  use 
has  been  limited  by  conditions  of  topog- 
raphy and  soil.  Some  larger  operators 
use  them  on  favorable  shows  during 
the  drier  seasons.  As  was  the  case 
with  the  donkey  engine,  it  was  soon 
found  advantageous  to  have  an  up- 
ward pull  when  dragging  in  the  log. 
To  attain  this  the  logging  arch  was  de- 
signed as  an  attachment  to  the  farm 
and  industrial  tractor.  The  logging 
arch  is  cumbersome  and  rather  un- 
wieldy, and  its  use  results  in  consider- 
able yarding  damage  to  reserved  trees. 
On  steep  slopes  it  is  sometimes  impos- 
sible to  get  the  empty  arch  to  the  log, 
in  which  case  the  implement  is  un- 
hooked and  the  logs  are  dragged  on  the 
ground  behind  the  tractor. 

Sometimes,  when  the  logs  have  pre- 
viously been  piled  at  a  central  point, 
the  tractor  with  arch  is  used  on  well- 
defined  roads  to  relay  the  piles  to  load- 
ing-out points.  This  practice  is  called 
reading.  Some  operators  surface  these 
roads  where  the  volume  of  logs  in  the 
piles  warrants.  In  the  pine  region,  the 
accepted  cutting  method  is  individual 
tree  selection,  and  spectacular  skidding 
on  extremely  rough  territory  is  still 
done  with  horses  or  tractors.  In  the 
west  coast  fir  region,  the  extremely 


Logging  the  Pacific  Slopes 

rough  territory  is  almost  universally 
clear-cut  and  yarded  with  drum  units 
mounted  on  sleds  or  tractors. 

On  national  forests,  various  cutting 
methods  have  been  tested  through 
contractual  requirements  in  timber 
sales.  Individual  tree  selection  in  the 
ponderosa  pine  region,  with  varying 
degrees  of  cutting  to  meet  the  silvi- 


701 


cultural  requirements,  has  been  for 
some  time  a  required  practice.  In  the 
west  coast  fir  region,  where  silvicul- 
tural  and  mechanical  problems  are 
more  complicated,  more  and  more  di- 
versification is  to  be  found.  It  is 
easier  to  determine  the  undesirable 
cutting  practice  than  to  determine  the 
most  desirable  one  to  avoid  the  waste 
of  timber  that  comes  with  clear  cutting 
large  acreages  and  leaving  unused 
material  on  the  ground  and  to  avoid 
the  loss  of  production  if  the  cut  forest 
is  not  restocked  by  planting. 

To  clear-cut  small  spots  on  which 
the  trees  are  preponderantly  over- 
mature groups  is  considered  good  silvi- 
culture for  Douglas  fir,  which  does  not 
tolerate  shade  and  thrives  best  in  open 
areas.  When  the  cut  spots  are  small, 
fires  that  start  in  the  slash  are  more 
likely  to  be  controlled.  Small  cut-over 
areas  stand  a  good  chance  of  being 
reseeded  naturally  from  the  closely 
adjacent  timber.  The  Forest  Service 
requires  cutting  by  this  method  or  the 
tree-selection  method  on  its  sales  in 
the  west  coast  fir  region,  depending  on 
the  silvicultural  problems  confronted. 
Many  sales  of  both  types  on  national 
forests  have  been  processed  recently. 

Great  strides  have  been  made  in  log- 
ging equipment  and  cutting  methods; 
many  problems  remain  unsolved.  One 
of  the  greatest  is  the  salvage  logging 
of  broken  chunks,  decaying  wood, 
small  sizes,  and  stumps.  Some  progress 
is  being  made  in  removing  this  type 
of  material.  More  progress  will  come 
when  industrial  plants  needing  wood 
waste  become  so  numerous  that  the 
supply  of  mill  waste  will  not  keep  them 
operating  to  capacity.  Chemical  re- 
search has  made  possible  the  convert- 
ing of  practically  all  logging  waste 


to  valuable  products.  The  gathering, 
transporting,  and  processing  of  this 
material  into  clean  chips  is  yet  the  job 
that  commands  the  greatest  effort. 
Costs  eventually  must  be  lowered  to 
meet  the  competition  of  mill  waste; 
that  will  require  ingenuity  on  the  part 
of  the  logger.  Steps  made  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  transportation  facilities 
for  logging  the  virgin  timber  will,  of 
course,  greatly  assist  in  harvesting  the 
so-called  salvage  material.  The  equip- 
ment and  knowledge  required  to  get 
the  material  to  the  road  at  reasonable 
cost  will  follow.  We  can  feel  sure  that 
a  new  era  is  here  and  that  much  better 
use  of  the  wood  on  the  land  can  soon 
be  realized. 

NEWELL  L.  WRIGHT  grew  up  on  a 
small  ranch  in  Northwestern  Washing- 
ton. He  received  a  degree  in  logging 
engineering  at  the  University  of  Wash- 
ton  in  1913,  and  worked  in  private 
industry  as  logging  engineer  and  log- 
ging camp  superintendent  for  20  years. 
He  joined  the  Forest  Service  as  senior 
logging  engineer  in  1934  and  has  con- 
tinued in  that  capacity  in  the  North 
Pacific  region. 


PERCENTAGE  OF  OPERATING  ACREAGE  IN 
PROPERTIES  AND  WORKING  CIRCLES 
BEING  CUT  ON  A  SUSTAINED-YIELD 
BASIS,  UNITED  STATES,  1945 


Percent  on  sustained 
yield  by  grade  of 
cutting  * 

Ownership  class 

Total 

High 
order 

Good 

Fair 

Public: 

Pet. 

Pet. 

Pet. 

Pet. 

National  forests..  .  . 
Other  Federal  

71 
44 

10 

6 

47 
23 

H 
15 

State  and  local  

23 

I 

21 

I 

Private: 

Large  holdings  
Medium  holdings.  .. 

39 
9 

5 

i 

20 

3 

14 

5 

1  Cutting  rated  poor  or  destructive  excluded  as 
property  from  the  sustained-yield  classification. 


702 


THE  HISTORY  OF  FORESTRY  IN  AMERICA 


W.  N.  SPARHAWK 


The  history  of  forestry  in  the  United 
States  can  be  divided  into  five  periods. 

The  first,  the  colonial  period  ending 
in  1776,  was  characterized  by  a  grad- 
ual pushing  back  of  the  forests  to  make 
room  for  settlement,  nearly  all  east  of 
the  Allegheny-Appalachian  Range. 

The  second  period,  from  1776  to  the 
beginning  of  forestry  work  in  the  Fed- 
eral Department  of  Agriculture,  lasted 
just  100  years.  This  was  a  period  of 
forest  exploitation,  gradual  at  first,  but 
rapidly  increasing  after  about  1850. 

The  following  2 1  years,  also  a  period 
of  accelerated  exploitation,  was  marked 
by  the  campaign  of  public  education 
and  propaganda  that  finally  led  to  the 
establishment  of  a  forestry  policy  for 
Government  timberlands  in  1897. 

From  1897  to  1919  was  the  period  of 
development  of  the  national  forest  sys- 
tem and  the  establishment  of  a  forestry 
profession.  The  movement  for  conser- 
vation of  natural  resources  in  general 
also  took  shape  early  in  this  period. 

Finally,  the  period  since  1919  has 
been  marked  by  an  increasing  emphasis 
on  private  forestry,  both  in  legislation 
and  in  the  policies  of  the  forest-land 
owners  themselves. 

Several  salients  stand  out  in  the  story 
of  how  forestry  and  the  country  grew 
up  from  a  spoiled,  wasteful  childhood 
to  rational  adulthood.  In  its  broad 
outline,  forestry  in  the  United  States  is 
evolving  in  much  the  same  way  as  it 
did  in  Europe,  but  much  faster.  For- 
estry in  America  has  not  caught  up 
with  forestry  in  the  more  advanced 
European  countries,  but  we  have  come 
a  long  way  in  our  brief  period  as  a 
Nation,  and  the  progress  we  have  made 
came  not  from  slavishly  copying  the 
European  pattern;  American  forestry, 
as  it  grows  to  maturity,  tends  more  and 
more  to  become  indigenous. 

DURING  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD,  wood 
was  a  necessity,  but  it  was  overabun- 


dant and  free  for  the  taking.  The  for- 
ests harbored  Indians  and  wild  beasts 
and  encumbered  the  ground  needed  for 
crops  and  pastures.  So  the  pioneers,  in 
the  words  of  GifTord  Pinchot,  "came 
to  feel  that  the  thing  to  do  with  the  for- 
est was  to  get  rid  of  it." 

Local  wood  shortages  sometimes 
arose  near  the  larger  towns  despite  the 
abundant  supplies,  because  transporta- 
tion facilities  were  poor.  This  occasion- 
ally led  to  restrictions  on  cutting,  until 
the  timber  farther  back  could  be  open- 
ed up.  Timber  export  from  New  Eng- 
land began  with  or  before  the  first  set- 
tlement— masts  and  hand-made  staves, 
clapboards,  and  shingles  at  first,  and 
later  sawn  lumber,  staves,  and  ship  tim- 
bers. These  commodities  formed  the 
basis  of  a  thriving  trade  with  the  West 
Indies  and  with  Europe.  The  English 
Government,  anxious  to  insure  a  sup- 
ply of  masts  for  the  Royal  Navy  and  to 
prevent  other  countries  from  getting 
them,  attempted  to  reserve  all  white 
pine  trees  that  were  suitable  for  masts, 
but  succeeded  only  in  arousing  the  re- 
sentment of  the  colonists.  These  and 
similar  ordinances  and  regulations  were 
essentially  police  measures  for  the  pro- 
tection of  town  and  crown  property, 
and  had  nothing  to  do  with  forestry. 

Perhaps  the  best-known  attempt  at 
forest  conservation  during  the  colonial 
period  was  William  Penn's  provision, 
in  1681  or  1682,  that  an  acre  should  be 
maintained  in  forest  for  every  five 
cleared  in  lands  granted  by  him.  So  far 
as  known,  this  provision  was  not  long 
enforced. 

IN  THE  FIRST  CENTURY  of  independ- 
ence, settlement  spread  over  most  of 
the  country.  Transcontinental  railroads 
were  built.  Wooden  ships  were  on  their 
last  voyages.  The  westward  migration 
had  already  caused  the  abandonment 
of  many  farms  in  the  Northeast  and  the 
Southeast.  Most  of  the  old-growth 


The  History  of  Forestry  in  America 


white  pine  of  New  England  had  been 
cut;  that  in  New  York  and  Pennsyl- 
vania was  going  fast.  Pine  production 
in  the  Lake  States  was  approaching  its 
peak.  It  was  still  the  favored  species  for 
lumber,  for  the  sawmill  output  of  white 
pine  exceeded  that  of  all  other  species 
combined. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  concern  was  felt  over  local 
shortages  of  firewood  and  other  timber 
near  the  cities  and  over  the  supply  of 
ship  timbers.  In  1791  the  Philadelphia 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agricul- 
ture offered  medals  for  planting  locust 
for  posts  and  treenails.  The  Massachu- 
setts Society  offered  premiums  for 
growing  trees,  in  1804.  The  New  York 
Society  named  a  committee  to  study 
the  "best  mode  of  preserving  and  in- 
creasing the  growth  of  timber."  That 
or  another  committee,  in  a  report  in 
1795,  recommended  that  inferior  agri- 
cultural land  be  devoted  to  trees.  In 
1817  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
asked  its  State  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture to  encourage  the  growing  of  oaks 
for  ship  timbers;  in  1837  it  authorized 
a  survey  of  forest  conditions  in  the 
State,  with  the  idea  that  the  findings 
might  induce  landowners  to  consider 
the  importance  of  "continuing,  im- 
proving, and  enlarging  the  forests  of 
the  State." 

In  1 799,  the  Congress,  heeding  John 
Jay's  warning  that  ship  timbers  and 
masts  would  become  scarce  unless  steps 
were  taken  to  prevent  waste  and  pre- 
serve the  existing  supplies,  authorized 
President  Adams  to  spend  $200,000  to 
buy  reserves  of  live  oak  on  the  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  coasts.  That  was 
probably  the  first  appropriation  by  the 
Federal  Government  for  acquisition  of 
timberland. 

It  was  followed  several  years  later 
by  acts  authorizing  the  President  to 
reserve  public  lands  bearing  live  oak 
and  cedar  in  Florida,  Alabama,  and 
Louisiana;  to  purchase  similar  lands; 
to  conduct  experiments  in  the  planting 
and  cultivation  of  live  oak  (probably 
the  first  Federal  forestry  research)  ; 
and  to  take  appropriate  measures  to 


703 

prevent  depredations  and  preserve  live 
oak  stands.  Besides  the  small  areas 
bought  in  Georgia,  some  244,000  acres 
was  reserved  in  the  Gulf  States.  Mean- 
while, stealing  of  timber  from  the 
reservations  and  other  public  lands 
went  on  unchecked,  and  the  Govern- 
ment continued  to  sell  oak  timberland 
at  $1.25  an  acre  and  buy  stolen  oak 
timber  for  $1.50  a  cubic  foot.  The 
Louisiana  reservations  were  canceled 
in  1888. 

In  1831  Congress  prohibited  cutting 
live  oak  and  other  trees  on  naval  reser- 
vations or  any  other  lands  belonging 
to  the  United  States.  Although  sel- 
dom enforced,  the  act  remained  for 
almost  60  years  the  basic  and  only  law 
aimed  at  protecting  the  timber  on  Gov- 
ernment lands.  The  Commissioner  of 
the  General  Land  Office  attempted  to 
enforce  the  law  in  1851,  but  was  dis- 
missed for  doing  so.  Carl  Schurz  tried 
again  when  he  was  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  but  was  stopped  by  Congress 
in  1880. 

After  the  Civil  War,  citizens  began 
to  take  more  interest  in  forests ;  earlier 
they  generally  were  indifferent  to  them. 
The  heavy  requirements  for  wood  dur- 
ing the  war  and  the  extensive  destruc- 
tion in  some  areas  by  military  opera- 
tions, the  rapid  pace  of  lumbering  in 
the  Lake  States  and  the  widespread  de- 
struction by  forest  fires,  the  growing 
realization  of  the  relation  of  forests  to 
stream  flow  and  water  supplies — all 
caused  people  to  think  about  future 
timber  supplies  and  the  importance  of 
forest  cover. 

A  paper  by  the  Reverend  Frederick 
Starr,  in  the  report  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  for  1865,  is  said  to  have 
had  great  influence  on  the  forestry 
movement.  He  predicted  a  timber  fam- 
ine within  30  years  and  advocated  the 
immediate  undertaking  of  carefully 
planned  research  on  how  to  manage 
forests  and  how  to  establish  planta- 
tions. The  research,  he  maintained, 
should  be  done  by  a  Government-en- 
dowed private  corporation  in  order  to 
avoid  the  evils  of  the  spoils  system, 
frequent  changes  in  personnel,  and 


704 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


general  corruption  in  the  Government. 
That,  more  than  likely,  was  the  start 
of  the  movement  for  better  forest 
management. 

What  may  have  been  the  first  State 
commission  appointed  to  inquire  into 
the  forest  situation  and  recommend  a 
forestry  policy  for  the  State  was  set  up 
at  the  request  of  the  Wisconsin  Legis- 
lature in  1867.  The  resulting  report, 
by  I.  A.  Lapham,  failed  to  emphasize 
the  need  for  sustained-yield  manage- 
ment of  the  existing  forests  and  over- 
stressed  the  need  for  planting,  but 
demonstrated  clearly  the  relation  of 
forests  to  stream  flow.  No  action  was 
taken  on  the  report. 

Maine  appointed  a  commission  on 
forestry  policy  in  1869,  but  the  result 
was  some  relatively  unimportant  laws. 

A  New  York  commission  set  up  in 
1872  investigated  the  question  of  pre- 
serving the  Adirondack  forest  for  its 
effect  on  the  Hudson  and  other  rivers 
and  the  Erie  Canal.  No  action  was 
taken  at  that  time. 

From  1868  on,  tree  planting  caught 
the  public  attention  and  interest.  A 
number  of  States  enacted  laws  to  en- 
courage planting  by  offering  bounties 
or  by  granting  tax  reductions  or  exemp- 
tion. Arbor  Day  was  first  celebrated  in 
Nebraska  in  1872,  at  the  instigation 
of  J.  Sterling  Morton,  later  Secretary 
of  Agriculture.  Several  railroad  com- 
panies planted  trees  for  ties  and 
timber,  mostly  in  the  Great  Plains. 

The  Timber  Culture  Act,  passed 
by  Congress  in  1873,  offered  land  free 
to  settlers  who  would  plant  trees  on  40 
(later  reduced  to  10)  acres  of  each 
160-acre  claim. 

Opinions  differ  as  to  the  efficacy  of 
the  measures.  One  estimate  is  that  2 
million  acres  was  planted  under  the 
act  of  1873.  Others  report  that  most 
of  those  plantations  were  neglected 
and  died,  so  that  perhaps  not  more 
than  50,000  acres  could  be  considered 
successful.  Most  of  the  State  laws  are 
reported  to  have  accomplished  little, 
though  Governor  Morton  told  the 
American  Forestry  Congress  in  1885 
that  Nebraska  had  more  than  700,000 


acres  of  planted  trees.  B.  E.  Fernow,  in 
his  History  of  Forestry,  suggested  that 
Arbor  Days  may  have  retarded  real 
forestry  by  centering  attention  on 
planting,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  proper 
use  of  existing  forests,  and  by  intro- 
ducing poetry  and  emotional  appeal 
instead  of  practical  economic  consid- 
erations. 

The  first  systematic  effort  to  arouse 
public  interest  in  the  preservation  and 
conservative  use  of  the  natural  forest 
areas —  as  distinct  from  planting  of 
artificial  forests — was  instigated  by 
Franklin  B.  Hough's  address  before 
the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science  in  1873. 

The  speech  led  the  Association  to 
send  to  Congress  and  to  the  State  leg- 
islatures, in  1874,  a  memorial  that 
said: 

"The  preservation  and  growth  of 
timber  is  a  subject  of  great  practical 
importance  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  is  becoming  every  year  of 
more  and  more  consequence,  from  the 
increasing  demand  for  its  use;  and 
while  this  rapid  exhaustion  is  taking 
place,  there  is  no  effectual  provision 
against  waste  or  for  the  renewal  of 
supply.  .  .  .  Besides  the  economical 
value  of  timber  for  construction,  fuel, 
and  the  arts  .  .  .  questions  of  cli- 
mate .  .  .  the  drying  up  of  rivulets 
.  .  .  and  the  growing  tendency  to 
floods  and  drought  .  .  .  since  the  cut- 
ting off  of  our  forests  are  subjects  of 
common  observation.  .  .  ." 

The  Association  asked  Congress  to 
create  the  position  of  Federal  Commis- 
sioner of  Forestry,  whose  duties  would 
be  to  ascertain  ( 1 )  the  amount  and  dis- 
tribution of  woodlands  in  the  United 
States,  the  rate  of  consumption  and 
waste,  and  measures  necessary  to  in- 
sure adequate  future  supplies  of  tim- 
ber; (2)  the  influence  of  forests  on 
climate,  especially  in  relation  to  agri- 
culture; and  (3)  the  methods  of  for- 
estry practiced  in  Europe. 

THE  YEARS  FROM  1876  TO  1897 
brought  a  growth  in  national  and  State 
firest-land  policies.  The  Agriculture 


The  History  of  Forestry  in  America 


appropriation  bill  enacted  in  1876 
contained  a  rider  on  the  section  deal- 
ing with  free  seed  distribution,  which 
authorized  the  Commissioner  of  Agri- 
culture to  appoint,  at  a  salary  of 
$2,000,  "a  man  of  approved  attain- 
ments and  practically  well  acquainted 
with  the  methods  of  statistical  inquiry" 
to  investigate  and  make  a  detailed 
report  on  forestry. 

Dr.  Hough  was  appointed  to  the 
new  position,  and  his  three  voluminous 
reports,  published  in  1877,  1880,  and 
1882,  contained  much  significant  in- 
formation on  American  forests  and 
the  forest-products  industries  and  on 
European  forestry. 

A  fourth  volume  was  contributed 
in  1884  by  N.  H.  Egleston,  who  suc- 
ceeded Hough  in  1883.  At  that  time 
the  Division  of  Forestry,  which  had 
been  formally  established  in  1881,  con- 
sisted of  the  Chief  and  three  field 
agents,  and  received  an  appropriation 
of  $10,000. 

Both  Hough  and  Egleston,  and  the 
Commissioners  of  Agriculture,  were 
active  in  the  work  of  the  American 
Forestry  Association  and  the  American 
Forestry  Congresses.  The  Association 
was  organized  in  Philadelphia  in  1876 
for  the  purpose  of  "protection  of  the 
existing  forests  of  the  country  from 
unnecessary  waste,  and  the  promotion 
of  the  propagation  and  planting  of 
useful  trees."  In  calling  the  prelimi- 
nary organization  meeting  in  1875, 
John  A.  Warder  stated  as  one  objective 
of  the  proposed  association,  "The  fos- 
tering of  all  interests  of  forest  planting 
and  conservation  on  this  continent." 
The  term  "forest  conservation,"  there- 
fore, was  in  use  more  than  30  years 
before  it  was  taken  up  and  popularized 
by  Gifford  Pinchot  and  Theodore 
Roosevelt. 

The  Association  was  not  very  active, 
but  took  on  new  life  in  1882  when  it 
merged  with  the  American  Forestry 
Congress,  organized  earlier  that  year 
on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  by  Baron  von 
Steuben,  a  Prussian  forester  and  de- 
scendent  of  the  general  who  helped 
defeat  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown. 

802062°— 49 46 


705 

The  constitution  of  the  merged  as- 
sociation, drafted  under  the  leadership 
of  B.  E.  Fernow,  specified  as  its  objec- 
tives "the  discussion  of  subjects  relat- 
ing to  tree  planting;  the  conservation, 
management,  and  renewal  of  forests; 
the  climatic  and  other  influences  that 
affect  their  welfare;  the  collection  of 
forest  statistics;  and  the  advancement 
of  educational,  legislative,  or  other 
measures  tending  to  the  promotion  of 
these  objects." 

The  new  organization  met  one  or 
more  times  each  year  and  was  active  in 
drafting  proposals  for  both  State  and 
Federal  legislation.  At  a  meeting  in 
1886  in  Denver,  two  resolutions  were 
adopted : 

"That  the  public  lands  at  the 
sources  of  streams,  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  the  water  supply, 
should  be  granted  by  the  General  Gov- 
ernment to  the  several  States,  to  be 
held  and  kept  by  such  States  in  per- 
petuity, for  the  public  use,  with  a  view 
to  maintaining  and  preserving  a  full 
supply  of  water  in  all  rivers  and 
streams." 

"That  fire  is  the  most  destructive 
enemy  of  the  forest,  and  that  most 
stringent  regulations  should  be  adopted 
by  the  National  and  State  and  Terri- 
torial governments  to  prevent  its  out- 
break and  spread  in  timber  stands." 

Largely  through  the  influence  and 
encouragement  of  the  American  For- 
estry Congress,  several  local  or  State 
associations  were  formed;  they  were 
responsible  for  the  formulation  and 
enactment  of  a  number  of  State 
forestry  policies. 

Colorado  was  the  first  State  to  make 
provision  for  management  of  its  forest 
lands.  Its  constitution,  adopted  when 
it  was  admitted  to  the  Union  in  1876, 
directed  the  legislature  to  provide  for 
protection  and  management  of  State 
forest  lands.  Nothing  was  done  until 
1885,  when  a  Forestry  Commission  was 
created,  but  the  Commission  was  ac- 
tive for  only  a  few  years.  The  Colorado 
Constitutional  Convention  also  asked 
Congress  to  turn  over  control  of  Fed- 
eral forest  lands  to  the  States  and  Ter- 


706 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ritories  in  regions  where  irrigation  is 
necessary,  for  the  reason  that  the  ex- 
isting system  of  public-land  disposal, 
if  continued,  would  injure  Colorado 
and  "bring  destruction  and  calamity 
upon  the  entire  population  of  the  so- 
called  Far  West."  No  action  was  taken 
on  the  recommendation. 

In  California,  also,  a  State  Board  of 
Forestry,  established  in  1885,  urged  in 
its  first  report  that  all  Federal  and 
State  timberlands  not  fit  for  agricul- 
ture be  permanently  reserved  and  put 
in  charge  of  forestry  officers.  In  1888 
a  resolution  of  the  legislature  asked 
Congress  to  stop  disposing  of  Federal 
forest  lands  in  California  and  to  pre- 
serve them  permanently  for  protection 
of  watersheds. 

New  York,  in  1883,  carried  out  the 
recommendations  made  11  years  ear- 
lier and  stopped  the  sale  of  tax- 
reverted  forest  lands  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks.  In  1885  a  Forestry  Commission 
was  set  up,  with  an  appropriation  of 
$15,000,  to  organize  a  State  forest- 
protection  system  and  administer  the 
State's  forest  reserve,  the  primary  ob- 
ject of  which  was  the  protection  of 
water  supplies,  not  timber  production. 
Suspicion  soon  arose  that  the  Forest 
Commissioners  were  working  for  the 
interests  of  the  lumbermen,  so  a  con- 
stitutional amendment  in  1894  pro- 
hibited the  cutting  of  timber  and 
required  that  the  reserve  be  kept  for- 
ever in  a  wild  condition. 

Pennsylvania  created  a  Division  of 
Forestry  in  its  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture in  1895  to  collect  and  publish  in- 
formation on  forest  resources,  enforce 
the  fire  laws,  give  advice  on  forestry, 
compile  statistics  on  timber  production 
and  consumption,  and  manage  all  for- 
est lands  belonging  to  the  State.  In 
1897  provision  was  made  for  purchase 
of  tax-delinquent  forest  lands,  to  es- 
tablish "a  forestry  reservation  system 
having  in  view  the  preservation  of  the 
water  supply  at  the  sources  of  the  rivers 
of  the  State,  and  for  the  protection  of 
the  people  of  the  Commonwealth  and 
their  property  from  destructive  floods." 
Another  law  in  1897  directed  the  com- 


missioner to  recommend  to  the  Gover- 
nor or  the  legislature  three  forest  res- 
ervations of  not  less  than  40,000  acres 
each,  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio, 
Delaware,  and  Susquehanna  Rivers,  to 
be  acquired  by  purchase.  By  1910  the 
State  had  acquired  more  than  900,000 
acres  under  these  acts. 

At  the  time  that  Western  States  were 
urging  the  reservation  of  public  lands 
and  when  the  Forestry  Congress  pro- 
posed their  transfer  to  the  States,  the 
Federal  Government  had  made  no 
move  to  withhold  them  from  disposal 
and  only  occasional  gestures  to  protect 
them  from  fires  and  depredation. 

Carl  Schurz,  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior from  1877  to  1881,  repeatedly, 
but  vainly,  urged  the  reservation  of  all 
public-domain  timberlands  and  their 
protection  and  conservative  manage- 
ment. Numerous  bills  looking  to  this 
end  were  introduced  in  almost  every 
Congress  from  1876  on. 

Finally,  in  1891,  largely  on  the  in- 
sistence of  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
Noble,  a  rider,  which  Gifford  Pinchot 
called  "the  most  important  legislation 
in  the  history  of  forestry  in  America," 
was  attached  to  an  act  amending  the 
land  laws.  It  authorized  the  President 
to  reserve  forest  lands  of  the  public 
domain,  whether  bearing  commercial 
timber  or  not,  in  any  State  or  Terri- 
tory having  Federal  land.  President 
Harrison  acted  promptly  and  pro- 
claimed the  first  reserve,  the  Yellow- 
stone Park  Timberland  Reserve,  on 
March  30,  1891.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  national  forest  system. 
More  reservations  followed  by  Presi- 
dent Harrison  and  then  by  President 
Cleveland. 

Congress  failed  to  provide,  however, 
for  the  protection  and  administration 
of  the  reserves,  nor  was  there  any  legal 
way  in  which  timber  could  be  sold  or 
forest  management  applied.  Timber 
thieves  and  graziers  continued  to  oper- 
ate without  restriction.  Bills  were  intro- 
duced in  each  Congress  to  remedy  the 
situation.  In  1894  the  McRae  bill, 
drafted  by  B.  E.  Fernow,  Chief  of  the 
Division  of  Forestry  since  1886,  was 


The  History  of  Forestry  in  America 


passed  by  both  Houses  but  too  late  for 
agreement  in  conference.  This  bill  was 
passed  again  by  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  1896,  but  not  by  the  Sen- 
ate. Meanwhile,  through  efforts  of  the 
American  Forestry  Association,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  Hoke  Smith  in 
1896  was  induced  to  ask  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  to  study  and 
report  on  the  problem. 

After  a  trip  to  look  over  the  situa- 
tion in  the  West,  the  Committee  set  up 
by  the  Academy,  being  unable  to 
agree  on  recommendations  for  admin- 
istration of  the  forests,  merely  recom- 
mended the  establishment  of  some  21 
million  acres  of  new  forest  reserves. 
In  order  to  act  before  his  term  ex- 
pired, President  Cleveland  proclaimed 
these  reservations  without  the  custo- 
mary consultation  with  local  people 
and  Members  of  Congress.  His  act 
aroused  opposition  throughout  the 
West,  especially  because  it  merely 
locked  up  the  resources  without  provi- 
sion for  their  use,  and  Congress  sus- 
pended temporarily  all  but  two  of  the 
reservations. 

However,  the  act  suspending  the  res- 
ervations (the  Sundry  Civil  Appro- 
priation Act  of  June  4,  1897)  carried 
an  amendment  by  Senator  Pettigrew 
that  provided  for  administration  and 
management  of  existing  and  future 
reserves,  much  as  proposed  in  the 
McRae  bill  of  1894.  This  amendment 
is  the  charter  on  which  the  operation 
of  the  national  forests  has  been  based. 

Among  its  important  provisions  is  a 
statement  of  objectives: 

"No  public  forest  reservation  shall 
be  established  except  to  improve  and 
protect  the  forest,"  secure  "favorable 
conditions  of  water  flow,"  and  "fur- 
nish a  continuous  supply  of  timber  for 
the  use  and  necessities  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States."  The  principal 
specifications  regarding  administration 
and  use  of  the  reserves  are  the  instruc- 
tions to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to 
make  provision  for  protection  against 
fire  and  trespass;  to  make  rules  and 
regulations  for  occupancy  and  use  of 
the  reserves  and  their  products ;  to  sell, 


707 

after  due  examination  and  appraisal, 
dead  and  mature  timber;  and  to  allow 
free  use  of  timber  by  bona  fide  settlers 
and  others  for  their  domestic  needs. 

Management  of  the  public  forests — 
and  of  private  forests,  too — required 
more  than  legislative  authority  and 
appropriations.  Without  an  adequate 
basis  of  scientific  knowledge  (meaning 
research)  and  an  adequate  staff  of 
technical  foresters  (meaning  a  forestry 
profession),  good  forest  management 
would  be  impossible. 

As  Fernow  told  the  American  For- 
estry Congress  in  1885: 

"Generalities  on  forest  preservation 
or  forest  destruction  and  forestal  influ- 
ences have  become  trite  and  their  con- 
stant reiteration  without  positive  data 
will  dull  the  interest  of  listeners  and 
readers,  create  suspicion  and  defection. 
We  need  definite,  well-authenticated 
local  observations,  arrived  at  by  well- 
described  scientific  methods;  we  need 
methodical  work  in  establishing  the 
conditions  of  growth  for  different  spe- 
cies, their  behavior  towards  the  soil  and 
towards  each  other  in  different  soils, 
their  rate  of  growth  at  different  pe- 
riods of  life  under  different  conditions. 
In  fact,  besides  making  propaganda, 
we  should  by  concerted  effort  establish 
the  principles  upon  which  the  forestry 
we  advocate  is  to  be  carried  on." 

Unfortunately,  the  Division  of  For- 
estry in  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, during  its  first  20  years,  found 
itself  unable  to  carry  on  much  scien- 
tific research  in  the  woods,  because  it 
controlled  no  forest  land,  could  not  get 
permission  to  use  public  timberlands 
or  military  reservations,  and  was  not 
allowed  to  use  the  private  lands  for 
fear  of  criticism  that  public  money 
was  being  used  for  the  benefit  of  pri- 
vate individuals. 

The  States  were  repeatedly  urged  by 
Fernow  and  his  predecessors,  speaking 
through  the  forestry  associations  and 
congresses,  to  undertake  forestry  re- 
search at  their  land-grant  colleges  and 
experiment  stations,  but  the  result  ap- 
pears to  have  been  small.  The  Division 
cooperated  with  the  State  agricultural 


708 


YearbooJ^  of  Agriculture  1949 


experiment  stations  in  a  few  experi- 
ments, mainly  in  planting,  including 
experimental  planting  in  the  Nebraska 
Sand  Hills  and  cultivation  of  cork  oak 
from  imported  acorns.  Monographs 
were  prepared,  by  the  botanists  rather 
than  foresters,  on  several  important 
timber  trees. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Division's 
activity  between  1886  and  1898  was 
devoted  to  forest-products  research, 
which  Fernow  believed  would  encour- 
age better  and  more  economical  use  of 
wood  and  reduce  waste,  and  would 
make  industrial  and  other  timber  own- 
ers take  an  interest  in  conservation  of 
timber  resources.  Among  the  subjects 
investigated  were  the  use  of  chestnut 
oak  as  a  substitute  for  white  oak  rail- 
road ties,  the  use  of  metal  ties  to  re- 
place wood,  tannin  content  of  chestnut 
and  other  woods,  strength  properties 
of  turpentined  pine  (until  then  con- 
sidered inferior  to  unbled  timber) ,  blue 
stain  of  southern  pine  and  yellow-pop- 
lar lumber,  and  timber  physics. 

Regarding  the  need  for  trained  for- 
esters, Hough's  paper  on  "Forestry 
Education,"  presented  at  the  Ameri- 
can Forestry  Congress  in  St.  Paul  in 
1883,  is  illuminating.  He  believed  that 
lectures  on  the  importance  of  forests 
should  be  given  in  all  primary  and 
secondary  schools,  but  he  saw  no  need 
for  technical  training  in  forestry.  Not- 
ing a  proposal  for  a  Federal  forestry 
school  in  St.  Paul,  he  asked  where  the 
graduates  would  find  employment,  and 
said : 

"Neither  the  general  nor  the  State 
governments  have  any  systems  of  for- 
est management  needing  their  services. 
There  may  be  a  few  railroad  compa- 
nies who  would  employ  one,  but  this  is 
not  certain,  and  as  to  private  estates, 
I  know  of  none  upon  which  such  a 
person  would  be  likely  to  find  an  en- 
gagement. .  .  .  We  do  not  for  the  pres- 
ent, and  perhaps  for  many  years  to 
come,  require  a  class  of  persons  who 
have  been  specially  trained  to  the  de- 
gree that  is  deemed  necessary  in  the 
better  class  of  forest  schools  in  Europe, 
because  such  persons  could  not  find 


employment  either  in  charge  of  public 
or  private  forests  at  the  present 
time.  .  .  ." 

It  should  be  noted  that  neither 
Hough  nor  Egleston  had  any  technical 
knowledge  of  forestry  except  what 
they  may  have  picked  up  in  the  course 
of  their  work.  Fernow  was  the  first 
technically  trained  forester  in  Govern- 
ment service  but,  as  he  admits,  he  was 
at  a  disadvantage  because  he  was  "a 
foreigner  who  had  first  to  learn  the 
limitations  of  democratic  government." 
Partly  as  a  result  of  urging  by  the 
forestry  associations  and  the  reports 
of  State  commissions  of  inquiry,  for- 
estry instruction  was  introduced  into 
the  curricula  of  many  of  the  land- 
grant  colleges  beginning  about  1883. 
There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  as 
to  which  was  the  first  to  include  such 
a  course,  but  there  was  one  at  Iowa 
State  College  in  1883,  in  9  or  10  insti- 
tutions by  1887,  and  in  some  20  by 
1898. 

During  the  last  two  decades  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  there  were  fre- 
quent expressions  of  concern  over  de- 
pletion of  timber  supplies  in  the  East. 
Manufacturers  frequently  complained 
of  difficulties  in  getting  supplies  of  ash, 
hickory,  white  oak,  walnut,  and  high- 
grade  white  pine — the  same  species 
that  we  hear  about  in  1949.  In  1883, 
George  Loring,  then  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture,  stated  that  white  pine  was 
nearly  gone  in  New  Hampshire  and 
New  York,  and  going  rapidly  in  the 
other  Northeastern  States;  that  only 
10  to  20  years'  supply  remained  in  the 
Lake  States,  and  that  eastern  spruce 
was  nearly  exhausted.  In  1887  it  was 
reported  that  shiploads  of  pine  were 
coming  into  the  United  States  from 
Russia.  In  1889  Professor  Prentiss  of 
Cornell  predicted  that  hemlock,  "the 
most  valuable  tree  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, except  white  pine,"  would  be 
exhausted  in  20  to  30  years  at  the  cur- 
rent rate  of  cutting.  Evidently  southern 
pine  was  not  well  thought  of  in  the 
New  York  market  at  that  time. 

In  1890  Fernow  reported  to  the 
American  Forestry  Congress:  "While 


The  History  of  forestry  in  America 
the  area  of  forests  in  the  United  States 


709 


Fernow 


probably  does  not  diminish  now  at  as      Forest 

rapid  a  rate  as  it  used  to,  the  value  of  "To  have  established  the  conception 
the  remaining  area  is  very  rapidly  de- 
preciating, not  only  by  removing  the 
accumulated  supplies,  but  by  cutting 
the  best  and  leaving  the  inferior  mate- 
rial, by  neglecting  to  give  attention  to 
the  reproduction  of  the  better  kinds, 
or  even  by  recurring  fires  destroying 
the  capacity  for  such  reproduction." 

In  1892  Fernow  expressed  regret 
that  the  funds  were  inadequate  for  test- 
ing all  of  the  important  woods,  because 
there  was  considerable  demand  for 
tests  of  species  which,  though  "still 
more  or  less  unknown  .  .  .  are  now 
being  drawn  upon  to  eke  out  the  defi- 
ciency of  supply  of  the  better-known 
kinds."  Those  unknown  species  in- 
cluded Douglas-fir,  cedars,  sugar  pine, 
and  baldcypress. 

As  another  evidence  of  the  concern 
felt  by  some  members  of  the  industry 
over  waning  timber  supplies,  there  may 
be  mentioned  the  paper  presented  by 
H.  G.  Putnam,  a  Wisconsin  lumber- 
man, which  called  for  action  by  Con- 
gress for  protection  against  fires  and 
protection  of  young  trees  in  logging — 
both  to  insure  a  future  timber  supply 
and  to  protect  stream  flow. 

The  accomplishments  of  the  forestry 
movement  prior  to  1898  have  been 
criticized  on  the  ground  that  there 
was  much  forestry  in  words  but  none 
in  the  woods.  It  is  important  to  realize, 
however,  that  without  the  many  years 
of  propaganda,  of  learning  and  in- 
forming at  least  part  of  the  public 
regarding  the  facts  of  the  forest  situa- 
tion and  the  need  for  doing  something 
about  it,  the  conservation  movement 
of  the  early  1900's  would  likely  have 
been  a  dud.  It  is  necessary  to  remem- 
ber, also,  that  there  were  almost  no 
trained  foresters  to  carry  forestry  into 
the  woods  before  1898.  The  Division  of 
Forestry  and  the  associations  not  only 
were  successful  in  stimulating  public 
interest  in  forestry  problems,  but  they 
had  a  large  share  in  developing  public 
forestry  policies  and  in  drafting  basic 
legislation,  both  Federal  and  State.  As 


said,    in    his    Report    upon 
try  Investigations,  1877-98: 

o  have  established  the  concej 

that  forestry,  silviculture,  and  forest 
preservation  are  not  the  planting  of 
trees,  but  cutting  them  in  such  a  manr 
ner  that  planting  becomes  unnecessary, 
is  one  of  the  most  potent  results  of 
the  efforts  of  the  Division  of  Forestry. 
...  For  preservation,  it  must  by  this 
time  have  become  clear,  does  not  con- 
sist in  leaving  the  forests  unused,  but  in 
securing  their  reproduction." 

Pointing  out  that  by  1898  the  lum- 
ber-trade journals  gave  respectful 
hearing  to  the  advocates  of  forestry 
whom  they  had  ridiculed  as  "denud- 
atics"  only  12  years  before,  Fernow 
goes  on  to  say: 

"The  time  has  come  when  it  [the 
Division]  should  not  only  more  vigor- 
ously pursue  technical  investigations, 
but  when  it  should  have  charge  of  the 
public  timberlands,  and  especially  the 
public  forest  reservations,  which  will 
never  answer  their  purpose  until  con- 
trolled by  systematic  management.  .  .  . 
A  Division  of  Forestry  in  a  government 
which  has  reserved  millions  of  acres  of 
forest  property  must  logically  become 
the  manager  of  that  forest  property." 

BETWEEN  1897  AND  1919,  the  na- 
tional forest  policy  developed. 

As  directed  by  the  act  of  June  4, 
1897,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  im- 
mediately undertook  to  provide  for  the 
protection  and  administration  of  the 
forest  reserves.  The  task  was  assigned 
to  the  General  Land  Office,  which  ap- 
pointed a  field  force  of  forest  super- 
intendents, rangers,  and  others,  and 
an  office  staff  in  Washington.  None 
of  them  had  any  technical  knowledge 
of  forestry,  and  it  was  not  until  1902 — 
when  a  tentative  arrangement  for  the 
Bureau  ("Division"  until  1901)  of 
Forestry  in  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture to  handle  the  forestry  work  on 
the  reserves  fell  through — that  the 
General  Land  Office  set  up  its  own 
technical  forestry  division.  FilibertRoth 
was  put  in  charge  of  the  work.  He  bor- 
rowed several  men  from  the  Bureau  of 


710 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


Forestry,  but  he  stayed  only  a  year  and 
then  left  to  head  the  forestry  school 
that  was  being  established  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan. 

Meanwhile,  Dr.  Fernow  had  left  the 
Government  service  in  1898  to  organ- 
size  the  school  of  forestry  at  Cornell. 
The  only  other  systematic  instruction 
in  forestry  at  that  time  was  the  ele- 
mentary instruction  given  at  some  20 
land-grant  colleges  and  the  short 
course  offered  at  Biltmore,  N.  G.,  by 
G.  A.  Schenck,  a  German  forester. 

Gifford  Pinchot  succeeded  Fernow 
as  Chief  of  the  Division  of  Forestry  in 
1898.  He  undertook  to  introduce  bet- 
ter forestry  methods  into  the  opera- 
tions of  the  private  owners,  large  and 
small,  by  helping  them  make  working 
plans  and  by  demonstrating  good  prac- 
tices on  the  ground.  There  were  then 
only  two  technical  foresters  and  nine 
other  employees  on  the  staff  of  the  Di- 
vision, and  probably  fewer  than  a  dozen 
foresters  in  the  country.  Accordingly, 
a  start  toward  building  up  a  profes- 
sion was  made  by  recruiting  student 
assistants  who  had  an  inclination  and 
aptitude  for  forestry  and  who  would 
supplement  academic  work  with  field 
experience  in  the  Division.  In  order  to 
provide  a  high  grade  of  forest  training 
suited  to  American  conditions,  the 
Pinchot  family  provided  an  endow- 
ment for  a  2-year  postgraduate  school 
at  Yale  University.  H.  S.  Graves  and 
J.  W.  Tourney  were  released  from  the 
Division  in  1900  to  start  the  school.  In 
the  fall  of  1900,  the  Cornell  school  had 
24  students,  Biltmore  9,  and  Yale  7. 
(In  1946  there  were  some  6,000  Ameri- 
can-trained professional  foresters. ) 
During  the  next  few  years  schools  or 
departments  of  forestry  were  organized 
at  the  University  of  Michigan,  Har- 
vard, University  of  Nebraska,  Mont 
Alto,  Pa.,  Pennsylvania  State  College, 
and  elsewhere. 

In  1900,  under  Pinchot' s  leadership, 
the  Society  of  American  Foresters  was 
founded.  It  had  seven  charter  mem- 
bers. The  objects  of  this  professional 
society  are:  "To  further  the  cause  of 
forestry  in  America  by  fostering  a 


spirit  of  comradeship  among  foresters ; 
by  creating  opportunities  for  a  free 
interchange  of  views  upon  forestry  and 
allied  subjects;  and  by  disseminating 
a  knowledge  of  the  purpose  and 
achievements  of  forestry." 

In  1901  the  newly  christened  Bu- 
reau of  Forestry  was  given  broader 
authority  to  make  working  plans  for 
private  owners,  and  much  larger  ap- 
propriations than  had  been  available 
to  the  Division.  The  forest-products 
research  that  had  been  stopped  shortly 
before  Fernow  left  was  resumed,  along 
much  the  same  lines  as  before.  In 
1910  the  products  work  was  centered 
at  the  Forest  Products  Laboratory, 
operated  in  cooperation  with  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin  at  Madison.  In 
1902  the  earlier  experimental  planting 
in  the  Nebraska  Sand  Hills  was  fol- 
lowed up  by  reservation  of  part  of  the 
area  and  planting  on  a  fair  scale. 

The  unsatisfactory  situation  in 
which  the  Federal  forest  reserves  were 
administered,  in  a  different  depart- 
ment from  that  in  which  the  Govern- 
ment's technical  forestry  work  had 
been  established,  rapidly  became  a  ma- 
jor issue.  Theodore  Roosevelt's  first 
message  to  Congress  in  1901  and  the 
report  of  a  commission  on  the  organi- 
zation of  Government  scientific  work 
in  1903  reiterated  earlier  proposals 
that  all  responsibility  for  the  reserves 
be  transferred  to  the  Department  of 
Agriculture.  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
Hitchcock  also  supported  the  proposal. 
Finally,  a  special  American  Forestry 
Congress  met  in  Washington  in  Janu- 
ary 1905  for  the  specific  purpose  of 
bringing  about  the  transfer.  The  meet- 
ing was  sponsored  by  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  the  heads  of  the  Geologi- 
cal Survey,  Reclamation  Service,  and 
General  Land  Office,  the  president  of 
the  National  Lumber  Manufacturers' 
Association,  the  presidents  of  the  Na- 
tional Livestock  and  National  Wool- 
growers'  Associations,  the  presidents  of 
the  Union  Pacific  and  Great  Northern 
Railroads,  and  the  head  of  the  Weyer- 
haeuser lumber  companies.  The  reso- 
lutions adopted  by  the  gathering  no 


The  History  of  Forestry  in  America 


doubt  helped  consummate  the  trans- 
fer, which  was  made  by  act  of  Con- 
gress on  February  1,  1905.  The  Bureau 
of  Forestry  was  renamed  Forest  Service 
that  year,  and  the  forest  reserves  were 
renamed  "national  forests"  in  1907. 

In  a  letter  to  Gifford  Pinchot,  dated 
February  1,  1905,  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture James  Wilson  laid  down  the 
guiding  principles.  The  letter  read,  in 
part : 

"In  the  administration  of  the  forest 
reserves  it  must  be  clearly  borne  in 
mind  that  all  land  is  to  be  devoted  to 
its  most  productive  use  for  the  perma- 
nent good  of  the  whole  people,  and 
not  for  the  temporary  benefit  of  indi- 
viduals or  companies.  All  the  resources 
of  forest  reserves  are  for  use,  and  this 
use  must  be  brought  about  in  a  thor- 
oughly prompt  and  businesslike  man- 
ner, under  such  restrictions  only  as 
will  insure  the  permanence  of  these 
resources. 

"In  the  management  of  each  reserve 
local  questions  will  be  decided  upon 
local  grounds;  the  dominant  industry 
will  be  considered  first,  but  with  as 
little  restriction  to  minor  industries  as 
may  be  possible;  sudden  changes  in 
industrial  conditions  will  be  avoided 
by  gradual  adjustment  after  due  no- 
tice; and  where  conflicting  interests 
must  be  reconciled  the  question  will 
always  be  decided  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest 
number  in  the  long  run." 

Activities  in  1908  and  1909  can  be 
regarded  as  the  culmination  of  the  early 
conservation  movement.  The  White 
House  Conference  of  Governors  on 
conservation  of  natural  resources  was 
conducted  in  1908.  It  set  up  a  National 
Conservation  Commission  which,  in  a 
three-volume  report  ( 1909) ,  presented 
a  survey  of  the  status  of  America's 
natural  resources,  including  forests. 
Also  in  1909  was  held  the  North  Amer- 
ican Conference  on  Natural  Re- 
sources, which  served  to  give  an 
international  flavor  to  the  movement. 

The  first  decade  of  the  twentieth 
century  saw  the  most  rapid  growth  of 
the  national  forests,  which  embraced 


711 

about  56  million  acres  in  1901,  more 
than  100  million  in  1905,  and  175 
million  acres  in  1910.  After  1910  the 
area  was  gradually  reduced  by  the 
elimination  of  almost  27  million  acres 
that  was  classified  as  more  valuable 
for  agriculture  or  grazing  than  for  for- 
estry. This  reduction  was  partly  offset 
by  increases  through  exchange  with 
States  and  private  owners  and  by 
acquisition  of  land  through  purchase. 

Most  of  the  forest  lands  reserved 
from  the  public  domain  were  in  the 
West,  but  the  interest  in  conserving 
forests  for  protection  of  watersheds 
was  almost  as  strong  in  the  East, 
where  there  was  little  or  no  Federal 
public  land.  The  first  suggestion  that 
the  Government  buy  land  for  a  forest 
reserve  in  the  East  was  made  in  1892 
or  1893  by  the  State  geologist  of  North 
Carolina.  Later,  an  Appalachian  Na- 
tional Park  Association  was  formed; 
in  1901  it  induced  Congress  to  author- 
ize a  survey  of  the  Southern  Appalach- 
ian area  proposed  for  a  reserve.  In 
1900  and  also  in  1901  the  legislatures 
of  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama, 
and  Tennessee  authorized  the  Federal 
Government  to  acquire  lands  for  a 
forest  reserve. 

After  many  attempts,  in  which  the 
southern  interests  joined  forces  with 
the  advocates  of  a  national  forest  in 
the  White  Mountains  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, Congress  was  persuaded  to  enact 
the  Weeks  Law  of  March  1,  191 1.  The 
law  provided  for  the  purchase  of  for- 
est lands  on  the  headwaters  of  navi- 
gable streams,  after  certification  by  the 
Geological  Survey  that  they  affect 
navigation.  The  authority  of  this  act 
was  broadened  in  1924;  about  18 
million  acres  has  been  purchased  to 
date. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  national 
forests  were  expanding  in  area,  prog- 
ress was  being  made  in  their  adminis- 
tration and  management.  Six  regional 
offices  were  set  up  in  1908  so  as  to 
bring  the  administration  closer  to  the 
people  most  concerned.  A  systematic 
program  of  timber  surveys  was  also 
adopted  in  1908  to  afford  a  basis  for 


712 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


timber  sales  and  management  plans. 

A  scientific  approach  to  forest-fire 
prevention  and  control  began  in  1911 
as  a  result  of  the  1910  conflagrations 
which  burned  over  nearly  5  million 
acres  and  destroyed  more  than  3  bil- 
lion feet  of  timber.  Reforestation  by 
planting  and  sowing  was  mostly  on  an 
experimental  basis  before  1911  but,  by 
1919,  more  than  150,000  acres  had 
been  covered — more  than  half  of  it 
by  sowing  and  not  all  of  it  successful. 

A  comprehensive  plan  of  forestry 
research — mainly  in  silviculture — was 
formulated  in  1908  by  Raphael  Zon 
and  others.  Several  of  the  experiment 
stations  proposed  in  this  plan  were  set 
up,  and  in  1915  a  branch  of  research 
was  established,  with  Earle  H.  Clapp 
in  charge. 

Cooperation  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment with  the  States  to  encourage  fire 
protection  on  the  watersheds  of  navi- 
gable streams  was  authorized  by  the 
Weeks  Law  of  1911.  Federal  contribu- 
tions were  to  be  contingent  upon 
adequate  legislation  and  matching  ap- 
propriations by  the  States.  In  1911  the 
Government  spent  about  $37,000,  in 
cooperation  with  11  States,  to  protect 
61  million  acres  of  State  and  private 
land.  In  1919  the  Federal  expenditure 
was  $100,000,  with  22  States  cooperat- 
ing and  nearly  110  million  acres  under 
organized  protection.  In  the  fiscal  year 
1948,  with  an  appropriation  of  $9,000,- 
000,  the  Federal  Government  cooper- 
ated with  43  States  and  Hawaii  in 
protecting  328  million  acres. 

By  1919  many  of  the  States  had  es- 
tablished some  sort  of  forestry  depart- 
ment, usually  headed  by  a  technically 
trained  forester.  Nearly  all  of  them 
had  legislation  providing  for  control 
of  forest  fires,  though  the  laws  were 
not  always  effective.  Several  States 
had  set  aside  State  forests.  The 
States  have  continued  to  expand  and 
strengthen  forestry  work,  and  in  1948 
it  was  reported  that  38  States  were 
administering  11.6  million  acres  as 
State  forests. 

In  1919,  Henry  S.  Graves,  the  For- 
ester, summed  up  the  situation  with 


respect  to  forestry  on  private  lands  in 
his  annual  report,  as  follows: 

"In  the  early  years  of  the  present 
century  it  really  looked  as  though  the 
management  of  forests  as  permanently 
productive  properties  might  be  volun- 
tarily undertaken  by  private  owners  on 
a  very  large  scale.  Although  many  ob- 
stacles were  presented  by  the  internal 
conditions  of  the  lumber  industry, 
progressive  lumbermen  were  giving 
much  serious  attention  to  the  possibil- 
ity of  engaging  in  the  practice  of  for- 
estry. The  chief  stimulus  was  furnished 
by  the  rising  value  of  stumpage.  The 
panic  of  1907  radically  changed  the 
situation.  The  lumber  industry  entered 
a  period  of  protected  depression. 
From  that  time  on  private  forestry 
made  relatively  little  progress  in  the 
United  States,  except  on  farm  wood- 
lands. While  public  forestry  has  made 
vast  strides,  the  forests  of  the  country 
that  are  in  private  hands  are  being 
depleted  with  very  great  rapidity,  and 
almost  everywhere  without  effort  to 
renew  them." 

Graves  concluded  that  "the  general 
practice  of  forestry  on  privately  owned 
lands  in  the  United  States  will  not  take 
place  through  unstimulated  private 
initiative."  He  proposed  a  broad  for- 
estry policy  for  the  Nation,  to  include 
an  expanded  public  program  of  land 
acquisition  and  a  program  for  the 
protection  and  perpetuation  of  forest 
growth  on  all  privately  owned  forest 
land  that  is  not  better  for  agriculture 
or  settlement.  He  proposed  that  the 
Federal  Government  cooperate  with 
and  work  through  the  States  in  pro- 
moting private  forestry. 

BETWEEN  1919  AND  1949,  private 
forestry  and  public  forestry  expanded. 

Graves'  1919  report  marked  the 
start  of  a  campaign,  which  is  still  in 
progress,  to  develop  a  national  policy 
for  bringing  about  forestry  on  private 
lands. 

W.  B.  Greeley,  who  became  head  of 
the  Forest  Service  in  1920,  took  up  the 
campaign  where  Graves  left  off.  In 
1920  the  Capper  Report  on  timber  de- 


The  History  of  Forestry  in  America 


pletion,  lumber  prices,  and  forest  own- 
ership, and  the  report  of  the  forestry 
policy  committee  of  the  Society  of 
American  Foresters,  headed  by  Pin- 
chot,  aroused  widespread  interest 
by  showing  the  seriousness  of  the 
situation.  As  a  result  of  these  reports 
and  the  ensuing  discussion,  two  bills 
were  introduced  in  Congress.  The 
Capper  bill,  which  was  revised  once 
or  twice,  proposed  direct  Federal  con- 
trol of  operations  on  private  lands, 
through  a  taxation  and  bounty  device. 
The  Snell  bill  proposed  Federal  assist- 
ance to  States  in  the  exercise  of  their 
police  power  over  private  lands.  Both 
bills  included  cooperation  for  protec- 
tion against  forest  fires.  The  bills  were 
debated  widely  and  heatedly. 

The  result  was  the  appointment  of 
a  Senate  committee  to  consider  these 
and  other  proposals  for  legislation  and 
to  hold  hearings  in  various  sections  of 
the  country.  Meanwhile,  the  Forest 
Service  undertook  a  series  of  "mini- 
mum-requirements" studies  to  develop 
a  clearer  analysis  of  what  might  be 
acceptable  as  reasonably  good  forestry 
practices  in  the  various  forest  regions 
and  types  of  forest.  The  Senate  com- 
mittee's deliberation  led  to  enactment 
on  June  7,  1924,  of  the  Clarke-Mc- 
Nary  Law. 

This  act  extended  the  national  for- 
est acquisition  policy  to  lands  pri- 
marily useful  for  timber  production 
rather  than  for  watershed  protection 
and  broadened  the  fire-protection  co- 
operation of  the  Weeks  Law.  Small 
appropriations  were  authorized  for  co- 
operation with  States  in  growing  forest 
planting  stock  for  farmers  and  in 
advising  farm-forest  owners. 

Enactment  of  the  McSweeney-Mc- 
Nary  Law  in  1928  provided  a  broad 
charter  for  forestry  research.  It  set  up 
a  10-year  program  that  included  a 
system  of  forest  and  range  experiment 
stations,  expanded  research  in  forest 
products,  and  a  Nation-wide  survey  of 
forest  resources  and  requirements.  The 
Knutsen-Vandenberg  Act  of  1930  au- 
thorized a  larger  national  forest  plant- 
ing program  than  had  been  possible 


713 

before.  By  1947,  more  than  1.2  million 
acres  had  been  successfully  restocked. 

The  depressed  and  distressed  condi- 
tion of  the  lumber  industry  in  the  late 
1920's  led  President  Herbert  Hoover 
in  1930  to  appoint  a  Timber  Conser- 
vation Board  to  study  what  might  be 
done  about  it.  One  result  was  a  tem- 
porary relaxation  of  efforts  to  sell  Gov- 
ernment timber.  The  study  also  led  to 
the  Copeland  Report  (A  National 
Plan  for  American  Forestry,  S.  Doc. 
12,  73d  Congress),  an  encyclopedic 
analysis  of  the  forestry  situation,  pub- 
lished in  1933.  The  report  laid  greatest 
emphasis  on  acquisition  of  forest  land 
by  Federal,  State,  and  local  govern- 
ments and  increased  assistance  to  pri- 
vate owners.  A  20-year  goal  for 
acquisition  was  placed  at  134  million 
acres  for  the  Federal  Government,  and 
90  million  acres  for  State  and  local 
governments. 

Good  forestry  practices  were  in- 
cluded in  the  lumber  and  other  forest- 
industry  codes  under  the  National  In- 
dustrial Recovery  Act  of  1934-35. 
Although  this  act  was  declared  uncon- 
stitutional, work  on  the  codes,  particu- 
larly on  the  lumber  code,  was  beneficial 
in  giving  the  lumbermen  a  better 
understanding  of  what  sustained-yield 
management  means,  of  the  advantages 
of  selective  logging,  and  of  the  nature 
of  essential  silvicultural  measures. 

Another  depression-born  activity 
that  did  much  to  dramatize  forest  con- 
servation was  the  Civilian  Conserva- 
tion Corps.  Set  up  as  a  major  feature 
of  Federal  unemployment  relief  in 
1933,  almost  half  of  the  2,600  camps 
operating  at  its  peak  in  1935  were  en- 
gaged on  forestry  projects.  In  9  years 
of  existence,  the  Civilian  Conservation 
Corps  contributed  some  730,000  man- 
years  of  work  in  forest  protection,  in 
construction  and  maintenance  of  im- 
provements on  public  forests,  in  tree 
planting,  and  in  timber-stand  im- 
provement. It  greatly  stimulated  the 
establishment  and  expansion  of  public 
forests,  particularly  by  States  and 
communities  in  the  East. 

The   Norris-Doxey   Farm   Forestry 


714 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


Act  of  1937  was  aimed  mainly  at  im- 
proving forestry  practices  on  the  many 
small  farm  woodlands.  It  authorized 
appropriations  up  to  $2,500,000  a 
year  to  provide  advice,  investigation, 
and  plants  for  farmers,  in  cooperation 
with  the  States.  In  the  fiscal  year  1948 
the  Forest  Service  cooperated  in  173 
farm-forestry  projects,  located  in  some 
650  counties  in  40  States.  Besides, 
about  65  forestry  extension  specialists 
worked  in  45  States  and  2  Territories. 

In  March  1938,  President  Franklin 
D.  Roosevelt  sent  a  special  message  to 
Congress  recommending  a  study  of  the 
forest  situation  by  a  joint  committee 
of  both  Houses,  to  form  a  basis  for 
policy  legislation  relating  to  coopera- 
tion of  the  Federal  Government  and 
the  States  with  private  forest  owners. 
He  also  proposed  that  the  committee 
consider  the  need  for  regulatory  con- 
trols and  the  extension  of  public  own- 
ership. The  committee  was  appointed, 
held  hearings  at  various  places,  and 
produced  a  report  in  1941.  Among 
other  things,  the  report  recommended 
Federal  financial  assistance  to  the 
States  for  regulation  of  forestry  prac- 
tices, but  it  did  not  suggest  additional 
Federal  acquisition  of  forest  land. 

The  Forest  Service  undertook  to 
make  a  new  reappraisal  of  the  situa- 
tion in  1945  in  order  to  bring  up  to 
date  and  amplify  basic  information  on 
our  timber  resources,  to  interpret  this 
information  in  relation  to  the  national 
economy,  and  to  reexamine  national 
needs  in  forest  conservation. 

This  study  brought  out  that  the  crux 
of  the  forestry  problem  now  is  not  the 
large  tracts  owned  by  industries  but 
the  small  holdings  of  farmers  and  other 
tracts  of  similar  size. 

Many  of  the  larger  owners,  particu- 
larly in  the  South  and  the  Northwest, 
have  been  developing  an  interest  in 
forestry  for  a  considerable  period.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Society  of  American 
Foresters,  more  than  2,500  trained 
foresters  were  employed  by  private  in- 
dustries in  1948,  although  there  had 
been  fewer  than  400  in  1930  and  only 
about  1,000  in  1940. 


Meanwhile,  several  States,  notably 
Oregon  in  the  West,  Maryland  in  the 
East,  and  Mississippi  in  the  South, 
have  enacted  laws  that  provide  for 
some  form  of  regulation  of  cutting 
practices  on  private  lands — mandatory 
in  some  States,  optional  in  others. 

Summing  up  the  situation  today,  it 
can  be  said  that  although  our  forests 
as  a  whole  are  poorer  in  quantity  and 
quality  than  they  were  30  years  ago,  the 
stage  is  set  for  a  reversal  of  the  down- 
ward trend.  The  basic  principles  of 
forestry  are  better  understood  by  more 
people  than  ever  before.  More  and 
more  timberland  owners  seem  to  be  ac- 
quiring a  sense  of  stewardship — a 
conviction  that  it  is  their  duty  to  leave 
their  land  at  least  as  productive  as  they 
found  it.  Furthermore,  people  are 
coming  to  realize  that  if  our  forests  are 
destroyed  we  cannot  expect  the  rest  of 
the  world  to  supply  us  with  timber. 

W.  N.  SPARHAWK  is  a  native  of  New 
Hampshire  and  a  graduate  of  Yale 
University.  He  joined  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice in  1910.  After  almost  6  years  on 
timber  reconnaissance  and  in  various 
research  assignments  in  the  western 
national  forests,  he  was  transferred  to 
Washington,  where  his  first  assignment 
was  a  Nation-wide  study  of  fire  hazard 
and  protection.  As  a  forest  economist, 
he  participated  in  the  preparation  of 
numerous  reports  and  bulletins  that 
dealt  with  economic  problems  in  for- 
estry. He  is  joint  author  with  Raphael 
Zon  of  the  two-volume  work  on  Forest 
Resources  of  the  World,  1923.  During 
the  Second  World  War  he  was  consult- 
ant to  military  agencies  on  foreign  for- 
estry. Mr.  Sparhawk  is  a  fellow  of  the 
American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science  and  the  Society 
of  American  Foresters,  and  a  member 
of  the  Washington  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences. He  is  editor  of  the  forestry  sec- 
tion of  Biological  Abstracts,  and  was 
associate  editor  of  the  Journal  of  For- 
estry from  1936  to  1948.  Mr.  Spar- 
hawk  retired  from  the  Forest  Service 
in  1948  and  is  now  living  in  New 
Hampshire. 


Today  and  Tomorrow 


FOREST  LAND  AND  TIMBER  RESOURCES 


C.  EDWARD  BEHRE 


NE  OF  EVERY  THREE  ACRES 

in  the  United  States  is  forest  land. 
The  forests  are  important  in  all  re- 
gions except  the  Great  Plains,  but  even 
there  they  occupy  almost  10  percent,  of 
the  land.  After  more  than  300  years  of 
settlement,  three-fourths  of  New  Eng- 
land is  classified  as  forest  land.  Five- 
sixths  of  the  Douglas-fir  region,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  country,  is  in  forest.  In 
the  South,  more  than  half  of  all  the 
land  is  chiefly  valuable  for  forests. 

That  is  enough  ultimately  to  grow 
all  the  timber  products  we  need,  with 
a  margin  for  export,  new  uses,  and  na- 
tional security — if  it  is  properly  man- 
aged. But  our  forests  are  not  now  in 
condition  to  meet  prospective  needs. 

The  acreage  of  forest  land  is  not 
likely  to  change  much  from  the  present 
624  million  acres.  For  the  most  part, 
today's  forest  land  is  that  which  has 
proved  unsuited  for  agriculture  be- 
cause of  roughness,  stoniness,  poor 
soils,  aridity,  or  other  circumstances. 

Above:    A    mill    worker   scales   logs;  just 
so  we  measure  our  lumber  supply. 


It  includes  much  worn-out  or  low- 
grade  land  that  at  one  time  or  an- 
other has  been  cultivated.  Additional 
acres  of  the  poor  cropland  are  likely  to 
revert  to  forest  use,  but  some  of  the 
better  lands  now  in  forests  will  be 
cleared  for  agriculture.  There  will  also 
be  reductions  for  urban  development, 
construction  of  highways,  and  other 
facilities,  but  these  will  not  be  large. 

About  three-fourths  of  the  forest 
land,  461  million  acres,  is  classed  as 
"commercial,"  capable  now  or  pros- 
pectively  of  growing  merchantable 
timber,  and  available  for  that  use.  The 
remainder,  163  million  acres,  classed 
as  "noncommercial"  because  it  is  not 
suitable  and  not  available  for  timber 
growing,  is  important  for  watershed, 
range,  and  other  services.  Mostly  in  the 
West  and  the  plains  of  Texas  and  Ok- 
lahoma, it  includes,  for  example,  the 
open-grown  mesquite  and  pinyon- 
juniper  lands  of  the  Southwest,  the 
chaparral  in  southern  California,  and 
alpine  mountain  forests.  Included  also 
are  some  13  million  acres  of  better  sites 

715 


716 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


set  apart  for  parks  and  game  preserves. 
In  present  or  potential  productive- 
ness, the  forest  lands  of  the  South  and 
of  the  Douglas-fir  region  of  the  Pacific 
Northwest  are  outstanding.  Climate 
and  other  factors  there  favor  forest 
renewal  and  rapid  timber  growth. 
Those  regions  have  45  percent  of  the 
commercial  forest. 

It  is  too  bad,  but  too  little  of  the 
commercial  forest  is  producing  as  it 
should.  More  than  75  million  acres — 
one-sixth  of  the  total — is  denuded  or 
is  so  poorly  stocked  with  seedlings  and 
saplings  as  to  be  unproductive  for 
decades.  In  addition,  30  million  acres 
of  pole  timber,  too  small  for  sawlogs, 
and  58  million  acres  of  second-growth 
saw  timber  have  less  than  40  percent 
of  the  number  of  trees  needed  for  full 
stocking.  Most  of  the  denuded  and 
poorly  stocked  land  is  in  the  East;  the 
southern  forests  are  the  most  deficient. 
The  idle  land  contributes  little  to 
the  maintenance  of  schools,  roads,  or 
other  community  services.  It  supports 
no  jobs.  In  some  regions  it  contributes 
needlessly  to  destructive  floods  and  the 
siltation  of  reservoirs.  Taxes,  if  paid, 
must  come  from  some  other  produc- 
tive enterprise. 

It  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  the 
acreage  of  poorly  stocked  land  will 
shrink  as  a  result  of  improved  fire  pro- 
tection and  better  cutting  practices. 
Indeed,  stocking  in  the  South  is  better 
than  it  was  a  decade  ago.  Young 
growth  is  springing  up  on  millions  of 
acres  now  protected  from  fire — a  hope- 
ful sign.  Nevertheless,  the  United 
States  faces  a  huge  job  of  planting  to 
restore  the  less  favored  lands  to  pro- 
ductivity. 

Character  of  ownership  is  a  funda- 
mental factor  in  the  forest  situation. 
Most  private  ownership  is,  properly, 
motivated  by  financial  gain.  Seventy- 
five  percent  of  the  commercial  forest 
land,  generally  including  the  more 
productive  and  accessible,  is  privately 
owned  and  furnishes  about  90  percent 
of  the  timber  cut.  In  contrast,  only 
about  40  percent  of  the  noncommer- 
cial forest  is  in  private  ownership. 


One-third  of  all  the  forest  land  is 
publicly  owned  or  managed,  but  half 
of  this  is  noncommercial.  The  national 
forests  include  the  major  part  of  the 
public  forest  land.  Placing  the  national 
forests — about  one-twelfth  of  our  total 
land  area — under  intensive  manage- 
ment has  been  hampered  by  remote- 
ness and  inaccessibility,  by  poorly 
consolidated  ownership,  and  by  inade- 
quate funds.  Yet  steady  progress  has 
been  made  and  these  forests  are  con- 
tributing increasingly  to  the  economy. 

The  nature  of  the  ownership  of  the 
345  million  acres  of  private  commercial 
forest  is  largely  the  result  of  national 
land  policies  that  favored  small-scale, 
fee-simple  ownership.  Seventy-six  per- 
cent of  the  private  commercial  forest 
is  in  more  than  4  million  small  proper- 
ties that  average  only  62  acres  each. 
The  other  24  percent  is  held  in  proper- 
ties of  more  than  5,000  acres  each  by 
only  3,600  owners.  Even  in  the  West 
more  than  half  is  in  small  holdings. 

Wood-using  industries,  directly  de- 
pendent on  timberlands  for  their  raw 
material,  own  a  surprisingly  small  part 
of  the  private  commercial  forest.  Lum- 
ber and  pulp  companies  together  hold 
only  15  percent,  some  51  million  acres 
in  all,  mostly  in  large  holdings.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  139  million  acres  of 
farm  woods  is  the  largest  single  cate- 
gory of  forest  land. 

Farm  ownership  generally  affords  a 
favorable  setting  for  forestry,  and  pub- 
lic policy  has  long  encouraged  farmers 
to  make  woodland  management  an 
integral  part  of  the  farm  business.  Yet 
most  farm  woodlands  are  still  mis- 
treated, being  subject  to  unwise  cut- 
ting, pasturing,  and  burning.  Along 
with  other  small  holdings,  farm  wood- 
lands are  at  the  heart  of  the  Nation's 
forest  problem. 

THE  TIMBER  RESOURCE  for  300  years, 
particularly  during  the  past  century, 
has  contributed  richly  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  country.  Now  we  can  see 
the  end  of  our  virgin  resources ;  a  tim- 
ber shortage,  the  impact  of  which  has 
been  deferred  by  almost  20  years  of 


Forest  Land  and  Timber  Resources 


717 


depression  and  war,  is  brought  into 
sharp  relief  by  the  demands  of  the 
present  high  level  of  industrial  activ- 
ity. There  is  a  great  need  for  housing 
that  will  not  be  satisfied  for  many  years. 
Wholesale  prices  for  lumber  in  1948 
were  three  times  as  high  as  in  1940, 
and  they  have  risen  much  faster  than 
those  of  other  building  materials.  Suit- 
able locations  for  large-scale  logging 
operations  are  increasingly  hard  to  find. 

No  longer  can  timber  safely  be 
viewed  as  a  reserve  to  be  drawn  upon 
without  regard  for  replacement.  Now 
we  must  rely  more  and  more  on  what 
is  grown  each  year. 

When  timber  is  grown  as  a  crop,  the 
amount  that  can  be  regularly  harvested 
year  after  year  depends  upon  the  vol- 
ume of  growing  stock  or  standing  tim- 
ber. Until  the  productive  capacity  of 
the  land  is  reached,  the  more  growing 
stock  or  forest  capital  there  is,  the 
greater  the  crop  available  for  cutting 
each  year.  And  to  maintain  an  annual 
crop  of  merchantable  timber,  there 
must  be  a  succession  of  age  classes 
from  seedlings  up  to  full-grown  timber 
so  that  as  mature  trees  are  cut  new 
ones  will  take  their  places.  Thus  to 
sustain  a  high  output  of  timber  prod- 
ucts, we  must  maintain  a  substantial 
volume  of  standing  timber  as  forest 
capital.  If  we  liquidate  our  forest  capi- 
tal, we  cut  down  the  size  of  the  crop 
which  accrues  as  interest  on  it.  This 
does  not  apply  strictly  to  virgin  forests, 
because  in  them  death  and  decay  usu- 
ally offset  current  growth.  They  do  not 
fully  meet  the  growing-stock  concept 
until  they  have  been  converted  to  a 
net  growing  condition  by  removal  of 
overmature  trees. 

Since  the  timber  crop  must  be  har- 
vested in  trees  of  a  size  and  quality 
suitable  for  commercial  use,  and  since 
about  80  percent  of  all  timber  products 
are  cut  from  trees  of  saw-timber  size, 
it  is  important  to  think  of  the  timber 
crop  primarily  in  terms  of  saw  timber. 

As  of  1945,  the  stand  of  saw  timber 
in  the  United  States  was  estimated  at 
1,601  billion  board  feet,  about  half  of 
which  is  in  virgin  stands.  The  volume 


of  all  timber  5  inches  or  more  in  diame- 
ter breast  high  was  470  billion  cubic 
feet.  Those  are  large  figures.  But  criti- 
cal examination  shows  that  the  forest 
capital  is  by  no  means  satisfactory. 

For  one  thing,  growing  stock  east  of 
the  Great  Plains  is  badly  depleted. 
The  land  is  generally  understocked  and 
much  of  the  timber  is  of  small  size  and 
inferior  quality.  Although  fully  three- 
fourths  of  the  commercial  forest  land  is 
in  the  East,  the  timber  there,  558  bil- 
lion board  feet,  is  little  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  national  total. 

On  the  other  hand,  Washington, 
Oregon,  and  California  have  less  than 
one-seventh  of  the  commercial  forest 
land,  but  they  have  more  than  half  the 
saw  timber  in  the  United  States. 
About  80  percent  of  the  1,043  billion 
board  feet  of  saw  timber  in  the  entire 
West  is  in  virgin  stands.  Although  the 
average  volume  needed  as  growing 
stock  for  future  crops  will  generally  be 
less  than  in  the  virgin  stands,  the  back- 
log of  forest  capital  in  those  stands  is  an 
extremely  important  part  of  our  timber 
supply  and  should  be  husbanded. 

The  occurrence  of  different  species 
and  the  replacement  of  the  valuable 
species  by  inferior  species  is  another 
factor.  Timber  in  the  West  is  almost 
all  softwood,  the  kind  that  is  in  great- 
est demand  for  the  major  industrial 
uses,  but  in  the  North  just  about  three- 
fourths  is  hardwood.  There  is  now  only 
15  billion  board  feet  of  white  and  red 
pines,  species  that  once  were  foremost 
in  our  lumber  markets.  Maine  is  the 
only  Northern  State  with  more  soft- 
wood than  hardwood.  Even  in  the 
South,  noted  for  its  vast  pine  forests 
and  prolific  second  growth,  43  percent 
of  the  saw  timber  today  is  hardwood. 

Despite  some  significant  progress  in 
forestry,  the  timber  situation  is,  gen- 
erally speaking,  on  the  down  grade.  In 
the  15  States  comprising  the  Pacific 
Northwest  and  Lake  States  regions 
and  most  of  the  South,  for  which  com- 
parable forest  survey  data  are  avail- 
able, saw-timber  volume  declined  14 
percent  in  a  period  between  surveys 
averaging  11  years. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


The  decline  has  meant  scarcity  of 
good  timber  in  many  parts  of  the 
country.  This  has  resulted  in  cutting 
much  young  timber  before  it  is  mature. 
Many  small  mills  are  cutting  6-inch 
trees.  For  much  of  the  South,  the 
average  pine  saw- timber  tree  in  1945 
was  20  percent  smaller  than  a  decade 
earlier.  In  the  Mississippi  Delta,  many 
hardwood  mills  are  operating  on  logs 
one-half  or  one-third  as  large  as  for- 
merly. Even  in  the  Douglas-fir  region 
of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  the  cut  of 
second-growth  timber  reached  25  per- 
cent of  the  total  output  in  1947. 

In  North  and  South,  the  demand 
for  pulpwood,  mine  timbers,  box-grade 
lumber,  and  other  items  that  can  be 
cut  from  small  trees  also  contributes 
to  premature  cutting.  In  a  vicious  cir- 
cle, all  this  tends  to  perpetuate  and 
worsen  the  shortage  of  larger  timber. 

Quality  also  is  lowered.  The  fine 
logs  needed  by  many  forest  industries 
are  no  longer  abundant.  High  grad- 
ing— cutting  the  best  trees  and  leaving 
the  poor  trees — destructive  cutting, 
and  fire  have  replaced  valuable  timber 
with  inferior  stands. 

In  southern  New  England  and  parts 
of  the  Middle  Atlantic  States,  the  de- 
terioration of  sprout  hardwood  for- 
ests by  repeated  cutting,  fire,  and  the 
chestnut  blight  has  left  little  timber 
that  is  attractive  to  lumbermen.  In 
fact,  forest  management  there  is  handi- 
capped by  the  difficulty  of  disposing  of 
the  inferior  growth  that  preempts  so 
much  of  the  land. 

In  the  Lake  States,  between  1936 
and  1945,  the  volume  of  white  and 
red  pine  saw  timber  dropped  29  per- 
cent, and  beech,  birch,  and  maple 
together  declined  16  percent;  the  vol- 
ume of  the  less  desirable  aspen,  how- 
ever, increased  55  percent. 

In  the  South,  longleaf  pine  has  been 
succeeded  by  scrub  oak  on  more  than 
2  million  acres,  mostly  in  Florida. 
Heavy  cutting  in  the  pine-hardwood 
stands,  taking  pine  to  a  smaller  di- 
ameter than  hardwood,  has  allowed 
hardwoods  of  increasingly  inferior 
quality  to  take  over.  The  total  cubic- 


foot  volume  of  softwood  timber  in  9 
Southern  States  from  Georgia  to  Texas 
decreased  4  percent  from  the  early 
1930's  to  1945,  but  the  hardwood  vol- 
ume increased  5  percent.  Hardwood 
saw  timber  declined  almost  as  fast  as 
the  pine.  In  the  Appalachian  Moun- 
tains, removal  of  yellow-poplar  and 
the  better  oaks  often  reduced  the  re- 
maining forest  to  an  unmerchantable 
condition  from  which  it  has  been  slow 
to  recover. 

In  the  West,  the  utilization  of  white 
pine,  ponderosa  pine,  and  sugar  pine 
often  has  left  a  forest  in  which  less 
desirable  species  predominate. 

Only  one-fourth  of  the  remaining 
acreage  of  virgin  timber  meets  the  high 
standards  generally  associated  with 
that  class  of  timber:  Heavy  stands  of 
large,  high-quality  trees  of  good  species 
with  little  defect.  The  timber  on  one- 
third  of  the  virgin  acreage  is  of  doubt- 
ful value — long  past  its  prime,  defec- 
tive, and  often  of  inferior  species. 

As  a  result  of  rapid  exploitation  of 
private  timber  and  of  a  conservative 
policy  since  the  turn  of  the  century 
in  opening  up  the  public  forests — both 
related  to  economic  circumstances — 
43  percent  of  the  saw  timber  now 
stands  on  the  25  percent  of  the  com- 
mercial forest  land  that  is  publicly 
owned.  In  the  West,  almost  one-half 
the  timber  is  in  the  national  forests, 
and  15  percent  is  in  other  public  own- 
ership ;  less  than  40  percent  is  privately 
owned.  But  the  397  billion  board  feet 
of  private  timber  in  the  West,  mostly 
in  Washington,  Oregon,  and  Califor- 
nia, is  generally  more  accessible  and  of 
better  quality  than  the  public  timber. 
In  the  East,  93  percent  of  the  timber 
is  privately  owned. 

More  than  one-fourth  of  the  private 
timber  is  on  the  farms.  The  farm-tim- 
ber resources  are  indispensable  to  the 
national  supply.  Properly  managed, 
they  can  be  a  more  stable  and  better 
source  of  farm  income. 

Private  timber  in  other  than  farm 
holdings  is  the  major  source  of  raw  ma- 
terial for  the  timber  industries.  How 
much  of  the  670  billion  board  feet  in 


Forest  Land  and  Timber  Resources 


719 


this  class  of  ownership  is  held  by  the  in- 
dustries themselves  is  not  known.  The 
lumber  and  pulp  companies,  however, 
own  only  15  percent  of  the  private 
commercial  forest  land.  Plainly,  good 
management  of  the  industrial  timber 
holdings,  although  essential,  will  not  of 
itself  provide  an  adequate  supply  of 
timber  products. 

THE  CRUX  of  the  country's  forest 
problem  is  the  continued  shrinkage  and 
deterioration  of  forest  growing  stock. 

Annual  growth  of  saw  timber  is  now 
estimated  at  35.3  billion  board  feet, 
and  of  all  timber  at  13.4  billion  cubic 
feet.  More  than  half  of  the  saw-timber 
growth  is  in  the  South.  Only  one-fourth 
is  in  the  North,  although  the  North  has 
almost  as  much  commercial  forest  land 
as  the  South.  The  remaining  one-fifth 
is  in  the  West.  Timber  growth  in  the 
West  may  be  expected  to  increase  as 
the  two-fifths  of  the  commercial  forest 
land  still  in  virgin  timber,  making  little 
or  no  net  growth,  is  converted  by  cut- 
ting to  effectively  growing  forest. 

The  current  estimate  of  saw-timber 
growth  is  3.3  billion  board  feet  greater 
than  the  1938  estimate.  Most  of  the 
difference  may  be  due  to  the  nature  of 
the  estimates  rather  than  to  actual 
changes.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  only  for 
the  Lake  States  and  the  South  are  the 
estimates  comparable.  In  the  Lake 
States,  saw-timber  growth  dropped  24 
percent  in  10  years  (the  decline  was 
more  acute  for  softwoods  than  hard- 
woods) and  the  total  cubic-foot  growth 
declined  13  percent. 

In  the  South,  saw-timber  growth  is 
3  percent  greater  than  it  was  10  years 
ago.  But  the  net  increase  of  622  mil- 
lion board  feet  is  the  result  of  an  in- 
crease of  886  million  board  feet  (12 
percent)  of  hardwoods  and  a  decrease 
of  264  million  board  feet  (2  percent) 
of  softwoods.  Similarly,  two-thirds  of 
a  9-percent  increase  in  the  all-timber 
growth  in  the  South  was  in  hardwoods. 
These  figures  are  further  evidence  of 
the  replacement  of  the  more  desirable 
pine  by  hardwoods;  they  really  reflect 
deterioration  rather  than  building  up. 


Forest  drain,  or  the  volume  taken 
by  cutting  and  by  fire  and  other  de- 
structive agents,  included  53.9  billion 
board  feet  of  saw  timber  in  1944. 
This  was  the  equivalent  of  80  percent 
of  the  all- timber  drain  of  13.7  billion 
cubic  feet.  Although  domestic  use  of 
wood  was  sharply  reduced  because  of 
the  war,  saw- timber  drain  in  1944  was 
more  than  6  billion  board  feet  above 
that  in  1936,  the  year  of  the  last  pre- 
vious comprehensive  estimate.  With 
the  great  industrial  activity  of  the  post- 
war period,  lumber  cut  in  1947  was 
some  3  billion  board  feet  more  than  in 
1944.  This  would  put  forest  drain  close 
to  the  level  attained  in  the  peak  war 
years  1941  and  1942. 

In  1944,  saw-timber  drain  from  the 
South  (25  billion  board  feet)  was  25 
percent  greater  than  that  from  the 
West  (20  billion  board  feet).  Because 
of  the  advanced  stage  of  depletion  in 
the  North  (which  limits  the  opportu- 
nity for  timber  industries)  only  17  per- 
cent of  the  saw-timber  drain  came 
from  that  section. 

Lumber,  by  far  the  largest  item, 
made  up  about  70  percent  of  the  saw 
timber  and  55  percent  of  the  cubic- 
foot  cutting  drain.  Fuel  wood  made  up 
18  percent  of  the  cutting  drain,  mostly 
in  the  East  and  about  two-thirds  in 
hardwoods.  Pulpwood,  a  rapidly  in- 
creasing element  of  drain,  accounted 
for  11  percent  of  cut  in  1944,  largely 
because  of  the  expansion  of  the  pulp 
and  paper  industry  in  the  South. 

That  saw-timber  drain  exceeds  an- 
nual growth  by  50  percent  is  perhaps 
the  most  challenging  fact  in  our  forest 
situation  today.  It  is  a  measure  of  the 
rate  at  which  we  are  overdrawing  our 
forest  bank  account.  If  the  1944  trend 
were  continued  with  no  changes  in 
forest  practices  for  20  years  (which  is 
highly  improbable  because  scarcity  of 
suitable  accessible  timber  will  make  it 
increasingly  difficult  for  the  forest  in- 
dustries to  sustain  output  at  the  1944 
rate)  the  saw-timber  stand  would  drop 
27  percent. 

In  the  South,  continuation  of  the 
1944  cut  and  prevailing  forest  prac- 


720 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


tices  for  20  years  would  mean  a  de- 
cline of  117  billion  board  feet,  or  one- 
third  of  the  already  inadequate  saw- 
timber  growing  stock.  Obviously  such 
a  decline  in  timber  volume  would 
mean  curtailment  of  the  forest  indus- 
tries and  drastic  readjustment  in  de- 
pendent communities. 

The  greatest  reduction  of  saw  tim- 
ber is  taking  place  in  the  Douglas-fir 
region,  where  20  years  more  at  the 
1944  rate  of  decline  would  bring  the 
volume  down  206  billion  board  feet — 
41  percent.  Because  the  backlog  of 
virgin  timber  is  so  large,  this  and  lesser 
losses  in  other  parts  of  the  West  would 
not  reduce  the  growing  stock  there 
dangerously.  But  it  would  be  accom- 
panied by  the  closing  of  many  estab- 
lished mills  and  the  continued  shift  of 
industrial  activity  from  one  locality  to 
another.  Even  with  good  forest  prac- 
tices and  farsighted  planning  for  both 
public  and  private  lands,  waning  of 
the  virgin  timber  may  be  accompanied 
by  a  substantial  reduction  of  output. 
Certainly  depletion  of  the  Douglas-fir, 
ponderosa  pine,  western  white  pine, 
sugar  pine,  and  redwood  would  force 
western  forest  industries  to  adapt 
themselves  to  the  production  and  mar- 
keting of  different  classes  of  products 
than  at  present. 

Because  continued  timber  depletion 
is  so  crucial,  a  balance  between  growth 
and  drain  is  often  represented  as  the 
solution  of  the  problem.  But  balance 
in  itself  is  not  an  adequate  goal.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  we  have  a  near  bal- 
ance now  between  cubic-foot  growth 
and  drain  of  all  timber  in  trees  5  inches 
or  more  in  diameter. 

If  the  balance  between  cubic-foot 
growth  and  drain  for  all  timber  were 
an  adequate  criterion,  we  would  have 
to  conclude  that  the  forest  situation 
in  the  North  is  satisfactory  today — 
because  cubic-foot  growth  is  well  in 
excess  of  drain  there.  Yet  forest  deple- 
tion and  deterioration  are  more  acute 
in  the  North  than  in  other  sections, 
and  the  timber  industries  there  are, 
in  general,  at  a  low  ebb.  Many  of  the 
older  wood-using  plants  have  been 


forced  out  of  business,  and  the  short- 
age of  good  timber  makes  it  difficult 
for  new  plants  to  start.  Shrinkage  of 
the  timber  industries  has  caused  drain 
to  fall  far  below  the  productive  ca- 
pacity of  the  land.  And  the  excess  of 
all-timber  growth  over  drain  is  a  re- 
flection of  the  inferior  quality  and 
small  size  of  a  large  part  of  the  timber. 
In  fact,  one  of  the  major  forest  prob- 
lems of  the  North  is  to  find  markets 
for  the  small,  low-grade  timber,  which 
should  be  got  out  of  the  way  to  make 
room  for  more  valuable  growth. 

The  near  balance  between  all-tim- 
ber growth  and  drain  is  deceiving  in 
other  ways  also.  The  over-all  figures 
mask  the  fact  that,  for  softwoods,  the 
drain  is  2 1  percent  more  than  growth, 
while  for  hardwoods  it  is  17  percent 
less.  Furthermore,  four-fifths  of  the 
drain  is  in  saw  timber,  whereas  much 
of  the  growth  is  in  small,  low-grade 
trees  and  inferior  hardwoods.  The  Na- 
tion should  not  be  satisfied  with  a 
balance  based  on  poles  and  saplings 
when  its  forest  industries  depend  so 
largely  on  saw  timber.  Even  the  pulp 
and  paper  industry,  which  can  use 
trees  of  less  than  saw-timber  size,  ob- 
tains about  three-fourths  of  its  wood 
from  saw-timber  trees. 

There  is  no  basis  for  assuming  that 
the  gap  between  saw-timber  growth 
and  drain  is  being  reduced.  In  fact, 
despite  the  increase  of  3.3  billion  board 
feet  in  estimate  of  saw-timber  growth 
between  1936  and  1944,  the  disparity 
between  saw-timber  growth  and  drain 
was  about  3  billion  board  feet  greater 
in  1944  than  in  1936 — and  is  even 
greater  today. 

In  any  event,  the  needs  of  this  coun- 
try for  timber  products  is  considerably 
greater  than  the  present  cut.  A  careful 
study  of  long-range  potentialities  indi- 
cates that  65  to  72  billion  board  feet 
would  be  a  reasonable  goal  of  annual 
saw-timber  growth.  To  double  saw- 
timber  growth,  as  this  suggests,  is  a  big 
order.  But  to  aim  for  less  would  not  be 
sound  public  policy  or  consistent  with 
the  responsibilities  and  needs  of  the 
Nation. 


Forest  Resources  and  the  Nation's  Economy 


Adequate  protection  against  fire,  in- 
sects, and  disease  will  reduce  the  losses 
of  merchantable  timber  and  save  for 
future  timber  production  millions  of 
seedlings  and  saplings  now  destroyed 
each  year.  Planting  a  substantial  part 
of  the  75  million  acres  now  denuded  or 
only  poorly  stocked  with  seedlings  and 
saplings  would  lay  the  foundations  for 
additional  timber  growth  in  the  future. 
But  improved  forest  practices  applied 
to  the  timber  now  standing  are  the 
surest  and  quickest  means  of  increasing 
annual  growth. 

A  crop  of  wood  cannot  be  grown  in 
a  single  year  like  a  crop  of  corn.  To- 
morrow's wood  supply  is  in  the  trees 


721 

growing  in  the  forests  today.  It  will 
take  decades  of  good  forestry,  going 
far  beyond  what  has  been  accomplished 
in  the  past,  to  develop  a  well-balanced 
growing  stock  that  will  meet  future 
timber  needs. 

C.  EDWARD  BEHRE  is  staff  consultant 
in  the  Forest  Service.  He  was  grad- 
uated from  Yale  with  a  master's  degree 
in  forestry  in  1917.  From  1919  to  1923 
he  was  on  the  faculty  of  the  School  of 
Forestry  at  the  University  of  Idaho. 
Mr.  Behre  joined  the  staff  of  the  North- 
eastern Forest  Experiment  Station  at 
the  time  of  its  organization  in  1923 
and  was  its  director  from  1929  to  1942. 


FOREST  RESOURCES  AND  THE  NATION'S  ECONOMY 

EDWARD  C.  CRAFTS,  MARTHA  A.  DIETZ 


Natural  resources  and  human  in- 
genuity determine  a  country's  wealth, 
security,  standing  among  nations,  and 
the  welfare  of  its  people. 

One  of  the  natural  resources  is  the 
forest,  which  supplies  timber,  water, 
forage,  wildlife,  and  spiritual  strength. 

So  common  are  the  products  and 
services  of  the  forest  in  everyday  living 
that  their  presence  often  is  taken  for 
granted  and  their  essentiality  over- 
looked. But  when  one  analyzes  the 
relationship  of  the  forest  to  the  Na- 
tion's economy  and  considers  all  the 
products  and  services,  he  sees  the  part 
they  have  in  the  lives  of  all  the  people. 

INDUSTRY  AND  TRADE,  to  a  large  de- 
gree, depend  on  natural  resources. 
Such  dependency  is  sometimes  obvious., 
more  often  obscure,  and  rarely  tied  to 
only  one  resource.  Nevertheless,  one 
standard  for  measuring  the  value  of 
any  resource  is  the  size  and  essentiality 
of  that  segment  of  industry  and  trade 
so  closely  tied  to  it  that  the  dependency 
relationship  is  obvious.  The  forest  sup- 
ports directly  dependent  industries 
impressive  both  in  variety  and  size. 

The  growing  of  timber  is  the  most 

802062° — 49 47 


obvious  function  of  the  forest.  Timber, 
widely  adaptable,  is  the  backbone  of  a 
large  group  of  conversion  industries. 
With  only  crude  shaping,  splitting,  or 
cutting,  wood  can  be  used  as  it  comes 
from  the  forest — for  fuel  wood,  posts, 
mine  props,  piling,  and  other  rough 
uses.  With  relatively  little  processing, 
it  is  used  as  sawed  lumber,  shingles, 
railroad  ties,  veneers,  and  charcoal.  In 
further  processed  form,  it  is  consumed 
in  housing,  boxes  and  crates,  cooper- 
age, furniture,  agricultural  imple- 
ments, truck  bodies,  boats,  Venetian 
blinds,  baseball  bats,  and  pencils.  It  is 
the  basic  raw  material  in  pulp,  paper, 
rayon,  and  a  variety  of  other  products. 
Extracts  used  in  the  tanning  of  hides 
and  skins  are  produced  from  wood  and 
the  bark  of  certain  trees.  In  addition, 
the  living  tree  itself  is  a  production 
plant  for  pine  oleoresin,  which  is  the 
raw  material  for  turpentine,  rosin,  and 
other  naval  stores. 

Since  the  Second  World  War,  the 
average  annual  gross  value  of  all  tim- 
ber products  is  estimated  at  15  to  20 
billion  dollars. 

Harvesting  and  primary  manufac- 
ture of  most  timber  products  is  con- 


722 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ducted  near  the  logging  site,  because 
of  the  bulkiness  of  the  raw  material. 
Consequently,  the  primary  manufac- 
turing industries  are  widely  dispersed, 
large  in  number,  located  in  or  near  the 
forest,  and  generally  far  from  centers 
of  consumption.  This  is  in  contrast  to 
many  manufacturing  industries  for 
which  nearness  to  markets,  access  to 
plentiful  and  cheap  power,  supplies  of 
skilled  or  common  labor,  or  other  con- 
siderations are  more  important  deter- 
minants of  plant  location  than  is 
proximity  to  raw  materials. 

In  numbers,  there  are  some  60,000 
sawmills,  650  veneer  and  plywood 
plants,  325  shingle  mills,  200  to  250 
pulp  plants,  and  a  large  number  of 
miscellaneous  and  specialty  plants.  By 
far  the  greater  number  of  these  are  in 
the  East. 

No  reliable  over-all  estimates  of  in- 
vestments in  forest  land,  timber,  and 
timber  industries  are  available.  The 
1946  market  value  for  timber  purposes 
of  all  forest  land  and  timber  in  the 
United  States,  public  and  private,  was 
probably  between  10  and  20  billion 
dollars. 

The  total  capital  investment  in  the 
lumber  industry  alone,  including  land 
and  timber  as  well  as  buildings  and 
equipment,  may  approximate  3  to  4 
billion  dollars.  In  the  Douglas-fir  area 
of  Washington  and  Oregon,  where 
there  are  heavy  concentrations  of  large 
timber,  a  rough  estimate  of  the  invest- 
ment in  privately  owned  land  and  tim- 
ber is  about  1  to  1.25  billion  dollars, 
with  at  least  an  additional  350  million 
dollars  invested  in  logging  improve- 
ments, equipment,  and  primary  manu- 
facturing plants. 

Investment  in  individual  establish- 
ments varies  greatly,  both  within  and 
among  industries.  For  example,  saw- 
mills require  initial  capital  outlays 
from  a  few  thousand  to  several  million 
dollars,  and  pulp  mills  from  about  750 
thousand  dollars  up,  depending  on 
kind  and  capacity.  Investment  per  em- 
ployee and  per  dollar  of  sales  in  the 
pulp  and  paper  industry  ranks  among 
the  highest  in  American  industry.  Mod- 


ern steam  distillation  plants  in  the  naval 
stores  industry  require  an  investment 
from  50  thousand  to  250  thousand  dol- 
lars. Other  primary  timber-products 
industries,  excepting  veneer  and  ply- 
wood, require  comparatively  small 
plant  investment. 

Estimates  of  the  output  and  value 
of  rough  (nonmanufactured)  forest 
products  in  1947  show  that  sawlogs, 
fuel  wood,  and  pulpwood  logs  and 
bolts  had  the  highest  total  value.  To- 
gether they  represented  about  80 
percent  of  the  total  value  of  nonmanu- 
factured timber  products,  or  about  2.4 
billion  dollars.  In  each  of  seven  States 
(Oregon,  Washington,  Georgia,  North 
Carolina,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and 
California)  the  value  of  nonmanu- 
factured timber  products  exceeded 
100  million  dollars.  The  East  produced 
75  percent  of  the  national  total. 

Since  the  Second  World  War,  the 
estimated  average  annual  value  of 
timber  products  in  the  first  stage  of 
manufacture  has  been  about  4.2  bil- 
lion dollars.  This  includes  sawed  wood, 
veneer,  and  plywood,  3.3  billion  dol- 
lars; wood  pulp,  730  million  dollars; 
and  naval  stores,  120  million  dollars; 
and  miscellaneous  products,  100  mil- 
lion dollars. 

Secondary  manufacture  of  forest 
products  is  the  third  major  step  in  pre- 
paring timber  products  for  the  mar- 
ket— the  first  two  being  harvesting  the 
raw  material  and  initial  or  primary 
manufacture. 

Some  of  the  secondary  industries 
rely  almost  entirely  on  wood  as  raw 
material,  such  as  the  wooden  box  and 
crate  industry,  wood  sash,  door  and 
other  millwork,  hardwood  flooring, 
wooden  furniture,  and  wooden  han- 
dles. Many  more,  however,  such  as 
paper,  paper  products,  rayon  manu- 
facture, ship  and  boat  building,  and 
residential  and  other  construction, 
utilize  wood  as  only  one  of  many  raw 
materials.  The  separate  contribution 
of  wood,  other  raw  materials,  labor, 
managerial  skills,  and  capital  to  the 
finished  product  is  difficult  to  assess. 
Each  is  needed  to  finish  the  product. 


Forest  Resources  and  the  Nation's  Economy 


Industrial  and  residential  construc- 
tion, the  largest  single  market  for  lum- 
ber, accounts  for  about  two-thirds  of 
all  lumber  used  annually  in  the  United 
States.  Nearly  every  one  of  the  40  mil- 
lion dwellings  in  the  United  States 
contains  a  substantial  amount  of  wood. 
From  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the 
cost  of  the  average  house  is  for  wood 
in  some  form.  The  exterior  walls  of 
three-fourths  of  all  dwellings  are  made 
of  wood;  most  have  a  wood  frame- 
work; and  wood  is  also  used  exten- 
sively for  interior  finish  and  trim. 

In  1947,  total  construction  activity 
in  the  United  States  was  21  billion 
dollars,  a  substantial  part  of  which 
represented  the  cost  of  timber  prod- 
ucts, including  the  cost  of  labor  and 
overhead  to  incorporate  them  into  the 
structure. 

The  fabricated  wood  products,  too 
numerous  to  list,  add  to  the  Nation's 
real  income  and  standard  of  living. 
The  wood-furniture  industry  alone 
creates  products  valued  annually  at 
about  1.3  billion  dollars.  Among  the 
wood-fabricating  industries,  it  is  one 
of  the  largest  consumers  of  wood.  It  is 
exceeded  only  by  the  box  and  millwork 
industries.  The  total  estimated  use  of 
wood  in  all  fabricated  products  in  1940 
was  12  billion  board  feet. 

Annually  since  the  Second  World 
War  the  paper  and  paperboard  indus- 
try has  manufactured  products  valued 
at  about  2.5  billion  dollars.  Paper  of 
all  sorts  (news,  book,  wrapping,  writ- 
ing, tissue,  and  building)  and  paper- 
board  for  boxes  and  containers  are  the 
principal  products  of  this  industry. 
Two  of  the  raw  materials  required  in 
their  manufacture  are  products  of  the 
forest,  that  is,  wood  pulp  (made  from 
pulpwood)  and  rosin,  which  together 
account  for  more  than  80  percent  of 
the  value  of  all  raw  materials  used  in 
paper  making.  Converted  paper  prod- 
ucts have  an  estimated  annual  value 
of  another  2.5  billion  dollars. 

The  rayon  yarn  and  fiber  industry, 
which  now  puts  more  than  750  mil- 
lion dollars'  worth  of  products  on  the 
market  annually,  also  depends  largely 


723 

upon  wood  as  a  raw  material.  About  80 
percent  of  the  fibrous  material  used  in 
rayon  is  wood  pulp.  Further  processing 
of  rayon  yarns  into  textiles  and  apparel 
broadens  the  Nation's  industrial  struc- 
ture by  providing  employment  and 
additional  manufactured  products  of 
great  value  and  utility. 

Trade  in  forest  products  is  an- 
other important  activity.  The  rough- 
timber  products,  such  as  fuel  wood, 
fence  posts,  mine  timbers,  and  poles, 
often  pass  directly  from  producer  to 
consumer  without  entering  wholesale 
or  retail  distribution  channels.  The 
more  important  primary  products,  such 
as  lumber,  veneer,  cooperage,  and 
pulp  and  paper,  however,  are  normally 
distributed  by  wholesalers,  retailers, 
and  other  middlemen. 

Before  the  Second  World  War,  50 
to  55  percent  of  the  lumber  produced 
reached  consumers  through  some  25,- 
000  retail  yards,  whose  volume  of  sales 
equaled  1.5  billion  dollars  in  1939,  the 
latest  year  for  which  we  have  data. 
The  sale  of  lumber,  millwork,  plywood,, 
lath,  shingles,  and  other  building  mate- 
rials of  wood  probably  represented  no 
more  than  half  that  amount.  Total 
commodity  sales  of  timber  products 
from  the  1,800  wholesale  lumber  and 
millwork  establishments  in  that  year 
were  about  475  million  dollars.  Of  the 
600-million-dollar  business  that  the 
wholesale  paper  and  paper-products 
trade  did  in  1939,  about  80  percent 
represented  sales  of  paper  and  paper 
products.  Since  1945,  the  annual  dol- 
lar-volume sale  of  the  wholesale  trade 
in  both  lumber  and  millwork  and 
paper  and  paper  products  is  estimated 
to  have  trebled  the  prewar  level,  pri- 
marily because  of  increases  in  prices. 

World  distribution  of  timber  re- 
sources and  rates  of  depletion  are  domi- 
nant factors  in  determining  the  pattern 
of  foreign  trade  in  timber  products. 
The  United  States  is  traditionally  a 
net  exporter  of  lumber,  primarily  be- 
cause of  the  high  domestic  rate  of 
softwood  production  and  the  general 
world  scarcity  of  softwoods.  Naval 
stores  produced  in  the  United  States 


724 


Yearboo!^  of  Agriculture  1949 


also  are  prominent  in  the  export  trade. 

On  the  other  hand,  large  United 
States  requirements  for  paper  and 
paper  products,  combined  with  limited 
timber  resources  and  plant  capacity 
for  pulp  and  paper  making,  are  major 
reasons  why  about  one-third  of  the 
wood  going  into  the  paper  consumed 
in  the  United  States  comes  from  for- 
eign sources.  Considering  all  timber 
products,  the  United  States  has  long 
been  a  net  importer.  For  example,  in 
1947  timber-product  imports,  valued 
at  more  than  800  million  dollars,  were 
more  than  twice  as  great  as  exports; 
other  years  show  a  similar  pattern. 

The  transportation  systems  of  the 
United  States  use  large  quantities  of 
timber  products,  and  also  depend  on 
them  for  much  revenue  freight. 

Railroad  track  is  laid  on  wooden 
cross,  switch,  and  bridge  ties.  A  great 
deal  of  lumber  is  used  in  railroad  cars 
and  the  construction  of  bridges,  sta- 
tions, warehouses,  and  other  structures. 

Millions  of  feet  of  piling  and  lumber 
go  into  wharves  and  jetties.  Wood  is 
used  extensively  for  bracing  and  hold- 
ing cargo  in  place.  Substantial  amounts 
are  used  in  boat  and  ship  building  as 
an  integral  part  of  the  structure  and 
as  scaffolding.  Naval  stores  are  also 
used  in  boat  and  ship  construction, 
although  not  so  extensively  as  formerly. 

Highway  transportation  depends 
partly  on  the  timber  supply,  because 
road  and  bridge  construction,  as  well 
as  truck  and  trailer  manufacture,  re- 
quires wood. 

The  distribution  of  timber  products 
by  rail,  water,  and  truck  creates  mil- 
lions of  tons  of  revenue  freight  each 
year.  Before  reaching  the  consumer, 
many  timber  products  may  be  re- 
shipped  several  times  from  forest  to 
primary  manufacturing  plant,  second- 
ary processing  plant,  wholesaler,  re- 
tailer, and  finally  to  consumer.  Often 
several  forms  of  transportation  are 
used  in  these  various  steps. 

In  1946,  Class  I  railways  carried 
more  than  100  million  tons  of  timber 
products,  including  paper  and  furni- 
ture other  than  metal,  or  nearly  8  per- 


cent of  all  tonnage  carried.  About  two- 
thirds  of  this  tonnage  was  in  the  form 
of  logs,  pulpwood,  and  lumber.  With 
an  average  haul  of  about  450  miles, 
timber  products  accounted  for  about 
45  billion  ton-miles.  In  1946,  Class  I 
railways  received  more  than  535  mil- 
lion dollars  in  revenue  from  timber 
products,  or  nearly  9  percent  of  the 
revenue  from  all  commodities. 

Truck  transportation  has  become 
the  most  important  means  of  getting 
raw  material  out  of  the  woods  for  the 
forest-products  industries.  About  80 
percent  of  all  sawlogs  and  veneer  logs 
produced,  90  percent  of  all  pulpwood, 
and  more  than  90  percent  of  all  com- 
mercial poles,  posts,  piling,  and  mine 
timbers  are  transported  all  or  part  of 
the  way  from  woods  to  plant  or  market 
by  truck.  Trucks  are  used  almost  ex- 
clusively to  move  lumber  from  thou- 
sands of  small  mills  to  concentration 
yards  and  to  haul  about  30  percent  of 
total  lumber  tonnage  all  or  part  of  the 
way  to  its  first  destination  beyond 
concentration  yards  and  sawmills. 

Since  the  Second  World  War  about 
300  million  tons  of  timber  products 
have  been  transported  annually  by 
truck.  Although  this  is  three  times  the 
volume  hauled  by  rail,  truck  hauls  are 
short  compared  with  rail  transporta- 
tion and  average  only  10  to  15  miles. 
Thus,  trucking  of  timber  products  ac- 
counts for  about  4  billion  ton-miles 
annually,  or  less  than  one-tenth  of  the 
ton-miles  by  rail. 

Water  transportation  is  also  signifi- 
cant in  the  domestic  movement  of 
timber  products.  In  1946  about  30 
million  tons  of  logs,  lumber,  pulpwood, 
wood  pulp,  and  paper  were  moved  to 
domestic  destinations  through  inland 
waterways  and  by  coastal  and  inter- 
coastal  routes.  Logs  alone  accounted 
for  two-thirds  of  this  tonnage,  which 
includes  logs  or  pulpwood  floated  or 
driven  on  rivers.  Domestic  cargo  ship- 
ments of  poles,  piling,  posts,  fuel  wood, 
naval  stores,  tanning  materials,  furni- 
ture, and  other  timber  products  pro- 
vided additional  substantial  tonnage. 
In  terms  of  ton-miles,  domestic  water 


Forest  Resources  and  the  Nation's  Economy 


shipments  of  timber  products  probably 
exceed  truck  shipments. 

In  other  ways,  also,  timber  from 
the  forest  influences  industry  and 
trade.  Electric  power  and  rapid  com- 
munication depend  on  the  50  million 
poles  that  support  telephone,  tele- 
graph, and  power  lines.  About  8  mil- 
lion new  poles  are  needed  each  year 
for  replacements  and  additional  lines. 

Coal  heats  homes  and  factories, 
powers  industry,  and  moves  trains. 
Wooden  mine  props,  ties,  lagging,  and 
cribbing  are  essential  to  mining. 

The  timber  industries,  themselves, 
offer  a  substantial  market  for  goods 
and  services.  For  example,  manufac- 
turers of  logging  and  specialized  wood- 
working equipment  and  paper  and 
pulp  machinery  are  wholly  dependent 
upon  the  timber  supply.  A  substantial 
volume  of  trucks,  tractors,  power  gen- 
erators, and  a  great  variety  of  small 
tools  are  also  consumed. 

Another  function  of  the  forest,  one 
of  the  most  important,  is  to  supply 
water  by  protecting  watersheds.  Prac- 
tically all  industry  and  trade  depend, 
in  one  way  or  another,  on  a  supply  of 
water  that  is  adequate  in  amount  and 
effectively  controlled. 

Permanent  and  prosperous  indus- 
tries and  communities  need  an  ade- 
quate water  supply.  Consumption  is 
enormous.  For  example,  the  five  main 
urban  centers  from  Boston  to  Wash- 
ington consume  about  3.5  billion  gal- 
lons of  water  daily.  Good  management 
of  the  forest  cover  at  headwaters  is 
one  way  of  protecting  the  source. 

In  many  parts  of  the  West,  water 
shortages  are  potentially  and  actually 
acute.  As  population  and  per  capita 
consumption  of  water  increase,  many 
cities  are  going  greater  and  greater 
distances  in  search  of  water.  San 
Diego,  Los  Angeles,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco tap  sources  hundreds  of  miles 
away,  and  spend  large  sums  for  reser- 
voirs, aqueducts,  and  pumping  sta- 
tions. The  headwaters  of  nearly  all 
lakes  and  rivers  lie  in  forested  areas. 

Supplying  water  to  homes  and 
industry  is  the  largest  of  municipal  en- 


725 

terprises.  In  1945,  operating  revenue 
from  water-supply  systems  in  cities 
that  have  populations  of  25,000  or 
more  was  310  million  dollars,  or  nearly 
150  percent  greater  than  operating  ex- 
penses. To  the  extent  that  such  water 
originates  from  forest  land,  municipal 
water  systems  depend  upon  the  forest. 

All  but  three  States  use  power  de- 
veloped from  streams.  Manufacturing 
industries  in  most  sections  partly  de- 
pend on  hydroelectric  power.  In  29 
States  water  power  is  also  important 
as  a  source  of  electric  current  for 
homes  and  city  lighting.  Water  is  the 
source  of  nearly  one-fourth  of  the 
country's  electric-power  capacity,  yet 
water  power  still  undeveloped  is  capa- 
ble of  producing  electric  energy  greater 
than  that  now  supplied  by  both  fuel 
and  water.  Good  management  of  for- 
est cover  on  upland  watersheds  is  vital 
to  safeguarding  power  development. 

Conversion  of  stream  flow  to  electric 
energy  creates  a  market  for  goods  and 
services  by  providing  construction  con- 
tractors and  producers  and  distribu- 
tors of  materials  with  millions  of  dol- 
lars' worth  of  business.  Dams  built  to 
store  water  for  power  production  rank 
among  the  Nation's  great  engineering 
feats.  One  of  the  latest,  the  2,160-foot- 
long  earth  and  concrete  Center  Hill 
Dam  in  north-central  Tennessee,  built 
for  hydroelectric-power  production 
and  flood  control  and  completed  in 
1948,  cost  the  United  States  about  33 
million  dollars;  the  Grand  Coulee  Dam 
in  Washington  cost  more  than  110  mil- 
lion dollars. 

Rivers  and  lakes  of  the  United  States 
are  important  media  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  goods.  Between  1938  and  1947, 
freight  commerce  on  the  natural  water- 
ways averaged  about  200  million  tons 
annually,  more  than  20  billion  ton- 
miles.  Maintenance  of  an  adequate 
forest  cover  materially  aids  navigation 
by  retarding  sedimentation,  lessening 
floods,  and  maintaining  more  stable 
water  levels. 

Another  major  function  of  the  forest 
is  to  produce  forage  in  the  form  of 
grasses,  weeds,  and  shrubs  under  trees 


726 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


and  in  openings.  This  forest  range 
covers  350  million  acres  and  represents 
more  than  one-half  the  total  forest  area 
of  the  United  States  and  more  than 
one-third  of  the  total  range  area. 
Roughly,  155  million  acres  lie  west  of 
the  Great  Plains,  representing  nearly 
70  percent  of  the  total  western  forest 
area;  142  million  acres  of  forest  range 
occur  in  the  South.  By  supporting 
large  numbers  of  domestic  livestock, 
forest  ranges  contribute  significantly 
to  the  Nation's  meat,  wool,  and  leather 
industries.  The  proper  utilization  of 
forest  range  is  of  primary  importance 
in  multiple-use  management  of  the 
forest  resource. 

There  is  no  way  to  isolate  and  meas- 
ure precisely  the  contribution  of  forest 
range  to  our  industry,  trade,  and  gen- 
eral economy.  It  is  enough  to  recognize 
that  large  numbers  of  western  livestock 
summer  on  forest  range,  that  a  great 
many  fat  cattle  and  sheep  are  marketed 
directly  from  far  western  ranges,  and 
that  the  rural  South  would  be  hard- 
pressed  indeed  if  its  forest  range  were 
not  utilized  by  the  cattle  and  hogs  that 
roam  the  piney  woods. 

Wildlife  and  recreation  are  linked 
closely  with  the  forests. 

Varied  climates  and  habitat  condi- 
tions of  the  forest  lands  are  conducive 
to  many  species  of  fur  bearers  and 
birds.  About  95  percent  of  the  coun- 
try's big  game — deer,  elk,  moose,  big- 
horn sheep,  mountain  goat,  and  bear — 
live  in  the  forest.  Roughly  one-fourth 
of  the  small  game  and  fur  bearers  are 
associated  with  wooded  areas. 

Camping,  picnicking,  winter  sports, 
sightseeing,  and  similar  recreation  con- 
stitute another  major  service  of  the 
forest.  For  hunting  and  fishing  alone 
during  the  1946-47  season,  nearly  25 
million  licenses  were  sold.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  more  than  a  third  of  the 
hunters  and  fishermen  went  to  for- 
ested areas. 

Expenditures  for  sporting  arms  and 
fishing  tackle  in  1945  exceeded  60  mil- 
lion dollars,  and  nearly  equaled  all 
other  expenditures  for  sporting  goods. 
Annual  cost  to  the  hunters  and  fisher- 


men in  the  forest  for  travel,  food,  and 
lodging  is  currently  placed  at  about 
750  million  dollars.  At  least  half  a  mil- 
lion people  earn  all  or  part  of  their 
living  supplying  goods  and  services  to 
forest  recreationists. 

AGRICULTURE  also  is  linked  to  the 
forest.  No  longer  is  the  forest  an  en- 
emy to  be  cut  down,  burned,  and  de- 
stroyed. The  farmer's  own  wood  lot 
and  the  forest  cover  on  the  more 
distant  hills  and  mountains  provide 
protection  against  erosion,  water  for  ir- 
rigation, essential  timber  products,  and 
forage  for  livestock.  Local  forest  in- 
dustries also  provide  an  outlet  for  truck 
crops  and  employment  in  the  non- 
farming  season. 

Forests  are  the  principal  source  of 
the  irrigation  water,  supplying  roughly 
300,000  farms  in  the  United  States. 
Irrigation  agriculture  has  improved  20 
million  to  25  million  acres  of  low- 
productivity  land,  increasing  crop  yield 
and  materially  enhancing  land  values. 
In  the  arid  valleys  of  the  West,  in- 
tensive agriculture  is  made  possible 
only  by  harnessing  and  applying  to  the 
land  water  which  originates  in  the 
forested  mountains.  The  forest  cover 
markedly  influences  water-table  levels 
and  this  affects  the  supply  of  irrigation 
water  even  in  those  areas  where  water 
is  obtained  from  wells. 

More  than  95  percent  of  both  the 
number  of  irrigated  farms  and  acreage 
irrigated  are  located  in  17  Western 
States  and  Arkansas  and  Louisiana.  In 
1945,  although  less  than  18  percent  of 
the  total  farm  acreage  in  these  States 
was  irrigated,  27  percent  (5  billion 
dollars)  of  the  value  of  all  farm  lands 
and  buildings  was  on  farms  wholly  or 
partly  irrigated.  In  1939,  capital  in- 
vested in  irrigation  enterprises  in  19 
Western  States  exceeded  one  billion 
dollars. 

Timber  products  are  essential  to  the 
operation  of  the  6  million  American 
farms.  Much  lumber,  to  begin  with,  is 
used  on  the  farm  for  new  dwellings, 
barns  and  other  service  buildings,  and 
fences  and  for  repair  and  maintenance. 


Forest  Resources  and  the  Nation's  Economy 


Lumber  and  veneer  also  are  used  in 
baskets,  boxes,  barrels,  and  crates  for 
shipping  farm  products.  Many  agri- 
cultural implements  and  equipment — 
wagons,  tool  handles,  and  feeding 
troughs — are  made  of  wood.  The  bulk 
of  the  posts  used  on  farms  are  wood. 
More  than  three-fourths  of  the  330 
million  wooden  fence  posts  used  an- 
nually in  the  United  States  are  for 
farms.  Like  everyone  else,  farmers  con- 
sume wood  in  the  form  of  paper,  furni- 
ture, and  in  numerous  miscellaneous 
wood  products. 

Most  farmers  still  depend  on  wood 
for  fuel,  although  such  use  is  steadily 
declining.  Each  year  between  50  mil- 
lion and  60  million  cords  of  wood  are 
burned  for  fuel;  about  half  of  it  is  used 
by  the  rural  population  in  the  form  of 
cordwood  from  the  forest.  More  than 
one-third  is  waste  from  wood-manu- 
facturing industries  which  use  it  for 
fuel.  In  the  aggregate,  fuel  wood  still 
constitutes  the  second  largest  use  of  our 
timber  supply,  the  first  being  lumber. 

Of  approximately  7  million  farm 
dwellings  in  the  United  States,  nearly 
95  percent  are  of  wood  construction — 
a  considerably  higher  proportion  than 
of  either  urban  or  rural  nonf  arm  dwell- 
ings. The  average  farmhouse  requires 
more  lumber  than  the  average  urban 
dwelling.  The  average  annual  replace- 
ment of  nonrepayable  farm  dwellings 
following  the  Second  World  War  has 
been  about  150,000;  this  construction 
requires  about  2  billion  board  feet  of 
lumber.  Current  annual  requirements 
for  both  new  farm  construction  and 
maintenance  and  repair  total  between 
4  billion  and  5  billion  board  feet. 

An  additional  1  billion  to  1 .5  billion 
board  feet  of  lumber  is  consumed  an- 
nually in  the  manufacture  of  boxes, 
crates,  barrels,  and  baskets,  which  are 
used  for  the  distribution  of  fresh  fruits, 
vegetables,  and  other  farm  products. 
Although  the  amount  of  wood  used  in 
agricultural  implements,  including  tool 
handles,  is  declining,  roughly  125  mil- 
lion board  feet  is  used  annually  for  that 
purpose. 

Wood  lots  are  an  asset  to  most  farms. 


727 

They  provide  timber  products  for  farm 
use,  are  a  source  of  supplementary  cash 
income,  and  afford  protection  against 
the  elements.  In  1944  farm  woodlands 
totaled  166  million  acres,  or  nearly  15 
percent  of  all  land  in  farms,  and  on 
many  farms  the  sale  of  forest  products 
comprised  more  than  half  the  value 
of  all  farm  products  sold. 

Farm  woodlands  are  an  important 
component  of  the  total  forest  economy, 
comprising  nearly  a  third  of  our  total 
commercial  forest  area.  Nearly  85  per- 
cent of  the  farm  woodland  is  com- 
mercial forest  actually  or  potentially 
valuable  in  supplying  commercial  tim- 
ber products.  Although  so  seriously  de- 
pleted or  poorly  managed  that  they 
produce  no  more  than  one-third  to 
one-half  the  volume  of  wood  they  are 
capable  of  producing,  farm  forests 
nevertheless  supply  nearly  one-fourth 
of  the  total  output  of  sawlogs,  one- 
third  of  the  pulpwood  and  gum  naval 
stores,  and  the  bulk  of  the  fence  posts, 
cordwood  used  for  fuel,  and  maple 
syrup  and  maple  sugar.  They  also  fur- 
nish large  quantities  of  railroad  ties, 
poles,  pit  props,  wood  naval  stores,  and 
numerous  other  forest  products. 

It  is  estimated  that  in  1947  the  value 
of  nonmanufactured  forest  products 
obtained  from  farm  woodlands  (in- 
cluding both  products  sold  and  those 
for  home  use)  was  about  700  million 
dollars,  or  29  percent  of  the  value  of 
such  products  from  all  forest  land.  Ten 
States,  all  but  one  of  which  were  in 
the  South,  each  produced  farm  timber 
products  valued  at  more  than  25  mil- 
lion dollars. 

THE  INDIVIDUAL  benefits  from  the 
forest  in  many  ways.  Not  only  does  it 
contribute  to  his  well-being  and  the 
national  standard  of  living  but  also  it 
offers  many  persons  a  livelihood  that 
can  be  both  secure  and  challenging, 
advantages  of  residence  in  stable  and 
progressive  communities,  and  spiritual 
and  physical  welfare. 

Employment  and  income  that  can 
be  attributed  to  the  timber  resource 
have  not  been  estimated  authorita- 


728 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


tively.  Several  incomplete  and  not 
wholly  comparable  estimates  in  the 
aggregate  indicate  reasonably  well  the 
size  of  forest-based  employment. 

According  to  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  the  average 
number  of  wage  and  salary  workers  in 
the  lumber  and  timber  basic-products 
industries  gradually  increased  from 
465,000  in  1939  to  716,000  in  1947. 
The  Forest  Service  estimated  that,  in 
July  1944,  356,000  workers  were  em- 
ployed in  the  woods  and  509,000  work- 
ers at  plants  that  use  rough  timber 
products,  such  as  round  logs  or  bolts, 
poles,  bark,  crude  gums. 

In  1946,  it  is  estimated,  there  were 
the  equivalent  of  3.3  million  man- 
years  of  full  employment  by  persons 
productively  engaged  in  activities  that 
can  be  traced  back  basically  to  the 
timber  resource.  If  the  concept  of  at- 
tributing to  one  of  the  basic  resources 
a  fraction  of  total  productive  employ- 
ment is  acceptable,  approximately  6 
percent  of  the  national  total  man-years 
of  full  employment  in  1946  may  be  at- 
tributed to  timber-based  industries 
and  trade.  By  a  similar  analysis,  tim- 
ber resources  contributed  6.3  billion 
dollars  of  wages  and  salaries  to  per- 
sons productively  engaged  in  1946. 
This  is  equal  to  5.7  percent  of  total 
wages  and  salaries  in  the  Nation. 

The  proportion  of  total  national  in- 
come attributed  to  timber  is  slightly 
less  than  corresponding  proportions  of 
persons  productively  engaged  or  wages 
and  salaries  paid;  similarly,  the  pro- 
portion of  wages  and  salaries  paid  is 
less  than  the  proportion  of  productive 
employment.  These  facts  mean  that 
the  wages  and  salaries  paid  to  persons 
engaged  in  economic  activity  attrib- 
utable to  timber  are  slightly  less  than 
the  average  for  all  economic  activity 
and  that  other  components  of  national 
income  also  are  below  average  in  tim- 
ber-based activities. 

From  1939  to  1947  in  the  lumber  and 
timber  basic-products  industries  the 
average  hourly  wages  increased  from 
48.9  to  102.7  cents;  weekly  earnings 
from  $19.02  to  $43.45;  and  weekly 


hours  from  39  to  42.2.  Great  seasonal 
and  geographical  variations  are  known 
to  exist  in  not  only  these  items  but  also 
working  conditions. 

Managed  forests  improve  communi- 
ties: If  the  forest  resource  is  to  fulfill 
its  potential  in  building  and  support- 
ing a  strong  economic  and  social 
structure,  it  must  be  managed  in  the 
broadest  sense  of  the  term.  Mismanage- 
ment of  growing  stock  through  con- 
tinued utilization  in  excess  of  long-term 
productive  capacity  leads  only  to  forest 
destruction  and  a  boom-and-bust  type 
of  community. 

On  the  other  hand,  an  important 
natural  resource  is  unnecessarily  wasted 
if  there  are  too  few  wood-using  indus- 
tries in  a  particular  area  or  if  they  are 
not  diversified  enough  to  permit  full 
utilization  of  the  raw  material  com- 
mensurate with  leaving  the  land  rea- 
sonably productive  and  on  its  way  to 
producing  another  crop. 

A  balance  between  the  continuous 
productive  capacity  of  the  forest  and 
the  size,  number,  and  kinds  of  wood- 
using  industries  in  a  particular  area 
means  permanent  communities  at  a 
reasonably  high  living  standard.  This 
in  turn  means  good  schools,  churches, 
hospitals,  service  businesses,  public 
libraries,  and  other  cultural,  economic, 
and  social  advantages. 

THE  NATIONAL  ECONOMY  is  an  im- 
precise concept.  It  is  a  synthesis  of  all 
the  factors  that  comprise  the  national 
life.  Its  goodness  is  tested  by  things 
that  American  citizens  hold  dear: 
Security,  high  standard  of  living,  prog- 
ress, freedom,  free  enterprise,  oppor- 
tunity. The  discipline  of  economics  is 
too  restrictive  to  embrace  more  than 
a  few  of  the  standards  that  gage  the 
national  economy,  but  all  too  often 
these  are  taken  as  the  total. 

We  have  described  so  far  some  of 
the  varied  contributions  of  the  forest 
resource  to  the  national  economy.  At- 
tempts to  express  the  value  of  such 
contributions  in  dollars  are  not  only 
impractical  but  also  misleading  and 
undesirable  because  of  their  inade- 


Forest  Resources  and  the  Nation's  Economy 


729 


quacy.  Forest  values  transcend  the  dol- 
lar concept.  How  is  it  possible,  for 
example,  to  assess  in  dollars  the  essen- 
tiality of  wood  in  wartime,  or  the 
saving  of  lives  by  reduction  of  peak 
floods,  or  the  restoration  of  health  and 
spirit  by  play  and  rest  in  the  forest? 

Besides  the  contributions  of  the  for- 
est to  industry,  trade,  agriculture,  and 
the  individual  that  have  been  dis- 
cussed, the  relation  of  timber  resources 
to  national  security  and  income  merits 
consideration. 

As  to  national  security,  the  essen- 
tiality of  wood  can  be  judged  by  the 
extent  and  character  of  its  military 
uses  and  its  importance  in  recovery 
from  the  effects  of  war. 

In  1940  and  1941,  the  United  States 
used  about  6.5  billion  feet  of  lumber 
for  military  purposes,  or  the  equivalent 
of  total  military  consumption  in  all 
of  the  First  World  War.  During  the 
four  subsequent  years  (1942-45),  an 
estimated  101  billion  board  feet  of 
lumber  was  consumed  for  military  pur- 
poses, as  follows:  49  percent  for  con- 
struction ;  42  percent  for  boxes,  crating, 
and  dunnage;  and  9  percent  for  fab- 
ricated products.  That  was  70  percent 
of  the  amount  of  lumber  consumption 
for  all  purposes,  or  enough  to  build 
more  than  9.5  million  average-sized 
five-room  frame  houses,  a  number 
equal  to  about  one-fourth  of  all  houses 
existing  in  the  United  States  in  1940. 

In  1942  alone,  nearly  12  billion 
board  feet  of  lumber  was  used  for 
building  cantonments  and  other  mili- 
tary structures.  New  factories  and 
plants,  built  for  the  manufacture  of 
implements  of  war,  and  new  houses 
for  war  workers  called  for  additional 
amounts  of  construction  lumber.  The 
building  of  every  Liberty  ship  took 
350,000  board  feet.  The  capture  of  a 
strategic  point  was  often  accompanied 
by  heavy  damage  to  existing  facilities. 
For  example,  following  the  capture  of 
Naples  by  Allied  forces,  50  million  feet 
of  lumber  was  requied  to  put  the  port 
on  a  temporary  operating  basis. 

Huge  quantities  of  lumber  in  the 
form  of  boxes,  crating,  and  dunnage 


were  used  in  the  shipment  of  supplies 
and  material.  Each  10,000-ton  cargo 
ship  took  250,000  feet  to  brace  the 
cargo.  For  every  soldier  sent  overseas, 
300  board  feet  of  lumber  was  required 
to  box  and  crate  his  initial  supplies, 
and  nearly  50  feet  of  lumber  per 
month  was  needed  to  maintain  him.  A 
crate  for  an  airplane  took  about  5,000 
board  feet.  The  need  for  lumber  for 
shipment  of  military  goods  reached  a 
peak  in  1944 — about  10  billion  feet. 

Fabricated  products  required  lum- 
ber of  the  highest  quality  and  most 
exacting  specifications  for  such  items 
as  aircraft,  firearms,  pontons,  military 
trucks,  boats  and  ships,  tanks  and  vats, 
freight  cars,  tool  handles,  and  furni- 
ture. A  PT  boat  required  28,000  board 
feet  of  lumber;  each  submarine  chaser 
200,000  feet  for  decks,  bulkheads,  and 
other  uses ;  each  escort  carrier  a  similar 
amount  of  high-grade  Douglas-fir  for 
the  flight  deck  alone.  About  50  mil- 
lion feet  of  high-quality  wood  was  con- 
sumed for  Army  rifle  stocks  in  a  year. 

Timber  products  other  than  lumber 
are  equally  essential.  During  the  Sec- 
ond World  War,  plywood  and  veneer 
were  used  for  boat  hulls,  life  rafts, 
trucks,  freight  cars,  torpedo  boats, 
landing  craft,  containers,  and  radar 
equipment.  One  cord  of  pulpwood 
made  smokeless  powder  for  90,000 
rounds  of  ammunition  for  a  Garand 
rifle,  or  24  rounds  for  16-inch  naval 
shells,  or  1,800  containers,  or  4,200 
waterproof  packages  for  shipping 
blood  plasma,  or  1,480  paper  para- 
chutes for  dropping  supplies  or  flares, 
or  800  wadded  paper  vests  for  high- 
altitude  flying. 

Timber  is  a  key  component  in  the 
economic  recovery  of  a  nation  from 
the  debilitation  of  war.  Although  tim- 
ber-import needs  of  the  16  countries 
(and  western  Germany)  participating 
in  the  European  Recovery  Program 
represent  only  4.4  percent  (2.5  billion 
dollars)  of  the  total  value  of  recom- 
mended imports  of  all  commodities, 
the  importance  of  timber  to  European 
economic  recovery  is  far  greater  than 
the  proportion  indicates. 


730 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Without  timber,  recovery  would  be 
ineffective,  even  if  other  import  needs 
were  met.  For  example,  timber  is  re- 
quired as  pit  props  to  make  possible 
the  restoration  of  coal  mining,  as  cross 
ties  for  the  reconstruction  of  the 
European  railway  system,  for  construc- 
tion and  rebuilding  of  damaged  fac- 
tories and  homes  for  the  agricultural 
population,  for  the  new  hydroelectric 
plants,  and  for  poles  for  transmission  of 
communications  and  power. 

Although  immediate  timber  needs 
of  the  participating  countries  are  40 
percent  greater  than  their  own  ex- 
pected production,  the  long-term 
value  of  forests  is  so  well  recognized 
that  the  countries  are  determined,  de- 
spite the  immediate  need,  to  maintain 
their  forests  on  sustained-yield  or  its 
approximate  equivalent,  and  to  re- 
habilitate promptly  those  overcut  or 
otherwise  damaged  during  the  war. 

Timber  resources  of  the  United 
States  have  been  so  reduced  by  long- 
continued  overcutting  and  lack  of 
forestry  measures  that  requirements 
of  another  emergency  similar  to  the 
Second  World  War  could  be  met  only 
by  extraordinary  measures,  and  would 
greatly  reduce  growing  stock  and  vir- 
tually exhaust  high-quality  material 
of  certain  species. 

In  terms  of  economic  activity,  the 
timber  resource  contributes  an  im- 
portant share  of  national  income 
and  gross  national  product.  National 
income  is  based  on  an  industrial 
classification  permitting  comparison 
between  industries,  and  includes  such 
items  as  wages  and  salaries,  business 
profits,  interest  and  rents,  dividends, 
and  transfer  and  miscellaneous  income 
payments. 

Assuming  that  timber  resources  are 
basically  responsible  for  certain  seg- 
ments of  economic  activity,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  in  1946  the  national  income 
attributable  to  timber  resources  was 
5.4  percent  of  the  total  national  in- 
come, or  9.6  billion  dollars.  This  esti- 
mate is  crude  and  subject  to  challenge 
because  it  overlooks  the  interdepend- 
ence between  different  raw  materials 


and  between  materials  and  human  ef- 
fort. For  example,  all  economic  activity 
in  the  lumber  and  timber  basic- 
products  industries  is  ascribed  to  the 
timber  resource,  even  though  the  in- 
dustries depend  upon  the  mineral 
resource  for  machinery  and  other 
equipment.  The  proportions  of  other 
economic  activities  attributable  to  the 
timber  resource  vary  widely  and  are 
difficult  to  estimate,  but  the  over-all 
estimate  (5.4  percent)  is  conservative, 
and  other  estimates  have  approxi- 
mated 10  percent.  Certainly,  if  other 
forest  resources  besides  timber  were 
included,  the  proportion  of  total  na- 
tional income  attributable  to  all  forest 
resources  might  exceed  10  percent. 

It  is  wrong  to  conclude  that  national 
income  would  drop  by  5  or  10  percent 
if  activities  based  on  timber  or  forest 
resources  were  eliminated.  Theoreti- 
cally, alternative  activities  would 
partly  replace  forest  activities,  but  at 
the  cost  of  a  reduction  in  standards  of 
living.  Of  far  more  import,  however, 
and  based  on  considerations  of  history, 
biology,  and  security,  which  override 
economics,  is  the  inescapable  conclu- 
sion that  without  forests  this  Nation 
would  not  long  survive. 

EDWARD  C.  CRAFTS  is  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Forest  Economics  in  the 
Forest  Service. 

MARTHA  A.  DIETZ  is  a  forest  econo- 
mist in  that  Division. 


ESTIMATED  PULP  PRODUCTION  AND  PULP- 
WOOD  REQUIRED  TO  MEET  THAT  PRO- 
DUCTION, UNITED  STATES,  I95O-55 

Required 

pulp 
produc-   Conversion  Pulpwood 


Type  of  pulp 


lion         factor       required 


Ground  wood  .    .  . 

tons 

2.  2Q4 

I    IO 

7,000 
cords 

Sulfite  .  . 

2  OT7 

rr 

1  7O4 

Sulfate  

8,  071 

,6c 

12,417 

Soda  

A  Co 

.58 

7QI 

Other  

7,020, 

I.  IO 

2,  7C4. 

Total 15,890 


21,751 


FUTURE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  TIMBER 


A.  C.  CLINE 


When  we  estimate  our  future  needs 
for  timber,  we  have  to  be  concerned 
with  many  products  besides  lumber — 
fiberboards,  plastics,  modified  woods, 
alcohol,  fodder  yeast,  and  others  of  the 
exciting  array  that  modern  chemistry 
has  given  us.  We  must  plan  on  meeting 
requirements  for  all  kinds  of  pulp  and 
paper  products,  the  liquid  fuels,  wood 
sugars,  and  plywood.  Perhaps,  also, 
atomic  energy  will  make  obsolete  all 
our  ideas  about  heating  and  power. 
Even  though  great  changes  like  these 
lie  ahead,  we  cannot  discard  the  ex- 
perience that  people  have  accumulated 
these  thousands  of  years.  The  wisest 
policy  is  to  plan  on  a  growing  popula- 
tion and  a  rising  standard  of  living  and 
dependence  on  the  forest. 

In  this  article,  the  country's  future 
requirements  for  timber  are  termed 
"potential  timber  requirements" — the 
quantity  of  timber  products  that  might 
be  used  by  consumers  who  are  afforded 
reasonable  latitude  in  choice  of  readily 
available  materials,  including  timber 
products,  in  a  national  economy  func- 
tioning at  a  high  level  of  employment 
and  output.  The  definition  differs  from 
definitions  of  future  consumption  or  of 
future  demand  based  on  whatever  eco- 
nomic conditions  happen  to  be  at  any 
given  future  time.  Of  course,  the  as- 
sumed condition  of  ready  availability 
may  not  come  to  pass.  It  is  plain  that, 
unless  the  present  trend  toward  forest 
depletion  is  reversed,  the  timber  short- 
age will  become  more  and  more  acute, 
prices  will  go  still  higher,  and  effective 
demand  for  timber  will  decline. 

Emphasis  is  placed  on  requirements 
for  trees  of  saw-timber  size,  because 
nearly  80  percent  of  all  timber  prod- 
ucts are  cut  from  such  trees.  Small 
trees  from  unmanaged  forests  might 
supply  our  future  requirements  for 
such  products  as  pulpwood,  fuel  wood, 
fence  posts,  and  small  poles,  which  can 
be  got  from  poorer  and  smaller  trees, 


but  not  requirements  for  lumber,  ply- 
wood, and  other  high-grade  products. 

In  1944  the  commercial  cutting  of 
timber  resulted  in  the  removal  of  49.7 
billion  board  feet  of  saw  timber;  losses 
of  4.2  billion  from  fire,  disease,  insects, 
and  so  on  brought  the  total  saw-timber 
drain  to  53.9  billion  board  feet.  At  the 
same  time,  annual  saw-timber  growth 
was  35.3  billion  board  feet.  Thus,  the 
excess  of  saw-timber  drain  over  growth 
is  slightly  more  than  50  percent. 

The  separate  items  making  up  the 
saw-timber  drain  in  1944  (in  billion 
board  feet)  were: 

Lumber 34.  4 

Pulpwood 4.  8 

Fuel  wood 3.9 

Veneer — logs  and  bolts 2.  0 


Railroad  ties — hewed. 


1.6 


Cooperage   stock .  7 

Mine  timbers .  3 

Shingles .  3 

Other 1.  7 

Losses  due  to  fire,  diseases,  insects, 

etc 4.  2 

Total 53.  9 

Timber  products  whose  end  use  is 
the  primary  form,  that  is,  those  that 
require  no  processing  in  a  sawmill  or 
other  type  of  manufacturing  plant, 
will  be  taken  up  first.  They  are  also 
called  the  nonmanufactured  products, 
because  they  are  produced  in  the  for- 
est principally  with  the  use  of  only 
hand  tools.  They  include  fuel  wood, 
poles,  piling,  posts,  mine  timbers,  and 
railroad  ties.  The  major  products  in 
this  group  account  for  19.8  percent  of 
the  all-timber  drain,  but  only  8.8  per- 
cent of  the  saw-timber  drain.  The  pro- 
portions are  somewhat  smaller  than 
actual,  because  there  are  a  few  other 
products  whose  end  use  is  in  the  pri- 
mary form;  for  example,  wood  poles 
used  in  shade-grown  tobacco,  rough 
wood  used  for  dunnage  in  storing  ship 
cargo,  and  round  and  split  material 
used  in  rustic  construction. 


732 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  FUEL  WOOD 

are  declining.  In  1880,  the  country 
consumed  about  146  million  cords  of 
fuel  wood,  but  only  62  million  in  1945. 
The  drop,  despite  a  large  increase  in 
population,  is  due  to  the  increased  use 
of  more  efficient  and  convenient  fuels, 
including  coal,  oil,  gas,  and  electricity. 
The  fuel-wood  drain  on  the  forest  is 
further  lessened  by  the  fact  that  only 
one-half  or  less  of  the  total  quantity 
consumed  is  cut  from  sound,  living 
trees,  the  remainder  coming  from  cull 
and  dead  trees  or  industrial  waste  from 
logging  and  milling  operations.  More- 
over, the  cutting  of  sound,  living  trees 
for  fuel  wood  can  be  limited  largely  to 
trees  of  small  size  or  inferior  species 
that  should  be  removed  from  the  for- 
est in  the  course  of  thinnings  and  other 
cuttings  made  to  improve  the  final  tim- 
ber harvest. 

Looking  into  the  future,  it  appears 
likely  that  the  per  capita  requirements 
for  fuel  wood  will  decline  still  further. 
The  United  States  has  abundant  sup- 
plies of  coal.  The  present  wood  waste 
from  logging  and  milling  operations 
that  now  goes  to  feed  boilers  may  find 
a  more  profitable  outlet  in  the  field  of 
chemical  utilization  of  wood  waste. 
Farms  and  other  rural  buildings  even- 
tually will  be  supplied  with  electricity; 
it  is  those  outlets  that  now  consume 
most  of  the  fuel  wood.  Atomic  power 
may  lower  the  cost  of  producing  elec- 
tricity for  all  heating  purposes,  thus 
further  reducing  the  use  of  other  fuels. 
On  the  other  hand,  should  the  need 
arise,  wood  can  be  substituted  for  other 
fuels,  even  to  the  extent  of  powering 
motorcars  and  motortrucks.  And  auto- 
matic wood-burning  stoves  have  been 
invented  that  are  a  great  improvement 
over  the  ordinary  stove,  in  both  con- 
venience and  efficiency. 

It  is  estimated  that  fuel-wood  re- 
quirements in  1950-55  will  be  about 
60  million  cords,  declining  to  about  50 
million  a  half  century  from  now. 

REQUIREMENTS  FOR  POLES — tele- 
phone, telegraph,  electric  light,  and 
other  utility- line  poles  made  of  wood — 


increased  from  about  3.7  million  in 
1909  to  nearly  8  million  in  1947. 
Nearly  one-third  of  all  the  poles  put  in 
place  now  are  for  rural  electrification. 
But  there  is  a  general  trend  in  cities  to 
put  wires  underground,  and  new  de- 
velopments in  communications  permit 
large  numbers  of  messages  to  be  sent 
without  a  corresponding  increase  in 
the  number  of  lines.  Ways  and  means 
will  still  be  sought  to  eliminate  pole 
lines,  because  they  are  repeatedly 
damaged  by  storms  and  other  destruc- 
tive forces,  they  are  unsightly,  and  they 
take  up  space  needed  for  other  uses. 

Changes  are  also  taking  place  in  the 
kind  of  poles  used.  Chestnut,  northern 
white-cedar,  and  the  western  redcedar 
used  to  be  preferred  because  of  their 
durability;  later,  preservative  treat- 
ment and  a  shortage  of  the  preferred 
species  gave  first  place  to  southern  pine 
and  Douglas-fir.  In  1910  less  than  20 
percent  of  the  poles  produced  received 
any  preservative  treatment  whatever; 
now  nearly  95  percent  are  treated. 

The  telephone  and  telegraph  com- 
panies probably  will  not  materially  in- 
crease their  use  of  wood  poles;  even 
now,  some  long-distance  communica- 
tions lines  are  going  underground — 
especially  in  localities  subject  to  severe 
ice  storms.  And  eventually  the  rural 
electrification  program  will  be  largely 
on  a  maintenance  basis. 

For  the  period  1950-55,  potential 
annual  requirements  for  poles  are  esti- 
mated at  about  5.7  million.  Looking 
50  years  ahead,  annual  requirements 
may  not  be  more  than  5  million. 

In  1947  the  production  of  poles  that 
were  preservatively  treated  was  divided 
among  the  various  species  as  follows: 

Percent 

Southern  pine 74.  0 

Douglas-fir 9.  1 

Western  redcedar 5.  1 

Lodgepole  pine 6.  4 

Northern  white-cedar 1.  9 

Ponderosa  pine .  4 

Mixed  species 3.  1 


Total 100.0 

A  large  part  of  future  pole  require- 


Future  Requirements  for  Timber 


733 


ments  can  be  got  from  thinnings  made 
in  dense  stands  to  relieve  congestion 
and  give  the  selected  saw-timber  crop 
trees  more  room  for  growth.  Thus  the 
same  stand  that  yields  saw  timber  can 
also  yield  poles  without  materially  re- 
ducing the  output  of  the  former. 

WOOD  PILING  ranges  from  about  30 
feet  to  more  than  90  feet  in  length 
and  from  a  top  diameter  of  5  inches 
to  a  butt  diameter  of  about  2  feet. 
The  best  grades  of  piles  are  suitable 
for  heavy  railway  bridges  and  trestles, 
piers,  and  other  heavy  construction; 
the  poorest  grades  can  be  used  for  light 
building  foundations,  cofferdams,  false 
work,  and  various  temporary  work. 

Before  the  Second  World  War,  con- 
sumption of  treated  piling  averaged 
about  16.5  million  linear  feet  annually. 
Assuming  that  60  percent  were  treated 
(the  correct  percentage  is  not  known) , 
total  consumption  was  about  28  mil- 
lion. Potential  annual  requirements  for 
1950-55  have  been  estimated  at  38 
million  linear  feet,  with  a  drop  to  about 
23  million  50  years  hence. 

As  in  the  case  of  poles,  this  need  not 
be  a  heavy  drain  on  the  forest.  Dense 
stands  of  second-growth  timber  will 
yield  excellent  piling  through  the  re- 
moval of  trees  in  thinnings  made  to 
improve  the  final  saw-timber  crop. 
Such  trees  are  slender  in  form  and 
have  the  dense  wood  desired  in  piling, 
because  they  are  crowded  and  partially 
overtopped  by  the  main  crop  trees. 

The  species  used  for  piling  that  was 
preservatively  treated  in  1947  ranked 
as  follows: 

Percent 

Southern   pine 74.  9 

Douglas-fir 20.  8 

Oak .  8 

Norway    pine •  3 

Western    redcedar .  1 

Jack  pine 

Ponderosa    pine .  1 

All  others 2.  9 


Total 100.  0 

FENCE  POSTS  are  used  chiefly  on 
farms,  and  most  of  them  are  cut  in 
farm  wood  lots.  Many  species  are  used, 


but  the  more  durable  and  preferred 
ones  are  Osage-orange,  cedar,  chest- 
nut, locust,  and  catalpa;  they  have  an 
average  life  of  15  to  30  years  or  more. 
Oaks,  walnut,  and  cherry  are  some- 
what shorter  lived;  some  of  the  pines, 
willow,  and  cottonwood  are  good  for 
about  5  years. 

Preservative  treatment  greatly  in- 
creases the  service  life  of  posts,  but 
as  yet  comparatively  few  posts  are 
treated.  In  1947,  about  12  million  were 
treated  out  of  a  total  of  several  hun- 
dred million  put  in  place.  A  survey  in 
1937  showed  that  about  460  million 
posts  were  put  into  use  on  farms  in 
that  year;  that  does  not  include  posts 
for  the  highways,  railroads,  industrial 
plants,  and  other  nonfarm  uses. 

The  potential  annual  requirement 
for  posts  in  1950-55  is  estimated  at 
about  600  million,  of  which  80  percent 
would  be  cut  from  sound,  living  trees. 

Posts  can  be  cut  from  trees  that  need 
to  be  removed  in  thinnings  and  other 
cuttings  in  immature  stands  to  im- 
prove the  quality  of  later  saw-timber 
harvests.  Both  fuel  wood  and  fence 
posts  needed  on  the  farm  can  generally 
be  got  at  the  same  time  that  the  farm 
wood  lot  is  being  improved. 

MINE  TIMBERS,,  hewed  or  round,  in- 
clude mine  ties,  pit  props,  legs  and 
posts,  horizontal  cross  bars  (or  collars) , 
lagging  and  cribbing,  and  caps  used  for 
tightening  props  and  legs.  Certain 
items  are  used  both  in  the  sawed  and 
in  the  round  or  hewed  state. 

The  quantities  of  wood  used  per  unit 
of  mine  output  vary  not  only  with  the 
kind  of  material  mined — bituminous 
coal,  anthracite  coal,  iron  ore,  or 
precious  metals — but  also  with  the  type 
of  extraction,  such  as  underground  or 
surface  mining.  One  of  the  early  sur- 
veys, in  1905,  showed  a  total  consump- 
tion of  165  million  cubic  feet  of  round 
material  and  435  million  board  feet  of 
sawed.  Then  pine  comprised  one-half 
of  the  softwood  round  timber  and  one- 
third  of  the  softwood  sawed  timber; 
oak  was  the  leading  hardwood  species. 
Of  course,  what  species  are  favored 


734 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


depends  on  the  location  of  the  mine. 
In  the  precious-metal  mines — all  in 
the  West — western  pines  and  Douglas- 
fir  were  favored,  while  in  the  anthra- 
cite mines  of  Pennsylvania,  oak  was 
way  ahead  and  pine  a  poor  second. 

In  1935,  about  half  of  all  mine  tim- 
ber was  sawed,  whereas  30  years  earlier 
two-thirds  was  round,  split,  or  hewed. 
But,  unlike  poles  or  railroad  ties,  the 
preservative  treatment  of  mine  timbers 
has  showed  little  change.  As  late  as 
1935,  only  1  percent,  in  volume,  of 
mine  timber  was  treated;  also,  only  14 
percent  of  all  mine  material  was  steel 
and  concrete.  Evidently  the  fact  that 
mine  timbers  in  most  cases  are  aban- 
doned after  a  short  time  makes  it  un- 
profitable to  resort  to  preservative 
treatment  or  to  use  the  more  costly 
materials. 

As  of  1935,  it  was  estimated  that  re- 
quirements in  the  next  10  years  would 
rise  to  something  like  250  million  cubic 
feet,  of  which  some  1 30  million  would 
be  in  the  round  and  the  rest,  equiva- 
lent to  550  million  board  feet,  sawed 
timber. 

In  1950-55,  for  all  mines  and 
quarries  in  the  United  States,  it  is 
estimated  that  potential  annual  re- 
quirements for  round,  split,  and  hewed 
timber  will  approximate  220  million 
cubic  feet,  with  little  change  50  years 
hence. 

Under  good  forest-management 
practices  such  quantities  can  be  got 
without  heavy  drain  on  saw-timber 
growing  stocks.  Mine  timbers  can  be 
cut  chiefly  from  the  smaller  or  poorer 
trees  removed  in  improvement  cuttings 
in  stands  being  managed  primarily  for 
higher-quality  products. 

RAILROAD  TIES  are  mostly  sawed, 
and  because  sawed  material  is  classed 
as  lumber,  the  requirements  for  rail- 
road cross  ties  will  be  discussed  later, 
under  lumber  requirements  of  the 
railroads.  The  latest  record  of  tie  con- 
sumption, based  on  the  number  of  ties 
preservatively  treated  in  1947,  showed 
63  percent  of  all  cross  ties  sawed  and 
37  percent  hand-hewed,  out  of  a  total 


of  nearly  48  million.  Because  at  least 
90  percent  of  all  cross  ties  are  treated, 
somewhat  more  than  50  million  ties 
may  be  taken  as  the  current  annual 
consumption. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  potential 
annual  requirement  for  all  railroad 
cross  ties  in  1950-55  is  about  52  mil- 
lion, of  which  about  22  million  will  be 
hewed — equivalent  to  238  million 
cubic  feet.  Requirements  for  hewed 
ties  50  years  hence  are  estimated  to  be 
substantially  lower,  in  line  with  the 
generally  increasing  proportion  of 
sawed  timber  products  as  compared 
with  hewed — perhaps  not  more  than 
18  million,  or  194  million  cubic  feet. 

THE  HEAVIEST  DRAIN  on  the  forest 
is  caused  by  cutting  sawlogs  to  make 
lumber.  Although  the  per  capita  con- 
sumption of  lumber  has  declined  from 
a  peak  of  more  than  500  board  feet 
in  the  early  1900's  to  less  than  300  feet 
at  present,  the  growth  in  population 
compensates  in  a  large  measure  for  de- 
clining per  capita  use.  Lumber  produc- 
tion in  1947  and  1948  (about  35.5 
billion  board  feet)  was  only  5  percent 
below  the  average  for  the  decade  from 
1920  to  1930. 

Based  on  estimated  potential  lum- 
ber requirements  in  1950-55,  the  major 
fields  of  lumber  use  rank  in  importance 
as  follows  (in  billion  board  feet  and 
percentages) : 

Construction  (including 

railroad   car  lumber,  Billion 

flooring,     and     mill-  board  feet  Percent 

work) 31.5                74 

Fabricated  wood  prod- 
ucts   5.0                12 

Shipping  uses 6.  0                14 


Total. 


42.5 


100 


Lumber  is  used  in  an  endless  num- 
ber of  structures — houses,  barns,  fac- 
tories, business  buildings,  mining  struc- 
tures, waterfront  facilities,  airports, 
fire  towers,  barracks.  Of  greatest  im- 
portance now  is  housing. 

HOUSING  (other  than  farm  houses) 
represents  nearly  35  percent  of  total 
construction  requirements;  farm  con- 


Future  Requirements  for  Timber 


struction,  including  maintenance  and 
repair,  represents  about  20  percent. 

The  postwar  housing  shortage  grew 
from    failure    during    the    depression 


735 

need  of  housing  continued  to  live  with 
other  families,  in  trailers,  or  in  make- 
shift accommodations. 

It    has    been    estimated    that    the 


years  to  keep  pace  with  the  growing       1,250,000  housing  units  annually  re- 

nnmi  lotion     anH     tr»    rflctrir>tir»r<c     r\m     oil          ^-.,^~^J     .     ^..U     j._i    _  t         ^  ^      i   ••**• 


population  and  to  restrictions  on  all 
kinds  of  civilian  construction  during 
the  war.  In  1946,  the  President  created 
the  Office  of  the  Housing  Expediter, 
which  set  goals  of  1,250,000  housing 
units  to  be  started  in  1946  and  1,500,- 
000  in  1947.  According  to  the  National 
Housing  Agency,  a  rate  of  1,250,000 
new  dwelling  units  a  year  needs  to  be 
maintained  for  at  least  10  years.  Such 
a  rate  has  not  yet  been  attained.  It 
was  estimated  that  somewhat  fewer 
than  a  million  units  were  started  in 
1948. 

The  Joint  Committee  on  Housing 
of  the  80th  Congress  recommended 
housing  legislation  to  provide  addi- 
tional aids  to  housing  "which  are 
needed  to  reach  and  maintain  housing 
production  at  a  rate  of  1,250,000  to 
1,500,000  dwellings  per  year  .  .  ."  It 
also  found  that  "a  very  substantial 
proportion  of  our  existing  supply  of 
housing  falls  far  below  minimum 
standards  of  decency."  The  Commit- 
tee concluded,  "We  should  have  a  con- 
struction program  that  will  produce 
at  least  15,500,000  nonfarm  housing 
units  between  now  and  the  end  of 
1960.  This  would  call  for  the  average 
annual  construction  of  not  less  than 
1,285,000  nonfarm  units." 

The  National  Conference  on  Family 
Life  also  reported  in  May  1948:  "The 
supply  [of  lumber]  does  not  appear  to 
be  sufficient,  however,  to  permit  any 
increase  in  house  building  at  the  price 
levels  at  which  any  increase  should 
occur.  The  upward  sweep  of  lumber 
prices  to  new  record  levels  month  after 
month  has  been  strong  evidence  of  the 
affects  of  a  heavy  pressure  of  demand 
against  a  supply  that  is  even  now  not 
entirely  adequate." 

Here  is  an  illustration  of  the  dis- 
tinction between  potential  require- 
ments and  effective  demand.  Lumber 
had  priced  itself  out  of  the  low-income 
market,  and  thousands  of  families  in 


quired  would  take  nearly   11   billion 
board  feet  of  lumber,  as  follows: 


Type  of  unit  Number 

One-  and  two-family 
conventional 400,  000 

One-family  cottage 
type 200,  000 

Multiple-family  con- 
ventional    400, 000 

Prefabricated 250,  000 


Lumber 
content 
(million 
bd.ft.) 

5,120 
2,000 

2,560 
1,250 

10,  930 
allow- 


Total 1,250,000 

The  estimate  makes  some 
ance  for  the  increasing  substitution  of 
plywood,  building  boards,  concrete, 
brick,  and  metals  for  lumber,  a  trend 
that  appears  likely  to  continue. 

Housing  requirements  50  years 
hence  will  depend  largely  on  the  popu- 
lation increase  between  now  and  then. 
A  conservative  estimate  of  167  million 
persons  has  been  used,  or  about  43 
million  families.  With  the  necessary 
allowance  for  about  5  percent  vacancy, 
and  for  a  40-year  replacement  basis, 
the  number  of  housing  units  required 
annually  would  be  about  1.1  million. 
Assuming  8,000  board  feet  as  the  aver- 
age quantity  of  lumber  per  unit  50 
years  hence,  the  total  potential  re- 
quirement would  be  about  9  billion 
board  feet. 

FARM  CONSTRUCTION,  including 
maintenance  and  repair,  also  failed  to 
keep  pace  with  needs  during  the  long 
period  of  depressed  farm  income  in 
the  1930ss  and  the  years  when  military 
requirements  had  first  call  on  lumber 
supply.  The  Secretary  of  Agriculture 
in  a  statement  to  the  79th  Congress 
reported  that  about  two-thirds  of 
the  Nation's  farm  families  are  not 
adequately  housed  and  that  one-third 
are  living  in  houses  in  such  poor  con- 
dition that  they  are  virtually  beyond 
repair. 


736 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


Farm  housing  requirements  for  the 
next  decade  are  estimated  at  150,000 
units  annually,  with  an  average  of  14,- 
000  board  feet  of  lumber  per  unit,  or  a 
total  of  2.1  billion  board  feet.  About  5 
billion  board  feet  is  needed  annually 
for  normal  replacements  and  repair  of 
farm  buildings,  and  about  1  billion  for 
other  farm  uses,  making  a  grand  total 
of  8.1  billion  board  feet.  If  we  assume 
that  20  percent  of  the  lumber  in  the 
buildings  torn  down  will  be  used  again, 
the  net  potential  annual  requirement 
for  all  farm  uses  in  1950-55  is  about 
6.5  billion  board  feet. 

Fifty  years  hence,  even  with  a  total 
population  20  percent  greater  than  at 
present,  the  farm  population  is  not  ex- 
pected to  gain  any;  some  forecasters 
think  it  will  decline  further.  But  it  is 
generally  held  that  the  average  size  of 
farms  will  continue  to  grow,  which 
means  more  or  larger  buildings  per 
farm  and  consequently  more  lumber 
required  per  farm  than  now.  Taking 
those  various  counteractive  factors  into 
consideration,  requirements  are  esti- 
mated at  about  the  same  level  as  in 
1950-55. 

RAILROAD  CONSTRUCTION  AND  MAIN- 
TENANCE includes  requirements  for 
sawed  ties  (which  are  classed  as  lum- 
ber), railroad  car  lumber,  and  all 
railroad  maintenance.  There  are 
about  1  billion  cross  ties  in  Glass  I 
railway  tracks  throughout  the  United 
States  and  about  24,000  miles  of  track 
laid  with  switch  and  bridge  ties. 

Although  no  satisfactory  substitute 
for  the  wooden  cross  tie  has  been 
found,  many  changes  have  taken  place 
in  its  use  during  past  years.  In  1920, 
nearly  86  million  cross  ties  were  laid, 
56  percent  of  them  untreated.  Today, 
the  number  laid  is  from  45  to  50  mil- 
lion, and  the  percentage  preservatively 
treated  is  nearly  95.  Preservative  treat- 
ment has  nearly  doubled  the  service  life 
of  ties,  so  that  a  treated  tie  properly 
laid  is  good  for  25  to  30  years. 

Changes  in  the  percentages  of  the 
different  tree  species  used  for  making 
ties  that  are  treated  are  not  so  striking, 


Species 


as  shown  by  the  following  compari- 
sons: 

1914  1947 

Percentage  Percentage 

Oak  _1 37  36.  0 

Southern  pine 24  18.  0 

Douglas-fir 18  8.  9 

Gum 2  8.  8 

Ponderosa  pine 5  1.6 

Lodgepole  pine 1.  3 

Tamarack    ( larch )__       2  1.5 

All  other 12  23.9 


Total 100 


100.0 


The  source  of  the  1914  figures  is 
the  Division  of  Forest  Products  of  the 
Forest  Service;  the  1947  figures  came 
from  the  Forest  Service  publication, 
Preliminary  Wood  Preservation  Sta- 
tistics, June  1948. 

As  to  future  requirements  for  cross 
ties,  the  continued  improvement  in 
highways  and  the  increased  use  of 
motortrucks  is  offset  to  some  degree  by 
the  need  for  more  tracks  on  many  lines 
that  have  an  increased  traffic.  De- 
mands for  greater  speed  in  transporta- 
tion makes  greater  the  needs  for 
multiple-track  lines. 

It  is  estimated  that  for  1950-55  the 
potential  requirements  for  cross  ties 
will  be  at  the  rate  of  143  ties  a  mile 
(135  for  replacement  and  8  for  new 
trackage)  for  some  365,000  miles  of 
track,  or  about  52  million  cross  ties 
annually.  That  compares  with  nearly 
48  million  preservatively  treated  in 
1947  (treated  ties  comprise  nearly  95 
percent  of  all  ties) .  Because  the  aver- 
age cross  tie  contains  about  35  board 
feet,  the  total  volume  required  is  about 
1.8  billion  board  feet.  Assuming  that 
30  million  ties  are  sawed  and  22  mil- 
lion hewed,  the  total  annual  require- 
ment for  ties  made  by  sawmills  would 
be  about  1.05  billion  board  feet.  Po- 
tential requirements  for  switch  and 
bridge  ties  in  1950-55  are  estimated 
at  200  million  board  feet  annually. 

As  for  lumber  for  cars,  some  marked 
changes  have  occurred  during  the  past 
few  decades.  Since  1925  there  has  been 
nearly  a  25  percent  decrease  in  the 
number  of  freight  cars  in  use;  since 
1928  the  use  of  lumber  in  their  con- 


Future  Requirements  for  Timber 


737 


struction  and  repair  has  been  reduced 
by  nearly  one-half.  Metal  has  displaced 
wood  as  a  freight-car  material.  Poten- 
tial requirements  in  the  1950-55  pe- 
riod, even  with  heavy  traffic,  are  placed 
at  600  million  board  feet. 

In  the  case  of  general  railroad  main- 
tenance, the  trend  is  also  away  from 
wooden  structures  and  toward  steel 
and  concrete.  Potential  requirements 
for  such  uses  in  1950-55  are  estimated 
at  425  million  board  feet  annually. 

In  summary,  potential  annual  re- 
quirements for  lumber  by  the  railroads 
in  millions  of  board  feet  in  1950-55 


are: 


Gross  ties  (sawed  only) . 

Bridge  and  switch  ties 

Freight-car  lumber 1 

All  other  maintenance 


1,050 

200 

_       600 

425 


Total 2,  275 

In  addition  to  the  round  and  hewed 
material,  the  mines  also  have  require- 
ments for  lumber.  Annual  needs  for 
sawed  mine  timber,  of  all  kinds,  in  the 
period  1950-55  are  estimated  at  500 
million  board  feet. 

ALL  OTHER  NEW  CONSTRUCTION  in- 

cludes  such  classes  as  commercial 
buildings,  manufacturing  and  power 
plants,  schools,  hospitals,  telephone 
and  telegraph  facilities,  marine  con- 
struction, highways,  airports,  water 
supply  and  sanitation,  and  construc- 
tion distinctly  military  in  character. 
Public  works  are  an  important  seg- 
ment of  this  group;  it  has  been 
estimated  that  a  backlog  of  75  billion 
dollars  of  needed  public  works  exists.  It 
includes  more  than  40  billion  dollars 
for  highways  and  10  billion  dollars  for 
schools. 

Lumber  consumption  for  these  con- 
struction uses  is  determined  by  apply- 
ing board-feet-per-dollar  conversion 
factors  to  the  dollar-volume  of  esti- 
mates made  currently  by  Government 
agencies.  By  determining  the  past  re- 
lationship between  dollar  volume  of 
construction  and  gross  national  prod- 
uct (the  total  value  of  currently  pro- 
duced goods  and  services  flowing  to  all 

802062° — 49 48 


consumers,  to  Government,  and  for 
purposes  of  gross  capital  formation) 
and  estimating  what  the  gross  national 
product  will  be  in  the  future  under 
conditions  of  full  employment,  a  basis 
is  obtained  for  estimating  potential 
requirements  for  lumber. 

Of  course,  certain  allowances  have 
to  be  made.  The  changes  that  will 
take  place  in  the  board-feet-per-dollar 
conversion  factors  cannot  be  accu- 
rately predicted.  It  is  to  be  expected 
that  the  proportion  of  lumber  may  con- 
tinue to  decrease  somewhat  in  relation 
to  that  of  steel,  concrete,  and  other 
more  durable  and  fireproof  materials 
especially  preferred  in  heavy  construc- 
tion. 

The  annual  dollar  volume  (on  a 
1946  price  basis)  of  construction  in 
1950-55  is  estimated  as  4.86  billion  dol- 
lars for  all  private  construction  (com- 
mercial, industrial,  and  so  on)  ;  2.83 
billion  dollars  for  all  private  utilities 
construction;  2.5  billion  dollars  for  all 
public  construction  (educational,  in- 
stitutional, and  so  on) ;  and  5.33  bil- 
lion dollars  for  all  other  public  works 
(military,  highways,  airports,  conser- 
vation, and  so  on) .  The  indicated  po- 
tential lumber  requirements  for  all 
these  is  8,508  million  board  feet. 

ALL  OTHER  MAINTENANCE  AND  RE- 
PAIR includes  lumber  requirements  for 
maintaining  and  repairing  all  types  of 
structures  except  farm  buildings  and 
those  connected  with  the  railroads  and 
mines.  As  in  the  case  of  new  construc- 
tion, the  increased  use  of  plywood, 
composition  wallboard,  and  other  sub- 
stitutes for  lumber  must  be  taken  into 
account,  as  well  as  the  lesser  amount 
of  upkeep  and  repair  required  where 
durable  materials  like  steel  and  con- 
crete are  used  in  construction.  Taking 
these  various  factors  into  considera- 
tion, potential  annual  requirements 
for  all  other  maintenance  and  repair 
in  1950-55  are  estimated  at  2.7  billion 
board  feet. 

Requirements  50  years  hence  for  all 
other  new  construction  and  mainte- 
nance and  repair  (all  except  nonfarm 


738 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


residential  and  farm)  and  for  railroad 
and  mine  operation  will  be  influenced 
by  the  increased  volume  of  construc- 
tion necessitated  by  a  larger  popula- 
tion and  the  increased  use  of  substitute 
materials  and  preservative  treatment 
to  prolong  the  service  life  of  wood. 
Potential  annual  requirements  50  years 
hence  for  these  uses  have  been  esti- 
mated at  12.5  billion  board  feet,  as 
compared  with  14.0  billion  feet  in  the 
period  1950-55. 

FABRICATED  PRODUCTS  include  thou- 
sands of  different  articles  made  of 
wood,  many  of  them  requiring  lumber 
of  the  choicest  species  and  highest 
qualities. 

Furniture  is  the  most  common  prod- 
uct in  the  group.  Others  are  handles, 
musical  instruments,  caskets,  vehicles, 
tanks,  vats,  boats,  toys,  sporting  goods, 
military  truck  bodies,  boats  and  ships, 
life  rafts  and  floats,  pontons,  firearms, 
and  aircraft.  It  is  in  fabricated  wood 
products  that  foreign  woods,  such  as 
balsa,  teak,  and  mahogany,  are  in  great 
demand  for  special  purposes. 

The  domestic  species  used  range 
from  soft  paper  birch  (for  turning) 
to  tough-textured  white  ash  and  hick- 
ory (for  tool  handles)  and  the  fancy 
figured  furniture  made  from  black 
walnut,  birdseye  maple,  and  figured 
redgum.  Some  woods  are  preferred  be- 
cause of  their  physical  properties, 
others  because  of  pleasing  appearance. 
The  supply  of  some  of  the  most  highly 
prized  woods,  such  as  Port-Orford- 
cedar  for  battery  separators,  and  high- 
quality  hard  maple,  yellow  birch,  and 
white  oak  for  furniture,  is  growing 
short.  In  certain  articles,  substitute 
materials,  including  metals,  plastics, 
and  plywood,  find  increasing  use. 

Consumer  demand  for  the  less-es- 
sential fabricated  products  bears  a  di- 
rect relationship  to  disposable  income. 
In  other  cases,  like  caskets,  matches, 
and  pencils,  the  demand  remains  com- 
paratively constant.  The  consumption 
of  such  products  as  pattern  stock,  tex- 
tile machinery  parts,  and  laundry  ap- 
pliances by  industry  rises  or  falls 


with  the   general  level   of   industrial 
production. 

Past  surveys  of  fabricated  products 
showed  the  following  total  quantities 
of  lumber  consumed  ( not  including  car 
lumber,  hardwood  flooring,  and  mill- 
work)  in  million  board  feet: 

1912—  5,319 

1928 4,  319 

1940 2,  771 

For  the  period  1950-55,  under  the 
assumed  high  level  of  employment  and 
output,  it  is  estimated  that  potential 
annual  requirements  for  fabricated 
wood  products  will  be  5  billion  feet. 

FOR  SHIPPING  PURPOSES  we  use  all 
kinds  of  wooden  boxes  and  crates  made 
from  lumber;  lumber  is  used  as  dun- 
nage and  blocking,  pallets,  skids,  reels, 
grain  doors,  cleats  in  plywood  or  ve- 
neer boxes  and  crates,  and  other  con- 
tainers or  equipment  used  in  shipping 
or  in  handling  and  stowing  goods  for 
shipment. 

Before  the  Second  World  War,  con- 
sumption of  shipping  lumber  reached 
a  high  point  of  6.5  billion  board  feet 
in  1923  and  1927,  with  an  average  of 
4.9  billion  for  1920-40.  During  the  war 
it  rose  to  15.5  billion. 

The  importance  of  an  adequate 
supply  of  lumber  for  shipping  the 
products  of  our  farms  and  factories 
can  scarcely  be  exaggerated.  The  in- 
creasing use  of  paperboard  has  made 
little  change  in  the  demand  for  lumber 
in  the  heavier  types  of  containers 
needed  for  shipping  machinery,  air- 
craft parts,  electrical  equipment,  and 
so  forth,  and  lumber  is  also  still  the 
preferred  material  for  shipping  fresh 
fruits  and  vegetables.  Of  course,  shifts 
have  been  made  from  wooden  boxes 
to  fiber  cartons  for  many  commodities, 
but  from  the  standpoint  of  the  timber 
resource  this  merely  results  in  a  re- 
duced demand  for  lumber  and  an  in- 
creased demand  for  paperboard — both 
made  from  trees. 

On  the  basis  of  a  continuing  high 
level  of  production  and  increased  for- 
eign trade,  potential  requirements  for 
shipping  lumber  in  1950-55  have  been 


Future  Requirements  for  Timber 


739 


estimated    at   six    billion    board    feet 
annually. 

THE  TOTAL  ESTIMATED  REQUIRE- 
MENTS for  lumber  for  all  purposes  can 
be  summarized  thus  (in  million  board 
feet) : 

1950-55  1999 

Construction  (total) __  31,500         28,000 
Housing         other 

than    farm 1 1 ,  000  9,  000 

Farm,  including 
maintenace  and 

repair 6,  500  6,  500 

Railroads 2,  300^ 

Mines 500 

All  other  new  con- 
struction    8,  500  >  12,500 

All  other  mainte- 
nance and  re- 
pair    2,  700J 

Fabricated   products..     5,  000  5, 000 

Shipping  uses 6,  000  6,  000 


Total 42,  500         39,  000 

THE  USE  OF  VENEER  AND  PLYWOOD 

has  grown  phenomenally  in  recent 
years. 

Plywood  is  strong  and  stiff  in  pro- 
portion to  its  weight  and  relatively 
free  from  warping  and  shrinking.  It 
can  be  molded  into  various  forms,  in- 
cluding shapes  with  compound  curves. 
Adding  further  to  its  versatility  are 
developments  in  bonding  surface  plies 
of  other  materials,  such  as  metals  and 
plastics,  to  wood  inner  plies;  and  the 
so-called  sandwich  construction  that 
employs  varying  combinations  of  mate- 
rials. The  famous  British  Mosquito 
bomber  used  in  the  Second  World  War 
had  wing  surfaces  of  sandwich  con- 
struction with  a  thick,  inner  core  of 
balsa  wood  and  an  outer  surface  of 
yellow  birch  veneer. 

The  main  uses  of  veneer  and  ply- 
wood are  in  construction,  containers, 
and  fabricated  products.  In  building 
construction,  the  use  of  softwood  ply- 
wood has  grown  enormously — for 
paneling,  sheathing,  subfloors,  and 
even  siding.  "Stressed  skin"  plywood 
panels  are  especially  adaptable  to  pre- 
fabricated housing.  Container  veneer 
is  widely  used  in  boxes,  crates,  baskets, 
hampers,  and  various  other  types  of 


packages — made  of  both  softwood  and 
hardwood.  Fabricated  products  such  as 
furniture,  radio  cabinets,  and  small 
boats  require  large  quantities  of  the 
highest  grades  of  plywood,  much  of  it 
from  woods  chosen  for  their  natural 
beauty. 

In  1925  the  production  of  softwood 
plywood  was  150  million  square  feet. 
Now  the  industry  has  an  annual 
production  of  about  2  billion  square 
feet.  Hardwood  plywood  likewise  has 
spurted  ahead — from  a  production  of 
800  million  square  feet  just  before  the 
Second  World  War  to  nearly  1,200 
million  in  the  latter  part  of  the  war. 

Potential  annual  requirements  for 
veneer  and  plywood  in  1950-55  are 
estimated  to  be  1.3  billion  board  feet 
(log  scale)  for  construction,  600  mil- 
lion for  containers,  and  500  million  for 
fabricated  products.  The  total  is  2.4 
billion  board  feet. 

Because  veneer  and  plywood  produc- 
tion requires  high-grade  logs,  the  fu- 
ture of  the  industry  is  linked  closely 
with  forest  management,  especially 
the  extent  to  which  high-quality  trees 
in  the  larger  sizes  are  grown.  For  the 
present,  the  industry  is  faced  with  a 
diminishing  supply  of  the  high-grade 
veneer  logs  and  is  gradually  being 
forced  to  resort  to  patching  defects  and 
using  less  desirable  species  and  smaller 
logs,  other  facing  materials,  or  wood 
faces  from  imported  woods. 

FOR  COOPERAGE  STOCK — the  staves 
and  heading  from  which  barrels,  kegs, 
tubs,  hogsheads,  and  similar  contain- 
ers are  made — logs  and  bolts  are 
needed.  Cooperage  may  be  either  tight 
or  slack,  the  former  being  tightly  fitted 
to  hold  liquids,  and  both  hardwoods 
and  softwoods  are  required.  Wood  of 
high  quality  free  from  defects  is  re- 
quired for  tight  cooperage.  Large 
quantities  of  the  finest  white  oak  have 
been  used  for  barrels,  and  the  present 
stand  of  such  timber  is  inadequate  to 
meet  potential  requirements. 

With  the  growing  use  of  metal  bar- 
rels, multiwall  paper  bags,  plywood 
and  fiber  drums,  tank-car  shipments  of 


740 


of  Agriculture  1949 


liquids,  and  other  substitute  methods 
of  packaging  and  shipping  liquids  and 
granular  or  powdered  material,  the 
cooperage  industry  has  steadily  de- 
clined— from  2  billion  board  feet  log 
scale  in  1909  to  746  million  in  1939. 

The  potential  annual  requirement  in 
1950-55  has  been  estimated  at  775 
million  board  feet,  with  a  decline  to 
around  700  million  50  years  hence. 

PULPWOOD  as  a  raw  material  yields 
thousands  of  different  paper  and 
paperboard  products,  plastics,  cellu- 
lose yarns,  and  many  other  articles  in 
everyday  use. 

There  seems  to  be  no  end  to  the 
growing  demands  for  pulpwood  prod- 
ucts. The  production  of  all  kinds  of 
paper  and  paperboard  has  nearly 
doubled  in  the  past  20  years.  Per  capita 
demand  has  grown  at  a  faster  rate 
than  has  population,  as  new  uses  for 
paper  and  pulp  products  constantly 
have  been  developed. 

In  estimating  pulpwood  require- 
ments, the  many  uses  and  also  the  vari- 
ous processes  by  which  wood  is  trans- 
formed into  pulp  must  be  taken  into 
account,  because  the  quantity  of  wood 
required  to  produce  a  unit  of  pulp 
varies  with  the  process. 

Potential  annual  requirements  for 
paper  and  paperboard  in  1950—55  are 
estimated  at  24  million  tons,  divided 
among  end  products  roughly  as  fol- 
lows (figures  are  for  thousand  tons)  : 

Newsprint 500 

Printing  and  fine  paper 4,  500 

Coarse  and  industrial  papers 3,  500 

Sanitary  and  tissue  papers 2,  000 

Building  papers 1,  500 


All  papers 12,000 

Container  board 6,000 

Boxboard 3,  200 

Building   boards 2,000 

Other  paperboards 800 


All    paperboards 12,000 


Total 24,000 

The  24  million  tons  of  paper  and 
paperboard  is  a  total  requirement.  But 
the  United  States  is  an  importer  of 


pulpwood,  wood  pulp,  and  paper  and 
paperboard,  and  undoubtedly  will  re- 
main so.  Thus,  only  the  pulpwood  re- 
quired for  part  of  domestic  pulp  and 
paper  production  need  finally  be  esti- 
mated in  order  to  determine  the  future 
drain  on  United  States  forests. 

From  an  estimated  total  require- 
ment of  17,890  thousand  tons  of  wood 
pulp  in  1950-55  is  subtracted  an  esti- 
mated annual  import  of  2,000  thou- 
sand tons.  The  remainder,  15,890 
thousand  tons,  is  divided  among  the 
different  types  of  pulp. 

Finally,  allowance  is  made  for  pulp- 
wood  imports,  estimated  at  1,500  thou- 
sand cords  annually.  This  subtracted 
from  21,751  thousand  cords  leaves 
20,251  thousand  cords  as  a  potential 
annual  requirement  in  1950-55.  (See 
table  on  page  730) .  This  amount  is  to 
be  supplied  from  domestic  forests.  The 
equivalent  of  another  7,500  thousand 
cords  will  need  to  be  imported  in  the 
form  of  pulp  and  paper. 

Fortunately,  pulpwood  can  be  got 
from  a  large  variety  of  species,  both 
softwood  and  hardwood,  and  from 
trees  of  small  size  and  inferior  quality 
that  under  good  forest  management 
would  be  cut  in  the  course  of  improv- 
ing stands  for  the  production  of  saw 
timber,  veneer  logs,  and  other  high- 
quality  products.  And  there  are  at 
present  huge  volumes  of  so-called  in- 
ferior hardwoods  in  the  forests  that 
could  go  into  container  boards,  wall- 
boards,  and  similar  products. 

DISTILLATION  converts  wood  into 
charcoal,  acetic  acid,  methyl  alcohol, 
and  tar  products.  It  is  a  declining  in- 
dustry, however;  1,150,000  cords  were 
used  in  1909,  and  485,000  cords  in 
1939. 

Where  there  is  a  good  market  for 
charcoal,  the  industry  persists,  but  for 
the  most  part  coke  and  carbon  black 
are  strong  competitors  of  charcoal  for 
the  more  important  of  the  various  in- 
dustrial uses. 

Methyl  alcohol  and  acetic  acid  made 
by  a  synthetic  process  also  have  cut 
into  the  market  for  those  products 


future  Requirements  for  Timber 


741 


made    by    destructive    distillation    of 
hardwood. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  potential 
requirements  for  hardwood  for  the 
purpose  in  1950-55  will  not  exceed 
500,000  cords  annually,  and  that  50 
years  hence  the  requirement  will  be  ap- 
proximately the  same.  Because  distilla- 
tion wood  can  be  got  from  trees  of  small 
size  and  below  saw-timber  quality, 
such  a  requirement  can  easily  be  met 
without  difficulty  under  conditions  of 
good  forest  management. 

LOGS  AND  BOLTS  also  are  used  for 
many  other  products,  among  them 
spools,  dowels,  and  wood  novelties 
made  by  the  wood-turnery  industry; 
shoe  lasts,  picker  sticks,  bobbins,  and 
shuttles;  shingles;  baseball  bats,  and 
other  athletic  equipment  made  from 
bolts  rather  than  lumber.  In  many 
cases,  high-quality  wood  is  required — 
wood  that  is  not  only  free  from  visible 
defects  but  also  is  straight-grained  and 
tough- textured.  Among  the  species 
that  can  be  used  are  white  ash,  hick- 
ory, western  redcedar,  paper  birch, 
dogwood,  persimmon,  hard  maple, 
yellow  birch,  and  the  other  woods  that 
have  special  technical  properties  rather 
than  pleasing  appearance. 

For  all  such  uses,  the  potential  an- 
nual requirement  in  1950-55  is  esti- 
mated at  1  billion  board  feet  (log 
scale),  with  an  increase  to  1.5  billion 
50  years  hence. 

OTHER  USES  OF  GORDWOOD  include 
a  wide  variety  of  products,  such  as  ex- 
celsior, wood  for  tannin  extraction, 
composition  roofing,  wood  poles  used 
in  raising  shade-grown  tobacco,  rough 
wood  used  as  dunnage  in  the  storage 
of  ship  cargo,  and  round  and  slit  ma- 
terial for  rustic  construction. 

Potential  annual  requirements  in 
1950-55  have  been  estimated  at  5  mil- 
lion cords,  with  an  increase  to  7  mil- 
lion cords  50  years  from  now.  This  is 
not  an  exacting  requirement  with  re- 
spect to  wood  quality  and  could  be  met 
under  conditions  of  good  forest  man- 
agement with  little  drain  on  the  saw- 


timber  growing  stock  of  the  forests. 

The  total  annual  needs  for  saw 
timber  in  1950-55,  for  the  production 
of  commodities  for  domestic  consump- 
tion, is  estimated  at  61  billion  board 
feet.  Fifty  years  from  now  the  require- 
ments may  be  even  higher,  despite  a 
continuing  per  capita  decline  in  the 
use  of  lumber  and  certain  other  wood 
products.  However,  the  figure  of  61 
billion  will  be  used  as  the  estimated 
future  requirement.  To  this  must  be 
added  allowances  for  ( 1 )  unavoidable 
losses  caused  by  forest  fires,  insects  and 
diseases,  and  other  natural  forces,  (2) 
a  margin  of  safety  in  times  of  emer- 
gency, when  extraordinary  demands 
are  made  on  the  forests,  ( 3 )  the  export 
of  United  States  timber  products  to 
foreign  countries,  and  (4)  a  margin 
for  the  discovery  of  new  uses  for  wood 
as  a  basic  material,  requiring  addi- 
tional quantities  of  timber. 

Future  losses  from  destructive  agen- 
cies (the  so-called  noncommodity 
drain  on  the  forest)  are  estimated  to 
be  3.2  billion  board  feet  annually,  and 
the  margins  for  national  security,  ex- 
ports, new  uses,  and  other  contingen- 
cies at  7.8  billion  board  feet,  making 
a  grand  total  of  72  billion  board  feet 
of  saw  timber  required  annually. 

This  quantity  should  be  our  annual 
growth  goal.  The  forests  of  the  United 
States  should  be  built  up  to  a  level  that 
would  permit  a  drain  of  72  billion 
board  feet  each  year  in  perpetuity 
without  depleting  the  saw-timber 
growing  stock. 

A.  G.  CLINE  is  foreign  forestry  spe- 
cialist for  the  Forest  Service.  Formerly 
he  was  in  charge  of  the  industry-re- 
source analysis  section  in  the  Division 
of  Forest  Economics  in  the  Forest 
Service  and  was  responsible  for  esti- 
mating the  Nation's  future  timber  re- 
quirements. During  the  Second  World 
War  he  was  vice  chairman  of  the  re- 
quirements committee  of  the  Lumber 
and  Lumber  Products  Division  of  the 
War  Production  Board.  Before  that,  he 
was  director  of  the  Harvard  Forest, 
Petersham,  Mass 


742 


THE  WORLD  FOREST  SITUATION 


STUART  BEVIER  SHOW 


Many  countries  lack  the  wood  they 
need  in  manifold  forms  for  construc- 
tion and  reconstruction,  for  industry, 
for  pulp  and  paper  products,  even  for 
the  specialized  needs  of  industrial 
agriculture.  In  some  other  countries,  if 
the  wood  is  available,  it  is  at  such  high 
prices  as  to  be  effectively  beyond  the 
reach  of  those  who  need  it.  In  western 
Europe,  the  lack  of  wood  is  one  of  the 
deterrents  to  reconstruction  and  in- 
dustrial recovery.  Only  few  countries 
have  more  than  enough  for  their  own 
immediate  needs.  To  understand  the 
whole  situation  is  the  first  step  in  sug- 
gesting the  effective  measures  through 
which  an  attainable  abundance  of 
forest  products  can  become  actually 
available  to  potential  users. 

In  1948  the  Food  and  Agriculture 
Organization  of  the  United  Nations, 
through  its  Forestry  and  Forest  Prod- 
ucts Division  and  with  the  cooperation 
of  many  member  and  nonmember  gov- 
ernments, assembled  and  analyzed  in- 
formation on  such  essential  points  as 
the  total  productive  and  accessible 
areas  of  forests ;  their  potential  growth ; 
and  the  output,  production,  consump- 
tion, and  distribution  of  forest  prod- 
ucts. Through  questionnaires  dealing 
with  forests  and  forest  products,  it  was 
possible  to  draw  a  clearer  picture  than 
ever  before. 

That  is  not  to  say,  however,  that 
everything  is  known  that  should  be 
known.  Even  in  the  United  States, 
which  for  nearly  20  years  has  had 
under  way  a  well-organized  forest  sur- 
vey, there  are  still  sizable  regions  in 
which  forest  area,  volume,  growth  and 
loss,  production,  and  use  of  forest 
products  are  known  only  through  sub- 
standard estimates.  Thus  is  it  under- 
standable that  in  many  countries  the 
state  of  forest  knowledge  is  inaccurate. 
In  Latin  America,  most  of  Asia  and  the 
Far  East,  and  elsewhere,  a  good  deal  of 
inventory  and  survey  work  remains  to 


be  done,  and  the  best  available  figures 
are  no  more  than  an  approximation  of 
the  truth.  In  most  of  Europe,  by  con- 
trast, information  on  forests  is  rela- 
tively accurate  and  complete.  Because 
the  Union  of  Soviet  Socialist  Republics 
provided  no  official  figures  on  her  vast 
forests,  it  is  necessary  in  this  article  to 
use  estimates  that  lack  authority  of 
that  government. 

THE  TOTAL  FOREST  AREAS that  IS, 

including  forests  suited  only  for  the 
production  of  fuel  wood — are  distrib- 
uted unevenly  in  different  regions  and 
in  individual  countries.  Whether  for- 
est area  is  expressed  as  a  percentage 
of  total  land  area  or  as  area  per  per- 
son, it  is  evident  that  some  regions  and 
countries  are  relatively  wealthy  in  for- 
ests, others  impoverished.  Such  ex- 
tremes— as  between  the  South  Ameri- 
can (43  percent)  and  Pacific  Area  (9 
percent)  regions,  and  between  Canada 
(37  percent)  and  Syria  (2  percent)  — 
show  the  differences  in  potential  avail- 
ability of  wood  supplies,  expressed  as 
percentage  of  total  land  area.  The 
contrast  between  South  America 
(18.03  acres)  and  Asia  (0.99)  and 
between  Canada  (67.2)  and  Egypt 
(0)  illustrates  the  great  spread  in  for- 
est area  per  person  among  different 
countries.  By  measures  like  those,  the 
United  States  stands  in  relation  to  the 
grand  average  for  the  world  as  33  to 
30  percent  for  area,  and  as  4.61  to  4.20 
acres  per  person. 

A  striking  feature  is  the  great  con- 
trast between  countries  in  the  same 
region — for  example,  Sweden,  with 
57  percent  forest  area  and  8.65  acres 
per  person  compared  to  Great  Britain, 
with  6  percent  and  0.32  acre,  in  Eu- 
rope; or  Brazil,  with  46  percent  and 
22.35  acres,  compared  to  Uruguay, 
with  2  percent  and  0.49  acre,  in  South 
America.  The  other  continents  show 
sharp  contrasts  as  well. 


The  World  Forest  Situation  743 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    FOREST   AREA    BY    REGIONS    AND    SELECTED    COUNTRIES 


Region  or  country 

Europe    (excluding   Union   of  Soviet   Socialist 
Republics)  

Total          Forest      Percentage     Popula-     Forest  area 
area             area           forest            tion        per  person 

Million       Million 
hectares  l     hectares  l       Percent       Millions     Hectares  l 

482  1 
2,255}       I(°4                  38              578                '•* 

2.347                  728                    31                  201                    3.6 

L755            755              43            103              7.3 
3,060            849              28            191              4.4 

2,591              520               20          1,224                 -4 
855               80                9               12               6.7 

Union  of  Soviet  Socialist  Republics  

North  America  

South  America  

Africa  

Asia  (excluding  Union  of  Soviet  Socialist  Re- 
publics)   

Pacific  area  

Total  

13-345 

3.978 

30 

2,309 

6.7 
49.6 
12.3 
141.2 
46.7 
2-3 

10.6 
18.6 
18.1 
3-0 

7-5 
1.8 

i-7 

===== 

3-5 

-03 
27.2 
1.8 
8-5 

.2 
II.4 
O 

1.8 
.  i 
4.1 
r8 

Sweden 

41.0 
22.7 
896.7 
771.0 
851.1 
18.6 
228.4 

IOO  O 

23-5 
i-3 
334-4 
252.5 

395-9 
-5 
120.3 

57 
6 

37 
33 
46 

2 

53 

Great  Britain  

Canada  

Uni  ted  States  

Brazil  

Uruguay. 

Belgian  Congo 

Eevot 

Siam  

51.3 

18.6 
770.4 
26.4 

32-4 
•4 
30.9 
6.8 

63 

2 

4 
26 

Syria  

Australia     

New  Zealand.. 

1  I  hectare  equals  2.47  acres. 

This  is  one  useful  measure  of  for- 
ests, but  it  fails  to  show  what  kind  of 
forests,  and  more  particularly,  the  ac- 
cessible and  productive  forest  estate. 
In  the  United  States,  for  example, 
large  areas  are  classed  as  forest  that 
contain  thin  stands  of  short,  scrubby 
trees,  which  may  be  useful  as  sources 
of  local  fuel,  but  can  hardly  contribute 
to  national  or  world  demands  for 
manufactured  wood,  such  as  sawn 
lumber,  pulp,  ties,  and  poles. 

The  same  condition  exists  in  Aus- 
tralia, Africa,  and  elsewhere  along  the 
dry  southern  edge  of  forest  belts  and 
also  generally  on  the  cold,  dry  north- 
ern edge  of  the  forests  of  Canada, 
northern  Europe,  and  the  Soviet  Un- 
ion. So,  to  form  a  more  realistic  pic- 
ture of  the  productive  forest  estate,  it 
is  necessary  to  eliminate  such  local- 
use  forests.  From  the  second  table,  it 
is  evident  that  for  the  world  fully  34 


percent,  for  the  African  region  64  per- 
cent, and  for  New  Zealand  72  percent 
of  the  total  forest  area  cannot  be  ex- 
pected, under  existing  economics  and 
technology,  to  yield  forest  products 
other  than  fuel.  This  reduces  the  grand 
average  per  person  from  4.20  acres  to 
2.72.  The  United  States,  with  a  re- 
duction from  4.61  to  nearly  3.46,  ranks 
ahead  of  the  world  average.  (The 
United  States  has  customarily  reported 
its  forest  areas  as  commercial  and  non- 
commercial. Certain  areas  in  the  lat- 
ter category  are  so  classed  because  they 
are  reserved  for  recreation  or  other 
purposes,  but  are  reported  by  FAO 
as  productive  forest,  because  they  are 
physically  capable  of  producing  crops 
of  usable  wood.) 

This  is  the  most  realistic  measure  of 
the  true  productive  forests  yet  avail- 
able. It  shows  that  no  continent,  and 
relatively  few  countries,  are  fortunate 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


744 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  PRODUCTIVE  ACCESSIBLE  AND  INACCESSIBLE  CONIFEROUS  AND  BROAD- 
LEAVED    FORESTS    BY    REGIONS    AND    SELECTED    COUNTRIES 


Accessible 


Inaccessible 


Region  or  country                   '4 

i 

Europe  and  Union  of  Soviet  Socialist 
Republics                                        .  . 

Broad- 
Conifers       leaved 

Million       Million 
ectares  l     hectares  l     / 

316              108 
180              154 
10             297 

2                 148 

31             J43 
4              20 

Total        Conifers 

Million       Million 
\ectares  1     hectares  1     / 

424                 212 

334             135 
307                 5 
150     

Broad- 
leaved             Total 

Million       Million 
hectares  1     hectares  * 

9I                 103 
38                 173 
352              357 
156              156 

141              184 

22                      26 

Africa                      

Asia  (excluding  Union  of  Soviet  So- 
cialist   Republics)   .          

i?4 
24 

43 
4 

Total      

543 

"IT""       •.•-"-••--.• 

3-o 
4-5 
72.8 
88.4 
.1 

5-2 
.6 

870 

L4I3 

399 

800 

1,199 

s 

8.0 
•7 
39-8 
82.4 
17.0 
147.4 
1-9 
2-3 
22.7 

3-4 

12.  I 
.1 

II.  O      . 

5-2 

II2.6 

170.8 
17.1 

152.6 

2-5   . 
2.3  . 

22.7      . 

.8 
83.0 
19.4 
.  i 

3-5 

.1 

15.0 

1.6 
5-6 

221.  I 

-9 
98.0 

21.0 

5-7 
224.6 

Canada        

United  States               

Brazil                                                .    .  . 

I6.5 

16.5 

China                       

13-5 
1.6 
.6 

16.9 

13-7 
.7 

34-9 
.1 
.1 

4-5 

6-5 

I.O 

39-4 
6.6 
i.? 

Australia                          

New  Zealand  .  . 

1  I  hectare  equals  2.47  acres. 

enough  to  have  all  or  nearly  all  the 
forest  land  in  the  productive  category. 

Of  this  productive  forest  estate  as 
presently  measured  or  estimated,  by  no 
means  all  is  now  yielding  goods  for  na- 
tional and  world  needs.  Even  in  the 
advanced  economy  of  the  United 
States,  substantial  areas  of  productive 
forests  (52  million  acres)  remain  in- 
accessible to  use  and  lack  transporta- 
tion and  industrial  establishments. 

In  many  other  countries  and  regions, 
even  higher  fractions  of  the  productive 
forests  are  not  usable  at  present  or  for 
the  foreseeable  future.  Thus,  46  per- 
cent of  Canada's  productive  forest  area 
is  inaccessible,  as  is  60  percent  of  the 
great  forests  of  Brazil,  64  percent  of 
New  Zealand's,  and  80  percent  of  the 
large  productive  forest  areas  of  the 
Netherlands  East  Indies.  By  contrast, 


a  high  proportion  of  the  productive 
forests  in  Europe  ( excluding  the  Soviet 
Union)  is  accessible. 

In  comparison,  the  area  of  produc- 
tive and  accessible  forest  per  person 
for  the  2.3  billion  people  of  the  world 
( 1.48  acres)  is  50  percent  of  that  avail- 
able (2.96  acres)  to  the  146  million 
people  in  the  United  States  from  her 
own  forests. 

It  is  clear  that  large  areas  of  produc- 
tive forest,  totaling  2,862  million  acres, 
once  made  accessible,  are  still  available 
to  contribute  to  national,  regional,  and 
world  needs  for  wood.  This  presently 
unused  resource  represents  one  of  the 
great  and  widespread  opportunities  to 
improve  living  standards.  Only  54  per- 
cent of  the  productive  forests  of  the 
world  have  been  made  accessible,  and 
well  over  half  of  these  are  in  Europe, 


The  World  Forest  Situation 


745 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  PRODUCTIVE  AND  ACCESSIBLE  FOREST  AREAS  BY  REGIONS  AND 
SELECTED  COUNTRIES 

Percentage 

Percentage  accessible 

Total       Productive  productive   Accessible   productive 
forest          forest          to  total         forest          to  total 
Region  or  country  area  area  forest  area  forest 


Europe  and  Union  Soviet  Socialist  Republics  .  .  . 
North  America  

Million 
hectares  1 
1,046 
728 
755 
849 
520 
80 

Million                          Million 
hectares1      Percent      hectares1      Percent 
727                70              424                  41 
507              70            334                46 
664              88            307               41 
306              36            150               18 
358              69            174               33 
50              63              24               3& 

South  America  

Africa  

Asia  (excluding  Union  Soviet  Socialist  Republics). 
Pacific  area  

Total  

3.97B 

—            ••-  

i.i 

7-5 
334-4 
252.5 
48.6 
395-9 
120.3 
170.0 
22.3 

120.0 
30-9 

6.8 

2,612 

66 

— 

100 

81 
63 
76 
47 
95 
99 
29 

100 

58 
66 
28 

1.413 

35 

Hungary  

i.i 

6.1 

210.6 

191.8 
22.9 
377-2 
119.5 
50.0 
22.3 
70.0 
20.3 

I.O 

i.i 

5-2 

II2.6 

170.8 
17.1 
152.6 
69.0 
25.0 
19.7 

II.  O 

13.7 

.7 

100 

69 

34 
68 

35 
38 
57 
15 
88 

9 

44 

10 

Norway  

Canada  

United  States  

Argentina  

Brazil  

Belgian  Congo  

French  West  Africa 

Japan.  . 

Netherlands  Indies  

Australia  

New  Zealand  .  .  . 

1  hectare  equals  2.47  acres. 


Soviet  Russia,  and  in  North  America. 

AS  TO  THE  KINDS   OF  FORESTS,  it  is 

well  known  that  industrially  developed 
countries — such  as  the  United  States 
and  those  in  western  Europe — require 
large  amounts  of  manufactured  conif- 
erous products  for  their  economies.  It 
is  less  well  recognized,  but  equally  true, 
that  public  education  depends  largely 
on  the  printed  page,  which  is  made  of 
paper  coming  mostly  from  softwood 
trees.  And  advanced  irrigation  agricul- 
ture depends  on  containers  for  ship- 
ping, which  are  largely  of  board  or 
paperboard  made  mostly  from  soft- 
wood trees.  So  it  is  particularly  impor- 
tant to  know  the  availability  of  soft- 
wood supplies. 

The  broadleaved  forests,  both  those 
of  the  Temperate  Zones  and  of  the 
Tropics,  have  great  values,  but  so  far 
these  have  been  used  more  for  specialty 


woods  than  for  the  general  utility 
woods  required  in  industry,  building, 
agriculture,  and  publishing.  Hard- 
woods can  be  substituted  to  some  de- 
gree for  softwoods,  but  by  no  means 
generally.  Relative  costs  are  important. 

IN    RESPONDING    TO    OUR    INQUIRY, 

countries  classified  their  productive, 
accessible  forests  into  two  broad  cate- 
gories, conifers  and  broadleaved. 

Conifers  (softwoods)  :  All  trees 
classified  botanically  as  Gymnospermae 
(that  is,  pine  —  Pinus,  fir  —  Abies, 
spruce — Picea,  larch — Larix,  Parana 
pine — Araucaria,  and  ginkgo — Gink- 
go)  have  been  included  in  this 
category.  Broadleaved  species  (hard- 
woods) :  All  trees  classified  botanically 
as  Angiospermae.  The  species  be- 
longing to  this  group  are  generally 
broadleaved  (that  is,  oak — Quercus, 
beech — Fagus,  maple — Acer,  lignum 


746 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  FOREST  COMMODITY  PRODUCTION  AND  USE  BY  REGIONS  AND 
SELECTED  COUNTRIES 

Use  per  person 


Region  or  country 

Produc- 
tion (1946) 

Million 
cubic 
meters  1 
l6l  \ 

Popula- 
tion 

Millions 
f 

Fuel 

wood 

Cubic 
meters 

°-435 

Other 
wood 

Cubic 
meters 
0.465 

Total 

Cubic 
meters 
0.900 

Union  of  Soviet  Socialist  Republics  

252  / 

578  { 

(2) 

(2) 

(2) 

352 

201 

•44° 

1.680 

2.120 

179 

103 

.530 

.200 

.730 

49 

191 

.460 

.090 

.550 

Asia                                             

loo 

1,224 

.350 

.070 

.420 

16 

12 

.850 

•53° 

1.380 

Total           

1,410 

2,309 

.31 

.30 

.61 

11.  4 

Thousands 
3,877 

2.700 

.81 

3.  510 

3.7 

7,400 

.420 

.11 

.530 

19.  0 

6,719 

2.200 

i.  60 

1.80O 

.02 

i,  160 

.OO< 

.04 

.047 

77.0 

12,307 

I.  6oO 

1.99 

3.680 

258.  I 

141,229 

.390 

i.  60 

I.99O 

1.8 

1,220 

I.I25 

•35 

1.480 

.....              2.  4 

2,  128 

I.  IOO 

.07 

I.  170 

CC.g 

7?,  127 

.670 

.26 

•  91O 

French  Equatorial  Africa     

IO.  O 

1,Q84 

2.OIO 

.  o 

2.  C4.O 

French  West  Africa                              

I    O 

1  6,  2OO 

.  IOO 

.20 

I2O 

Australia  (1945  data)                           . 

Q.  Q 

7,  <>i6 

.460 

.86 

I.  12O 

New  Zealand  .  . 

2.6 

1,761 

.480 

i.  ii 

I.  <QO 

1  Millions  cubic  meters  roundwood  equivalent. 

2  Data  not  available. 

vitae — Guiaicum,  ebony — Diospyros, 
balsa — O  chroma,  poplar — Populus) . 

The  really  substantial  softwood 
forest  areas  of  the  world  are  confined 
to  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
northern  Europe,  and  the  Soviet  Re- 
public. The  countries  of  Latin  Ameri- 
ca report  only  2  percent  of  their  total 
productive  forest  area  in  softwoods, 
which  is  0.25  acre  per  person.  The 
relative  scarcity  in  Australia  and  New 
Zealand  is  reason  for  their  extensive 
softwood  planting  programs.  Asia  and 
Africa  have  extremely  limited  natural 
coniferous  forests. 

It  seems  correct  to  say  that  coun- 
tries that  possess  relatively  abundant 
supplies  of  softwood  have  a  great  com- 
petitive advantage  in  maintaining  or 


developing  an  industrial  economy  and 
in  advancing  the  general  level  of  pub- 
lic education. 

THE  ESSENTIAL  FACTS  about  the  for- 
ests of  the  earth  as  a  source  of  commod- 
ities may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 
They  are  distributed  unevenly  in  rela- 
tion to  total  area  of  regions  and  coun- 
tries and  per  person.  Substantial  parts 
are  unproductive  except  for  fuel.  Sub- 
stantial parts  of  the  productive  forests 
are  inaccessible.  The  softwood  forests 
are  more  unevenly  distributed  than  are 
all  forests.  Relative  to  the  world,  the 
United  States  is  in  a  strongly  favorable 
position  in  all  these  respects. 

THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  FORESTS  Can- 


The  World  Forest  Situation 


747 


not  be  described  in  detail — nor  is  that 
necessary  in  drawing  the  broad  picture 
of  the  world  forest  situation.  It  is  first 
necessary  to  note  that  in  most  of  the 
forest  and  geographic  regions  the 
same  destructive  practices  still  persist 
on  a  large  scale  which  have  been  tra- 
ditional throughout  history.  These  de- 
structive forms  of  land  use  destroyed 
forests  and  wrecked  agriculture  in 
many  of  the  ancient  countries  of  the 
Mediterranean,  China,  and  India. 

ONE  MAJOR  FORM  of  destruction  of 
forest  and  land  is  shifting  cultiva- 
tion— that  is,  deliberate  clearing  of  the 
forest  to  make  room  for  annual  field 
crops.  The  practice,  particularly  de- 
structive on  sloping  land,  is  today 
widespread  in  many  parts  of  Latin 
America,  Africa,  the  East  Indies,  and 
elsewhere.  Through  erosion  induced 
by  clearing  forests,  the  soil,  agriculture, 
and  downstream  lands  suffer.  Asso- 
ciated with  shifting  cultivation  is  the 
use  of  fire  for  clearing  land,  a  practice 
that,  if  unwisely  used,  expands  and 
speeds  up  the  ill  effects  of  shifting  cul- 
tivation. 

Overgrazing,  another  widespread 
practice,  first  depletes  the  natural 
grasslands,  then  drives  flocks  and  herds 
to  seek  new  lands — the  forest  lands. 
Since  these  may  not  be  naturally  pro- 
ductive of  forage,  fire  or  logging  is 
used  to  open  them  up  in  the  first  place, 
and  firing  is  often  repeated  to  make 
feed  accessible.  Great  areas  of  Africa 
and  Asia  have  been  treated  in  that 
way.  In  Africa  it  is  estimated  that 
more  than  60  percent  of  the  original 
forest  has  been  destroyed  by  shifting 
cultivation,  overgrazing,  and  the  asso- 
ciated use  of  fire.  The  process  is  con- 
tinuing. 

In  countries  and  regions  in  which 
those  practices  are  sanctioned,  it  is 
found  that  no  effective  effort  is  made 
to  control  forest  fires ;  fire,  whether  de- 
liberate or  accidental,  continues  to  be 
a  major  destructive  force  in  most  re- 
gions and  many  countries.  In  the 
United  States,  which  has  an  advanced 
organization  for  the  control  of  forest 


fires,  there  remain,  according  to  the 
United  States  Forest  Service,  about 
111  million  acres  of  productive  forest 
on  which  fire  control  is  not  applied. 

In  many  lands,  the  exploitation  of 
forests  for  their  useful  products  re- 
mains on  a  destructive  basis,  in  whole 
or  in  large  part.  The  effect,  whether 
caused  by  logging  alone  or  by  logging 
plus  fire,  is  to  prevent  or  delay  re- 
growth,  thereby  retaining  unproduc- 
tive land. 

The  effect  of  any  or  all  of  these 
destructive  forces  is  twofold:  Re- 
growth  is  prevented  or  delayed  or  re- 
duced in  volume  far  below  what  the 
land  could  support.  Further,  the  bene- 
ficial effects  of  forests  in  stabilizing 
waterflows  and  soils  are  reduced  or  de- 
stroyed; thereby  the  ill  effects  of  al- 
ternating floods  and  low  water  stages, 
of  erosion  and  deposition  of  unwanted 
soil  and  rock,  are  visited  on  crop  lands 
in  the  lower  river  basins. 

ALL  THIS  is  the  negative  side  of 
forest  management.  That  there  is  a 
large  continuing  reduction  of  produc- 
tive forest  area  and  a  failure  to  realize 
the  potential  useful  growth  of  the  pro- 
ductive forest  lands  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  even  though  statistical  meas- 
ures of  extent  are  now  lacking.  De- 
structive forces  and  practice  must,  of 
course,  be  brought  under  control  be- 
fore forestry  can  be  most  effective. 
Information  for  the  world  as  a  whole 
is  far  less  complete  than  it  is  for  the 
United  States. 

But  the  other  side  of  the  story — 
constructive  and  effective  forest  man- 
agement— needs  emphasis  as  well. 
Many  forest  lands  in  Europe  are  han- 
dled to  obtain  a  high  percentage  of 
their  full  growth  capacity,  and  idle 
land  is  the  exception.  But  considerable 
areas  are  only  partly  stocked ;  on  them 
the  full  growth  capacity  is  by  no 
means  utilized.  Large  and  increasing 
areas  of  Canadian  and  United  States 
forests  are  kept  at  work,  though  gen- 
erally on  a  less  intensive  (that  is,  fully 
productive)  basis  than  those  of  west- 
ern Europe.  A  great  deal  of  the  forest 


748 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


areas  of  India,  Pakistan,  Burma,  and 
of  parts  of  the  East  Indies  has  been 
placed  under  good  forest  management. 
So,  too,  with  parts  of  colonial  empires 
in  Africa. 

For  many  other  regions  and  coun- 
tries no  records  are  available  to  show 
what  fraction  of  forest  land  is  handled 
so  as  to  remain  a  productive  asset. 
Though  available  evidence  is  far  from 
detailed,  it  seems  that  in  Latin  America 
and  Africa,  at  least,  the  destruction  of 
forests  is  outstripping  the  adoption  of 
sound  practices. 

THE  RATE  OF  APPLYING  FOREST  MAN- 
AGEMENT is,  of  necessity,  slow. 

First  of  all,  a  nation  itself  must  have 
the  genuine  intent,  expressed  in  forest 
policy  and  forest  law,  to  conserve  its 
forests  for  its  own  benefit.  Then  a  forest 
organization  must  be  established  to  put 
into  effect  the  policy  and  law  decided 
on.  To  build  a  competent  organization 
where  none  has  existed  always  involves 
such  time-consuming  steps  as  providing 
professional  education  and  training, 
developing  operating  facilities,  decid- 
ing on  the  form  of  the  organization, 
developing  leadership,  and  obtaining 
required  financial  support.  A  vital  for- 
estry program  must  come  from  within 
the  individual  country. 

A  true  and  insistent  initial  realiza- 
tion of  the  need  for  forestry  seldom 
arises  until  forest  products  become 
locally  or  nationally  scarce.  Until  that 
stage  is  reached,  exploitation  is  com- 
monly tolerated  or  accepted  by  govern- 
ments and  peoples.  At  present,  the 
greatest  continental  area  in  which  this 
realization  is  developing  seems  to  be 
Latin  America.  Certainly  the  response 
in  the  Latin-American  Conference  on 
Forestry  and  Forest  Products  in  April 
1948,  sponsored  by  the  Food  and  Agri- 
culture Organization,  shows  active  in- 
terest. At  the  conference,  several 
countries,  large  and  small,  planned  for 
the  establishment  of  effective  forestry, 
spurred  on  by  the  existence  of  local 
wood  shortages  and  by  a  realization  of 
the  part  forests  and  forestry  can  have 
in  the  whole  economy. 


European  countries  generally  are 
placing  great  emphasis  on  restoring 
forests  destroyed  by  war  and  on  im- 
proving the  growth  in  overcut  forests,  as 
part  of  their  basic  recovery  programs. 

In  several  countries  of  Asia,  new 
governments  are  taking  over  the  for- 
estry programs  already  set  up  by 
former  colonial  services.  The  United 
States  is  particularly  interested  in  the 
program  in  the  Philippines,  which  is 
continuing  from  the  foundation  work 
done  by  this  country. 

THE  CURRENT  GROWTH  on  produc- 
tive forest  lands  is  a  measure  of  the 
effectiveness  of  forestry.  In  the  coun- 
tries with  the  most  advanced  practices, 
the  actual  growth  is  a  relatively  high 
proportion  (up  to  80—85  percent)  of 
that  which  forest  soils  could  produce 
under  the  best  conditions. 

The  growth  potential  is  realized  by 
curbing  destructive  forces,  such  as 
fire,  insects,  and  diseases;  by  produc- 
tive use  of  small  trees  and  limbs  of 
trees  for  pulp,  fuel  wood,  and  so  on; 
and  by  frequent  working  of  the  forest 
so  that  slow-growing  trees  are  removed 
and  used. 

In  contrast,  no  net  current  growth 
is  obtained  from  forest  lands  when  the 
forest  is  undisturbed  (virgin  forest) 
and  growth  is  offset  by  natural  loss  and 
decay.  That  is  the  situation  in  many 
unworked  forests — that  is,  the  pro- 
ductive, inaccessible  forests.  Nor  is  net 
current  growth  obtained  when  re- 
stocking of  productive  forest  soils  has 
failed.  That  is  the  situation  when  de- 
structive forces,  such  as  fire  or  logging 
followed  by  fire,  have  destroyed  forests 
and  prevented  regrowth. 

The  estimation  of  total  growth  of 
forests  is  complex  and  difficult,  and  it 
is  understandable  that  in  many  coun- 
tries only  a  general  attempt  to  do  so 
has  been  made.  Indeed,  valid  estimates 
usually  can  be  prepared  only  after  for- 
ests have  been  placed  under  systematic 
management. 

Even  more  difficult  is  the  estimation 
of  natural  losses  caused  by  fire,  insects, 
and  disease.  Fire  and  insect  losses  tend 


The  World  Forest  Situation 


749 


to  occur  irregularly,  and  many  losses 
of  wood  caused  by  disease  are  con- 
cealed within  the  boles  of  trees. 

Nevertheless,  some  countries  have 
solid  estimates  of  both  total  and  net 
growth  obtained  under  management, 
so  that  it  is  possible  to  appraise  what 
the  productive  forests  of  the  world  can 
produce.  It  must  be  emphasized  that 
such  an  appraisal  assumes  reasonably 
good  management — that  is,  keeping 
forest  lands  productive. 

The  reported  present  growth  rates 
for  coniferous  forests  in  Europe  range 
downward  from  104  cubic  feet  per  acre 
in  Denmark  to  2 1  for  Great  Britain  and 
23  for  Poland.  The  figures  for  Great 
Britain  and  Poland  reflect  devastation 
of  forests  during  the  war.  The  average 
of  the  rates  reported  is  about  31.  It  is 
fair  to  assume  that  as  the  forestry  pro- 
grams are  expanded,  this  rate  can  be 
increased  to  not  less  than  43  cubic  feet 
per  acre. 

An  unofficial  estimate  of  growth  in 
the  coniferous  forests  of  the  Soviet  Un- 
ion is  28  cubic  feet  per  acre.  It  would 
be  unwise  to  assume  a  higher  average 
for  the  future,  because  of  the  northerly 
location  of  many  of  the  forests. 

In  Canada  the  current  rate  of 
growth  of  coniferous  forests  is  about 
14  cubic  feet  per  acre,  and  an  attain- 
able rate  of  28  can  be  assumed  as  bet- 
ter management  is  applied. 

In  the  United  States  the  reported 
growth  rate  of  33  cubic  feet  per  acre 
reflects  the  high-growth  potential  of 
many  of  the  coniferous  forest  lands. 
It  is  estimated  that  improved  manage- 
ment could  increase  the  average  to  57. 

All  in  all,  the  accessible  coniferous 
forests  of  the  world,  with  reasonably 
good  management,  could  be  made  to 
produce  an  average  net  yield  of  about 
31  cubic  feet  per  acre,  or  a  total  of 
more  than  40  billion  cubic  feet.  The 
present  normal  use  of  coniferous  wood 
is  estimated  as  about  26  billion  cubic 
feet. 

The  inaccessible  coniferous  forests 
are  not  likely  to  attain  rates  of  growth 
as  high  as  are  assumed  for  the  accessi- 
ble forests,  because  growing  conditions 


are  generally  less  favorable.  But  the 
986  million  acres  of  inaccessible  conif- 
erous forests,  as  put  under  manage- 
ment, should  yield  an  annual  average 
growth  of  22  billion  cubic  feet. 

Thus,  with  reasonably  good  man- 
agement, the  coniferous  forests  of  the 
world  could  be  made  to  yield  continu- 
ously well  over  twice  the  amount  of 
wood  now  normally  used  and  lost.  That 
result  cannot  be  expected  in  a  short 
time,  and  an  expansion  of  the  current 
rate  of  consumption  of  the  coniferous 
wood  is  not  safe  at  the  present  time. 

About  64  percent  of  the  total  pro- 
ductive forest  area  of  the  world  con- 
sists of  broadleaved  species.  Of  this, 
about  14  percent  is  temperate  hard- 
woods and  50  percent  tropical  hard- 
woods. 

In  Europe  and  in  North  America, 
the  present  estimated  growth  of  the 
temperate  hardwoods  is  about  the 
same  as  for  coniferous  forests.  We  esti- 
mate that  these  rates  of  growth  can  be 
increased  substantially. 

In  the  tropical  broadleaved  forests, 
only  a  few  of  the  many  species  are 
being  exploited.  For  the  merchantable 
species  only,  annual  growth  rates  of 
7  to  21  cubic  feet  per  acre  have  been 
estimated.  Growth  as  high  as  100  cubic 
feet  per  acre  has  been  estimated  as 
attainable  where  it  is  possible  to  use 
all  the  species,  including  those  that  are 
at  present  unused. 

The  future  productivity  of  the  trop- 
ical hardwood  forests  thus  depends  on 
finding  uses  for  many  more  species, 
and,  most  important,  on  curbing  the 
current  rates  of  forest  destruction 
through  controlling  the  practices  men- 
tioned earlier. 

The  world  can  have  a  far  larger 
supply  of  wood  than  it  now  uses,  and 
can  have  it  permanently,  if  the  pro- 
ductive forests  are  given  reasonably 
good  management. 

ONE  OVER-ALL  MEASURE  of  the  for- 
est-management situation  is  the  rela- 
tion between  average  growth  and 
drain  on  the  accessible  productive  for- 
ests, that  is,  those  that  have  been  or 


759 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


are  being  worked  over.  Growth  on  all 
trees  in  the  forests  is  one  side  of  the 
balance  sheet;  losses  from  natural 
causes  plus  fellings,  the  other.  Com- 
prehensive world  figures  are  not  avail- 
able, because  by  no  means  all 
countries  have  been  able  to  report  both 
growth  and  drain. 

Sixteen  European  countries  report 
in  total  an  almost  exact  balance  be- 
tween growth  and  drain  for  all  forests, 
both  the  coniferous  and  broadleaved. 
Seven  have  a  plus  balance,  nine  a 
minus  balance.  The  Soviet  Union,  Ger- 
many, and  Hungary  are  not  included. 
On  the  same  basis,  the  United  States 
reports  a  drain  of  2*/a  percent  in  excess 
of  growth.  The  same  European  nations 
report  a  small  excess  (1.4  percent)  of 
drain  over  growth  for  coniferous  for- 
ests. The  excess  drain  on  conifers  in 
the  United  States  is  23.5  percent;  the 
excess  of  growth  over  drain  for  broad- 
leaved  species  is  more  than  18  percent. 

In  the  United  States,  the  Forest 
Service  reports  an  excess  of  drain  over 
growth  of  about  50  percent  for  trees 
of  saw-timber  size,  a  significant  imbal- 
ance. Comparable  figures  have  not 
been  reported  for  the  European  coun- 
tries, but  in  general  the  saw-timber  sup- 
ply seems  to  be  fairly  well  kept  in 
balance  with  the  allowed  cut.  Some 
countries  are  now  contemplating  an 
attempt  to  offset  severe  overcutting 
during  the  war  by  reduced  rate  of 
cutting. 

A  large  excess  of  drain  over  growth, 
particularly  if  it  is  in  larger  size  trees, 
is  a  danger  signal,  indicating  need  for 
measures  to  reduce  the  gap.  The  gen- 
eral nature  of  the  steps  is  mentioned  in 
the  latter  part  of  this  paper.  The  de- 
tailed measures,  applicable  to  the 
specific  urgent  situation  in  the  United 
States,  have  been  reported  by  the 
Forest  Service  (Gaging  the  Timber 
Resource  of  the  United  States,  U.  S. 
D.  A.  Forest  Service,  1946) .  Continua- 
tion of  a  process  of  taking  out  more 
than  is  grown  can  have  only  the  effect 
of  reducing  the  growing  stock — the 
situation  already  reported  in  detail  by 
the  Forest  Service. 

'    .• -•     j      ,'->.:..> 


I  NOTED  EARLIER  that  forests  were 
unevenly  distributed,  both  in  relation 
to  population  and  as  a  fraction  of  the 
total  land  area  of  countries  and  regions. 
It  is  equally  true  that  the  production 
and  use  of  forest  products  varies  enor- 
mously from  country  to  country  and 
from  region  to  region. 

The  figures  in  the  table  on  page  746 
are  based  on  responses,  covering  1945- 
46,  from  75  countries.  It  is  known 
that  the  figures  for  use  of  wood  as  fuel 
are  at  best  wide  approximations,  be- 
cause detailed  records  are  seldom  kept. 
And  since  not  all  nations  are  able  to 
report  on  production,  exports,  and  im- 
ports, it  has  been  necessary  to  estimate 
regional  production  and  use  of  forest 
products. 

The  total  estimated  production  in 
1946  was  nearly  50  billion  cubic  feet, 
about  6  percent  less  than  the  53  billion, 
which  was  regarded  as  the  prewar 
normal.  More  than  61  percent  of  this 
total  came  from  the  forests  of  Europe, 
the  Soviet  Union,  and  North  America, 
with  47  percent  of  the  productive  for- 
est area  of  the  world,  and  about  13 
percent  from  South  America,  with  25 
percent  of  the  productive  forest  area. 

It  is  estimated  that,  as  a  world  aver- 
age, 48  percent  of  wood  is  used  for  con- 
struction and  industrial  purposes  and 
slightly  more  as  fuel.  The  best  avail- 
able estimates  indicate  that  in  North 
America  about  78  percent  of  the  total 
consumption  is  as  industrial  wood, 
whereas  in  South  America  and  Asia 
only  about  17  percent  is  so  used,  the 
rest  going  as  fuel. 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  the  industrial- 
ized regions  and  countries  are  rela- 
tively heavy  users  of  processed  wood, 
both  as  lumber  and  as  pulp.  A  rela- 
tively large  part  of  this  is  coniferous 
wood.  Moreover,  a  relatively  small 
part  of  their  total  use  of  wood  is  as  fuel. 

The  great  industrialized  regions — 
Europe,  the  Soviet  Union,  and  North 
America — have  about  one-third  of  the 
people  of  the  world  and  use  80  per- 
cent of  all  the  processed  wood. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  world's  pop- 
ulation uses  relatively  little  manufac- 


The  World  Forest  Situation 


tured  wood — far  less  per  person  than 
the  industrialized  nations. 

The  slightly  industrialized  regions — 
Asia,  Africa,  and  South  America — 
and  countries  such  as  Greece,  Leba- 
non, Honduras,  and  French  West 
Africa  use  relatively  little  manufac- 
tured wood.  The  slightly  industrial- 
ized regions  and  countries  are  in  two 
broad  categories — those  with  little  for- 
est area  per  person  and  those  with  rela- 
tively much.  The  first  group  uses  little 
wood,  even  for  fuel.  This  in  extreme 
form,  as  in  China,  India,  and  the 
Middle  East,  results  in  use  of  agricul- 
tural refuse  and  dung  as  fuel,  materials 
that  should  be  returned  to  the  cropped 
soils.  The  second  may  have  a  rela- 
tively high  per  person  use — mostly  for 
fuel — as  in  Honduras,  Puerto  Rico, 
and  French  Equatorial  Africa. 

The  per  person  rate  of  consumption 
for  the  United  States  is  among  the 
highest  for  any  region  or  country  and 
indicates  the  level  toward  which  a 
vigorous  and  developing  economy  and 
a  growing  population  may  push  the 
use  of  wood. 

About  half  of  the  world's  total  con- 
sumption of  wood  is  as  fuel. 

How  SIGNIFICANT  these  present 
generalizations  may  be  in  the  future 
will  depend  on  future  developments  in 
various  regions  and  countries,  and 
these  are  not  predictable. 

But  it  is  worth  noting  that  the  Soviet 
Union  has  changed  in  a  few  years  from 
a  net  exporter  to  a  net  importer  of 
forest  products,  partly  because  of  a 
major  program  of  industrial  develop- 
ment. The  United  States  has  long  been 
a  net  importer  of  all  forest  products. 
From  1920  to  1940  she  was  a  net  ex- 
porter of  lumber,  but  has  since  become 
a  net  importer,  except  by  a  narrow 
margin  in  1947. 

On  the  whole,  an  extremely  large 
latent  demand  for  wood  must  exist  in 
many  of  the  present  low-use  countries. 

Either  of  two  developments  could 
turn  potential  use  into  actual  use.  Any 
substantial  industrial  development 
would  do  so,  and  this  could  include 


certain  forms  of  intensive  agriculture, 
particularly  those  involving  fruits  and 
vegetables  and  other  foods  processed 
and  packed  for  consumer  use.  Any 
substantial  increase  of  living  standard 
also  could  do  so.  A  relatively  small 
change  upward  in  housing  standards, 
the  addition  of  a  small  weekly  news- 
paper, or  another  use  of  pulpwood  to 
the  average  family  income  would  add 
greatly  to  the  total  and  per  person  use 
of  wood.  If  the  nearly  1  *4  billion  peo- 
ple of  Asia  should  raise  consumption 
to  the  level  now  in  effect  in  South 
America,  an  increase  of  more  than  one- 
third  in  the  total  drain  on  the  world's 
forests  would  result.  Even  a  continua- 
tion of  present  per  person  use  will 
mean  increased  total  demand,  for  pop- 
ulation is  increasing  rapidly,  partic- 
ularly in  the  countries  with  low  use  of 
wood  or  with  a  low  level  of  indus- 
trialization. 

It  is  speculative  whether  all  of  this 
increased  demand  will  develop.  But  it 
would  appear  prudent  for  countries, 
regions,  and  the  world  to  act  in  the 
expectation  that  some  increase  in  ef- 
fective demand  for  wood  products  will 
develop. 

The  essential  facts  of  the  forestry 
and  forest-products  situation  and  of 
the  trends  in  economic  affairs  indicate 
how  possible  is  an  increased  consump- 
tion of  forest  products. 

The  essentials  are: 

1.  Industrialization  requires  use  of 
relatively  large  quantities  of  general 
utility  softwoods.  Substitution  of  trop- 
ical hardwoods  for  softwoods  under 
existing   technological   and   economic 
conditions  will  be  slow  and  difficult. 

2.  The  major  sources  of  supply  for 
softwoods  are  Canada,  United  States, 
the  Soviet  Union,  and  northern  Eu- 
rope. Of  these,  only  the  first  is  now  a 
net  exporter.  The  United  States  and 
northern  Europe  cannot  supply  their 
own  net  estimated  needs  for  some  time. 

3.  Native     softwood     supplies     in 
South    America,    Africa,    Asia,    and 
Oceania  are  less  than  required  for  the 
long  run  for  those  regions.  They  are 
now  net  importers. 


752 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


4.  Industrial  development  of  addi- 
tional countries,  such  as  is  now  ap- 
parently planned  in   parts  of  South 
America,  Asia,  and  Africa,  would  in- 
crease   competition    for    the    already 
limited  softwood  supplies  available  for 
export. 

5.  The  best  opportunities  for  piec- 
ing out  existing  supplies  of  softwoods 
lie  in  four  directions: 

Larger  recovery  of  products  from 
forests  and  trees,  which  might  increase 
supplies  from  15  to  20  percent  (i.  e., 
pulp  as  a  byproduct  of  lumber),  and 
salvaging  the  unused  material  in  the 
woods. 

More  efficient  design  in  the  use  of 
wood,  for  example,  in  housing,  which 
might  reduce  use  in  the  order  of  10  to 
15  percent. 

Substitution  of  other  materials,  for 
example,  in  housing — steel,  stone, 
cement,  brick. 

Substitution  of  hardwoods  for  soft- 
woods. The  great  area  of  tropical  hard- 
woods offers  an  apparent  opportunity 
to  do  so.  Many  such  substitutions  are 
technologically  feasible  and  are  pri- 
marily questions  of  economics,  that  is, 
of  price  levels. 

But  established  habits  and  patterns 
change  slowly  and  substantial  changes 
in  forms  and  economy  of  use  are  sel- 
dom made  overnight,  even  under  the 
most  severe  pressure  of  need. 

THE  EXISTING  SHORT  SUPPLY,  par- 
ticularly of  softwoods,  emphasizes  the 
need  for  the  installation  of  forestry 
practices  everywhere,  and  the  opening 
to  use  of  inaccessible  productive  for- 
ests. There  is  little  evidence  that  any 
country,  great  or  small,  can  continue 
to  depend  indefinitely  on  readily  avail- 
able imports,  at  least  to  the  degree  that 
now  exists.  It  appears,  rather,  that  full 
use  of  native  supplies,  even  though 
they  are  not  ideal,  will  be  forced.  The 
opening  up  of  unused  forests,  construc- 
tive management  of  forests  now  under 
exploitation  and,  for  the  long  run, 
restoration  of  forests  are  all  required 
to  insure  supplies  as  needed. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  a  large 


fraction  of  the  productive  inaccessible 
forests  are  classed  as  "tropical  hard- 
woods." This  generic  term  encom- 
passes thousands  of  tree  species,  of 
which  only  at  most  a  few  hundred  have 
been  adequately  studied  to  determine 
the  use  values  of  their  woods.  Most  of 
these  are  now  of  interest  to  consumers 
only  for  highly  special — and  valu- 
able— qualities,  such  as  beauty,  hard- 
ness, softness,  durability. 

THE  TASK  OF  FINDING  out  what  the 
tropical  hardwoods  can  do  to  better 
balance  the  world's  needs  for  utility 
woods  requires  a  vast  deal  of  tech- 
nological research.  Effective  market 
demand  and  substitution  of  one  wood 
for  another  is  not  apt  to  come  about 
through  vague  generalizations.  The 
industrialized  wood-using  areas  of  the 
world  can  potentially  ease  their  supply 
problems  by  research  programs  in  wood 
technology,  regardless  of  where  the  raw 
material  supplies  may  be.  Supply,  as 
well  as  quality,  needs  to  be  known  for 
the  thousands  of  presently  unused  trop- 
ical hardwood  species.  The  using  na- 
tions have  a  valid  motive  to  take 
interest  in  forest  exploration  and  in- 
ventory and  in  technological  research. 

The  meaning  of  the  world's  forest 
situation  as  here  sketched  seems  rea- 
sonably clear.  The  Food  and  Agricul- 
ture Organization,  an  international 
organization  set  up  to  study,  analyze, 
advise,  and  help,  needs  to  continue  to 
do  everything  proper  to  stimulate  and 
aid  governments  to  apply  forest  man- 
agement. Primary  initiative  must,  of 
course,  come  from  each  nation  acting 
in  its  own  self-interest.  A  country 
such  as  the  United  States,  which 
possesses  a  great  estate  of  productive 
forest  land,  which  has  appraised  its 
own  current  and  prospective  needs, 
which  has  estimated  current  and 
prospective  forest  growth,  needs  to 
keep  its  own  balance  sheets  in  con- 
tinuous review  and  decide  on  and  ap- 
ply production  goals  for  its  own  needs 
and  for  export.  There  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  growing  industrializa- 
tion of  presently  underdeveloped  coun- 


The  World  Forest  Situation 


753 


tries  will  add  to  the  demand  for  forest 
products  and  thereby  give  an  outlet  to 
those  countries  with  an  exportable 
surplus,  especially  of  softwoods.  The 
danger  of  unwieldy  surpluses  is  re- 
mote, in  a  world-wide  sense,  if  na- 
tional and  regional  economics  recover 
or  advance. 

IT  IS  CLEARLY  IMPRACTICABLE  tO  SCt 

down  in  detail  the  steps  through  which 
nations  may  realize  the  full  value  of 
their  estates  of  forest  land,  lands  which 
in  most  instances  are  unsuited  to  other 
uses.  Situations  vary  so  greatly — from 
the  thoroughly  devastated  forests  of 
many  Near  and  Middle  East  countries, 
to  the  largely  unknown,  untouched, 
and  inaccessible  forests  of  the  Amazon 
basin,  to  the  perennially  productive 
forests  of  western  Europe,  to  the 
mixed  situation  of  the  United  States 
with  some  elements  of  the  ruling  con- 
ditions of  all  continents. 

The  general  nature  of  the  essential 
steps  that  must  be  taken  to  establish 
forestry  are  well  established  by  world 
experience : 

1 .  To  halt  and  control  the  major  de- 
structive forces  and  processes — shift- 
ing cultivation,  overgrazing  and  burn- 
ing, exploitative  and  excessive  rate  of 
utilization  of  productive  forests. 

2.  To  create  a  body  of  public  forest 
policy  and  law  and  to  apply  it  through 
a  competent  professional  organization. 

3.  To  obtain  the  understanding  and 
support  of  affected  people  for  the  pro- 
gram. To  estimate  prospective  needs 
for  forests  and  their  products  and  to 
determine  what  the  forest  lands  of  the 
country  can  produce  under  forestry. 

4.  To  apply  the  forestry  practices 
which  may  be  effective  and  economi- 
cally feasible  with  a  forward-looking 
view  of  economics  in  making  the  for- 
est lands  productive. 

5.  To  learn  a  great  deal  more  about 
forests  and  forest  products  than  is  now 
known. 

THE   INFORMATION   AVAILABLE   indi- 

cates  that  forests  will  be  called  on  to 
play  a  greater  rather  than  a  lesser  part 

802062C 


in  the  economies  of  nations  and  re- 
gions, and  that  constructive  manage- 
ment— that  is,  realization  of  the  growth 
of  potential  forest  soils — will  be  more 
rather  than  less  necessary. 

Thus,  it  is  important  that  each  na- 
tion move  aggressively  to  improve  its 
own  forest  situation.  It  is  equally  im- 
portant that  nations  act  with  full 
knowledge  of  the  total  and  regional 
forest  situations,  that  they  have  access 
to  data  on  improved  methods  and 
techniques,  and  that  they  consult  reg- 
ularly with  each  other  on  questions  of 
regional  concern. 

THE  GREAT  FACT  about  the  world's 
forest  situation  is  that  there  is  enough 
productive  forest  land  to  turn  out  con- 
tinuously much  more  wood  than  at 
present,  and  thereby  to  raise  standards 
of  living  and  support  increased  indus- 
trialization. But  this  goal  can  be 
reached  only  if  nations  replace  destruc- 
tive exploitation  by  forestry.  Such 
exploitation  is  no  longer  the  problem  of 
individual  nations,  to  be  noted  with 
regret.  It  is  a  matter  of  deadly  serious- 
ness to  all  nations. 

The  unsatisfied  needs  for  forest 
products  are  less  potent  than  is  lack  of 
food  as  a  cause  of  unrest.  But  all  the 
basic  requirements  of  food,  clothing, 
and  shelter  need  to  be  met  to  create  a 
decent  standard  of  life. 

Greater  attention  to  forests  every- 
where is  one  of  the  steps  that  must  be 
taken  to  build  a  more  solid  foundation 
for  peace. 

STUART  BEVIER  SHOW  is  chief  of  the 
forestry  branch,  Division  of  Forestry 
and  Forest  Products,  of  the  Food  and 
Agriculture  Organization  of  the  United 
Nations.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Stanford 
University  and  Yale  and  a  life-long 
resident  of  California.  Mr.  Show  was 
regional  forester  in  charge  of  the  Cali- 
fornia region  of  the  Forest  Service 
from  1926  to  1946.  He  is  the  author 
of  numerous  publications  on  forest 
management,  forest  planting,  forest- 
fire  control,  and  forest-land  ownership 
and  use. 


754 


THE  REAL  INTERESTS  OF  THE  PEOPLE 

WILLIAM  GREEN 


Labor  has  a  vital  interest  in  the  for- 
ests and  in  what  happens  to  them. 
Forests  mean  jobs.  Forest-based  indus- 
tries and  activities  support  more  than 
2  million  workers  and  their  families  in 
the  United  States — loggers  in  the 
woods,  workers  in  sawmills  and  planing 
mills  and  lumber  yards,  in  pulp  and 
paper  and  rayon  mills  and  processing 
plants,  in  furniture  factories,  cooperage 
plants,  box  plants,  in  naval  stores,  and 
in  other  forest-products  industries. 

Indirectly,  the  forests  contribute  to 
the  support  of  additional  millions  of 
workers — railroad  workers,  printers, 
factory  workers.  The  transportation, 
wholesaling,  and  retailing  of  commodi- 
ties made  wholly  or  partly  from  forest 
products  mean  still  more  jobs. 

The  interest  of  organized  labor  in 
the  Nation's  forests,  however,  goes  far 
beyond  their  value  as  a  source  of  em- 
ployment. Workers  are  also  consumers, 
and  they  have  the  same  interests  in  a 
steady  flow  of  forest  products  as  any 
other  consumers.  They  want  homes; 
they  want  the  things  forests  give  that 
make  for  comfortable  and  pleasant  liv- 
ing. And  they  want  these  things  at 
prices  they  can  afford  to  pay. 

Workers  also  are  interested  in  the 
recreational  value  of  the  forests.  The 
practice  of  vacations  and  holidays 
with  pay  has  become  almost  universal 
throughout  American  industry.  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  workers  spend 
much  of  their  vacation  and  holiday 
leisure  in  the  forests,  picnicking,  camp- 
ing, hiking,  hunting,  and  fishing.  As 
increasing  production  efficiency  and 
rising  living  standards  bring  more  leis- 
ure time,  the  need  for  such  recrea- 
tional opportunities  will  grow. 

Most  forest  industries  in  this  country 
grew  up  on  the  exploitation  of  virgin 
timber.  As  the  timber  was  cut  out  in 
one  locality,  operators  moved  on  to  an- 
other. The  workers  had  to  move  on, 
too,  or  else  be  left  jobless  in  a  commu- 


nity that  was  apt  to  go  into  rapid 
decline  after  its  principal  economic 
support  had  departed. 

Workers  in  the  forest  industries  are 
no  different  from  other  people  in  their 
desire  for  the  things  that  make  life 
good.  They  want  to  live  in  homes  of 
their  own,  rather  than  migrate  from 
camp  to  camp.  They  want  to  bring  up 
their  children  in  a  wholesome  environ- 
ment. They  want  to  have  a  part  in  the 
life  of  their  community.  But  they  can- 
not look  forward  to  these  things  if  their 
jobs  are  based  on  cut-out-and-get-out 
operations. 

A  STEADY  FLOW  of  forest  products 
can  come  only  from  steadily  producing 
forests.  Permanent  employment  in  all 
the  industries  and  trades  that  depend 
on  forest  products  can  come  only  from 
steadily  producing  forests.  Yet  the  bulk 
of  our  forest  land  is  not  being  managed 
for  steady  production.  Official  reports 
show  that  we  are  taking  saw  timber 
from  the  forests  faster  than  it  grows. 
A  declining  resource  certainly  is  not  a 
basis  for  expanding  industry  and  em- 
ployment. It  cannot  continue  indefi- 
nitely to  support  even  the  present  level 
of  employment  and  production. 

Building  up  our  forest  lands  to  full 
productiveness  will  increase  the  oppor- 
tunities for  permanent  employment. 
Forest  improvement  is  a  capital  invest- 
ment. It  will  furnish  more  security  for 
present  forest  industries  and  the  people 
who  work  in  them,  and  will  build  up  a 
resource  base  for  additional  employ- 
ment. 

ORGANIZED  LABOR  has  for  a  long  time 
recognized  the  value  of  a  comprehen- 
sive program  to  conserve  the  Nation's 
timberland.  Almost  annually,  the  con- 
vention of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  has  gone  on  record  as  favoring 
the  development  of  an  over-all  forestry 
program. 


Labor  Loofa  at  Threes  and  Conservation 


The  1946  convention  of  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labor,  for  example, 
adopted  a  resolution,  submitted  by  the 
delegate  from  the  Montana  State  Fed- 
eration of  Labor,  that  said,  in  part: 

We  favor  immediate  action  in  the  de- 
velopment of  a  State  and  National  program 
for  all  forest  lands  that  will  protect  the 
forests  from  fire,  insects,  and  disease  dam- 
age ;  promote  forestry  practices  that  will  re- 
sult in  full  use  of  the  productive  capacity 
of  these  lands  but  not  overuse  which  would 
bring  exhaustion  of  usable  timber  at  a  later 
date;  promote  greater  utilization  of  the 
wood  products  thereby  eliminating  waste 
and  conserving  timber  supplies  now  avail- 
able; and  provide  for  an  aggressive  start  on 
reforestation  of  lands  now  not  producing 
anything  of  commercial  value.  .  .  . 

Numerous  State  and  local  affiliates 


755 

of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
also  have  actively  campaigned  for  a 
program  that  would  bring  an  end  to 
the  destructive  cutting  of  the  Nation's 
forests. 

ORGANIZED  LABOR  continues  to  have 
great  faith  that  the  Nation's  forests 
can  make  a  great  contribution  to  the 
welfare  of  the  wage  earners  of  this 
country.  In  order  to  achieve  this  objec- 
tive, labor  will  continue  to  fight  for  the 
development  of  a  program  that  will 
manage  the  forest  land  in  the  real  in- 
terests of  the  people. 

WILLIAM  GREEN  is  president  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor. 


LABOR  LOOKS  AT  TREES  AND  CONSERVATION 


PHILIP  MURRAY 


Never  before  has  labor  been  more 
acutely  aware  than  it  is  today  of  how 
its  welfare  is  tied  to  the  Nation's  re- 
sources of  trees  and  forests. 

Millions  of  worker  families  find  that 
lumber  for  the  houses  they  want  to  buy 
or  build  costs  three  times  what  it  did 
before  the  Second  World  War  and 
about  six  times  what  it  cost  before  the 
First  World  War.  The  pinch  of  wood 
scarcity  is  felt,  too,  by  many  labor 
unions  when  they  shop  for  newsprint 
on  which  to  publish  union  papers. 

No  matter  where  a  worker  is  em- 
ployed, moreover,  he  sees  parts  of  trees 
put  to  many  vital  uses.  All  too  fre- 
quently in  recent  years,  shortage  of  one 
kind  or  another  of  tree  products  has 
been  a  bottleneck  or  stumbling  block 
to  production  and  to  employment. 

Industrially,  tree  products  are  used 
and  needed  everywhere.  Wood  is  basic, 
like  steel. 

As  a  result  of  their  heightened 
awareness  that  something  must  be 
wrong  with  the  Nation's  tree  and  forest 
resources,  numerous  groups  within  or- 
ganized labor  have  been  studying  the 
economics  of  basic  wood  and  of  for- 


estry more  intensively  than  ever  before. 
Those  studies  are  making  labor  con- 
scious of  certain  key  facts  about  trees 
and  forests — facts  that  demand  action. 

Labor  sees  that  the  basic  wood  and 
forest  resource  is  renewable  or  ex- 
haustible, depending  wholly  on  how 
that  resource  is  managed.  It  is  renew- 
able if  the  forests  are  protected  from 
fire;  if  logging  is  done  conservatively 
in  accordance  with  sound  forestry  prin- 
ciples; if  the  wood  is  utilized  efficiently; 
and  if  depleted  and  devastated  areas 
are  promptly  reforested. 

But  the  wood  resource  is  exhaustible 
if  forest  fires  are  not  controlled;  if  log- 
ging is  heedless  of  future  tree  crops;  if 
utilization  is  recklessly  wasteful ;  and  if 
depleted  and  devastated  areas  are  left 
as  idle  stump  and  brush  lands  or  as 
eroded  deserts.  Labor  has  found  that 
the  latter  conditions  have  prevailed — 
and  still  prevail — on  far  too  much  of 
the  Nation's  forest  land. 

Today,  moreover,  as  peacetime  em- 
ployment stands  at  the  highest  and 
fullest  of  any  time  in  our  history,  labor 
is  coming  to  see  another  resource  fact 
more  clearly  than  ever  before.  This 


756 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


grows  out  of  the  wartime  experience 
which  proved  that  our  Nation's  fac- 
tories can  produce  more  than  most 
people  thought  was  possible.  It  grows 
also  out  of  our  postwar  experience 
which  has  proved  that  an  America 
fully  employed  with  anything  near  a 
decent  wage  has  a  capacity  to  consume 
the  products  of  farm  and  of  factory  at 
a  rate  much  greater  than  most  people 
ever  believed.  For  even  with  excessive 
price  inflation,  cruelly  cutting  the  value 
of  the  workers'  pay  check  and  restrict- 
ing to  bare  essentials  the  purchases  of 
millions  of  families,  we  are  consuming 
vastly  more  consumer  goods  than  many 
people  thought  we  could. 

These  experiences  point  sharply  to 
the  fact  that  natural  resources — raw 
materials — are  the  number-one  long- 
range  limiting  factor  in  the  ability  of 
America  to  raise  the  standard  of  living 
of  all  its  people  to  a  decent  and  con- 
tinually rising  level.  Our  factory  tech- 
nology and  the  skill  of  our  labor  can 
boost  production  almost  unbelievably, 
provided  we  can  get  enough  raw  ma- 
terial to  work  with.  But  shortages  of 
raw  materials  can  tragically  defeat  this 
high  American  purpose. 

As  the  definitely  exhaustible  re- 
sources, such  as  metals  and  petroleum, 
become  scarcer,  industry  obviously 
must  turn  more  and  more  to  renewable 
resources — such  as  trees — for  its  raw 
materials.  The  broadening  frontiers  of 
forest-products  research  are  disclosing 
more  and  more  how  that  can  be  done. 

Thus  the  forest  is  crucially  impor- 
tant to  labor,  and  to  the  American  in- 
terest as  a  whole.  It  is  so  important  that 
America  can  afford  no  longer  to  tem- 
porize with  the  excessive  forest-fire 
losses,  the  destructive  logging,  the 
wasteful  wood  utilization,  and  the  ex- 
tremely laggard  reforestation  of  fire- 
and-ax-idled  forest  acres. 

The  groups  in  labor  who  have  been 
studying  this  problem  are  aware  that 
its  solution  is  not  a  simple  one.  And 
they  want  the  solution  to  be  in  the  pro- 
gressive American  way,  rather  than 
totalitarian  methods.  They  believe  that 
a  large  part  of  a  typically  American 


solution  to  the  problem  lies  in  provid- 
ing technical  and  economic  aids  to  the 
millions  of  farmers  and  other  owners 
and  operators  of  small  forest  tracts, 
who  control  a  huge  proportion  of  the 
Nation's  forests,  and  account  for  the 
bulk  of  its  production  of  sawlogs, 
veneer  logs,  pulpwood,  chemical  wood, 
railway  ties,  mine  props,  poles,  piling, 
posts,  fuel  wood,  rough  lumber,  and 
other  forest  products. 

Practical,  effective  ways  of  providing 
such  assistance  have  been  developed 
and  proved  through  many  years  of 
fruitful  and  richly  rewarding  experi- 
ence with  the  Nation's  comprehensive 
farm  program.  There  has  been  far  too 
much  delay  already  in  putting  that  ex- 
perience to  work  in  the  forests. 

Labor  is  interested,  too,  in  the  mul- 
tiple-use principle  of  forest  manage- 
ment, whereby  forests  are  developed 
and  managed  for  all  the  many  benefits 
which  well-managed  forests  can  yield : 
Wildlife,  recreation,  watershed  protec- 
tion, livestock  grazing,  and  minor  forest 
products  as  well  as  wood  production. 
For  that  is  the  way  to  make  forests 
contribute  in  fullest  measure  to  the 
abundant  and  secure  life  which  is 
labor's  goal.  The  multiple-use  principle 
has  been  splendidly  demonstrated  and 
applied  on  Government  forests.  It  is 
time  to  develop  ways  and  means  of  ap- 
plying the  same  principle  to  private 
forest  lands. 

Labor,  especially  the  workers  in 
communities  which  depend  directly  on 
wood  industries  for  jobs  and  income,  is 
vitally  interested  in  sustained-yield 
forest  management  for  community 
stability  and  lasting  prosperity.  All  of 
us,  however,  have  a  stake  in  that  to 
keep  woodworking  communities  self- 
supporting  instead  of  letting  them  be- 
come impoverished  by  cut-out-and-get- 
out  logging,  and  then  requiring  heavy 
expenditures  for  relief  and  rehabilita- 
tion. This  is  one  of  the  many  reasons 
why  labor  has  called  for  national  regu- 
lation of  cutting  practices  on  private 
land,  for  the  extension  of  the  national 
forest  system,  and  for  the  more  inten- 
sive management  of  public  forests. 


A  National  Program  for  Forestry 


757 


A  vast  majority  of  workers  who  have 
expressed  themselves  on  sustained- 
yield  forestry  insist,  however,  that  it 
be  sought  by  means  other  than  those 
which  strengthen  and  spread  the  grip 
of  monopoly,  whether  it  be  national 
monopoly  or  local  monopolization  by 
a  few  over  the  resources  on  which  a 
community  depends  for  jobs,  income, 
and  opportunity  for  its  citizens.  There- 
fore, we  are  opposed  to  sustained-yield 
plans  that  entail  monopolistic  control 
over  local  forest  resources. 

Labor  is  also  interested  in  safety  in 
the  wood  industry,  and  deplores  the 
fact  that  sawmilling  and  logging  have 
by  far  the  worst  accident  record  of  any 
industry.  Conservation  of  logging  and 
lumber  workers  calls  for  action  just  as 
much  as  does  conservation  of  forests. 

Wilderness  preservation  is  also  de- 
sired by  many  people  in  labor,  so  that 
there  may  always  be  areas  where  one 
may  find  recreation  and  inspiration 
where  nature  is  unspoiled  and  un- 
touched by  industrialization  and  com- 
mercialization. That  problem  calls  for 
special  attention  to  save  remaining 
areas  of  our  country  that  are  suited  and 
can  be  spared  for  such  use  and  that 
need  to  be  reserved  in  perpetuity  and 


guarded    against    all    encroachment. 

Beyond  trees  and  forestry  as  such, 
and  overshadowing  even  that  great 
movement,  labor  and  all  people  of  good 
will  are  deeply  indebted  to  the  men 
who  pioneered  in  the  practical  applica- 
tion of  forestry  science  in  America's 
timberlands.  It  was  their  devotion  to 
the  public  interest  and  their  practical 
vision  of  the  outdoors  as  a  whole  that 
gave  America  the  conservation  policy. 

Under  the  broad  conservation  policy 
that  was  given  to  America  by  its  pio- 
neer foresters,  the  farmer's  fight  for 
security  and  well-being  on  the  land,  the 
drives  for  social  security  and  liberties, 
the  great  works  of  conservation  and  de- 
velopment of  rivers  and  land,  and,  of 
course,  the  labor  movement  itself,  all 
come  together  as  parts  of  one  vast,  in- 
spiring panorama.  It  has  given  men  a 
new  vision  of  their  relations  with  the 
earth,  and  of  how  science  and  democ- 
racy working  together  can  and  must 
develop  fruitful  harmonious  relations 
of  people  with  the  earth  and  with  each 
other.  Neither  can  be  achieved  without 
the  other. 

PHILIP  MURRAY  is  president  of  the 
Congress  of  Industrial  Organizations. 


A  NATIONAL  PROGRAM  FOR  FORESTRY 

LYLE    F.  WATTS 


Our  greatest  tasks  in  forest  conser- 
vation lie  ahead. 

The  conservation  idea  has  won  gen- 
eral acceptance,  but  it  has  yet  to  be 
applied  on  the  ground  to  most  of  our 
forest  lands.  The  downward  trend  of 
our  forests  has  yet  to  be  reversed. 

We  need  to  restore  millions  of  acres 
of  depleted  forest  land  to  productivity. 

We  need  to  build  up  our  growing 
stock  of  timber.  We  have  to  increase 
the  growth  rate  of  all  timber  by  one- 
half,  and  double  the  growth  of  saw 
timber. 

We  need  to  bring  about  good  forest 
management  on  all  forest  lands.  Our 


national  forests  and  most  other  public 
forests  are  or  will  be  managed  for 
sustained  yield.  The  crux  of  the  prob- 
lem is  the  forest  lands  in  private  owner- 
ship; to  them  we  must  look  for  the 
bulk  of  our  supply  of  forest  products. 

We  will  have  to  be  on  the  alert  to 
safeguard  the  watershed  values  on  for- 
est and  range  lands. 

We  shall  need  to  check  further  range 
deterioration  and  build  up  and  wisely 
manage  wild-land  ranges  for  perma- 
nent productivity. 

We  shall  also  wish  to  maintain  the 
wildlife  in  forests,  in  balance  with  the 
natural  food  supply;  preserve  scenic 


758 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


values  in  the  forests;  develop  oppor- 
tunities and  facilities  for  recreation. 

To  attain  those  objectives,  a  broad 
program  of  action  is  needed  both  on 
public  and  private  forest  lands.  We 
believe  10  elements  are  essential  in 
such  a  program. 

Extend  and  improve  protection 
against  fire. 

Millions  of  acres  of  forest  land  in 
the  United  States  still  lack  any  form 
of  systematic  fire  protection.  Fire-con- 
trol forces  and  facilities  on  many  other 
areas  are  still  far  from  being  adequate. 
Organized  protection  should  be  ex- 
tended as  rapidly  as  possible  to  all  areas 
needing  it,  and  strengthened  wherever 
it  is  now  inadequate. 

Provide  more  adequate  protection 
against  destructive  insects  and  diseases. 

An  effective  attack  on  the  insect  and 
disease  problem  will  require  a  detec- 
tion system,  with  surveys  and  observa- 
tions by  competent  technicians,  for 
prompt  location  of  potential  danger 
centers  and  incipient  outbreaks ;  a  con- 
trol organization  equipped  and  ready 
for  immediate  action;  and  intensified 
studies  to  discover  and  develop  the 
best  methods  of  control. 

Eliminate  overgrazing  and  other 
abuses  of  forest  range  lands. 

Many  ranges,  both  public  and  pri- 
vate, have  been  heavily  overstocked. 
On  national  forest  ranges,  we  have 
attempted  to  bring  grazing  into  bal- 
ance with  forage  growth,  with  as  lit- 
tle hardship  as  possible  to  holders  of 
grazing  permits  who  are  dependent  on 
these  ranges.  At  least  half  of  the  na- 
tional forest  ranges  are  now  in  good 
condition.  On  some  areas,  however, 
further  action  is  necessary  to  prevent 
progressive  range  deterioration.  Sim- 
ilar problems  exist  on  many  other 
public  and  private  ranges,  and  encour- 
agement should  be  given  to  sound 
management  of  all  range  lands. 

Reduce  forest  waste. 

Of  all  the  wood  cut  or  destroyed  in 
logging  in  the  United  States,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  only  43  percent  winds  up 
in  useful  products  other  than  fuel. 
Twenty-two  percent  is  used  as  fuel, 


much  of  it  inefficiently;  35  percent  is 
not  used  at  all.  More  research  is  needed 
to  develop  new  techniques  for  harvest- 
ing wood  and  making  products  with 
less  waste,  and  new  ways  of  utilizing 
what  is  now  unused.  We  need  also  to 
get  such  improved  methods  into  use, 
through  increased  technical  assistance 
to  woodland  owners  and  wood  proces- 
sors and  through  encouragement  of 
greater  integration  of  timber-products 
industries.  Reduction  of  waste  can 
give  us  more  wood  products  without 
increasing  the  drain  on  our  forests.  Of 
equal  or  even  greater  importance,  it 
produces  more  employment  and  more 
wealth  for  each  thousand  board  feet 
cut  from  the  forest. 

Regulate  timber  cutting  and  related 
forest  practices. 

An  urgent  need  is  to  stop  destructive 
cutting.  The  Department  has  recom- 
mended a  Federal-State  control  plan, 
which  includes:  Prohibiting  the  strip- 
ping of  every  tree  from  the  land,  except 
under  special  circumstances;  prohibit- 
ing the  premature  or  wasteful  cutting 
in  young  stands;  providing  for  certain 
safeguards  against  fire,  insects,  and  dis- 
eases ;  and  providing  for  the  reservation 
of  sufficient  growing  stock  of  desirable 
trees  to  keep  the  lands  reasonably  pro- 
ductive. 

Those  five  standards  are  aimed  at 
protection  and  wise  use  of  the  forest 
values  we  still  have.  They  would  check 
further  destructive  exploitation  and 
deterioration,  and  in  some  degree  start 
our  forest  resources  toward  recovery. 

But  we  need  more  than  this.  We 
need  positive  action  to  restore  and 
build  up  the  forests  for  full  production 
and  service. 

Public  aids  to  private  forest-land 
owners,  especially  the  small  owners. 

Commercial  forest  land  in  private 
ownership  is  divided  among  more  than 
4  million  owners.  Among  the  various 
classifications  of  private  ownership,  the 
highest  percentage  of  good  forest- 
management  practice  is  found  on  lands 
in  large  industrial  ownerships.  Many 
industrial  forest-land  owners  employ 
their  own  technical  foresters  or  engage 


A  National  Program  for  Forestry 


759 


consulting  foresters  to  help  them  de- 
velop good  timber-management  plans. 
But  large  ownerships  (of  more  than 
50,000  acres)  cover  only  about  14  per- 
cent of  the  privately  owned  timber- 
lands.  Of  the  345  million  acres  of 
private  commercial  forest  land,  the 
great  bulk  is  in  small  holdings,  averag- 
ing less  than  62  acres  each.  Small  hold- 
ings include  1 39  million  acres  in  farms, 
divided  among  3.2  million  farmers. 
Another  122  million  acres  is  held  by 
nearly  one  million  nonfarm  owners. 
Many  of  these  are  absentee  owners, 
with  whom  the  problem  of  encourag- 
ing good  forestry  practice  is  especially 
difficult.  Most  of  the  timberlands  held 
by  farmers  and  other  small  owners  are 
in  an  understocked  condition;  rela- 
tively few  are  handled  with  any 
thought  of  producing  continuous  crops 
of  trees.  Poor  management  is  reflected 
in  yields  and  financial  returns  that  are 
far  below  potential  levels. 

Under  the  Norris-Doxey  Law,  the 
Forest  Service  and  a  number  of  States 
are  cooperating  in  a  highly  successful 
but  small-scale  program  of  providing 
on-the-ground  advice  and  technical 
assistance  to  individual  farm  woodland 
owners.  Such  technical  assistance  is  re- 
sulting in  greater  returns  to  the  farmer 
from  his  timberland  as  well  as  improve- 
ment in  the  condition  of  the  forests. 
The  work  is  now  carried  on  in  some 
600  counties.  But  such  work  is  needed 
in  some  2,000  counties,  on  both  farm 
and  nonfarm  forest  lands,  for  an  ef- 
fective attack  on  one  of  the  toughest 
phases  of  the  Nation's  forest  problem — 
the  small  woodland,  in  which  only 
about  4  percent  of  present  manage- 
ment meets  the  demands  of  good  silvi- 
culture, and  in  which  some  71  percent 
of  the  cutting  is  poor  or  destructive. 

Other  cooperative  aids  to  private 
owners  that  would  help  to  encourage 
better  forest  management  include  pub- 
lic assistance  in  the  establishment  of 
cooperative  forest  management  and 
marketing  associations;  provision  for 
long-term  credit  to  forest  owners  to 
facilitate  sustained-yield  management 
and  encourage  rehabilitation  of  run- 


down forests;  provision  for  insurance 
on  growing  timber;  and  promotion  of 
improved  systems  of  taxation  of  forest 
lands  (tax  systems  in  some  cases  add 
to  the  pressure  for  quick  liquidation  of 
growing  timber) . 

Such  cooperative  aids  would  help 
forest  owners  make  the  transition  from 
destructive  cutting  to  continuous  pro- 
duction, and  would  encourage  them  to 
go  beyond  the  basic  standards  that 
might  be  required  by  public  regulation 
and  work  toward  real  sustained-yield 
management. 

More  tree  planting. 

In  the  national  forests,  some  3,200,- 
000  acres  need  planting  to  bring  the 
land  back  into  productivity.  In  addi- 
tion, about  1,500,000  acres  are  so 
understocked  that  fill-in  planting  is 
needed.  Many  more  millions  of  acres 
of  idle,  submarginal  farm  land  and 
nonproductive  State  and  private  wood- 
land also  need  planting.  The  Forest 
Service  is  cooperating  in  a  small  way 
with  42  States  and  2  Territories  in  the 
production  of  forest-tree  planting  stock 
for  distribution  to  farmers.  Other  pub- 
lic and  private  agencies  also  carry  on 
planting  programs,  but  at  the  present 
rate  of  planting  by  all  agencies  it  will 
take  generations  to  cover  all  the  de- 
pleted forest  land  in  need  of  reforesta- 
tion. The  Forest  Service  has  suggested 
an  over-all  planting  goal,  public  and 
private,  of  32  million  acres  in  25 
years — more  than  a  billion  trees  a 
year — as  a  reasonably  adequate  attack 
on  the  reforestation  job. 

More  range  improvement  and  re- 
seeding. 

Research  has  developed  techniques 
for  reseeding  depleted  range  in  several 
western  regions.  Where  reseeding  can 
be  accomplished  successfully  it  will  not 
only  check  erosion  and  improve  water- 
shed conditions  but  greatly  increase 
the  grazing  capacity  of  the  range. 
Several  million  acres  of  national  forest 
range  need  reseeding,  as  well  as  large 
areas  of  other  public  and  private  range 
land  in  the  Western  States.  Other 
range  improvements,  such  as  stock- 
watering  facilities,  fences,  and  stock 


760 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


driveways,  can  contribute  to  building 
up  deteriorated  range  by  making  possi- 
ble better  control  and  distribution  of 
livestock  grazing. 

Extension  and  development  of  pub- 
lic forests. 

Within  the  boundaries  of  existing 
national  forests  are  about  35  million 
out  of  some  49  million  acres  of  inter- 
mingled private  land,  that  are  suitable 
for  forestry  purposes  and  that  should 
be  purchased  and  included  in  the  na- 
tional forests  to  facilitate  their  full 
development.  There  are  other  lands 
for  which  public  ownership — Federal, 
State,  or  community — would  be  the 
best  guaranty  that  the  lands  would  be 
developed  and  managed  in  the  Na- 
tion's best  interest.  These  include  forest 
lands  where  the  productivity  is  too  low 
for  private  owners  to  be  expected  to 
hold  them  for  timber  growing;  lands 
which  lie  in  such  rough  or  inaccessible 
country  that  they  have  little  attraction 
for  private  enterprise;  and  lands  so 
denuded  as  to  offer  no  prospect  of 
income  for  many  decades.  Also  for  cer- 
tain areas  where  acute  problems  of 
watershed  protection  or  development 
of  scenic  or  recreational  values  or  other 
public  interests  are  paramount,  public 
acquisition  is  indicated. 

There  should,  of  course,  be  adequate 
provision  for  the  protection,  effective 
administration,  and  full  development 
of  the  public  forests  now  existing  or 
yet  to  be  established.  There  is  need 
for  more  intensive  management  on 
many  of  the  national  forests  and  other 
public  timberlands  and  ranges;  for 
tighter  protection  against  fire ;  for  more 
tree  planting,  range  reseeding,  and 
upstream  engineering  work;  for  de- 
velopment of  recreation  facilities  and 
improvement  of  wildlife  habitat.  Pres- 
ent forces  and  facilities  on  the 
public  forests  are  spread  thinly  over  a 
large  area.  The  public  forests  should 
be  developed  and  managed  for  maxi- 
mum production  and  service. 

More  research. 

Fundamental  to  all  action  programs 
for  the  restoration  and  development 
of  the  forest  and  wild-land  resources 


is  sound,  scientific  knowledge.  Re- 
search and  experience  already  have 
produced  a  great  deal  of  knowledge 
and  ability  in  forestry — enough  to 
provide  a  sound  basis  for  an  effective 
forest  conservation  and  development 
program.  But  there  are  many  problems 
in  forest  management,  range  manage- 
ment, and  watershed  management  yet 
unsolved.  There  are  great  possibilities 
for  improvements  in  wood  utilization, 
development  of  new  forest  products, 
and  reduction  of  waste.  An  enlarged 
and  intensified  program  of  research 
should  increase  our  basic  knowledge 
of  forest  and  wild-land  resources,  and 
find  new  and  better  ways  of  doing 
things  at  less  cost. 

Deterioration  of  forest  resources  in 
the  United  States  already  has  gone  so 
far  that  we  face  a  period  of  timber 
shortage  before  timber  growth  can  be 
built  up  to  the  point  of  sustained 
abundance.  We  are  already  experi- 
encing shortage  in  many  kinds  of  for- 
est products.  The  longer  action  to  build 
up  the  timber  resource  is  delayed,  the 
longer  and  more  acute  the  period  of 
short  supply  will  be. 

The  need  for  forest  rehabilitation 
and  improved  forest  management  is 
not  confined  to  the  United  States 
alone.  It  is  world-wide.  The  Food  and 
Agriculture  Organization  of  the  United 
Nations  has  reported:  "In  the  face  of 
.  .  .  rapidly  multiplying  uses  for 
wood  which  create  ever-mounting 
wood  needs,  the  world  is  confronted  by 
the  inescapable  fact  that  the  forests — 
sole  source  of  wood — are  steadily 
diminishing." 

We  have  the  forest  land  in  the 
United  States  to  meet  our  own  require- 
ments for  timber  eventually  and  to  help 
supply  other  less  fortunate  countries. 
With  intelligent,  courageous,  positive 
action,  we  can  achieve  permanent  tim- 
ber abundance.  We  can  make  trees  and 
forests  serve  human  welfare  forever. 

LYLE  F.  WATTS  is  the  Chief  of  the 
Forest  Service,  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  which  he  en- 
tered as  a  forest  assistant  in  1913. 


LISTS  AND  OTHER  AIDS 


To  Know  the  Trees 


IMPORTANT  FOREST  TREES  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

ELBERT  L.  LITTLE,  JR. 


FOR  A  SELECTED  LIST  of  165 
important  native  forest  tree  spe- 
cies of  the  United  States  the  following 
information  is  compiled  here :  ( 1 )  Ap- 
proved common  and  scientific  names, 
as  well  as  other  names  of  lumber  and 
other  names  in  use;  (2)  drawings,  keys, 
and  nontechnical  descriptive  notes  for 
identification;  (3)  distribution  maps 
showing  ranges;  and  (4)  lists  of  prin- 
cipal uses,  chiefly  of  the  wood.  This 
summary  is  intended  as  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  forest  trees,  as  well  as  a 
compilation  of  their  distribution  and 
commercial  uses. 

Trees  are  considered  here  as  woody 
plants  having  one  well-defined  stem  or 
trunk  at  least  2  inches  in  diameter  at 
breast  height,  a  more  or  less  definitely 
formed  crown  of  foliage,  and  a  height 
of  at  least  10  feet.  Though  the  division 
between  trees  and  shrubs  is  not  sharp, 
shrubs  typically  are  the  smaller  woody 
plants,  usually  with  several  branches 
from  the  ground  instead  of  one  trunk. 

The  kinds,  or  species,  of  native  trees 
in  the  United  States  number  about 
845,  excluding  hybrids  and  varieties 
but  including  smaller  trees  not  of  com- 
mercial timber  size  and  those  classed 
also  as  large  shrubs.  These  are  further 
grouped  into  about  222  genera  and  69 
plant  families.  Of  the  total,  about  150 
species  belong  to  the  single,  highly  var- 
iable group,  or  genus,  of  hawthorns 
( Crataegus) ,  in  which  numerous  other 
minor  forms  (including  many  shrubs) 
have  been  proposed  as  separate  species. 
About  110  other  native  tree  species  are 


tropical  or  subtropical  trees  known  in 
the  United  States  only  from  Florida. 
Thus,  without  the  hawthorns  and  the 
trees  confined  to  Florida,  there  are 
about  585  tree  species  native  in  the 
United  States.  In  addition,  90  or  more 
foreign  tree  species  widely  planted 
have  escaped  from  cultivation,  and 
have  become  naturalized,  so  that  they 
may  be  considered  properly  as  at  home 
here.  More  than  a  third  of  these  exot- 
ics are  tropical  trees  limited  to  Florida. 
Many  other  tree  species  from  foreign 
lands  have  been  introduced  as  orna- 
mental, shade,  and  fruit  trees. 

Botanists  have  named  and  distin- 
guished also  numerous  varieties  and 
more  than  85  natural  hybrids  and  ap- 
parent hybrids  among  the  native  trees, 
including  more  than  60  hybrid  oaks 
(Quercus).  However,  foresters  distin- 
guish only  a  few  botanical  varieties,  or 
minor  variations,  by  name,  although 
they  do  recognize  unnamed  geographic 
races.  Aside  from  the  hawthorns,  the 
largest  groups,  or  genera,  of  native 
trees  are  the  oaks,  with  57  species; 
willows  (Salix),  with  33  species;  and 
pines  (Pinus),  with  34  species. 

Nearly  three-tenths  of  the  585  native 
tree  species  ( excluding  hawthorns  and 
the  tropical  trees  of  Florida),  or  165 
species,  have  been  selected  and  in- 
cluded here  primarily  for  the  commer- 
cial importance  of  their  woods  or  other 
products,  although  a  few  are  more  im- 
portant for  other  values  in  forestry. 
These  are  grouped  in  51  genera,  the 
largest  groups  being  the  oaks  (Quer- 

763 


764 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


cus),  with  28  species,  and  the  pines 
(Pinus),  with  20  species.  The  species 
in  the  series  of  leaflets  on  economically 
important  species,  American  Woods, 
by  H.  S.  Betts,  are  represented,  as  are 
most  of  the  182  tree  species  designated 
as  important  forest  trees  in  the  check 
list  by  George  B.  Sudworth  (Check  List 
of  the  Forest  Trees  of  the  United 
States,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Miscellaneous  Cir- 
cular 92,  1927;  now  out  of  print). 

The  important  native  tree  species 
of  Alaska  and  Canada  are  also  here  in- 
cluded, because  the  ranges  of  some 
species  of  the  northern  United  States 
extend  northward.  These  northern 
species  are  indicated  by  mention  of 
Alaska  or  Canada  (or  a  Canadian 
Province)  in  the  notes  on  distribution. 
The  18  species  of  Alaska  included  here 
are  more  than  half  of  the  32  native 
tree  species  of  Alaska.  The  89  Cana- 
dian species  in  this  list  are  almost 
three-fifths  of  the  150  native  tree  spe- 
cies of  Canada,  excluding  hawthorns 
(Crataegus),  although  some  of  these 
range  northward  only  to  extreme 
southern  Ontario. 

The  165  important  forest  tree  species 
of  the  United  States  have  been  sepa- 
rated into  two  lists,  eastern  and  west- 
ern, because  the  tree  species  of  the  two 
regions  are  almost  entirely  different. 
The  first  list  contains  110  species 
found  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  United 
States  (extending  west  to  the  prairie- 
plains),  and  the  second  list  has  55 
species  found  in  the  western  half  of 
the  United  States  (from  the  prairie- 
plains  westward  including  Alaska) . 
The  eastern  list  is  larger  than  the  west- 
ern because  there  are  more  commer- 
cially important  hardwood  species  in 
the  East.  Several  species  that  have  wide 
distribution  in  both  East  and  West  have 
been  placed  in  one  list,  with  a  cross- 
reference  in  the  other. 

In  the  descriptive  summary,  the  ap- 
proved common  and  scientific  names 
are  those  officially  accepted  and  widely 
used.  Other  lumber  names  and  com- 
mon names  in  use  in  some  localities 
and  a  few  scientific  names  have  been 
added  as  synonyms.  A  few  important 


varieties  are  listed  under  the  names. 

Size  is  indicated  as  large  ( more  than 
70  feet  tall),  medium-sized  (from  30 
to  70  feet  tall),  or  small  (less  than  30 
feet  tall). 

The  descriptive  notes  are  a  summary 
of  the  leading  characteristics,  such  as 
bark,  leaves,  and  fruits  and  flowers, 
if  showy  or  distinctive.  These  notes, 
together  with  the  drawings  (by  Miss 
Leta  Hughey)  of  the  leaves  and  fruits, 
may  be  used  to  find  tree  names. 

The  distribution  maps  prepared 
especially  for  this  article  are  based 
largely  upon  data  published  in  various 
State  tree  manuals  and  State  floras. 
Thus,  the  geographic  areas  in  the 
United  States  and  southern  Canada 
as  well  (but  excluding  Mexico) ,  where 
each  species  grows  wild,  or  is  native, 
are  summarized  concisely.  However, 
maps  are  subject  to  certain  limitations 
and  minor  inaccuracies  based  upon 
incomplete  knowledge  of  exact  dis- 
tribution and  limits,  insufficient  bo- 
tanical exploration  in  some  regions, 
lack  of  compilation  of  numerous 
herbarium  and  published  records  of 
range  extensions,  and  difficulties  in 
mapping  scattered  and  isolated  sta- 
tions. In  order  that  these  maps  can 
be  revised  and  made  more  accurate, 
additional  information  on  distribution, 
including  both  corrections  and  range 
extensions,  will  be  welcomed  by  the 
author. 

By  showing  the  native  ranges,  these 
maps  will  aid  in  identification  of  trees. 
Thus,  when  a  tree  specimen  is  com- 
pared with  drawings  and  descriptions, 
the  maps  indicate  which  species  are 
native  in  a  particular  region  and  which 
are  not  to  be  expected  there.  How- 
ever, many  species  have  been  planted 
beyond  their  native  ranges  and  often 
have  spread  by  escaping  from  cultiva- 
tion. A  few,  such  as  Osage-orange, 
black  locust,  and  northern  catalpa, 
have  become  widely  naturalized. 

The  notes  on  principal  uses  have 
been  compiled  largely  from  data  in  the 
leaflets,  American  Woods,  by  H.  S. 
Betts,  published  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  in  1945. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


765 


To  assist  in  the  identification  of 
trees,  a  simplified  key,  based  chiefly 
upon  leaves  and  twigs,  has  been  in- 
serted in  the  text.  This  key  is  an  out- 
line in  which  trees  with  certain  char- 
acteristics in  common  are  grouped  to- 
gether. The  name  of  a  tree  specimen  is 
found  by  elimination  through  succes- 
sive selection  of  one  from  a  pair  of 
groups,  with  descriptive  characters 
that  fit  the  specimen.  The  paired 
groups  are  designated  by  the  same  let- 
ter, single  and  double,  beginning  with 
"A"  and  "AA,"  at  the  left  of  the  page. 
Under  the  group  fitting  the  specimen, 
the  elimination  continues  with  the 
next  paired  groups  indented  below, 
such  as  from  "AA"  to  "N"  or  "NN" 
and  from  "NN"  to  "O"  or  "OO,"  the 
pair  next  indented  to  the  right,  until 
the  name  is  reached.  Some  descrip- 
tive notes  applying  to  a  genus  have 
been  inserted  in  the  key  and  not  re- 
peated in  the  notes  under  each  species. 
The  key  is  limited  to  the  tree  species 
represented  here  and  will  not  serve  to 
identify  other  trees.  Identifications,  of 
course,  may  be  made  directly  from  the 
drawings,  maps,  and  descriptive  notes, 
without  use  of  the  key. 

The  arrangement  of  species  in  the 
lists  of  eastern  and  western  trees  is 
artificial,  to  fit  the  key,  rather  than 
botanical.  In  each  list  the  conifers  are 
placed  first,  sorted  into  those  with 
needlelike  leaves  and  those  with  scale- 
like  leaves,  followed  by  broadleaf  trees. 
The  latter  are  grouped  into  trees  with 
paired  (opposite)  simple  leaves,  trees 
with  paired  (opposite)  compound 
leaves,  trees  with  single  (alternate) 
compound  leaves,  and  trees  with  sin- 
gle (alternate)  simple  leaves,  with  the 
oaks  placed  last.  (A  compound  leaf  is 
divided  into  leaflets,  which  usually  are 
smaller  than  leaves  and  are  attached 
on  a  common  leafstalk  that  sheds  with 
them.  Also,  the  leaf  has  a  developing 
bud  at  its  base,  while  the  leaflets  of  a 
compound  leaf  do  not.) 

Various  handbooks,  manuals,  and 
other  publications  may  be  consulted 
for  the  identification  of  the  trees  of 
the  United  States,  especially  those  not 


found  here,  and  for  additional  infor- 
mation. A  list  of  30  references  for 
identification  of  trees,  both  popular 
and  technical,  including  the  illustrated 
books  on  the  commoner  trees  of  the 
United  States  and  books  on  the  trees 
of  geographic  regions,  will  be  found  in 
the  bibliography.  Trees  are  described 
also  in  the  various  botanical  floras  and 
manuals,  usually  technical  and  with- 
out illustrations,  which  have  been  pre- 
pared for  geographical  regions,  single 
States,  or  smaller  areas. 

The  State  forester  can  furnish  infor- 
mation about  publications  on  the  trees 
of  your  State  and  how  to  obtain  them. 

To  identify  with  certainty  the  nu- 
merous kinds  of  native  trees,  some  of 
which  differ  but  slightly,  some  knowl- 
edge of  systematic  botany  or  dendrol- 
ogy as  well  as  of  the  technical  termi- 
nology is  desirable.  Properly  prepared 
dried  and  pressed  botanical  specimens 
of  twigs  with  leaves  and  flowers  or 
fruits  may  be  submitted  for  identifica- 
tion to  specialists,  such  as  to  depart- 
ments of  botany  and  schools  of  forestry 
in  universities  and  colleges,  to  botani- 
cal gardens,  herbaria,  and  museums, 
or  to  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture.  Specimens  should  be  ac- 
companied by  notes,  such  as  locality 
where  found,  collector's  name,  date, 
size,  whether  wild  or  planted,  and  other 
data  of  interest.  Material  for  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  may  be  sent 
to  either  of  the  following :  Forest  Serv- 
ice, Washington  25,  D.  C.;  or  Bureau 
of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and  Agricul- 
tural Engineering,  Plant  Industry  Sta- 
tion, Beltsville,  Md. 

On  the  next  two  pages  are  indexes 
of  common  and  scientific  names  of  the 
species  discussed  on  pages  768-814. 
Thus,  a  reader  who  wishes  to  look  up 
pecan  finds  that  it  has  the  number  41 
in  the  index  of  common  names.  By 
going  through  the  list,  he  finds  pecan 
described  on  page  780. 

Or,  if  he  encounters  the  scientific 
name  Carya  illinoensis,  he  will  learn 
from  the  index  of  scientific  names  that 
it  is  number  41  and  described  (as 
pecan)  on  page  780. 


766 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


INDEX  OF  COMMON  NAMES  BY  NUMBER 

In  addition  to  these  accepted  common  names  for  the  165  species,  lumber 
names  and  other  common  names  in  use  are  listed  in  the  text. 


Alaska-cedar,  140. 
Alder,  red,  153. 
Ash,  black,  36. 
Ash,  blue,  34. 
Ash,  green,  33. 
Ash,  Oregon,  148. 
Ash,  pumpkin,  35. 
Ash,  white,  32. 
Aspen,  bigtopth,  80. 
Aspen,  quaking,  150. 
Baldcypress,  1. 
Basswood,  American,  67. 
Basswood,  white,  68. 
Beech,  89. 
Birch,  gray,  85. 
Birch,  paper,  84. 
Birch,  river,  83. 
Birch,  sweet,  82. 
Birch,  yellow,  81. 
Boxelder,  31. 
Buckeye,  Ohio,  38. 
Buckeye,  yellow,  37. 
Buckthorn,  cascara,  154. 
Butternut,  40. 
California-laurel,  149. 
Gatalpa,  northern,  25. 
Cherry,  black,  88. 
Chestnut,  90. 
Chinquapin,  golden,  156. 
Cottonwood,  black,  152. 
Cotton  wood,  eastern,  77. 
Cottonwood,  plains,  151. 
Cottonwood,  swamp,  78. 
Cucumbertree,  61. 
Cypress,  Arizona,  141. 
Dogwood,  flowering,  26. 
Dogwood,  Pacific,  146. 
Douglas-fir,  128. 
Elm,  American,  69. 
Elm,  cedar,  74. 
Elm,  rock,  71. 
Elm,  September,  73. 
Elm,  slippery,  70. 
Elm,  winged,  72. 
Fir,  alpine,  130. 
Fir,  balsam,  18. 
Fir,  California  red,  134. 
Fir,  Fraser,  19. 
Fir,  grand,  132. 
Fir,  noble,  133. 
Fir,  Pacific  silver,  131. 
Fir,  white,  129. 
Hackberry,  75. 
Hemlock,  eastern,  14. 
Hemlock,  mountain,  124. 


Hemlock,  western,  123. 
Hickory,  bitternut,  44. 
Hickory,  mockernut,  45. 
Hickory,  nutmeg,  43. 
Hickory,  pignut,  49. 
Hickory,  red,  48. 
Hickory,  shagbark,  47. 
Hickory,  shellbark,  46. 
Hickory,  water,  42. 
Holly,  American,  66. 
Honeylocust,  51. 
Incense-cedar,  137. 
Juniper,  alligator,  143. 
Juniper,    Rocky    Mountain, 

142. 

Juniper,  Utah,  144. 
Juniper,  western,  145. 
Larch,  western,  ill. 
Locust,  black,  52. 
Madrone,  Pacific,  155. 
Magnolia,  southern,  59. 
Mahogany,  West  Indies,  50. 
Maple,  bigleaf,  147. 
Maple,  black,  28 
Maple,  red,  30. 
Maple,  silver,  29. 
Maple,  sugar,  27. 
Mulberry,  red,  54. 
Oak,  black,  96. 
Oak,  blackjack,  98. 
Oak,  blue,  162. 
Oak,  bur,  107. 
Oak,  California  black,  158. 
Oak,  California  live,  159. 
Oak,  California  white,  164. 
Oak,  canyon  live,  161. 
Oak,  chestnut,  104. 
Oak,  chinquapin,  103. 
Oak,  Emory,  160. 
Oak,  Gambel,  165. 
Oak,  laurel,  100. 
Oak,  live,  102. 
Oak,  northern  red,  91. 
Oak,  Nuttall,  95. 
Oak,  Oregon  white,  163. 
Oak,  overcup,  108. 
Oak,  pin,  94. 
Oak,  post,  109. 
Oak,  scarlet,  92. 
Oak,  Shumard,  93. 
Oak,  southern  red,  97. 
Oak,  swamp  chestnut,  105. 
Oak,  swamp  white,  106. 
Oak,  water,  99. 
Oak,  white,  110. 


Oak,  willow,  101. 
Osage-orange,  55. 
Palmetto,  cabbage,  24. 
Pecan,  41. 

Persimmon,  common,  62. 
Pine,  Digger,  117. 
Pine,  eastern  white,  4. 
Pine,  jack,  11. 
Pine,  Jeffrey,  116. 
Pine,  knobcone,  118. 
Pine,  limber,  112. 
Pine,  loblolly,  7. 
Pine,  lodgepole,  119. 
Pine,  longleaf,  5. 
Pine,  pitch,  8. 
Pine,  ponderosa,  115. 
Pine,  red,  10. 
Pine,  shortleaf,  9. 
Pine,  slash,  6. 
Pine,  spruce,  13. 
Pine,  sugar,  114. 
Pine,  Virginia,   12. 
Pine,  western  white,  113. 
Pinyon,  120. 
Pinyon,  singleleaf,   121. 
Pondcypress,  2. 
Poplar,  balsam,  79. 
Port-Orford-cedar,   1 39. 
Redcedar,  eastern,  22. 
Redcedar,  southern,  23. 
Redcedar,  western,  138. 
Redwood,  135. 
Sassafras,  53. 
Sequoia,  giant,  136. 
Spruce,  black,  17. 
Spruce,  blue,  126. 
Spruce,  Engelmann,  125. 
Spruce,  red,  15. 
Spruce,  Sitka,  127. 
Spruce,  white,  16. 
Sugarberry,  76. 
Sweetbay,  60. 
Sweetgum,  56. 
Sycamore,  American,  57. 
Tamarack,  3. 
Tanoak,  157. 
Tupelo,  black,  64. 
Tupelo,  Ogeechee,  65. 
Tupelo,  water,  63. 
Walnut,  black,  39. 
White-cedar,  Atlantic,  21. 
White-cedar,  northern,  20. 
Willow,  black,  86. 
Willow,  peachleaf,  87. 
Yellow-poplar,  58. 
Yew,  Pacific,  122. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


767 


INDEX  OF  SCIENTIFIC  NAMES  BY  NUMBER 

Widely  used  synonyms  of  these  accepted  scientific  names  for  the  165  species 
are  mentioned  in  the  text.  The  numbers  refer  to  the  entries  on  pages  768-814. 


Abies  amabilis,  131. 
Abies  balsamea,  18. 
Abies  concolor,  129. 
Abies  fraseri,  19. 
Abies  grandis,  132. 
Abies  lasiocarpa,  1 30. 
Abies  magnified,  134. 
Abies  procera,  133. 
Acer  macro phyllum,  147. 
Acer  negundo,  31. 
Acer  nigrum,  28. 
Acer  rubrum,  30. 
Acer  saccharinum,  29. 
Acer  saccharum,  27. 
Aesculus  glabra,  38. 
Aesculus  octandra,  37. 
Alnus  rubra,  153. 
Arbutus  menziesii,  155. 
Betula  lenta,  82. 
Betula  lutea,  81. 
Betula  nigra,83. 
Betula  papyrifera,  84. 
Betula  populifolia,  85. 
Carya  aquatica,  42. 
Carya  cordiformis,  44. 
Carya  glabra,  49. 
Carya  illinoensis,  41. 
Carya  laciniosa,  46. 
Carya  myristicaeformis,  43. 
Carya  ovalis,  48. 
Carya  ovata,  47. 
Carya  tomentosa,  45. 
Castanea  dentata,  90. 
Castanopsis  chrysophylla,  156. 
Catalpa  speciosa,  25. 
Celtis  laevigata,  76. 
Celtis  occidentalis,  75. 
Chamaecyparis     lawsoniana, 

139. 
Chamaecyparis  nootkatensis, 

140. 

Chamaecyparis  thyoides,  21. 
Cornus  florida,  26. 
Cornus  nuttalli,  146. 
Cupressus  arizonica,  141. 
Diospyros  virginiana,  62. 
Fagus  grandifolia,  89. 
Fraxinus  americana,  32. 
Fraxinus  nigra,  36. 
Fraxinus  oregona,  148. 
Fraxinus  pennsylvanica,  33. 
Fraxinus  quadrangulata,  34. 
Fraxinus  tomentosa,  35. 
Gleditsia  triacanthos,  51. 
//£*  opaca,  66. 
Juglans  cinerea,  40. 


Juglans  nigra,  39. 
Juniperus  deppeana,  143. 
Juniperus  occidentalis,  145. 
Juniperus  osteosperma,   144. 
Juniperus  scopulorum,  142. 
Juniperus  silicicola,  23. 
Juniperus  virginiana,  22. 
Larix  laricina,  3. 
Larix  occidentalis,  111. 
Libocedrus  decurrens,  137. 
Liquidambar  styraciflua,  56. 
Liriodendron   tulipifera,   58. 
Lithocarpus  densiflorus,  157. 
Madura  pomifera,  55. 
Magnolia  acuminata,  61. 
Magnolia  grandiflora,  59. 
Magnolia  virginiana,  60. 
Morus  rubra,  54. 
Nyssa  aquatica,  63. 
Nyssa  ogeche,  65. 
Nyssa  sylvatica,  64. 
Picea  engelmanni,  125. 
PzVea  glauca,  16. 
Picea  mariana,  17. 
Picea  pungens,  126. 
Picea  rubens,  15. 
PiVtfa  sitchensis,   127. 
Pinus  attenuata,  118. 
Pinus  banksianat  11. 
Pinus  caribaea,  6. 
Pmuj  contorta,  119. 
Pmw5  echinata,  9. 
Pmuj  «du/w,  120. 
Pinuj  flexilis,  112. 
Pinus  glabra,  13. 
Pinus  jeffreyi,  116. 
Pinus  lambertiana,  114. 
Pinus  monophylla,  121. 
Pinus  monticola,  113. 
Pinus  palustris,  5. 
Pinuj  ponderosa,  115. 
Ptnwj  resinosa,  10. 
Pinus  rigida,  8. 
Pinus  sabiniana,  117. 
Pfnu5  strobus,  4. 
Pinus  taeda,  1 . 
Pinus  virginiana,  12. 
Platanus  occidentalis,  57. 
Populus  deltoides,  77. 
Populus  grandidentata,  80. 
Populus  heterophylla,  78. 
Populus  sargentii,  151. 
Populus  tacamahaca,  79. 
Populus  tremuloides,  150. 
Populus  trichocarpa,  152. 
Prunus  serotina,  88. 


Pseudotsuga  taxifolia,  128. 
()tt£rctt.r  agrifolia,  159. 
Quercus  alba,  110. 
Quercus  bicolor,  106. 
Qwtfrcuj  borealis,  91. 
Quercus  chr.ysolepsis,  161. 
<2tt£r£tt.f  coccinea,  92. 
Quercus  douglasii,  162. 
Quercus  emoryi,  160. 
Quercus  falcata,  97. 
Quercus  gambelii,  165. 
Quercus  garryana,  163. 
Quercus  kelloggii,  158. 
Quercus  laurifolia,  100. 
Quercus  lobata,  164. 
Quercus  lyrata,  108. 
Q,M£r£M.y  macrocarpa,  107. 
Q,tt£rrtt5  marilandica,  98. 
Quercus  montana,  104. 
Quercus  muehlenbergii,  103. 
Qutfrcu.*  nigra,  99. 
Quercus  nuttallii,  95. 
Q,w«rcMJ  palustris,  94. 
GM^CMJ  phellos,  101. 
Quercus  prinus,  105. 
Quercus  shumardii,  93. 

stellata,  109. 

velutina,  96. 

virginiana,  102. 
Rhamnus  purshiana,  154. 
Robinia  pseudoacacia,  52. 
palmetto,  24. 
amygdaloides,  87. 
m'gra,  86. 
Sassafras  albidum,  53. 
Sequoia  gigantea,  136. 
Sequoia  sempervirens,  135. 
Swietenia  mahagoni,  50. 
Taxodium  ascendens,  2. 
Taxodium  distichum,  1. 
brevifolia,  122. 
occidentalis,  20. 
/>/zVa^,  138. 
Tf/za  americana,  67. 
Ti/ia  heterophylla,  68. 
Tsuga  canadensis,  14. 
T^u^a  heterophylla,  123. 
Tsuga  mertensiana,  124. 
C7/mu5  <z/ata,  72. 
Ulmus  americana,  69. 
Ulmus  crassifolia,  74. 
Ulmus  rubra,  70. 
Ulmus  serotina,  73. 
Ulmus  thomasi,  71. 
Umbellularia  californica, 
149. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


1.  Baldcypress. 


2.  Pondcypress.  3.  Tamarack.        4.  Eastern  white  pine. 


EASTERN  TREES 

Tree  species  Nos.  1  to  100  are  native  wholly  or  mainly  in  the  eastern  half 
of  the  United  States,  west  to  the  prairie -plains.  In  addition,  species  No.  150 
in  the  list  of  western  trees  occurs  also  in  the  eastern  United  States. 

GYMNOSPERMS   (CONIFERS  OR  SOFTWOODS) 

A  (AA  on  p.  774).  Trees  resinous,  with  leaves  needlelike  or  scalelike,  evergreen  (except 
Nos.  1-3);  seeds  borne  on  scales  of  a  cone   (berrylike  in  juniper,  Nos.  22,  23)  — 
GYMNOSPERMS   (conifers  or  softwoods,  such  as  pines,  spruces,  firs). 
B.  Leaves  shedding  in  fall,  on  slender  twigs  mostly  shedding  in  fall  also  or  on  short 

spur  branches. 

G.  Leaves  needlelike  or  scalelike,  on  slender  twigs  mostly  shedding  in  fall — BALD- 
CYPRESS   (Taxodium) . 

1.  BALDCYPRESS.,    Taxodium    distichum    (L.)    Rich,    (common    baldcypress,    southern 
cypress,  red  cypress  [lumber],  yellow  cypress  [lumber],  white  cypress  [lumber],  tidewater 
red  cypress,  gulf  cypress). 

Large  tree  with  swollen  base  and  "knees,"  swamps  and  river  banks,  South  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains  and  Mississippi  Valley.  Bark  reddish  brown  or  gray,  with  long 
fibrous  or  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  crowded  featherlike  in  two  rows  on  slender  horizontal 
twigs,  flat,  Y&  to  $4  inch,  long,  light  yellow  green,  or  whitish  beneath,  shedding  in  fall. 
Cones  3/4  to  1  inch  in  diameter,  of  hard  scales. 

Principal  uses:  Chiefly  for  building  construction  and  heavy  construction.  Boxes  and 
crates,  caskets,  general  millwork,  and  tanks.  Also  ships  and  boats,  greenhouses,  and 
railroad-car  construction.  Railroad  ties.  Ornamental. 

2.  PONDCYPRESS,  Taxodium  ascendens  Brongn.  (pond  baldcypress,  cypress). 

Large  tree  with  swollen  base,  ponds,  swamps,  and  river  banks,  South  Atlantic  and 
Gulf  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  reddish  brown  or  gray,  with  long  fibrous  or  scaly  ridges. 
Leaves  nearly  flat  against  the  slender  erect  twigs,  scalelike  or  needlelike,  I/Q  to  YQ  inch 
long,  light  yellow  green,  shedding  in  fall.  Cones  34  to  1  inch  in  diameter,  of  hard  scales. 
(Perhaps  only  a  variety  of  No.  1.) 

Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  1. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


5.  Longleaf  pine.  6.  Slash  pine. 


7.  Loblolly  pine.          8.  Pitch  pine. 


GG.  Leaves  needlelike,  many  in  cluster  on  short  spur  branches — LARCH  (or  tamarack, 
Larix). 

3.  TAMARACK,   Larix   laricina    (Du   Roi)    K.    Koch    (eastern   larch,   American   larch, 
hackmatack;  L.  americana  Michx.). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  wet  soils  in  northeastern  United  States,  and  across  Canada  to 
Alaska.  Bark  reddish  brown,  scaly.  Needles  many  in  cluster  on  short  spur  branches  (or  single 
on  leading  twigs),  3-angled,  %  to  1  inch  long,  blue  green,  shedding  in  fall.  Cones  upright, 
$4  inch  long. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  (largely  framing  for  houses),  and  railroad  ties.  Also  ship 
knees  in  shipbuilding. 

BB.  Leaves  evergreen,  on  normal  twigs. 

D.  Leaves  needlelike,  more  than  r/2  inch  long  (usually  shorter  in  No.  17). 
E.  Needles  in  clusters  of  2  to  5  with  a  sheath  at  base — PINE  (Pinus). 
F.  Needles  5  in  cluster — WHITE  (SOFT)  PINES. 

4.  EASTERN  WHITE  PINE,  Pinus  strobus  L.   (northern  white  pine  [lumber],  white  pine,  > 
northern  pine,  soft  pine,  Weymouth  pine ) . 

Large  tree  (the  largest  northeastern  conifer)  of  northeastern  United  States,  adjacent 
Canada,  and  Appalachian  Mountain  region.  Bark  gray  or  purplish,  deeply  fissured  into 
broad  ridges.  Needles  5  in  cluster,  slender,  2I/2  to  5  inches  long,  blue  green.  Cones  long- 
stalked,  long  and  narrow,  4  to  8  inches  long,  yellow  brown,  with  thin,  rounded  scales. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  species.  Chiefly  for  boxes,  formerly  mostly  for 
building  construction.  Also  patterns  for  castings,  millwork,  caskets,  and  many  other 
uses.  Shade  tree  and  ornamental.  (State  tree  of  Maine  and  Minnesota.) 

FF.  Needles  2  or  3  in  a  cluster — YELLOW  (HARD,  OR  PITCH)  PINES. 
G.  Needles  3  in  cluster. 
H.  Needles  more  than  8  inches  long. 

5.  LONGLEAF  PINE,  Pinus  pttlustris  Mill,  (southern  pine  [lumber],  longleaf  yellow  pine, 
southern  yellow  pine,  pitch  pine,  hard  pine,  heart  pine;  P.  australis  Michx.  f.). 

Large  tree  of  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  orange  brown,  coarsely 
scaly.  Needles  3  in  cluster,  slender,  very  long,  10  to  15  inches  long,  dark  green.  Cones 
large,  5  to  10  inches  long,  dull  brown,  prickly. 

Principal  uses:    A  leading  world  producer  of  naval  stores.  Lumber  for  miscellaneous 
factory  and  construction  purposes,  flooring,  railroad-car  construction,  shipbuilding. 
802062° — 49— — 50 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


9.  Shortleaf  pine.     10.  Red  pine. 


11.  Jack  pine.  12.  Virginia  pine. 


6.  SLASH  PINE,  Pinus  caribaea  Morelet  (southern  pine  [lumber],  Cuban  pine,  yellow 
slash  pine,  swamp  pine,  pitch  pine ) . 

Large  tree  of  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains;  also  in  West  Indies  and  Central 
America.  Bark  purplish  brown,  with  large  thin  scales.  Needles  3  (or  2  and  3)  in 
cluster,  stout,  8  to  12  inches  long,  dark  green.  Cones  3  to  6  inches  long,  shiny  brown, 
with  minute  prickles. 

Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  5.  (State  tree  of  Alabama.) 

HH.  Needles  mostly  less  than  8  inches  long. 

7.  LOBLOLLY  PINE,  Pinus  taedo,  L.  (southern  pine  [lumber],  North  Carolina  pine  [lum- 
ber], Arkansas  pine  [lumber],  oldfield  pine,  shortleaf  pine). 

Large  tree  of  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  reddish  brown,  deeply  fissured 
into  broad  scaly  plates.  Needles  3  in  cluster,  slender,  6  to  9  inches  long,  pale  green. 
Cones  3  to  5  inches  long,  reddish  brown,  with  stiff,  sharp  prickles. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  species.  Same  as  No.  9. 

8.  PITCH  PINE,  Pinus  rigida  Mill,  (southern  pine  [lumber],  southern  yellow  pine;  variety: 
pond  pine,  P.  rigida  var.  serotina  (Michx.)  Loud.). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  Atlantic  coast  and  Appalachian  Mountain  regions  and  in  adjacent 
Canada,  Needles  3  in  cluster,  stout,  3  to  6  inches  long  (6  to  8  inches  in  a  variety,  pond 
pine),  dark  yellow  green.  Cones  short  and  broad,  1 1/2  to  3  inches  long,  light  brown,  shiny, 
with  small  prickles,  remaining  on  branches  several  years  after  opening. 

Principal  uses:    Fuel  and  lumber. 

GG.  Needles  2  in  cluster  (or  partly  3  in  No.  9). 
I.  Needles  more  than  3  inches  long. 

9.  SHORTLEAF  PINE,  Pinus  echinata  Mill,  (southern  pine  [lumber],  North  Carolina  pine 
[lumber],  Arkansas  pine  [lumber],  shortleaf  yellow  pine,  yellow  pine,  southern  yellow  pine ) . 

Large  tree  of  southeastern  quarter  of  United  States  north  to  New  York.  Bark  reddish 
brown,  with  large,  irregular,  flat,  scaly  plates.  Needles  2  or  3  in  cluster,  slender,  2J/a 
to  5  Cinches  long,  dark  blue  green.  Cones  small,  1  !/2  to  2  Vz  inches  long,  dull  brown,  with 
small  prickles. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  species.  Lumber  chiefly  for  building  material  in- 
cluding millwork,  also  for  boxes  and  crates,  agricultural  implements,  motor  vehicles, 
low-grade  furniture.  Veneer  for  containers.  This  and  other  southern  pines  are  the 
leading  native  pulpwoods  and  leading  woods  in  production  of  slack  cooperage.  Also 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


771 


13.  Spruce  pine.          14.  Eastern  hemlock.     15.  Red  spruce.         16.  White  spruce. 


railroad  ties,  poles,  piling,  mine  timbers,  excelsior,  and  veneer.  Ornamental.  (Pine 
(Pinus  spp.)  is  the  State  tree  of  Arkansas.) 

10.  RED  PINE,  Pinus  resinosa  Ait.  (Norway  pine  [lumber]). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  northeastern  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark 
reddish  brown,  with  broad,  flat,  scaly  plates.  Needles  2  in  cluster,  slender,  5  to  6  inches 
long,  dark  green.  Cones  2  inches  long,  light  brown,  without  prickles. 

Principal  uses:  General  building  construction,  planing-mill  products,  general  millwork, 
and  boxes  and  crates.  Pulpwood.  Ornamental  and  shade  tree. 

II.  Needles  less  than  3  inches  long. 

11.  JACK  PINE,  Pinus  banksiana  Lamb,    (scrub  pine,  gray  pine,  black  pine). 
Usually  small  (or  medium-sized)  tree  of  northeastern  United  States  and  nearly  across 

Canada.  Bark  dark  brown,  with  narrow  scaly  ridges.  Needles  2  in  cluster,  stout,  twisted, 
%  to  1  */2  inches  long,  dark  green.  Cones  one-sided,  much  curved,  small,  1  to  2  inches 
long,  light  yellow,  without  prickles,  remaining  closed  at  maturity. 

Principal  uses:  Pulpwood,  lumber  for  boxes  and  crates  and  rough  construction,  and 
fuel.  Ornamental. 

12.  VIRGINIA  PINE,  Pinus  virginiana  Mill.  (North  Carolina  pine  [lumber],  Jersey  pine, 
scrub  pine). 

Usually  small  tree  (sometimes  large)  of  Atlantic  Coastal  Plain,  Appalachian  Mountain, 
and  Ohio  Valley  regions.  Bark  dark  brown,  thin,  with  scaly  plates.  Needles  2  in  cluster, 
stout,  twisted,  2  to  3  inches  long,  gray  green.  Cones  2  inches  long,  reddish  brown,  shiny, 
very  prickly. 

Principal  uses:    Lumber  and  fuel. 

13.  SPRUCE  PINE,  Pinus  glabra  Walt,   (cedar  pine,  southern  white  pine). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Gulf  and  South  Atlantic  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  on  small 

trunks  and  limbs  gray  and  smooth;  bark  on  large  trunks  with  flat  scaly  ridges.  Needles 
2  in  cluster,  slender,  1  /a  to  3  inches  long,  dark  green.  Cones  1  to  2  inches  long,  reddish 
brown,  shiny,  with  minute  prickles. 
Principal  uses:  Lumber  and  fuel. 

EE.  Needles  borne  singly  and  not  in  clusters. 

J.  Twigs  roughened  by  projecting  bases  of  old  needles;  cones  hanging  down. 
K.  Needles   flat,   soft,  blunt-pointed,   with   short  leafstalks,   appearing  in   2 

rOWS HEMLOCK     (TsUgd). 


772 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


17.  Black  spruce.        18.  Balsam  fir. 


19.  Fraser  fir. 


20.  Northern  white- 
cedar. 


14.  EASTERN    HEMLOCK,   Tsuga   canadensis    (L.)    Carr.    (Canada   hemlock,   hemlock 
spruce ) . 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  northeastern  United  States,  adjacent  Canada,  and 
Appalachian  Mountain  region.  Bark  brown  or  purplish,  deeply  furrowed  into  broad 
scaly  ridges.  Needles  short-stalked,  flat,  soft,  blunt-pointed,  %  to  %  inches  long,  shiny 
dark  green,  lighter  beneath,  appearing  in  two  rows.  Cones  %  to  %  inches  long,  brownish. 

Principal  uses:  Building  construction  and  boxes  and  crates.  Pulpwood.  The  bark 
is  a  source  of  tannin.  Ornamental  and  shade  tree.  (State  tree  of  Pennsylvania.) 

KK.  Needles  4-angled,  stiff,  sharp-pointed,  without  leafstalk,  extending  out 
on  all  sides  of  twig — SPRUCE  (Picea). 

15.  RED  SPRUCE,  Picea  rub  ens  Sarg.  (eastern  spruce  [lumber],  Canadian  spruce,  yellow 
spruce,  West  Virginia  spruce;  P.  rubra  (Du  Roi)  Link,  not  A.  Dietr.). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  northeastern  United  States,  adjacent  Canada,  and 
Appalachian  Mountain  region.  Bark  reddish  brown,  thin,  scaly.  Twigs  hairy.  Needles 
4-angled,  l/2  inch  long,  dark  green,  shiny.  Cones  1^4  to  \l/2  inches  long,  light  reddish 
brown,  shiny,  with  scales  rigid,  rounded,  and  with  edges  smooth  or  slightly  toothed. 

Principal  uses:  Pulpwood.  Boxes  and  crates,  construction.  Also  furniture,  millwork, 
ladder  rails.  Christmas  trees.  Ornamental  and  shade  tree. 

16.  WHITE  SPRUCE,  Picea  glauco.  (Moench)  Voss  (eastern  spruce  [lumber],  Canadian 
spruce,  skunk  spruce,  single  spruce;  P.  canadensis  (Mill.)  B.  S.  P.,  not  (Michx. )  Link)  ; 
variety:  western  white  spruce,  P.  glauca  var.  albertiana  (S.  Brown)  Sarg.,  Alberta  white 
spruce ) . 

Medium-sized  tree  of  northeastern  United  States,  Black  Hills,  and  across  Canada  to 
Alaska.  Bark  gray  or  brown,  thin,  scaly.  Twigs  without  hairs.  Needles  4-angled, 
l/z  to  94  inch  long,  blue  green,  of  disagreeable  odor  when  crushed.  Cones  slender,  1 /a 
to  2  inches  long,  pale  brown  and  shiny,  with  scales  thin,  flexible,  rounded,  and  with 
smooth  margins. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  15.  Important  timber  species  of  Canada. 

17.  BLACK  SPRUCE,  Picea  mariano,  (Mill.)  B.  S.  P.  (eastern  spruce  [lumber],  bog  spruce, 
swamp  spruce ) . 

Small  to  medium-sized  tree  of  bottom  lands  and  bogs,  northeastern  United  States 
and  across  Canada  to  Alaska.  Bark  grayish  brown,  thin,  scaly.  Twigs  hairy.  Needles  4- 
angled,  ^4  to  54  inch  long,  pale  blue  green.  Cones  %  to  1  /a  inches  long,  dull  gray  brown, 
with  scales  rigid,  rounded,  and  slightly  toothed. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  15. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


50 


21.  Atlantic 
white-cedar. 


22.  Eastern  red- 
cedar. 


23.  Southern  red- 
cedar. 


24.  Cabbage 
palmetto. 


JJ.  Twigs  smooth;  cones  upright,  in  top  of  tree — FIR  (Abies). 

18.  BALSAM   FIR,  Abies  balsamea    (L.)    Mill,    (eastern  fir  [lumber],  balsam,   Canada 
balsam). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  northeastern  United  States,  Appalachian  Mountain  region,  and 
across  Canada  to  Alberta.  Bark  gray  or  brown,  thin,  smoothish,  with  many  resin 
blisters,  becoming  scaly.  Needles  flat,  l/i  to  1  }4  inches  long,  dark  green,  usually  rounded 
at  tip.  Cones  upright,  2  to  3  inches  long,  purple,  with  cone  scales  usually  covering 
the  bracts. 

Principal  uses:  Pulpwood.  Lumber,  chiefly  for  boxes  and  crates.  Canada  balsam  (an 
oleoresin).  Christmas  trees. 

19.  FRASER  FIR,  Abies  jraseri  (Pursh)   Poir.  (balsam  fir  [lumber],  eastern  fir  [lumber], 
Fraser  balsam  fir,  southern  balsam  fir,  balsam). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  Appalachian  Mountains  in  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and 
Tennessee.  Bark  gray  or  brown,  thin,  smoothish,  with  many  resin  blisters;  bark  on  larger 
trunks  with  thin  papery  scales.  Needles  flat,  l/<i  to  1  inch  long,  dark  green,  usually  rounded 
at  tip.  Cones  upright,  1 1/2  to  2 /a  inches  long,  purple,  with  yellow-green  bracts  partly 
covering  the  cone  scales. 

Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  18. 

DD.  Leaves  scalelike,  less  than  J4  inch  long  (or  needlelike  and  up  to  ty&  inch  long 

on  leading  shoots ) . 
L.  Leafy  twigs  more  or  less  flattened. 

M.  Twigs    much    flattened,    about    I/Q    inch    broad    including    leaves — THUJA 
(Thuja). 

20.  NORTHERN  WHITE-CEDAR,  Thuja  occidentalis  L.   (eastern  arborvitae,  white-cedar, 
swamp-cedar,  arborvitae ) . 

Medium-sized  tree  of  northeastern  United  States,  adjacent  Canada,  and  Appalachian 
Mountain  region.  Bark  reddish  brown,  thin,  fibrous,  with  narrow  connecting  ridges.  Twigs 
flattened  and  branching  in  one  plane.  Leaves  appearing  flattened  in  2  rows,  scalelike, 
ViG  to  Vs  inch  long,  light  yellow  green,  aromatic.  Cones  %  to  ^  inch  long,  pale  brown. 

Principal  uses:  Poles,  railroad  ties,  and  posts.  Lumber  for  boxes,  millwork,  tanks,  and 
building  construction.  Cedar-oil,  used  in  medicine.  Ornamental. 

MM.  Twigs    slightly   flattened,   less    than    ViG    inch   broad    including   leaves — 
WHITE-CEDAR   ( Chamaecyparis) . 


774  • :;    Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

21.  ATLANTIC  WHITE-CEDAR,  Chamaecyparis  thyoides  (L.)  B.  S.  P.   (southern  white- 
cedar  [lumber],  white-cedar  false-cypress,  white-cedar,  swamp-cedar,  juniper). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  swamps,  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  reddish  brown, 
thin,  fibrous,  with  narrow  connecting  ridges.  Leafy  twigs  slightly  flattened  (or  partly 
4-angled).  Leaves  scalelike,  %e  to  %  inch  long,  dull  blue  green.  Cones  J4  inch  in 
diameter,  bluish  purple,  with  a  bloom. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  for  siding,  porches,  boxes  and  crates,  small  boats,  and  tanks. 
Woodenware,  poles,  and  shingles.  Ornamental.  (State  tree  of  New  Jersey.) 

LL.  Leafy  twigs  rounded  or  4-angled—  JUNIPER  (Juniperus}. 

22.  EASTERN  REDCEDAR,,  Juniperus  vhginiana  L.   (redcedar,  red  juniper). 
Medium-sized  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  reddish 

brown,  thin,  fibrous  and  shreddy.  Leafy  twigs  rounded  or  4-angled,  slender.  Leaves 
scalelike,  ^e  inch  long,  dark  blue  green,  or  on  leading  shoots  needlelike,  up  to  %  inch 
long.  "Berry"  *4  to  %  inch  in  diameter,  dark  blue. 

Principal  uses:  Fence  posts.  Lumber  for  chests,  wardrobes,  and  closet  lining.  Also 
flooring  and  pencils.  Cedar-leaf  oil  is  used  in  medicine  and  cedar-wood  oil  in  medicine 
and  perfumes.  Ornamental  and  shelterbelts.  (State  tree  of  Tennessee.) 

23.  SOUTHERN  REDCEDAR,,  Juniper  us  silicicola  (Small)  Bailey  (eastern  redcedar  [lum- 
ber]; /.  lucayana  auth. ). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  reddish  brown,  thin, 
fibrous  and  shreddy.  Leafy  twigs  rounded  or  4-angled,  very  slender,  usually  hanging  down. 
Leaves  scalelike,  %6  inch  or  less  in  length,  dark  blue  green,  or  leaves  on  leading  shoots 
needlelike.  "Berry"  %e  inch  or  less  in  diameter,  dark  blue. 

Principal  uses:  Wood  used  same  as  No.  22.  Ornamental. 

ANGIOSPERMS  (FLOWERING  PLANTS) 

AA  (A  on  p.  768).  Trees  nonresinous,  with  leaves  broad,  shedding  in  fall  in  most  species 
(evergreen  in  palmetto,  holly,  magnolia,  live  oak,  etc.)  ;  seeds  enclosed  in  a  fruit — 
ANGIOSPERMS  (flowering  plants) . 

MONOCOTYLEDONS 

N.  Leaves  parallel-veined,  evergreen,  clustered  at  top  of  trunk  or  large  branches; 
trunk  with  woody  portions  irregularly  distributed,  without  clear  distinction  of 
bark  and  wood,  and  without  annual  rings — MONOCOTYLEDONS  (palms,  yuccas,  etc.). 

24.  CABBAGE   PALMETTO,  Sabal  palmetto    (Walt.)    Lodd.    (palmetto,   cabbage-palm). 
Medium-sized  palm  tree  of  south  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts  from  North  Carolina  to 

Florida.  Trunk  stout  and  unbranched,  grayish  brown,  roughened  or  ridged,  with  a 
cluster  of  large  leaves  at  the  top.  Leaves  evergreen,  coarse,  fan-shaped,  4  to  7  feet 
long,  thick  and  leathery,  much  folded  and  divided  into  narrow  segments  with  threadlike 
fibers  hanging  between.  Leafstalks  5  to  8  feet  long.  Fruits  in  a  much  branched  cluster  about 
7  feet  long,  numerous,  $/&  to  l/z  inch  in  diameter,  black,  1 -seeded. 

Principal  uses:  Trunks  are  used  for  wharf  pilings,  docks,  and  poles.  Brushes  and 
whiskbrooms  are  made  from  the  young  leafstalk  fibers;  baskets,  mats,  hats,  brooms  and 
thatch  are  made  from  the  leaves.  Ornamental.  ( State  tree  of  Florida  and  South  Carolina. ) 

DICOTYLEDONS  (BROADLEAF  TREES  OR  HARDWOODS) 

NN.  Leaves  net-veined;  trunk  with  bark  and  wood  distinct  and  with  annual  rings  in 
wood — DICOTYLEDONS    (broadleaf  trees,   or  hardwoods,   such   as   oaks,  poplars, 
ashes,  maples). 
O   (OO  on  p.  779).  Leaves  and  usually  branches  in  pairs  (opposite;  or  in  threes  in 

No.  25). 

P.  Leaves  not  divided  into  leaflets  (simple). 
Q.  Leaf  edges  smooth,  not  lobed. 

R.  Leaves  heart-shaped,  large,  more  than  6  inches  long,  in  threes  or  pairs — 
CATALPA  (Catalpa}. 

25.  NORTHERN   CATALPA,   Catalpa  speciosa  Warder    (western  catalpa,  hardy  catalpa, 
cigartree ) . 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  lower  Ohio  Valley  and  central  Mississippi  Valley, 
naturalized  elsewhere  in  eastern  United  States.  Bark  reddish  brown,  with  flat,  scaly 
ridges.  Leaves  in  threes  or  paired,  large,  heart-shaped,  6  to  12  inches  long,  long-pointed, 
edges  smooth,  thick,  dark  green  above,  hairy  beneath.  Leafstalk  4  to  6  inches  long. 
Flowers  large  and  showy,  about  2  inches  long,  whitish  and  purple  spotted,  in  few-flowered 
clusters  in  late  spring.  Fruiting  capsule  cigarlike,  long  and  narrow,  8  to  18  inches  long 
and  5/Q  inch  thick,  dark  brown,  with  many  winged  seeds. 

Principal  uses:  Fence  posts.  Shade  tree  and  ornamental.  Shelterbelts. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


775 


25.  Northern  26.  Flowering        27.  Sugar  maple.  28.  Black  maple, 

catalpa.  dogwood. 


RR.  Leaves  elliptical,  less  than  6  inches  long — DOGWOOD  (Cornus). 

26.  FLOWERING  DOGWOOD,  Cornus  florida  L.  (dogwood,  boxwood;  Cynoxylon  floridum 
(L.)    Raf.). 

Small  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States;  also  in  southern  Ontario  and  a  variety 
in  northeastern  Mexico.  Bark  dark  reddish  brown,  broken  into  small  square  or  rounded 
blocks.  Leaves  paired,  elliptical  or  oval,  3  to  6  inches  long,  short-pointed,  edges  appearing 
smooth  but  minutely  toothed,  lateral  veins  curved,  bright  green  and  nearly  smooth 
above,  whitish  and  slightly  hairy  beneath,  turning  bright  scarlet  above  in  fall.  Flowers 
greenish  yellow,  in  a  dense  head  with  4  showy,  white,  petallike  bracts  2J4  to  4  inches 
in  diameter,  in  early  spring.  Fruits  egg-shaped,  %  inch  long,  bright  scarlet,  shiny,  fleshy, 
1-  or  2-seeded. 

Principal  uses:  Important  ornamental  tree.  The  outstanding  wood  for  shuttles  (used 
in  textile  weaving ) .  ( Dogwood  is  the  State  tree  of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia. ) 

QQ.  Leaf  edges  toothed,  deeply  3-  or  5-lobed    (fruit  of  paired,  long-winged 

"keys") — MAPLE  (Acer). 
S.  Teeth  of  leaves  few  and  blunt — HARD  MAPLES. 

27.  SUGAR   MAPLE,  Acer  saccharum   Marsh,    (hard  maple   [lumber],   rock  maple;  A. 
saccharophorum  K.  Koch). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray,  furrowed 
into  irregular  ridges  or  scales.  Leaves  paired,  heart-shaped,  3  to  5/2  inches  in  diameter, 
3-  or  5-lobed  with  the  lobes  long-pointed  and  sparingly  coarsely  toothed  with  few  blunt 
teeth,  dark  green  above,  light  green  or  pale  and  usually  smooth  beneath,  turning  yellow, 
orange,  or  scarlet  in  fall.  Key  fruits  1  to  1  V4  inches  long,  maturing  in  fall. 

Principal  uses:  As  a  group,  the  maples  rank  third  in  production  of  hardwood  lumber, 
next  to  oak  and  sweetgum,  and  are  among  the  leading  furniture  woods.  Sugar  maple  is 
used  for  flooring,  furniture,  boxes  and  crates,  shoe  lasts,  handles,  woodenware  and 
novelties,  spools  and  bobbins,  and  motor-vehicle  parts.  Also  distillation  products,  veneer, 
railroad  ties,  and  pulpwood.  Sugar  maple  is  the  outstanding  wood  for  flooring  under 
heavy  use  and  is  the  commercial  source  of  maple  sugar  and  sirup.  Much  planted  as  a 
shade  tree.  (State  tree  of  New  York  and  Vermont.  Maple  (Acer  spp. )  is  the  State  tree 
of  Rhode  Island  and  Wisconsin. ) 

28.  BLACK  MAPLE,,  Acer  nigrum  Michx.  f.   (hard  maple  [lumber],  black  sugar  maple, 
sugar  maple;  A.  saccharum  var.  nigrum  (Michx.  f.)  Britton). 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


29.  Silver  maple.          30.  Red  maple. 


31.  Boxelder. 


32.  White  ash. 


Large  tree  of  northeastern  quarter  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray, 
becoming  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  paired,  heart-shaped,  4  to  5/2  inches  in  diameter, 
3-lobed  or  occasionally  5-lobed,  lobes  short-pointed  and  sparingly  coarsely  toothed  with 
blunt  teeth,  the  sides  drooping,  dull  green  above,  yellowish  green  and  hairy  beneath, 
turning  yellow  in  fall.  Key  fruits  1  to  ll/4  inches  long,  maturing  in  fall.  (Perhaps  only  a 
variety  of  No.  27.) 

Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  27. 

SS.  Teeth  of  leaves  many  and  sharp — SOFT  MAPLES. 

29.  SILVER  MAPLE,  Acer  saccharinum  L.  (soft  maple  [lumber],  white  maple,  river  maple, 
water  maple,  swamp  maple). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray,  thin, 
smooth,  on  large  trunks  broken  into  long,  thin  scales.  Leaves  paired,  slight  heart- 
shaped,  3  to  6  inches  long,  deeply  5-lobed,  lobes  long-pointed,  deeply,  sharply,  and 
irregularly  toothed,  bright  green  above,  silvery  white  beneath,  turning  yellow  in  fall. 
Key  fruits  1 /a  to  2  l/z  inches  long,  maturing  in  spring. 

Principal  uses:  Furniture,  boxes  and  crates,  handles,  woodenware  and  novelties,  and 
spools  and  bobbins.  Also  distillation  products,  railroad  ties,  and  pulpwood.  Shade  tree. 
Shelterbelts. 

30.  RED  MAPLE,  Acer  rubrum  L.    (soft  maple  [lumber],  water  maple,  scarlet  maple, 
white  maple,  swamp  maple). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray,  thin, 
smooth,  on  large  trunks  broken  into  long,  thin  scales.  Twigs  reddish.  Leaves  paired, 
heart-shaped,  2/j  to  4  inches  long,  3-  or  5-lobed,  lobes  short-pointed,  irregularly  and 
sharply  toothed,  dark  green  and  shiny  above,  whitish  and  slightly  hairy  beneath,  turning 
scarlet  or  yellow  in  fall.  Key  fruits  ^4  inch  long,  maturing  in  spring. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  29. 

PP.  Leaves  divided  into  3  to  1 1  leaflets  (compound). 

T.  Leaflets  attached  along  the  extended  leafstalk  (pinnate). 

U.  Leaflets  3  to  7,  sharply  toothed,  with  veins  extending  to  the  teeth  (fruits 
paired,  clustered,  long-winged  "kels") — BOXELDER  (Acer  negundo). 

31.  BOXELDER,  Acer  negundo  L.  (ash-leaf  maple,  three-leaf  maple;  Negundo  aceroides 
Moench). 

Medium-sized  tree,  including  its  varieties  widely  distributed  across  the  United  States 
and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray  or  brown,  thin,  with  narrow  ridges  and  fissures.  Twigs 
green.  Leaves  paired,  compound,  with  usually  3  or  5,  rarely  7  or  9,  oval  or  lance-oblong 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


777 


33.  Green  ash. 


34.  Blue  ash.          35.  Pumpkin  ash. 


36.  Black  ash. 


leaflets  2  to  4  inches  long,  long-pointed,  coarsely  and  sharply  toothed,  bright  green,  nearly 
smooth  or  hairy.  Key  fruits  1  to  1  /a  inches  long,  paired  and  in  clusters,  maturing  in  fall. 
Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  29. 

UU.  Leaflets  5  to  11,  bluntly  toothed  or  without  teeth,  with  veins  curved 
within    the    edges     (fruits    clustered    but    not    in    pairs,    long-winged 
"keys" )  — AS H  (Fraxinus ) . 
V.  Leaflets  with  stalks. 

32.  WHITE  ASH,  Fraxinus  americana  L.   (American  ash,  Biltmore  ash;  F.  biltmoreana 
Beadle). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray,  with 
deep,  diamond-shaped  fissures  and  narrow,  forking  ridges.  Leaves  paired,  compound, 
8  to  12  inches  long,  with  5  to  9,  usually  7,  stalked,  oval  or  broadly  lance-shaped  leaflets 
2l/2  to  5  inches  long,  long-  or  short-pointed,  edges  usually  smooth  or  slightly  toothed, 
smooth  or  hairy  beneath.  Key  fruits  1  to  2  inches  long  and  J4  inch  wide,  with  wing  at  end. 

Principal  uses:  Handles,  cooperage,  furniture,  motor-vehicle  parts,  boxes,  baskets,  and 
crates,  and  sporting  and  athletic  goods.  Also  railroad  ties,  veneer,  and  fuel.  Shade  tree. 

33.  GREEN  ASH,  Fraxinus  pennsylvanica  Marsh,   (red  ash  is  the  typical  variety;  green 
ash  is  F.  pennsylvanica  var.  lanceolata  (Borkh.)  Sarg.,  white  ash,  swamp  ash,  water  ash; 
F.  viridis  Michx.). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada  west  to 
Montana  and  Texas.  Bark  gray,  fissured.  Leaves  paired,  compound,  10  to  12  inches  long, 
with  7  or  9,  stalked,  oval  or  lance-shaped  leaflets  2  to  6  inches  long,  long-pointed,  slightly 
toothed,  smooth  or  hairy  beneath.  Key  fruits  1 J4  to  2J4  inches  long,  J4  inch  or  more 
in  width,  with  wing  extending  nearly  to  base. 

Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  32.  Also  shelterbelts  and  shade  tree.  (Green  ash  is  the 
State  tree  of  North  Dakota.) 

34.  BLUE  ASH,  Fraxinus  quadrangulata  Michx. 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Central  States,  chiefly  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Valley 
regions;  also  in  southern  Ontario.  Bark  gray,  fissured,  with  scaly  and  shaggy  plates.  Twigs 
4-angled  and  more  or  less  winged.  Leaves  paired,  compound,  8  to  12  inches  long,  with 
7  to  11,  short-stalked,  oval  or  lance-shaped  leaflets  2/2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed, 
toothed.  Key  fruits  1 J4  to  2  inches  long,  %  to  !/2  inch  wide,  oblong,  with  wing  extending 
to  base. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  32. 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


37.  Yellow 
buckeye. 


38.  Ohio  buckeye.       39.  Black  walnut.         40.  Butternut. 


35.  PUMPKIN  ASH,  Fraxinus  tomentosa  Michx.  f.  (F.  profunda  (Bush)    (Bush). 
Large  tree  with  swollen  base,  wet  soils  in  Mississippi  Valley  and  coastal  plain  regions. 

Bark  gray,  fissured.  Twigs  and  leafstalks  hairy.  Leaves  paired,  compound,  9  to  18  inches 
long,  with  7  to  9,  stalked,  elliptical  or  lance-shaped  leaflets  4  to  10  inches  long,  long-pointed, 
with  edges  smooth  or  slightly  toothed,  soft  hairy  beneath.  Key  fruits  2  to  3  inches  long 
and  YQ  to  l/z  inch  wide,  with  large  broad  wing. 

Principal  uses:  Cooperage,  furniture,  and  boxes,  baskets,  and  crates.  Also  railroad  ties, 
veneer,  and  fuel. 

VV.  Leaflets  without  stalks. 

36.  BLACK  ASH,  Fraxinus  nigra  Marsh,   (brown  ash,  hoop  ash,  basket  ash,  swamp  ash, 
water  ash). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  wet  soils  in  northeastern  quarter  of  United  States  and 
adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray,  scaly  or  fissured.  Leaves  paired,  compound,  12  to  16  inches 
long,  with  7  to  11,  stalkless,  oblong  or  broadly  lance-shaped  leaflets  3  to  5  inches  long, 
long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  with  tufted  hairs  beneath.  Key  fruits  1  to  1 1/2  inches  long, 
Ya  inch  wide,  flat,  with  wing  extending  to  base. 

Principal  uses:   Same  as  No.  35. 

TT.  Leaflets  5  (or  7),  all  attached  at  end  of  leafstalk  and  spreading  fingerlike 
(palmate) — BUCKEYE   (Aesculus}. 

37.  YELLOW  BUCKEYE,  Aesculus  octandra  Marsh,   (sweet  buckeye,  large  buckeye). 
Medium-sized  tree  of  Central  States,  chiefly  Ohio  Valley  and  Appalachian  regions.  Bark 

gray,  separating  into  thin  scales.  Leaves  paired,  compound,  with  leafstalks  4  to  6  inches 
long.  Leaflets  5,  oblong  or  elliptical,  4  to  6  inches  long,  long-pointed,  narrowed  at  base, 
finely  toothed.  Flowers  in  branched  clusters  4  to  6  inches  long,  showy,  1 J4  inches  long, 
yellow,  with  petals  unequal  in  length.  Fruiting  capsule  2  to  2  /2  inches  in  diameter,  smooth, 
with  2  poisonous  seeds  1/2  to  1 94  inches  wide. 

Principal  uses:  Furniture,  boxes  and  crates,  and  caskets.  Also  artificial  limbs. 
Ornamental. 

38.  OHIO  BUCKEYE,  Aesculus  glabra  Willd.  (fetid  buckeye,  stinking  buckeye,  American 
horsechestnut). 

Small  tree  (or  shrubby  to  medium-sized)  of  Central  States,  chiefly  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Valley  regions.  Bark  gray,  much  furrowed  and  broken  into  scaly  plates.  Leaves  paired, 
compound,  with  leafstalks  4  to  6  inches  long.  Leaflets  5  (5  to  7  in  shrubby  varieties), 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


41.  Pecan.  42.  Water  hickory.      4 3.  Nutmeg  hickory.       44.  Bitternut 

hickory. 


elliptical,  3  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  narrowed  at  base,  finely  toothed.  Flowers  in 
branched  clusters  4  to  6  inches  long,  showy,  54  to  1J4  inches  long,  pale  greenish  yellow, 
with  petals  nearly  equal  in  length.  Fruiting  capsule  1 1/\  to  2  inches  in  diameter,  prickly, 
with  1  or  2  poisonous  seeds  1  to  1 1/2  inches  wide. 
Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  37.  (State  tree  of  Ohio.) 

OO  (O  on  p.  774).  Leaves  and  usually  branches  borne  singly  (alternate). 

W  (WW  on  p.  782).  Leaves  divided  into  leaflets  (compound),  attached  along  the 

extended  leafstalk  (pinnate). 

X.  Leaflets  long-pointed;  twigs  not  spiny;  fruit  rounded  or  egg-shaped. 
Y.  Leaflets  finely  toothed,  shedding  in  fall;  fruit  a  nut  with  a  husk. 

Z.  Leaflets  11  to  23;  pith  of  twigs  in  plates;  husk  of  nut  not  splitting  off — 
WALNUT  (Juglans). 

39.  BLACK    WALNUT,  Juglans    uigra    L.    (eastern   black    walnut,    American   walnut, 
walnut). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  southern  Ontario.  Bark  dark  brown  to 
black,  thick,  with  deep  furrows  and  narrow,  forking  ridges.  Compound  leaves  12  to  24 
inches  long.  Leaflets  15  to  23,  without  stalks,  broadly  lance-shaped,  2J/2  to  5  inches  long, 
long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  nearly  smooth  above,  soft  hairy  beneath.  Nuts  single  or 
paired,  1J/2  to  2/a  inches  in  diameter  including  the  thick  husk,  nearly  spherical, 
irregularly  ridged,  thick-shelled,  sweet  and  edible,  known  as  walnuts. 

Principal  uses:  Valuable  furniture  wood,  solid  and  as  veneer.  Also  for  radio  and 
phonograph  cabinets,  sewing  machines,  and  interior  finish.  The  leading  wood  for  gun- 
stocks.  Edible  walnuts.  Shade  tree.  Shelterbelts.  (State  tree  of  Iowa.) 

40.  BUTTERNUT,  Juglans  cinerea  L.  (white  walnut,  oilnut). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  northeastern  quarter  of  United  States  and  adjacent 
Canada.  Bark  light  gray,  furrowed  into  broad,  flat  ridges.  Compound  leaves  15  to  30 
inches  long.  Leaflets  11  to  19,  without  stalks,  broadly  lance-shaped,  2  to  4/2  inches  long, 
long-  or  short-pointed,  finely  toothed,  slightly  hairy  above,  soft  hairy  beneath.  Nuts  3  to  5 
in  drooping  clusters,  1 1/2  to  2  ^2  inches  long  including  the  thick  husk,  egg-shaped, 
pointed,  irregularly  ridged,  thick-shelled,  sweet  and  oily,  known  as  butternuts. 

Principal  uses:    Furniture.  Shade  tree.  Edible  butternuts. 

ZZ.  Leaflets  5  to  11   (11  to  17  in  No.  41)  ;  pith  of  twigs  solid;  husk  of  nut 
splitting  off — HICKORY  (Carya;  formerly  known  also  as  Hicoria). 


780 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


45.  Mocker  nut 
hickory. 


46.  Shellbark 
hickory. 


47.  Shagbark 
hickory. 


48.  Red  hickory. 


a.  Leaflets  lance-shaped  and  often  slightly  sickle-shaped;  winter  buds 
with  4  to  6  scales,  fitting  at  edges  and  not  overlapping;  nuts  thin- 
shelled  (except  No.  43),  husks  usually  4-winged — PECAN  HICKORIES. 

41.  PECAN,  Carya  illinoensis  (Wangenh.)  K.  Koch   (sweet  pecan;  C.  pecan   (Marsh.) 
Engl.  &  Graebn.,  Hicoria  pecan  (Marsh.)  Britton). 

Large  tree  of  Mississippi  Valley  region;  also  in  Mexico.  Bark  light  brown  or  gray, 
deeply  and  irregularly  furrowed  and  cracked.  Compound  leaves  12  to  20  inches  long. 
Leaflets  11  to  17,  short-stalked,  lance-shaped  and  slightly  sickle-shaped,  2  to  7  inches 
long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  smooth  or  slightly  hairy.  Nuts  1  to  2  inches  long  includ- 
ing the  slightly  4-winged,  thin  husk,  oblong,  pointed,  thin-shelled,  sweet  and  edible, 
known  as  pecans. 

Principal  uses:  Boxes  and  crates,  motor  vehicles,  furniture,  and  flooring.  Fuel  and  for 
smoking  meats.  Pecan  nuts  from  wild  and  cultivated  trees.  Shade  tree.  (State  tree  of 
Texas. ) 

42.  WATER  HICKORY,  Carya  aquatica  (Michx.  f.)  Nutt.  (pecan  [lumber],  bitter  pecan, 
swamp  hickory;  Hicoria  aquatica  (Michx.  f.)  Britton). 

Medium-sized  or  large  tree  of  wet  soils  in  South  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and 
Mississippi  Valley  regions.  Bark  light  brown,  fissured,  with  long,  thin  scales.  Compound 
leaves  9  to  15  inches  long.  Leaflets  7  to  13,  stalkless  or  short-stalked,  lance-shaped,  2  to 
5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  dark  green  above,  brownish  and  hairy  or 
smooth  beneath.  Nuts  1  to  1  l/z  inches  long  including  the  pointed,  4-winged,  thin  husk, 
nearly  spherical,  flattened,  angled,  and  wrinkled,  thin-shelled,  bitter. 

Principal  uses:  Wood  used  same  as  No.  41. 

43.  NUTMEG    HICKORY,    Carya   myristicaeformis    (Michx.    f.)    Nutt.    (pecan    [lumber], 
bitter  water  hickory,  swamp  hickory;  Hicoria  myristicaeformis  (Michx.  f.)  Britton). 

Large  tree  of  South  Atlantic  coast  and  Gulf  coast  regions;  also  in  Mexico.  Bark  dark 
brown,  fissured,  with  small,  thin  scales.  Compound  leaves  7  to  14  inches  long.  Leaflets 
5  to  9,  short-stalked,  broadly  lance-shaped  or  oblong,  2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed, 
finely  toothed,  dark  green  above,  more  or  less  hairy  or  smooth  and  whitish  beneath. 
Nuts  1 J4  to  1 1/2  inches  long  including  the  pointed,  4-winged,  thin  husk,  nearly  spherical 
but  longer  than  broad,  thick-shelled,  sweet  and  edible. 

Principal  uses:  Wood  used  same  as  No.  41.  Edible  hickory  nuts. 

44.  BITTERNUT   HICKORY,   Carya  cordiformis   (Wangenh.)    K.  Koch    (pecan  [lumber], 
bitternut,  pignut,  swamp  hickory;  Hicoria  cordiformis  (Wangenh.)   Britton). 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


781 


49.  Pignut  hickory.       50.  West  Indies 
mahogany. 


51.  Honey  locust.       52.  Black  locust. 


Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada. 
Bark  light  brown,  shallowly  furrowed,  with  narrow,  forking  ridges  or  thin  scales.  Com- 
pound leaves  6  to  10  inches  long.  Leaflets  5  to  9,  without  stalks,  lance-shaped,  2  to  6 
inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  more  or  less  hairy  beneath.  Winter  buds  bright 
yellow.  Nuts  94  to  1  /4  inches  long  including  the  4-winged,  yellowish,  thin  husk,  nearly 
spherical,  slightly  flattened,  short-pointed,  thin-shelled,  bitter. 

Principal  uses:  Wood  used  same  as  No.  41. 

aa.  Leaflets  oblong  to  broadly  lance-shaped ;  winter  buds  with  more  than 
6  overlapping  scales;  nuts  thick-shelled  (except  Nos.  47  and  48), 
husks  without  wings — TRUE  HICKORIES. 

45.  MOGKERNUT    HICKORY,    Carya    tomentosa    Nutt.    (hickory    [lumber],    mockernut, 
whiteheart  hickory,  bullnut,  hognut,  white  hickory ;  C.  alba  auth.,  Hicoria  alba  auth. ) . 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  except  northern  border; 
also  in  southern  Ontario.  Bark  gray,  irregularly  furrowed  into  flat  ridges.  Compound 
leaves  8  to  20  inches  long.  Leaflets  7  or  9,  without  stalks,  oblong  or  broadly  lance-shaped, 
2  to  8  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  dark  yellow  green  and  shiny  above,  pale 
and  densely  hairy  beneath.  Nuts  IJ/a  to  2  inches  long  including  the  thick  husk,  nearly 
spherical,  slightly  flattened  and  angled,  thick-shelled,  sweet  and  edible. 

Principal  uses:  Hickory,  including  several  species,  is  the  world's  foremost  wood  for 
tool  handles.  Also  for  vehicle  parts,  fuel,  and  smoking  meat.  Hickory  nuts. 

46.  SHELLBARK  HICKORY,  Carya  laciniosa  (Michx.  f.)  Loud,  (hickory  [lumber],  bigleaf 
shagbark   hickory,  big  shellbark,   western   shellbark,   thick   shellbark,   bottom   shellbark, 
kingnut;  Hicoria  laciniosa  (Michx.  f.)  Sarg.). 

Large  tree  of  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions.  Bark  gray,  shaggy  with  long,  thin, 
straight  plates.  Compound  leaves  15  to  22  inches  long.  Leaflets  usually  7,  without  stalks 
or  short-stalked,  broadly  lance-shaped,  2  to  8  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed, 
dark  green  and  shiny  above,  pale  and  soft-hairy  beneath.  Nuts  1$4  to  2l/z  inches  long 
including  the  thick  husk,  nearly  spherical,  slightly  flattened  and  angled,  pointed  at 
ends,  thick-shelled,  sweet  and  edible. 

Principal  uses :  Same  as  No.  45.  Hickory  nuts  of  commerce. 

47.  SHAGBARK  HICKORY,  Carya  ovata   (Mill.)    K.  Koch   (hickory  [lumber],  shagbark, 
shellbark  hickory,  scalybark  hickory,  upland  hickory;  Hicoria  ovata   (Mill.)   Britton). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray,  shaggy 
with  long,  thin,  curved  plates.  Compound  leaves  8  to  14  inches  long.  Leaflets  usually  5, 
without  stalks,  elliptical  or  broadly  lance-shaped,  3  to  7  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely 


782  Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 

toothed.  Nuts  1^4  to  2/2  inches  long  including  the  thick  husk,  nearly  spherical,  slightly 
flattened  and  angled,  thin-shelled,  sweet  and  edible. 

Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  45.  Wild  trees  and  improved  cultivated  varieties  produce 
hickory  nuts  of  commerce. 

48.  RED   HICKORY,   Carya   ovalis    (Wangenh.)    Sarg.    (hickory   [lumber],   oval   pignut 
hickory,  pignut  hickory,  pignut;  Hicoria  ovalis  (Wangenh.)   Ashe). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  third  of  United  States  (except  coastal  plains).  Bark  gray, 
furrowed,  often  scaly  or  shaggy.  Compound  leaves  6  to  12  inches  long.  Leaflets  7  or  5, 
without  stalks,  oblong  or  lance-shaped,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  hairy  at  first  but 
becoming  smooth.  Nuts  1  to  1  /4  inches  long  including  the  thin  husk,  nearly  spherical 
but  variable  in  shape,  thin-shelled,  sweet  and  edible. 

Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  45. 

49.  PIGNUT  HICKORY,  Carya  glabra    (Mill.)    Sweet    (hickory  [lumber],  pignut,  black 
hickory;  Hicoria  glabra  (Mill.)   Britton). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  third  of  United  States  and  southern  Ontario.  Bark  dark  gray, 
with  furrows  and  forking  ridges.  Compound  leaves  8  to  12  inches  long.  Leaflets  usually 
5,  or  5  and  7,  without  stalks,  oblong  or  lance-shaped,  3  to  6  inches  long,  long-pointed, 
finely  toothed.  Nuts  1  to  2  inches  long  including  the  thin  or  thick  husk,  broader  toward 
apex  and  usually  not  angled,  thick-shelled,  usually  bitter. 

Principal  uses:  Same  as  No.  45. 

YY.  Leaflets  with  smooth  edges,  evergreen;  fruit  egg-shaped  with  winged 
seeds   (tree  of  tropical  Florida) — MAHOGANY   (Swietenia). 

50.  WEST  INDIES  MAHOGANY,  Swietenia  mahagoni  Jacq.    (mahogany). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree,  rare  in  tropical  keys  of  southern  Florida;  also  in  West 

Indies.  Bark  dark  reddish  brown,  fissured.  Leaves  compound,  evergreen,  4  to  6  inches 
long.  Leaflets  4  to  8,  paired,  short-stalked,  broadly  lance-shaped,  1  J/a  to  3  inches  long, 
long-pointed,  the  two  sides  unequal,  leathery,  with  edges  smooth,  yellow  green.  Flowers 
small,  in  clusters,  whitish  green.  Fruit,  a  large,  egg-shaped  capsule  3  to  5  inches  long, 
dark  brown,  with  winged  seeds  1 34  inches  long. 

Principal  uses:  Not  of  commercial  importance  in  Florida  because  of  its  rarity.  Ma- 
hogany, including  other  species,  is  the  world's  foremost  cabinetwood  and  the  most  valuable 
timber  tree  in  tropical  America.  Planted  as  an  ornamental  and  shade  tree  in  Florida. 

XX.  Leaflets  rounded  or  blunt-pointed;  twigs  spiny;  fruit  a  flat  beanlike  pod. 
b.  Leaflets  with  inconspicuous  rounded  teeth — HONEYLOCUST   (Gleditsia). 

51.  HONEYLOCUST,  Gleditsia  triacanthos  L.  (common  honeylocust,  sweet-locust,  thorny 
locust). 

Large  tree  of  Appalachian  Mountain  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions,  naturalized  else- 
where in  eastern  half  of  United  States;  also  in  southern  Ontario.  Bark  grayish  brown  or 
black,  fissured  into  long,  narrow,  scaly  ridges.  Trunk  and  branches  with  large,  stout, 
usually  branched  spines,  rareiy  absent.  Leaves  once  or  twice  divided  (compound),  4  to  8 
inches  long.  Leaflets  numerous  in  pairs,  elliptical,  $/&  to  1  /4  inches  long,  blunt-pointed 
or  rounded  at  apex,  with  inconspicuous  rounded  teeth,  shiny  dark  green  and  smooth 
above,  yellow  green  and  nearly  smooth  beneath.  Flowers  small,  greenish  or  whitish,  in 
narrow  clusters  2  to  2 /a  inches  long,  in  late  spring.  Pods  12  to  18  inches  long  and  1  to  1 1/4 
inches  wide,  flat,  dark  brown,  hairy,  slightly  curved  and  twisted. 

Principal  uses :  Wood  used  locally  for  fence  posts,  construction,  furniture,  and  railroad 
ties.  Shade  tree.  Shelterbelts.  The  sweetish  pods  are  eaten  by  livestock  and  wildlife. 

bb.  Leaflets  not  toothed — LOCUST  (Robinia). 

52.  BLACK  LOCUST,  Robinia  pseudoacacia  L.    (locust,  yellow  locust,  shipmast  locust). 
Medium-sized  tree,  native  in  Appalachian  Mountain  and  Ozark  regions  and  widely 

naturalized  in  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  southern  Canada.  Bark  brown,  thick, 
deeply  furrowed,  with  rough,  forked  ridges.  Twigs  with  a  pair  of  spines  about  /a  inch 
long  developing  at  base  of  each  leaf.  Compound  leaves  8  to  14  inches  long.  Leaflets  7  to  19, 
oval,  1  to  2  inches  long,  usually  rounded  at  apex,  with  smooth  edges,  dark  blue  green 
and  smooth  above,  pale  and  smooth  or  nearly  so  beneath.  Flowers  white  and  very  fragrant, 
YQ  to  %  inch  long,  in  clusters  4  to  8  inches  long,  in  spring.  Pods  2  to  4  inches  long 
and  /a  inch  wide,  flat,  brown. 

Principal  uses:  Fence  posts,  mine  timbers,  poles,  railroad  ties,  stakes,  and  fuel.  The 
principal  wood  for  insulator  pins.  Also  lumber  for  rough  construction.  Planted  for  orna- 
ment and  shade,  shelterbelts,  and  erosion  control. 

WW  ( W  on  p.  779) I .  Leaves  not  divided  into  leaflets  (simple) . 
c.  Leaves  aromatic  when  bruised,  edges  smooth  or  2-  or  3-lobed;  twigs  bright 
green — SASSAFRAS    (Sassafras). 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


783 


53.  Sassafras.         54.  Red  mulberry.     55.  Osage-orange. 


56.  Sweetgum. 


53.  SASSAFRAS,  Sassafras  albidum  (Nutt. )  Nees  (common  sassafras;  S.  officinale  Nees 
&  Eberm.,  S.  variifolium  (Salisb.)  Ktze.). 

Medium-sized  tree  (sometimes  large)  with  aromatic  odor  and  taste,  eastern  half  of 
United  States  and  southern  Ontario.  Bark  reddish  brown,  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  oval 
or  elliptical,  3  to  5  inches  long,  blunt-pointed,  often  2-  or  3-lobed,  with  smooth  edges, 
bright  green  above,  paler  and  smooth  or  hairy  beneath,  turning  orange  or  scarlet  in  fall. 
Flowers  about  %  inch  long,  yellow,  in  small  clusters  in  early  spring.  Fruits  egg-shaped, 
Ys  inch  long,  dark  blue,  with  fleshy  red  stalk. 

Principal  uses:  Fence  posts.  Lumber  occasionally  mixed  with  that  of  black  ash  (No. 
36).  Sassafras  tea  and  oil  of  sassafras,  used  to  perfume  soap,  are  prepared  from  roots 
and  root  bark.  Shade  tree  and  ornamental. 

cc.  Leaves  not  aromatic,  edges  smooth,  toothed,  or  lobed;  twigs  brown  or  gray, 
d.  Juice  milky. 

e.  Leaves  toothed,  sometimes  2-  or  3-lobed;  twigs  not  spiny — MULBERRY 
(Morus). 

54.  RED  MULBERRY,  Morus  rubra  L.  (mulberry). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  southern  Ontario.  Bark  dark 
brown,  fissured  and  scaly.  Leaves  broadly  oval  or  heart-shaped,  3  to  7  inches  long, 
abruptly  long-pointed,  coarsely  toothed,  sometimes  2-  or  3-lobed,  rough  above,  soft-hairy 
beneath.  Fruits  1  inch  long,  dark  purple  or  black,  sweet,  juicy,  and  edible,  known  as 
mulberries. 

Principal  uses:  Wood  used  locally  for  fence  posts,  furniture,  interior  finish,  agricultural 
implements,  and  cooperage.  Shade  tree.  Edible  mulberries,  eaten  also  by  domestic 
animals  and  wildlife. 

ee.  Leaves  with  smooth  edges;  twigs  spiny — OSAGE-ORANGE  (Madura}. 

55.  OSAGE-ORANGE,  Madura  pomifera    (Raf.)    Schneid.    (bodark,  mockorange,  bow- 
wood,  hedge;  Toxylon  pomiferum  Raf.). 

Medium-sized  tree  with  milky  juice,  native  of  Arkansas,  Oklahoma,  Louisiana,  and 
Texas  but  naturalized  in  eastern  half  of  United  States  except  northern  border.  Bark 
orange  brown,  deeply  furrowed.  Twigs  with  stout  straight  spines  YQ  to  1  inch  long.  Leaves 
oval  or  narrowly  oval,  2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  with  smooth  edges,  shiny  dark 
green  above  and  paler  beneath.  Fruit  a  yellowish  ball  4  to  5  inches  in  diameter. 

Principal  uses:   Extensively  planted  for  shelterbelts,  hedges,  ornament,  and  shade.  The 


784 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


57.  American  syca-     58.  Yellow-poplar.        59.  Southern  magnolia.      60.  Sweetbay. 
more. 


wood  is  used  chiefly  for  fence  posts  and  for  fuel  and  has  been  used  for  archery  bows 
and  as  a  source  of  a  yellow  dye. 

dd.  Juice  watery. 

f   (ff  on  p.  793).  Winter  buds  1  or  none  at  tip  of  twig;  pith  of  twigs  round 
or  nearly  so  in  cross  section   (star-shaped  in  Nos.  77  to  80  and  90) ; 
fruit  not  an  acorn, 
g.  Leaves  with  3  to  6  lobes. 

h.  Leaves  with  pointed  apex  and  3  or  5  lobes. 

i.  Leaves  star-shaped,  deeply  5-lobed — SWEETGUM   (Liquidambar). 

56.  SWEETGUM,  Liquidambar  styrciflua  L.  (redgum  [lumber],  sapgum  [lumber],  Ameri- 
can sweetgum,  starleaf-gum,  bilsted). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  third  of  United  States,  except  northern  border;  also  in  Mexico 
and  Central  America  south  to  Nicaragua.  Bark  gray,  deeply  furrowed.  Twigs  reddish 
brown,  developing  corky  ridges.  Leaves  maplelike,  star-shaped,  3  to  7  inches  long  and 
wide,  with  5  long-pointed,  finely  toothed  lobes,  shiny  dark  green  above,  paler  beneath, 
slightly  aromatic,  turning  deep  crimson  in  fall.  Fruit  a  brownish,  spiny  ball  1  to  1 54  inches 
in  diameter. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  tree  in  United  States,  second  in  production  among 
the  hardwoods,  the  leading  furniture  wood,  and  second  in  veneer  production.  Also  boxes 
and  crates,  radio  and  phonograph  cabinets,  interior  trim  and  millwork,  woodenware 
and  novelties,  and  slack  barrels.  Shade  tree.  The  gum,  "sweetgum"  or  storax,  is  used 
in  perfumes  and  drugs. 

ii.  Leaves    heart-shaped,    slightly    3-lobed — SYCAMORE    (Platanus}. 

57.  AMERICAN    SYCAMORE,  Platanus  occidentalis  L.    (American  planetree,   sycamore, 
buttonwood,  planetree,  buttonball-tree ) . 

A  very  large  tree  (the  largest  eastern  hardwood  in  trunk  diameter)  of  wet  soils  in 
eastern  half  of  United  States  and  southern  Ontario.  Bark  of  branches  whitish,  thin, 
smooth;  bark  of  trunk  peeling  off  in  large  flakes,  smoothish,  with  patches  of  brown, 
green,  and  gray.  Leaves  heart-shaped,  4  to  8  inches  long  and  wide,  slightly  3-  or  5-lobed, 
the  shallow,  pointed  lobes  coarsely  toothed  with  long-pointed  teeth,  with  3  main  veins 
from  base,  bright  green  and  smooth  above,  paler  and  slightly  hairy  beneath.  Fruit  a  ball 
1  inch  in  diameter. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


785 


61.  Cucumbertree.        62.  Common  per- 
simmon. 


63.  Water  tupelo.         64.  Black  tupelo. 


Principal  uses:  Furniture  and  boxes  and  crates  (mostly  small  food  containers).  Also 
railroad  ties,  cooperage,  fence  posts,  and  fuel.  Shade  tree. 

hh.  Leaves  with   broad,   slightly  notched   apex  and  4  or  6   lobes — 
YELLOW-POPLAR    ( Liriodendron ) . 

58.  YELLOW-POPLAR,  Liriodendron  tulipifera  L.    (tuliptree,  whitewood,  white-poplar, 
tulipwood,  hickory-poplar,  poplar). 

Large  tree  (the  tallest  eastern  hardwood)  of  eastern  third  of  United  States  and  southern 
Ontario.  Bark  brown,  becoming  thick  and  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  of  unusual  squarish 
shape  with  broad,  slightly  notched  or  nearly  straight  apex  and  2  or  3  lobes  on  each 
side,  3  to  6  inches  long,  long  and  broad,  shiny  dark  green  above  and  pale  green  beneath. 
Flowers  large  and  showy,  tulip-shaped,  1/2  to  2  inches  in  diameter,  greenish  and  orange, 
in  spring.  Fruit  conelike,  2  Va  to  3  inches  long,  l/2  inch  thick. 

Principal  uses:  Furniture  (solid  and  veneer),  boxes  and  crates,  interior  finish,  siding, 
fixtures,  radio  cabinets,  musical  instruments,  and  caskets.  Pulpwood.  Ornamental  and 
shade  tree.  (State  tree  of  Indiana  and  Kentucky.) 

gg.  Leaves  with  edges  smooth  or  toothed  but  without  lobes, 
j.  Leaf  edges  smooth  (see  also  No.  76). 

k.  Twigs  with  faint  ring  at  base  of  each  leaf — MAGNOLIA  (Magnolia}. 

59.  SOUTHERN    MAGNOLIA,   Magnolia   grandiflora   L.    (magnolia    [lumber],    evergreen 
magnolia). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  gray  or  light 
brown,  broken  into  small,  thin  scales.  Leaves  evergreen,  oblong  or  elliptical,  5  to  8  inches 
long,  short-pointed,  edges  smooth,  leathery,  shiny  bright  green  and  smooth  above,  rusty- 


tree  and  State  flower  of  Louisiana  and  Mississippi. ) 

60.  SWEETBAY,  Magnolia  virginiana  L.  (magnolia  [lumber],  sweetbay  magnolia,  swamp- 
bay,  swamp  magnolia). 

Small  to  medium-sized  tree  of  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  brownish  gray, 

smoothish.   Leaves  shedding  in  winter  or  almost  evergreen  in  the   South,  elliptical  or 

narrowly  oval,  3  to  5  inches  long,  short-pointed,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  edges  smooth,  thick, 

shiny  bright  green  and  smooth  above,  whitish  and  nearly  smooth  beneath.  Flowers  cup- 

802062° — 49 51 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


65.  Ogeechee 
tupelo. 


66.  American  holly.  67.  American  bass-  68.  White  basswood. 
wood. 


shaped,  2  to  25/2  inches  across,  white,  fragrant,  spring  and  early  summer.  Fruit  conelike, 
1 J/2  to  2  inches  long  and  */*  inch  thick,  dark  red,  smooth. 

Principal  uses :  Furniture,  boxes,  and  Venetian  blinds.  Ornamental. 

61.  CUCUMBERTREE,    Magnolia    acuminata    L.     ( cucumbertree    magnolia,    mountain 
magnolia). 

Large  tree  of  Appalachian  Mountain  and  Ozark  regions  and  intervening  portions  of 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  Valleys;  also  in  southern  Ontario.  Bark  dark  brown,  furrowed,  with 
narrow,  scaly,  forking  ridges.  Leaves  shedding  in  fall,  elliptical  or  oval,  5  to  10  inches  long, 
short-pointed,  yellow  green  and  smooth  above,  light  green  and  soft-hairy  or  nearly  smooth 
beneath.  Flowers  bell-shaped,  greenish  yellow,  2l/z  to  3J/2  inches  long.  Fruit  conelike, 
2  to  3  inches  long  and  1  inch  thick,  red. 

Principal  uses:    Wood  used  same  as  yellow-poplar,  No.  58.  Ornamental  and  shade  tree. 

kk.  Twigs  without  rings. 

I.  Leaves  broadest  below  middle — PERSIMMON  (Diospyros). 

62.  COMMON  PERSIMMON,  Diospyros  virginiana  L.  (persimmon). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  except  northern  border.  Bark  dark 
brown,  thick,  deeply  divided  into  small,  square,  scaly  blocks.  Leaves  oval  or  elliptical,  2  /2 
to  6  inches  long,  long-pointed,  rounded  at  base,  shiny  dark  green  above,  pale  green  and 
smooth  or  hairy  beneath.  Male  and  female  flowers  on  different  trees  in  spring,  %  to  Y& 
inch  long,  whitish,  in  angles  of  leaves.  Fruits  $4  to  1 1/4  inches  in  diameter,  yellow  or  pale 
orange,  maturing  in  fall,  fleshy,  sweet,  and  edible,  known  as  persimmons. 

Principal  uses:  Shuttles  (used  in  textile  weaving)  and  golf-club  heads.  Sometimes 
planted  for  the  edible  persimmon  fruits  and  for  ornament. 

II.  Leaves  broadest  above  middle — TUPELO  (Nyssa). 

63.  WATER  TUPELO,  Nyssa  aquatica  L.  (tupelo,  tupelo-gum,  swamp  tupelo,  cotton-gum, 
sour-gum ) . 

Large  tree  with  swollen  base,  swamps  of  South  Atlantic  Coastal  Plain,  Gulf  Coastal 
Plain,  and  lower  Mississippi  Valley.  Bark  dark  brown,  thin,  rough,  with  scaly  ridges. 
Leaves  oval  or  oblong,  4  to  6  inches  long,  short-  or  long-pointed,  edges  smooth  or  with  a 
few  teeth,  shiny  dark  green  above,  pale  and  soft-hairy  beneath.  Fruits  oblong,  1  inch  long, 
fleshy,  purple,  acid,  1 -seeded. 

Principal  uses:  Furniture,  boxes,  crates,  and  baskets,  and  pulpwood.  Also  railroad  ties 
and  cooperage. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


787 


69.  American  elm.       70.  Slippery  elm. 


71.  Rock  elm.  72.  Winged  elm. 


:E 


64.  BLACK  TUPELO.,  Nyssa  sylvatica  Marsh,   (blackgum,  sour-gum,  tupelo,  pepperidge, 
tupelo-gum;  variety:    swamp  tupelo,  N.  sylvatica  var.  biflora    (Walt.)    Sarg.,  blackgum, 
swamp  blackgum,  swamp  black  tupelo). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  third  of  United  States ;  also  in  southern  Ontario  and  Mexico.  Bark 
reddish  brown,  deeply  fissured  into  irregular  and  block-shaped  ridges.  Leaves  elliptical  or 
oblong,  2  to  5  inches  long,  short-  or  blunt-pointed,  wedge-shaped  or  rounded  at  base,  edges 
smooth,  shiny  dark  green  above,  pale  and  often  hairy  beneath,  turning  bright  scarlet  in 
fall.  Fruits  egg-shaped,  %  to  /a  inch  long,  fleshy,  blue  black,  bitter,  1 -seeded. 

Principal  uses:  Boxes,  crates,  and  baskets,  furniture,  and  pulpwood.  Also  railroad  ties 
and  cooperage.  Ornamental  and  shade  tree. 

65.  OGEECHEE  TUPELO,  Nyssa  ogeche  Bartr.  (sour  tupelo-gum,  sour  tupelo,  Ogeechee- 
lime,  limetree ) . 

Small  to  medium-sized  tree,  local  in  swamps  of  Coastal  Plain  in  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
and  Florida.  Bark  dark  brown,  thin,  irregularly  fissured.  Leaves  elliptical,  4  to  6  inches 
long,  short-  or  blunt-pointed,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  edges  smooth,  thick,  shiny  dark  green 
and  slightly  hairy  above,  pale  and  hairy  beneath.  Fruits  1  to  1  /a  inches  long,  fleshy,  red, 
sour,  1 -seeded. 

Principal  uses :  A  preserve,  Ogeechee-lime,  is  made  from  the  fruit.  The  wood  is  of  little 
importance  commercially. 

jj.  Leaf  edges  toothed  (see  also  No.  63). 

m.  Leaves  with  few  large  spiny  teeth,  evergreen — HOLLY  (Ilex}. 

66.  AMERICAN  HOLLY,  Ilex  opaca  Ait.  (holly,  white  holly,  evergreen  holly,  boxwood). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions. 

Bark  light  gray,  thin,  smoothish,  with  wartlike  projections.  Leaves  evergreen,  elliptical, 
2  to  4  inches  long,  spine-pointed  and  coarsely  spiny-toothed,  stiff  and  leathery,  shiny  green 
above  and  yellowish  green  beneath.  Male  and  female  flowers  on  different  trees,  small, 
greenish  white.  Berrylike  fruit  spherical,  J4  to  y&  inch  in  diameter,  red. 

Principal  uses :  Christmas  decorations.  The  wood  is  used  for  scientific  and  musical  instru- 
ments, toy  boats,  furniture  inlays,  and  sporting  and  athletic  goods.  Ornamental  and  shade 
tree.  (State  tree  of  Delaware.) 

mm.  Leaves  with  many  small  teeth,  shedding  in  fall. 

n.  Leaves  with  the  2  sides  unequal  and  1  side  larger  at  base,  in  2 

rows  on  twig. 

o.  Leaves  broad,  heart-shaped,  with  leafstalks  more  than   1 J4 
inches  long    (the  fragrant,  pale  yellow  flowers  and  round, 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

nutlike   fruits  borne   on   a  strap-shaped   greenish   stalk)  — 
BASSWOOD   (or  linden,  Tilia). 

67.  AMERICAN  BASSWOOD,  Tilia  americana  L.  (American  linden,  basswood,  linden,  linn, 
beetree,  limetree;  T.  glabra  Vent.). 

Large  tree  of  northeastern  quarter  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  gray, 
deeply  furrowed  into  narrow,  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  heart-shaped,  4  to  8 
inches  long,  long-pointed,  coarsely  toothed  with  long-pointed  teeth,  dark  green  above, 
light  green  beneath  with  tufts  of  hair  in  angles  of  main  veins.  Fruits  nutlike,  %  to  /2  inch 
in  diameter. 

Principal  uses:  Boxes  (especially  food  containers),  Venetian  blinds,  millwork,  furniture, 
apiary  supplies,  and  woodenware.  Also  veneer,  excelsior,  and  cooperage.  Shade  tree  and 
important  honey  plant. 

68.  WHITE  BASSWOOD,  Tilia  heterophylla  Vent,  (beetree  linden). 

Large  tree  of  Appalachian  Mountain  region  west  to  Mississippi  Valley.  Bark  gray,  deeply 
furrowed.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  heart-shaped,  3  to  6  inches  long,  long-pointed,  the  2  sides  un- 
equal at  base,  finely  toothed,  shiny  dark  green  and  smooth  above,  beneath  white  or  brownish 
with  dense  hairy  coat.  Fruits  nutlike,  J4  to  Y&  inch  in  diameter. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  67. 

oo.  Leaves  narrower,  with  leafstalks  less  than   l/z   inch  long 

(flowers  not  on  a  strap-shaped  stalk). 

p.   Leaves  with    1    main  vein    (midrib)    and   many  parallel 
lateral  veins;  fruits  flat,  elliptical  or  rounded,  bordered 
with  a  wing,  maturing  in  spring  (maturing  in  fall  in  Nos. 
73  and  74)— ELM    (Ulmus). 
q.  Twigs  round,  not  corky  winged. 

69.  AMERICAN  ELM,  Ulmus  americana  L.  (white  elm  [lumber],  soft  elm  [lumber],  water 
elm,  gray  elm,  swamp  elm ) . 

Large  spreading  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada,  now 
threatened  in  the  Northeast  by  the  Dutch  elm  disease.  Bark  gray,  deeply  furrowed,  with 
broad,  forking,  scaly  ridges.  Twigs  soft-hairy,  becoming  smooth,  not  corky  winged.  Leaves 
in  2  rows,  elliptical,  3  to  6  inches  long,  long-pointed,  the  2  sides  unequal,  coarsely  and 
doubly  toothed  with  unequal  teeth,  thin,  dark  green  and  smooth  or  slightly  rough  above, 
pale  and  usually  soft-hairy  beneath.  Fruits  elliptical,  flat,  %  to  l/z  inch  long. 

Principal  uses:  Containers  (boxes,  baskets,  crates,  and  barrels),  furniture,  dairy,  poultry, 
and  apiary  supplies,  caskets,  and  vehicle  parts.  American  elm  is  extensively  planted  as  a 
shade  tree  across  the  United  States.  Shelterbelts.  ( State  tree  of  Massachusetts. ) 

70.  SLIPPERY  ELM,  Ulmus  rubra  Muhl.  (soft  elm  [lumber],  red  elm,  gray  elm;  £7.  fulva 
Michx.). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  dark 
brown,  deeply  furrowed;  inner  bark  mucilaginous.  Twigs  hairy  and  rough,  not  corky 
winged.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  elliptical,  4  to  8  inches  long,  long-pointed,  the  2  sides  unequal, 
coarsely  and  doubly  toothed  with  unequal  teeth,  thick,  dark  green  and  very  rough  above, 
densely  soft-hairy  beneath.  Fruit  rounded,  flat,  l/z  to  $4  inch  long. 

Principal  uses :    Wood  used  same  as  No.  69. 

qq.  Twigs  usually  becoming  corky  winged. 

71.  ROCK  ELM,  Ulmus  thomasi  Sarg.  (cork  elm,  hickory  elm;  U.  racemosa  Thomas,  not 
Borkh.). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  northeastern  quarter  of  United  States  and  adjacent 
Canada.  Bark  gray,  deeply  furrowed.  Twigs  often  corky  winged.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  elliptical, 
2  to  4  inches  long,  short-pointed,  the  2  sides  unequal,  coarsely  and  doubly  toothed  with 
unequal  teeth,  thick,  shiny  dark  green  and  smooth  above,  pale  and  soft-hairy  beneath. 
Fruit  elliptical,  flat,  %  to  %  inch  long. 

Principal  uses :    Wood  used  same  as  No.  69.  Shade  tree. 

72.  WINGED  ELM,  Ulmus  alattt  Michx.  (wahoo,  cork  elm). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  southeastern  quarter  of  United  States.  Bark  light  brown,  thin, 
irregularly  fissured.  Twigs  usually  becoming  corky  winged.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  oblong, 
1 J4  to  2  /a  inches  long,  short-pointed,  the  2  sides  unequal,  coarsely  and  doubly  toothed  with 
unequal  teeth,  thick,  dark  green  and  smooth  above,  pale  and  soft-hairy  beneath.  Fruit 
elliptical,  flat,  %  inch  long. 

Principal  uses :    Wood  used  same  as  No.  69.  Shade  tree. 

73.  SEPTEMBER  ELM,  Ulmus  serotina  Sarg.  (red  elm). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  Mississippi  Valley  region  from  Illinois  to  Georgia  and  Oklahoma. 
Bark  light  brown,  thin,  fissured.  Twigs  often  corky  winged.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  oblong, 
2  to  3  inches  long,  long-pointed,  the  2  sides  unequal,  coarsely  and  doubly  toothed  with 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


789 


73.  September  elm.         74.  Cedar  elm.          75.  Hackberry. 


76.  Sugarberry. 


unequal  teeth,  shiny  yellow  green  and  smooth  above,  pale  and  slightly  hairy  beneath. 
Flowering  in  fall.  Fruit  elliptical,  J/a  inch  long,  flat. 
Principal  uses:    Wood  used  same  as  No.  69. 

74.  CEDAR  ELM,  Ulmus  crassifolia  Nutt.  (red  elm,  basket  elm,  southern  rock  elm). 
Large  tree  of  lower  Mississippi  Valley  to  Texas  and  adjacent  Mexico.  Bark  light  brown, 

fissured.  Twigs  usually  becoming  corky  winged.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  elliptical,  1  to  2  inches 
long,  short-pointed  or  rounded,  the  2  sides  unequal,  coarsely  and  doubly  toothed  with 
unequal  teeth,  thick,  shiny  dark  green  and  rough  above,  soft-hairy  beneath.  Flowering 
in  late  summer  or  fall.  Fruit  oblong,  $/&  to  /4  inch  long,  flat. 
Principal  uses:    Wood  used  same  as  No.  69. 

pp.  Leaves    with    3    main    veins    from    base;    fruits    round, 
wingless,  maturing  in  fall — HACKBERRY   (Celtis). 

75.  HACKBERRY,  Celtis  occidentalis  L.  (common  hackberry,  sugarberry). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  except  southern  border; 

also  in  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  light  brown  to  gray,  with  corky  warts  or  ridges  becoming 
scaly.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  oval  2  to  4/2  inches  long,  usually  long-pointed,  the  2  sides 
unequal,  sharply  toothed  except  in  lower  part,  with  3  main  veins  from  base,  bright 
green  and  smooth  or  sometimes  rough  above,  paler  and  nearly  smooth  beneath.  Fruits 
*4  to  H.inch  in  diameter,  dark  purple,  1 -seeded. 

Principal  uses:   Furniture  and  boxes  and  baskets.  Shelterbelts  and  shade  tree. 

76.  SUGARBERRY,  Celtis  laevigata  Willd.  (sugar  hackberry,  hackberry,  Mississippi  hack- 
berry,  southern  hackberry;  C.  mississippiensis  Spach). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  southeastern  quarter  of  United  States,  with  a  variety 
west  to  New  Mexico  and  northeastern  Mexico.  Bark  gray,  smoothish,  with  prominent 
corky  warts.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  broadly  lance-shaped,  1  ]/2  to  4  inches  long,  long-pointed, 
the  2  sides  unequal,  edges  smooth  or  sometimes  with  a  few  teeth,  with  3  main 
veins  from  base,  dark  green  and  smooth  or  sometimes  rough  above,  paler  and  usually 
smooth  beneath.  Fruits  l/4  inch  in  diameter,  orange  red,  or  purple,  1 -seeded. 

Principal  uses :  Furniture  and  boxes  and  baskets.  Shelterbelts  and  shade  tree. 

nn.  Leaves  with   both   sides  equal,   spreading   around   twig    (in 

2  rows  in  No.  89). 

r.  Leafstalks  more  than  1 /a  inches  long,  slender;  seeds  cottony, 
in  long-clustered  capsules — POPLAR  (Populus;  see  also  Nos. 
150  and  151). 


790 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


77.  Eastern  cotton-    78.  Swamp  cotton-     79.  Balsam  poplar, 
wood.  wood. 


80.  Bigtooth 
aspen. 


77.  EASTERN    COTTON  WOOD,   Populus    deltoides   Bartr.    (cottonwood,    eastern    poplar, 
Carolina  poplar,  necklace  poplar ;  P.  balsamifera  auth. ) . 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  at  first  yellowish 
green  and  smooth,  becoming  gray  and  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  triangular,  3  to  6  inches 
long  and  wide,  long-pointed,  coarsely  toothed  with  curved  teeth,  smooth,  light  green  and 
shiny.  Leafstalks  flat. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  and  veneer,  used  principally  for  boxes  and  crates  but  also  for 
furniture,  dairy  and  poultry  supplies,  etc.  Also  pulpwood,  excelsior,  and  fuel.  Shade  tree 
and  shelterbelts.  (Cottonwood  (Populus  spp.)  is  the  State  tree  of  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and 
South  Dakota.) 

78.  SWAMP  COTTONWOOD,  Populus  fieterophylla  L.   (cottonwood,  swamp  poplar,  black 
cottonwood,  river  cottonwood). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions. 
Bark  grayish  brown,  furrowed  into  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  heart-shaped,  4  to  7  inches  long  and 
nearly  as  wide,  short-pointed  or  rounded  at  apex,  finely  toothed  with  small,  curved  teeth, 
hairy  when  unfolding  but  becoming  smooth  or  remaining  woolly  beneath,  dark  green 
above,  paler  beneath.  Leafstalks  round. 

Principal  uses:  Wood  used  same  as  No.  77. 

79.  BALSAM  POPLAR,  Populus  tacamahaca  Mill,   (tacamahac,  tacamahac  poplar,  balm- 
of-Gilead,  balm-of-Gilead  poplar,  balsam,  cottonwood,  poplar;  P.  balsamifera  auth.). 

Large  tree  widely  distributed  in  northeastern  border  of  United  States,  northern  Rocky 
Mountain  region,  and  across  Canada  to  Alaska.  Bark  at  first  reddish  brown  and  smooth, 
becoming  gray,  furrowed,  with  flat,  scaly  ridges.  Winter  buds  resinous  and  fragrant. 
Leaves  oval  or  broadly  lance-shaped,  3  to  5  inches  long,  short-pointed,  finely  toothed  with 
rounded  teeth,  smooth  or  nearly  so,  shiny  dark  green  above,  pale  green  beneath.  Leafstalks 
round. 

Principal  uses:  Boxes  and  crates  and  pulpwood.  Balm-of-Gilead,  derived  from  the 
buds,  is  used  in  cough  medicine.  Ornamental. 

80.  BIGTOOTH  ASPEN,  Populus  grandidentata  Michx.   (largetooth  aspen,  aspen,  poplar, 
popple). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  northeastern  quarter  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada. 
Bark  greenish,  smooth,  thin,  becoming  dark  brown,  irregularly  fissured,  with  flat  ridges. 
Leaves  elliptical  or  nearly  round,  2J/z  to  4  inches  long,  coarsely  toothed  with  curved 
teeth.  Leafstalks  flat. 

Principal  uses :  Pulpwood,  boxes  and  crates,  excelsior,  and  matches. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


791 


81.  Yellow  birch.         82.  Sweet  birch.       83.  River  birch.          84.  Paper  birch. 


rr.  Leafstalks  less  than   1   inch  long;  seeds  not  hairy   (except 

Nos.  86  and  87). 

s.  Leaf  edges  with  teeth  of  2  sizes  and  slightly  irregular; 
fruit  a  cone,  upright  in  Nos.  81-83,  hanging  down  in  Nos. 
84  and  85 — BIRCH  (Betula). 
t.  Leaves  mostly  with  9  to  1 1  main  veins  on  each  side. 

81.  YELLOW  BIRCH,  Betula  lutea  Michx.  f.    (birch  [lumber],  gray  birch,  silver  birch, 
swamp  birch ) . 

Large  tree  of  northeastern  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada  and  Appalachian 
Mountain  region.  Bark  (aromatic  on  young  branches)  yellowish  or  silvery  gray,  shiny, 
separating  into  papery,  curly  strips;  on  old  trunks  reddish  brown.  Leaves  oval,  3  to  5  inches 
long,  long-  or  short-pointed,  sharply  and  doubly  toothed,  mostly  with  9  to  1 1  main  veins 
on  each  side,  nearly  smooth,  dull  dark  green  above,  yellow  green  below.  Cones  ^4  to  1  *4 
inches  long. 

Principal  uses:  Birches  are  among  the  leading  furniture  woods.  Also  boxes,  baskets, 
crates,  woodenware,  handles,  spools  and  bobbins,  millwork,  flooring,  distillation  products, 
railroad  ties,  and  fuel.  Yellow  birch  plywood  is  used  in  airplane  construction.  Shade  tree. 
(State  tree  of  New  Hampshire.) 

82.  SWEET  BIRCH,  Betula  lenta  L.  (birch  [lumber],  black  birch,  cherry  birch). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Appalachian  Mountain  region  and  adjacent  Canada. 

Bark  aromatic  on  young  branches,  dark  reddish  brown,  smooth,  shiny;  on  large  trunks 
fissured  into  scaly  plates.  Leaves  oval,  2J/2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  sharply  and 
doubly  toothed,  mostly  with  9  to  1 1  main  veins  on  each  side,  silky-hairy  beneath  when 
young  but  becoming  nearly  smooth,  dark  dull  green  above,  light  yellow  green  beneath. 
Cones  94  to  1  }/2  inches  long. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  81. 

tt.  Leaves  mostly  with  4  to  9  main  veins  on  each  side. 

83.  RIVER  BIRCH,  Betula  nigra  L.  (red  birch). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  wet  soil  in  eastern  half  of  United  States.  Bark  reddish 
brown  or  silvery  gray,  shiny,  becoming  fissured  and  separating  into  papery  scales.  Leaves 
oval,  1  YZ  to  3  inches  long,  short-pointed,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  doubly  toothed,  mostly 
with  7  to  9  main  veins  on  each  side,  shiny  dark  green  above,  whitish  and  usually  hairy 
beneath.  Cones  1  to  1  ^2  inches  long. 

Principal  uces:    Ornamental  and  for  erosion  control. 


792 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


85.  Gray  birch.        86.  Black  willow.          87.  Peachleaf  willow.     88.  Black  cherry. 


84.  PAPER  BIRCH,  Betula  papyrifera  Marsh,  (white  birch,  canoe  birch,  silver  birch). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree,  including  its  varieties  widely  distributed  in  northeastern 

border  of  United  States,  northern  Rocky  Mountain  region,  and  across  Canada  to  Alaska, 
Bark  white,  smooth,  thin,  separating  into  papery  strips.  Leaves  oval,  2  to  4  inches  long, 
long-pointed,  wedge-shaped  or  rounded  at  base,  coarsely  and  usually  doubly  toothed,  mostly 
with  5  to  9  main  veins  on  each  side,  dull  dark  green  and  smooth  above,  light  yellow 
green  and  smooth  or  slightly  hairy  beneath.  Cones  narrow,  1  j/a  to  2  inches  long  and  $/Q 
inch  wide,  slender-stalked  and  hanging  down. 

Principal  uses :  Spools  and  other  turned  articles.  Toothpicks.  Ornamental  and  shade  tree. 
Bark  used  by  Indians  for  canoes  and  small  articles. 

85.  GRAY  BIRCH,  Betula  populifolia  Marsh,  (white  birch). 

Small  tree  of  northeastern  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  grayish  white, 
smooth,  thin;  on  larger  trunks  darker  and  fissured.  Leaves  triangular,  2  to  3  inches  long, 
long-pointed,  sharply  and  doubly  toothed,  mostly  with  4  to  8  main  veins  on  each 
side,  dark  green  and  shiny  above,  paler  beneath.  Cones  $4  to  1  inch  long,  slender-stalked 
and  hanging  down. 

Principal  uses :    Spools  and  other  turned  articles.  Fuel. 

ss.  Leaf  edges  with  uniform  teeth;  fruit  not  a  cone, 
u.  Leaves  finely  toothed,  with  curved  lateral  veins. 

v.  Leaves  narrow,  more  than  three  times  as  long  as  wide 
(seeds  hairy,  in  long-clustered  capsules) — WILLOW 
(Salix). 

86.  BLACK  WILLOW,  Salix  nigra  Marsh,  (swamp  willow,  willow). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  wet  soil,  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent 
Canada.  Bark  dark  brown  or  blackish,  deeply  furrowed,  with  scaly,  forking  ridges.  Leaves 
lance-shaped,  2/2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  green  on  both  sides,  shiny 
above  and  pale  beneath.  Male  and  female  flowers  on  different  trees  in  early  spring,  minute, 
yellowish  or  greenish,  many  in  narrow  clusters  1  /4  to  3  inches  long. 

Principal  uses :  Boxes  and  baskets,  furniture,  and  caskets.  A  special  use  is  for  artificial 
limbs.  Erosion  control.  Shade  tree. 

87.  PEACHLEAF  WILLOW,  Salix  amygdaloides  Anderss.  (peach  willow,  almond  willow). 
Small  to  medium-sized  tree  of  wet  soil,  nearly  across  northern  United  States  and  adjacent 

Canada,  south  to  Texas  and  Arizona.  Bark  brown,  irregularly  fissured  into  flat  ridges. 
Leaves  lance-shaped,  2/2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  shiny  green  above 
and  pale  beneath.  Male  and  female  flowers  on  different  trees  in  early  spring,  minute, 
yellowish  or  greenish,  many  in  narrow  clusters  2  to  3  inches  long. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


793 


89.  Beech. 


90.  Chestnut. 


89.  Beech. 


90.  Chestnut. 


Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  86. 


vv.  Leaves    less    than    three    times   as    long    as   wide — 
CHERRY  (Prunus) . 

88.  BLACK  CHERRY,  Prunus  serotina  Ehrh.  (wild  black  cherry,  wild  cherry,  rum  cherry, 
cherry;  Padus  virginiana  auth. ). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark 
dark  reddish  brown,  smooth  at  first,  becoming  irregularly  fissured  and  scaly.  Leaves  oblong, 

2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  shiny  dark  green  above,  light  green  beneath. 
Flowers  white,  J4  inch  long,  in  spring.  Fruits  edible  cherries  %  inch  in  diameter,  black. 

Principal  uses:  Furniture  and  printers'  blocks  for  mounting  electrotype  plates.  Shade 
tree.  Edible  wild  cherries. 

uu.  Leaves  coarsely  toothed,  with  parallel  lateral  veins; 

fruit  a  spiny  bur  with  edible  nuts, 
w.  Leaves  about  twice  as  long  as  wide — BEECH  (Fagus}. 

89.  BEECH,    Fagus    grandifolia    Ehrh.     (American    beech;    F.    americana    Sweet,    F. 
ferruginea  Ait.) 

Large  tree  of  eastern  third  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  blue  gray,  thin, 
smooth.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  oval,  2]/2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  coarsely  toothed,  the 
lateral  veins  parallel,  dark  blue  green  above  and  light  green  beneath,  usually  smooth  or 
nearly  so.  Fruit  a  shiny  bur  94  inch  long  containing  2  or  3  triangular,  edible  nuts  l/z  to  Y* 
inch  long,  known  as  beechnuts. 

Principal  uses:  Food  containers,  chairs  and  other  furniture,  handles,  flooring,  wooden- 
ware  and  novelties,  laundry  appliances,  etc.  Also  distillation  products,  railroad  ties,  veneer, 
pulpwood,  cooperage,  and  fuel.  Beechnuts.  Shade  tree. 

ww.  Leaves    about    three    times    as    long    as    wide — 
CHESTNUT   (Castanea}. 

90.  CHESTNUT,  Castanea  dentata   (Marsh.)   Borkh.    (American  chestnut). 

Large  tree  of  Appalachian  Mountain  and  Ohio  Valley  regions ;  also  in  southern  Ontario ; 
now  almost  exterminated  by  the  chestnut  blight.  Bark  dark  brown,  irregularly  fissured  into 
broad,  flat  ridges.  Leaves  narrowly  oblong,  5  to  9  inches  long  and  1 1/2  to  3  inches  wide, 
long-pointed,  coarsely  toothed  with  slightly  curved  teeth,  many  parallel  lateral  veins, 
yellow  green,  smooth.  Fruit  a  spiny  bur  2  to  2J/2  inches  in  diameter,  containing  2  or 

3  broad,  flattened,  edible  nuts  l/z  to  1  inch  wide,  known  as  chestnuts. 

Principal  uses:  The  wood,  largely  from  blight-killed  trees,  is  the  main  domestic  source 
of  tannin.  Lumber  for  construction  and  for  manufacture  of  furniture,  caskets,  and  boxes 
and  crates.  Pulpwood.  Chestnuts.  The  leaves  are  an  official  drug. 

ff  (f  on  p.  784).  Winter  buds  3  or  more  in  cluster  at  tip  of  twig;  pith  of 
twigs  star-shaped   in   cross   section;   fruit  an   acorn — OAK    (Quercus). 

Twenty  species  of  eastern  oaks  included  here  have  commercially  important  wood. 

Principal  uses:  Oaks  are  the  most  important  hardwood  timbers  of  the  United  States. 
Oak  is  used  principally  for  lumber,  fuel  (including  charcoal),  and  cooperage  (white  oak 
group),  and  is  the  leading  wood  for  railroad  ties  and  mine  timbers.  Besides  the  lumber 
used  in  building  construction,  much  is  manufactured  into  flooring  (oak  is  the  principal 
flooring  wood),  boxes  and  crates,  furniture,  railroad-car  construction,  vehicle  parts,  general 
millwork,  ships  and  boats,  agricultural  implements,  caskets,  fixtures,  woodenware  and 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


91.  Northern  red  oak.       92.  Scarlet  oak.      93.  Shumard  oak. 


94.  Pin  oak. 


novelties,  and  handles.  Also  fence  posts,  piling,  veneer,  and  distillation  products.  Some 
species  are  important  shade  trees.  The  acorns  are  eaten  by  wildlife  and  livestock.  ("Native 
oak"  (Quercus  spp.)  is  the  State  tree  of  Illinois.) 

x.  Leaves  and  their  lobes,  if  present,  bristle-tipped ;  acorns  maturing  in 
second  year — BLACK  OAKS  (or  red  oaks,  the  lumber  of  most  species 
included  here  usually  sold  as  red  oak). 

y.  Leaves  broad,  more  than  2  inches  wide,  the  margins  distinctly  lobed 
and  with  bristle-pointed  teeth, 
z.  Under  surface  of  leaves  green  and  nearly  smooth. 

91.  NORTHERN  RED  OAK,  Quercus  borealis  Michx.  f.  (red  oak  [lumber],  eastern  red  oak; 
Q.  rubra  auth.). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  except  southern  border  and  in  adjacent 
Canada.  Bark  dark  brown,  fissured  into  broad,  flat  ridges.  Leaves  oblong,  5  to  9  inches 
long,  7-  to  11-lobed  less  than  halfway  to  middle,  the  lobes  with  a  few  irregular  bristle- 
pointed  teeth,  dull  dark  green  above,  beneath  pale  yellow  green,  smooth  or  nearly  so, 
usually  turning  red  in  fall.  Acorns  YQ  to  II/Q  inches  long,  with  deep  or  shallow  cup. 

Principal  uses:    The  most  important  lumber  tree  of  the  red  oak  group.  Shade  tree. 

92.  SCARLET  OAK,  Quercus  coccinea  Muenchh.  (red  oak  [lumber]). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  third  of  United  States  except  southern  border;  also  in  southern 
Ontario.  Bark  dark  brown  or  gray,  fissured  into  irregular,  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  oblong  or 
elliptical,  3  to  6  inches  long,  deeply  7-lobed  nearly  to  middle,  the  lobes  broader 
toward  the  tip  and  with  a  few  bristle-pointed  teeth,  edges  rounded  between  the  lobes, 
bright  green,  shiny,  and  smooth  above,  paler  and  nearly  smooth  beneath,  turning  scarlet 
in  fall.  Acorns  J/2  to  94  inch  long,  a  third  to  half  enclosed  by  the  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses:    Red  oak  lumber.  Shade  tree. 

93.  SHUMARD  OAK,  Quercus  shumardii  Buckl.   (red  oak  [lumber],  Shumard  red  oak, 
Schneck  oak,  Texas  oak,  southern  red  oak). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  United  States,  chiefly  in  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and  Mississippi 
Valley  regions.  Bark  gray  or  reddish  brown,  fissured  into  scaly  plates.  Leaves  oval  or 
elliptical,  3  to  7  inches  long,  5-  to  9-lobed  more  than  halfway  to  middle,  the  lobes  with 
a  few  bristle-pointed  teeth,  edges  rounded  or  pointed  between  the  lobes,  dark  green 
and  shiny  above,  beneath  light  green  with  tufts  of  hairs  along  midrib.  Acorns  %  to  1  */& 
inches  long,  with  shallow  or  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  tree  for  red  oak  lumber.  Furniture,  cabinet  work, 
and  veneer.  Shade  tree. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


95.  Nuttall  oak.          96.  Black  oak.        97.  Southern  red  oak.     98.  Blackjack  oak. 


-_. 


94.  PIN  OAK,  Quercus  palustris  Muenchh.  (swamp  oak). 

Large  tree  of  northeastern  quarter  of  United  States  except  northern  border;  also 
in  southern  Ontario.  Bark  grayish  brown,  smooth,  becoming  fissured  with  low,  scaly 
ridges.  Leaves  elliptical,  3  to  5  inches  long,  deeply  5-  to  7-lobed  nearly  to  middle,  the 
lobes  with  a  few  bristle-pointed  teeth,  dark  green  and  very  shiny  above,  light  green 
and  nearly  smooth  beneath.  Acorns  rounded,  about  l/2  inch  in  diameter,  with  shallow  cup. 

Principal  uses:  Fuel  wood,  charcoal,  and  distillation  products.  Shade  tree. 

95.  NUTTALL  OAK,  Quercus  nuttallii  Palmer  (red  oak  [lumber]). 

Large  tree  of  lower  Mississippi  Valley  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plain  regions  from  Alabama 
to  Missouri  and  Texas.  Bark  dark  brownish  gray,  slightly  fissured.  Leaves  oblong  or 
elliptical,  4  to  8  inches  long,  deeply  5-  or  7-lobed,  the  narrow  lobes  with  a  few  bristle- 
pointed  teeth,  dark  green  above,  paler  and  nearly  smooh  beneath.  Acorns  oblong,  34  to 
1 1/4  inches  long,  enclosed  one-third  to  one-half  by  the  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses:  Red  oak  lumber. 

zz.  Under  surface  of  leaves  with  brownish  or  gray  hairy  coat. 

96.  BLACK  OAK,  Quercus  velutina  Lam.  (red  oak  [lumber]),  yellow  oak,  quercitron  oak). 
Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  southern  Ontario.  Bark  blackish,  thick, 

deeply  furrowed,  with  blocklike  ridges;  inner  bark  yellow.  Leaves  oval  or  oblong,  4  to  10 
inches    long,    7-    to    9-lobed    about    halfway    to   middle,    the    lobes    broad    and    with    a 
few  bristle-pointed  teeth,  shiny  dark  green  above,  usually  brown-hairy  beneath,  turning 
dull  red  or  brown  in  fall.  Acorns  y&  to  ^4  inch  long,  half  enclosed  by  the  deep  cup. 
Principal  uses:  Red  oak  lumber.  The  bark  is  a  source  of  tannin.  Fuel.  Shade  tree. 

97.  SOUTHERN   RED  OAK,   Quercus  falcata  Michx.    (red   oak   [lumber],   Spanish   oak; 
Q.  rubra  auth.;  variety:  swamp  red  oak,  Q.  falcata  var.  pagodaefolia  Ell.,  cherrybark  oak). 

Large  tree  of  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions.  Bark  dark  brown, 
thick,  fissured  into  narrow  ridges.  Leaves  elliptical  or  oval,  3  to  8  inches  long,  deeply  3-  to 
7-lobed  nearly  to  middle  or  slightly  3-lobed  near  broad  apex  (less  deeply  5-  to  il-lobed 
in  the  variety,  swamp  red  oak),  the  lobes  with  1  to  3  bristle-pointed  teeth,  dark  green, 
smooth,  and  shiny  above,  rusty  or  grayish  hairy  beneath,  turning  brown  or  orange  in 
fall.  Acorns  rounded,  about  l/z  inch  in  diameter,  with  shallow  cup. 

Principal  uses:   Important  timber  tree  for  red  oak  lumber.  Shade  tree. 

98.  BLACKJACK  OAK,  Quercus  marilandica  Muenchh.  (blackjack,  jack  oak,  black  oak). 
Small  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United   States  except  northern  border.   Bark  blackish, 

thick  and  rough,  divided  into  small  squarish  blocks.  Leaves  oval,  3  to  7  inches  long, 
broadest  and  3-lobed  at  apex,  the  lobes  shallow  and  broad  with  1  or  few  bristle-pointed 
teeth,  dark  green,  smooth,  and  shiny  above,  brownish  or  rusty-hairy  beneath,  turning 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


99.  Water  oak. 


100.  Laurel  oak.        101.  Willow  oak.        102.  Live  oak. 


brown  or  yellow  in  fall.  Acorns  %  inch  long,  about  half  enclosed  by  the  deep  cup. 
Principal  uses:  Fuel  wood,  charcoal,  and  distillation  products. 

yy.  Leaves  narrow,  less  than  2  inches  broad,  with  edges  smooth  or 
slightly  3-lobed. 

99.  WATER  OAK,  Quercus  nigra  L.  (red  oak  [lumber]). 

Large  tree  of  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions.  Bark  gray, 
fissured  into  irregular,  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  oval,  1 5/2  to  5  inches  long,  broadest  at  the 
3-lobed  or  smooth  apex  or  sometimes  with  several  lobes,  dull  blue  green,  paler  be- 
neath, becoming  smooth  except  for  tufts  of  hairs  along  axis,  turning  yellow  in  fall  and 
shedding  in  winter.  Acorns  rounded,  %  to  $/&  inch  in  diameter,  with  shallow  cup. 

Principal  uses:  Red  oak  lumber.  Fuel.  Shade  tree. 

100.  LAUREL  OAK,  Quercus  laurifolia  Michx. 

Large  tree  of  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coastal  Plains.  Bark  dark  brown,  smoothish, 
on  large  trunks  becoming  deeply  furrowed,  with  broad  ridges.  Leaves  oblong,  2  to  5l/z 
inches  long,  short-pointed  with  smooth  or  sometimes  slightly  lobed  edges,  shiny  dark 
green  above,  light  green  beneath,  smooth,  nearly  evergreen  but  shedding  in  early  spring. 
Acorns  rounded,  about  l/2  inch  in  diameter,  with  shallow  cup. 

Principal  uses:   Fuel  wood,  charcoal,  and  distillation  products.  Shade  tree. 

101.  WILLOW  OAK,  Quercus  phellos  L.  (red  oak  [lumber]). 

Large  tree  of  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions.  Bark  gray 
or  brown,  smoothish,  on  large  trunks  becoming  fissured  into  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  very 
narrowly  oblong  or  lance-shaped,  2  to  4  inches  long  and  Ys  to  34  mch  broad,  short- 
pointed  with  smooth  or  slightly  wavy  edges,  light  green  and  shiny  above,  beneath  dull 
and  slightly  hairy  or  nearly  smooth,  turning  pale  yellow  in  fall.  Acorns  small,  rounded, 
YQ  inch  in  diameter,  with  shallow  cup. 

Principal  uses:  Red  oak  lumber.  Shade  tree. 

xx.  Leaves  and  their  lobes  not  bristle-tipped;  acorns  maturing  in  first 
year — WHITE  OAKS  (the  lumber  of  most  species  sold  as  white  oak), 
A.  Leaves  with  edges  usually  smooth  and  rolled  under,  evergreen. 

102.  LIVE  OAK,  Quercus  virginiana  Mill. 

Medium-sized,  widespreading  tree  of  South  Atlantic  coast  and  Gulf  coast  regions.  Bark 
dark  brown,  furrowed  and  slightly  scaly.  Leaves  evergreen,  elliptical  or  oblong,  2  to  5 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


797 


103.  Chinquapin       104.  Chestnut 
oak.  oak. 


105.  Swamp  chest-       106.  Swamp  white 
nut  oak.  oak. 


inches  long,  usually  rounded  at  apex,  edges  usually  smooth  and  rolled  under,  shiny  dark 
green  above,  whitish  hairy  beneath.  Acorns  1  to  5  on  stalks  l/-2  to  3  inches  long,  $4  to  1  inch 
long,  narrow,  with  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses:   Shade  tree.  Formerly  used  in  shipbuilding.  (State  tree  of  Georgia.) 

AA.  Leaves  with  edges  lobed  or  toothed,  shedding  in  fall. 

B.  Leaf  edges  wavy  with  uniform,  rounded  teeth  (CHESTNUT  OAKS). 

103.  CHINQUAPIN  OAK,  Quercus  muehlenbergii  Engelm.  (chestnut  oak,  yellow  oak). 
Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  local  in  New  Mexico ;  also  in  southern 

Ontario.  Bark  light  gray,  thin,  fissured,  and  flaky.  Leaves  oblong  or  broadly  lance-shaped, 
4  to  6  inches  long,  short-  or  long-pointed,  usually  rounded  at  base,  edges  wavy  with  coarse, 
slightly  curved  teeth,  dark  or  yellowish  green  above,  whitish  hairy  beneath,  turning  orange 
and  scarlet  in  fall.  Acorns  J/2  to  $4  inch  long,  rounded,  half  enclosed  by  the  deep  cup. 
Principal  uses:    Railroad  ties  and  construction  timbers. 

104.  CHESTNUT  OAK,  Quercus  montana  Willd.  (white  oak  [lumber],  rock  chestnut  oak, 
rock  oak;  Q.  prinus  auth.). 

Large  tree  of  Appalachian  Mountain  and  Ohio  Valley  regions ;  also  in  southern  Ontario. 
Bark  brown  or  blackish;  on  large  trunks  becoming  deeply  furrowed  into  broad  ridges. 
Leaves  oblong,  5  to  8  inches  long,  short-  or  long-pointed,  narrowed  and  pointed  or  rounded 
at  base,  edges  wavy  with  rounded  teeth,  shiny  yellow  green  above,  paler  and  hairy  or  nearly 
smooth  beneath,  turning  dull  orange  in  fall.  Acorns  large,  1  to  1  l/z  inches  long,  one-third 
to  one-half  enclosed  by  the  thin,  deep,  warty  cup. 

Principal  uses :    White  oak  lumber  and  railroad  ties.  The  bark  is  a  source  of  tannin. 

105.  SWAMP  CHESTNUT  OAK,  Quercus  prinus  L.  (white  oak  [lumber],  basket  oak,  cow 
oak ;  Q.  michauxii  Nutt. ) . 

Large  tree  of  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions.  Bark  light  gray, 
fissured  and  scaly.  Leaves  oblong,  4  to  8  inches  long,  short-  or  long-pointed,  wedge-shaped 
or  rounded  at  base,  edges  wavy  with  rounded  teeth,  shiny  dark  green  above,  grayish  hairy 
beneath,  turning  crimson  in  fall.  Acorns  large,  1  to  1 /a  inches  long,  one-third  or  more 
enclosed  by  the  thick,  deep  cup  composed  of  many  distinct  scales. 

Principal  uses:    White  oak  lumber. 

106.  SWAMP  WHITE  OAK,  Quercus  bicolor  Willd.  (white  oak  [lumber]). 

Large  tree  of  northeastern  quarter  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  brown, 
scaly;  on  old  trunks  becoming  furrowed  into  long,  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  oblong,  4  to  6 
inches  long,  gradually  narrowed  toward  base,  broadest  above  middle,  edges  wavy  with 
rounded  teeth  or  lobes,  dark  green  and  shiny  above,  whitish  hairy  beneath,  turning  yellow 


798 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


107.  Bur  oak. 


2  r      2 

108.  Overcup  oak.      109.  Post  oak. 


<H«f<,*Y      Z 

110.  White  oak. 


=J 


brown,  orange,  or  red  in  fall.  Acorns  usually  in  pairs  on  stalks  1  YZ  to  3  inches  long,  ^4  to 
1 54  inches  long,  one-third  enclosed  by  the  deep  cup. 
Principal  uses:    White  oak  lumber. 

BB.  Leaf  edges  deeply  lobed. 

107.  BUR  OAK,  Quercus  macrocarpa  Michx.  (mossycup  oak). 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  west  to  Montana  and  in  adjacent  Canada 
west  to  Saskatchewan.  Bark  light  brown,  deeply  furrowed  into  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  oblong, 
4  to  10  inches  long,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  broadest  above  middle,  the  lower  part  deeply 
lobed  nearly  to  middle  and  the  upper  half  with  shallow  lobes,  dark  green  and  usually  shiny 
above,  grayish  or  whitish  hairy  beneath,  turning  yellow  or  brown  in  fall.  Acorns  usually 
large,  ^4  to  2  inches  long,  broad,  half  enclosed  by  the  large  cup  with  fringelike  border. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  and  railroad  ties.  Shelterbelts.  Shade  tree  and  ornamental. 

108.  OVERGUP  OAK,  Quercus  lyrata  Walt,  (swamp  white  oak;  white  oak  [lumber]). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Atlantic  coast,  Gulf  coast,  and  Mississippi  Valley  regions. 

Bark  brownish  gray,  fissured  into  large  irregular,  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  oblong,  6  to  8  inches 
long,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  deeply  lobed  nearly  to  middle  with  7  to  9  rounded  or 
pointed  lobes,  the  2  lowest  lobes  on  each  side  much  smaller,  dark  green  and  smooth  above, 
white  hairy  beneath,  turning  yellowish,  orange,  or  scarlet  in  fall.  Acorns  ^2  to  1  inch  long, 
nearly  enclosed  by  the  spherical  deep  cup  with  ragged  edge. 
Principal  uses:  White  oak  lumber. 

109.  POST  OAK,  Quercus  stellata  Wangenh. 

Small  to  medium-sized  (rarely  large)  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  except 
northern  border.  Bark  reddish  brown,  fissured  into  broad,  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  oblong,  4 
to  8  inches  long,  usually  wedge-shaped  at  base,  deeply  5-  to  7 -lobed  (3-lobed  in  a  variety), 
the  lobes  broad  and  middle  lobes  largest,  dark  green  and  rough  above,  grayish  hairy  beneath, 
turning  brown  in  fall.  Acorns  J/a  to  1  inch  long,  nearly  half  enclosed  by  the  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses :   Railroad  ties  and  construction  timbers. 

110.  WHITE  OAK,  Quercus  alba  L. 

Large  tree  of  eastern  half  of  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada.  Bark  light  gray, 
fissured  into  scaly  ridges.  Leaves  oblong,  4  to  9  inches  long,  deeply  or  shallowly  5-  to 
9-lobed,  smooth,  bright  green  above,  pale  or  whitish  beneath,  turning  deep  red  in 
fall.  Acorns  $4  to  1  mcn  long,  with  shallow  cup. 

Principal  uses:  The  most  important  lumber  tree  of  the  white  oak  group  and  one  of 
the  best  oaks  with  high-grade  all-purpose  wood.  The  outstanding  wood  for  tight  barrels. 
Shade  tree.  (State  tree  of  Connecticut,  Maryland,  and  West  Virginia.) 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


799 


111.  Western        112.  Limber  pine, 
larch. 


113.  Western 
white  pine. 


114.  Sugar  pine. 


WESTERN  TREES 

Tree  species  Nos.  Ill  to  165  are  native  in  the  western  half  of  the  United 
States,  west  of  the  prairie- plains.  In  addition,  the  following  9  species  in  the 
list  of  eastern  trees  occur  also  in  western  United  States:  Nos.  16,  31,  33, 
76,  79,  84,  87, 103,  and  107.  Also,  Nos.  11,17,  and  18  extend  to  western  Canada 
though  not  to  western  United  States.  The  18  important  tree  species  of  Alaska, 
mostly  in  the  list  of  western  trees,  are:  Nos.  3,  16,  17,  79,  84,  119,  122,  123, 124, 
127, 130, 131, 138, 140, 147, 150, 152,  and  153. 

GYMNOSPERMS   (CONIFERS  OR  SOFTWOODS) 

A  (AA  on  p.  808).  Trees  resinous,  with  leaves  needlelike  or  scalelike,  evergreen  (except 
larch,  No.  Ill);  seeds  borne  on  scales  of  a  cone  (berrylike  in  juniper,  Nos.  142  to 
145,  or  seeds  single  in  a  fleshy  scarlet  disk  in  yew,  No.  122) — GYMNOSPERMS  (conifers 
or  softwoods,  such  as  pines,  spruces,  firs ) . 

B.  Leaves  shedding  in  fall,  needlelike,  many  in  cluster  on  short,  spur  branches — LARCH 
(Larix;  see  also  No.  3). 

111.  WESTERN  LARCH,  Larix  occidentalis  Nutt.  (larch,  western  tamarack,  tamarack, 
mountain  larch,  Montana  larch,  hackmatack). 

Large  tree  of  mountains  of  northwestern  United  States  and  southeastern  British  Colum- 
bia. Bark  reddish  brown,  scaly,  becoming  deeply  furrowed  into  flat  ridges  with  many 
overlapping  plates.  Needles  many  in  cluster  on  short,  spur  branches  (or  single  on  leading 
twigs),  3-angled,  1  to  1J4  inches  long,  light  pale  green,  shedding  in  fall.  Cones  upright, 
1  to  1  y<2.  inches  long,  with  long,  pointed  bracts. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  for  building  construction,  also  interior  finish,  flooring,  and 
millwork.  Railroad  ties,  mine  timbers,  fuel.  The  gum  (galactin)  can  be  used  in  manu- 
facture of  baking  powder.  Ornamental. 


8oo 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


115.  Ponderosa  pine.    116.  Jeffrey  pine.        117.  Digger  pine.          118.  Knobcone  pine. 


5B.  Leaves  evergreen,  needlelike  or  scalelike,  single  or  not  more  than  5  in  a  cluster. 
C.  Leaves  with  a  sheath  at  base,  in  clusters  of  2  to  5  (or  1  in  No.  121)  needlelike — 

PINE  (Pinus). 
D.  Needles  5  in  a  cluster — WHITE  (SOFT)  PINES. 

112.  LIMBER  PINE,  Pinus  flexilis  James  (Rocky  Mountain  white  pine,  white  pine;  variety: 
P.  flexilis  var.  reftexa  Engelm.,  P.  strobiformis  auth.). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  Rocky  Mountain  region,  including  adjacent  Canada  and  Mexico. 
Bark  dark  brown,  furrowed  into  rectangular,  scaly  plates.  Needles  5  in  cluster,  slender, 

2  to  3/2  inches  long,  dark  green.  Cones  short-stalked,  3  to  6  inches  long,  yellow  brown, 
with  thick,  rounded  scales  and  large  seeds  %  to  J/2  inch  long. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  (mostly  for  rough  construction  and  occasionally  for  boxes), 
mine  timbers,  railroad  ties,  poles,  and  fuel. 

113.  WESTERN  WHITE  PINE,  Pinus  monticola  Dougl.  (Idaho  white  pine  [lumber],  white 
pine). 

Large  tree  of  northern  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  coast  regions,  including  southern 
British  Columbia.  Bark  gray,  thin,  smoothish,  becoming  fissured  into  rectangular,  scaly 
plates.  Needles  5  in  cluster,  stout,  2  to  4  inches  long,  blue  green.  Cones  long-stalked,  5  to 
12  inches  long,  yellow  brown,  with  thin,  rounded  scales. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  tree.  Lumber  for  building  construction,  matches  (the 
leading  match  wood),  boxes,  and  millwork.  (State  tree  of  Idaho.) 

114.  SUGAR  PINE,  Pinus  lambertiana  Dougl.  (California  sugar  pine). 

Large  tree  (largest  of  the  pines)  of  Pacific  coast  region  from  Oregon  to  Lower 
California.  Bark  brown,  furrowed  into  irregular,  scaly  ridges.  Needles  5  in  cluster,  stout, 

3  to  4  inches  long,  blue  green.  Cones  long-stalked,  very  large,  12  to  18  inches  long,  yellow 
brown,  with  thin,  rounded  scales. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  for  building  construction,  boxes  and  crates,  millwork,  and 
foundry  patterns. 

DD.  Needles  3  or  fewer  in  a  cluster — YELLOW  (HARD)  PINES   (Nos.  115  to  119) 

and  PINYONS  (or  nut  pines,  Nos.  120  and  121). 
E.  Needles  more  than  4  inches  long. 

115.  PONDEROSA   PINE,   Pinus  ponderosa  Laws,    (western  yellow   pine,  pondosa  pine, 
western  soft  pine,  yellow  pine;  variety:    P.  Ponderosa  var.  scopulorum  Engeim,  Rocky 
Mountain  ponderosa  pine). 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


801 


119.  Lodgepole 
pine. 


120.  Pinyon. 


121.  Singleleaf 
pinyon. 


122.  Pacific  yew. 


HCT 

WS= 


Large  tree  of  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  coast  regions,  including  adjacent  Canada. 
Bark  brown  or  blackish,  furrowed  into  ridges;  on  older  trunks  becoming  yellow  brown 
and  irregularly  fissured  into  large,  flat,  scaly  plates.  Needles  3  or  2  and  3  in  cluster,  stout, 
4  to  7  inches  long,  dark  green.  Cones  short-stalked,  3  to  6  inches  long,  light  reddish  brown, 
the  scales  with  prickles. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  tree,  the  most  important  western  pine,  and  second 
to  Douglas-fir  in  total  stand  in  United  States.  Lumber  for  many  uses,  such  as  building 
construction,  boxes  and  crates,  and  millwork;  also  caskets,  furniture,  toys.  Piling,  poles, 
posts,  mine  timbers,  veneer,  railroad  ties,  and  fuel.  Shelterbelts  and  ornamental.  (State 
tree  of  Montana.) 

1 16.  JEFFREY  PINE,  Pinus  jeffreyi  Grev.  &  Balf.  (western  yellow  pine). 

Large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  from  Oregon  to  Lower  California.  Bark  purplish 
brown,  becoming  fissured  into  large  plates.  Needles  3  in  cluster,  stout,  5  to  10  inches 
long,  blue  green.  Cones  short-stalked,  5  to  10  inches  long,  light  brown,  the  scales  with 
prickles. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  sold  as  ponderosa  pine  (No.  115)  and  has  similar  uses. 

117.  DIGGER  PINE,  Pinus  sabiniana  Dougl.  (gray  pine,  bull  pine). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  California  foothills.  Bark  dark  brown,  irregularly  furrowed  into 
broad,  irregular,  scaly  ridges.  Needles  3  in  cluster,  slender  and  drooping,  8  to  12  inches 
long,  pale  blue  green.  Cones  long-stalked,  6  to  10  inches  long,  red  brown,  with  stout 
scales  ending  in  curved  spines.  Seeds  34  to  /&  inch  long,  edible. 

Principal  uses;  Fuel.  Shelterbelts. 

118.  KNOBCONE  PINE,  Pinus  attenuato.  Lemm. 

Small  to  medium-sized  tree  of  southwestern  Oregon  and  California.  Bark  brown, 
thin,  fissured  into  large,  scaly  ridges.  Needles  3  in  cluster,  slender,  3  to  7  inches  long, 
yellowish  green.  Cones  usually  clustered  and  abundant,  1 -sided,  3  to  6  inches  long,  light 
yellow  brown,  with  prickly  scales,  remaining  closed  on  the  tree  indefinitely. 

Principal  uses:  Fuel.  Shelterbelts. 

EE.  Needles  less  than  3  inches  long. 

119.  LODGEPOLE  PINE,  Pinus  contorta  Dougl.  (shore  pine,  knotty  pine,  black  pine,  spruce 
pine,  jack  pine;  P.  contorta  var.  latifolia  Engelm.). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  coast  regions  including 
adjacent  Canada  and  Lower  California;  the  typical  variety  shore  pine,  a  small  tree  of 

802062° — 49 52 


8o2  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

Pacific  coast  north  to  Alaska.  Bark  brown,  thin,  with  many  loose  scales.  Needles  2  in 
cluster,  stout,  often  twisted,  1  to  3  inches  long,  yellow  green.  Cones  egg-shaped,  1 -sided, 
3/4  to  2  inches  long,  light  yellow  brown,  with  prickly  scales,  remaining  closed  on  the 
tree  many  years. 

Principal  uses:  Mine  timbers,  railroad  ties,  poles,  posts,  fuel,  lumber,  and  pulpwood. 
(Lodgepole  pine  is  the  State  tree  of  Wyoming.) 

120.  PINYON,  Pinus  edulis  Engelm.    (nut  pine,  pinyon  pine,   Colorado  pinyon  pine; 
Pinus  cembroides  var.  edulis  (Engelm.)  Voss). 

Small  tree  of  southern  Rocky  Mountain  region,  including  adjacent  Mexico.  Bark 
reddish  brown,  furrowed  into  scaly  ridges.  Needles  2  (sometimes  3)  in  cluster,  stout, 
%  to  1  %  inches  long,  dark  green.  Cones  egg-shaped,  1  x/2  to  2  inches  long,  light  brown, 
with  stout,  blunt  scales  and  large,  wingless,  edible  seeds  l/z  inch  long,  known  as  pinyon 
nuts. 

Principal  uses:  The  edible  seeds  are  a  wild,  commercial  nut  crop,  sold  as  pinyon  nuts 
and  Indian  nuts.  Mine  timbers  and  fuel.  Ornamental.  (Stajte  tree  of  New  Mexico.) 

121.  SINGLELEAF  PINYON,  Pinus  monophylla  Torr.  &  Frem.   (nut  pine,  pinyon;  single- 
leaf  pinyon  pine;  Pinus  cembroides  var.  monophylla  (Torr.  &  Frem.)  Voss). 

Small  tree  of  Great  Basin  region  to  California  and  Lower  California.  Bark  dark  brown, 
furrowed  into  scaly  ridges.  Needles  1  in  a  sheath,  stout,  1  to  2  inches  long,  gray  green. 
Cones  egg-shaped,  2  to  2/2  inches  long,  light  brown,  with  stout,  blunt  scales,  and 
large,  wingless,  edible  seeds  %  inch  long,  known  as  pinyon  nuts. 

Principal  uses:  The  edible  seeds  are  sold  locally  as  pinyon  nuts  and  pine  nuts.  (Pinyon 
is  the  State  tree  of  Nevada. ) 

CC.  Leaves  without  sheath  at  base,  not  in  clusters,  needlelike  or  scalelike. 
F  (FF  on  page  805),  Leaves  needlelike,  mostly  more  than  */2  inch  long. 
G.  Twigs  roughened  by  projecting  bases  of  old  needles. 

H.  Needles  with  leafstalks,  flattened    (rounded  in  No.    124),  appearing  in 

2  rows. 
/.  Needles  stiff,  sharp-pointed,  extending  down  the  twig — YEW    (Taxus}. 

122.  PACIFIC  YEW,  Taxus  brevifolia  Nutt.  (western  yew,  yew). 

Small  to  medium-sized  tree  of  Pacific  Coast  and  northern  Rocky  Mountain  regions  north 
to  Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark  purplish  brown,  very  thin,  smoothish,  with  papery  scales. 
Needles  in  2  rows,  flat,  slightly  curved,  paler  beneath,  stiff,  sharp-pointed,  ^  to  1  inch 
long,  dark  yellow  green,  the  leafstalks  extending  down  the  twigs.  Seeds  single,  3/s  inch  long, 
exposed  at  apex  but  partly  surrounded  by  a  thick,  fleshy,  scarlet,  cuplike  disk. 

Principal  uses:  Of  limited  use  because  of  its  scarcity.  Poles,  canoe  paddles,  bows,  and 
small  cabinet  work.  Ornamental. 

II.  Needles  soft,  blunt-pointed,  not  extending  down  the  twig — HEMLOCK 
(Tsuga). 

123.  WESTERN    HEMLOCK,    Tsuga    heterophylla    (Raf.)    Sarg.     (west    coast    hemlock 
[lumber],  Pacific  hemlock,  hemlock;  formerly  Tsuga  mertensiana  auth.). 

Large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  and  northern  Rocky  Mountain  regions  north  to  Canada  and 
Alaska.  Bark  reddish  brown,  deeply  furrowed  into  broad,  flat  ridges.  Needles  short-stalked, 
flat,  l/4  to  y$  inch  long,  shiny  dark  green,  lighter  beneath.  Cones  34  to  1  inch  long,  brownish. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  tree.  Pulpwood,  and  lumber  for  building  material, 
boxes  and  crates,  and  flooring.  The  bark  is  a  potential  source  of  tannin.  Ornamental. 
(State  tree  of  Washington.) 

124.  MOUNTAIN  HEMLOCK,  Tsuga  mertensiana   (Bong.)   Carr.    (black  hemlock,  alpine 
hemlock). 

Large  tree  of  timber  line,  Pacific  coast  and  northern  Rocky  Mountain  regions  north  to 
Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark  reddish  brown,  deeply  furrowed  into  narrow  ridges.  Needles 
short-stalked,  rounded  or  angled,  %  to  1  inch  long,  blue  green.  Cones  long,  1  to  3  inches 
long,  usually  purplish  but  turning  brown. 

Principal  uses:    Ornamental. 

HH.  Needles  without  leafstalks,  4-angled  (flat  in  No.  127),  sharp-pointed, 
extending  out  on  all  sides  of  twig — SPRUCE  (Picea;  see  also  Nos.  16  and 
17). 

125.  ENGELMANN   SPRUCE,  Picea  engelmanni  Parry    (white  spruce,  mountain  spruce, 
silver  spruce). 

Large  tree  of  high  altitudes,  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  coast  regions,  including 
adjacent  Canada.  Bark  grayish  or  purplish  brown,  thin,  with  loosely  attached  scales. 
Needles  4-angled,  $/Q  to  1  l/s  inches  long,  dark  or  pale  blue  green,  of  disagreeable  odor 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


123.  Western 
hemlock. 


124.  Mountain         125.  Engelmann         126.  Blue  spruce, 
hemlock.  spruce. 


when  crushed.  Cones  1 1/2  to  2l/2  inches  long,  light  brown,  with  long,  thin,  flexible  scales 
irregularly  toothed  and  more  or  less  pointed. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  for  building  construction  and  boxes.  Also  mine  timbers,  rail- 
road ties,  and  poles.  Ornamental. 

126.  BLUE  SPRUCE,  Piceo.  pungens  Engelm.   (Colorado  blue  spruce,  Colorado  spruce, 
silver  spruce). 

Large  tree  of  Rocky  Mountain  region.  Bark  gray  or  brown,  furrowed  into  scaly  ridges. 
Needles  4-angled,  24  to  1  J/s  inch  long,  dull  blue  green.  Cones  2/2  to  4  inches  long,  light 
brown,  with  long,  thin,  flexible  scales  irregularly  toothed  and  more  or  less  pointed. 

Principal  uses:  Ornamental  and  shelterbelts.  Posts,  poles,  and  fuel.  (State  tree  of 
Colorado  and  Utah.) 

127.  SITKA  SPRUCE,  Picea  sitchensis   (Bong.)    Carr.    (yellow  spruce,  tideland  spruce, 
western  spruce,  silver  spruce,  coast  spruce ) . 

Large  to  very  large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  north  to  Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark 
reddish  brown,  thin,  with  loosely  attached  scales.  Needles  flat,  y&  to  1  inch  long,  dark 
green.  Cones  2  to  3/>  inches  long,  light  orange  brown,  with  long,  stiff  scales,  rounded  and 
irregularly  toothed. 

Principal  uses :  Lumber  for  boxes  and  crates,  furniture,  planing-mill  products,  millwork, 
ladders,  and  construction.  Pulpwood  and  cooperage.  The  most  important  wood  for  aircraft 
construction.  Ornamental. 


GG.  Twigs  smooth  or  nearly  so. 

/.  Needles     with     short     leafstalks; 
(Pseudotsuga). 


cones     hanging     down — DOUGLAS-FIR 


128.  DOUGLAS-FIR,  Pseudotsuga  taxifolia  (Poir.)  Britton  (Douglas-spruce,  red  fir,  yellow 
fir,  Oregon  pine,  common  Douglas-fir;  Ps.  douglasn  (Sabine)  Carr.,  Ps.  mucronata  (Raf.) 
Sudw. ;  variety:  Ps.  taxifolia  var.  glauca  (Mayr)  Sudw.). 

Large  tree  (next  to  giant  sequoia  and  redwood  in  size)  of  Pacific  coast  and  Rocky  Moun- 
tain regions,  including  Canada  and  Mexico.  Bark  reddish  brown,  thick,  deeply  furrowed 
into  broad  ridges.  Needles  short-stalked,  flat,  ^4  to  1 J4  inches  long,  dark  yellow  green  or 
blue  green.  Cones  2  to  4  inches  long,  light  brown,  with  thin,  rounded  scales  and  long, 
3-toothed  bracts. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  tree,  first  in  United  States  in  total  stand,  lumber 
production,  and  production  of  veneer  for  plywood.  Used  principally  for  building  construe- 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


127.  Sitka  spruce.        128.  Douglas-fir.  129-  White  fir. 


130.  Alpine  fir. 


tion  as  lumber,  timbers,  piling,  and  plywood.  Also  fuel,  railroad  ties,  cooperage,  mine 
timbers,  and  fencing.  Lumber  manufactured  into  millwork,  railroad-car  construction,  boxes 
and  crates,  flooring,  furniture,  ships  and  boats,  ladders.  Storage  battery  separators.  Also 
shade  tree,  ornamental,  and  shelterbelts.  (State  tree  of  Oregon.) 

//.  Needles  without  leafstalks;  cones  upright,  in  top  of  tree — FIR    (Abies; 

see  also  No.   18). 
K.  Needles  flat. 

129.  WHITE  FIR,  Abies  concolor  (Gord.  &  Glend.)  Hoopes  (balsam  fir,  silver  fir,  white 
balsam). 

Large  tree  of  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  coast  regions,  south  to  Lower  California. 
Bark  gray,  smoothish,  becoming  thick,  deeply  furrowed  into  scaly  ridges.  Needles  flat, 
1 l/z  to  2 1/2  inches  long,  pale  blue  green.  Cones  upright,  3  to  5  inches  long,  greenish,  purple, 
or  yellow. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  for  building  construction,  chiefly  in  houses,  boxes  and  crates, 
planing-mill  products,  and  general  millwork.  Pulpwood.  Ornamental  and  shade  tree. 

130.  ALPINE  FIR,  Abies  lasiocarpa   (Hook.)   Nutt.    (white  fir  [lumber],  balsam,  white 
balsam). 

Large  tree  of  high  altitudes,  Rocky  Mountain  region  north  to  Canada  and  Alaska. 
Bark  gray,  smoothish,  becoming  fissured.  Needles  flat,  1  to  1^4  inches  long,  blue  green. 
Cones  upright,  2  l/z  to  4  inches  long,  purple. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  129. 

131.  PACIFIC  SILVER  FIR,  Abies  amabilis  (Dougl.)   Forb.   (silver  fir  [lumber],  white  fir 
[lumber],  Cascades  fir,  red  fir,  lovely  fir). 

Large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  from  Oregon  north  to  Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark  gray, 
smoothish.  Needles  flat,  ^4  to  1 J4  inches  long,  dark  green  and  shiny,  silvery  white  beneath. 
Cones  upright,  3  to  6  inches  long,  purple. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  129. 

132.  GRAND  FIR,  Abies  grandis  (Dougl.)  Lindl.   (white  fir  [lumber],  lowland  white  fir, 
balsam  fir,  lowland  fir,  silver  fir,  yellow  fir). 

Large  tree  of  northern  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  coast  regions,  including  southern 
British  Columbia.  Bark  reddish  brown,  becoming  deeply  furrowed  into  narrow  ridges. 
Needles  flat,  1  to  2  inches  long,  dark  green  and  shiny,  silvery  white  beneath.  Cones  upright, 
2  to  4  inches  long,  green. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


131.  Pacific  silver       132.  Grand  fir.  133-  Noble  fir.         134.  California  red  fir. 

fir. 


Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  129. 

KK.  Needles  4-angled,  or  both  4-angled  and  flat. 

133.  NOBLE  FIR,  Abies  procera  Rehd.   (white  fir  [lumber],  red  fir;  A.  nobilis   (Dougl.) 
Lindl.,  not  A.  Dietr.). 

Large  tree  of  Northwest  Pacific  coast  region.  Bark  gray  brown,  smoothish,  becoming 
furrowed  and  broken  into  irregular  scaly  plates.  Needles  of  lower  branches  flat  and  of 
top  branches  4-angled,  1  to  1  l/z  inches  long,  blue  green.  Cones  upright,  4  to  6  inches  long, 
purplish  brown,  with  long  greenish  bracts  covering  the  cone  scales. 

Principal  uses:  Lumber  for  interior  finish,  moldings,  sidings,  and  millwork,  aircraft 
construction,  Venetian  blinds,  ladder  rails,  and  boxes.  Pulpwood.  Ornamental. 

134.  CALIFORNIA  RED  FIR,  Abies  magnified  A.  Murr.    (golden  fir  [lumber],  white  fir 
[lumber],  red  fir). 

Large  tree  (the  largest  native  true  fir)  of  Oregon  and  California.  Bark  reddish  brown, 
thick,  deeply  furrowed  into  narrow  ridges.  Needles  4-angled,  $4  to  1  /a  inches  long,  blue 
green.  Cones  upright,  6  to  9  inches  long,  purplish  brown. 

Principal  uses:    Same  as  No.  129. 


FF  (F  on  p.  802).  Leaves  scalelike,  less  than 

needlelike  (to  $4  mcn  l°ng)- 
L.  Leaves  single  —  SEQUOIA   (Sequoia). 


inch  long,  or  both  scalelike  and 


135.  REDWOOD,   Sequoia   sempervirens    (D.    Don)    Endl.    (coast   redwood,    California 
redwood). 

Large  tree  (the  world's  tallest  tree  species)  of  Pacific  coast  in  California  and  south- 
western Oregon.  Bark  reddish  brown,  thick,  deeply  furrowed,  fibrous.  Leaves  both  scalelike 
and  needlelike,  flat,  slightly  curved,  unequal  in  length,  l/±  to  %  inch  long,  dark  green, 
spreading  in  2  rows.  Cones  94  to  1  inch  long,  reddish  brown,  maturing  the  first  year. 

Principal  uses:  Important  timber  tree.  Largely  for  building  construction  and  bridges 
and  other  heavy  construction.  Also  boxes  and  crates,  planing-mill  products,  general  mill- 
work,  paneling,  tanks,  caskets,  greenhouse  construction.  Insulating  material  is  made  from 
the  bark.  Ornamental.  (State  tree  of  California.) 

136.  GIANT  SEQUOIA,  Sequoia  gigantea   (Lindl.)   Decne.    (bigtree,  Sierra  redwood;  S. 
wellingtonia  Seem.  )  . 

Large  tree  (including  the  world's  largest  and  oldest)  with  swollen  base,  Sierra  Nevada, 


8o6 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


135.  Redwood.  136.  Giant  sequoia.    137.  Incense-cedar.    138.  Western  redcedar. 


California.  Bark  reddish  brown,  thick,  deeply  furrowed,  fibrous.  Leaves  scalelike,  l/a  to  l/4 
inch  long  or  on  leading  shoots  ^2  inch  long,  blue  green,  sharp-pointed,  growing  all  around 
the  twig  and  overlapping.  Cones  1^4  to  2^4  inches  long,  reddish  brown,  maturing  the 
second  year. 

Principal  uses:  The  largest  trees  are  preserved  in  national  parks  and  national  forests. 
Formerly  lumbered  for  the  same  uses  as  No.  135. 

LL.  Leaves  in  pairs,  threes,  or  fours,  scalelike. 
M.  Leafy  twigs  more  or  less  flattened. 

N.  Twigs  much  flattened,  more  than  %6  inch  broad  including  leaves. 
O.  Joints  of  leafy  twigs  distinctly  longer  than  broad — INCENSE-CEDAR 
(Libocedrus). 

137.  INCENSE-CEDAR,  Libocedrus  decurrens  Torr.   (California  incense-cedar). 

Large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  from  Oregon  to  Lower  California.  Bark  reddish  brown, 
thick,  deeply  and  irregularly  furrowed  into  shreddy  ridges.  Twigs  flattened,  the  internodes 
wedge-shaped,  */&  to  %  inch  long,  bright  green,  with  scale  leaves  ^e  to  ]/&  inch  long,  their 
bases  extending  down  the  twigs.  Cones  %  to  1  inch  long,  reddish  brown. 

Principal  uses:  The  leading  wood  for  pencils.  Venetian  blinds,  lumber  for  rough  con- 
struction, fence  posts,  and  railroad  ties.  Ornamental  and  shade  tree. 

OO.  Joints  of  leafy  twigs  about  as  long  as  broad — THUJA  (Thuja}. 

138.  WESTERN  REDCEDAR,  Thuja  plicata  Donn  (giant  arborvitae,  canoe  cedar,  arbovitae, 
shinglewood,  gigantic  cedar,  Pacific  redcedar). 

Large  to  very  large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  and  northern  Rocky  Mountain  regions  north  to 
Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark  reddish  brown,  thin,  fibrous.  Twigs  flattened  and  branching 
in  one  plane.  Leaves  scalelike,  ^  to  l/a  inch  long,  shiny,  dark  green.  Cones  /a  inch  long, 
pale  brown,  with  leathery  scales. 

Principal  uses:  The  chief  wood  for  shingles.  Lumber  used  largely  in  construction  such 
as  siding.  Also  a  leading  wood  for  poles  and  widely  used  for  posts. 

NN.  Twigs  slightly  flattened,  less  than  I/LQ  inch  broad  including  leaves — 
WHITE-CEDAR   ( Chamaecyparis } . 

139.  PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR,  Chamaecyparis  lawsoniana   (A.  Murr.)    Parl.    (Port-Orford 
white-cedar,  Lawson  falsecypress,  Oregon  cedar,  Lawson  cypress). 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


139.  Port-Orf ord- 
cedar. 


140.  Alaska-cedar.     141.  Arizona  cypress.  142.  Rocky  Moun- 
tain juniper. 


Large  to  very  large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  in  southwestern  Oregon  and  northwestern 
California.  Bark  reddish  brown,  very  thick,  deeply  furrowed  into  large,  fibrous  ridges. 
Twigs  slender,  flattened.  Leaves  ^.6  inch  long,  or  I/Q  to  *4  inch  long  on  leading  shoots, 
bright  green  or  pale  beneath,  glandular  on  the  back.  Cones  about  $/&  inch  in  diameter. 

Principal  uses:  The  principal  wood  for  storage  battery  separators.  Venetian  blinds. 
Lumber  for  construction  and  other  uses.  Shade  tree,  ornamental,  and  shelterbelts.  ^ 

140.  ALASKA-CEDAR,    Chamaecyparis  nootkatensis    (D.   Don)    Spach    (Alaska  yellow- 
cedar,  Nootka  falsecypress,  yellow-cedar,  Sitka  cypress,  yellow  cypress). 

Large  tree  of  Northwest  Pacific  coast  region  north  to  Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark 
grayish  brown,  thin,  irregularly  fissured,  fibrous  and  scaly.  Twigs  stout,  4-angled  or 
slightly  flattened.  Leaves  I/Q  inch  long,  or  x/4  inch  long  on  leading  shoots,  dark  green, 
usually  without  glands.  Cones  nearly  l/i  inch  in  diameter. 

Principal  uses:  Interior  finish,  cabinet  work,  small  boats,  furniture,  and  novelties. 
Ornamental. 

MM.  Leafy  twigs  rounded  or  4-angled. 

P.  Leafy  twigs  regularly  branched  almost  at  right  angles;  seeds  in  a  hard 
cone — GYPRES  s   ( Cupressus ) . 

141.  ARIZONA  CYPRESS,  Cupressus  arizonica  Greene  (smooth  cypress;  C.  glabra  Sudw.). 
Medium-sized  tree  of  southwestern  United  States   and  adjacent  Mexico.  Bark  gray, 

rough,  furrowed  and  fibrous,  or  checkered,  or  smoothish  and  shedding  in  thin  scales. 
Leaves  scalelike,  I/IQ  inch  long,  pale  blue  green.  Cones  ^4  to  1 54  inches  in  diameter,  on 
stout  stalks  *4  to  l/2  inch  long  and  remaining  attached  several  years. 
Principal  uses :  Fence  posts,  ornamental,  and  shelterbelts. 

PP.  Leafy  twigs  irregularly  branched  at  small  angles;  seeds  in  a  "berry"- — 
JUNIPER  (Juniperus). 

142.  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  JUNIPER,  Juniperus  scopulorum  Sarg.   (western  juniper  [lum- 
ber], Rocky  Mountain  redcedar,  redcedar). 

Small  to  medium-sized  tree  of  Rocky  Mountain  region,  including  adjacent  Canada. 
Bark  reddish  brown,  thin,  fibrous  and  shreddy.  Leafy  twigs  slender,  about  %2  inch  in 
diameter.  Leaves  scalelike,  Vi6  inch  long,  usually  gray  green,  or  on  leading  shoots  needle- 
like,  up  to  l/$  inch  long.  "Berry"  }4  inch  in  diameter,  bright  blue,  bloomy,  usually  2-seeded, 
maturing  the  second  year. 


8o8 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


143.  Alligator  juniper. 


144.  Utah  juniper. 


145.  Western  juniper. 


wT     r~ 

J:     (   V 


Principal  uses:  Fence  posts,  fuel,  lumber.  Shelterbelts  and  ornamental. 

143.  ALLIGATOR   JUNIPER,  Juniperus  deppeana  Steud.    (western  juniper  [lumber];  /. 
pachyphloea  Torr.). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  southwestern  United  States  and  Mexico.  Bark  gray,  thick,  deeply 
furrowed  into  checkered  or  square  plates.  Leafy  twigs  %2  to  %6  inch  in  diameter.  Leaves 
scalelike,  He  inch  long,  blue  green,  glandular,  often  with  whitish  drops  of  resin,  or  on 
leading  shoots  needlelike,  up  to  ^4  inch  long,  pale  or  whitish.  "Berry"  /a  inch  in  diameter, 
bluish  or  brownish,  bloomy,  4-seeded,  maturing  the  second  year. 

Principal  uses:  Fuel  and  fence  posts. 

144.  UTAH  JUNIPER,  Juniperus  osteosperma  (Torr.)  Little  (western  juniper  [lumber]; 
/.  utahensis  (Engelm.)  Lemm. ). 

Small  tree  of  Great  Basin  and  Rocky  Mountain  regions.  Bark  gray,  fibrous  and  shreddy. 
Leafy  twigs  stout,  about  M.6  inch  or  less  in  diameter.  Leaves  Vie  inch  or  more  in  length, 
yellow  green.  "Berry"  J4  to  l/z  inch  in  diameter,  brownish,  bloomy,  with  1  or  2  seeds. 

Principal  uses :  Fence  posts,  fuel,  and  interior  finish. 

145.  WESTERN  JUNIPER,  Juniperus  occidentalis  Hook,  (western  juniper  [lumber],  Sierra 
juniper). 

Small  to  medium-sized  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region.  Bark  reddish  brown,  furrowed 
and  shreddy.  Leafy  twigs  stout,  %e  inch  or  more  in  diameter.  Leaves  scalelike,  Vie  inch 
or  more  in  length,  glandular.  "Berry"  *4  inch  in  diameter,  bluish  black,  with  2  or  3  seeds. 

Principal  uses :  Fence  posts,  fuel,  pencils. 


ANGIOSPERMS  (FLOWERING  PLANTS) 

AA  (A  on  p.  799).  Trees  nonresinous,  with  leaves  broad,  shedding  in  fall  in  most  species 
(evergreen  in  some  oaks,  tanoak,  golden  chinquapin,  California-laurel,  palms,  etc.)  ; 
seeds  enclosed  in  a  fruit — ANGIOSPERMS  (flowering  plants). 

Q.  Leaves  parallel-veined,  evergreen,  clustered  at  top  of  trunk  or  large  branches ;  trunk 
with  woody  portions  irregularly  distributed,  without  clear  distinction  of  bark  and 
wood,  and  without  annual  rings — MONOCOTYLEDONS  (palms,  yuccas,  etc.;  omitted 
here) . 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


146.  Pacific  dogwood.    147.  Bigleaf  maple.      148.  Oregon  ash.      149.  California-laurel. 


DICOTYLEDONS  (BROADLEAF  TREES  OR  HARDWOODS) 

QQ.  Leaves  net-veined;  trunk  with  bark  and  wood  distinct  and  with  annual  rings  in 
wood — DICOTYLEDONS  (broadleaf  trees,  or  hardwoods,  such  as  oaks,  poplars, 
ashes,  maples ) . 

R.  Leaves  and  usually  branches  in  pairs  (opposite). 
S.  Leaves  not  divided  into  leaflets  (simple). 

T.  Leaf  edges  smooth,  not  lobed — DOGWOOD  (Cornus). 

146.  PACIFIC  DOGWOOD,  Cornus  nuttalli  Audubon  (western  dogwood,  dogwood). 
Small  to  medium-sized  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  north  to  British  Columbia.  Bark 

reddish  brown,  thin,  smoothish.  Leaves  paired,  oval,  3  to  5  inches  long,  short-pointed,  edges 
appearing  smooth  but  minutely  toothed,  lateral  veins  curved,  bright  green  and  nearly  smooth 
above,  whitish  and  hairy  beneath,  turning  orange  and  scarlet  in  fall.  Flowers  greenish 
yellow,  in  a  dense  head  with  4  to  6  (usually  6)  showy,  white,  petallike  bracts  3  to  5  inches 
in  diameter,  in  early  spring.  Fruits  egg-shaped,  %  to  l/z  inch  long,  bright  red  or  orange. 
Principal  uses:  Shuttles  (used  in  textile  weaving).  Ornamental. 

TT.  Leaf  edges  toothed,  deeply  3-  or  5-lobed — MAPLE  (Acer). 

147.  BIGLEAF  MAPLE,  Acer  macrophyllum  Pursh  (Oregon  maple,  broadleaf  maple). 
Large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  north  to  Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark  gray  brown,  thin, 

smoothish,  becoming  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  paired,  heart-shaped,  very  large,  6  to  12 
inches  in  diameter,  deeply  3-  or  5-lobed  with  additional  smaller  lobes,  dark  green  and  shiny 
above,  pale  green  below,  turning  bright  orange  in  fall.  Leafstalks  long  and  stout,  10  to  12 
inches  long.  Key  fruits  1 J4  to  2  inches  long,  long-winged,  paired  and  in  clusters. 

Principal  uses:  Veneer,  furniture,  handles  and  fixtures,  and  woodenware  and  novelties. 
Shade  tree. 

SS.  Leaves  subdivided  into  5  to  9  leaflets  (compound) — ASH   (Fraxinus;  see  also 
Nos.  31  and  33). 

148.  OREGON  ASH,  Fraxinus  oregona  Nutt. 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region,  including  British  Columbia.  Bark 
dark  gray  or  brown,  with  diamond-shaped  fissures  and  forking  ridges.  Leaves  paired, 
compound,  5  to  14  inches  long.  Leaflets  usually  7  or  5,  usually  without  stalks,  elliptical, 
2  to  5  inches  long,  short-pointed,  edges  smooth  or  slightly  toothed,  light  green,  nearly 


8io 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


150.  Quaking  aspen.     151.  Plains  cotton-      152.  Black  cotton-        153.  Red  alder, 
wood.  wood. 


smooth  above,  finely  hairy  beneath.  Key  fruits  in  crowded  clusters,  1  to  2  inches  long,  with 
wing  at  end. 

Principal  uses:    Handles,  cooperage,  and  furniture.  Shade  tree. 

RR.  Leaves  and  usually  branches  borne  singly  (alternate). 

U.  Leaves  aromatic  when  bruised — CALIFORNIA-LAUREL  (Umbellularia}. 

149.  CALIFORNIA-LAUREL,    Umbellularia  californica    (Hook.   &  Arn. )    Nutt.    (Oregon- 
myrtle,  mountain-laurel,  spice-tree). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Oregon  and  California.  Bark  dark  reddish  brown,  thin, 
with  flat  scales.  Leaves  aromatic,  evergreen,  elliptical  or  lance-shaped,  2  to  5  inches  long, 
short-stalked,  wedge-shaped  at  base,  short-pointed,  with  smooth  edges,  leathery,  shiny 
dark  green  above,  dull  beneath.  Flowers  yellowish  green,  %e  inch  long,  in  clusters.  Fruits 
rounded,  1  inch  in  diameter,  greenish  or  purplish. 

Principal  uses:  Veneer  for  furniture  and  paneling.  Novelties  and  woodenware,  cabinet 
work,  and  interior  trim.  Ornamental. 

UU.  Leaves  not  aromatic. 

V.  Winter  buds  1  or  none  at  tip  of  twig;  fruit  not  an  acorn. 
W.  Leaves  thin,  with  edges  toothed,  shedding  in  fall. 

X.  Leafstalks  more  than  1  l/z  inches  long,  slender,  leaves  more  or  less 
triangular,  rounded  at  base  and  pointed  at  apex;  seeds  cottony,  in  long- 
clustered  capsules — POPLAR  (Populus;  see  also  No.  79). 

150.  QUAKING  ASPEN,   Populus   tremuloides   Michx.    (aspen,   quaking   asp,   trembling 
poplar,  poplar,  popple,  golden  aspen,  mountain  aspen ) . 

Small  to  medium-sized  tree,  widely  distributed  in  Northeastern,  Rocky  Mountain,  and 
Pacific  coast  regions  and  across  Canada  to  Alaska.  Bark  yellowish  green  or  whitish,  smooth, 
thin;  on  large  trunks  becoming  black,  thick,  with  furrows  and  flat  ridges.  Leaves  nearly 
round,  1 J4  to  3  inches  long,  short-pointed,  finely  toothed,  smooth,  shiny  green  above,  dull 
green  beneath.  Leafstalks  flat.  Seeds  rarely  produced  in  the  West. 

Principal  uses:    Pulpwood,  boxes  and  crates,  excelsior,  and  matches. 

151.  PLAINS  COTTONWOOD,,  Populus  sargentii  Dode  (cottonwood,  plains  poplar). 
Large  tree  of  Great  Plains  and  eastern  border  of  Rocky  Mountains  north  into  Canada. 

Bark  gray,  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  broadly  oval,  often  wider  than  long,  3  to  4  inches  long 
and  wide,  long-pointed,  coarsely  toothed  with  curved  teeth,  smooth,  light  green,  shiny. 
Leafstalks  flat. 

Principal  uses:    Fuel.  Shade  tree.  Shelterbelts. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


811 


154.  Cascara  buckthorn.     155.  Pacific  madrone.    156.  Golden  chinquapin.     157.  Tanoak. 


152.  BLACK  COTTONWOOO,  Populus  trichocarpa  Torr.  &  Gray  (California  poplar,  cotton- 
wood,  balsam  cottonwood,  western  balsam  poplar;  variety:    P.  trichocarpa  var.  hastata 
(Dode)   Henry,  Pacific  poplar). 

Large  tree  (the  tallest  western  broadleaf  tree)  of  northern  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific 
coast  regions  north  to  Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark  gray,  smooth  at  first,  becoming  deeply  fur- 
rowed with  flat  ridges.  Leaves  broadly  oval,  3  to  7  inches  long,  short-  or  long-pointed,  finely 
toothed,  smooth  or  slightly  hairy,  dark  shiny  green  above,  whitish  or  rusty  beneath.  Leaf- 
stalks round. 

Principal  uses:   Boxes  and  crates,  pulpwood,  and  excelsior. 

XX.  Leafstalks  less  than  1  inch  long,  leaves  elliptical  or  oval ;  seeds  not  hairy. 
Y.  Leaf    edges    with    teeth    of    2    sizes    and    slightly    irregular — ALDER 
(Alnus;  see  also  No.  84). 

153.  RED  ALDER,  Alnus  rubra  Bong,   (alder,  Oregon  alder,  western  alder). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  north  to  Canada  and  Alaska.  Bark 

mottled  light  gray  to  whitish,  smooth,  thin.  Leaves  oval  or  elliptical,  3  to  6  inches  long, 
short-pointed,  both  coarsely  and  finely  toothed,  dark  green  and  nearly  smooth  above, 
grayish  green  or  rusty  beneath.  Cones  l/2  to  1  inch  long. 

Principal  uses:    The  leading  hardwood  in  the  Pacific  Northwest.  Furniture. 

YY.  Leaf   edges   with   uniform,   small   teeth — BUCKTHORN    (Rhamnus; 
see  also  Nos.  76  and  87). 

154.  CASCARA  BUCKTHORN,  Rhamnus  purshiana  DC.   (cascara  sagrada,  cascara). 
Small  tree  or  shrub  of  northwest  Pacific  coast  and  northern  Rocky  Mountain  regions 

north  to  British  Columbia.  Bark  brown  or  gray,  thin,  scaly.  Leaves  elliptical,  2  to  6  inches 
long,  blunt-pointed  or  rounded,  finely  toothed,  dark  green  above,  lighter  and  slightly  hairy 
beneath.  Fruits  berrylike,  $/Q  to  l/2  inch  in  diameter,  purplish  black,  with  2  or  3  seeds. 

Principal  uses:  The  bark  is  the  source  of  the  drug  Cascara  Sagrada.  Wood  is  used 
locally  for  fuel  and  fence  posts.  Ornamental. 

WW.  Leaves  thick,  with  edges  mostly  smooth,  evergreen. 
Z.  Leaves  pale  or  whitish  beneath — MADRONE   (Arbutus}. 

155.  PACIFIC  MADRONE,  Arbutus  menziesii  Pursh  (madrono,  madrona). 

Small  to  large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  north  to  British  Columbia.  Bark  of  limbs  and 


8l2 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


158.  California 
black  oak. 


159.  California 
live  oak. 


160.  Emory  oak.      161.  Canyon  live  oak. 


twigs  bright  red,  smooth  and  peeling  off ;  bark  of  larger  trunks  dark  reddish  brown,  fissured 
and  scaly.  Leaves  evergreen,  oval,  3  to  5  inches  long,  blunt-pointed,  thick  and  leathery, 
edges  smooth  or  sometimes  toothed,  dark  green  and  shiny  above,  whitish  beneath.  Flowers 
small,  white,  clustered,  %  inch  long.  Fruits  /a  inch  in  diameter,  orange  red. 
Principal  uses:    Fuel.  Shuttles  (used  in  textile  weaving).  Ornamental. 


ZZ.  Leaves    with    coat    of    golden    yellow    scales    beneath- 

(Castanopsis) . 


:HINQUAPIN 


156.  GOLDEN  CHINQUAPIN,  Castanopsis  chrysophylla  (Dougl.)  A.  DC.  (giant  evergreen- 
chinkapin,  chinquapin,  golden-leaf  chestnut). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree  (a  variety  is  shrubby)  of  Pacific  coast  region.  Bark  reddish 
brown,  becoming  furrowed  into  thick  plates.  Leaves  evergreen,  oblong  to  lance-shaped, 
2  to  6  inches  long,  narrowed  and  tapering  at  both  ends,  with  smooth  edges,  leathery,  dark 
green  and  shiny  above,  coated  beneath  with  golden  yellow  scales.  Fruits  golden  spiny  burs 
1  to  1  /2  inches  in  diameter  with  1  or  sometimes  2  edible  nuts  %  inch  long,  maturing  the 
second  year. 

Principal  uses:    Furniture.  Ornamental. 

VV.   Winter  buds  3  or  more  in  cluster  at  tip  of  twig;  fruit  an  acorn. 

a.  Leaves  with  many  parallel  lateral  veins  less  than  J4  inch  apart,  evergreen; 
scales  of  acorn  cup  slender,  spreading,  curved,  more  than  I/Q  inch  long — 
TANOAK  (Lithocarpus) . 

157.  TANOAK,  Lithocarpus  densiflorus   (Hook.  &  Arn.)   Rehd.   (tanbark-oak,  chestnut- 
oak). 

Large  tree  (a  variety  is  shrubby)  of  Oregon  and  California.  Bark  reddish  brown,  deeply 
fissured  into  squarish  plates.  Leaves  evergreen,  oblong,  3  to  5  inches  long,  short-pointed, 
toothed,  with  many  parallel  lateral  veins  less  than  *4  inch  apart,  leathery,  pale  green, 
shiny  and  nearly  smooth  above,  rustry-hairy  or  whitish  beneath.  Acorns  94  to  1 1/4  inches 
long,  rounded,  the  shallow  cup  with  spreading  light-brown  scales  l/&  to  %6  inch  long, 
maturing  the  second  year. 

Principal  uses:  The  bark  is  a  source  of  tannin.  Wood  used  locally  for  fuel,  furniture, 
and  mine  timbers.  Ornamental. 


Important  Forest  Trees  of  the  United  States 


813 


162.  Blue  oak. 


163.  Oregon  white  oak.  164.  California 

white  oak. 


165.  Gambel  oak. 


aa.  Leaves  with  lateral  veins  not  parallel  (except  in  No.  161),  falling  in 
autumn  or  evergreen;  scales  of  acorn  cup  small  and  inconspicuous — OAK 
(Quercus) . 

b.  Leaves  with  bristle-tipped  teeth;  acorns  maturing  the  second  year  (first 
year  in  No.  159) — BLACK  OAKS. 

158.  CALIFORNIA   BLACK   OAK,    Quercus   kelloggii  Newb.    (black   oak;    Q.    calif ornica 
(Torr.)  Coop.). 

Large  tree  of  Oregon  and  California.  Bark  dark  brown,  furrowed  into  irregular  plates 
and  ridges.  Leaves  falling  in  autumn,  oblong,  4  to  10  inches  long,  usually  7-lobed  about 
halfway  to  middle,  each  lobe  with  a  few  bristle-pointed  teeth,  thick,  dark  yellow  green  and 
smooth  above,  light  yellow  green  and  smooth  or  hairy  beneath.  Acorns  1  to  1  /a  inches  long, 
rounded,  with  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses:    Fuel. 

159.  CALIFORNIA  LIVE  OAK,  Quercus  agrifolia  Nee  (coast  live  oak). 

Large  tree  of  California  and  Lower  California.  Bark  dark  brown,  thick,  deeply  fur- 
rowed. Leaves  evergreen,  elliptical  to  oblong.  ^4  to  3  inches  long,  short-pointed  or  rounded 
at  tip,  spiny-toothed,  thick  and  stiff,  dark  green  above,  beneath  paler,  shiny,  and  smooth 
or  hairy.  Acorns  long,  %  to  1  /2  inches  long,  pointed,  with  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses :  Fuel.  Shade  tree  and  ornamental. 

bb.  Leaves  lobed,  toothed,  or  entire  but  not  bristle-tipped;  acorns  maturing 
the  first  year  (second  year  in  No.   161) — WHITE  OAK    (see  also  Nos. 
103  and  107). 
c.  Leaves  not  lobed  or  only  shallowly  lobed. 

160.  EMORY  OAK,  Quercus  emoryi  Torr.  (black  oak). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  Southwestern  region  and  adjacent  Mexico.  Bark  blackish,  divided 
into  thin  plates.  Leaves  evergreen,  broadly  lance-shaped,  1  to  2l/2  inches  long,  short- 
pointed,  with  a  few  short  teeth,  thick,  stiff,  leathery,  flat,  shiny  dark  green  on  both  sides, 
nearly  smooth.  Acorns  J/a  to  ^4  inch  long,  rounded,  edible. 

Principal  uses:    Fuel. 

161.  CANYON   LIVE   OAK,   Quercus   chrysolepis  Liebm.    (live   oak,  maul   oak;  variety: 
Palmer  oak,  Q.  chrysolepis  var.  palmeri  (Engelm. )  Sarg. ). 

Medium-sized  to  large  tree   (a  variety  is  shrubby)   of  Pacific  coast  and  Southwestern 


814  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

regions  and  adjacent  Mexico.  Bark  gray  brown,  scaly  and  flaky.  Leaves  evergreen, 
elliptical  or  oval,  1  to  3  inches  long,  with  edges  spiny-toothed  or  smooth,  thick  and 
leathery,  bright  green  and  smooth  above,  yellow-hairy  or  whitish  beneath.  Acorns  1  to  2 
inches  long,  broad,  with  thick  yellowish  cup. 

Principal    uses:    Parts    of   vehicles    and    agricultural    implements.    Ornamental.    Fuel. 

162.  BLUE  OAK,  Quercus  douglasii  Hook.  &  Arn.  (California  blue  oak,  mountain  white 
oak). 

Medium-sized  tree  of  California.  Bark  gray,  scaly.  Leaves  shedding  in  fall,  oblong,  1  to 
3  inches  long,  short-pointed  or  rounded  at  apex,  with  edges  coarsely  toothed,  shallowly 
4-  or  5-lobed,  or  smooth,  rigid,  pale  blue  green  above,  pale  and  slightly  hairy  beneath. 
Acorns  ^4  to  1  l/z  inches  long,  broad,  with  shallow  cup. 

Principal  use?:  Fuel. 

cc.  Leaves  deeply  lobed  halfway  or  more  to  middle. 

163.  OREGON  WHITE  OAK,  Quercus  garryana  Dougl.   (Garry  oak,  Oregon  oak). 
Medium-sized  to  large  tree  of  Pacific  coast  region  from  California  to  British  Columbia. 

Bark  light  gray  or  brown,  thin,  with  narrow  fissures,  broken  into  scaly  ridges.  Leaves 
shedding  in  fall,  oblong,  3  to  6  inches  long,  deeply  5-  to  9-lobed  halfway  or  more  to 
middle  with  blunt-pointed  or  slightly  toothed  lobes,  dark  green  above,  light  green  and 
usually  hairy  beneath.  Acorns  1  to  1 J4  inches  long,  broad  and  rounded,  with  shallow  cup. 
Principal  uses:  Furniture,  shipbuilding,  construction,  agricultural  implements,  coop- 
erage, cabinet  work,  interior  finish,  and  fuel.  Shade  tree. 

164.  CALIFORNIA  WHITE  OAK,  Quercus  lobata  Nee  (valley  white  oak,  white  oak,  valley 
oak). 

Large  tree  of  California.  Bark  gray  or  brown,  thick,  deeply  furrowed  and  broken  hori- 
zontally into  thick  plates.  Leaves  shedding  in  fall,  oblong,  2/2  to  4  inches  long,  broad, 
deeply  7-  to  11-lobed  more  than  halfway  to  middle,  dark  green  above,  gray-hairy  beneath. 
Acorns  long,  1*4  to  2l/4  inches  long,  slender  and  pointed,  with  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses:  Shade  tree.  Fuel. 

165.  GAMBEL  OAK,  Quercus  gambelii  Nutt.   (Rocky  Mountain  white  oak,  Utah  white 
oak;  Q.  utahensis  (A.  DC.)  Rydb.). 

Small  tree  or  shrub  of  Rocky  Mountain  region,  including  adjacent  Mexico.  Bark  gray 
brown,  scaly.  Leaves  shedding  in  fall,  oblong,  4  to  8  inches  long,  deeply  7-  to  11-lobed 
halfway  or  more  to  middle,  dark  green  above,  light  green  and  soft-hairy  beneath.  Acorns 
%  to  %  mcn  l°nS»  broad  and  rounded,  with  deep  cup. 

Principal  uses :  Fence  posts  and  fuel. 

ELBERT  L.  LITTLE,  JR.,  dendrologist  in  the  Division  of  Dendrology  and  Range 
Forage  Investigations,  Forest  Service,  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  has  been  in  research 
work  with  the  Forest  Service  since  1934.  He  has  published  papers  on  names  of 
trees  of  the  United  States  and  various  botanical  subjects.  During  the  Second 
World  War  he  made  forestry  and  botanical  surveys  in  Latin  American  countries. 
Dr.  Little  holds  degrees  from  the  Universities  of  Oklahoma  and  Chicago. 


8i5 


FIFTY  TREES  FROM  FOREIGN  LANDS 


ELBERT  L.  LITTLE,  JR. 


Since  ancient  times  mankind  has 
sought  out  from  distant  parts  of  the 
earth  new  and  better  farm  crops,  gar- 
den plants,  and  trees.  Many  of  these 
strange  trees,  introduced  from  seeds 
brought  back  by  explorers  and  travel- 
ers through  the  years,  have  been  highly 
successful  for  shade,  ornament,  fruits 
and  nuts,  shelterbelts,  lumber,  and 
other  uses  where  the  conditions  for 
growth  are  not  too  different  from  those 
in  their  native  lands.  Discovery  of  the 
New  World  made  possible  great  inter- 
change of  trees  and  other  plants  be- 
tween East  and  West.  Much  of  the 
early  botanical  exploration  of  North 
America  was  made  by  horticultural 
collectors  who  were  hunting  new  plants 
for  European  gardens. 

With  settlement  of  the  climatically 
diverse  portions  of  the  United  States 
came  introduction  of  trees  from  far 
away.  Naturally  the  colonists  from 
Europe  brought  their  familiar  shade 
trees,  most  of  which  succeeded  also  in 
eastern  United  States  where  the  cli- 
mate is  similar.  Examples  are  Norway 
spruce,  white  poplar,  European  white 
birch,  and  sycamore  maple.  The  Yan- 
kee Clippers  and  afterwards  botanical 
explorers  brought  back  from  temper- 
ate portions  of  Asia  other  kinds,  such 
as  ginkgo,  Chinese  scholartree,  part- 
icled  goldenrain-tree,  and  royal  pau- 
lownia.  The  subtropical  regions  of 
Florida,  southern  Texas,  southern  Ari- 
zona, and  California  have  obtained  a 
wealth  of  exotic  trees  from  tropical 
lands  throughout  the  world. 

After  some  years  of  testing,  the  good 
points  and  limitations  of  these  intro- 
duced trees,  such  as  their  degree  of 
hardiness  to  winter  temperatures,  soil 
and  moisture  requirements,  drought 
resistance,  tolerance  to  city  smoke  and 
dust,  and  susceptibility  to  insects  and 
disease,  have  become  known.  Indeed, 
some  of  these  exotics  have  been  so  suc- 
cessful that  they  have  escaped  from 


cultivation  and  have  become  natural- 
ized, propagating  themselves  in  waste 
places,  roadsides,  and  woods  as  if  wild. 
However,  the  native  trees  in  any  local- 
ity, having  become  adapted  through 
the  ages,  usually  are  preferable  to  un- 
tested exotics. 

At  present  more  than  a  thousand 
kinds,  or  species,  of  foreign  trees,  not 
counting  their  numerous  horticul- 
tural forms,  are  grown  in  the  United 
States  for  shade  and  ornament.  Addi- 
tional thousands  not  yet  popular  have 
been  introduced  in  arboretums  and 
botanical  gardens  or  have  been  planted 
infrequently  as  specimen  trees.  For 
their  size,  the  subtropical  regions  from 
Florida  to  California  have  more  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  exotic  trees  than  do  any 
of  the  temperate  regions  of  the  United 
States.  Because  of  the  richness  of  trop- 
ical floras  over  the  earth,  many  hun- 
dred kinds  of  trees  have  become  avail- 
able to  these  warmer  regions. 

Home  owners  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States  now  have  wide  selec- 
tions of  foreign  trees  for  planting.  The 
less  familiar  exotics  command  atten- 
tion in  contrast  to  the  common  native 
shade  trees.  Improved  horticultural 
varieties,  such  as  those  with  drooping 
branches,  columnar  crown,  odd-tinted 
or  cutleaf  foliage,  or  distinctively  col- 
ored flowers,  are  available.  Aristocratic 
trees  rich  in  history  and  legend  may  be 
planted.  Among  these  is  the  ginkgo,  a 
peculiar  living  fossil  from  China  saved 
from  extinction  by  plantings  around 
temples  through  the  ages.  The  cedar- 
of-Lebanon,  so  closely  associated  with 
the  Holy  Land  and  the  source  of  the 
beautiful  wood  used  in  King  Solo- 
mon's Temple,  deserves  to  be  planted 
more  but  is  not  hardy  in  the  far  North. 
The  Italian  cypress,  the  classical  cy- 
press of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  the  Ro- 
mans, whose  columnar  shape  is  dis- 
played in  formal  gardens,  can  be 
grown  in  Southern  and  Pacific  States. 


8i6 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


For  a  tropical  atmosphere,  hardy 
trees  that  are  representative  of  their 
relatives  from  warmer  lands  can  be 
grown  northward.  Examples  are  silk- 
tree  ( "mimosa" ) ,  with  its  f ernlike  foli- 
age and  pink,  ball-like  blossoms;  ail- 
anthus,  with  its  coarse,  compound 
leaves;  and  royal  paulownia,  with  its 
big  leaves  and  striking  clusters  of  large 
violet  flowers.  Certain  nut  trees  and 
fruit  trees  can  serve  a  double  purpose 
for  shade  or  ornament  also. 

For  forestry  purposes,  such  as  in 
reforestation  of  large  areas  through  es- 
tablishment of  plantations,  native  trees 
generally  have  been  more  satisfactory 
than  introduced  trees.  Scotch  pine  and 
Norway  spruce,  the  most  popular  for- 
eign forest  trees,  have  been  planted 
chiefly  in  the  Northeastern  States. 
California  has  its  plantations  of  euca- 
lyptus from  Australia.  In  the  prairie- 
plains  shelterbelts,  several  exotic  trees, 
such  as  the  following,  have  been  suc- 
cessful: Siberian  elm,  Chinese  elm, 
Russian-olive,  Russian  mulberry,  Aus- 
trian pine,  white  willow,  and  ailanthus. 

In  this  article  50  species  of  the  com- 
monest and  most  popular  trees  from 
foreign  lands  are  described  briefly  and 
illustrated,  primarily  for  their  identifi- 
cation. Though  emphasis  has  been 
given  to  the  trees  widely  planted  for 
shade  and  ornament  in  temperate  re- 
gions of  the  United  States,  about  a 
fourth  of  the  species  selected  are  tropi- 
cal trees  restricted  to  the  subtropical 
regions  along  the  southern  border  from 
Florida  to  California. 

Several  are  no  longer  widely  recom- 
mended, because  of  objectionable  fea- 
tures or  susceptibility  to  disease  or  in- 
sects or  because  some  better  kinds  are 
available,  though  they  may  be  suitable 
for  special  purposes.  Nevertheless, 
they  have  been  planted  so  frequently 
that  they  merit  inclusion  in  a  list  used 
for  identification  purposes.  Nearly  half 
of  these  50  species  have  already  be- 
come naturalized  and  grow  in  their 
adopted  home  as  if  native. 

The  description  of  each  tree  species 
contains  the  approved  common  and 
scientific  names  as  well  as  other  names 


frequently  used.  Size  is  stated  as  large 
(more  than  70  feet  tall),  or  medium- 
sized  (30  to  70  feet  tall) ,  or  small  (less 
than  30  feet  tall) .  Leading  character- 
istics useful  in  identification,  such  as 
form  of  the  tree,  bark,  leaves,  flowers, 
and  fruits,  are  briefly  described  in  non- 
technical terms.  However,  some  horti- 
cultural varieties  with  unusual  or  ex- 
treme characteristics  may  differ  from 
the  general  descriptions.  Though  many 
trees  reveal  their  geographic  origin  in 
their  names,  the  native  home  is  stated 
along  with  the  regions  in  the  United 
States  where  the  species  is  grown. 

Notes  on  special  uses  and  desirable 
qualities  as  well  as  objectionable 
points  are  included.  The  drawings  of 
leaves  and  fruits  by  Leta  Hughey,  bo- 
tanical artist,  Forest  Service,  will  aid  in 
naming  trees  or  specimens. 

The  degree  of  hardiness  of  intro- 
duced trees  and  shrubs  to  cold  weather 
in  winter  is  expressed  by  division  of 
the  United  States  into  hardiness  zones, 
climatic  zones  based  upon  average  an- 
nual minimum  temperatures  (U.  S. 
D.  A.,  Atlas  of  American  Agriculture, 
Climate,  page  9,  figure  1928).  Alfred 
Rehder  (Manual  of  Cultivated  Trees 
and  Shrubs,  edition  1,  1927;  edition 
2,  1940),  Donald  Wyman  (Hedges, 
Screens,  and  Windbreaks,  1938),  and 
other  authors  on  horticultural  subjects 
have  adopted  these  hardiness  zones, 
citing  the  northernmost  zone  where 
each  species  can  be  grown. 

On  the  next  page  is  a  revised  map  of 
hardiness  zones  of  the  United  States, 
based  upon  the  map  of  average  annual 
minimum  temperature  for  the  40-year 
period  from  1899  to  1938  (U.  S.  D.  A., 
Climate  and  Man,  Yearbook  of  Agri- 
culture, page  707.  1941). 

Ten  zones  for  North  America  have 
been  designated  by  number,  beginning 
with  zone  1,  with  average  annual  mini- 
mum temperature  exceeding  —50°  F. 
and  representing  the  treeless  zone  of 
northern  Canada  and  Alaska.  The 
nine  zones  of  the  United  States  with 
their  limits  of  average  annual  mini- 
mum temperature  (Fahrenheit)  are, 
from  north  to  south:  Zone  2,  —50°  to 


Fifty  Trees  from  Foreign  Lands 


802062° — 49 53 


8i8 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


-35°;  zone  3,  -35°  to  -20°;  zone 
4,  -20°  to  -10°;  zone  5,  -10°  to 
-5°;  zone  6,  -5°  to  5°;  zone  7,  5° 
to  10°;  zone  8,  10°  to  20°;  zone  9,  20° 
to  30° ;  zone  10,  above  30°.  In  moun- 
tainous regions  of  western  United 
States  the  zones  become  crowded  into 
narrow  bands  according  to  altitude.  To 
conform  to  the  base  map,  the  narrow 
zone  6  is  omitted  in  the  West,  where 
zone  5  extends  from  — 10°  to  0°  and 
zone  7  from  0°  to  10°. 

As  factors  other  than  latitude  affect 
the  coldest  temperature  in  winter,  the 
hardiness  zones  do  not  extend  across 
the  United  States  from  east  to  west  uni- 
formly in  parallel  strips.  The  zones 
curve  southward  in  the  interior,  where 
extremes  of  temperature  are  great,  and 
shift  to  the  south  also  in  mountainous 
regions,  where  higher  altitudes  have  a 
cooling  effect.  Zone  2,  the  coldest,  is  re- 
stricted to  the  Canadian  border  region 
from  Wisconsin  to  Montana.  Along 
the  coasts  the  southern  zones  project 
farthest  north,  owing  to  the  moderat- 
ing influence  of  the  oceans  and  ocean 
currents. 

FOR  EACH  FOREIGN  TREE  SPECIES  the 

northernmost  zone  of  hardiness  is 
stated,  or  placed  in  parentheses  if  the 
species  is  hardy  only  under  favorable 
conditions  or  in  warmer  parts  of  this 
zone.  Though  southernmost  zones  are 
not  indicated,  species  hardy  in  the  far 
north  generally  will  not  thrive  also  in 
the  extreme  south.  Naturally  many 
trees  from  humid  regions  will  not  be 
successful  in  drier  portions  of  these 
temperature  zones  unless  watered  or 
irrigated.  Zone  10  includes  the  nearly 
frostless  and  almost  tropical  zones  of 
restricted,  southern  portions  of  Flor- 
ida, Texas,  Arizona,  and  California. 
Subtropical  trees  can  be  grown  also  in 
zone  9,  which  covers  larger  areas  in 
these  four  States  and  in  other  States 


along  the  Gulf,  South  Atlantic,  and 
Pacific  coasts. 

To  assist  in  identification,  the  50 
species  have  been  combined  into  11 
artificial  groups  according  to  leaf 
characters,  such  as  whether  evergreen 
or  deciduous  (shedding  leaves  in  fall), 
whether  borne  singly  or  paired,  and 
whether  or  not  divided  into  leaflets 
(leaflets  differ  from  leaves  in  usually 
smaller  size  and  in  their  attachment 
on  a  common  leafstalk  which  sheds 
with  them).  These  11  groups  are  des- 
ignated by  letter,  followed  by  the  leaf 
characters  of  the  group.  A  specimen 
being  identified  should  first  be  placed 
in  the  proper  group  and  then  compared 
with  the  descriptions  and  drawings. 

Many  additional  shade  and  orna- 
mental trees  will  be  found  among  the 
165  native  forest  tree  species  described 
and  illustrated  in  the  article,  "Impor- 
tant Forest  Trees  of  the  United 
States,"  on  page  763,  which  also  has 
instructions  for  submitting  specimens 
to  specialists  for  identification.  The 
six  articles  on  shade  trees  for  different 
regions  of  the  United  States  (pages  48- 
85)  contain  notes  on  other  species  as 
well  as  nearly  all  of  the  50  selected  here 
and  should  be  consulted  for  more  de- 
tailed information  about  the  kinds 
best  suited  to  each  geographic  region. 

For  further  information  about  shade 
and  ornamental  trees  from  foreign 
lands  and  their  identification,  there  is 
included  a  selected  list  of  general  ref- 
erences together  with  a  few  special 
publications  on  the  distinctive  trees 
of  the  subtropical  regions.  Most  States, 
through  their  agricultural  experiment 
stations  or  the  State  college  extension 
services,  have  issued  bulletins  or  circu- 
lars that  describe  the  shade  and  orna- 
mental trees,  both  native  and  foreign, 
best  suited  to  their  regions  and  con- 
taining instructions  on  planting  and 
care. 


Fifty  Trees  from  Foreign  Lands 


819 


INDEX  OF  COMMON  NAMES  BY  NUMBER 

The  50  species  are  listed  here  by  accepted  common  names.  Other  common 
names  in  use  are  mentioned  with  the  descriptions. 

The  numbers  refer  to  the  descriptions  of  the  species  on  pages  820-832. 


Acacia,  greenwattle,  19. 

Ailanthus,  28. 

Beech,  European,  35. 

Birch,  European  white,  46. 

Cajeput-tree,  10. 

Camphor-tree,  14. 

Garob,  18. 

Gasuarina,  horsetail,  1. 

Cedar,  Deodar,  5. 

Cedar-of-Lebanon,  4. 

Chinaberry,  30. 

Corktree,  Amur,  24. 

Cypress,  Italian,  3. 

Elm,  Chinese,  40. 

Elm,  English,  38. 

Elm,  Siberian,  39. 

Eucalyptus,  longbeak,  12. 

Eucalyptus,  red-ironbark,  11. 

Eucalyptus,  Tasmanian  blue,  13. 

Fig,  India-rubber,  15. 

Flamboyant-tree,  32. 

Ginkgo,  20. 

Goldenrain-tree,  panicled,  29. 

Holly,  English,  9. 

Horsechestnut,  25. 


Linden,  European,  36. 
Linden,  silver,  37. 
Maple,  Norway,  22. 
Maple,  planetree,  23. 
Mulberry,  white,  47. 
Oak,  English,  50. 
Parasoltree,  Chinese,  49. 
Paulownia,  royal,  21. 
Peppertree,  16. 
Pine,  Austrian,  7. 
Pine,  Scotch,  6. 
Planetree,  London,  48. 
Poplar,  Carolina,  44. 
Poplar,  Lombardy,  43. 
Poplar,  white,  45. 
Russian-olive,  34. 
Scholartree,  Chinese,  26. 
Silk-oak,  17. 
Silktree,  31. 
Spruce,  Norway,  8. 
Tallowtree,  33. 
Tamarisk,  athel,  2. 
Walnut,  Persian,  27. 
Willow,  weeping,  42. 
Willow,  white,  41. 


INDEX  OF  SCIENTIFIC  NAMES  BY  NUMBER 

Additional  scientific  names  in  use  for  some  of  these  50  species  are  cited  as 
synonyms  with  the  descriptions. 


Acacia  decurrens,  19. 
Acer  platanoides,  22. 
Acer  pseudoplatanus,  23. 
Aesculus  hippocastanum,  25. 
Ailanthus  altissima,  28. 
Albizia  julibrissin,  31. 
Betula  pendula,  46. 
Casuarina  equisetifolia,  1. 
Cedrus  deodara,  5. 
Cedrus  libani,  4. 
Ceratonia  siliqua,  18. 
Cinnamomum  camphora,  14. 
Cupressus  sempervirens,  3. 
Delonix  regia,  32. 
Elaeagnus  angustifolia,  34. 
Eucalyptus  camaldulensis,  12. 
Eucalyptus  globulus,  13. 
Eucalyptus  sideroxylon,  11. 
Fagus  sylvatica,  35. 
Ficus  elastica,  15. 
Firmiana  platanifolia,  49. 
Ginkgo  biloba,  20. 
Grevillea  robusta,  17. 
Ilex  aquifolium,  9. 
Juglans  regia,  27. 


Koelreuteria  paniculata,  29. 

Melaleuca  leucadendron,  10. 

Melia  azedarach,  30. 

Morus  alba,  47. 

Paulownia  tomentosa,  21. 

Phellodendron   amurense3  24. 

Picea  abies,  8. 

Pinus  nigra,  7. 

Pinus  sylvestris,  6. 
y^Platanus  acerifolia,  48. 

Populus  alba,  45. 
X  Populus  eugenei,  44. 

Populus  nigra,  43. 

Quercus  robur,  50. 

Salix  alba,  41. 

Salix  babylonica,  42. 

Sapium  sebiferum,  33. 

Schinus  molle,  16. 

Sophora  japonica,  26. 

Tamarix  aphylla,  2. 
y^Tilia  europaea,  36. 

Tilia  tomentosa,  37. 

Ulmus  parvifolia,  40. 

Ulmus  procera,  38. 

Ulmus  pumila,  39. 


820  Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

A.  Evergreens  (subtropical  and  warm  temperate),  leaves  scalelike,  Nos.  1  to  3. 

1.  HORSETAIL  CASUARiNA,  Casuarino,  equisetifolia  L.   (horsetail  beefwood,  Australian- 
pine  ) .  Large  evergreen  tree  resembling  conifers,  with  thin  crown  of  drooping  branches 
and  with  leaves  reduced  to  scales.  Bark  smoothish.  Twigs  wiry,  pale  green,  jointed  and 
grooved,  with  rings  J4  inch  apart  consisting  of  6  to  8  brownish  scale  leaves  ^ie  inch  long. 
Male  flowers  in  narrow  clusters  /a  inch  long  and  female  flowers  in  short  clusters  YQ  inch  in 
diameter.  Fruiting  cones  Yz  inch  in  diameter,  light  brown.  Native  of  tropical  Asia  and 
Australia.  Planted  in  subtropical  regions  of  Florida,  southern  Texas,  southern  Arizona, 
and  California.   Extensively  naturalized  in  southern  Florida.   Used  for  windbreaks  and 
planting  on  sand  dunes  as  well  as  a  street  tree  and  ornamental.  Rapidly  growing  and 
adapted  to  dry,  sandy,  alkaline,  and  saline  soils.  Zone  (9). 

2.  ATHEL  TAMARISK,  Tamarix  aphylla  (L.)  Karst.   (athel,  evergreen  athel,  evergreen 
tamarisk;  T.  articulata  Vahl).  Small  to  medium-sized  evergreen  tree  with  many  spreading 
branches  and  dense  rounded  crown.  Twigs  wiry,  gray  green,  jointed,  the  joints  composed 
of  scale  leaves  Vie  inch  long  each  circling  the  twig  and  ending  in  a  minute  point.  Flowers 
very  small,  pink,  less  than  M^  inch  long,  in  slender  branched  clusters  in  summer.  Fruit  a 
small  capsule.  Native  of  northeastern  Africa  and  western  Asia.  Planted  in  subtropical 
regions  in  southern  Texas,  southern  Arizona,  and  California.  Rapidly  growing  tree  used 
for  shade  and  windbreaks.  Drought-resistant  and  tolerant  of  alkaline  and  saline  soils. 
Zone  (9). 

3.  ITALIAN  CYPRESS,  Cupressus  sempervirens  L.  (Mediterranean  cypress) .  Tall,  medium- 
sized,  cone-bearing  evergreen  tree  (conifer)  with  erect  or  horizontal  branches  and  narrow, 
columnar  crown.  Bark  thin,  gray,  smooth  or  slightly  fissured.  Leaves  scalelike,  ^4  inch 
long,  blunt-pointed,  dark  green,  crowded  and  forming  4-angled  twigs.  Cones  1  inch  in 
diameter,  gray,  with  a  short  knob  or  point  on  each  scale.  Native  of  southern  Europe  and 
western  Asia.  The  classical  cypress  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  much  planted  in 
formal  gardens  in  southern  Europe.  Hardy  in  subtropical  and  warm  temperate  climates  in 
the  Pacific,  Gulf,  and  South  Atlantic  States.  Common  in  California.  Zone  (7). 

B.  Evergreens,  leaves  needlelike  (cone-bearing,  or  conifers),  Nos.  4  to  8. 

4.  CEDAR-OF-LEBANON,  Cedrus  libani  Loud.   (C.  libanotica  Link).  Large  cone-bearing 
evergreen  tree  with  irregular  spreading  crown  of  horizontal  branches.  Bark  dark  gray,  be- 
coming fissured  and  scaly.  Twigs  smooth  or  slightly  hairy.  Needles  many  in  cluster  on  short 
spur  branches  (or  single  on  leading  twigs),  3-angled,  short,  %  to  \1A  inches  long,  dark  or 
bright  green.  Cones  3  to  4  inches  long,  reddish  brown,  upright.  Native  of  Asia  Minor  and 
Syria.  Adapted  to  warm  temperate  and  subtropical  climates  in  Atlantic,  Gulf,  and  Pacific 
regions  but  not  hardy  in  far  North.  Beautiful  ornamental  tree  of  special  interest  because  of 
its  association  with  the  Bible  and  the  Holy  Land.  Zone  5. 

5.  DEODAR  CEDAR,  Cedrus  deodara  (Roxb.)  Loud.  (Deodar).  Large  cone-bearing  ever- 
green tree  with  regular  pyramidal  shape  and  graceful  drooping  branches  down  to  base. 
Bark  dark  gray,  becoming  fissured  and  scaly.  Twigs  densely  hairy.  Needles  many  in  cluster 
on  short  spur  branches  (or  single  on  leading  twigs),  3-angled,  short,  1  to  2  inches  long, 
dark  blue  green.  Cones  3  to  5  inches  long,  reddish  brown,  upright.  Native  of  Himalaya. 
Adapted  to  subtropical  climates  of  Gulf,  Mexican  border,  and  Pacific  regions  and  especially 
popular  in  California.  Zone  7. 

6.  SCOTCH  PINE,  Pinus  sylvestris  L.   (Scots  pine).  Large  cone-bearing  evergreen  tree 
with  irregular  crown,  spreading  branches,  and  blue  green  foliage.  Bark  reddish  brown,  on 
older  trunks  becoming  grayish  and  fissured  into  scaly  plates.  Needles  2  in  cluster,   1  l/t, 
to  3  inches  long,  blue  green,  usually  twisted.  Cones  1 J/2  to  2  /a  inches  long,  yellow  brown, 
with  minute  prickles.  Native  and  widely  distributed  across  Europe  and  northern  Asia  and 
one  of  the  most  important  timber  trees  of  Europe.  Hardy  across  the  United  States.  In  the 
Northeast  and  in  adjacent  Canada  extensively  planted  in  forestry  plantations,  shelterbelts, 
and  for  ornament,  and  spreading  and  becoming  naturalized.  However,  native  pines  are 
usually  superior  for  forestry  purposes.  Thrives  on  poorer,  sandy  soils  as  well  as  on  better 
loams.  Resistant  to  city  smoke.  Zone  2. 

7.  AUSTRIAN  PINE,  Pinus  nigra  Arnold  (P.  austriaca  Hoess,  P.  laricio  Poir.).  Medium- 
sized  to  large  pyramidal  cone-bearing  evergreen  tree  with  spreading  branches  and  dense, 
dark-green  foliage.  Bark  dark  gray,  fissured  into  irregular,  scaly  plates.  Needles  2  in  cluster, 
3/2  to  6  inches  long,  dark  green,  stiff.  Cones  2  to  3  inches  long,  yellow  brown,  shiny, 
usually  with  short  prickles.  Several  geographic  varieties  and  garden  forms  are  distinguished. 
Native  of  central  and  southern  Europe  and  Asia  Minor  and  a  valuable  timber  tree  there. 

1.  Horsetail  casuarina.  2.  Athel  tamarisk.  3.  Italian  cypress.  4.  Cedar-of-Lebanon. 
5.  Deodar  cedar.  6.  Scotch  pine.  7.  Austrian  pine.  8.  Norway  spruce.  9.  English 
holly.  10.  Cajeput-tree.  11.  Red-ironbark  eucalyptus.  12.  Longbeak  eucalyptus.  13. 
Tasmanian  blue  eucalyptus. 


Fifty  Trees  from  Foreign  Lands 


821 


822  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

Across  the  United  States  one  of  the  commoner  foreign  ornamental  trees.  ^  Used  also  in 
shelterbelts.  Hardy  in  East  extending  north  to  southern  New  England  and  in  west  except 
coldest,  hottest,  and  driest  regions.  Grows  in  sandy,  loam,  and  clay  soils.  Tolerant  of  city 
dust  and  smoke.  Zone  4. 

8.  NORWAY  SPRUCE,  Picea  abies  (L.)   Karst.   (P.  excelsa  Link).  Large  conical  cone- 
bearing  evergreen  tree  with  spreading  branches  and  drooping  twigs.  Bark  reddish  brown, 
scaly.  Needles  4-angled,  %  to  1  inch  long,  dark  green.  Cones  4  to  6  inches  long,  light  brown, 
with  thin,  slightly  pointed,  irregularly  toothed  scales.  There  are  numerous  horticultural 
forms.  Native  of  northern  and  central  Europe,  where  it  is  the  common  spruce  and  used  for 
paper  pulp  and  lumber.  Adapted  to  cool  moist  climates  of  northeastern  United  States, 
Rocky   Mountains,   and   Pacific   coast.    Widely  planted   for   ornament,   shelterbelts,    and 
forestry  plantations,  and  occasionally  escaping  from  cultivation.  Best  suited  to  well-drained 
loam  but  successful  on  most  other  soils.  Zone  2. 

G.  Broadleaf  evergreens    (subtropical,  except  No.   9),  leaves   not  divided  into  leaflets 
(simple),  Nos.  9  to  15. 

9.  ENGLISH   HOLLY,  Ilex  aquifolium  L.   Small  to  medium-sized  evergreen  tree  with 
short,  spreading  branches  and  dense  pyramidal  crown.  Leaves  oval,  \l/2  to  3  inches  long, 
stiff  and  leathery,  the  wavy  edges  with  large  spiny  teeth,  shiny  dark  green,  lighter  beneath. 
Flowers  male  and  female  on  different  trees,  white,  small,  less  than  j4-inch  long,  fragrant, 
in  late  spring.  Fruits   J4    to   %   inch  in  diameter,  berrylike,  bright  red,  shiny,   usually 
clustered,  remaining  on  tree  in  winter.  There  are  numerous  horticultural  forms.  Native 
from  western  and  southern  Europe  and  northern  Africa  to  western  Asia  and  China.  Planted 
in  Atlantic,  Southern,  and  Pacific  States  for  the  ornamental  evergreen  foliage  and  red 
fruits.  Zone  6. 

10.  CA]EPVT-TK.EE}  Melaleuca  leucadendron  (L.)  L.  (punk-tree,  bottlebrush).  Medium- 
sized  to  large,  slender  tree  with  drooping,  smooth  or  silky  twigs.  Bark  thick  and  spongy  or 
corky,  whitish,  peeling  off  in  many  thin  layers.  Leaves  evergreen,  narrowly  elliptical  or 
lance-shaped,  2  to  4  inches  long,  pointed  at  base  and  apex,  with  parallel  veins,  thick,  pale 
green  on  both   sides.   Flowers  creamy  white,   %   inch  long,  stalkless,  in  many-flowered 
clusters  2  to  4  inches  long,  suggesting  a  bottle-brush,  in  summer  and  fall.  Fruiting  capsules 
less  than   J4  inch  in  diameter,  the  clusters  remaining  on  the  tree.  Native  of  Australia. 
Subtropical  tree  planted  in  Florida,  where  it  has  become  naturalized,  and  in  southern 
California  and  southern  Texas.  Fast  growing  and  resistant  to  wind,  drought,  fires,  and 
salt  water.  Suitable  for  windbreaks  and  beach  planting  as  well  as  for  ornament  and  shade. 
The  bark  is  used  for  packing  fruits  and  for  roofs  and  boats,,  Cajeput  oil  of  medicine  is 
obtained  from  the  leaves.  Zone  (9). 

11.  RED-IRONBARK  EUCALYPTUS,  Eucalyptus  sideroxylon  Gunn.    (red  ironbark,  mulga 
ironbark  eucalyptus,  mugga).  Medium-sized  slender  evergreen  tree.  Bark  rough,  deeply 
furrowed,  blackish.  Leaves  lance-shaped,  3  to  6  inches  long,  often  curved,  gray  green  on 
both  sides.  Flowers  showy,  white  to  pink  to  red  in  different  varieties,  about  $4  inch  broad, 
numerous  in  clusters  in  winter  and  spring.  Fruiting  capsules  oval,  *4  to  %  inch  in  diameter. 
Native  of  Australia.  Subtropical  tree  planted  in  southern  California,  where  it  is  hardy, 
drought-resistant,  and  moderately  tolerant  of  alkali.  Zone  (9). 

12.  LONGBEAK  EUCALYPTUS,  Eucalyptus  camaldulensis  Dehnh.    (redgum;  E.  rostrata 
Schlecht.,  not  Cav. ) .  Tall  evergreen  tree  with  slender  symmetrical  crown  and  slender, 
slightly  drooping  branches.  Bark  dark  gray,  rough  and  furrowed  near  base,  smooth  and 
peeling  off  above.  Leaves  lance-shaped,  4  to  6  inches  long,  leathery,  long-pointed,  with 
smooth  edges,  green  on  both  sides.  Flowers  whitish,  94  inch  broad,  clustered.  Fruiting 
capsules  /4  inch  in  diameter.  Native  of  Australia.  Planted  in  subtropical  regions  of  Cali- 
fornia, southern  Arizona,  southern  Texas,  and  Florida.  One  of  the  hardiest  species  of 
eucalyptus  in  resistance  to  drought,  frost,  heat,  and  alkali.  Thrives  in  good  moist  soils. 
Zone  (9). 

13.  TASMANIAN  BLUE  EUCALYPTUS,  Eucalyptus  globulus  Labill.  (Tasmanian  bluegum, 
bluegum).  Very  tall  evergreen  tree  with  straight  trunk  and  narrow  crown.  Bark  peeling 
off  in  long  thin  strips,  becoming  smooth  and  grayish.  Leaves  lance-shaped,  slightly  curved, 
6  to  12  inches  long,  leathery,  long-pointed,  with  smooth  edges,  green  on  both  sides,  aro- 
matic; leaves  of  young  plants  and  young  shoots  paired,  stalkless,  broad  and  oval,  bluish, 
covered  with  a  bloom.  Flowers  whitish,  1 1/2  inches  broad,  scattered,  in  winter  and  spring. 
Fruiting  capsules  4-angled,  $4  to  1  inch  broad,  warty,  bluish  white.  Native  of  Tasmania. 
Subtropical  species,  the  most  commonly  cultivated  eucalyptus  in  the  world.  Common  in 
California,  where  it  grows  very  rapidly.  Used  also  for  plantations  and  windbreaks.  Adapted 
to  a  wide  range  of  conditions  and  alkali-tolerant  but  thrives  in  good,  moist  soil.  Objec- 
tionable because  the  roots  penetrate  defective  sewers.  Zone  (9). 

14.  CAMPHOR-TREE,  Cinnamomum  camphora  (L.)  Nees  &  Eberm.  (Camphor  a  camphor  a 
(L.)   Karst.).  Small  to  medium-sized  evergreen  tree  with  enlarged  base  and  dense  oval 
crown.  Leaves  long-stalked,  elliptical,  2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  with  2  or  more 


Fifty  Trees  from  Foreign  Lands  823 

prominent  side  veins,  pinkish  when  young,  shiny  green  above  and  grayish  white  beneath, 
with  odor  of  camphor  when  crushed.  Flowers  yellowish,  small,  YQ  inch  long,  in  clusters 

2  to  3  inches  long.  Fruit  a  berry  $/&  inch  in  diameter,  black,  1-seeded.  Native  of  tropical 
Asia  and  Malaya  to  China  and  Japan.  In  the  United  States  extensively  planted  as  an 
ornamental  in  subtropical  and  warm  temperate  regions  in  Florida,  along  the  Gulf,  and 
in  southern  California.  Also  escaped  from  cultivation  in  the  South.  Alkali-tolerant.  Camphor 
is  obtained  from  the  wood  and  leaves.  Zone  9. 

15.  INDIA-RUBBER  FIG,  Ficus  elastica  Nois.    (India  rubber-plant,  Indian  rubber- tree ). 
Large,  much  branched  evergreen  tree  with  enlarged  or  buttressed  base,  broad  crown,  and 
milky  juice.  Leaves  large,  oblong  or  elliptical,  4  to  1 2  inches  long,  short-pointed,  leathery, 
smooth,  shiny  green,  lighter  beneath.  Fruits  paired,  stalkless,  oblong,  l/2  inch  long,  greenish 
yellow.  Native  of  tropical  Asia.  Cultivated  and  naturalized  in  subtropical  Florida  and 
planted  also  in  southern  California.  This  is  the  familiar  rubber-plant  grown  indoors  in 
the  North.  The  milky  latex  has  been  used  as  a  source  of  rubber.  Zone  10. 

D.  Broadleaf  evergreens    (subtropical),  leaves   divided  into  leaflets    (compound),  Nos. 

16  to  19. 

16.  PEPPERTREE,  Schinus  molle  L.  (California  peppertree,  Peruvian  mastic-tree,  Peru- 
vian peppertree).  Medium-sized  spreading  evergreen  tree  with  rounded  crown,  graceful 
drooping  branches,  and  fine  foliage.  Leaves  compound,  6  to   12  inches  long,  drooping, 
with  milky  juice.  Leaflets  about  20  to  40,  narrowly  lance-shaped,   1   to  2  inches  long, 
short-pointed,  with  edges  smooth  or  slightly  toothed,   light   green.   Flowers   male   and 
female  on  different  trees,  yellowish  white,  small,  YQ  inch  long,  numerous  in  clusters  4  to  6 
inches  long.  Fruits  many,  beadlike,  %6  inch  in  diameter,  reddish,  remaining  on  tree  in 
winter.  Native  of  Peru.  Subtropical  tree  extensively  planted  in  California,  where  it  has 
become  naturalized,  and  in  southern  Arizona.  Adapted  to  a  wide  range  of  soils,  alkali- 
tolerant,  and  drought-resistant.  Subject  to  black  scale  and  root  rot.  Zone   (9). 

17.  SILK-OAK,  Grevillea  robusta  A.  Cunn.  (silk-oak  grevillea,  Australian-ferntree) .  Large, 
graceful  tree  with  many  branches  and  evergreen  fernlike  foliage.  Leaves  4  to  12  inches 
long,  twice  divided  or  very  deeply  lobed  into  narrow,  pointed  divisions  with  edges  rolled 
under,  deep  green  above  and  white  silky  beneath.  Flowers  orange  or  yellow,   *4   inch 
long,  long-stalked,  in  clusters  3  to  5  inches  long,  numerous  on  the  trunk  and  main  branches 
in  spring  and  early  summer.  Pods  34  inch  long,  broad,  curved,  black,   1-  or  2-seeded. 
Native  of  Australia.  Planted  in  subtropical  regions  of  Florida,  southern  Texas,  southern 
Arizona,  and  California  and  indoors  northward  as  a  fernlike  ornamental  potted  plant. 
Naturalized   in   southern   Florida.   Drought-resistant.   The  brittle  branches  break  easily. 
Zone  (9). 

18.  CAROB,  Ceratonia  siliqua  L.    (St.  Johns-bread,  algarroba).  Small  to  medium-sized 
spreading  evergreen  tree.  Bark  dark,  reddish  brown.  Leaves  compound,  4  to  8  inches 
long,  with  4  to  8  oval  leaflets  1  to  2  inches  long,  rounded,  shiny  dark  green  above,  paler 
beneath.  Flowers  male  and  female,  small,  red,  in  clusters  1  to  2  inches  long.  Pods  large, 
4  to  12  inches  long,  thick  and  flattened,  leathery,  dark  brown,  with  sugary  edible  pulp, 
used  for  forage  and  human  food.  Native  probably  of  Asia  Minor  and  Syria  but  long  cul- 
tivated in  the  Mediterranean  Basin  and  elsewhere  as  a  forage  crop  for  the  edible  pods. 
In  the  United  States  limited  to  subtropical  regions  of  Florida,  southern  Texas,  southern 
Arizona,  and  California.  Grown  both  as  a  shade  tree  and  for  forage.  Adapted  to  hot 
dry  climates  and  to  a  variety  of  soils  including  alkali,  thriving  in  heavy  soils.  The  name 
St.  Johns-bread  is  from  the  mistaken  belief  that  the  seeds  and  sugary  pulp  were  the 
locusts  and  wild  honey  which  St.  John  the  Baptist  found  in  the  wilderness.  The  pods 
were  the  "husks"  in  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son.  Zone  (9). 

19.  GREEN  WATTLE  ACACIA,  Acacia  decurrens  Willd.    (green  wattle;  blackgreen-wattle 
acacia,  or  black  wattle,   and   silvergreen-wattle   acacia,   or  silver  wattle,   are  varieties). 
Small  to  medium-sized  evergreen  tree  with  rounded  crown.  Leaves  finely  divided,  twice 
compound,  3  to  6  inches  long,  with  15  to  30  feathery  forks,  each  with  30  to  80  very  narrow 
leaflets    Y&    to   ty&   inch  long,   grayish   green   or   dark   green.   Flowers   crowded   in   many 
yellow  balls  Y*  inch  in  diameter  in  spring.  Pods  2  to  4  inches  long  and   *4  inch  wide, 
reddish.  Native  of  Australia.  Subtropical  tree  extensively  planted  in  California.  Adapted 
to  a  wide  range  of  soils.  Zone  (9). 

E.  Deciduous,  leaves  fan-shaped,  mostly  clustered  on  short  spur  branches,  No.  20. 

20.  GINKGO,  Ginkgo  biloba  L.    (maidenhair-tree).  Medium-sized  to  tall  resinous  tree 
with  few  branches  and  conical  crown.  Bark  gray,  irregularly  fissured  or  furrowed.  Leaves 

3  to  5  in  a  cluster  on  short  spur  branches  or  single,  with  leafstalks  1  to  2  inches  long.  Leaf 
blades  oddly  fan-shaped,  1   to  2  inches  long  and   1 1/2  to  3  inches  broad,  often  2-lobed, 
with  parallel  veins,  leathery,  bright  to  dull  green,  turning  yellow  and  shedding  in  fall. 
Pollen  and  seeds  on  different  trees.  Seeds  single  or  paired,  stalked,  plumlike,  1  inch  long, 


824  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

yellowish,  with  an  ill-smelling  thin  outer  coat  and  large  edible  nut.  Ginkgo  is  a  living 
fossil  from  China  related  to  conifers  and  the  sole  survivor  of  its  family,  not  found  wild 
but  long  perpetuated  in  cultivation  in  China  and  Japan  around  temples.  Adapted  to 
moist  temperate  regions  in  eastern  United  States  and  Pacific  coast.  Especially  suited  as 
a  street  tree  because  it  is  resistant  to  smoke,  dust,  wind,  and  ice,  and  free  from  insect 
injury.  Male  trees  are  preferred,  because  of  the  disagreeable  fruits  of  the  female.  Zone  4. 

F.  Deciduous,  leaves  paired  (opposite),  not  divided  into  leaflets  (simple),  Nos.  21-23. 

21.  ROYAL  PAULOWNIA,  Paulownio,  tomentosa   (Thunb.)   Steud.    (paulownia,  princess- 
tree).   Small   to  medium-sized,   widely  spreading   tree   with   stout  branches.   Bark   gray 
brown  with  shallow  fissures.  Leaves  paired,  resembling  those  of  catalpa,  with  leafstalks 
3  to  8  inches  long  and  large  heart-shaped  leaf  blades  5  to  16  inches  long,  with  edges 
smooth  or  slightly  3-lobed,  light  green,  slightly  hairy  above  and  densely  hairy  beneath. 
Flowers  large   and  very  showy,  violet,   about   2   inches  long,  fragrant,   borne  in   dense 
upright  clusters  6  to  10  inches  long  in  spring  before  the  leaves  appear.  Fruiting  capsules 
egg-shaped,  pointed,  1  to  1/a  inches  long,  brown,  remaining  on  tree  in  winter.  Native 
of  China.   Planted  as  an  ornamental  for  the  showy  violet  flowers  and  large  leaves  in 
eastern  United  States  north  to  New  York  but  not  hardy  where  the  winters  are  ^severe. 
Grown  also  in  Pacific  States.  Thrives  in  rich  moist  soil  and  naturalized   as  a  "weed" 
tree  in  waste  places  in  Eastern  States.  Zone  (5). 

22.  NORWAY  MAPLE,  Acer  platanoides  L.    (Schwedler  maple  is  a  variety).  Medium- 
sized  to  large  spreading  tree  with  rounded  symmetrical  crown  of  dense  foliage.  Bark 
dark,  with  narrow  ridges  and  furrows.  Leafstalks  about  3  inches  long,  with  milky  juice. 
Leaves  paired,  heart-shaped,  3  to  7  inches  in  diameter,  5-lobed,  with  few  pointed  teeth, 
smooth,  bright  green,  turning  yellow  in  fall.  Flowers  yellowish  green,  abundant  in  many- 
flowered  clusters  in  spring  before  the  leaves  develop.   Key  fruits  paired,  long-winged, 
1/2   to   2   inches  long,  spreading  horizontally.   Native   across   Europe  from  Norway  to 
Caucasus.  Widely  planted  in  eastern  United  States  and  in  Pacific  and  Rocky  Mountain 
regions.  Fast  growing,  tolerant  of  city  smoke  and  dust,  and  relatively  free  from  insect 
pests  and  diseases.  The  popular  variety  Schwedler  maple  has  bright  red  leaves  when 
young,  changing  to  dark  green.  Zone  3. 

23.  PLANETREE  MAPLE,  Acer  pseudoplatanus  L.   (sycamore  maple,  "sycamore"  in  Eu- 
rope )  .  Large  spreading  tree  with  rounded  crown.  Bark  with  broad  flaky  scales.  Leaf- 
stalks 3  to  4  inches  long.  Leaves  paired,  heart-shaped  at  base,  3  to  6  inches  in  diameter, 
5-lobed  with  the  lobes  pointed  and  coarsely  toothed,  dark  green  above,  pale  and  smooth 
or  slightly  hairy  beneath.  Flowers  yellowish  green,  distinctive,  hanging  in  long,  narrow 
clusters  3  to  7  inches  long  in  spring.  Key  fruits  paired,  long-winged,  1  1A  to  2  inches  long. 
Native  of  Europe  and  western  Asia,  where  it  is  an  important  timber  and  shade  tree. 
Planted  as  a  shade  tree  in  Pacific  States  and  in  Eastern  States  except  coldest  regions, 
but  not  as  hardy  as  Norway  maple.  Rapidly  growing  and  suited  to  exposed  situations. 
Zone  5. 

G.  Deciduous,  leaves  paired  (opposite),  divided  into  leaflets  (compound),  Nos.  24  and  25. 

24.  AMUR  CORKTREE,  Phellodendron  amurense  Rupr.  Large,  aromatic  tree  with  low, 
spreading  branches  and  rounded  crown.  Bark  light  gray,  corky,  deeply  fissured,  conspicuous 
in  winter.  Twigs  yellowish  gray.  Leaves  paired,  compound,  6  to  12  inches  long.  Leaflets 
5  to  13,  oval,  2  to  4  inches  long,  long-pointed,  with  minute  dots,  shiny  dark  green  above, 
light  green  and  smooth  or  hairy  beneath,  turning  yellow  in  fall.  Flowers  small,  yellowish 
green,  l/4  inch  long,  in  clusters  2  to  8  inches  long  in  early  summer.  Fruit  YB  inch  in  diameter, 
black,   5-seeded,  ornamental,   with  odor  of  turpentine.   Native  of  northern   China   and 
Manchuria.  Hardy  in  most  temperate  regions  of  United  States.  Tolerant  of  city  conditions 
and  relatively  free  from  insects  and  disease.  Zone  3. 

25.  HORSECHESTNUT,  Aesculus  hippocastanum  L.   (common  horsechestnut).  Medium- 
sized  to  large  spreading  tree  with  rounded  crown.  Bark  brownish,  thin,  fissured  and  scaly. 
Leaves  paired,  compound,  with  leafstalks  3  to  7  inches  long.  Leaflets  5  to  7,  spreading 
nngerlike   (palmate),  elliptical,  4  to  10  inches  long,  wedge-shaped  at  base  and  broader 
toward  the  abrupt  point,  toothed,  dark  green  above,  paler  beneath.  Flowers  white  with 
red  spots,  about  $4  inch  long,  in  large  showy  upright  clusters.  Fruiting  capsule  2  to  21/? 
inches  in  diameter,  spiny,  with  1  or  2  large  inedible  seeds.  Native  of  Balkan  Peninsula. 
Widely  planted  across  the  United  States  and  escaped  from  cultivation  in  the  Northeast. 
The  showy  flowers  and  large  palmate  leaves  have  made  this  species  a  popular  ornamental 


14.  Camphor-tree.  15.  India-rubber  fig.  16.  Peppertree.  17.  Silk-oak.  18.  Carob. 
19.  Greenwattle  acacia.  20.  Ginkgo.  21.  Royal  paulownia.  22.  Norway  maple.  23. 
Planetree  maple. 


Fifty  Trees  from  Foreign  Lands 


825 


826  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

and  shade  tree.  Tolerant  of  city  smoke  but  subject  to  insect  attacks  and  disease.  Zone  3. 
H.  Deciduous,  leaves  borne  singly   (alternate),  divided  into  leaflets    (compound),  Nos. 
26  to  32. 

26.  CHINESE  SCHOLARTREE,  Sophora  japonica  L.    (Japanese  pagoda-tree).  Medium- 
sized  tree  with  spreading  branches  and  dense  rounded  crown.  Bark  gray,  fissured.  Twigs 
dark  green,  smooth  or  nearly  so.  Leaves  6  to  10  inches  long,  compound.  Leaflets  7  to  17, 
narrowly  oval,   1   to  2  inches  long,  short-pointed,  with  smooth  edges,  shiny  dark  green 
above,  pale  and  finely  hairy  beneath.  Flowers  yellowish  white,  T/2  inch  long,  beanlike,  in 
loose  showy  clusters  6  to  1 2  inches  long  in  late  summer.  Pods  2  to  3  inches  long  and  YQ  inch 
in  diameter,  narrowed  between  the  seeds.  Native  of  China  and  Korea  and  cultivated  around 
temples  in  Japan.  Planted  in  the  southern  half  of  the  United  States  and  hardy  north  to 
New  York.  Especially  suitable  as  a  street  tree  because  of  its  tolerance  of  city  fumes,  but 
slow  growing.  Relatively  free  from  insect  pests  and  diseases.  Zone  4. 

27.  PERSIAN  WALNUT,  Juglans  regia  L.    (English  walnut).   Medium-sized  tree  with 
spreading  branches  and  rounded  crown.  Bark  smooth,  silvery  gray.  Compound  leaves  8  to 
16  inches  long.  Leaflets  usually  5  to  9,  oblong,  2  to  5  inches  long,  pointed,  with  edges 
usually  smooth,  bright  green,  nearly  smooth.  Male  flowers  in  narrow  clusters  2  to  4  inches 
long.  Nuts  1  j/2  inches  in  diameter  including  the  green  husk,  thin-shelled,  sweet  and  edible, 
known  as  English  walnuts.  Native  from  southeastern  Europe  to  Himalaya  and  China. 
Planted  as  a  nut  tree  in  warmer  parts  of  United  States,  especially  in  the  Pacific  States  and 
also  in  Southeastern  States.  Useful  also  as  a  shade  tree.  Zone  (5). 

28.  AILANTHUS,  Ailanthus  altissima   (Mill.)    Swingle    ( tree-of-Heaven  ailanthus,  tree- 
of-Heaven;  A.  glandulosa  Desf.) .  Medium-sized,  coarsely  branched  tree  with  smooth,  striped 
bark.  Leaves  large,  compound,  1 /a  to  2/2  feet  long,  with  13  to  25  leaflets,  short-stalked 
and  mostly  paired,  broadly  lance-shaped,  3  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  with  2  to  4 
teeth  near  base,  each  tooth  with  a  gland  beneath.  Flowers  small,  greenish,  }4  inch  long, 
in  large  clusters  6  to  10  inches  long  in  summer,  the  male  flowers  with  disageeable  odor. 
Fruits  winged,  1  /a  inches  long,  reddish  brown,  showy  in  fall.  Native  of  China  but  widely 
planted  and  naturalized  as  a  "weed"  tree  in  waste  places  in  eastern  United  States,  southern 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  Pacific  States.  Rapid  growing,  with  handsome  coarse  foliage.  Not 
among  the  more  desirable  trees  but  successful  in  crowded  city  and  smoky  factory  districts 
where  most  other  kinds  will  not  thrive.  Planted  also  in  shelterbelts.  Objectionable  about 
drains,  springs,  and  wells,  as  the  roots  get  into  drains  and  both  roots  and  leaves  are 
poisonous.  Grows  on  a  variety  of  soils  from  sand  to  clay  and  spreads  rapidly  by  suckers. 
Only  seed-bearing  plants  should  be  propagated,  because  of  the  ill-scented  male  flowers. 
Zone  4. 

29.  PANICLED  GOLDENRAIN-TREE,  Koelreuteria  paniculata  Laxm.  (China-tree,  pride-of- 
India,  varnish-tree ) .   Small,  sparingly  branched  tree  with  rounded  open  crown.  Leaves 
once  or  twice  compound,  6  to  15  inches  long.  Leaflets  7  to  15,  oval,  1  to  3  inches  long,, 
coarsely  and  irregularly  toothed,  dark  green  and  smooth  above,  paler  and  slightly  hairy 
beneath.  Flowers  bright  yellow,  small,  /a  inch  long,  in  broad,  showy  clusters  8  to  14  inches 
long  in  summer.  Pods  showy,  bladderlike,  egg-shaped,  1  ^2  to  2  inches  long,  pointed,  with 
papery  walls,  brown.  Native  of  China,  Korea,  and  Japan.  Planted  in  Atlantic,  southern, 
central,  Rocky  Mountain,  and  Pacific  regions  of  the  United  States  but  not  hardy  in  the 
colder   regions.    Drought-resistant,   relatively   free   from   insect   pests    and    diseases,    and 
tolerant  of  alkali.  Zone  5. 

30.  CHINABERRY,  Melia  azedarach  L.   (chinatree,  pride-of-China;  umbrella  chinaberry 
or  umbrella-tree  is  a  variety).  Small  tree  with  spreading,  hemispherical  crown  or,  in  the 
umbrella  chinaberry,  with  crowded  branches  forming  a  dense,  flattened  crown  like  an 
umbrella.  Bark  furrowed.  Leaves  large,  twice  compound,  1  to  2  feet  long.  Leaflets  many, 
oval,  1  to  3  inches  long,  sharp-pointed,  toothed  or  lobed,  bright  green,  smooth.  Flowers 
purplish,  YQ  inch  across,  fragrant,  in  open  clusters  4  to  8  inches  long  in  spring.  Fruit  y&  inch 
in  diameter,  yellow,  1 -seeded.  Native  of  Himalaya,  Planted  for  shade  and  ornament  in 
southern  United  States  north  to  Virginia  and  west  to  California.  Naturalized  in  the  South- 
east. Rapidly  growing  but  short-lived.  Zone  7. 

31.  SILKTREE,    Albizia   julibrissin    Durazz.    (silktree    albizia,    "mimosa,"    powder-puff- 
tree  ) .  Small,  widely  branched  tree  with  spreading,  flattened  crown.  Bark  blackish,  nearly 
smooth.  Leaves  twice  compound,  finely  divided  and  fernlike  or  feathery,  6  to  15  inches 
long,  with  10  to  24  forks,  each  with  30  to  60  small,  oblong,  pointed,  pale-green  leaflets 
YQ  inch  long.  Flowers  pink  and  showy,  crowded  in  ball-like  clusters   1   to  2  inches  in 
diameter  in  summer.  Pods  4  to  6  inches  long,  flat,  green  to  brown.  Native  from  Persia  to 
China.  Widely  cultivated  and  escaped  from  cultivation  in  the  Gulf  and  Atlantic  States 
and  planted  also  in  Pacific  States.  As  the  hardiest  of  a  group  of  tropical  and  subtropical 
leguminous  trees,  this  ornamental  is  reminiscent  of  warmer  regions.  Zone  7   (5). 

-» 

24.  Amur  corktree.     25.  Horsechestnut.     26.  Chinese  scholartree.     27.  Persian  walnut. 
28.  Ailanthus. 


Fifty  Trees  from  Foreign  Lands 


28 


828  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

32.  FLAMBOYANT-TREE,  Delonix  regla   (Bojer)   Raf.    (royal  poinciana,  peacock-flower; 
Poinciana  regia  Bojer).  Small  tree  with  broad,  widely  spreading  top,  nearly  evergreen  but 
leafless  for  a  time  in  spring.  Leaves  finely  divided,  twice  compound,  1  to  2  feet  long,  with 
20  to  50  feathery  forks,  each  with  30  to  70  oval  leaflets  l/\  to  /2  inch  long,  dark  green. 
Flowers  large  and  very  showy,  3  to  4  inches  across,  bright  scarlet,  in  large  clusters  in 
spring  and  summer.  Pods  large,  1  to  1  l/z  feet  long,  flat,  dark  brown.  Native  of  Madagascar. 
A  brilliantly  flowered  tropical  ornamental  very  popular  in  Florida,  where  it  is  naturalized. 
Planted  also  southern  Texas  and  southern  California.  Zone  10. 

I.  Deciduous,  leaves  borne   singly    (alternate),   not  divided   into   leaflets    (simple),   leaf 
edges  smooth,  Nos.  33  and  34. 

33.  TALLOWTREE,  Sapium  sebiferum  (L. )  Roxb.  (Chinese  tallowtree;  Triadica  sebifera 
(L. )   Small).  Small  spreading  tree  with  poisonous  milky  juice.  Leafstalks  1  to  2  inches 
long.  Leaf  blades  broadly  oval  or  nearly  round,  1  l/z  to  3  inches  long,  long-pointed,  with 
smooth  edges,  light  green,  turning  red  or  yellow  in  fall.  Male  and  female  flowers  small, 
greenish,  in  dense  clusters  2  to  4  inches  long.  Fruiting  capsules  l/2  inch  in  diameter,  with 
3  white,  oval,  waxy  seeds  remaining  attached.  Native  of  China,  where  candles  are  made 
from  the  waxy  seed  coats.  Cultivated  and  naturalized  in  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
States.  Zone  7. 

34.  RUSSIAN-OLIVE,  Elaeagnus  angustifolia  L.    (oleaster).  Small  tree  or  shrub,  some- 
times spiny,  with  irregular  crown  and  silvery  twigs  and  foliage.  Leaves  lance-shaped,  1  /a 
to  3  inches  long,  blunt-pointed,  with  smooth  margins,  grayish  green  above,  silvery  scaly 
beneath.   Flowers  silvery  and  pale  yellow,  small,    %   inch  long,  fragrant,  in   spring  or 
summer.  Fruits  oval,  3/8  inch  long,  yellow  with  silvery  scales,  sweet  and  mealy,  1 -seeded. 
Native  from  southern  Europe  to  western  and  central  Asia.  Planted  as  an  ornamental  for 
its  handsome  silvery  foliage  and  fragrant  flowers  nearly  throughout  temperate  United 
States  and  occasionally  escapes  from  cultivation.  Hardy  in  the  far  North  and  especially 
adapted  to  drier  regions,  such  as  Great  Plains  and  Rocky  Mountains.  Extensively  used  in 
shelterbelts.  Drought-resistant,  tolerant  of  city  smoke,  and  suited  to  a  wide  range  of  soils 
from  moist  to  sandy  and  alkaline.  Zone  2. 

J.  Deciduous,  leaves  borne  singly    (alternate),   not  divided  into  leaflets    (simple),  leaf 
edges  toothed  but  not  lobed,  Nos.  35  to  44. 

35.  EUROPEAN   BEECH,  Fagus  sylvatica  L.    (purple,  cutleaf,   and   weeping  European 
beech  are  horticultural  varieties).  Medium-sized  to  large  tree  with  symmetrical  oval  crown 
and  dense  foliage.  Bark  smooth,  gray.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  2  to  4  inches  long,  short-pointed, 
minutely  toothed,  hairy  when  young,  shiny  dark  green  above  and  light  green  beneath, 
turning  reddish  brown  in  fall.  Flowers  male  and  female,  small,  in  early  spring.  Fruit  a  spiny 
bur  1  inch  long,  with  2  or  3  triangular  edible  seeds  ^4  inch  long  known  as  beechnuts. 
Native  from  central  and  southern  Europe  to  Crimea,  an  important  hardwood  forming 
extensive  forests.  Planted  in  northeastern  United  States  and  in  Pacific  States.  Zone  4. 

36.  EUROPEAN  LINDEN,  XTilia  europaea  L.  (common  linden;  T.  cordataXplatyphyllos, 
T.  vulgaris  Hayne) .  Large  tree  with  dense  pyramidal  crown.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  heart-shaped, 
2  to  4  inches  long,  short-pointed,  the  2  sides  unequal  at  base,  sharply  toothed,  dark  green 
above,  bright  green  beneath  with  tufts  of  hairs  in  angles  of  main  veins.  Flowers  pale  yellow, 
l/4  inch  long,  in  clusters  on  a  strap-shaped  greenish  stalk  in  summer.  Fruits  nutlike,  l/4 
inch  in  diameter.  A  hybrid  of  two  European  species,  littleleaf  linden  and  bigleaf  linden. 
In  the  United  States  adapted  to  moist  temperate  regions,  especially  in  the  Northeast  and 
Pacific  Northwest,  as  a  shade  tree  tolerant  of  city  conditions.  The  flowers  are  a  good 
source  of  honey.  Zone  3. 

37.  SILVER  LINDEN,  Tilut  tomentosa  Moench   (white  linden).  Large  tree  with  upright 
branches  and  dense  broad  pyramidal  crown.  Twigs  white  hairy.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  heart- 
shaped  and  rounded,  2  to  5  inches  long,  long-pointed,  sharply  toothed,  dark  green  and 
slightly  hairy  above  when  young,  beneath  silvery  white  with  a  coat  of  woolly  hairs.  Flowers 
pale  yellow,  %  inch  long,  fragrant,  in  clusters  on  a  strap-shaped  greenish  stalk  in  summer. 
Fruits  nutlike,  YQ  inch  long,  oval,  minutely  warty  and  slightly  5-angled.  Native  of  south- 
eastern Europe  and  western  Asia.  In  the  United  States  suited  to  moist  temperate  regions, 
especially  in  the  East,  but  planted  also  west  to  the  Pacific  States.  Tolerant  of  city  conditions 
and  resistant  to  heat  and  drought.  Zone  4. 

38.  ENGLISH  ELM,  Ulmus  procera  Salisb.  ("C7.  campestris"  of  authors  in  part).  Large 
tree  with  straight  trunk,  spreading  and  nearly  horizontal  branches,  and  oval  crown.  Bark 
deeply  fissured.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  elliptical,  2  to  3  inches  long,  short-pointed,  the  2  sides 
unequal,  doubly  toothed,  dark  green  and  rough  above,  soft-hairy  beneath.  Flowers  small, 

-> 

29.  Panicled  goldenrain-tree.  30.  Chinaberry.  31.  Silktree.  32.  Flamboyant-tree.  33. 
Tallowtree.  34.  Russian-olive.  35.  European  beech.  36.  European  linden.  37.  Sil- 
ver linden. 


Fifty  Trees  from  Foreign  Lands 


829 


37V 


830  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

greenish,  in  clusters  in  early  spring.  Fruits  flattened,  */2  inch  in  diameter.  Native  of  western 
and  southern  Europe.  In  the  United  States  planted  in  moist  temperate  regions  of  Pacific 
and  Eastern  States.  Tolerant  of  city  smoke  but  produces  undesirable  root  sprouts.  Subject 
to  Dutch  elm  disease  and  attacked  by  elm  leaf  beetle.  Zone  5. 

39.  SIBERIAN  ELM,  Ulmus  pumila  L.  (Asiatic  elm,  Pekin  elm,  dwarf  elm,  dwarf  Asiatic 
elm;  erroneously  called  Chinese  elm,  which  is   U.  parvifolia  Jacq.,  No.  40).   Small  to 
medium-sized  tree  with  rounded  crown  and  rough  bark.  Twigs  hairy  when  young.  Leaves 
in  2  rows,  narrowly  elliptical,  small,  %  to  2  inches  long,  short-pointed,  the  two  sides  almost 
equal,  toothed,  thick,  smooth  and  dark  green  above,  becoming  smooth  beneath.  Flowers 
small,  greenish,  in  clusters  in  early  spring.  Fruits  flattened,  l/z  inch  in  diameter.  Native 
from  Turkestan  to  eastern  Siberia  and  northern  China.  Widely  grown  in  central  and 
western  United  States  for  shade  and  shelterbelts.   Hardy  in  dry  regions  and   drought- 
resistant,  tolerates  city  smoke  and  poor  soils,  and  grows  rapidly.  Subject  to  cotton  root 
rot  and  canker  disease.  Zone  4. 

40.  CHINESE  ELM,  Ulmus  parvifolia  Jacq.  Small  tree  with  broad  rounded  crown  and 
spreading1  branches,  shedding  leaves  in  fall  or  half-evergreen  in  warm  climates.   Bark 
smooth  or  rough.  Twigs  hairy.  Leaves  in  2  rows,  elliptical,  small,  %  to  2  inches  long, 
short-pointed,  the  two  sides  slightly  unequal,  toothed,  thick  and  leathery,  smooth  and 
shiny  dark  green  above,  paler  and  becoming  nearly  smooth  beneath,  turning  to  red  or 
purple  or  remaining  green  into  winter  in  warm  climates.   Flowers  small,   greenish,   in 
clusters  in  fall.  Fruits  elliptical,  %  inch  long,  flattened.  Native  of  northern  and  central 
China,  Korea,  and  Japan.  Planted  especially  in  Gulf  and  Pacific  States  but  hardy  north- 
ward in  the  East.  Used  also  for  shelterbelts.  Zone  5. 

41.  WHITE  WILLOW,  Salix  alba  L.   Medium-sized  tree  with  spreading  branches  and 
whitish  foliage.  Leaves  lance-shaped,   2  to  4  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed, 
whitish  and  silky  beneath.  Male  and  female  flowers  on  different  trees  in  early  spring, 
minute,  many  in  clusters  2  inches  long.  Capsules  with  cottony  seeds.  Native  from  Europe 
and  northern  Africa  to  central  Asia.  Grown  for  ornament  in  moist  temperate  regions  of 
the  United  States  and  adjacent  Canada,  where  it  has  become  naturalized.  A  commonly 
planted  variety  or  hybrid  of  this  species  with  yellow  branches  (yellowstem  white  willow, 
golden  willow;  var.  vitellina  (L.)  Stokes)  is  one  of  the  basket  willows.  Both  the  typical 
form  and  this  variety  have  been  used  in  shelterbelts  in  the  North.  Zone  2. 

42.  WEEPING    WILLOW,    Salix    babylonica    L.     (Babylon    weeping    willow).    Small    to 
medium-sized  tree  with  long,  slender,  drooping  branches.  Bark  gray,  rough  and  fissured. 
Leaves  narrowly  lance-shaped,  2  to  6  inches  long,  long-pointed,  finely  toothed,  dark  green 
above  and  paler  beneath,  smooth.  Male  and  female  flowers  on  different  trees  in  early 
spring,  minute,  many  in  clusters  ^4  to  1 1/2  inches  long.  Capsules  with  cottony  seeds.  Native 
of  China.  Long  planted  for  its  weeping  foliage  as  a  lawn  and  landscape  tree  in  eastern 
United  States,  where  it  has  become  naturalized.  Grown  also  in  Western  States.  Adapted 
to  moist  soil  and  tolerant  of  city  smoke.  Zone  (5) . 

43.  LOMBARDY  POPLAR,  Populus  ntgra  L.  (black  poplar  is  the  typical  variety;  Lombardy 
poplar  is  a  hybrid  clone  known  as  var.  italica  Muenchh. ) .  Medium-sized  to  tall  columnar 
tree  with   narrow  crown  of  upright  branches.   Bark  gray,  furrowed.   Leafstalks    1    to   2 
inches  long,  slender,  flattened.  Leaf  blades  wedge-shaped  or  triangular,  1  l/z  to  3  inches 
long,  long-pointed,  the  edges  with  curved  teeth,  smooth  or  slightly  hairy.  The  trees  are 
male  only  and  do  not  produce  seeds,  the  male  flowers  many  in  clusters  2  inches  long. 
Black  poplar  is  native  of  Europe  and  western  Asia.  Lombardy  poplar,  distinguished  by 
its   columnar   crown,   is   widely   cultivated    almost    throughout    the    United    States    and 
spreads  by  root-sprouts.   Grown  especially  in  rows  for  shelterbelts,  roadside  trees,  and 
formal  effects.  Short-lived  and  subject  to  European  canker  disease.  Zone  2. 

44.  CAROLINA    POPLAR,     XPopulus    eugenei    Simon-Louis    (P.    deltoidesXnigra    var. 
italica,,   XP.   canadensis  Moench  var.  eugenei   (Simon-Louis)    Schelle).  Large  tree  with 
rounded,  spreading  crown.  Bark  gray,  furrowed.  Leafstalks  1  to  2  inches  long,  flattened. 
Leaf  blades  triangular,  3  to  4  inches  long,  long-pointed,  the  edges  with  curved  teeth, 
shiny  green  and  smooth  on  both  sides.  The  trees  are  male  only  and  not  producing  seeds, 
the  male  flowers  many  in  clusters  3  inches  long  in  early  spring.  A  hybrid  clone  which 
probably  originated  in  Europe.  Extensively  planted  across  the  United  States  and  spreads 
from  cultivation  by  root-sprouts.  Tolerant  of  city  smoke  and  dust  and  quick  growing, 
but  not  recommended  for  city  planting  because  the  roots  penetrate  sewers.  Zone  4. 


38.  English  elm.  39.  Siberian  elm.  40.  Chinese  elm.  41.  White  willow.  42.  Weep- 
ing willow.  43.  Lombardy  poplar.  44.  Carolina  poplar.  45.  White  poplar.  46. 
European  white  birch.  47.  White  mulberry.  48.  London  planetree.  49.  Chinese 
parasoltree.  50.  English  oak. 


Fifty  Trees  from  Foreign  Lands 
47 


831 


832  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

K.  Deciduous  leaves  borne   singly    (alternate),   not  divided   into  leaflets    (simple),  leaf 
edges  lobed,  Nos.  45  to  50  (see  also  No.  35). 

45.  WHITE   POPLAR,  Populus  alba  L.    (ebele;  silver  poplar  and  Bolleana  poplar  are 
clones).  Large,  much  branched  tree.  Bark  smooth,  whitish  or  light  gray.  Leaves  long- 
stalked,  oval  or  3-  or  5-lobed  and  maplelike,  21/;  to  4  inches  long,  short-pointed,  coarsely 
and  irregularly  toothed,  dark  green  above  with  a  white  hairy  coat  beneath.  Male  and 
female  flowers  on  different  trees  in  early  spring,  many  in  clusters  2  to  3  inches  long. 
Capsules  with  cottony  seeds.  Native  from  central  and  southern  Europe  to  central  Asia. 
Planted  across  the  United  States  and  naturalized  in  Eastern  States  and  adjacent  Canada. 
Spreads  by  objectionable  root-sprouts.  The  commonly  cultivated  silver  poplar,  a  clone 
with   maplelike  leaves  silvery  white  beneath,  is   tolerant  of  city  smoke  but   its   leaves 
become  dirty  colored  from  city  dust.  Bolleana  poplar  is  another  clone  with  columnar 
shape  and  leaves  green  beneath.  Gray  poplar  (P.  canescens  (Ait.)   Sm. ),  thought  to  be 
a  hybrid  of  white  poplar  and  European  aspen  (P.  tremula  L.),  has  the  leaves  toothed  but 
not  lobed.  Zone  3. 

46.  EUROPEAN  WHITE  BIRCH,  Betula  pendula  Roth  (European  birch,  European  weeping 
birch;  B.   alba  L.  in  part).   Medium-sized  tree  with  slender,   drooping  branches.   Bark 
white,  papery.  Leaves  long-stalked,  triangular,  1  to  2  l/z  inches  long,  long-pointed,  doubly 
toothed,  also  deeply  lobed  in  the  commonly  cultivated  varieties,  smooth.  Flowers  male  and 
female,  small,  in  narrow  clusters  in  early  spring.   Fruiting  cones   1   inch  long,  narrow, 
slender-stalked.  There  are  numerous  horticultural  varieties.  Extensively  planted  across  the 
United  States  as  a  lawn  tree  for  its  white  bark  and  graceful  drooping  branches.  Subject 
to  attacks  by  the  bronze  birch  borer.  Zone  2. 

47.  WHITE    MULBERRY,   Morus   alba  L.    (silkworm  mulberry;   Russian  mulberry  and 
weeping  mulberry  are  varieties ) .  Small  tree  with  rounded  crown  and  spreading  branches ; 
juice  milky.  Leaves  broadly  oval  but  variable  in  shape,  2/4  to  7  inches  long,  rounded  or 
heart-shaped  at  base,  short-pointed,  coarsely  toothed  and  often  lobed,  light  green  and 
smooth    above,    slightly   hairy  beneath.    Male   and   female   flowers    small    and    greenish, 
clustered,  in  spring.  Fruits  tys  to  1  inch  long,  white,  pinkish,  or  purplish,  edible.  Native  of 
China.  Extensively  grown  and  naturalized  in  many  countries,  as  the  leaves  are  the  main 
food  of  silkworms.  Widely  planted  for  ornament  across  the  United  States  and  naturalized 
in  the  East.  Russian  mulberry,  a  hardy  variety,  has  been  vised  in  shelterbelts.  Male  trees 
or  fruitless  varieties,  such  as  the  rapidly  growing  Kingan  fruitless  variety,  are  preferred. 
Zone  (4). 

48.  LONDON     PLANETREE,     XPlatanus    acerifolia     (Ait.)     Willd.     (P.    occidentalisX 
orient  alis ).  Large  tree  with  upright  axis,  spreading  branches,  and  rounded  crown.  Bark 
peeling  off  in  large  flakes,  smoothish,  with  patches  of  brown,  green,  and  gray.  Leaves 
long-stalked,  heart-shaped,  5  to  10  inches  long  and  wide,  3-  or  5-lobed,  with  edges  of  the 
triangular  pointed  lobes  smooth  or  with  few  teeth,  bright  green  and  shiny  above,  pale 
beneath.  Flowers  male  and  female  in  ball-like  clusters  in  spring.  Fruit  of  usually  2  bristly 
balls  1  inch  in  diameter,  conspicuous  on  trees  in  winter.  Probably  a  hybrid  between  Ameri- 
can sycamore  and  Oriental  planetree,  originated  long  ago.  Widely  planted  as  a  street  tree 
in  eastern  United  States  and  Pacific  coast  and  southern  Rocky  Mountain  regions.  Tolerant 
of  city  smoke  and  alkali  but  subject  to  a  canker  disease.  Zone  5. 

49.  CHINESE  PARASOLTREE,  Firmiana  platanifolia  (L.  f.)  Schott  &  Endl.  (Phoenix-tree, 
Japanese   varnish-tree,   bottletree;    Firmiana   simplex   auth.,   Sterculia   platanifolia   L.). 
Small  to  medium-sized  tree  with  rounded  crown.  Bark  smooth,  gray  green.  Leaves  long- 
stalked,  very  large,  heart-shaped,  6  to  12  inches  long,  3-  or  5-lobed  with  pointed  lobes 
and  smooth  edges,  finely  hairy  beneath.  Flowers  small,  yellow  green,   l/z  inch  long,  in 
clusters  8  to  18  inches  long  in  summer.  Fruit  2  to  4  inches  long,  showy,  of  4  or  5  podlike 
parts  with  pealike  seeds.  Native  of  China  and  Japan  but  widely  planted  as  an  ornamental 
and  street  tree  in  warmer  regions  of  United  States,  including  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
States  and  California.  Naturalized  in  Southeastern  States.  Zone  7. 

50.  ENGLISH  OAK,  Quercus  robur  L.  Medium-sized  to  large  spreading  tree  with  short 
stout   trunk,   widespreading   branches,    and   broad    rounded    crown.    Bark   dark,    deeply 
furrowed.  Leaves  oblong,  2  to  5  inches  long,  with  7  to  15  rounded  lobes,  smooth,  dark 
green  above  and  pale  blue  green  beneath.  Flowers  male  and  female,  small,  in  early  spring. 
Acorns  1  to  5  on  a  stalk  1  to  3  inches  long,  %  to  1  inch  long,  a  third  enclosed  by  the  cup. 
There  are  many  horticultural  varieties.  Native  of  Europe,  northern  Africa,  and  western 
Asia.  In  the  United  States  planted  chiefly  in  the  Pacific,  Gulf,  and  South  Atlantic  States. 
Zone  4. 

ELBERT  L.  LITTLE,  JR._,  is  dendrologist  in  the  Division  of  Dendrology  and 
Range  Forage  Investigations,  Forest  Service,  Washington,  D.  C. 


833 

KEY  FOR  THE  IDENTIFICATION  OF  WOODS  WITH- 
OUT THE  AID  OF  A  HAND  LENS  OR  MICROSCOPE l 

HARDWOODS 

I.  Pores  visible  as  minute  rounded  openings  on  smoothly  cut  end  grain  and   as  fine 
grooves  on  planed  side-grain  surfaces. 

A.  Ring-porous;  that  is,  the  pores  at  the  beginning  for  each  annual  ring  (springwood) 
are  comparatively  large,  forming  a  distinct  porous  ring,  and  decrease  in  size  more 
or  less  abruptly  in  the  outer  part  of  each  annual  ring  (summer wood)  where  they 
are  not  visible  without  magnification. 
1.  Summerwood  figured  with  light  and  dark  irregular  V-shaped  radial  patches. 

(a)  Many  rays  broad  and  conspicuous.  Wood  heavy  to  very  heavy. 

The  OAKS 

(a±)  Many  usually  without  reddish  tinge.  The  large  pores  of  the  heartwood 
mostly  closed  (exception,  chestnut  oak). 

The  WHITE  OAK  GROUP: 

WHITE  OAK 
SWAMP    WHITE    OAK 
BUR  OAK 
POST    OAK 
CHINQUAPIN   OAK 
SWAMP   CHESTNUT   OAK 
OVERCUP  OAK 
CHESTNUT  OAK 
OREGON    WHITE   OAK 
CALIFORNIA  WHITE   OAK 

(bi)  Wood  with  reddish  tinge,  especially  near  knots.  The  large  pores  of  the 
heartwood  mostly  open  (exception,  blackjack  oak). 

The  RED  OAK  GROUP: 

NORTHERN    RED   OAK 
EASTERN    RED   OAK 
SOUTHERN  RED  OAK 
SWAMP   RED   OAK 
BLACK   OAK 
SCARLET   OAK 
PIN    OAK 
WATER    OAK 
WILLOW    OAK 
LAUREL   OAK 
BLACKJACK    OAK 
CALIFORNIA    BLACK    OAK 

(b)  Rays  not  noticeable.  Color  grayish  brown.  Wood  moderately  light. 

AMERICAN  CHESTNUT 

2.  Summerwood  figured  with  short  or  long  wavy  tangential  lines  or  brands,  in  some 
woods  (elms,  hackberry,  sugarberry,  and  mulberry)  throughout  the  Summerwood, 
in  others  more  pronounced  toward  the  outer  part  of  the  Summerwood. 
(a)   Heartwood  bright  cherry  red.  Pores  in  springwood  mostly  open  and  very 

distinct. 

(ai)  Rays  plainly  visible.  Tangential  bands  in  Summerwood  usually  distinct, 
except  in  narrow  rings.  Pith  small,  commonly  size  of  lead  in  ordinary  pencil. 
Sapwood  usually  more  than  three-fourths  inch  wide.  Wood  very  heavy. 

HONEYLOCUST 

(bi)  Rays  not  plainly  visible.  Tangential  bands  in  summerwood  obscure.  Pith 
large,  0.2  to  0.3  inch  in  diameter.  Sapwood  usually  less  than  three-fourths 
inch  wide.  Wood  heavy. 

KENTUCKY  COFFEETREE 


1  Unless  otherwise  directed,  all  observations  as  to  structure  should  be  made  on  the 
end  surface  of  rings  of  average  width,  cut  smoothly  with  a  very  sharp  knife;  and  all 
observations  as  to  color  should  be  made  on  a  freshly  cut  longitudinal  surface  of  the 
heartwood.  A  reading  glass  will  help  to  see  some  of  the  structural  features  more  dis- 
tinctly but  should  not  be  used  in  judging  visibility  with  the  unaided  eye.  Odor  can  best 
be  determined  on  freshly  cut  surfaces  of  the  heartwood. 

The  Key  was  prepared  by  Arthur  Koehler,  chief  of  the  Division  of  Silvicultural  Rela- 
tions, Forest  Products  Laboratory,  Madison,  Wis. 
802062° — 49 54 


834  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


(b)  Heartwood  brown  with  reddish  tinge. 

(ai)   Tangential  bands  long  and  very  conspicuous  throughout  the  summerwood. 
(aa)    The  porous  ring  of  the  springwood  from  2  to  4  pores  wide.  Sapwood 
mostly  less  than   1   inch  wide.  Heartwood  with  characteristic  odor  of 
slippery  elm  bark.  Wood  moderately  heavy. 

SLIPPERY  ELM 
(ba)   The  porous  ring  of  the  springwood  only  one  pore  wide,  except  in  very 

wide  rings.  Sapwood  mostly  more  than  1  inch  in  width, 
(as)    Pores  in   springwood   fairly   conspicuous,  open,  and   close   together. 
Wood  moderately  heavy. 

AMERICAN  ELM 

(ba)    Pores  in  springwood  inconspicuous  because  comparatively  small,  closed, 
and  not  close  together.  Wood  heavy. 

ROCK  ELM 

CEDAR  ELM 

WINGED  ELM 

(bi)  Tangential  bands  short,  inconspicuous,  and  limited  to  outer  summerwood. 
Springwood  zone  several  pores  wide.  Sapwood  more  than  1  inch,  usually 
several  inches  wide.  Wood  heavy. 

WHITE  ASH 

GREEN  ASH 

OREGON  ASH 

(c)  Heartwood  yellowish  or  golden  brown  becoming  dark  brown  on  exposure. 
Pores  in  heartwood  completely  closed.  Sapwood  less  than  three-fourths  inch 
wide. 

(ai)  Wood  heavy.  Tangential  bands  uniformly  distributed  throughout  the  sum- 
merwood. Rays  distinct. 

RED  MULBERRY 

(bi)  Wood  very  heavy  to  very,  very  heavy.  Tangential  bands  confined  to,  or  more 
pronounced  in,  the  outer  portion  of  the  summerwood.  Rays  not  distinct. 

OSAGE-ORANGE  2 

(d)  Heartwood  greenish  brown.  Pores  in  heartwood  completely  closed.  Rays  not 
distinct.  Sapwood  less  than  three-fourths  inch  wide.  Woods  very  heavy  to  very, 
very  heavy. 

BLACK  LOCUST2 

(e)  Heartwood  silvery  brown,  with  spicy  odor  and  taste.  Rays  not  distinct.  Sap- 
wood  less  than  three-fourths  inch  wide.  Wood  moderately  heavy. 

SASSAFRAS 

(f)  Heartwood    grayish   brown   with   lavender   tinge,    after   prolonged    exposure 
resembling  butternut  or  black  walnut  in  color.  Sapwood  narrow,  rarely  more 
than  three-fourths  inch  wide.   Wood   moderately  light. 

NORTHERN  CATALPA 

(g)  Heartwood  yellowish  or  light  greenish  gray,  not  distinct  from  the  sapwood. 
Tangential  bands  long  and  very  conspicuous  throughout  the  summerwood 
(resembling  slippery  elm  except  for  color).  Rays  fairly  distinct.  Wood  mod- 
erately heavy. 

HACKBERRY 
SUGARBERRY 

3.  Summerwood  not  figured  with  radial  or  tangential  patterns  visible  without  a  lens, 
(a)    Heartwood  reddish  brown.  Sapwood  more  than  1  inch  wide. 

(ai)  Pores  decreasing  in  size  abruptly  from  springwood  to  summerwood.  Wood 
heavy  to  very  heavy. 

TRUE  HICKORIES: 

SHAGBARK    HICKORY 
SHELLBARK    HICKORY 
MOCKERNUT     HICKORY 
PIGNUT    HICKORY 

(bi)  Pores  decreasing  in  size  more  or  less  gradually  from  springwood  to  sum- 
merwood. Wood  heavy. 

PECAN 
WATER    HICKORY 


2  Osage-orange  sometimes  is  difficult  to  distinguish  from  black  locust  wood,  but  when 
put  on  a  wet  cloth  or  blotter,  Osage-orange  heartwood  gives  off  a  distinct  yellow  color  in 
a  few  minutes,  whereas  black  locust  does  so  only  faintly  or  not  at  all.  Dry  black  locust 
heartwood  fluoresces  brilliant  yellow  in  ultra  violet  light;  Osage-orange  does  not  fluoresce 
when  dry. 


Key  for  the  Identification  of  Woods  835 

(b)  Heartwood  light  cherry  red.  Sapwood  usually  less  than  three-fourths  inch 
wide.  Wood  heavy. 

KENTUCKY  COFFEETREE 

(c)  Heartwood  grayish  brown.  Sapwood  usually  less  than  three-fourths  inch  wide. 
Wood  moderately  heavy. 

BLACK  ASH 

B.  Diffuse-porous;  that  is,  no  ring  of  large  pores  is  formed  at  the  beginning  of  each 
annual  ring,  the  pores  being  uniform  in  size  or  gradually  decreasing  in  size  from  the 
inner  to  the  outer  part  of  each  annual  ring. 

1.  Individual  pores  plainly  visible  on  end  grain  and  side  grain,  gradually  decreasing 
in  size  from  inner  to  outer  part  of  each  annual  ring. 

(a)  Some  rays  broad  and  conspicuous,  fully  as  wide  as  the  largest  pores.  Pores 
arranged  in  radial  groups  extending  across  the  annual  rings. 

(ai)    Southern  species.  Wood  exceedingly  heavy. 

LIVE  OAK 
(bi)    Western  species.  Wood  very  heavy. 

CANYON  LIVE  OAK 

(b)  All  rays  smaller  than  the  largest  pores.  The  pores  not  arranged  in  radial  groups 
extending  across  the  rings. 

(ai)  Tangential  surface  marked  with  very  fine  bands  which  run  across  the  grain 
and  are  due  to  the  storied  arrangement  of  the  rays.  Heartwood  black,  or 
brownish  black  (usually  very  small).  Sapwood  wide,  white  or  pale  gray. 
Wood  very,  very  heavy. 

COMMON  PERSIMMON 
(bt)   Tangential  surface  not  marked  with  fine  cross  bands. 

(az)    Heartwood  reddish  brown.  Sapwood  wide.  Wood  heavy. 

WATER  HICKORY 

(bz)    Heartwood  chocolate  or  purplish  brown.  Sapwood  narrow  to  moderate 
in  width.  Wood  heavy. 

BLACK  WALNUT 

(cz)    Heartwood  light  chestnut  brown,  frequently  with  dark  springwood  and 
pinkish-brown  summerwood.  Sapwood  narrow.  Wood  moderately  light. 

BUTTERNUT 

2.  Individual  pores  barely  visible  under  conditions  of  good  light  and  a  very  smoothly 
cut  surface,  fairly  uniform  in  size  throughout  each  annual  ring. 

(a)  Pores  not  crowded  on  end  surface.  Heartwood  reddish  brown. 
(ai)    Wood  heavy  to  very  heavy.  Pith  flecks  very  rare. 

YELLOW    BIRCH 
SWEET  BIRCH 
(bi)    Wood  moderately  heavy.  Pith  flecks  common. 

PAPER  BIRCH 
RIVER  BIRCH 

(b)  Pores  crowded  on  end  surface.  Wood  light, 
(ai)   Heartwood  grayish. 

COTTONWOOD 
(bi)    Heartwood  dark  reddish  brown. 

BLACK  WILLOW 
(ci)    Heartwood  light  reddish  brown. 

WHITE  WILLOW 
II.  Pores  not  visible. 

A.  Rays  comparatively  broad  and  conspicuous.  Color  of  heartwood  in  various  shades  of 
light  reddish  brown. 

1.  The  rays  crowded  on  end  grain;  up  to  three-sixteenths  inch  high  on  radial  and 
tangential    surfaces,    producing    pronounced,    crowded,    "flakes"    when    quarter- 
sawed.  No  denser  and  darker  band  of  summerwood  noticeable.  Wood  usually  has 
interlocked  grain;  moderately  heavy. 

SYCAMORE 

2.  The  broad  rays  not  crowded;  up  to  one-eighth  inch  high  on  radial  and  tangential 
surfaces,  producing  scattered  "flakes"  when  quarter-sawed.     A  distinct,  denser, 
and  darker  band  of  summerwood  present.  Wood  usually  fairly  straight-grained; 
heavy. 

BEECH 

B.  Rays  not  conspicuous  but  distinctly  visible. 

1.  Heartwood  deep,  rich,  reddish  brown.  Sapwood  narrow,  usually  less  than  1  inch 
wide.  Annual  rings  clearly  defined.  Rays  very  distinct.  Wood  moderately  heavy. 

BLACK  CHERRY 


836  Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

2.  Heartwood  dingy,  reddish  brown,  often  with  darker  streaks.  Sapwood  moderately 
wide,  usually  more  than  1  inch.  Annual  rings  not  clearly  denned.  Rays  relatively 
not  very  distinct.  Wood  moderately  heavy. 

SWEETGUM 

3.  Heartwood  light  grayish  brown  with  reddish  tinge.  Sapwood  more  than  1  inch 
wide.  Annual  rings  clearly  defined  by  a  thin,  darker  reddish-brown  layer.  Rays 
very  distinct. 

(a)  Wood  heavy;  difficult  to  cut  across  the  grain.  Pith  flecks  very  rare. 

SUGAR  MAPLE 
BLACK  MAPLE 

(b)  Wood  moderately  heavy;  rather  easy  to  cut  across  the  grain.  Pith  flecks  often 
abundant. 

SILVER  MAPLE 

RED  MAPLE 

BIGLEAF  MAPLE 

4.  Heartwood  light  yellowish  brown  with  greenish  tinge,  occasionally  purplish.  Sap- 
wood  usually  more  than  1  inch  wide.  Annual  rings  clearly  defined.  Rays  fairly 
distinct.  Wood  moderately  light  to  moderately  heavy. 

YELLOW-POPLAR 

CUCUMBERTREE 

SOUTHERN  MAGNOLIA 

5.  Heartwood   creamy  brown.    Sapwood   wide   and   not   sharply   defined   from   the 
heartwood.  Rays  fairly  distinct.  Wood  light. 

BASSWOOD 
G.  Rays  not  distinctly  visible. 

1.  Annual  rings  not  clearly  divided  into  a  band  of  soft  springwood  and  denser  and 
darker  band  of  summerwood  and,  therefore,  not  conspicuous. 

(a)  The  heartwood  distinctly  darker  than  the  sapwood. 
(ai)    Heartwood  reddish  brown.  Wood  not  cross-grained. 

(a2)    Wood  heavy  to  very  heavy.  Pith  flecks  very  rare. 

YELLOW  BIRCH 
SWEET  BIRCH 
(b2)    Wood  moderately  heavy.  Pith  flecks  common. 

PAPER  BIRCH 
RIVER  BIRCH 
(c2)   Wood  light. 

(as)    Heartwood  dark  reddish  brown. 

BLACK  WILLOW 
(b3)    Heartwood  light  reddish  brown. 

WHITE  WILLOW 
(bj)    Heartwood  grayish  brown. 

(a2)    Wood  cross-grained;  moderately  light  to  moderately  heavy. 

BLACK    TUPELO    (BLACKGUM) 
WATER  TUPELO 

(ba)    Wood  fairly  straight-grained;  light. 

COTTONWOOD 

(b)  The  heartwood  light-colored,  not  distinctly  darker  than  the  sapwood. 
(ai)    Wood  light  in  weight;  odorless  and  tasteless. 

(a2)    Color  yellowish  white. 

YELLOW    BUCKEYE 
OHIO  BUCKEYE 

(b2)    Color  plain  white,  sometimes  partly  discolored  to  pale  salmon  brown 
near  center  of  tree  or  around  knots. 

QUAKING  ASPEN 
BIGTOOTH   ASPEN 
SOFTWOODS 

(bi)    Wood  moderately  light.  Odor  of  heartwood  spicy;  color  pale  brown. 

PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR 

(ci)    Wood  moderately  heavy.  Odor  of  heartwood  pungently  disagreeable,  not 
spicy;  color  light  canary  yellow. 

ALASKA-CEDAR 

2.  Annual  rings  clearly  divided  into  a  band  of  soft  springwood  and  a  denser  and 
darker  band  of  summerwood.  Although  the  summerwood  may  not  be  pronounced, 
yet  the  annual  rings  are  always  clearly  defined  by  it. 

(a)    Wood  resinous,  as  indicated  by  exudations  of  resin,  or  pitch,  especially  when 
heated,   the   presence   of  occasional  pitch   pockets  or  pitch   streaks,   or   the 


Key  for  the  Identification  of  Woods  837 

presence  on  longitudinal  surfaces  of  brownish  lines  (resin  ducts)  from  a  frac- 
tion of  an  inch  to  several  inches  long. 
(ai)    Heartwood  darker  than  the  sapwood. 

(a2)    Heartwood    reddish   brown   or   orange   brown.    Resin   ducts    abundant. 

Heartwood  with  "piney"  odor. 

(as)    The  summerwood  inconspicuous  and  not  much  darker  or  harder  than 
the  springwood.  Wood  light  to  moderately  light. 

The  SOFT  PINES: 
(a4)    Eastern  species. 

EASTERN    WHITE    PINE 

(bt)    Western  species. 

WESTERN   WHITE   PINE 
SUGAR  PINE 

(bs)   The  summerwood  conspicuously  darker  and  harder  than  the  springwood. 

The  HARD  PINES: 
(aO    Wood  moderately  light. 
(a5)    Western  species. 

(as)  Heartwood  not  much  darker  than  sapwood.  Tangential  surface 
slightly  dimpled,  as  if  hit  lightly  with  coarse  shot.  Sapwood 
usually  less  than  2  inches  wide. 

LODGEPOLE   PINE 

(be)  Heartwood  distinctly  darker  than  sapwood  after  exposure  to  air 
and  light.  Tangential  surface  not  dimpled,  or  only  in  narrow- 
ringed  wood.  Sapwood  usually  more  than  2  inches  wide. 

PONDEROSA     PINE 

(b5)   Northeastern  species. 

JACK   PINE 
RED  PINE 

(b4)    Wood  moderately  heavy  to  very  heavy.  Eastern  and  southern  species. 

VIRGINIA  PINE 
PITCH   PINE 
SHORTLEAF     PINE 
LOBLOLLY  PINE 
POND  PINE 
LONGLEAF   PINE 
SLASH   PINE 

(bz)  Heartwood  light  orange  red  to  cherry  red.  Resin  ducts  scarce.  Tangential 
surface  not  dimpled.  Heartwood  with  characteristic,  but  not  "piney," 
odor. 

DOUGLAS-FIR 

(c2)  Heartwood  pinkish  to  pale  reddish  brown.  Resin  ducts  scarce.  Tangential 
surface  slightly  dimpled,  as  if  lightly  hit  with  coarse  shot,  except  in  wide- 
ringed  wood.  Wood  without  distinct  odor. 

SITKA  SPRUCE 

(bi)    Heartwood  not  appreciably  darker  than  the  sapwood.  Resin  ducts  present 
but  scarce  and  inconspicuous.  Wood  without  distinct  odor. 

WHITE  SPRUCE 
RED  SPRUCE 
ENGELMANN  SPRUCE 
(b)    Wood  not  resinous. 

(ai)    Heartwood  decidedly  darker  than  the  sapwood. 
(an)    Heartwood  medium  to  dark  reddish  brown. 

(a3)    Heartwood  without  odor  or  taste.  Wood  moderately  light. 

REDWOOD 

(b3)    Heartwood  with  spicy  odor  and  taste  (like  cedar  shingles) .  Wood  light. 

WESTERN  REDCEDAR 
(c3)    Heartwood  with  aromatic  odor  and  taste.  Wood  moderately  heavy. 

EASTERN  REDCEDAR 
(b2)    Heartwood  light  brown,  with  spicy  odor  and  taste.  Wood  light. 

NORTHERN  WHITE-CEDAR 

(c2)    Heartwood  light  pinkish  brown,  with  aromatic  odor.  Wood  light. 

ATLANTIC  WHITE-CEDAR 

(da)  Heartwood  variable  from  pale  brown  to  dark  brown,  with  rancid  odor 
but  without  taste.  Wood  variable  from  moderately  light  to  moderately 
heavy. 

BALDCYPRESS 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

(bi)    Heartwood  only  slightly  darker  than  sapwood. 

(a2)    Heartwood  light  canary  yellow,  odor  not  spicy  or  aromatic,  somewhat 
disagreeable.  Wood  moderately  heavy. 

ALASKA-CEDAR 

(ba)    Heartwood  pale  brown,  odor  pungently  spicy.  Wood  moderately  light. 

PORT-ORFORD-CEDAR 
(d)   Heartwood  not  appreciably  darker  than  sapwood  when  dry. 

(as)    Springwood  white,  summerwood  light  brown  with  lavender  tinge. 

WHITE  FIR 
GRAND  FIR 
(b2)    Springwood  and  summerwood  pale  reddish  brown. 

(as)   Heartwood  with  disagreeable  odor,  especially  when  moist. 

NOBLE  FIR 

CALIFORNIA  RED  FIR 
(b3)   Heartwood  without  disagreeable  odor. 

EASTERN     HEMLOCK 
WESTERN   HEMLOCK 


ESTIMATED    OUTPUT    AND    VALUE    OF    NONMANUFACTURED    FOREST    PRODUCTS    IN    THE 

UNITED    STATES,  1947 

Total  value 
at  mill  or 
Output,  local  point 


Product 


units  cut       of  delivery 


Million 
Number          dollars 

Sawlogs billion  board  feet  • . .             35.  5  I,  233 

Veneer  logs  and  bolts do. ...               2. 3  1 22 

Cooperage  logs  and  bolts million  standard  cords . .               1.4  31 

Pulpwood  logs billion  board  feet  1. .               1.8  54 

Pulpwood  bolts million  standard  cords . .             14. 4  202 

Other  logs billion  board  feet  l . .                .4  14 

Other  bolts million  standard  cords . .               I.I  24 

Fuel  wood  from  live  timber do 27.  8  309 

Other  fuel  wood do. ...             27. 9  193 

Chemical  wood do. ...                 .4  4 

Piling million  linear  feet .  .             34.  4  15 

Poles million  pieces . .               7.  5  32 

Mine  timbers  (not  sawed) do ....            68. 9  29 

Hewn  ties do ....             23. 6  27 

Posts do 234. 7  61 

Crude  gum  for  naval  stores 33 

Pine  distillation  wood  (naval  stores) million  tons . .               2. 3  14 

Christmas  trees million  trees. .             21.4  J  6 

Maple  sirup  and  sugar 3  1 1 

Miscellaneous 5 

Total 2,  419 

i  International  }4-inch  rule.  »  1946  data.  »  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Economics  data. 


Key  for  the  Identification  of  Woods 


839 


AVERAGE  WEIGHTS   OF   COMMERCIALLY  IMPORTANT  WOODS 


Weight  per 
cubic  Joot 
in  sawed 

Weight  per 
1  ,000  board 
feet  (nom- 

Weight per 
cubic  foot 
in  sawed 

Weight  per 
1,000  board 
feet  (nom- 

form air- 

inal  size 

form  air- 

inal  size) 

dry  (12- 

air-dry  (12- 

dry  (12- 

air-dry  (72- 

percent 

percent 

percent 

percent 

moisture 

moisture 

moisture 

moisture 

Species 

content) 

content) 

Species 

content) 

content) 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Fauna's 

Alaska-cedar  

31 

2,580 

Larch,  western  

36 

3,000 

Alder,  red  

28 

2,330 

Locust,  black  

48 

4,000 

Ash,  black  

34 

2,830 

Magnolia,  cucumber  

33 

2,750 

Ash,  commercial  white  '. 

4i 

3-4^0 

Magnolia,  evergreen  

35 

2,920 

Ash,  Oregon  .  .  .  ,  

38 

3,160 

Maple,  bigleaf  

34 

2,830 

Aspen  

26 

2,  170 

Maple,  black  

40 

3-330 

32 

2,670 

Maple,  red  

38 

3,170 

Basswood  

26 

2,  I7O 

Maple,  silver  

33 

2,750 

Beech  

45 

3-750 

Maple,  sugar  

44 

3,670 

Birch  2  

44 

3.670 

Oak,  red6  

44 

3,670 

Birch,  paper  

38 

3,l6o 

Oak,  white7  

47 

3,920 

Butternut  

27 

2,250 

Pine,  lodgepole  

29 

2,420 

Cherry,  black  

35 

2,930 

Pine,  eastern  white  

25 

2,080 

Chestnut  

30 

2,500 

Pine,  red  

34 

2,830 

Cottonwood,  eastern  .... 

28 

2,330 

Pine,  ponderosa  

28 

2,  330 

Cottonwood,     northern 

Pines,  southern  yellow: 

black  

24 

2,OOO 

Loblolly  

36 

3,000 

Douglas-fir(coast  region). 

34 

2,830 

Longleaf  

41 

3,420 

Douglas-fir  ("Inland  Em- 

Shortleaf   

36 

3,000 

pire"  region)  

3i 

2,580 

Pine,  sugar  

25 

2,080 

Douglas-fir            (Rocky 

Pine,  western  white  

27 

2,250 

Mountain  region)  .... 

30 

2,500 

Port-Orford-cedar  

29 

2,420 

Elm,  American  

35 

2,920 

33 

2,750 

Elm,  rock  

44 

3.670 

Redcedar,  western  

23 

1,920 

Elm,  slippery  

37 

3,080 

Redwood  

28 

2,330 

Fir,  balsam  

25 

2,080 

Redgum  

34 

2,830 

Fir,  commercial  white  8.  . 

27 

2,250 

28 

2,330 

Gum,  black  

35 

2,920 

Spruce,  Engelmann  

23 

1,920 

Gum,  tupelo  

35 

2,920 

Spruce,  Sitka  

28 

2,330 

Hackberry  

37 

3,080 

Sugarberry  

36 

3,000 

Hemlock,  eastern  

28 

2,330 

Sycamore  

34 

2,830 

Hemlock,  western  

29 

2,420 

Tamarack  

37 

3,080 

Hickory,  pecan  4  

45 

3,750 

Walnut,  black  

38 

3,  170 

Hickory,  true  5  

5i 

4,250 

White-cedar,  northern  .  .  . 

22 

1,830 

Honeylocust  

White-cedar,  southern.  .  . 

23 

1,920 

Incense-cedar  

Yellow-poplar  

28 

2,330 

1  Average  of  Biltmore  white  ash,  blue  ash,  green 
ash,  and  white  ash. 

2  Average  of  sweet  birch  and  yellow  birch. 

*  Average  of  lowland  white  fir  and  white  fir. 

4  Average  of  bitternut  hickory,  nutmeg  hickory, 
water  hickory,  and  pecan. 

5  Average  of  bigleaf  shagbark  hickory,  mocker- 
nut  hickory,  pignut  hickory,  and  shagbark  hickory. 


6  Average   of  black  oak,   laurel   oak,   pin   oak, 
red   oak,   scarlet  oak,  southern  red  oak,  swamp 
red  oak,  water  oak,  and  willow  oak. 

7  Average  of  bur  oak,  chestnut  oak,  post  oak, 
swamp  chestnut  oak,  swamp  white  oak,  and  white 
oak. 

8  Average  of  black  spruce,  red  spruce,  and  white 
spruce. 


840 


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Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


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845 


TREES  BEST  ADAPTED  FOR  SPECIAL  PURPOSES 


NORTHEASTERN  UNITED  STATES 

Shade  trees  for  suburban  homes: 
Evergreen : 

Canada  hemlock 

Colorado  blue  spruce 

Eastern  white  pine 

Nikko  fir 

White  fir 

In  northern  part  only — 

Balsam  fir 

White  spruce 
Deciduous : 

American  hornbeam 

American  mountain-ash 

American  yellowwood 

European  beech 

European  linden 

Littleleaf  linden 

Norway  maple 

Panicled  goldenrain-tree 

Pin  oak 

Scarlet  oak 

Schwedler  maple 

Silver  linden 

Sugar  maple 

Sweetgum 

Tuliptree 

White  oak 

Roadside,  boulevard,  and  avenue  trees: 
Evergreen : 

Canada  hemlock 

Eastern  white  pine 

Red  pine 
Deciduous: 

American  linden 

American  yellowwood 

Black  tupelo 

Common  hackberry 

Ginkgo  (staminate  form)' 

London  planetree 

Northern  red  oak 

Norway  maple 

Pin  oak 

Red  maple 

Scarlet  oak 

Silver  linden 

Schwedler  maple 

Sugar  maple 

Sweetgum 

Tuliptree 
Street  trees: 
Evergreen : 

None 
Deciduous: 

Ailanthus  (pistillate  form) 

Amur  corktree 

Ginkgo  (staminate  form) 

London  planetree 

Norway  maple 

Pin  oak 

Thornless  common  honeylocust 

Tuliptree 


Park  and  garden  trees  (see  also  Shade  and 

Roadside  trees)  : 
Evergreen : 

Common  Douglas-fir 

Oriental  spruce 

Red  pine 
Deciduous : 

Amur  corktree 

Bolleana  poplar 

Common  horsechestnut 

Cutleaf  weeping  birch 

Eastern  black  walnut 

English  elm 

Golden  weeping  willow 

Japanese  pagodatree 

Kentucky  coffeetree 

Paper  birch 

Rock  elm 

Scotch  elm 

Silverpendent  linden 

Weeping  silverpendent  linden 

White  ash 

White  oak 
Trees  with  autumn  color : 

American  hornbeam  (orange,  scarlet) 

American  yellowwood  (yellow) 

Black  tupelo  (scarlet) 

Ginkgo  (yellow) 

Northern  red  oak   (red) 

Norway  maple  (yellow) 

Pin  oak  (scarlet,  dark  red) 

Red  maple  (orange,  red,  scarlet) 

Scarlet  oak  (scarlet,  dark  red) 

Sugar  maple  (yellow,  orange,  scarlet) 

Sweetgum  (red,  scarlet) 

Tuliptree  (yellow) 
Trees  with  conspicuous  flowers: 

American  mountain-ash  (white) 

American  yellowwood  (white) 

Common        horsechestnut        (pinkish 
white ) 

Japanese  pagodatree  (yellowish  white) 

Panicled  goldenrain-tree  (yellow) 

Red  maple  (red) 

Sugar  maple  (yellowish  green) 

Tuliptree  (greenish  yellow) 

PLAINS  AREA 

Shade  and  park  trees: 
Throughout  Plains  Area: 
Deciduous: 
American  elm 
Bur  oak 
Cottonwood 
Green  ash 
Hackberry 
Honeylocust 
Russian-olive 
Evergreens : 
Austrian  pine 
Eastern  redcedar 
Ponderosa  pine 
Rocky  Mountain  cedar 


846  Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 

Nebraska  northward:  SOUTHEASTERN  AREA 

Deciduous  : 

Boxelder  Shade  and  roadside  trees: 

Hawthorn  Deciduous: 

Maples  American  beech 

Willows  American  elm 

Evergreens  :  American  sycamore 

Douglas-fir  Laurel  oak 

Scotch  pine  Fecan 

Spruce  Sugarberry 

White  fir  Sweetgum 

Nebraska  southward:  ™ater.  oak  .„ 

Deciduous  :  ™?pmg  i         W 

Ailanthus  White  oak. 

American  sycamore  JX^fe0? 

Black  locust  Winged  elm 

Black  walnut  ^  Yellow-poplar 

Catalpa  Evergreen: 

Russian  mulberry  Live  oak 

Oklahoma  and  Texas:  c       Southern  magnolia 

Deciduous:  Street  trees: 

Chinese  elm  Deciduous: 

Desertwillow  American  elm 

Kentucky  coffeetree  American  sycamore 

Soapberry  Cabbage  palmetto 

Evergreen  :  Common  crapemyrtle 

Arizona  cypress  (Texas)  ° 


. 

Street  trees:  White  oak 

Deciduous:  Willow  oak 

American  elm  Winged  elm 

American  sycamore  Evergreen: 

Boxelder  Camphor-tree 

Bur  oak  Ljve  oak 

Green  ash  Southern  magnolia 
Hackberry                                                        park  and  lawn  trees: 

Maples  Deciduous  : 

Russian  mulberry  American  beech 

Siberian  elm  American  elm 

Evergreens:  American  sycamore 

Austrian  pine  Common  crapemyrtle 

Ponderosa  pine  Eastern  redbud 

Trees  with  showy  flowers:  Flowering  dogwood 

Black  locust  Laurel  oak 

Catalpa  Mimosa 

Desertwillow  Panicled  goldenrain-tree 

Hawthorn  Pecan 

Honeylocust  Red  maple 

Trees  with  showy  foliage  in  autumn:  Sugarberry 

Cottonwood  (yellow)  Sweetgum 

Green  ash  (golden  yellow)  Water  oak 

Maple  (gold  and  red)  Weeping  willow 

Oak  (yellow  to  red)  White  oak 

Sycamore  (clear  yellow)  Willow  oak 

Trees  suitable  for  use  on  phymatotrichum  Winged  elm 

root  rot  infected  soil:  Yellow-poplar 

Deciduous  :  Evergreen  : 

Ailanthus  American  holly 

Desertwillow  Camphor-tree 

Hackberry  Canary  date 

Mulberry  Carolina  laurel-cherry 

Soapberry  Eastern  arborvitae 

Evergreens:  Eastern  redcedar 

Eastern  redcedar  Live  oak 

Rocky  Mountain  cedar  Southern  magnolia 


Trees  Best  Adapted  for  Special  Purposes 


847 


Trees  with  autumn  color: 
Deciduous: 

Flowering  dogwood 

Pin  oak 

Red  maple 

Scarlet  oak 

Sweetgum 

Yellow-poplar 

Trees  with  conspicuous  flowers  or  fruits: 
Deciduous: 

Common  crapemyrtle 

Eastern  redbud 

Flowering  dogwood 

Mimosa 

Panicled  goldenrain-tree 

Red  maple 
Evergreen  : 

American  holly 

Southern  magnolia 

SOUTHERN  ROCKY 
MOUNTAIN  REGION 

Street  trees: 
Deciduous: 

Green  ash 

Lanceleaf  poplar 

Linden 

London  planetree 

Narrowleaf  poplar 

Northern  catalpa 

Norway  maple 

Siberian  elm 

Velvet  ash 

White  ash 

Roadside  trees  (see  also  Street  trees) : 
Deciduous: 

Black  locust 

Lombardy  poplar 
Evergreen : 

Arizona  cypress 

Eucalyptus 

Ponderosa  pine 
Shade  trees  (see  also  Street  and  Roadside 

trees) : 
Deciduous : 

American  elm 

Boxelder 

Plains  poplar 

Red  mulberry 

White  mulberry 
Park    and    garden    trees    (see   also    Street, 

Roadside,  and  Shade  trees)  : 
Deciduous: 

Common  hackberry 

Russian-olive 

Tamarisk 

Thornless  honeylocust 

Tree-of-Heaven  ailanthus 


Evergreen : 

Aleppo  pine 

Austrian  pine 

Colorado  pinyon  pine 

Colorado  spruce 

Engelmann  spruce 

Rocky  Mountain  juniper 

Scotch  pine 

Trees  for  difficult  sites: 
Deciduous : 

Black  locust 

Boxelder 

Common  hackberry 

Russian-olive 

Siberian  elm 

Tamarisk 

Thornless  honeylocust 

Tree-of-Heaven  ailanthus 

Velvet  ash 

Trees  with  conspicuous  flowers: 
Deciduous : 

Black  locust 

Northern  catalpa 
Evergreen : 

Eucalyptus 

Trees  with  autumn  color: 
Deciduous : 

Lanceleaf  poplar 

Lombardy  poplar 

Narrowleaf  poplar 

Norway  maple 

Plains  poplar 

NORTH  PACIFIC  COAST  AREA 

Street  trees: 

American  yellowwood 

Common  hackberry 

European  linden 

Pin  oak 
Lawn  trees: 

American  yellowwood 

Atlas-cedar  (conifer) 

Common  hackberry 

European  linden 

Himalayan  pine  (conifer) 

Oregon  white  oak 

Pacific  madrone  (broadleaf  evergreen) 

Pin  oak 

Sweetgum 

Tuliptree 
Trees  with  showy  fall  foliage: 

American  yellowwood 

Pin  oak 

Sweetgum 
Trees  with  showy  or  fragrant  flowers: 

American  yellowwood 

European  linden 

Pacific  madrone 


848 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


A  SELECTED  LIST  OF  TREES  AND  SHRUBS  FOR  PLANTING  WINDBREAKS  AND  SHELTERBELTS 

IN    THE    GREAT    PLAINS 


[Results  to  be  expected:  G  —  Good;  F  —  Fair  only;  X  —  Not  recommended] 


Common  names  of  trees 

CONIFERS 

Eastern  redcedar 

North  Dakota  and 
D  northwestern 
Minnesota 

South  Dakota,  south- 
T>  western  Minnesota,  and 
northwestern  Iowa 

,-j  Nebraska  and 
southwestern  Iowa 

Rocky  Mountain  juniper  , 

G 

G 

G 

One-seed  juniper  

X 

X 

X 

Limber  pine 

x 

X 

<G 

Ponderosa  pine 

G 

G 

G 

Austrian  pine  , 

X 

aG 

G 

Shortleaf  pine   

X 

X 

X 

Black  Hills  spruce               .    .    . 

G 

G 

6G 

G 

G 

G 

Douglas-fir  , 

F 

F 

G 

Arizona  cypress        

X 

X 

X 

SHRUBS 

Caragana  (on  dry  sites) 

G 

G 

F 

Cotoneaster  

G 

G 

G 

Buckthorn  

G 

G 

G 

Tatarian  honeysuckle 

G 

G 

G 

American  wild  plum 

G 

G 

G 

Chickasaw  plum  

X 

X 

X 

Western  chokecherry  

G 

G 

G 

Nanking  cherry  ' 

G 

G 

G 

Golden  currant 

G 

G 

G 

BufFaloberry  

G 

G 

G 

Lilac  

G 

G 

G 

Multiflora  rose  '  

e  ? 

G 

G 

Redbud                        .       .    . 

X 

G 

G 

Soapberry 

X 

x 

x 

LOW   TREES 

Russian-olive  

G 

G 

G 

Diamond  willow  

G 

G 

G 

Boxelder  

G 

G 

G 

Siberian  crab  

F 

F 

G 

Seedling  apricot   .    . 

x 

x 

a  F 

Desertwillow        .  .  . 

x 

x 

x 

Mulberry.  . 

X 

X 

G 
X 
X 
G 
G 

2G 

X 
X 
F 
X 


1 

*•§ 

II 

ii 


X 

G 
G 
G 
G 
X 
G 
G 
G 
G 
G 
6  ? 
F 
F 


F 
G 
G 
G 
G 
X 
G 

6  ? 

G 
G 
G 

6  ? 

X 
X 


1 

1 

^ 

3 

«•» 

Eastern  Mor< 

Centra/  and  \ 
Oklahoma 

Central  Texa 

G 

G 

G 

G 

X 

X 

X 

G 

G 

X 

X 

X 

G 

F 

F 

X 

X 

X 

X 

G 

G 

F 

X 

X 

F 

X 

X 

G 

X 

X 

X 

2F 

G 

G 

X 

X 

G 

G 

G 

G 

G 

G 

G 

F 

F 

G 

X 

X 

X 

G 

G 

G 

F 

F 

6  ? 

6  ? 

6  ? 

G 

F 

F 

G 

X 

X 

G 

G 

G 

6  ? 

6  ? 

6  ? 

X 

G 

G 

X 

G 

G 

G 

G 

G 

G 

X 

X 

F 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

G 

G 

X 

G 

G 

See  footnotes  at  end  of  table. 


For  Planting  Windbreaks  and  Shelter  belts 


849 


A  SELECTED  LIST  OF  TREES  AND  SHRUBS  FOR  PLANTING  WINDBREAKS  AND  SHELTERBELTS 

IN  THE  GREAT  PLAINS  —  continued 


II 


Common  names  of  trees 

MEDIUM   TREES 

Green  ash  , 

North  Dakota  t. 
&  northwestern 
Minnesota 

South  Dakota, 
Z)  western  Minne. 
northwestern  lo 

^  Nebraska  and 
southwestern  lo 

Bur  oak  , 

G 

G 

G 

American  elm                   , 

G 

G 

G 

Red  elm 

X 

X 

G 

Black  walnut 

x 

2  F 

G 

Pecan  

X 

X 

X 

Texas  walnut   

X 

X 

X 

Osage-orange                    .... 

x 

x 

2F 

Crack  willow 

»G 

TALL   HARDY   TREES 

Hackberry  

G 

G 

G 

Honeylocust  (thornless)    

..     2G 

G 

Kentucky  coffeetree                    . 

X 

F 

G 

Red  oak 

x 

X 

G 

Black  locust 

X 

2F 

a  G 

TALL   FAST-GROWING   TREES 

Cottonwood   .      .            

.     iG 

iG 

i  G 

Chinese  elm 

G 

G 

G 

x 

X 

White  willow  

.     i  G 

i  G 

,  G 

Golden  willow    

.     >  G 

i  G 

i  F 

Silver  maple                                  . 

X 

X 

Catalca.  . 

X 

X 

iG 

i  Does  best  where  there  is  a  good   supply  of  moisture. 

»  Southern  part  only. 

a  Not  recommended  for  western  Nebraska. 

«  Western  Nebraska  only. 

6  Eastern  Nebraska  and  western  Iowa  only. 

*  A  new  species  that  has  not  been  thoroughly  tried. 


I  £ 


iG 
G 
iG 
iG 
iG 
iG 
iG 


II 


G 
G 
G 
X 
«F 
X 
X 
G 


iG 

G 

X 

iG 

»G 

iG 

X 


1 

i 

1 

i 

., 

£ 

I 

^1 

1 

R 

J5 

•*** 

$ 

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1 

11 

! 

3 

G 

G 

F 

F 

F 

F 

X 

x 

G 

G 

G 

G 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

F 

F 

X 

X 

G 

G 

X 

X 

G 

G 

X 

X 

G 

G 

>G 

•  G 

'G 

10 

G 

G 

G 

G 

G 

X 

G 

G 

X 

X 

G 

G 

X 

X 

G 

X 

X 

X 

G 

F 

iG 

iG 

iG 

iG 

G 

G 

G 

G 

X 

X 

«G 

G 

•  G 

iG 

iG 

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«G 

»G 

»G 

X 

iG 

iG 

X 

X 

F 

»F 

802062°— 49- 


850 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ESTIMATED  VALUE  OF  NONMANUFACTURED 
FOREST  PRODUCTS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  BY  REGIONS  AND  PORTION 
OBTAINED  FROM  FARM  WOODLANDS, 

1947  (See  page  721) 

Obtained  from 
farm  woodlands 


Region 


New  England 

Middle  Atlantic 

Lake 

Central  and  Prairie .  .  . 

South  Atlantic 

Southern 

East,  total 

North  Pacific 

South  Pacific 

North  Rocky  Moun- 
tain   

South  Rocky  Moun- 
tain   

West,  total .... 


United    States, 

total 2, 419          699  29 

1  New  England:  Connecticut,  Maine,  Massachu- 
setts, New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Vermont; 
Middle  Atlantic:  Delaware,  Maryland,  New  Jersey, 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  West  Virgina;  Lake: 
Michigan,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin;  Central:  Illinois, 
Indiana,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  Ohio,  Tennessee; 
Prairie:  Iowa,  Kansas,  Nebraska;  South  Atlantic: 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Virginia;  South- 
ern: Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia,  Louisi- 
ana, Mississippi,  Oklahoma,  Texas;  North  Pacific: 
Oregon,  Washington;  South  Pacific:  California, 
Nevada;  North  Rocky  Mountain:  Idaho,  Montana; 
South  Rocky  Mountain:  Arizona,  Colorado,  New 
Mexico,  South  Dakota,  Utah,  Wyoming. 


A    CLASSIFICATION    OF    TIMBER    PRODUCTS 
AND   THEIR    RELATIVE    IMPORTANCE  * 


Total 
value 

Value 

Propor- 
tion of 
total 

Million 

Million 

dollars 

dollars 

Percent 

153 

36 

23 

172 

50 

29 

171 

65 

38 

202 

133 

66 

303 

152 

50 

751 

240 

32 

L752 
469 

676 

39 
3 

12 

III 

2 

2 

47 

2 

5 

40 

7 

i? 

667 

23 

3 

Percent  of  total 

forest  drain  2 

Product 

All         Saw 

timber  3    timber  * 

Major  timber  products  utilized 

in  primary  form: 

Fuel  wood  

12.6          5.0 

Poles      

.6            .c 

Piling                               .    . 

•  J 

.2                .2 

Fence  posts  

3-3             -8 

Mine     timbers,     hewed     or 

O    *J 

round  

i-5            -5 

Railroad  ties,  hewed     

1.6          1.8 

Total  

19.8           8.8 

Major  timber  products  that  are 

further  processed: 

In  the  manufacture  of  wooden 

products  — 

Saw  logs  for  lumber  

59-4         72-7 

Logs  and  bolts  for  veneer.  . 

3-9           4-6 

Cooperage  stock  

i-3           1-5 

Total 

64  6         78  8 

WT"  **                         fW*%* 

In  the  manufacture  of  chem- 

ical products  —  • 

Pulpwood 

II     A                     Of 

Wood    for    hardwood    dis- 

* T*                  :7'  J 

tillation   

.2                 .1 

Total 

1  1.  6          9.6 

Logs   and   bolts    for    all   other 

purposes  

1.6              2.0 

Cordwood    for    all    other    pur- 

poses 

2.4             .8 

Total  .  . 

IOO.O          IOO.  O 

1  Based  on  estimated  forest  drain  to  meet  poten- 
tial requirements  in  the  United  States,  1950-55. 

2  Drain  refers  to  the  volume  of  timber  cut  an- 
nually to  supply  requirements  for  commodities. 

3  Includes  all  trees  5  inches  and  larger  in  diameter 
at  breast  height. 

4  Includes  trees  large  enough  to  produce  saw  logs; 
minimum  diameter  varies  by  regions  and  species, 
but  in  no  case  less  than  9  inches  in  diameter  at 
breast  height.     (See  page  731.) 


Measuring  Timber 


851 


MEASURING  TIMBER 


AMOUNT   OF    SAW   TIMBER    IN    TREES,    BY   DIAMETER    AND   MERCHANTABLE    HEIGHT 
INTERNATIONAL    %-INCH    RULE 

Volume,  according  to  number  of  usable  l6-foot  logs 


Diameter  of  tree, 
breast-high 

Inches 

IO 

I 

Bd.ft. 

on 

W 

Bd.ft. 
51 

2 

Bd.ft. 
61 

2*i 

Bd.ft. 

72 

3 
Bd.ft. 

80 

3^ 
Bd.ft. 

4 
Bd.ft. 

4H 

&/.//. 

5 
Bd.ft. 

5^ 
Bd.ft. 

6 
Bd.ft. 

II     

49 

64 

80 

92 

104 

12          .... 

50 

78 

98 

112 

127 

136 

146 

M 

71 

96 

I2O 

138 

156 

168 

181 

14. 

83 

112 

141 

164 

1  86 

2OI 

216 

If.  . 

98 

172 

166 

194 

221 

240 

260 

16 

112 

151 

IQO 

221 

2C6 

280 

1O< 

17 

128 

174- 

219 

258 

296 

12C 

-JC.4 

18 

144. 

IQ6 

248 

2Q2 

3  36 

369 

4O2 

IQ 

l62 

222 

28l 

-702 

382 

42O 

4^7 

2O  .     

181 

248 

-114 

17O 

427 

47° 

<I2 

<46 

580 

21 

2OI 

276 

*KO 

4l4 

4?8 

526 

oc 

616 

656 

22  

221 

1O4 

387 

458 

528 

583 

638 

685 

732 

21. 

244 

336 

428 

co7 

586 

646 

706 

761 

816 

24. 

266 

368 

469 

556 

644 

708 

771 

836 

899 

2C 

2QO 

4O2 

514 

610 

706 

779 

852 

922 

992 

26  

3IC 

436 

558 

662 

767 

849 

911 

,008 

,086 

27 

04! 

474 

606 

721 

836 

92  < 

1,014 

,  IOO 

,185 

28 

367 

cio 

654 

779 

904 

I.OOO 

1,096 

,  190 

,284 

,368 

I,4?1 

2q 

396 

551 

706 

842 

Q77 

1,  080 

1,  184 

,289 

I,  394 

1,491 

I,<88 

on 

424. 

rqi 

7c8 

QO4 

I,  OCO 

i,  161 

I,  272 

,388 

,  CQ1 

,613 

1,721 

OJ   . 

AC  A 

6^4 

814 

Q71 

I,  112 

I.2C.4 

1,  176 

,497 

1,618 

•  74° 

1,862 

02 

4.8  c 

678 

870 

I.O42 

1,211 

I,  346 

1,480 

,606 

,711 

,867 

2,  OOI 

00 

518 

724. 

Q-7O 

I,  114 

I,  2o8 

1,44.2 

1,586 

,722 

I,  858 

2,  OO< 

2,  IC2 

14. 

55o 

77O 

080 

i  186 

I  l8l 

I  <17 

i,  601 

,8l8 

1,084 

2,  144 

2,  1O4 

35.  . 

585 

820 

I,O55 

1,266 

1,477 

1,642 

i,  806 

,965 

2,  124 

2,  29! 

2,458 

36 

620 

870 

I,  121 

i,  146 

,  <7I 

I,  746 

I,  Q22 

2,  cxn 

2,  264 

2,4l8 

2,  6l2 

17 

656 

Q22 

1,188 

I,  4.-7Q 

,672 

i,8c8 

2,  O44 

2,  2^O 

2,4l6 

2,6OO 

2,78l 

18 

693 

Q74 

I  256 

I  <I4. 

772 

I  Q7O 

2  167 

2,168 

2,  <68 

2,76l 

2,9<4 

OQ 

712 

I  Oil 

I  HO 

I  602 

874 

2  087 

2  1OO 

2  <O7 

2,  714. 

2,  Q2O 

1,  127 

40.  . 

77O 

1.086 

I.4.O1 

1.  600 

,Q77 

2.204 

2.412 

2,646 

2,860 

1,080 

.1,  .100 

852 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


AMOUNT  OF  SAW  TIMBER  IN  TREES,   BY  DIAMETER  AND  MERCHANTABLE   HEIGHT 

DOYLE   LOG    RULE 

Volume,  according  to  number  of  usable  l6-foot  logs 


Diameter  of  tree, 
breast-high 

Inches 
JO 

I 

Ed.  ft. 
16 

IH 

&/.//. 

20 

2 

Bd.ft. 

21 

2^ 

Bd.ft. 

24 

3 

Ed.  ft. 

26 

3^ 
Ed.  ft. 

4 
Ed.  ft. 

4M 

Ed.  ft. 

5 
Bd.ft. 

5H 
Bd.ft. 

6 
Bd.ft. 

II        

24 

3° 

35 

38 

42 

12           ... 

-71 

1Q 

47 

52 

57 

60 

62 

11 

42 

<1 

64 

72 

80 

84 

88 

C2 

67 

82 

91 

104 

109 

114 

1C  .  . 

64 

84 

104 

118 

132 

I4I 

ICO 

16 

77 

IOI 

I2C 

141 

161 

174 

1  86 

17 

92 

122 

IC2 

I7<r 

198 

214 

210 

18  

108 

144 

179 

206 

234 

254 

273 

10  . 

126 

1  68 

2IO 

244 

278 

301 

324 

20 

144 

igi 

242 

282 

121 

148 

174 

396 

417 

21  

164 

221 

278 

324 

370 

403 

436 

462 

489 

22  

185 

2  CO 

lie 

368 

420 

4C8 

497 

C29 

561 

2-7 

208 

282 

1C6 

417 

478 

C2I 

564 

604 

64! 

24 

211 

114 

197 

466 

536 

58l 

6lO 

678 

72C 

2C.  . 

2C6 

ICO 

443 

522 

600 

655 

710 

764 

818 

26 

282 

186 

489 

576 

663 

727 

7QI 

852 

912 

27 

no 

4.2  C 

C4.O 

6l8 

71C 

806 

877 

046 

,  QIC 

28  

119 

466 

CQ2 

700 

807 

885 

963 

,040 

,118 

,188 

,2C8 

29.  . 

17O 

COQ 

648 

766 

884 

97° 

i,oc6 

•  T44 

,212 

,  HC 

,398 

7O 

4OO 

CC2 

7O1 

8l2 

961 

i.occ 

If  14-9 

,248 

046 

,  442 

C17 

11  .  . 

414 

Coo 

764 

906 

,049 

,  IC4 

I,  260 

,364 

,469 

,576 

,684 

-72.  . 

467 

646 

824 

980 

,  117 

,  2C4 

If  17O 

,481 

,  CQ2 

,712 

8li 

11 

CO2 

696 

889 

1,  060 

,  27O 

056 

1,481 

,  6O4. 

,726 

,860 

994 

14. 

?18 

74.6 

qC4 

,118 

,  722 

,  4CQ 

i.  <o6 

,728 

,861 

2  OO8 

2  156 

Of 

C76 

801 

I  O26 

22C 

4.24. 

,  C71 

I  722 

867 

2  OI2 

2  167 

2  122 

36  . 

615 

857 

,O99 

,  712 

,526 

,688 

1,849 

2,oo6 

2,  163 

2,  126 

2  488 

07 

6c6 

QIC 

,  174 

,  4.06 

,618 

,811 

i.  984 

2,  IC7 

2  HO 

2  CO2 

2  67C 

l8 

697 

971 

24Q 

4QQ 

74.Q 

914 

2  IIQ 

2  1O8 

2  406 

2  67Q 

2  862 

to 

740 

I  Ol6 

112 

C98 

864 

2  o6c 

2  266 

2  462 

2  658 

2  8cc 

3OC2 

4O.  . 

784 

I.OOQ 

.414 

.606 

.979 

2.  Io6 

2.411 

2.616 

2.  8lQ 

1.O1O 

-?.  241 

Data  from  Mesavage  and  Girard,  tables  for  estimating  board-foot  volume  of  timber.     (Form  class  80.) 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Forest  Service.     1946. 
For  exceptionally  tall,  slender  trees  add  10  percent. 
For  exceptionally  short,  stubby  trees  deduct  IO  percent. 


Measuring  Timber 

THE    CONTENTS    OF    LOGS,   IN    BOARD    FEET,    BY   THE    DOYLE    LOG    RULE  l 

Contents,  according  to  length  of  log  in  feet 


853 


Diameter  of 

log  small  end, 

inside  bark 


10 


ii 


16 


18 


Inches       Bd.Jt.Bd. ft.  Bd.Jt.  Bd.Jt.  Bd.Jt.  Bd.Jt.  Bd.Jt.  Bd.Jt.  Bd.Jt.   Bd.Jt.    Bd.Jt.    Bd.Jt.  Bd.Jt. 


4 
8 

12 

18 

24 
32 
40 

60 


2 

5 
9 
14 

20 

28 

36 
46 
56 

68 


2 

5 

10 

16 

22 

31 
40 

51 
62 

76 


3 

6 

ii 

17 

25 

34 
44 
56 
69 

83 


3 
7 

12 
19 

27 

37 
48 
61 

75 


3 
7 
13 

20 
29 

40 

66 
81 


16 

17 
18 

19 

20. 


22 

23 

24 

25 


3 
8 

H 

22 
31 

43 
56 

87 
106 

126 
148 
171 

197 
224 

253 
283 
316 
350 

165   193   220   248   276   303   331   358    386 


I 

3 

6 

9 

13 

18 

24 
30 
37 
45 

54 
63 
73 
84 
96 


2 

4 

7 

ii 

i6 

21 
28 

35 
44 
53 

63 

74 
86 

98 


81 

95 


72 

84 

98   no 

112   127 


90  99 
106  116 
122  135 


108 

127 
147 


117 
137 
159 


155   169   183 


112   128   144   160   176   192  208 


21  ........      108  126  144  163  181  199  217  235 

121  142  l62  l82  202  223  243  263 

135  158  180  203  226  248  271  293 

150  175  200  225  250  275  300  325 


26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 


32. 

33- 
34- 

35- 

36. 
37- 
38. 
39- 


181  212  242  272  302  333 

198  231  264  298  331  364 

216  252  288  324  360  396 

234  273  312  352  391  430 

253  296  338  380  422  465 

273  319  364  4io  456  501 

294  343  392  441  490  539 

315  368  420  473  526  578 

337  394  450  5o6  562  619 

360  420  480  541  601  661 


363   393   423 


397  430 

432  468 

469  508 

507  549 

547  592 

588  636 

631  683 

675  731 

721  781 


463 
504 

547 
591 

638 

686 
736 
787 
841 


4 

4 

4 

4 

8 

9 

10 

10 

15 

16 

17 

18 

23 

25 

27 

28 

34 

36 

38 

40 

46 

46 

52 

55 

60 

64 

68 

72 

76 

81 

86 

91 

94 

100 

106 

112 

"3 

121 

129 

136 

135 

144 

153 

162 

158 

169 

180 

190 

184 

I96 

208 

220 

211 

225 

239 

253 

240 

256 

272 

288 

271 

289 

307 

325 

304 

324 

344 

364 

338 

361 

384 

406 

375 

400 

425 

450 

4U 

44! 

469 

496 

454 

484 

5H 

544 

496 

529 

562 

595 

540 

576 

612 

648 

586 

625 

664 

702 

634       676       718       760 

683 

735 


844 
901 


384  448  512  576  640  704  768  832  896  960 

408  476  544  613  681  749  817  885  953  1,021 

433  506  578  650  722  795  867  939  1,011  1,084 

459  536  612  689  766  842  919  995  1,072  1,148 


729 

775 

820 

784 

833 

882 

841 

894 

946 

900 

956 

,012 

96! 

[,02I 

,081 

,024 

,088 

.152 

,089 

.157 

,225 

,156 

,228 

,300 

,225 

,302 

.378 

.296 

.377 

.458 

40  ........      486      567     648      729      810      891      9721,053    1,134    1,215 

1  To  find  the  number  of  board  feet  in  a  l6-foot  log  according  to  the  Doyle  scale,  subtract  4  from  the  diam- 
eter (in  inches)  of  the  small  end  of  the  log.  Multiply  the  remainder  by  itself.  This  gives  the  contents 
of  the  log  (in  board  feet).  An  8-foot  log  would  have  half  as  many  board  feet,  a  12-foot  log  three-fourths 
as  many. 


854 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


PILING   PULPWOOD  for  measuring 

8  Feet 


4  Feet 


Boards  lapped 
half  to  shed 
water. 


CORD 
Ventilating  Chimney 


PEN 


Wire  Tie 


I"X2" 
Dry  Stickers 


l8"Min, 


Log  butts  of  durable  species  '     t4Ft.  or  less, 
or  6"X6"treated  posts  set 
in  ground. 


PILING  LUMBER 
for  seasoning 


A  Vacation  Guide 


NATIONAL  FORESTS 


ALABAMA 

WILLIAM    B.    BANKHEAD    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Montgomery,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  31,  43.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Haleyville.) 

Special  features:  Limestone  gorges;  Clear 
Creek  Falls;  two  natural  bridges;  wildlife 
refuge  and  management  area.  Recreation 
resources:  Managed  deer,  turkey,  and 
squirrel  hunting.  Bass  and  bream  fishing  in 
Brushy  Lake.  Improved  picnic  area  on 
Sipsey  River.  Commercial  accommodations 
at  Haleyville,  Russellville,  Decatur,  Cull- 
man,  and  Jasper.  Acres:  177,976. 

CONECUH   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Montgomery,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highway  29.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Andalusia.) 

Special  features:  Large,  clear  ponds. 
Recreation  resources:  Bass  and  bream  fish- 
ing. Deer,  turkey,  and  small-game  hunting. 
Improved  picnic  and  swimming  area  at 
Open  Pond.  Commercial  accommodations 
at  Andalusia.  Acres:  83,866. 

TALLADEGA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Montgomery,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  78,  241,  State  Highway 
6.  (Ranger  Headquarters  at  Centerville, 
Heflin,  and  Talladega.) 

Special  features:  Payne  Lake  Wildlife 
Management  Area;  Skyway  scenic  drive; 
Mount  Cheaha,  2,407  feet  elevation,  high- 
est point  in  Alabama;  Lake  Chinnabee. 
Recreation  resources:  Deer,  turkey,  duck, 
and  squirrel  hunting.  Bass,  bream,  and 
perch  fishing.  Swimming  at  Cheaha  State 
Park.  Picnic  grounds  at  Payne  Lake  and 
Horn  and  Horseblock  towers.  Resort  hotel 
and  cabins  at  Cheaha  State  Park.  Com- 
mercial accommodations  at  Centerville, 
Marion,  Tuscaloosa,  Selma,  Talladega, 
Sylacauga,  Anniston,  and  Heflin.  Acres: 
356,794. 

ALASKA 

CHUGACH    NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Juneau,  direct  plane 
service  to  Juneau.  (Ranger  Headquarters 
at  Cordova  and  Seward. ) 

Special  features:  Tidewater,  Hanging  and 
Piedmont  Glaciers.  Aleut  villages,  pictur- 
esque old  Russian  churches,  native  bidarkas. 


Shrimp,  crab,  clam,  and  salmon  canneries. 
Alaska  Railroad.  Mountains  of  the  Kenai; 
scenic  fiords  of  Port  Wells.  Recreation 
resources:  Rainbow  trout  fishing  in  Russian 
River.  Moose,  sheep,  goat,  and  brown  bear 
hunting.  Duck,  grouse,  and  ptarmigan 
hunting.  Hiking  along  scenic  trails;  140 
miles  of  roads,  285  miles  of  trails.  Regard- 
ing accommodations,  inquire  at  Cordova, 
Seward,  and  Juneau  offices.  Plane  and  boat 
services  to  these  towns.  Two  improved 
public  forest  camps.  Rail  service  Anchorage 
to  Seward.  Acres:  4,801,902. 

TONGASS    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Juneau,  direct  plane 
service  to  Ketchikan  and  Juneau.  (Ranger 
Headquarters  at  Ketchikan,  Petersburg, 
Craig,  and  Sitka.) 

Special  features:  Salmon  canneries. 
Totems,  territorial  museum,  and  Indian 
villages;  gateway  to  Canadian  hinterland 
and  Yukon,  "Trail  of  '98,"  gold  mines.  Fur 
farms;  glaciers;  fiords;  Alaska  Highway 
from  Haines;  "Ice  Cap"  back  of  Juneau; 
fiords  of  Tracy  Arm  and  Rudyerd  Bay. 
Observatories  where  bear  can  be  watched 
fishing  for  salmon.  Ward  Lake,  Auke  Vil- 
lage, Admiralty  Island.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Trout  fishing,  salt-water  fishing  for 
salmon  and  halibut.  Alaskan  brown  and 
grizzly  bear,  goat,  and  deer  hunting.  Boat- 
ing on  lakes  and  inland  waterways.  Hiking 
scenic  wilderness  trails.  Mountain  climbing ; 
210  miles  of  roads,  780  miles  of  trails. 
Eighteen  improved  forest  camp  grounds. 
Inquire  concerning  public  camps  and  hotels 
at  Juneau  office.  Hotel  accommodations  in 
all  southeastern  Alaska  towns,  all  of  which 
are  served  by  boat  and  plane.  Acres: 
16,045,753. 

ARIZONA 

APACHE  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Springerville,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  60,  260,  666. 

Special  features:  Scenic  Coronado  Trail 
and  other  drives  through  spruce  and  moun- 
tain-meadow country.  Prehistoric  Blue 
River  cliff  dwellings.  Big  and  Crescent 
Lakes.  Blue  Range  and  Mount  Baldy  Wil- 
derness Areas.  (Forest  lies  partly  in  New 
Mexico.)  Recreation  resources:  Lake  and 
stream  trout  fishing.  Big-game  hunting,  in- 

855 


856 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


eluding  elk,  deer,  bear;  turkey  hunting. 
Horseback  riding,  pack  trips.  Thirty-three 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas.  Resorts, 
lodges,  cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Greer  and 
Alpine,  Ariz.;  Luna  and  Reserve,  N.  Mex. 
Acres:  1,567,210. 

COCONINO  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Flagstaff,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  66,  89,  89-A. 

Special  features:  Mormon  Lake,  largest 
natural  lake  in  Arizona;  San  Francisco 
peaks,  12,611  feet,  highest  in  Arizona;  near 
Grand  Canyon  National  Park;  nearby  Na- 
tional Monuments  are  Sunset  Grater,  Wal- 
nut Canyon  (cliff  dwellings),  Wupatki 
(ancient  ruins),  and  Montezuma  Castle. 
Lowell  Astronomical  Observatory.  Sycamore 
Canyon  Wild  Area.  More  than  1,000  miles 
of  scenic  drives  through  timbered  country. 
Recreation  resources:  Hunting,  including 
deer,  elk,  and  mountain  lion.  Horseback  rid- 
ing. Eleven  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
Arizona  Snow  Bowl  winter-sports  area.  Re- 
sorts, towns,  camps,  and  dude  ranches. 
Nearby  towns:  Williams,  Sedona,  Clark- 
dale,  Cottonwood,  Camp  Verde,  and  Wins- 
low.  Acres:  1,751,001. 

CORONADO  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Tucson,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  80,  84,  89. 

Special  features:  Rugged  mountains  ris- 
ing abruptly  from  surrounding  desert; 
cactus  to  pines  and  swimming  to  skiing  in 
an  hour's  time  and  40  miles  apart.  Madera 
and  Sabino  Canyons;  Chiricahua  Wild 
Area.  Colossal  Cave  State  Park;  Saguaro 
and  Chiricahua  National  Monuments. 
(Forest  lies  partly  in  New  Mexico.)  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Deer  and  javelina  hunting. 
Scenic  drives  and  horseback  trails  in  the 
rugged  Santa  Catalina,  Chiricahua,  Santa 
Rita,  and  Huachuca  Mountains.  Many 
forms  of  bird  life,  including  the  trogon ;  rare 
species  of  plants  such  as  Chihuahua  pine, 
chilicote,  and  madrona;  and  rare  species  of 
animals,  including  coati-mundi,  Chiricahua 
squirrel,  and  javelina.  Thirty- three  camp 
and  picnic  grounds;  southernmost  winter- 
sports  area  in  the  United  States.  Many  dude 
ranches,  resorts,  and  hotels.  Adjacent  towns 
are  Nogales  and  Douglas  on  the  Mexican 
border;  Tucson,  Benson,  Patagonia,  Tomb- 
stone (the  town  "too  tough  to  die"),  Will- 
cox,  Bisbee,  Bowie,  San  Simon,  and  Fort 
Huachuca.  Acres:  1,385,561. 

CROOK    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Safford,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  60,  70,  666,  State  Highways  77, 
78,  88. 

Special  features:  Semidesert  to  alpine 
country,  elevations  from  3,500  to  10,700 
feet;  Mogollon  Rim  and  Pinaleno  Ranges. 
Parts  of  the  Gila  and  Superstition  Wilder- 
ness Areas;  Galiuro  Wild  Area.  Coolidge 


and  Roosevelt  Dams;  Indian  reservations. 
Recreation  resources:  Hunting,  including 
bear,  mountain  lion,  deer,  elk,  peccary, 
turkey,  and  quail.  Scenic  drives :  U.  S.  High- 
way 60,  Pinal  Mountain,  Swift  Trail,  and 
Coronado  Trail.  Nineteen  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas.  Four  dude  ranches  near  or 
within  the  boundary ;  hotels  and  auto  courts. 
Nearby  towns:  Safford,  Clifton,  Duncan, 
Globe,  Superior,  and  Miami.  Acres:  1,422,- 
629. 

KAIBAB  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Williams,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  66,  89,  64,  67. 

Special  features:  Grand  Canyon  National 
Game  Preserve  with  the  famous  Kaibab 
forest  deer  herd;  wild  buffalo  herd;  only 
habitat  of  the  Kaibab  squirrel.  Access  to 
both  North  and  South  Rims  of  Grand  Can- 
yon and  Supai  Indian  village  in  Havasu 
Canyon.  East  Rim ;  North  Canyon ;  Thunder 
River;  Bill  Williams  Mountain;  White 
Horse  Lake;  Sycamore  Canyon  Wild  Area. 
Recreation  resources:  Hunting,  including 
deer  and  elk,  antelope,  bear,  mountain  lion, 
turkey,  and  buffalo.  Wilderness  trips,  scenic 
drives,  winter  sports,  fishing,  riding  and  pack 
trips.  Unlimited  photographic  opportuni- 
ties in  vivid  coloring  and  geological  forma- 
tions. Thirteen  public  camp  and  picnic 
areas;  Bill  Williams  Winter-sports  Area. 
Hotels,  resorts,  cottage  courts,  guest  ranches, 
hunting  camps.  Nearby  towns:  Williams, 
Grand  Canyon,  Flagstaff,  Jerome,  Ashfork, 
Fredonia,  and  Cottonwood,  Ariz.;  Kanab, 
Utah.  Acres:  1,793,577. 

PRESCOTT  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Prescott,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  89. 

Special  features:  Rugged  back  country  in 
the  high  mountains.  Granite  Basin  Lake 
with  rugged  Granite  Mountain  overlooking 
the  lake;  Sycamore  Canyon  and  Pine 
Mountain  Wild  Areas.  Jerome  "billion  dol- 
lar copper  camp."  Prescott  is  known  as 
"Cowboy  Capital  of  the  World."  Recreation 
resources:  Deer  hunting.  Some  fishing. 
Many  horseback-riding  trails.  Scenic  drives. 
Ten  public  camp  grounds  and  picnic  areas; 
two  winter-sports  areas.  Resorts,  hotels, 
cabins,  and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns: 
Prescott,  Mayer,  Jerome,  Clarkdale,  and 
Cottonwood.  Acres:  1,252,168. 

SITGREAVES  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Holbrook,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  60,  State  Highways  77,  173. 

Special  features:  Scenic  Mogollon  Rim 
drive ;  Pueblo  ruins.  Large  elk  herd.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Limited  hunting,  including 
deer,  turkey,  antelope,  bear.  Saddle  and 
pack  trips.  Three  forest  camping  grounds. 
Resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  and  guest  ranches. 
Nearby  towns :  Winslow,  Show  Low,  Lake- 
side, and  Pinetop.  Acres:  805,167. 


National  Forests 


857 


TONTO    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Phoenix,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  60,  70,  80,  89. 

Special  features:  Famous  Tonto  Basin; 
Superstition  Mountains;  Mogollon  Rim; 
Superstition  Mountain  and  Mazatzal  Wil- 
derness Areas;  Sierra  Ancha  Wild  Area.  A 
small  band  of  Mexican  bighorn  sheep  in 
the  Superstition  Mountains.  Apache,  Can- 
yon, and  Stewart  Mountain  Lakes  on  the 
Salt  River;  Bartlett  and  Horseshoe  Lakes 
on  the  Verde  River.  Many  remains  of  pre- 
historic occupancy,  including  Tonto  Na- 
tional Monument  and  the  Pueblo  Canyon 
ruins.  Unusually  varied  and  colored  topog- 
raphy. Semidesert  to  ponderosa  pine  for- 
ests. Recreation  resources:  Lake  and 
warm-water  stream  fishing;  fair  trout  fish- 
ing. Quail  hunting;  deer,  elk,  bear,  and 
mountain  lion  hunting.  Saddle  and  pack 
trips.  Winter  photographic  possibilities. 
Scenic  drives:  Apache  Trail  and  forest 
highway  from  Payson  to  Mogollon  Rim, 
by  way  of  Colcord  Mountain.  Fourteen 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas.  Resorts,  dude 
ranches,  cabins,  hot  mineral  baths,  boats 
with  or  without  motor,  winter  and  summer 
open  playgrounds.  Nearby  towns:  Payson, 
Pine,  Young,  Roosevelt,  and  Mesa.  Acres: 
2,410,529. 

ARKANSAS 

OUACHITA    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Hot  Springs  National 
Park,  reached  by  U.  S.  Highways  70,  71, 
270,  271. 

Special  features:  Ouachita,  Kiamichi, 
and  Winding  Stair  Mountains.  Four  major 
lakes  and  many  smaller  artificial  lakes  in  or 
near  forest.  Caddo  Gap,  where  De  Soto 
fought  Indians ;  explored  by  LaSalle  and  De 
Tonti,  accounting  for  the  many  French 
names.  Crystal  Cave;  Little  Missouri  Falls. 
Four  game  refuges;  medicinal  springs.  (For- 
est lies  partly  in  Oklahoma. )  Recreation  re- 
sources: Bass  fishing.  Deer,  quail,  squirrel 
hunting.  Scenic  drives,  hiking,  and  swim- 
ming. Fourteen  improved  forest  camp  and 
picnic  grounds,  with  overnight  shelters  at 
four  areas.  Commercial  hotels,  resorts,  and 
cabin  camps  in  and  near  the  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Hot  Springs  and  Mena,  Ark.; 
Poteau,  Okla.  Acres:  1,485,902. 

OZARK    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Russellville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  64,  71,  State  Highways 
22,  7. 

Special  features:  Inviting  summer  cli- 
mate; oak  forests;  scenic  drives;  five  game 
refuges;  three  recreational  lakes.  Mount 
Magazine.  Recreation  resources:  Stream 
and  lake  fishing.  Deer  and  small-game 
hunting.  Swimming.  Thirteen  improved 
camp  and  picnic  areas.  Mount  Magazine 
Lodge  and  cabins,  White  Rock  Mountain 


cabins,  commercial  cabins  nearby.  Nearby 
towns:  Fort  Smith,  Fayetteville,  Ozark, 
Clarksville,  and  Harrison.  Acres:  991,196. 

CALIFORNIA 

ANGELES     NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Los  Angeles,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  6,  66,  99. 

Special  features:  Steep,  rugged  moun- 
tains adjoining  Los  Angeles  metropolitan 
area;  Old  Baldy,  10,000  feet.  Chiefly  a 
chaparral  forest,  which  serves  as  a  water- 
shed for  the  Los  Angeles  area  and  as  an 
easily  reached  mountain  playground  for 
the  inhabitants.  Devil  Canyon;  Bear  Can- 
yon Wilderness  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Scenic  drives  with  wonderful  views,  espe- 
cially of  city  lights  at  night.  Riding  and 
hiking  trails,  winter  sports,  fishing,  hunting, 
some  swimming  and  boating.  Fifty-two 
camp  and  picnic  areas;  four  winter-sports 
areas,  ski  lifts  and  tows.  Resorts,  cabins, 
pack  and  riding  stables.  Hotels  and  motor 
courts  in  Los  Angeles  and  foothill  towns. 
Acres:  646,823. 

CLEVELAND    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  San  Diego,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  101,  395,  80,  State  High- 
ways 78,  94. 

Special  features:  Primarily  a  watershed 
forest  with  an  unusually  mild  climate,  be- 
tween the  desert  and  the  sea.  Agua  Tibia 
Wilderness  Area.  The  world's  largest  tele- 
scope at  the  Palomar  Observatory.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Camping.  Warm-water  fish- 
ing and  duck  hunting  on  the  impounded 
lakes  of  the  water  systems.  Big-game  hunt- 
ing is  confined  to  a  deer  season  of  one  month 
during  which  there  is  heavy  competition; 
pigeon  and  quail  hunting.  The  first  day's 
ride  of  the  Mexico  to  Oregon  Trail  crosses 
the  forest.  Twenty-four  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas ;  one  winter  playground.  Three 
resorts  with  cabins,  and  dude  ranches 
nearby.  The  cities  of  San  Diego  and  Santa 
Ana  are  less  than  2  hours'  drive  from  the 
forest.  Acres:  381,694. 

ELDORADO    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Placerville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  50,  88. 

Special  features:  Rugged  mountains  in 
Sierra  Nevadas.  Hundreds  of  mountain 
lakes;  includes  south  end  of  Lake  Tahoe, 
23  miles  long,  13  miles  wide,  elevation  6,225 
feet.  Famous  early-day  mining  communi- 
ties, including  Coloma,  site  of  Sutter's  mill 
where  discovery  of  gold  started  the  rush  of 
1849.  (Forest  lies  partly  in  Nevada.) 
Recreation  resources:  Lake  and  stream  fish- 
ing. Deer  and  bear  hunting.  Scenic  drives: 
Highway  50  to  Lake  Tahoe;  Carson  Pass 
Highway  88,  famous  for  Fremont  expedi- 
tion in  1844  led  by  Kit  Carson;  George- 
town to  Wentworth  Springs.  Riding  trails, 
wilderness  trips.  Twenty-seven  public 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


camp  and  picnic  areas;  three  winter-sports 
areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  and  dude 
ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Sacramento,  Calif., 
and  Reno,  Nev.  Acres:  624,357. 

INYO    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Bishop,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  6,  395. 

Special  features:  High  Sierra  Wilder- 
ness Area  and  Mount  Dana-Minarets  Wild 
Area.  Palisade  Glacier,  southernmost  glacier 
in  the  United  States  and  largest  in  Sierra 
Nevadas.  Mount  Whitney,  highest  point  in 
continental  United  States ;  rugged  and  spec- 
tacular back  country,  with  many  peaks 
more  than  14,000  feet  elevation.  (Forest  lies 
partly  in  Nevada.)  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Deer  hunting. 
Wilderness  trips.  Many  natural  lakes,  some 
accessible  by  paved  road  up  to  9,700  feet 
elevation.  Mammoth  Lakes  and  June  Lake- 
Silver  Lake  recreation  areas.  Forty-two 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas ;  eight  winter- 
sports  areas.  Resorts,  cabins.  Nearby  towns : 
Lone  Pine,  Independence,  Bigpine,  Bishop, 
and  Leevining.  Acres:  1,777,478. 

KLAMATH    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Yreka,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  99. 

Special  features:  Klamath  River  and 
tributaries,  famous  for  salmon  and  steel- 
head  trout.  Marble  Mountain  and  Salmon- 
Trinity  Alps  Wilderness  Areas.  High  moun- 
tain lakes  and  streams.  (Forest  lies  partly 
in  Oregon.)  Recreation  resources:  Steel- 
head  and  salmon  fishing.  Deer  hunting. 
Hiking,  riding,  and  pack  trips.  Forty  im- 
proved forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds. 
Commercial  cabin  camps,  resorts,  and  dude 
ranches.  Acres:  1,310,548. 

LASSEN    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Susanville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  395,  State  Highways  36,  89. 

Special  features:  Caribou  Peak  and 
Thousand  Lakes  Wilderness  Areas.  Many 
lakes;  southern  end  of  Cascade  Wonder- 
land; volcanic  laval  flows  and  craters;  ice 
caves,  lava  flow  tubes,  hot  springs,  mud 
pots.  Indian  pictographs  and  hieroglyphics. 
Old  emigrant  trails.  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing  for  rainbow,  Loch- 
leven,  and  steelhead  trout.  Deer  and  bear 
hunting.  Riding  and  hiking  trails.  Scenic 
road  over  Mount  Lassen  crosses  through 
Lassen  National  Park.  Fifty  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas;  trailer  space.  Privately  oper- 
ated resorts,  hotels,  cabins.  Nearby  towns: 
Susanville,  Westwood,  Chester,  Chico,  Red 
Bluff,  Redding,  Burney,  Fall  River  Mills, 
McArthur,  and  Stirling  City.  Acres:  962,- 
500. 

LOS  PADRES  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Santa  Barbara,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  101,  99,  399,  State 
Highways  1,  166,  150. 


Special  features:  Primitive  forest,  vary- 
ing from  coast  redwood  to  semidesert ;  home 
of  the  California  condor.  Ventana  and  San 
Rafael  Wild  Areas.  Snow-capped  peaks. 
Recreation  resources:  Quail  and  pigeon 
hunting;  some  deer  and  wild  boar  hunting. 
Trout  fishing.  Scenic  drives,  wilderness 
trips.  Sixty-seven  public  camp  and  picnic 
areas  on  roads;  numerous  other  trail 
camps.  Kern  County  Ski  Lodge.  Hotels, 
cabins,  and  a  limited  number  of  dude 
ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Santa  Barbara, 
Ojai,  Taft,  Santa  Maria,  San  Luis  Obispo, 
Carmel,  King  City,  Monterey,  Atascadero, 
Paso  Robles  and  Ventura.  Acres:  1,767,196. 

MENDOCINO  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Willows,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  99W. 

Special  features:  Middle  Eel-Yolla  Bolly 
Wilderness  Area.  Columbian  black-tailed 
deer.  Recreation  resources:  Hunting,  fish- 
ing, hiking,  saddle  and  pack  trips.  Forty 
public  camps.  Local  commercial  dude 
ranches  and  cabin  camps.  Acres:  839,088. 

MODOG    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Alturas,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  299,  395,  State  Highway 

Special  features:  South  Warner  Wilder- 
ness Area.  Glass  Mountain  lava  flows.  Scene 
of  Modoc  Indian  wars.  Winter  range  of  in- 
terstate deer  herd.  Clear  Lake  Reservoir 
bird  refuge.  Recreation  resources:  Stream 
and  lake  fishing.  Mule  deer  and  waterfowl 
hunting.  Scenic  rides,  summit  trail  through 
South  Warner  Wilderness  Area,  wilderness 
trips.  Thirteen  public  camps;  one  winter- 
sports  area.  Hotels,  cabins,  and  hunters' 
camps  during  deer  season.  Nearby  towns : 
Alturas,  Cedarville,  Canby,  Adin,  and 
Tulelake.  Acres:  1,609,812. 

PLUMAS   NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Quincy,  reached  by  State 
Highways  89,  24. 

Special  features:  Feather  River  country; 
Feather  Falls,  one  of  the  highest  and  most 
picturesque  falls  in  the  United  States. 
Historic  gold-mining  areas  of  La  Porte, 
Johnsville,  and  Rich  Bar ;  largest  lumbering 
industry  in  California;  extensive  hydroelec- 
tric developments.  Limestone  caves;  large, 
beautiful  mountain  valleys:  Indian,  Ameri- 
can, Mohawk,  and  Sierra.  Historic  winter- 
sports  areas  of  La  Porte  and  Johnsville. 
Recreation  resources:  Lake  and  stream  fish- 
ing. Mule  and  black-tailed  deer,  bear,  duck, 
geese,  quail,  and  dove  hunting.  Scenic  drives 
include  Feather  River  Canyon,  Lake  Al- 
manor,  Bucks  Lake,  Bald  Rock  Canyon, 
Quincy-La  Porte,  Lakes  Basin  Recreational 
Area,  and  Little  Last  Chance  Creek.  State 
riding  and  hiking  trail.  Sixteen  improved 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  one  winter- 
sports  area  at  Johnsville.  Resorts,  hotels, 
and  cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Marysville, 


National  Forests 


859 


Oroville,   Chico,   Chester,   Susanville,   and 
Sierraville.  Acres:   1,230,649. 

SAN    BERNARDINO    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  San  Bernardino,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  18,  66,  74,  99. 

Special  features:  Highest  mountains  in 
southern  California  (San  Gorgonio,  11,485 
feet,  six  others  of  more  than  10,000  feet). 
San  Jacinto,  San  Gorgonia,  and  Cuca- 
monga  Wild  Areas.  Historical  landmarks: 
Big  Bear  and  Arrowhead  Lakes;  Mount 
Jacinto.  Recreation  resources:  Lake  and 
stream  fishing.  Deer  hunting.  Good  sites  for 
municipal  and  organization  youth  camps. 
Camping  and  pack  trips,  winter  sports. 
Forty-five  public  camp  and  picnic  areas 
with  space  for  trailers;  seven  winter-sports 
areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  auto  courts,  cabins  at 
Arrowhead  and  Big  Bear  Lakes.  Acres: 
604,191. 

SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Porterville,  reached  by 
State  Highways  65,  180,  178,  190. 

Special  features:  High  Sierra  Wilderness 
Area,  with  200  peaks  more  than  1 1,000  feet. 
Mineral  King  Recreation  Area;  parts  of 
John  Muir  Trail;  Kings  River  Canyon; 
Hume  Lake;  Kern  River  Canyon;  Boy- 
dens  Cave;  Sequoias;  Sequoia  National 
Game  Refuge.  Recreation  resources:  High 
mountain  lakes  and  stream  fishing.  Big- 
game  hunting  includes  the  California  mule 
deer  and  bear.  Scenic  drives:  Kern  River 
Canyon,  Kings  River  Canyon.  Riding  trails 
in  wilderness  area,  hiking,  swimming,  boat- 
ing. Sixty  public  camp  and  picnic  areas ;  one 
winter-sports  area.  Resorts,  hotel,  cabins. 
Nearby  towns :  Fresno,  Sanger,  Visalia,  Por- 
terville, and  Bakersfield.  Acres:  1,1 14,932. 

SHASTA    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Mount  Shasta,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  99,  97,  299. 

Special  features:  Mount  Shasta,  14,161 
feet;  five  living  glaciers;  Shasta  Lake,  365 
miles  mountain  shore  line;  Trinity  Alps 
Wilderness  Area;  lava  beds;  Glass  Moun- 
tain; Castle  Crags.  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing,  home  of  Dolly 
Varden  trout.  Waterfowl,  upland  birds, 
deer,  bear,  small-game  hunting.  Prehistoric 
limestone  caves,  lava  caves  and  chimneys. 
Riding  trails  in  wilderness  area.  Twenty- 
nine  public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  two 
winter-sports  areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  motels, 
and  guest  ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Duns- 
muir,  Weed,  McCloud,  Redding,  Callahan, 
Etna,  Trinity  Center,  and  Dorris.  Acres: 
1,264,120. 

SIERRA   NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  North  Fork  (Madera 
County),  reached  by  U.  S.  Highway  99, 
State  Highways  41,  168. 

Special  features:  Huntington,  Florence, 
and  Shaver  Lakes;  Dinkey  Creek;  Bass  Lake 


Recreation  Areas.  Nelder  and  McKinley 
Groves  of  Big  Trees ;  Central  Sierra  section 
of  the  John  Muir  Trail.  High  Sierra  Wilder- 
ness Area  and  Mount  Dana-Minarets  Wild 
Area.  Devils  Post  Pile  National  Monument 
and  Rainbow  Falls  in  the  Reds  Meadow 
Area.  Watershed  of  the  San  Joaquin  and 
Kings  Rivers.  Recreation  resources:  Lake 
and  stream  fishing.  Deer,  bear,  and  quail 
hunting.  Boating,  mountain  climbing,  pack 
and  saddle  trips,  numerous  swimming 
areas,  winter  sports.  One  hundred  and 
twelve  improved  forest  camp  and  picnic 
areas.  Commercial  cabin  camps,  hotels,  re- 
sorts, and  dude  ranches.  Mono  Hot  Springs, 
improved  mineral  water  and  mud  baths. 
Acres:  1,343,184. 

SIX  RIVERS  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Eureka,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  101,  199,  299. 

Special  features:  Giant  redwood  and  fir 
forests.  Klamath,  Smith,  Eel,  and  Mad 
Rivers.  Mild,  cool  climate  yearlong;  rugged 
back  country.  Recreation  resources:  Trout 
fishing,  spring  and  summer;  steelhead  and 
salmon  fishing,  fall  and  winter  in  six  rivers. 
Deer  and  bear  hunting.  Wilderness-trip  rid- 
ing trails.  Scenic  drives.  Sixty-eight  public 
camp  and  picnic  areas;  one  winter-sports 
area;  three  organization  camps.  Resorts, 
hotels,  cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Crescent 
City,  Klamath,  Orick,  Trinidad,  Arcata, 
Eureka,  Fortuna,  and  Orleans.  Acres: 
926,105. 

STANISLAUS  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Sonora,  reached  by  State 
Highways  4,  108,  120. 

Special  features:  Nearest  mountain  coun- 
try to  San  Francisco  Bay  region  and  portion 
of  San  Joaquin  Valley,  elevations  from  1,100 
to  11,575  feet.  Deep  canyons  cut  by 
Merced,  Tuolumne,  Stanislaus,  and  Moke- 
lumne  Rivers.  Fine  timber  stands.  Emigrant 
Basin  Wild  Area.  Routes  of  early-day 
pioneers.  Sonora  and  Ebbets  Pass.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Fishing  in  lakes  and  715 
miles  of  streams.  Big-game  hunting  for  deer 
and  bear.  Camping  and  picnicking,  organi- 
zation camping,  scenic  drives,  hiking,  saddle 
and  pack  trips,  winter  sports.  Twenty-six 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  sixteen  or- 
ganization camps;  two  winter-sports  areas. 
Resorts,  cabins,  stores,  boating  areas,  packer 
stations.  Nearby  towns :  Sonora,  Jamestown, 
Columbia,  Angels  Camp,  San  Andreas,  and 
Groveland.  Acres:  897,198. 

TAHOE   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Nevada  City,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highway  40,  State  Highways  20, 
49,  89. 

Special  features:  Attractive  lakes  and 
streams,  including  shore  line  of  famous  Lake 
Tahoe.  Historic  Donner  Monument  and 
Trail  of  Forty-niners;  mother  lode  country 
and  scene  of  much  of  the  California  gold- 


86o 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


rush  history.  Recreation  resources:  Excel- 
lent terrain  and  snow  conditions  for  winter 
sports.  Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Big-game 
hunting  for  deer  and  bear.  Riding  and  hik- 
ing trails.  Scenic  drives  through  historic 
gold-mining  towns.  Thirty-three  public 
forest  camp  and  picnic  areas.  Summer  re- 
sorts, cabins,  hotels,  and  private-club  accom- 
modations. Nearby  towns:  Nevada  City, 
Grass  Valley,  Truckee,  Downieville,  Sierra 
City,  Sierraville.  Acres:  630,490. 

TRINITY    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Weaverville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  299,  State  Highway  36. 

Special  features:  Extensive  stands  of 
virgin  timber.  Trinity  River  drainage.  Salm- 
on-Trinity Alps  and  Yolla  Bolly-Middle 
Eel  Wilderness  Areas.  Recreation  resources: 
Deer  hunting.  Lake  and  stream  fishing, 
including  steelhead  and  salmon  on  the 
Trinity  River.  Scenic  drives,  riding  trails, 
wilderness  trips.  Twenty-three  public  camp 
and  picnic  areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  and  cabins. 
Acres:  1,037,579. 

COLORADO 

ARAPAHO    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Idaho  Springs,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  6,  40. 

Special  features:  Mount  Evans.  Gold, 
silver  mining;  ghost  towns.  Gore  Range- 
Eagle  Nest  Wild  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Big-game  hunting 
for  elk,  deer,  and  bear,  and  some  small- 
game  hunting.  Scenic  high  mountain 
routes:  Mount  Evans,  Loveland  and  Ber- 
thoud  Passes,  Peak  to  Peak  Highway. 
Riding  trails,  wilderness-area  trips.  Forty- 
nine  public  camp  and  picnic  grounds ;  seven 
winter-sports  areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  cabin 
camps,  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Idaho 
Springs,  Dillon,  Hot  Sulphur  Springs, 
Granby,  Grand  Lake,  and  Kremmling. 
Acres:  1,013,523. 

GRAND  MESA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Grand  Junction,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  24,  50. 

Special  features:  Grand  Mesa  Plateau, 
10,500  feet  high;  250  lakes  and  reservoirs. 
Cliffs,  canyons,  waterfalls,  wild  flowers. 
Recreation  resources:  Lake  and  stream  fish- 
ing. Deer,  bear,  duck  hunting.  Scenic 
drives,  saddle  trips,  winter  sports.  Twenty- 
one  public  camp  and  picnic  grounds;  one 
winter-sports  area.  Commercial  cabin 
camps,  resorts  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Grand  Junction,  Delta,  Palisade, 
and  Rifle.  Acres:  651,061. 

GUNNISON    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Gunnison,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  50. 

Special  features:  One  thousand  miles 
trout  fishing  streams;  many  high  lakes. 
Twenty-seven  mountain  peaks  more  than 


12,000  feet;  Ruby  Range;  Taylor  Park 
reservoir  and  valley ;  ghost  towns.  West  Elk 
and  Maroon  Bells-Snowmass  Wilderness 
Areas.  Recreation  resources:  Fishing.  Elk, 
deer,  mountain  sheep,  bear  hunting.  Hiking, 
saddle  trips,  wilderness-area  trips.  Twenty- 
one  public  camp  and  picnic  grounds;  one 
winter-sports  area.  Resorts  and  cabin  camps 
in  and  near  forest.  Acres:  1,472,335. 

PIKE    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Colorado  Springs, 
reached  by  U.  S.  Highways  24,  85,  285. 

Special  features:  Pikes  Peak  with  high- 
way to  summit;  historic  Cripple  Creek  and 
Alma  gold  camps;  scenic  Rampart  Range 
Road;  Devil's  Head  Forest  Fire  Lookout; 
Monument  Forest  Nursery;  Manitou  Forest 
Experiment  Station.  Platte  and  Arkansas 
River  watersheds.  Recreation  resources: 
Hunting,  fishing,  camping,  picnicking, 
hiking,  saddle  trips,  scenic  drives,  winter 
sports.  Thirty-six  public  camp  and  picnic 
grounds;  Pikes  Peak  winter-sports  area. 
Commercial  hotels,  resorts,  cabin  camps  in 
and  near  forest.  Nearby  towns:  Colorado 
Springs  and  Cripple  Creek.  Acres: 
1,078,762. 

RIO  GRANDE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Monte  Vista,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  160,  285. 

Special  features:  Mountain  lakes  and 
trout  streams;  Wolf  Creek  Pass;  rugged 
mountains;  Wheeler  National  Monument; 
Upper  Rio  Grande  and  La  Garita-Sheep 
Mountain  Wilderness  Areas;  active  mining 
camps.  Recreation  resources:  Trout  fishing. 
Deer,  elk,  and  duck  hunting.  Saddle  and 
pack  trips,  hiking,  and  scenic  drives.  Eight- 
een improved  public  camp  and  picnic 
areas;  one  winter-sport  area.  Commercial 
cabin  camps  in  and  near  the  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Monte  Vista,  Creede,  Saguache, 
Alamosa,  and  Antonito.  Acres:  1,765,123. 

ROOSEVELT  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Fort  Collins,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  287. 

Special  features:  Arapaho,  Isabelle,  and 
South  St.  Vrain  Glaciers;  rugged  Conti- 
nental Divide  with  many  alpine  lakes; 
Poudre  and  Big  Thompson  Canyons; 
Rawah  Wild  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Trout  fishing.  Deer,  bear,  mountain  lion, 
grouse,  and  duck  hunting.  Saddle  and  pack 
trips,  hiking,  scenic  drives.  Thirty-three  im- 
proved public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  win- 
ter-sports areas.  Commercial  cabin  camps 
and  dude  ranches  in  and  near  the  forest. 
Nearby  towns:  Fort  Collins,  Denver,  Love- 
land,  Longmont,  Boulder,  and  Estes  Park. 
Acres:  782,920. 

ROUTT    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Steamboat  Springs, 
reached  by  U.  S.  Highway  40. 

Special  features:  Continental  Divide  with 


National  Forests 


861 


perpetual  ice  and  snow;  trout  streams  and 
alpine  lakes.  Mount  Zirkel-Dome  Peak  Wild 
Area;  Big  Creek  Lakes  Recreation  Area. 
Recreation  resources:  Trout  fishing.  Deer, 
elk,  grouse,  and  duck  hunting.  Scenic  drives, 
pack  and  saddle  trips,  hiking.  Thirty-five 
improved  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
winter-sports  areas.  Commercial  cabin 
camps  in  and  near  the  forest.  Nearby  towns : 
Steamboat  Springs,  Yampa,  Hayden,  Craig, 
Walden,  and  Kremmling.  Acres:  956,370. 

SAN  ISABEL  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Pueblo,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  24,  50,  85,  87. 

Special  features:  Highest  average  eleva- 
tion of  any  national  forest  in  the  United 
States;  Sangre  de  Cristo  Range;  12  peaks 
more  than  14,000  feet,  Mount  Elbert,  sec- 
ond highest  in  the  United  States.  More  than 
40  timber-line  lakes ;  Snow  Angel  on  Mount 
Shavano;  Molybdenum  mines;  Lake  Isabel 
Recreation  Area.  Recreation  resources:  Lake 
and  stream  trout  fishing.  Deer,  elk,  bear, 
mountain  lion,  and  small-game  bird  hunt- 
ing. Scenic  drives,  pack  and  saddle  trips. 
Twenty-nine  improved  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas ;  three  winter-sports  areas.  Com- 
mercial cabin  camps  and  dude  ranches  in 
and  near  the  forest.  Nearby  towns:  Pueblo, 
Canon  City,  Salida,  Walsenburg,  and  Lead- 
ville.  Acres:  1,153,401. 

SAN   JUAN  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Durango,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  160,  550. 

Special  features:  Alpine  lakes;  Mount 
Wilson,  14,250  feet;  canyons,  waterfalls, 
cataracts,  peculiar  geologic  formations. 
Archaeological  ruins;  historic  mines.  San 
Juan  and  Wilson  Mountain  Wilderness 
Areas.  Recreation  resources:  Trout  fishing. 
Deer,  elk,  bear,  mountain  lion,  grouse,  and 
duck  hunting.  Scenic  drives,  hiking,  saddle 
and  pack  trips.  Twenty-four  improved  pub- 
lic camp  and  picnic  areas;  winter-sports 
areas.  Commercial  cabin  camps  and  dude 
ranches  in  and  near  the  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Durango,  Pagosa  Springs,  Mancos, 
Cortez,  Rico,  Dolores,  and  Silverton.  Acres: 
1,848,707. 

UNCOMPAHGRE   NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Delta,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  50,  550. 

Special  features:  Many  mountain  peaks 
more  than  13,000  feet;  Uncompahgre  Pla- 
teau; gold  mines;  Uncompahgre  Wild  Area 
and  Ouray  Scenic  Area.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Trout  fishing  streams  and  lakes. 
Deer,  elk,  bear,  mountain  lion,  and  grouse 
hunting.  Scenic  drives,  saddle  and  pack 
trips.  Nine  improved  public  camp  and  pic- 
nic areas;  winter-sports  areas.  Commercial 
cabin  camps  and  dude  ranches  in  and  near 
the  forest.  Nearby  towns:  Delta,  Montrose, 
Silverton,  and  Ouray.  Acres:  946,897. 


WHITE  RIVER   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Glenwood  Springs, 
reached  by  U.  S.  Highway  24. 

Special  features:  Spectacular  Glenwood 
Canyon;  Hanging  Lake;  Bridal  Veil  Falls; 
mineral  hot  springs;  caves;  alpine  lakes. 
Zinc  and  silver  mines;  source  of  marble  for 
Lincoln  Memorial  and  Tomb  of  the  Un- 
known Soldier.  Maroon  Bells-Snowmass, 
Flat  Tops,  and  Gore  Range-Eagle  Nest 
Wilderness  Areas.  Recreation  resources: 
Trout  fishing.  Elk,  deer,  and  bear  hunting. 
Hiking,  saddle  and  pack  trips,  scenic  drives. 
Fifty-five  improved  public  camp  and  picnic 
areas;  winter-sports  areas.  Commercial 
cabin  camps  and  dude  ranches  in  and  near 
the  forest.  Nearby  towns:  Glenwood 
Springs,  Aspen,  Leadville,  Eagle,  Gypsum, 
Rifle,  New  Castle,  Meeker,  Hayden,  Craig, 
Yampa,  and  Steamboat  Springs.  Acres: 
1,984,558. 

FLORIDA 

APALACHICOLA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Tallahassee,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  90,  98.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Tallahassee  and  Wilma.) 

Special  features:  Southern  forest  in  proc- 
ess of  development  for  sustained  timber 
production.  Bottom-land  hardwood  swamps 
along  large  rivers  contain  trees  whose  nat- 
ural habitat  is  far  to  the  north ;  rare  Florida 
yew  and  stinking  cedar.  Old  Fort  Gadsden, 
State  game  refuge.  Recreation  resources: 
Three  rivers  and  their  tributaries  with  many 
miles  of  fishing  waters — bass,  bream,  perch. 
Quail  hunting;  deer  and  bear  hunting. 
Numerous  lakes  and  ponds  provide  boating 
and  swimming.  Five  organization  camps; 
one  camp  and  picnic  ground.  Commercial 
accommodations  near  forest.  Acres:  553,51 7. 

OCALA    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Tallahassee,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  17,  41.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Ocala.) 

Special  features:  Juniper  Springs — flows 
8  million  gallons  fresh  water  daily;  lakes. 
Subtropical  palms,  hardwoods,  and  scrub 
pine.  National  game  refuge.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Numerous  lakes,  streams,  and 
ponds  with  fishing  and  camping  sites.  An- 
nual deer  hunt.  Three  organization  camps, 
eleven  improved  forest  camps  and  picnic 
grounds.  Cabins  at  Juniper  Springs.  Com- 
mercial accommodations  near  forest.  Acres: 
352,869. 

OSCEOLA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Tallahassee,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  41,  90.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Lake  City.) 

Special  features:  Extremely  flat  country, 
dotted  with  numerous  ponds  and  cypress 
swamps;  in  center  of  naval  stores  produc- 
tion area.  Olustee  Experimental  Forest; 


862 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


State  game-breeding  ground.  Recreation 
resources:  Bass,  perch,  and  bream  fishing. 
Deer,  turkey,  quail,  and  dove  hunting. 
Swimming  and  boating  at  Ocean  Pond. 
Recreation  residence  site  on  Ocean  Pond. 
Acres:  157,200. 

GEORGIA 

CHATTAHOOCHEE     NATIONAL     FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Gainesville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  19,  23,  27,  41,  76. 

Special  features:  Brasstown  Bald,  4,768 
feet,  highest  point  in  Georgia;  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains;  lakes;  Tallulah  Gorge;  water- 
falls. Appalachian  Trail.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Deer  and  small-game  hunting; 
bow-and-arrow  hunt  for  deer.  Trout  and 
bass  fishing.  Swimming,  boating.  Sixteen 
improved  forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds. 
Acres:  650,635. 

IDAHO 

BOISE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Boise,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  20,  30,  95,  State  Highways  15, 
16,  17,  21,  22,  52. 

Special  features:  Active  placer,  hydraulic, 
and  shaft  mining  and  dredging  in  historic 
gold-rush  areas  of  early  days;  ghost  towns. 
Rugged  back  country;  beautiful  virgin 
stands  of  ponderosa  pine.  Scenes  of  early 
Indian  camps  and  massacres.  Arrowrock 
and  Anderson  Ranch  Dams.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Lake  and  stream  fishing  for  trout 
and  salmon.  Big-game  hunting,  including 
bear,  elk,  and  deer.  Scenic  drives  include 
spectacular  Payette  River  Canyon,  Boise 
Ridge,  and  the  edge  of  the  Sawtooth  Wil- 
derness Area.  One  hundred  and  twenty-two 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  one  winter- 
sports  area.  Resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  and 
dude  ranches,  with  horses,  boats,  and  other 
facilities.  Nearby  towns:  Boise,  Emmett, 
Mountain  Home,  Cascade,  Idaho  City,  and 
Horse  Shoe  Bend.  Acres:  2,616,608. 

CARIBOU    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Pocatello,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  91,  191,  30. 

Special  features:  Generally  high  plateau 
topography  spotted  with  beautiful  valleys 
divided  by  narrow  mountain  ranges  with 
towering  peaks.  Includes  the  world's  largest 
known  phosphate  reserve  containing  almost 
one-third  of  the  world's  supply.  Historic 
markers  and  trails,  natural  soda  springs; 
beautiful  streams  and  waterfalls.  (Forest 
lies  partly  in  Utah  and  Wyoming.)  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Stream  fishing;  game  birds, 
deer  and  bear  hunting.  Scenic  drives :  Mink 
Creek  to  Scout  Mountain,  Skyline  Road, 
Snake  River-McCoy  Road  along  the  south 
bank  of  the  south  fork  of  Snake  River, 
Georgetown  Canyon-Diamond  Creek  and 
Snowslide-Crow  Creek  Roads.  Numerous 
riding  trails  into  wilderness  areas.  Seventeen 


public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  two  winter- 
sports  areas.  Resort,  hotel,  and  cabin  ac- 
commodations in  nearby  Idaho  Falls,  Ririe, 
Swan  Valley,  Montpelier,  Soda  Springs, 
Lava  Hot  Springs,  and  Malad  City,  Idaho; 
and  Afton,  Wyo.  Acres:  980,508. 

CHALLIS    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Challis,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  20,  93,  93A. 

Special  features:  Mt.  Borah,  elevation 
12,655  feet,  in  Lost  River  Range,  the  high- 
est peak  in  Idaho.  Majestic  Sawtooth  Primi- 
tive Area  and  Stanley  Basin;  Middle  Fork 
of  the  Salmon  River  in  the  Idaho  Wilder- 
ness Area.  Lemhi,  Lost  River,  and  White 
Cloud  Peaks;  Salmon  River  and  White 
Knob  mountain  ranges,  headwaters  of  the 
Salmon  River.  Recreation  resources: 
Stream  and  lake  trout  and  salmon  fishing. 
Big-game  species  include  deer,  elk,  moun- 
tain goat,  mountain  sheep,  antelope,  and 
bear.  Stanley  Basin  scenic  drive,  riding  and 
hiking  trails,  wilderness  boating  and  pack 
trips.  Ten  public  camp  and  picnic  areas. 
Resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  dude  ranches;  com- 
mercial packers  and  guides.  Nearby  towns: 
Challis,  Mackay,  Salmon,  and  Stanley. 
Acres:  2,447,999. 

CLEARWATER    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Orofino,  reached  by 
State  Highways  9,  11. 

Special  features:  Lewis  and  Clark  Route 
(Lolo  Trail  Road) ;  Selway-Bitterroot  Wil- 
derness Area.  Spring  log  drive  on  Clear- 
water  and  North  Fork;  large  stands  of 
virgin  white  pine.  Recreation  resources: 
Trout  and  salmon  fishing  in  back  country. 
Big-game  hunting  for  elk  and  bear;  deer 
hunting  on  part  of  forest.  Scenic  drives: 
North  Fork,  Lolo  Trail,  and  Lochsa  Road. 
Six  improved  public  camp  areas;  numerous 
camping  spots.  Commercial  cabins,  camps, 
and  dude  ranches.  Acres:  1,102,855. 

COEUR  D'ALENE  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Coeur  d'Alene,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  10,  95. 

Special  features:  Rich  Coeur  d'Alene 
mining  district,  great  producer  of  zinc,  lead, 
and  silver;  several  large  sawmills.  Mullan 
tree  on  U.  S.  Highway  10;  Cataldo  Mis- 
sion, built  in  1846.  Recreation  resources: 
Many  miles  of  fishing  streams.  Big-game 
hunting  for  deer.  Six  hundred  miles  of 
scenic  forest  roads.  Adjacent  to  beautiful 
Coeur  d'Alene  Lake  with  104  miles  of 
shore  line.  Ten  public  camp  areas;  one 
winter-sports  area  on  U.  S.  Highway  10. 
Resort  hotels,  cabins  in  Coeur  d'Alene, 
Hayden  Lake,  Wallace,  Kellogg,  Mullan, 
and  nearby  towns  of  Spirit  Lake  and  Twin 
Lakes.  Acres:  724,285. 

KANIKSU    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Sandpoint,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  95,  195,  10 A,  2,  6. 


National  Forests 


Special  features:  Rugged  back  country; 
Selkirk  Mountain  Range.  Pend  Oreille  Lake 
(Lake  Loop  Drive,  107  miles) ;  Priest  Lake; 
Sullivan  Lake.  Kullyspell  House,  Clark 
Fork  Area;  Roosevelt  Ancient  Grove  of 
Cedars;  Chimney  Rock.  (Forest  lies  partly 
in  Montana  and  Washington.)  Recreation 
resources:  Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Big- 
game,  grouse,  and  duck  hunting.  Boating, 
swimming,  scenic  drives,  wilderness  trips. 
Thirty-three  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
winter-sports  areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  lodges, 
cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Sandpoint,  Bonners 
Ferry,  Priest  River,  Clark  Fork,  and  Hope. 
Acres:  1,411,318. 

MINIDOKA   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Burley,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  30. 

Special  features:  "Silent  City  of  Rocks" — 
fantastic  wind-  and  water-worn  rocks. 
Cleveland,  Independence,  and  smaller  al- 
pine lakes;  exceptional  panoramic  views  of 
Snake  River  Valley.  (Forest  lies  partly  in 
Utah.)  Recreation  resources:  Small-stream 
fishing.  Big-game  hunting  for  deer.  Scenic 
drives:  Rock  Creek-Bostetter-Oakley  and 
Howell  Canyon-Lake  Cleveland,  City  of 
Rocks;  riding  and  hiking  trails.  Twenty- 
seven  public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  two 
winter-sports  areas.  Nearby  towns  having 
hotel  and  tourist-cabin  accommodations: 
Twin  Falls,  Kimberly,  Hansen,  and  Burley. 
Acres:  600,632. 

NEZPERCE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Grangeville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  95,  State  Highways  9,  13,  14. 

Special  features:  Selway-Bitterroot  Wil- 
derness Area;  Seven  Devils  Range  between 
Salmon  and  Snake  Rivers;  Hells  Canyon 
on  the  Snake  River;  Red  River  Hot 
Springs.  Historic  Elk  City.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Big-game  hunting,  including  elk, 
deer,  and  bear.  Lake  and  stream  fishing. 
Horse  trails,  wilderness  trips.  Scenic  drives : 
Selway  River,  Lochsa  River,  Salmon  River. 
Eighteen  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
one  winter-sports  area.  Resorts,  hotels, 
cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Grangeville,  Stites, 
Kooskia,  Kamiah,  Riggins,  and  White  Bird. 
Acres:  1,931,193. 

PAYETTE  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  McCall,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  95,  15. 

Special  features:  Idaho  Wilderness  Area, 
Grand  Canyon  of  Snake  River,  Payette 
Lakes  Vacation  Land,  Seven  Devils  Moun- 
tains. Recreation  resources:  Fishing  for  trout 
and  salmon  (154  fishing  lakes,  1,530  miles 
fishing  streams) .  Big-game  hunting  for  deer, 
elk,  goats,  sheep,  bear.  Scenic  drives;  wil- 
derness trips.  Thirty  improved  camps;  one 
winter-sports  area.  Dude  ranches.  Nearby 
towns:  McCall,  Council,  and  New  Mea- 
dows. Acres:  2,307,708. 


ST.    JOE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Saint  Maries,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highway  95A. 

Special  features:  Rugged  Bitterroot 
Range  of  Idaho-Montana  divide;  St.  Joe 
River  drainage;  St.  Maries  River  Valley; 
canyon  areas  of  Little  North  Fork  of  Clear- 
water  River;  Clearwater-St.  Joe  divide, 
Palouse  River  area;  virgin  white  pine  tim- 
ber stands.  Recreation  resources:  Big-game 
hunting,  including  elk,  deer,  bear,  and 
mountain  goat.  Lake  and  stream  fishing. 
Scenic  drives  along  St.  Joe  River  from 
mouth  to  source.  Thirty  public  camp  ground 
and  picnic  areas;  two  winter-sports  areas 
accessible  by  highway  and  trail.  One  dude 
ranch;  Spring  Creek  cabins  on  St.  Joe 
River.  Nearby  towns:  Moscow,  Potlatch, 
Saint  Maries,  Avery,  and  Clarkia.  Acres: 
864,291. 

SALMON    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Salmon,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  93,  State  Highways  27,  28. 

Special  features:  Idaho  Wilderness  Area, 
Big  Horn  Crags,  Lewis  and  Clark  Trail, 
Salmon  River  Canyon.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Fishing.  Big-game  hunting,  includ- 
ing deer,  elk,  sheep,  goats,  bear,  cougar, 
and  antelope.  Salmon  River  and  Panther 
Creek  forest  roads;  boat  trips  on  "River  of 
No  Return"  and  Middlefork.  Five  improved 
forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds,  winter- 
sports  areas.  Dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns: 
Salmon  and  Leadore.  Acres:  2,049,046. 

SAWTOOTH     NATIONAL     FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Hailey,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  22,  93. 

Special  features:  Sawtooth,  Pioneer,  and 
Smily  Ranges;  Sawtooth  Wilderness  Area; 
numerous  glacial  lakes,  1  to  1,500  acres  in 
size.  Recreation  resources:  Lake  and  stream 
fishing.  Big-game  hunting,  including  deer, 
elk,  bear.  Scenic  drives:  Warm  Springs 
Creek,  South  Boise  River,  Wood  River, 
Salmon  River,  Alturas  and  Red  Fish  Lakes. 
Riding  trails,  wilderness  trips,  boating,  hot 
springs,  mountain  climbing.  Twenty-eight 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  two  winter- 
sports  areas,  including  internationally 
famous  Sun  Valley  with  5  miles  of  ski  lifts. 
Resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  and  dude  ranches. 
Nearby  towns:  Hailey,  Ketchum,  Fairfield, 
and  Stanley.  Acres:  1,202,242. 

TARGHEE   NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Saint  Anthony,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  91,  191,  State  Highways 
22,  29,  31. 

Special  features:  Island  Park  country, 
lakes  and  streams;  Grand  Canyon  of  the 
Snake  River;  Grand  Teton  Peaks;  Big  Falls; 
North  Fork  of  Snake  River ;  Cave  Falls ; 
Falls  River.  (Forest  lies  partly  in  Wyo- 
ming.) Recreation  resources:  Lake  and 
stream  fishing.  Big-game  hunting,  includ- 
ing black  and  brown  bear,  deer,  elk,  and 


864 


of  Agriculture  1949 


moose.  Many  riding  and  hiking  trails  into 
semiwilderness  areas.  Twenty  improved 
camp  and  picnic  areas;  three  winter-sports 
areas.  Resorts,  cabins,  dude  ranches,  boat- 
ing facilities,  pack  outfits  for  hunting 
parties,  and  one  boys'  dude  ranch.  Nearby 
towns:  Idaho  Falls,  Rexburg,  Rigby,  Saint 
Anthony,  Ashton,  Driggs,  Victor,  and 
Dubois.  Acres:  1,367,109. 

ILLINOIS 

SHAWNEE  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Harrisburg,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  34,  51,  State  Highways  1, 
3,  34,  127,  144,  145,  146,  151. 

Special  features:  Prehistoric  stone  forts 
and  Indian  mounds;  interesting  rock  for- 
mations; confluence  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Rivers  at  Cairo.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Fishing  in  larger  streams.  Hunting 
for  quail,  migratory  waterfowl,  squirrel, 
rabbits,  fox,  and  raccoon.  Artificial  lakes  in 
and  adjacent  to  forest  provide  fishing,  boat- 
ing, and  swimming.  Sixteen  State  and  Forest 
Service  camp  and  picnic  areas.  Hotels  and 
cabins  at  nearby  towns  of  Cairo,  Metropolis, 
Harrisburg,  and  Marion.  Acres:  198,510. 

INDIANA 

HOOSIER    PURCHASE    UNITS 

Headquarters  at  Bedford,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  50,  150. 

Special  features:  Pioneer  Mothers  Me- 
morial Forest  containing  Nation's  out- 
standing specimen  of  black  walnut.  Final 
outlet  of  Lost  River;  Ten  O'Clock  Indian 
Boundary  Line  crosses  the  forest.  Old  trail 
of  migrating  buffalo  between  Western 
Plains  and  French  Lick.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Squirrel,  fox,  and  quail  hunting. 
Fishing  in  the  Ohio,  Lost,  Patoka,  and  East 
Fork  of  the  White  Rivers  and  Salt  Creek  for 
catfish,  bass,  and  blue  gill.  Scenic  drives  for 
spring  flowers  (dogwood  and  redbud)  and 
fall  coloring.  One  public  camp  and  picnic 
area,  with  3-acre  lake  for  swimming  and 
fishing.  Commercial  hotels  and  cabin  camps. 
Nearby  towns:  Evansville,  Jasper,  and 
Bedford.  Acres:  87,861. 

KENTUCKY 

CUMBERLAND  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Winchester,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  25,  27,  60. 

Special  features:  Western  rim  of  Cumber- 
land Plateau;  sandstone  cliffs  100  feet  or 
more  high;  Red  River  Gorge;  natural  rock 
arches;  numerous  limestone  caves  and  min- 
eral springs.  Cumberland  Falls  and  Natural 
Bridge  State  Parks  nearby.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Bass  and  pike  fishing  in  larger 
streams.  Red  River  Gorge  drive.  Hiking. 
Two  picnic  areas.  Hotel  and  cabins  at  Cum- 
berland Falls  State  Park  and  other  places 
near  forest.  Acres:  433,030. 


LOUISIANA 

KISATCHIE  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Alexandria,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  71,  165,  167,  84,  State 
Highways  19,  21. 

Special  features:  Colonial  homes;  Natch- 
itoches,  oldest  town  in  Louisiana  on  Old 
San  Antonio  Trail;  Stuart  Nursery,  one  of 
the  largest  pine  nurseries  in  the  world.  Ex- 
tensive plantations  of  longleaf,  loblolly,  and 
slash  pines;  stand  of  virgin  pine  (privately 
owned),  one  of  few  remaining  in  South. 
Many  bayous  and  lakes  screened  with 
Spanish  moss.  Recreation  resources:  Fishing 
in  lakes  and  bayous.  Hunting  for  deer,  quail, 
and  migratory  birds.  Boating,  swimming, 
picnicking,  camping,  scenic  drives.  Two 
artificial  lakes ;  public  recreational  areas  for 
picnicking  and  swimming  at  Valentine  Lake, 
20  miles  west  of  Alexandria,  and  Gum 
Springs,  10  miles  west  of  Winnfield.  Com- 
mercial hotels  and  cabin  camps  nearby. 
Acres:  524,338. 

MICHIGAN 

LOWER  MICHIGAN HURON  NATIONAL 

FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Cadillac,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  23,  27. 

Special  features:  Lumbermen's  Monu- 
ment. Forest  easily  accessible  for  the  large 
population  of  southern  Michigan,  northern 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Trout  fishing  in  the  AuSable  River 
and  smaller  streams.  Deer,  small-game,  and 
bird  hunting.  Lake  Huron  with  excellent 
beaches  on  eastern  side.  Eighteen  public 
camp  and  picnic  areas;  one  winter-sports 
area.  A  large  number  of  resorts,  hotels,  and 
cabins.  Towns  within  and  near  the  forest: 
East  Tawas,  Tawas  City,  Oscoda,  Harris- 
ville,  Grayling,  Roscommon,  West  Branch, 
Rose  City,  and  Mio.  Acres:  378,213. 

LOWER  MICHIGAN MANISTEE  NATIONAL 

FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Cadillac,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  10,  31,  131. 

Special  features:  Easily  accessible  for  the 
large  population  of  southern  Michigan, 
northern  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio. 
Recreation  resources:  Many  lakes  and 
streams  provide  fishing.  Deer  and  small- 
game  hunting.  Good  skiing  conditions  on 
northern  part  of  forest.  Many  of  the  lakes, 
including  Lake  Michigan,  have  beaches  for 
swimming.  Canoeing.  Sixteen  public  camp 
and  picnic  areas;  one  winter-sports  area.  A 
large  number  of  resorts,  hotels,  and  cabins. 
Towns  within  and  near  the  forest :  Manistee, 
Ludington,  Scottville,  Whitehall,  Fremont, 
Newaygo,  White  Cloud,  Big  Rapids,  Reed 
City,  Baldwin,  Wellston,  Brethren.  Acres: 
352,012. 


National  Forests 


865 


OTTAWA    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Ironwood,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  2,  45,  State  Highways  28, 
35,  64. 

Special  features:  Numerous  easily  acces- 
sible lakes  and  streams:  Bond,  Agate,  Stur- 
geon, Conglomerate,  Gorge,  Sandstone,  and 
Rainbow  Falls.  Victoria  Dam;  James 
Tourney  Nursery;  State  Fish  Hatchery;  for- 
est plantations.  Recreation  resources:  Lake 
and  stream  fishing;  deep-sea  trolling  in 
Lake  Superior.  Deer  and  bear  hunting. 
Many  scenic  drives.  Fifty-one  Federal, 
State,  and  county  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
two  winter-sports  areas.  Numerous  hotels 
and  cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Ironwood, 
Wakefield,  Bessemer,  Iron  River,  Onto- 
nagon,  Watersmeet,  Kenton,  Marenisco, 
and  Trout  Greek.  Acres:  723,421. 

UPPER    MICHIGAN HIAWATHA    AND 

MARQUETTE    NATIONAL    FORESTS 

Headquarters  at  Escanaba,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  2,  41,  State  Highways 
28,  77,  94. 

Special  features:  Lakes  Huron,  Michigan, 
and  Superior;  Pictured  Rocks  on  Lake 
Superior;  Mackinac  Island;  scenic  automo- 
bile drives;  waterfalls.  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing  for  trout,  bass, 
northern  and  walleyed  pike,  perch;  smelt 
dipping.  Deer,  black  bear,  ruffed  and  sharp- 
tailed  grouse  hunting.  Canoeing.  Twenty- 
five  public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  two 
winter-sports  areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  many 
cabins.  Nearby  well-equipped  State  parks. 
Adjacent  towns:  Rapid  River,  Gladstone, 
Escanaba,  Munising,  Manistique,  Saint 
Ignace,  and  Sault  Sainte  Marie.  Acres: 
781,972. 

MINNESOTA 

CHIPPEWA    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Cass  Lake,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  2,  71,  371. 

Special  features:  Headwaters  of  the 
Mississippi  River;  Leech  Lake,  Lake  Win- 
nibigoshish,  Cass  Lake,  and  hundreds  of 
smaller  lakes;  stands  of  virgin  red  pine. 
Home  and  present  headquarters  of  the  Chip- 
pewa  Indians.  Recreation  resources:  Lake 
fishing  for  walleyed  and  northern  pike,  and 
pan  fish.  Waterfowl  and  upland  game-bird 
hunting;  big-game  hunting,  including  deer 
and  black  bear.  Hundreds  of  miles  of  good 
roads  and  scenic  drives,  swimming,  boating, 
and  water  sports.  Winter  sports,  including 
skiing,  tobogganing,  snowshoeing,  and  ice 
fishing.  Eighteen  public  camp  and  picnic 
areas;  one  winter-sports  area.  Three  hun- 
dred resorts  in  and  adjacent  to  the  forest. 
Hotels,  cabins,  organization  camps,  boys' 
and  girls'  camps.  Nearby  towns :  Cass  Lake, 
Walker,  Deer  River,  Grand  Rapids,  Remer, 
Bemidji,  and  Blackduck.  Acres:  586,701. 


SUPERIOR   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Duluth,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  1,  53,  61. 

Special  features:  Five  thousand  lakes, 
rugged  shore  lines,  picturesque  islands,  sand 
beaches;  million  acres  of  virgin  forest.  Su- 
perior and  Little  Indian  Sioux  Roadless 
Areas,  outstanding  for  canoe  trips;  historic 
water  route  to  northwest.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Deer 
hunting.  Scenic  drives:  Gunflint,  Ely- 
Buyck,  Sawbill,  and  Honeymoon  Trails. 
Sixteen  unusual  canoe  routes.  Twenty  public 
camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Resorts,  hotels, 
and  cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Duluth,  Vir- 
ginia, International  Falls,  Ely,  Two  Harbors, 
and  Grand  Marais.  Acres:  1,807,085. 

MISSISSIPPI 

BIENVILLE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Jackson,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  80,  State  Highway  35. 
(Ranger  Headquarters  at  Forest.) 

Special  features:  Coastal  plain,  second- 
growth  pine  and  hardwood  forest;  numer- 
ous forest-management  demonstration 
areas;  80  acres  of  virgin  loblolly  pine  sur- 
rounding Bienville  Ranger  Station.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Quail  hunting.  Fishing. 
Swimming.  One  improved  forest  camp  and 
picnic  ground.  Acres:  175,375. 

DELTA    PURCHASE    UNIT 

Headquarters  at  Jackson,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  61.  (Ranger  Headquarters 
at  Rolling  Fork. ) 

Special  features:  Extensive  areas  of  virgin 
bottom-land  hardwood.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Deer  hunting.  Fishing.  No  im- 
proved campgrounds.  Acres:  59,152. 

DE  SOTO    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Jackson,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  11,  90.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Gulfport,  Laurel,  and  Hatties- 
burg. ) 

Special  features:  Ashe  Forest  Nursery; 
Harrison  Experimental  Forest;  site  of  South 
Mississippi  Gun  and  Dog  Club  field  trials. 
Recreation  resources:  Quail  hunting.  Fish- 
ing. Bathing  and  boating.  Three  improved 
forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Acres: 
498,079. 

HOLLY    SPRINGS    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Jackson,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  72,  78.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Holly  Springs.) 

Special  features:  Area  contains  some  of 
the  largest  erosion  gullies  known;  intensive 
erosion-control  projects.  Annual  bird-dog 
field  trials  at  Holly  Springs.  Recreation 
resources:  Quail  and  small-game  hunting. 
No  improved  forest  camp  or  picnic  grounds. 
Acres:  123,066. 


802062C 


-50 


866 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


HOMOCHITTO  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Jackson,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  61,  84.  (Ranger  Headquar- 
ters at  Meadville.) 

Special  features:  One  of  finest  natural 
timber-growing  sites  in  the  United  States 
with  numerous  forest-management  demon- 
stration areas.  Picturesque  eroded  loess 
country  near  Natchez.  Recreation  resources: 
Fishing,  swimming,  picnicking,  and  camp- 
ing, with  trailer  facilities  at  Clear  Springs 
Recreation  Area.  One  improved  forest  camp 
and  picnic  area.  Acres:  188,974. 

MISSOURI 

CLARK    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Rolla,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  8,  19,  21,  60,  67. 

Special  features:  Big  springs;  clear  fast- 
flowing  streams;  Ozark  Mountains  covered 
with  oak  and  pine  forests;  spring  bloom  of 
redbud  and  dogwood  and  brilliant  fall 
coloring.  Recreation  resources:  Small- 
mouthed  bass  and  other  fishing.  Squirrel 
and  fox  hunting.  Hundreds  of  miles  of 
streams  for  "John-boat"  float  trips.  Thirteen 
public  camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Nearby 
towns :  Doniphan,  Poplar  Bluff,  Van  Buren, 
Ironton,  Steelville,  Salem,  and  Eminence. 
Acres:  865,464. 

MARK    TWAIN    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Springfield,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  63,  66. 

Special  features:  Ozark  Mountains;  nu- 
merous coves,  rock  cairns,  and  springs. 
Recreation  resources:  Clear  streams  with 
fishing  for  pan  fish,  bass,  and  pike.  Quail 
hunting.  Scenic  drives.  Two  roadside  camp- 
grounds and  one  developed  camping,  picnic, 
and  swimming  area.  Resorts  and  hotels  in 
nearby  towns  of  Branson,  Hollister,  Cass- 
ville,  Forsyth,  Rolla,  Willow  Springs,  and 
West  Plains.  Acres:  427,209. 

MONTANA 

BEAVERHEAD  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Dillon,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  91,  State  Highways  1,  41,  34, 
,36,  43. 

Special  features:  Anaconda-Pintlar  Wil- 
derness Area;  Big  Hole  Battlefield  Monu- 
ment; Sacajawea  Memorial  Area;  first  capi- 
tal of  Montana.  Tobacco  Root,  Madison, 
Gravelly,  Snowcrest,  and  Continental  Di- 
vide Ranges;  Madison,  Ruby,  Beaverhead, 
and  Big  Hole  Rivers;  alpine  lakes.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Fishing.  Deer,  elk,  moose, 
antelope,  and  bear  hunting.  Wilderness 
trips,  scenic  drives.  Hot  springs.  Twenty-six 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas ;  winter-sports 
areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  and  cabins  in  and 
near  forest.  Nearby  towns:  Dillon,  Wisdom, 
Jackson,  Lima,  Ennis,  Virginia  City,  and 
Sheridan.  Acres:  2,131,323. 


BITTERROOT  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Hamilton,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  93. 

Special  features:  Bitterroot  Valley  and 
spectacular  Bitterroot  Mountains;  scores  of 
mountain  lakes  and  hot  springs.  Ancient 
Indian  hieroglyphics.  Saint  Mary's  Mission 
and  Fort  Owen.  Selway-Bitterroot  Wilder- 
ness Area,  largest  in  United  States;  Ana- 
conda-Pintlar Wilderness  Area.  (Forest  lies 
partly  in  Idaho.)  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Big-game  hunting 
for  elk,  deer,  bear,  and  goats.  Bitterroot 
Valley  scenic  drive,  riding  trails,  wilderness 
trips.  Ten  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
one  winter-sports  area.  Resorts,  hotels, 
cabins,  and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns: 
Darby,  Hamilton,  Corvallis,  Stevensville, 
and  Missoula.  Acres:  1,917,466. 

CABINET   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Thompson  Falls,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  10,  10A,  State  Highway 
28. 

Special  features:  Cabinet  Mountains  Wild 
Area;  rugged  mountain  ranges;  numerous 
highland  lakes  and  mountain  streams.  One 
hundred  miles  of  Clark  Fork  River  Valley 
combining  agricultural  lands,  forested  areas, 
and  picturesque  mountain  grandeur.  Rec- 
reation resources:  Mountain  lake,  stream, 
and  river  fishing.  Big-game  hunting,  includ- 
ing bear,  elk,  black-  and  white-tailed  deer. 
Numerous  scenic  drives;  primitive  area  and 
trail  riding  trips;  huckleberrying.  Fifteen 
developed  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
Lookout  Pass  winter-sports  area  on  U.  S. 
Highway  10.  Limited  resort,  hotel,  cabin, 
and  dude  ranch  facilities.  Nearby  towns: 
Thompson  Falls,  Plains,  Hot  Springs,  Para- 
dise, Saint  Regis,  Noxon,  Saltese,  and  Trout 
Creek.  Acres:  1,133,417. 

CUSTER  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Billings,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  10,  12. 

Special  features:  Spectacular  Red  Lodge- 
Cooke  City  highway;  snow-clad  peaks  and 
alpine  plateaus:  Granite  Peak,  12,962  feet, 
highest  point  in  Montana;  hundreds  of 
lakes;  Woodbine  Falls,  900  feet;  glaciers 
and  ice  caverns.  Rich  fossil  beds;  Indian 
hieroglyphics  and  burial  grounds.  Beartooth 
Wilderness  Area.  (Forest  lies  partly  in 
South  Dakota.)  Recreation  resources:  Trout 
fishing.  Big-game  hunting.  Saddle  and  pack 
trips.  Thirty  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
one  winter-sports  area.  Resorts,  hotels, 
cabins,  and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns: 
Red  Lodge,  Laurel,  and  Billings.  Acres: 
1,171,909. 

DEERLODGE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Butte,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  10S,  10A,  91,  State  Highway  38. 

Special  features:  Anaconda-Pintlar  Wil- 
derness Area;  Tobacco  Root  Mountains; 
Mount  Powell  and  Flint  Creek  Range; 


National  Forests 


867 


numerous  alpine  lakes.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Big-game 
hunting,  including  bear,  deer,  elk,  and  spe- 
cial moose  seasons.  Riding  trails,  wilderness 
trips.  Twenty-five  public  camp  areas;  five 
winter-sports  areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  cabins, 
and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns:  White- 
hall, Butte,  Boulder,  Anaconda,  Philips- 
burg,  and  Deer  Lodge.  Acres:  1,134,709. 

FLATHEAD   NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Kalispell,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  2,  93,  State  Highways 
35,  37. 

Special  features:  Spectacular  geological 
formations,  including  massive  Chinese  Wall 
and  jagged  Mission  Mountains;  hanging 
valleys;  glaciers  and  scores  of  glacial  lakes. 
Mission  Mountains  Wild  Area;  Bob  Mar- 
shall Wilderness  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Fishing.  Hunting  big  game,  including  elk, 
deer,  moose,  bear,  mountain  sheep  and 
goats.  Picnicking,  boating,  camping,  canoe- 
ing, hiking,  and  riding.  Scenic  drives  around 
Flathead  Lake;  wilderness  trips.  Twelve 
public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  two  winter- 
sports  areas,  including  Big  Mountain  ski 
course.  Resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  and  dude 
ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Whitefish,  Colum- 
bia Falls,  Coram,  Belton,  and  Bigfork. 
Acres:  2,230,517. 

GALLATIN    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Bozeman,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  191,  10,  89. 

Special  features:  Great  Gallatin  Valley; 
Crazy  Mountains;  canyons,  snow-clad 
peaks ;  1 1  outstanding  waterfalls ;  more  than 
200  lakes  and  thousands  of  miles  of  trout 
streams.  Spanish  Peaks  and  Absaroka  Wild 
Areas.  Recreation  resources:  Lake  and 
stream  fishing.  Big-game  hunting,  includ- 
ing bear,  moose,  elk,  and  deer.  Scenic 
drives:  Gallatin  Canyon,  Boulder  Canyon, 
and  Yankee  Jim  Canyon.  Trail  riding  and 
wilderness  trips.  Thirty-eight  public  camp 
and  picnic  areas;  three  winter-sports  areas. 
Resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  and  dude  ranches. 
Nearby  towns :  Bozeman,  West  Yellowstone, 
Livingston,  Bigtimber,  and  Gardiner.  Acres: 
1,695,638. 

HELENA    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Helena,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  ION,  91. 

Special  features:  Continental  Divide;  Big 
Belt  and  Elkhorn  Mountain  Ranges.  Boat 
trip  to  Gates  of  Mountains  on  Missouri 
River;  old  Fort  Logan  original  blockhouse; 
ghost  towns:  Diamond  City,  Marysville, 
Crow  Creek  Falls.  Gates  of  the  Mountains 
Wild  Area.  Recreation  resources:  Lake  and 
stream  fishing.  Elk  and  deer  hunting. 
Scenic  drives:  Trout  and  Beaver  Creek 
Canyons.  Riding  trails,  wilderness  trips. 
Five  public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  one 
winter-sports  area.  Resorts,  hotels,  cabins, 
and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Helena, 


Townsend,    Lincoln,    and    White    Sulphur 
Springs.  Acres:  964,230. 

KOOTENAI  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Libby,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  2,  State  Highway  37. 

Special  features:  Cabinet  Mountains 
Wild  Area;  Whitefish  Range;  Yaak  River; 
Kootenai  Canyon;  Fisher  River.  (Forest  lies 
partly  in  Idaho.)  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Big-game  hunting, 
including  black  bear  and  deer.  Scenic 
drives:  Yaak  River,  Kootenai  Canyon, 
Fisher  River.  Riding  trails.  Ten  public 
camp  and  picnic  areas;  one  winter-sports 
area.  Hotels,  cabins,  and  dude  ranch  facili- 
ties. Nearby  towns:  Libby,  Troy,  and 
Eureka.  Acres:  1,803,934. 

LEWIS   AND  CLARK   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Great  Falls,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  87,  89,  91,  State  High- 
way 29. 

Special  features:  Bob  Marshall  Wilder- 
ness Area;  Chinese  Wall  and  Continental 
Divide;  scenic  limestone  canyons  and  roll- 
ing mountains  with  many  open  parks ;  Little 
Belt  Mountains.  Recreation  resources: 
Stream  and  lake  fishing.  Big-game  hunting 
for  deer,  elk,  grizzly  and  black  bear,  and 
antelope.  Wilderness  trips,  riding  trails. 
Numerous  scenic  drives:  Kings  Hill,  Judith 
River,  Crystal  Lake,  Sun  River,  and  Teton 
River.  Twenty  camp  and  picnic  areas;  one 
winter-sports  area.  Many  resorts,  cabins, 
and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Great 
Falls  and  Lewistown.  Acres:  1,861,674. 

LOLO    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Missoula,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  10,  93,  State  Highway  20. 

Special  features:  Bob  Marshall  and  Sel- 
way-Bitterroot  Wilderness  Areas;  Mission, 
Bitterroot,  and  Swan  Ranges;  Continental 
Divide;  Lewis  and  Clark  Trail;  junction 
Clark  Fork  and  Bitterroot  Rivers.  (Forest 
lies  partly  in  Idaho.)  Recreation  resources: 
Stream  and  lake  fishing.  Hunting  for  native 
grouse,  Chinese  pheasant,  elk,  deer,  and 
bear.  Wilderness  pack  trips.  Scenic  drives: 
Lolo  Trail,  Lochsa  River,  Seeley  Lake,  Buf- 
falo Park,  Rock  Creek.  Mountain  saddle 
trails,  foot  trails  to  a  hundred  lakes  and 
peaks.  Twenty-nine  public  camp  grounds; 
Pattee  Canyon  picnic  area.  Resorts,  dude 
ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Missoula,  Ovando, 
Superior,  Alberton,  and  Drummond.  Acres: 
1,718,707. 

NEBRASKA 

NEBRASKA    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Halsey,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  20. 

Special  features:  Bessey  Nursery;  exten- 
sive sand-hill  forest  plantations;  largest 
herd  of  mule  deer  in  Nebraska;  entire  for- 
est in  game  refuge ;  nesting  grounds  of  great 


868 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


blue  heron,  grouse,  and  prairie  chicken. 
Recreation  resources:  Pheasant,  migratory 
bird,  and  small-game  hunting  in  season  out- 
side the  forest  boundaries.  Fishing.  Swim- 
ming. One  improved  public  camp  and  picnic 
ground.  Hotel  accommodations  at  Broken 
Bow  and  Valentine.  Acres:  206,028. 

NEVADA 

HUMBOLDT    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Elko,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  18,  40. 

Special  features:  Wildhorse  Reservoir; 
Owyhee  River  Canyon;  Humboldt,  Inde- 
pendence, and  Ruby  Mountains.  Thriving 
livestock  industry  in  the  Northfork  and 
Mountain  City  areas.  Recreation  resources: 
Fishing  in  streams  and  Wildhorse  Reservoir. 
Deer  hunting.  Saddle  and  pack  trips.  No 
forest  camp  grounds.  Resort  and  dude  ranch 
at  Wildhorse  Reservoir.  Hotel  facilities  at 
Elko  and  Mountain  City.  Acres:  1,056,878. 

NEVADA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Ely,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  6,  50,  93,  State  Highway  39. 

Special  features:  Mount  Wheeler,  13,061 
feet,  is  the  highest  peak  wholly  in  Nevada. 
The  Charleston  Division  is  famous  because 
of  its  large  pine  trees  and  cool  climate  in 
the  midst  of  hot  desert  country.  Lehman 
Caves  National  Monument.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Deer  hunting;  Nevada's  only  elk 
herd.  Scenic  trails  on  Snake  Division  and 
Charleston  Mountain.  Twenty  public  camp, 
picnic,  and  trailer-camp  areas;  two  winter- 
sports  areas.  Nearby  towns :  Las  Vegas,  Ely, 
McGill,  Ruth,  and  Kimberly.  Acres:  1,238,- 
566. 

TOIYABE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Reno,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  395,  50,  40,  6,  88,  108,  95,  Cali- 
fornia State  Highway  4,  Nevada  State  High- 
ways 8A,  88,  3,  22. 

Special  features:  Sierra  Nevada,  Toiyabe, 
Santa  Rosa  Ranges;  alpine  lakes;  Virginia 
Creek,  Green  Creek,  and  Twin  Lakes; 
Hoover  Wild  Area.  (Forest  lies  partly  in 
California.)  Recreation  resources:  Lake  and 
stream  fishing,  golden  and  Piute  trout. 
Black-tailed  and  mule  deer,  antelope  hunt- 
ing. Scenic  drives:  Mount  Rose,  Lake 
Tahoe,  Ebbetts  and  Sonora  Passes.  Riding 
trails,  wilderness  trips.  Twenty-three  public 
camp  and  picnic  areas;  two  winter-sports 
areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  and  dude 
ranches.  Nearby  towns :  Reno,  Carson  City, 
Minden,  Austin,  Tonopah,  and  Winne- 
mueca.  Acres:  3,299,844. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE 

WHITE  MOUNTAIN  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Laconia,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  2,  3,  302. 

Special  features:  Embraces  a  major  por- 


tion of  the  White  Mountains.  Mount  Wash- 
ington, 6,288  feet,  highest  point  in  New 
England;  Presidential  Range;  Tuckerman 
Ravine;  Glen  Ellis  Falls;  Lakes  of  the 
Clouds.  (Forest  lies  partly  in  Maine.)  Recre- 
ation resources:  Mountain-stream  fishing. 
Deer  hunting,  bear  hunting.  Scenic  drives 
through  famous  notches.  Winter  and  spring 
skiing ;  mountain  climbing  and  hiking,  more 
than  1,000  miles  of  foot  trails;  swimming. 
Sixteen  public  camp  and  picnic  grounds, 
including  popular  Dolly  Copp  Area.  High- 
country  cabins.  Nearby  hotels  and  cabins. 
Acres:  704,538. 

NEW  MEXICO 

CARSON  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Taos,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  64,  State  Highways  3,  75,  38. 

Special  features:  Home  and  burial  place 
of  Kit  Carson ;  well-known  art  colony ;  Taos 
Indian  pueblo.  Sangre  de  Cristo  Mountains, 
including  Wheeler  Peak,  13,123  feet;  trout 
streams,  lakes,  and  hot  springs;  Harwood 
Foundation.  Recreation  resources:  Lake 
and  stream  trout  fishing.  Hunting,  including 
turkey  and  brown  bear.  Scenic  drives;  sad- 
dle and  pack  trips.  Thirty  public  camp  and 
picnic  grounds;  two  winter-sports  areas. 
Nearby  towns:  Taos,  Sante  Fe,  and  Raton. 
Acres:  1,114,329. 

CIBOLA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Albuquerque,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  85,  66,  60. 

Special  features:  Mount  Taylor,  11,389 
feet,  and  Sandia  Crest,  10,800  feet,  ac- 
cessible by  auto.  Antelope  herds.  Pueblo 
Indian  villages;  prehistoric  ruins;  ancient 
"sky  city"  of  Acoma.  Recreation  resources: 
Deer  and  antelope  hunting.  Limited  fishing. 
Scenic  drives.  Thirty-four  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas;  two  winter-sports  areas.  Re- 
sorts, hotels,  cabins,  and  dude  ranches. 
Nearby  towns:  Albuquerque,  Mountainair, 
Belen,  Socorro,  Hot  Springs,  Grants,  and 
Gallup.  Acres:  1,711,100. 

GILA   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Silver  City,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  260,  State  Highways  180, 
52,  78,  185,  186. 

Special  features:  Abundant  game.  Gila 
and  Black  Range  Wilderness  Areas ;  Mogol- 
lon,  Black,  Pinos  Altos,  and  Diablo  Moun- 
tain Ranges.  Gila  Cliff  Dwelling  National 
Monument;  prehistoric  ruins.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Stream  fishing.  Big-game  hunting, 
including  black  bear,  mule  deer,  white-tailed 
deer,  antelope,  and  mountain  lion,  and 
turkey  hunting.  Scenic  drives :  Outer  Loop, 
Inner  Loop.  Riding  and  hiking  trails;  wil- 
derness trips.  Eighteen  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas.  Private  cabins,  lodge  resorts, 
and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Silver 
City,  Glenwood,  Deming,  Lordsburg,  and 
Hot  Springs.  Acres:  2,394,763. 


National  Forests 


869 


LINCOLN    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Alamogordo,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  54,  70,  380,  State  Highway 
83. 

Special  features:  White  Mountain,  12,000 
feet;  extensive  ponderosa  pine  and  fir 
stands.  Scene  of  Lincoln  County  range  war. 
White  Mountain  Wild  Area.  Adjoins  Carls- 
bad Caverns  National  Park  and  White  Sands 
National  Monument.  Recreation  resources: 
Fishing.  Big-game  hunting.  Winter  sports, 
scenic  drives,  saddle  and  pack  trips.  Golfing 
at  Ruidoso  and  Cloudcroft,  highest  golf 
course  in  the  world.  Eight  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas;  two  winter-sports  areas.  Re- 
sort hotels,  lodges,  cabins,  dude  ranches,  and 
organization  camps.  Nearby  towns:  Rui- 
doso, Cloudcroft,  Alamogordo,  Carlsbad, 
Artesia,  and  Roswell.  Acres:  1,178,910. 

SANTA  FE  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Santa  Fe,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  285,  85,  64,  84. 

Special  features:  Sangre  de  Cristo 
Range,  including  Truchas  Peaks,  13,306 
feet,  highest  in  New  Mexico;  Pecos  and 
Jemez  Rivers;  mountain  streams  and  lakes. 
San  Pedro  Parks  Wild  Area ;  Pecos  Wilder- 
ness Area.  Indian  villages;  ancient  pueblo 
and  Spanish  mission  ruins;  cliff  dwellings. 
Recreation  resources:  Lakes  and  streams 
furnish  much  of  the  clear  water  for  trout 
fishing  in  State.  Turkey,  elk,  deer,  and  bear 
hunting.  Wilderness  trips.  Thirty-one  public 
camp  and  picnic  areas;  one  winter-sports 
area.  Commercial  resorts,  hotels,  and  cabin 
camps  on  Pecos  and  Jemez  Rivers,  in  vicinity 
of  Santa  Fe,  Las  Vegas,  and  Jemez  Springs. 
Nearby  towns :  Santa  Fe,  Las  Vegas,  Pecos, 
Espanola,  and  Bernalillo.  Acres:  1,253,719. 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

CROATAN  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Asheville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  17,  70.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  New  Bern.) 

Special  features:  Historic  New  Bern, 
founded  1710;  Civil  War  breastworks.  Five 
large  lakes;  pine  and  swamp  hardwoods,  3 
miles  from  Atlantic  Ocean.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Deer,  bear,  turkey,  quail,  and 
migratory  bird  hunting.  Fishing.  Boating, 
swimming.  Two  improved  forest  camp  and 
picnic  grounds.  Commercial  resorts  and 
cabin  camps  in  and  near  forest.  Acres: 
146,831. 

NANTAHALA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Franklin,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  19,  64,  129,  23. 

Special  features:  Fontana,  Hiwassee,  San- 
teetlah,  Aquone,  Cheoah,  Glenville,  and 
Apalachia  Lakes;  Fontana  Dam;  Cullasaja, 
White  Water  River,  Bridal  Veil,  Toxaway, 
and  Dry  Falls.  Joyce  Kilmer  Memorial 
Forest;  80  miles  of  Appalachian  Trail. 
Southern  Appalachian  Mountains  famous 


for  azaleas  and  rhododendrons.  Recreation 
resources:  Lake  and  stream  fishing  for  bass 
and  trout.  European  wild  boar,  deer,  bear, 
turkey,  and  bird  hunting.  Hiking,  swim- 
ming, and  boating.  Eight  improved  forest 
camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Swimming  at 
Cliff  side  Lake  and  Arrowood;  Van  Hook 
Glade  trailer  camp.  Tourist  and  cabin  ac- 
commodations in  and  near  forest.  Acres: 
386,161. 

PISGAH    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Asheville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  19,  23,  25,  64,  70,  221,  276, 
321,  and  Blue  Ridge  Parkway. 

Special  features:  Mount  Mitchell,  6,684 
feet;  Linville  Falls  and  Gorge.  Pisgah  Na- 
tional Game  Refuge;  Boone,  Mount  Mit- 
chell, and  Sherwood  Cooperative  Game 
Management  Areas,  with  annual  big-game 
hunts.  Craggy  Gardens  and  Roan  Mountain 
famous  for  purple  rhododendron ;  Appalach- 
ian Trail.  Recreation  resources:  Trout,  bass, 
and  perch  fishing.  Deer,  bear,  and  small- 
game  hunting.  Hiking,  horseback  riding, 
swimming.  Eighteen  improved  forest  camp 
and  picnic  grounds.  Commercial  resorts 
and  cabin  camps  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Hot  Springs,  Lenoir,  Marion,  and 
Pisgah  Forest.  Acres:  467,016. 

OHIO 

WAYNE   PURCHASE   UNITS 

Headquarters  at  Columbus,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  21,  23,  33,  35,  50,  52. 

Special  features:  Particularly  beautiful 
fall  coloring  of  hardwoods.  Nearby  points  of 
interest  include  historic  Marietta,  Galli- 
polis,  Blennerhasset's  Island,  and  Amesville 
"Coonskin  Library."  Iron  and  old  charcoal 
furnaces.  Recreation  resources:  Small-game 
hunting.  Fishing  on  numerous  streams  and 
lakes.  Hiking,  horseback  riding,  automobile 
tours,  scenic  lookout  points.  Lake  Vesuvius 
Recreation  Area  and  five  other  developed 
areas.  Overnight  accommodations  at  nu- 
merous cabin  camps,  tourist  homes,  and 
hotels  along  the  main  highways  and  at  the 
larger  towns  throughout  the  area.  Acres: 
82,784. 

OREGON 

DESCHUTES    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Bend,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  28,  97. 

Special  features:  Snow-clad  peaks,  ice 
caves,  waterfalls,  and  scores  of  beautiful 
mountain  lakes;  lava  caves;  Deschutes 
River;  Newberry  Crater;  "Century  Drive." 
Mount  Jefferson  Wild  Area  and  Three  Sis- 
ters Wilderness  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Rainbow  trout  fishing.  Deer  hunting.  Scenic 
drives,  saddle  and  pack  trips,  winter  sports. 
Thirty-eight  improved  forest  camp  and  pic- 
nic grounds;  one  winter-sports  area.  Com- 
mercial dude  ranches,  cabin  camps,  and 


870 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


resorts  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby  towns: 
Sisters,  Redmond,  Bend,  and  Crescent. 
Acres:  1,644,125. 

FREMONT    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Lakeview,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  395. 

Special  features:  Abert  fault  east  of  Lake 
Abert,  second-largest  vertical  fault  in  world. 
Indian  paintings  and  writings.  Protected 
herds  of  antelope.  Oregon  Desert ;  Gearhart 
Mountain  Wild  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Deer  hunting.  Thirteen  improved  forest 
camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Commercial 
cabin  camps  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Lakeview,  Bly,  Paisley,  Crescent, 
and  Klamath  Falls.  Acres:  1,252,280. 

MALHEUR    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  John  Day,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  28,  395. 

Special  features:  Cabin  of  Joaquin  Miller. 
Mountains;  miles  of  fishing  streams;  arch- 
ers' hunting  reserve;  fossil  beds  of  prehis- 
toric plants  and  animals;  extensive  stand 
of  ponderosa  pine  forest.  Strawberry  Moun- 
tain Wild  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Stream  trout  fishing.  Elk  and  deer  hunting. 
Scenic  drives,  saddle  and  pack  trips.  Eleven 
improved  forest  and  camp  and  picnic 
grounds.  Commercial  cabin  camps  in  and 
near  forest.  Nearby  towns :  John  Day,  Burns, 
and  Prairie  City.  Acres:  1,180,615. 

MOUNT    HOOD    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Portland,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  30,  99. 

Special  features:  World-famous  scenic 
drives;  hot  springs;  renowned  Timberline 
Lodge;  Multnomah  Falls;  glaciers,  lakes, 
and  flower-filled  alpine  meadows.  Mount 
Hood  and  Mount  Jefferson  Wild  Areas. 
On  Oregon  Trail  route.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Stream  and  lake  fishing.  Swim- 
ming, winter  sports,  saddle  and  pack  trips, 
spectacular  auto  tours.  Fifty-five  improved 
forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds;  four  win- 
ter-sports areas.  Timberline  Lodge  and 
other  commercial  resorts  in  and  near  forest. 
Nearby  towns:  Portland,  Hood  River, 
Gresham,  Estacada,  Sandy,  and  Maupin. 
Acres:  1,107,305. 

OCHOCO    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Prineville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  28,  97. 

Special  features:  Parklike  ponderosa  pine 
forests;  many  beaver  colonies.  Frontier-day 
Army  post;  scene  of  early-day  range  wars. 
Recreation  resources:  Trout  fishing.  Deer 
hunting.  Scenic  drives.  Five  improved  for- 
est camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Commercial 
cabin  camps  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Prineville  and  Dayville.  Acres: 
836,847. 

ROGUE    RIVER    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Medford,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  99. 


Special  features:  Table  Rock,  site  of 
bloody  war  with  Rogue  River  Indians. 
Rogue  River;  lakes,  trout  streams,  and 
waterfalls ;  extensive  sugar  pine  and  Douglas- 
fir  forests.  Mountain  Lakes  Wild  Area. 
(Forest  lies  partly  in  California.)  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Rainbow  and  steelhead  trout 
fishing.  Deer  and  migratory  bird  hunting. 
Scenic  drives;  saddle  trips  and  pack  trips. 
Twenty-four  improved  forest  camp  and  pic- 
nic grounds.  Commercial  cabin  camps  in 
and  near  forest.  Nearby  towns:  Medford, 
Ashland,  Grants  Pass,  Klamath  Falls,  and 
Crescent.  Acres:  896,284. 

SISKIYOU    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Grants  Pass,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  99,  101,  199. 

Special  features:  Famous  fishing  grounds 
in  lower  Rogue  River  gorge ;  early-day  gold 
camps.  Home  of  Port-Orford-cedar  and 
Oregon-myrtle;  profuse  growths  of  wild 
lilac,  rhododendron,  azaleas,  and  pitcher 
plants;  Brewer  weeping  spruce;  Saddler 
oak.  Kalmiopsis  Wild  Area.  (Forest  lies 
partly  in  California.)  Recreation  resources: 
Cut-throat  and  steelhead  trout  and  salmon 
fishing.  Deer,  bear,  and  cougar  hunting. 
Boat  trips,  saddle  and  pack  trips,  scenic 
drives.  Seventeen  improved  forest  camp  and 
picnic  grounds.  Commercial  resorts,  out- 
fitters, and  cabin  camps  in  and  near  forest. 
Nearby  towns:  Grants  Pass,  Powers,  Gold 
Beach,  and  Brookings.  Acres:  1,079,451. 

SIUSLAW    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Corvallis,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  20,  99,  101. 

Special  features:  Heavy  stands  Sitka 
spruce,  western  hemlock,  cedar,  and  Doug- 
lar-fir;  pitcher  plants,  rhododendron,  and 
azaleas.  Bordered  by  Pacific  Ocean.  Cape 
Perpetua;  sand  dunes.  Cascade  Head  Ex- 
perimental Forest.  Recreation  resources: 
Ocean,  lake,  and  stream  fishing.  Deer,  bear, 
cougar,  and  migratory-bird  hunting.  Swim- 
ming, boating,  clam  digging,  saddle  and 
pack  trips,  scenic  drives.  Nineteen  improved 
forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Commer- 
cial cabin  camps  and  resorts  in  and  near 
forest.  Nearby  towns:  Corvallis,  Eugene, 
Newport,  Mapleton,  Florence,  Waldport, 
and  Taft.  Acres:  597,696. 

UMATILLA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Pendleton,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  30,  395. 

Special  features:  On  old  Oregon  Trail 
route;  famous  "Pendleton  Roundup."  Blue 
Mountains;  hot  sulphur  springs;  Starkey 
Experimental  Forest  and  Range.  (Forest 
lies  partly  in  Washington.)  Recreation 
resources:  Elk,  deer,  pheasant  hunting. 
Saddle  trips  and  scenic  drives,  winter  sports. 
Seventeen  improved  forest  camp  and  picnic 
grounds;  one  winter-sports  area.  Commer- 
cial hostelries  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby 


National  Forests 


871 


towns:   Pendleton  and  La  Grande,  Oreg. ; 
Walla  Walla,  Wash.  Acres:   1,385,235. 

UMPQUA    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Roseburg,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  99. 

Special  features:  Spectacular  North 
Umpqua  Cataracts;  Toketee  and  Lemolo 
Falls;  Umpqua  River;  Diamond  Lake; 
Mount  Thielsen.  Recreation  resources: 
Steelhead  and  rainbow  trout  fishing.  Deer, 
bear,  cougar  hunting.  Scenic  drives,  saddle 
and  pack  trips.  Twenty-three  improved  for- 
est camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Commercial 
resorts  and  cabin  camps  near  forest.  Acres: 
979,845. 

WALLOWA    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Enterprise,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  30. 

Special  features:  Snow-capped  peaks; 
Wallowa  and  many  other  lakes;  glaciers; 
alpine  meadows  and  rare  wild  flowers; 
Minam  River,  famous  fishing  stream.  Grand 
spectacle  of  Snake  River  and  Imnaha 
Canyons  from  Grizzly  Ridge  Road.  Eagle 
Cap  Wilderness  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Stream  and  lake  trout  fishing.  Elk,  deer, 
bear  hunting.  Saddle  and  pack  trips,  scenic 
drives.  Sixteen  improved  forest  camp  and 
picnic  grounds.  Commercial  resorts  and 
cabin  camps  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Enterprise,  Wallowa,  and  Joseph. 
Acres:  979,264. 

WHITMAN    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Baker,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  28,  395,  30. 

Special  features:  Blue  and  Wallowa 
Mountains;  Anthony  Lakes;  Eagle  Cap 
Wilderness  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Stream  and  lake  fishing.  Deer,  bear,  elk 
hunting.  Scenic  drives,  saddle  and  pack 
trips.  Eight  improved  forest  camp  and  pic- 
nic grounds;  one  winter-sports  area.  Com- 
mercial cabin  camps  and  dude  ranches  in 
and  near  forest.  Nearby  towns:  Baker,  La 
Grande,  Union,  and  Prairie  City.  Acres: 
1,483,303. 

WILLAMETTE   NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Eugene,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  20,  28,  54,  99. 

Special  features:  Most  heavily  timbered 
national  forest  in  United  States.  Snow- 
capped peaks,  lakes,  waterfalls,  and  hot 
springs;  McKenzie  Pass  Highway.  Three 
Sisters  Wilderness  Area,  including  extra- 
ordinary volcanic  formations;  Mount  Jef- 
ferson Wild  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Stream  and  lake  fishing.  Deer  and  bear 
hunting.  Scenic  drives,  saddle  and  pack 
trips.  Fifty-one  improved  forest  camp  and 
picnic  grounds;  two  winter-sports  areas. 
Commercial  cabin  camps  and  pack-trip 
outfitters  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby  towns : 
Eugene,  Albany,  Salem,  and  Lebanon. 
Acres:  1,666,998. 


PENNSYLVANIA 


ALLEGHENY    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Warren,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  6,  62,  State  Highway  59. 

Special  features:  Allegheny  Mountains; 
oil  field;  Watermill  Race  ski  trail;  Chief 
Cornplanter  Indian  Reservation.  Hearts 
Content  and  Tionesta  Natural  Areas,  virgin 
timber  stands;  300  miles  of  trout  streams. 
Beaver  Meadows  Waterfowl  Refuge.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Trout  and  bass  fishing. 
Hunting  for  bear  and  deer.  Scenic  drives. 
Eight  public  camp  and  picnic  areas;  two 
swimming  areas;  two  organization  camps. 
Hotels,  cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Kane,  Brad- 
ford, Marienville,  Sheffield,  Tionesta, 
Ridgway,  and  Tidioute.  Acres:  463,179. 

PUERTO  RICO 

CARRIBEAN    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Rio  Piedras,  reached  by 
plane:  5  hours  from  New  York,  4  hours 
from  Miami.  By  car  from  Rio  Piedras:  1 
hour  to  Luquillo  Division,  2  hours  to  Toro 
Negro  Division. 

Special  features:  Tropical  rain  forests, 
air  conditioned  2,000  feet  above  the  humid 
lowlands;  climatic  relief  due  to  difference 
in  elevation.  Breath-taking  panoramic  views 
of  palm-covered  mountain  slopes,  timbered 
valleys,  rocky  gorges,  cliffs,  and  waterfalls. 
Recreation  resources:  For  the  nature  lover, 
more  than  300  tree  species,  21  different 
orchids,  500  varieties  of  graceful  ferns  have 
been  identified.  Forests  abound  with  wild 
parrots,  foot  and  horseback  trails,  observa- 
tion points  on  mountaintops.  Scenic  moun- 
tain drives  over  excellent  highways;  vivid 
comparison  between  heavy  rainfall  and  arid 
sides  of  Island.  La  Mina  Recreation  Area 
on  the  Luquillo  Division — 500  acres  of 
highly  developed  picnic  areas,  restaurant, 
rental  cabins,  swimming  pools.  Dona  Juana 
Recreation  Area  on  the  Toro  Negro  Divi- 
sion, with  equal  facilities.  Nearby  towns 
offer  resort  and  hotel  accommodations, 
with  ocean  beaches,  surf  bathing,  and  trips 
to  sugar  centrals,  pineapple  plantations, 
and  canning  factories.  Acres:  21,137. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA 

FRANCIS  MARION  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Columbia,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  17,  52.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Moncks  Corner  and  McClellan- 
ville.) 

Special  features:  Ruins  and  remnants  of 
early  colonial  settlements  and  plantations. 
Many  "meteor  bays;"  picturesque  moss- 
hung  oaks,  flowering  yucca,  dogwood,  and 
holly.  Recreation  resources:  Bass  and  other 
fishing.  Alligator,  deer,  turkey,  and  quail 
hunting.  Boating,  bathing,  scenic  drives; 
one  improved  forest  picnic  ground.  Com- 
mercial hostelries  nearby.  Acres:  245,438. 


872 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


SUMTER    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Columbia,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  25,  76,  176.  (Ranger  Head- 
quarters at  Newberry,  Walhalla,  and  Green- 
wood. ) 

Special  features:  Piedmont  and  Blue 
Ridge  Mountains;  rank  growth  of  rhodo- 
dendron and  other  flowering  shrubs;  Wal- 
halla Trout  Hatchery.  Recreation  resources: 
Trout  and  some  bass  fishing.  Quail  hunting. 
Scenic  drives.  Four  improved  forest  picnic 
grounds.  Commercial  hostelries  near  forest. 
Acres:  321,334. 

SOUTH  DAKOTA 

BLACK  HILLS  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Deadwood,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  14,  85. 

Special  features:  Spectacular  canyons 
and  waterfalls;  crystal  caves.  Historic  gold- 
rush  area,  where  famous  early-day  char- 
acters lived  and  were  buried,  including 
Calamity  Jane,  Wild  Bill  Hickok,  Deadwood 
Dick,  and  Preacher  Smith;  famous  and 
fabulous  Homestake  Mine;  logging  and 
lumbering  operations.  (Forest  lies  partly  in 
Wyoming.)  Recreation  resources:  Fishing. 
Deer  and  migratory-bird  hunting.  Swim- 
ming, hiking,  saddle  trips.  Scenic  drives. 
Twenty-four  improved  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas.  Numerous  commercial  cabin 
camps  and  dude  ranches  in  and  near  the 
forest.  Nearby  towns:  Deadwood,  Rapid 
City,  Belle  Fourche,  Custer,  and  Hot 
Springs,  S.  Dak. ;  Sundance  and  Newcastle, 
Wyo.  Acres:  665,780. 

HARNEY    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Custer,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  16,  85. 

Special  features:  Harney  Peak,  highest 
point  east  of  Rockies.  Mount  Rushmore  Na- 
tional Memorial.  Logging  and  lumbering 
operations;  gold,  silver,  and  feldspar  min- 
ing. (Forest  lies  partly  in  Wyoming.) 
Recreation  resources:  Lake  and  stream  trout 
fishing.  Deer  and  elk  hunting.  Swimming, 
boating,  hiking,  saddle  trips,  scenic  drives. 
Twenty-three  improved  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas.  Commercial  cabin  camps  and 
dude  ranches  in  and  near  the  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Custer,  Rapid  City,  Belle  Fourche, 
Hot  Springs,  and  Edgemont,  S.  Dak.,  New- 
castle, Wyo.  Acres:  547,810. 

TENNESSEE 

CHEROKEE    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Cleveland,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  421, 19E,  19W,  25,  64,  State 
Highways  68,  67,  70. 

Special  features:  Rugged  mountain  coun- 
try cut  by  river  gorges.  Ducktown  Copper 
Basin — one  of  the  South's  outstanding  ex- 
amples of  deforestation  and  erosion.  Three 
game-management  areas.  (Forest  lies  partly 
in  North  Carolina.)  Recreation  resources: 


Lake  and  stream  fishing,  including  rainbow 
and  brook  trout.  Small-  and  large-game 
hunting,  including  wild  boar.  Hiking,  boat- 
ing, swimming.  Eighteen  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas.  Hotels  and  tourist  cabins. 
Nearby  towns :  Bristol,  Johnson  City,  Moun- 
tain City,  Elizabethton,  Erwin,  Greenville, 
Newport,  Madisonville,  Tellico  Plains, 
Etowah,  Benton,  and  Cleveland.  Acres: 
566,718. 

TEXAS 

ANGELINA   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Lufkin,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  59,  69. 

Special  features:  Flat  to  rolling  sandy  hills 
and  with  longleaf  pine;  hardwood  forests 
along  river  bottom.  Angelina  River  and 
many  overflow  lakes;  Boykin  Lake.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Bass  and  cat  fishing  in  rivers 
and  lakes.  Quail  and  dove  hunting.  Swim- 
ming and  picnicking.  One  improved  picnic 
and  camping  area  and  12-acre  lake.  Acres: 
154,324. 

DAVY    CROCKETT    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Lufkin,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  287,  State  Highways  94,  103. 
(Ranger  Headquarters  at  Crockett  and 
Groveton. ) 

Special  features:  Flat,  shortleaf-loblolly 
pine  woods ;  hardwoods  in  bottoms ;  timber- 
management  demonstration  area.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Bass  and  cat  fishing  in  rivers 
and  lakes.  Some  deer  hunting.  Swimming, 
camping,  and  picnicking.  One  improved 
recreation  area  and  80-acre  lake.  Acres: 
161,481. 

SABINE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Lufkin,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  96,  State  Highway  21.  (Ranger 
Headquarters  at  San  Augustine.) 

Special  features:  Southern  pine  and  hard- 
wood forests;  Sabine  River  and  overflow 
lakes;  Boles  Field  Fox  Hunt  Area.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Bass  and  cat  fishing  in  river 
and  lakes.  Fox  hunting.  Swimming,  camp- 
ing, and  picnicking.  One  improved  recrea- 
tion area  and  17-acre  lake.  Acres:  184,138. 

SAM    HOUSTON    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Lufkin,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highway  75,  State  Highway  190.  (Ranger 
Headquarters  at  Huntsville.) 

Special  features:  Flat,  shortleaf-loblolly 
pine  woods ;  hardwoods  in  bottoms ;  numer- 
ous lakes  and  small  streams;  part  of  the 
"Big  Thicket"  area.  Recreation  resources: 
Bass  and  cat  fishing  in  rivers  and  lakes. 
Swimming,  camping,  and  picnicking.  One 
improved  recreation  area  and  30-acre  lake. 
Acres:  158,155. 

UTAH 

ASHLEY    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Vernal,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  30,  40,  State  Highway  44. 


National  Forests 


873 


Special  features:  East  half  of  Uinta 
Mountain  Range,  highest  range  in  United 
States  extending  east  and  west;  Kings  Peak, 
13,498  feet;  Red  Gorge  of  the  Green  River, 
1,500  feet  deep;  exposed  geological  forma- 
tions a  billion  years  old;  High  Uintas  Wil- 
derness Area,  mostly  above  10,000  feet; 
numerous  scenic  gorges,  natural  erosion  for- 
mations. (Forest  lies  partly  in  Wyoming.) 
Recreation  resources:  Lake  and  stream  fish- 
ing. Big-game  hunting,  including  deer,  elk, 
and  antelope.  Riding  trails;  wilderness  area 
pack  trips.  Twenty  public  camp  and  picnic 
areas.  Five  resorts;  cabins,  and  dude 
ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Mountainview  and 
Green  River,  Wyo. ;  Manila,  Vernal, 
Duchesne,  and  Roosevelt,  Utah.  Acres: 
1,079,260. 

CACHE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Logan,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  SOS,  89,  91,  State  Highway  39. 

Special  features:  Rugged  mountains; 
Bear  River  and  Wasatch  Ranges;  Minne- 
tonka  Cave;  Logan  and  Ogden  Canyons; 
Monte  Christo  Mountain;  Snow  Basin 
winter  sports.  (Forest  lies  partly  in  Idaho.) 
Recreation  resources:  Trout  fishing.  Deer 
and  elk  hunting.  Scenic  drives,  riding  and 
hiking  trails.  Forty-six  camp  and  picnic 
areas;  two  winter-sports  areas.  Nearby 
towns :  Ogden,  Brigham,  and  Logan,  Utah ; 
Preston,  Soda  Springs,  and  Paris,  Idaho. 
Acres:  632,881. 

DIXIE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Cedar  City,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  91,  89. 

Special  features:  Red  Canyon,  Panguitch 
and  Navajo  Lakes,  Pine  Valley  Mountains, 
Boulder  Top  Plateau  and  its  many  lakes 
not  accessible  by  road.  Table  Cliff  Point 
from  where  peaks  in  four  States  (Colorado, 
Arizona,  Nevada,  and  Utah)  can  be  ob- 
served on  a  clear  day.  Spectacular,  colored 
cliffs.  Recreation  resources:  Deer,  elk,  and 
cougar  hunting.  Fishing  in  lakes  and 
streams.  Twenty-five  public  camp  and  pic- 
nic areas;  one  winter-sports  area.  Resorts, 
hotels,  dude  ranches,  and  cabins.  Nearby 
towns :  Cedar  City,  Parowan,  Saint  George, 
Panguitch,  Enterprise,  Escalante,  Boulder, 
Teasdale.  Acres:  1,838,991. 

FISHLAKE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Richfield,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  89,  91. 

Special  features:  Tushar  Mountains, 
Thousand  Lake  Mountain  Scenic  Area, 
Petrified  Wood  Scenic  Area  tributary  to 
Wayne  Wonderland.  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Big-game  hunting, 
including  deer  and  elk.  Scenic  drives: 
Beaver  Canyon,  Wayne  Wonderland,  Fish- 
lake-Salina,  and  others.  Twenty  public 
camp  and  picnic  areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  and 
cabins.  Nearby  towns:  Richfield,  Salina, 


Monroe,  Loa,  Bicknell,  Koosharem,  Beaver, 
Kanosh,   and   Fillmore.   Acres:    1,416,234. 

MANTI    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Ephraim,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  89,  50,  State  Highways 
10,  29,  31. 

Special  features:  Wasatch  Plateau;  Sky- 
line Drive  penetrates  high  alpine  meadows 
and  sylvan  glades ;  colorful  canyons ;  unique 
geology,  east  part  of  forest  widely  underlain 
with  coal.  Great  Basin  Forest  Research 
Center.  Indian  writings  and  battlefields. 
Recreation  resources:  Trout  fishing.  Deer, 
elk,  cougar  hunting.  Hiking,  saddle  trips. 
Eleven  major,  thirty-one  smaller  camp  and 
picnic  areas.  Nearby  towns:  Manti, 
Ephraim,  Mount  Pleasant,  Price,  Hunting- 
ton,  and  Ferron.  Acres:  727,612. 

UINTA  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Provo,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  40,  50,  91,  189. 

Special  features:  Wasatch  upthrust  lime- 
stone strata  of  particular  interest  to  geolo- 
gists. Near  Provo  deep  canyons  and  water- 
falls bisect  the  formation.  Balance  of  forest 
has  more  moderate  terrain,  open  range 
mixed  with  oak,  maple,  aspen,  spruce,  and 
fir.  Recreation  resources:  Rocky  Mountain 
mule  deer  hunting,  limited  number  of  elk. 
Nineteen  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
four  valley-view  and  overlook  points.  Hotels 
and  cabins  at  nearby  towns :  Provo,  Spanish 
Fork,  Nephi,  Heber,  Moab,  and  Monti- 
cello.  Acres:  930,773. 

WASATCH    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Salt  Lake  City,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  91,  40,  530,  30S,  50,  303, 
State  Highways  152,  210,  65,  239,  168,  35. 

Special  features:  Rugged  back  country; 
Wasatch,  Uinta,  Stansbury,  Onaqui  Ranges 
and  High  Uintas  Wilderness  Area.  Alpine 
Scenic  Highway;  Timpanogas  Cave;  Mir- 
ror Lake;  Grandaddy  Lakes.  Alta  and 
Brighton  Skiing  Areas.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Deer  and 
elk  hunting.  Boating,  swimming,  picnicking, 
camping.  Riding  and  hiking  trails,  wilder- 
ness trips,  skiing,  skating,  and  mountain 
climbing.  Seventy-eight  public  camps  and 
picnic  areas;  three  winter-sports  areas.  Nu- 
merous resorts,  hotels,  cabins,  and  dude 
ranches.  Nearby  towns:  Salt  Lake  City. 
Provo,  Ogden,  Murray,  Heber,  and  Kamas. 
Utah;  Evanston,  Wyo.  Acres:  867,978. 

VERMONT 

GREEN    MOUNTAIN    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Rutland,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  4,  7. 

Special  features:  Rugged  mountains, 
scenery,  picturesque  valleys,  quaint  New 
England  villages.  Green  Mountain  Range 
traversed  by  the  "Long  Trail",  Champlain 
Valley  and  points  of  historic  interest,  such 


874 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


as  famous  battlegrounds  of  Revolutionary 
and  French  and  Indian  Wars.  Recreation 
resources:  Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Bird 
shooting  and  big-game  hunting  for  deer 
and  bear.  Bridle  trails  and  hiking,  scenic 
drives.  Four  improved  forest  picnic  areas, 
ten  high-country  cabins,  two  camp  areas; 
famous  ski  areas.  Summer  resorts  and  fa- 
mous New  England  inns;  hotels  and 
cabins.  Nearby  towns :  Burlington,  Rutland, 
Manchester,  Middlebury,  Brandon,  and 
Rochester.  Acres:  168,139. 

VIRGINIA 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON   NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Harrisonburg,  reached 
by  U.  S.  Highways  11,  33,  State  Highways 
42,  260. 

Special  features:  Rugged  country,  eleva- 
tions up  to  4,500  feet ;  Blue  Ridge,  Shenan- 
doah,  Allegheny,  and  Massanutten  Ranges. 
Crabtree  Falls ;  limestone  caverns ;  Ramsey's 
Draft  Natural  Area;  Duncan,  Bald,  High, 
Reddish,  and  Elliott  Knobs;  Shenandoah 
and  Warm  Springs  Valleys.  Part  of  a  forest 
originally  surveyed  by  George  Washington. 
(Forest  lies  partly  in  West  Virginia.) 
Recreation  resources:  Trout  and  bass  fish- 
ing. Bear,  deer,  turkey,  and  grouse  hunting. 
Panoramic  vistas,  500  miles  of  scenic  drives, 
Blue  Ridge  Parkway,  1,000  miles  of  foot 
trails.  Swimming,  camping.  Sherando  Lake 
Recreation  Area  with  20-acre  lake;  six 
smaller  recreation  areas.  Hotels,  resorts,  and 
numerous  cabin  camps  near  forest.  Nearby 
towns  of  Waynesboro,  Staunton,  Buena 
Vista,  Harrisonburg,  Covington,  Clifton 
Forge,  and  Hot  Springs,  Va.;  Franklin, 
W.  Va.  Acres:  919,769. 

JEFFERSON   NATIONAL,  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Roanoke,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  11,  220,  21,  52,  23,  58. 

Special  features:  Blue  Ridge  Mountains; 
Mount  Rogers,  5,719  feet,  highest  point  in 
Virginia.  Transitional  zone  northern  and 
southern  flora;  rhododendrons.  Glenwood 
Furnace;  Appalachian  Trail;  Blue  Ridge 
Parkway.  Recreation  resources:  Big-game 
hunting  (white-tailed  deer).  Network  of 
good  secondary  roads  supplementing  main 
highways.  Seven  public  camp  and  picnic 
areas.  Resorts,  hotels,  cabins.  Nearby  towns : 
Lexington,  Roanoke,  Radford,  Bluefield, 
Wytheville,  Marion,  Abingdon,  Bristol. 
Acres:  551,312. 

WASHINGTON 

CHELAN    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Okanogan,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  97. 

Special  features:  Lake  Ghelan  55  miles 
long,  between  precipitous  ranges;  alpine 
meadows,  snow  peaks,  and  glaciers.  North 
Cascade  Wilderness  Area.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Lake  and  stream  fishing.  Boating, 


saddle  and  pack  trips,  mountain  climbing. 
Forty  improved  forest  camp  and  picnic 
grounds.  Commercial  dude  ranches  and 
cabin  camps  in  and  near  forest.  Nearby 
towns:  Okanogan,  Tonasket,  Chelan,  and 
Twisp.  Acres:  2,041,366. 

COLUMBIA    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Vancouver,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  99,  830. 

Special  features:  Mount  Adams,  12,300 
feet,  reached  by  scenic  Evergreen  Highway ; 
Spirit  Lake  and  many  others;  snow-capped 
peaks;  Mineral  Springs.  Wind  River  forest 
nursery.  Goat  Rocks  and  Mount  Adams 
Wild  Areas.  Recreation  resources:  Lake  and 
stream  trout  fishing.  Deer  and  bear  hunting. 
Spectacular  auto  tours,  saddle  and  pack 
trips,  mountain  climbing.  Forty  improved 
forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds.  Commer- 
cial cabin  camps  and  resorts  in  and  near 
forest.  Nearby  towns:  Vancouver,  Steven- 
son, Randle,  Castle  Rock,  and  White 
Salmon.  Acres:  1,263,329. 

COLVILLE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Colville,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  395. 

Special  features:  Roosevelt  Lake  is  151 
miles  in  length  and  covers  an  area  or  82,000 
acres,  impounded  by  Grand  Coulee  Dam, 
the  most  massive  man-made  masonry  struc- 
ture in  the  world.  Mountain  lakes;  scenic 
drive  along  Roosevelt  Lake.  Greatest  min- 
eral-producing area  in  the  State  of  Wash- 
ington. Old  mission  near  Kettle  Falls  con- 
structed without  the  use  of  nails  in  1845. 
Recreation  resources:  Hunting  and  fish- 
ing— noted  for  large  mule  deer  with  a  record 
weight  of  440  pounds.  Water  transportation 
from  Roosevelt  Lake  to  Arrowhead  Lakes 
in  Canada.  Huckleberries  and  mushrooms. 
One  winter-sports  area  near  Chewelah. 
Three  developed  camp  grounds,  located  at 
Lake  Thomas,  Swan  Lake,  and  10-Mile  on 
U.  S.  Highway  44;  five  campgrounds  with 
minor  developments.  Four  resorts  and 
cabins  at  Curlew  Lake;  one  resort  at  Lake 
Thomas.  Nearby  towns:  Chewelah  and 
Republic,  Wash.;  and  Grand  Forks,  British 
Columbia,  Canada.  Acres:  690,687. 

MOUNT    BAKER    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Bellingham,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  99. 

Special  features:  Superlative  mountain 
scenery;  snow-capped  peaks,  glaciers,  and 
alpine  lakes ;  heavy  stands  of  giant  Douglas- 
fir.  North  Cascade  Wilderness  Area.  Recrea- 
tion resources:  Trout  fishing.  Deer  and  bear 
hunting.  Winter  sports,  saddle  and  pack 
trips,  mountain  climbing.  Thirty  improved 
forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds;  one  winter- 
sports  area.  Commercial  cabin  camps, 
hotels,  and  resorts,  and  experienced  guides 
nearby.  Nearby  towns :  Bellingham,  Everett, 
Darrington,  and  Granite  Falls.  Acres: 
1,818,163. 


National  Forests 


875 


OLYMPIC    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Olympia,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  99,  401,  101. 

Special  features:  Dense  forests  of  big 
trees;  spectacular  snow  peaks;  scores  of 
lakes  and  fishing  streams.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Stream  and  lake  fishing.  Deer, 
bear,  cougar,  and  elk  hunting.  Winter 
sports,  scenic  drives,  saddle  and  pack  trips. 
Twenty-eight  improved  forest  camp  and 
picnic  grounds.  Commercial  resorts,  cabin 
camps,  and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns: 
Olympia,  Port  Angeles,  Shelton,  and 
Quilcene.  Acres:  627,610. 

SNOQUALMIE    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Seattle,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  10,  410. 

Special  features:  Snoqualmie  Falls,  250 
feet  high;  Naches  Pass,  featured  by  pillars 
of  the  Dalles;  largest  known  Douglas-fir 
tree;  snow  peaks,  lakes,  and  miles  of  fishing 
streams.  Mather  Memorial  Parkway;  Goat 
Rocks  Wild  Area.  Recreation  resources: 
Stream  and  lake  fishing,  including  steelhead 
trout.  Black-tailed  and  mule  deer,  bear,  and 
elk  hunting.  Scenic  drives,  saddle  and  pack 
trips.  Forty-three  improved  forest  camp  and 
picnic  grounds;  one  winter-sports  area. 
Commercial  cabin  camps  and  outfitters 
available  locally.  Nearby  towns:  Seattle, 
Everett,  Tacoma,  Yakima,  and  Cle  Elum. 
Acres:  1,197,480. 

WENATCHEE    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Wenatchee,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  10,  97. 

Special  features:  Many  snow-capped 
peaks,  lakes,  alpine  meadows,  and  rare  wild 
flowers ;  many  miles  of  fishing  streams ;  Lake 
Wenatchee.  Recreation  resources:  Stream 
and  lake  trout  fishing.  Deer  and  bear  hunt- 
ing. Scenic  drives,  saddle  and  pack  trips. 
Thirty-two  improved  forest  camp  and  pic- 
nic grounds;  two  winter-sports  areas.  Com- 
mercial cabin  camps  and  dude  ranches  in 
and  near  forest.  Nearby  towns :  Wenatchee, 
Leavenworth,  Cashmere,  and  Cle  Elum. 
Acres:  1,194,333. 

WEST  VIRGINIA 

MONONGAHELA   NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Elkins,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  33,  219,  220,  250. 

Special  features:  Southern  Appalachian 
and  Allegheny  Mountains;  Spruce  Knob, 
highest  point  in  State;  Blackwater  Canyon 
and  60-foot  falls;  spectacular  Seneca  Rocks 
on  historic  Seneca  Indian  Trail.  Botanically 
curious  Cranberry  Glades;  rhododendrons 
in  July;  eleven  wildlife-management  areas; 
unexplored  limestone  caves;  beaver  colonies. 
Parsons  Forest  Nursery ;  Smoke  Hole  moun- 
tain settlement.  Recreation  resources:  Trout 
and  bass  fishing.  Deer,  bear,  grouse,  turkey, 
and  small-game  hunting.  Swimming,  hiking, 


horseback  riding,  scenic  drives.  Eight  im- 
proved forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds. 
Commercial  tourist  homes  and  highway 
cabins  in  and  near  forest.  Acres:  805,911. 

WISCONSIN 

CHEQUAMEGON   NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Park  Falls,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  2,  State  Highways  13,  63 
64,  70,  77. 

Special  features:  Hundreds  of  large  and 
small  lakes.  Pine,  spruce,  and  balsam 
forests;  extensive  jack  pine  plantations. 
Recreation  resources:  Lake  and  stream  fish- 
ing, particularly  for  muskellunge.  Deer  and 
small-game  hunting.  Canoe  travel  on  Flam- 
beau and  Chippewa  Rivers.  Twenty-six  pub- 
lic forest  camp  and  picnic  grounds;  two 
winter-sports  areas.  An  organization  camp, 
resorts,  and  cabins.  Nearby  towns :  Medford, 
Park  Falls,  Ashland,  Washburn,  and  Hay- 
ward.  Acres:  812,356. 

NICOLET    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Rhinelander,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  17,  32,  55,  64,  70,  139. 

Special  features:  Northern  Wisconsin 
Lake  region ;  trout  streams  and  scenic  rivers. 
Pine,  spruce-balsam,  hardwood,  and  cedar- 
spruce  swamp  forests.  Recreation  resources: 
Lake  and  stream  fishing  for  muskellunge, 
pike,  bass,  and  trout.  Deer,  bear,  grouse, 
and  duck  hunting.  Swimming,  boating, 
canoe  trips,  nature  hikes,  snowshoeing,  and 
skiing.  Sixteen  public  camp  and  picnic 
grounds,  five  of  which  have  swimming 
beaches ;  one  ski  area.  Numerous  resorts  and 
cabins  are  located  on  private  lands  within 
and  near  the  forest.  Acres:  622,499. 

WYOMING 

BIGHORN    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Sheridan,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  14,  16,  87. 

Special  features:  Bighorn  Mountains; 
snow-capped  peaks;  glaciers;  300-odd  lakes. 
Curious  prehistoric  Indian  Medicine  Wheel 
on  Medicine  Mountain;  Indian  battlefields. 
Cloud  Peak  Wild  Area.  Recreation  re- 
sources: Trout  fishing.  Elk,  deer,  bear,  and 
duck  hunting.  Saddle  and  pack  trips,  scenic 
drives.  Seventy-seven  public  camp  and  pic- 
nic areas;  winter-sports  areas.  Commercial 
cabin  camps  and  dude  ranches  in  and  near 
forest.  Nearby  towns:  Sheridan,  Buffalo, 
Lovell,  Greybull,  and  Worland.  Acres: 
1,113,517. 

BRIDGER    NATIONAL    FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Kemmerer,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  89,  189,  187. 

Special  features:  Wind  River  Mountain 
Range;  live  glaciers;  Bridger  Wilderness 
Area.  Recreation  resources:  Lake  and  stream 
fishing.  Big-game  hunting,  including  bear, 
moose,  elk,  mountain  sheep,  and  deer. 


876 


of  Agriculture  1949 


Scenic  drives :  Pinedale  Skyline  Drive,  Greys 
River  Road.  Wilderness  trips.  Twenty-five 
improved  public  camp  and  picnic  areas; 
two  winter-sports  areas.  Resorts,  hotels, 
cabins,  and  dude  ranches.  Nearby  towns: 
Pinedale  and  Afton.  Acres:  1,699,098. 

MEDICINE  BOW  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Laramie,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highway  50. 

Special  features:  Medicine  Bow,  Sierra 
Madre,  Laramie,  and  Pole  Mountains; 
Snowy  Range  Natural  Area;  many  lakes 
and  fishing  streams;  numerous  beaver 
colonies.  Recreation  resources:  Fishing  and 
deer  hunting.  Saddle  and  pack  trips.  Scenic 
drives.  Thirty-five  improved  public  camp 
and  picnic  areas;  two  winter-sports  areas. 
Commercial  cabin  camps  and  dude  ranches 
in  and  near  the  forest.  Nearby  towns: 
Laramie,  Cheyenne,  and  Encampment. 
Acres:  1,063,521. 

SHOSHONE  NATIONAL  FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Cody,  reached  by  U.  S. 
Highways  14,  20,  287. 

Special  features:  Rugged  Asbsaroka  Moun- 
tains and  Beartooth  Plateau  with  perpetual 
snow;  Gannett  Peak,  13,785  feet,  highest 
point  in  Wyoming;  largest  glaciers  in  Rocky 


Mountains;  hundreds  of  lakes.  North  and 
South  Absaroka,  Glacier,  Stratified  Wil- 
derness Areas;  Popo  Agie  Wild  Area. 
Recreation  resources:  Good  fishing.  Moun- 
tain sheep,  elk,  moose,  deer,  bear,  and  game- 
bird  hunting.  Saddle  and  pack  trips,  scenic 
drives.  Fifty-five  public  camp  and  picnic 
grounds.  Commercial  cabin  camps  and  dude 
ranches  in  and  near  the  forest.  Nearby  towns : 
Cody,  Lander,  and  DuBois,  Wyo.;  Red 
Lodge,  Mont.  Acres:  2,430,028. 

TETON    NATIONAL   FOREST 

Headquarters  at  Jackson,  reached  by 
U.  S.  Highways  89,  187,  287,  State  High- 
way 22. 

Special  features:  Unspoiled  scenic  back 
country  famous  for  big-game  herds.  Gros 
Ventre  Slide,  Gros  Ventre,  Teton,  and 
Wind  River  Ranges,  Continental  Divide. 
Teton  Wilderness  Area;  famous  Jackson 
Hole  country.  Recreation  resources:  Stream 
and  lake  fishing.  Big-game  hunting,  includ- 
ing moose,  elk,  deer,  mountain  sheep,  grizzly 
bear.  Scenic  drives:  Hoback  Canyon,  Wind 
River  Highway.  Eleven  public  camp  and 
picnic  areas ;  warm  swimming  pool ;  winter- 
sports  area.  Resorts,  dude  ranches,  cabins. 
Acres:  1,700,302. 


877 


WILDERNESS  AND  WILD  AREAS 


In  the  national  forests  are  many  of  the 
last  remaining  parts  of  the  country  that  are 
still  in  much  the  same  primitive  state  as 
when  the  first  settlers  reached  their  vicinity. 
They  include  many  of  the  mountain  ranges 
and  peaks  that  the  pioneers  saw  as  land- 
marks and  as  spiritual  symbols  of  a  new 
world  and  a  new  life. 

Most  of  the  Nation's  wild  areas  have  been 
tamed  by  highways,  automobiles,  and  the 
other  devices  of  a  mechanical  civilization. 
But  as  modern  developments  continue,  the 
interests  of  recreation,  public  education, 
and  science  have  made  it  increasingly  de- 
sirable to  preserve  representative  areas  of 
our  original  wilderness. 

To  contribute  toward  the  satisfaction  of 
this  need,  77  areas  have  been  designated  to 
be  preserved  as  wilderness.  They  cover  14 
million  acres  on  73  national  forests  in  11 
States.  Of  the  77  established  areas,  28  ex- 
ceed 100,000  acres  and  are  known  as  wild- 
erness areas.  Forty-six,  containing  at  least 
5,000  acres,  are  called  wild  areas.  Three, 
on  which  restriction  of  commercial  use  is 
less  rigid,  are  known  as  roadless  areas. 

Their  uses  are  limited  to  those  consistent 
with  their  values.  Most  are  still  classified 
under  regulation  L-20  as  primitive  areas; 
other  are  classified  under  the  later  wilder- 
ness and  wild  area  regulations  (U-l  and 
U-2 ) ,  established  by  the  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture in  1939.  For  convenience,  all  areas, 
whether  actually  classified  as  primitive  or 
wilderness,  are  now  referred  to  as  wilderness 
or  wild  areas,  because  their  management  is 
identical  in  nearly  all  instances. 

The  total  acreage  reserved  is  approxi- 
mately 8  percent  of  that  of  the  national 
forests.  The  areas  are  usually  the  least  pro- 
ductive of  commercially  valuable  timber; 
considerable  portions  are  above  the  timber 
line  or  have  only  noncommercial  timber 
growth.  Most  of  the  timber  stands  on  the 
remaining  parts  are  inaccessible  because  of 
location.  The  public  is  thus  assured  of 
preservation  of  the  wilderness  without  ma- 
terial sacrifice  of  usable  timber  or  of  other 
values  important  to  the  economic  welfare 
of  the  region. 

Many  of  the  areas  have  outstanding 
scenic  values,  but  they  were  established  for 
another  reason.  They  were  selected  as  typi- 
cal of  the  Rockies,  Sierras,  Cascades,  and 
other  regions  where  people  can  enjoy  un- 
spoiled and  unmodified  nature.  Similar 
tracts  exist  in  the  East,  but  they  are  too 
small  to  be  formally  classified  as  wild  or 
wilderness  areas.  A  number  of  these  smaller 
remnants  of  primitive  forests  are  in  the 
Appalachians,  Alleghenies,  and  in  the  Pres- 
idential Range  of  the  White  Mountains. 

Wilderness  areas  are  designated  by  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  upon  recommen- 


dation of  the  Chief  of  the  Forest  Service. 
To  come  under  this  category,  the  lands 
must  have  no  roads  or  other  provision  for 
inotorized  transportation,  no  commercial 
timber  cutting,  and  no  occupancy  under 
special-use  permit  for  hotels,  stores,  resorts, 
summer  homes,  organization  camps,  or  for 
hunting  and  fishing  lodges. 

Grazing  of  domestic  livestock  and  im- 
provements necessary  for  fire  protection 
may  be  permitted  on  wilderness  areas,  sub- 
ject to  restrictions  made  by  the  Chief  of 
the  Forest  Service.  Within  designated  wil- 
dernesses, the  landing  of  airplanes  on  na- 
tional forest  land  or  water  and  the  use  of 
motorboats  on  national  forest  waters  are 
prohibited,  except  where  such  use  has  al- 
ready become  well  established  or  is  required 
for  administrative  needs  and  emergencies. 

Regulations  further  provide  that  wilder- 
ness areas  will  not  be  modified  or  eliminated 
except  by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture. Notice  of  every  proposed  establish- 
ment, modification,  or  elimination  will  be 
published  or  publicly  posted  by  the  Forest 
Service  for  at  least  90  days  before  the  ap- 
proval of  the  contemplated  order;  if  there 
is  any  demand  for  a  public  hearing,  the 
regional  forester  will  hold  a  hearing  and 
report  fully  on  it  to  the  Chief  of  the  Forest 
Service,  who  will  submit  it  with  his  recom- 
mendation to  the  Secretary.  It  is  the  policy 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  to  allow 
modifications  of  established  wilderness  areas 
only  when  it  is  clearly  in  the  public  interest 
to  sacrifice  wilderness  values  in  favor  of 
other  public  needs. 

Similar  regulations  apply  to  the  establish- 
ment and  maintenance  of  the  smaller  wild 
areas,  except  that  decision  is  by  the  Chief 
of  the  Forest  Service  instead  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  Agriculture. 

Wilderness  areas  are  open  to  the  public 
without  restrictions  except  those  essential 
for  protection  from  fire.  Hunting  and  fish- 
ing are  permitted  in  wilderness  areas  in 
accordance  with  State  laws. 

The  canoe  country  of  the  Superior  Road- 
less Areas  in  Minnesota  is  unique.  Many 
lakes  and  miles  of  connecting  rivers  make 
a  canoe  country  without  parallel.  The  canoe 
camper,  the  wilderness  enthusiast,  or  the 
fisherman  can  spend  weeks  exploring  its 
many  bays  and  islands  or  can  travel  from 
lake  to  lake  by  connecting  streams  or  by 
short,  well-marked  portages.  The  timbered 
shores  offer  excellent  camp  sites.  Vacation 
trips  in  this  area  may  be  made  at  low  cost — 
$1.50  a  day  for  a  canoe  is  the  whole  cost 
except  for  food.  Only  persons  physically 
unable  to  paddle  or  unable  to  swim  need  a 
guide  and  most  parties  go  without  one. 

In  the  western  mountain  wilderness  areas 
travel  is  by  foot,  horseback,  or  burro.  Any- 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


one  accustomed  to  the  woods  can  travel  the 
trails  with  safety,  but  handling  horses  and 
pack  animals  is  a  job  only  for  experienced 
persons.  A  packer  is  needed  by  most  wilder- 
ness travelers.  Packer-guides  may  be  hired 
and  riding  horses  and  pack  animals  may  be 
rented  in  the  vicinity  of  most  of  the  wilder- 
ness areas. 

Trail  travel  with  back  pack  or  with  camp 
outfit  on  a  single  burro  is  quite  popular, 
especially  along  the  Cascades  and  Sierras. 
Long,  continuous  trips  can  be  made  through 
Washington,  Oregon,  and  California,  along 
well-maintained  trails,  such  as  the  Cascade 
Crest,  the  Oregon  Skyline,  Tahoe-Yosemite, 
Sierra,  and  John  Muir  trails.  The  Federa- 
tion of  Western  Outdoor  Clubs  and  the 
Pacific  Trail  Conference  are  local  organiza- 


tions that  sponsor  trail  travel.  In  the  East, 
the  Appalachian  Trail  stretches  from  Maine 
to  Georgia,  traversing  a  number  of  national 
forests  and  passes  through  the  wildest  re- 
maining parts  of  the  Appalachians. 

Dude  ranches  operate  near  many  of  the 
wilderness  areas  in  the  West,  and  feature 
trips  for  their  guests.  Information  on  dude 
ranches  can  be  obtained  from  railroad  com- 
panies, chambers  of  commerce,  or  from 
the  Dude  Ranchers'  Association,  21J/2 
Broadway,  Billings,  Mont. 

The  Trail  Riders  of  the  Wilderness,  or- 
ganized in  1933  by  the  American  Forestry 
Association,  919  Seventeenth  Street  NW., 
Washington,  D.  C.,  conducts  expeditions 
each  summer  to  several  western  wilderness 


WILDERNESS  AREAS  AND  WILD  AREAS  IN  THE  NATIONAL   FORESTS 


ARIZONA 


Name 

Blue   Range,   Wilderness   Area 
(218,164  acres). 

Mazatsal,       Wilderness       Area 
(205,346  acres). 

Superstition,    Wilderness    Area 
(131,820  acres). 

Chiricahua,  Wild  Area   (18,000 
acres). 


Galiuro,     Wild     Area     (55,OOO 
acres). 


Mount  Baldy,  Wild  Area  (7,400 
acres). 

Pine     Mountain,     Wild     Area 

(17,500  acres). 
Sierra  Ancha,  Wild  Area  (34,000 

acres). 

Sycamore   Canyon,   Wild   Area 
(47,230  acres). 


National  forest  and 
headquarters 

Apache      (Springer- 

ville). 
Crook  (Safford) 

Tonto  (Phoenix)  .  .  . 


f  Crook  (Safford) 

\Tonto  (Phoenix) .  .  . 

Coronado  (Tucson) 


Crook  (Safford) 


Apache      (Springer- 
ville). 


JPrescott  (Prescott) .  \ 
iTonto  (Phoenix) .  .  .  / 
Tonto  (Phoenix) .  .  . 

[Coconino  (Flagstaff).) 
JKaibab  (Williams).  ! 
( Prescott  (Prescott) .  J 


Special  features 

Largest  remaining  wilderness  in  Arizona.  Trav- 
ersed by  Mogollon  Rim,  with  spruce  and  fir 
above  and  broken  country  below  in  ponderosa 
pine.  Big  game  is  abundant. 

Of  precipitous  topography  containing  many 
geologic  formations. 

A  land  of  desert  and  mountain  brush  types  with 
occasional  prominent  peaks.  Has  been  called 
"a  land  of  enchantment." 

Located  on  crest  of  Chiricahua  Mountain  Range. 
Scenic  attractions  and  rock  formations  similar 
to  Chiricahua  National  Monument.  Among 
game  species  is  the  Chiricahua  squirrel, 
apparently  found  only  in  these  mountains. 

Knifelike  mountains  jutting  out  of  the  Arizona 
plain.  Average  slope  is  probably  in  excess  of 
85  percent.  Good  hunting  for  experienced 
mountain  hunters. 

On  the  northeast  slope  of  Mount  Baldy  at  the 
head  of  the  West  Fork  of  the  Little  Colorado 
River.  Elevation  to  11,496  feet. 

Moderately  rough  terrain  along  the  Verde  Rim. 
Included  in  a  State  game  refuge. 

Precipitous  mountains  including  prehistoric  cliff 
dwellings.  Large  game  abundant. 

Includes  a  good  representation  of  the  canyon 
types  of  flora  and  fauna  of  northern  Arizona. 


CALIFORNIA 


High    Sierra,    Wilderness 
(393>945  acres). 


flnyo  (Bishop). 
Area  |  Sierra  (Northfork) . 
I  Sequoia  (Porterville). 


Extends  to  an  elevation  of  I2,2OO  feet  on  Goat 
Mountain,  with  timber  ranging  from  Jeffrey 
pine  to  alpine  types. 


Wilderness  and  Wild  Areas  879 

WILDERNESS  AREAS  AND  WILD  AREAS  IN  THE   NATIONAL   FORESTS Continued 


CALIFORNIA — Continued 

National  forest  and 

headquarters  Special  features 

Klamath   (Yreka) . .     Supports  a  wide  variety  of  timber  types  and 

species  including  the  rare  Brewer's  spruce. 
fMendocino  (Wil-  1  Large  variety  of  natural  rugged  scenery.     Wild- 

<  lows).  >     life  abundant  with  some  good  fishing  in  early 
[Trinity(Weaverville)  J     part  of  the  season. 

I"  Klamath     (Yreka) .    1  A  region  of  scenic  beauty,  including  granite  peaks, 

<  Shasta  (Mt.  Shasta)  >     many  alpine  lakes,  and  numerous  streams  teem- 
[Trinity(Weaverville).  j      ing  with  trout. 

Cleveland     (San     Includes  some  of  the  most  scenic  country  in 

southern  California. 
A  gentle,  rolling,  forested  plateau  adjoining  Silver 

Lake  in  northern  California. 
Gentle  to  rugged  topography,  reaching  a  maximum 

altitude  of  9,000  feet. 

Extremely  rough,  rugged,  and  alpine  in  every 
respect.    Elevations  are  from  6,500  to  IO,O2O. 
Angeles  (Los  Angeles).   An  area  of  deep  canyons;  40  miles  by  road  from 

Los  Angeles. 
Stanislaus  (Sonora)..  Includes  many  lakes,  fine  fishing;  high  granite 

topography. 

Adjacent  to  Yosemite  National  Park.     Granite 
peaks  approach  13,000  feet  elevation.    Heavy 
snows  and  glaciers  occur. 
Mount     Dana-Minarets,     Wild  I  Inyo  (Bishop).  I  Highest  mountain  range  in  southern  California. 

Area  (82,376  acres).  [Sierra  (Northfork) . .  J       Adjacent  to  Yosemite  National  Park. 

San  Gorgonio,  Wild  Area  (19,083     San  Bernardino  (San     San  Gorgonio  Peak,  11,485  feet;  desert  to  alpine 

Bernardino). 
San  Bernardino  (San 

Bernardino). 
Los    Padres    (Santa 

Barbara). 
Modoc  (Alturas) . . . 


Name 

Marble    Mountain,    Wilderness 
Area  (237,527  acres). 

Middle  Eel-Yolla  Bolly,  Wilder- 
ness Area  (143,426  acres). 

Salmon  Trinity  Alps,  Wilderness 
Area  (285,432  acres). 

Agua  Tibia,  Wild  Area  (35,1 16 

acres). 
Caribou  Peak,  Wild  Area  (16,443 

acres). 
Cucamonga,  Wild  Area  (5,OOO 

acres). 
Desolation    Valley,    Wild    Area 

(41,  380  acres). 
Devil     Canyon-Bear     Canyon, 

Wild  Area  (36,200  acres). 
Emigrant     Basin,     Wild    Area 

(98,043  acres). 


Diego). 
Lassen  (Susanville) . 

San  Bernardino  (San 

Bernardino). 
Eldorado     (Placer- 

ville). 


Hoover,     Wild 
acres). 


Area    (20,540  jToiyabe(Reno,Nev.).  I 
\Inyo  (Bishop). 


acres). 
San  Jacinto,  Wild  Area  (33,291 

acres). 
San  Rafael,  Wild  Area  (74,990 

acres). 
South  Warner,  Wild  Area 

(70,682  acres). 


scenery  and  vegetation. 
Level  flats  to  precipitous  cliffs. 


Thousand    Lake    Valley,    Wild  Lassen  (Susanville) . 

Area  (16,335  acres). 

Ventana,    Wild    Area    (55,884  Los    Padres    (Santa 

acres).  Barbara). 


Embraces   the  main  range  of  the  San  Rafael 

Mountains. 
Contains  a  15-mile  ridge  mostly  over  9,000  feet 

in  elevation,  numerous  noted  peaks,  many  small 

meadows  and  lakes. 
Of    varying    topography,    including    the    level 

Thousand  Lake  Valley  of  about  2oo  acres. 
An  area  of  low  elevation  but  rugged  terrain. 


Flat    Tops,    Wilderness 
(117,880  acres). 

San     Juan,     Wilderness 
(240,000  acres). 

Gore   Range-Eagle   Nest, 
Area  (61,275  acres). 


Area 


COLORADO 

White  River  (Glen-    Unique  wilderness  with  attractions  including  ex- 
wood  Springs).  cellent  fishing  and  hunting.     Has  numerous 

ideal  camping  places. 

Includes  virgin   forests   and  rugged   mountains 
with  extensive  and  varied  timber-line  areas. 

ne  of  ^  mogt  r       edj  picturesque  mountain 

.     ^  ,        , 
ranges  in  L-olorado. 


Area    San  Juan  (Durango). 

fArapaho       (I  d  a  h  o^ 

Wild  I     Springs).  I 

1  White  River  (Glen-  f 

1     wood  Springs).        I 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

WILDERNESS  AREAS  AND  WILD  AREAS  IN  THE   NATIONAL   FORESTS Continued 


Name 


La  Garita-Sheep  Mountain,  Wild  ^ 
Area  (38,030  acres). 


COLORADO — Continued 

National  forest  and 

headquarters 
'Gunnison      (Gunni- 
son). 


Special  features 


Rio  Grande  (Monte 

Vista). 
^San  Isabel  (Pueblo)., 

Maroon-Snowmass,   Wild   Area    White  River  (Glen- 
(64,600  acres).  wood  Springs). 


Mount  Zirkel-Dome  Peak,  Wild 
Area  (43,120  acres). 

Rawah,     Wild     Area     (25,720 
acres). 

Uncompahgre,  Wild  Area  (69,253 

acres). 
Upper  Rio  Grande,  Wild  Area 

(56,600  acres). 
West   Elk,  Wild  Area   (52,000 

acres). 

Wilson   Mountains,   Wild  Area 
(27,347  acres). 


Routt  (Steamboat 
Springs). 

Roosevelt  (Fort  Col- 
lins). 

Uncompahgre  (Del- 
ta). 

Rio  Grande  (Monte 
Vista). 

Gunnison  (Gunni- 
son). 

San  Juan  (Durango) . 


Considerable  portion  above  timber  line.  Within 
a  game  refuge,  it  affords  unusual  opportunity 
for  observation,  especially  of  mountain  sheep 
and  elk. 

This  awe-inspiring  area  includes  Snowmass  Lake, 

Maroon  Bells,  and  Pyramid  Peak.    Mountain 

sheep  summer  and  winter  at  Conundrum  Hot 

Springs. 
Includes  several   high  rugged   peaks,   beautiful 

fishing  lakes,  and  protection  stands  of  lodge- 
pole  pine  and  Engelmann  spruce. 
In    Medicine    Bow    Range.      Includes    a   small 

glacier  and  numerous  glacial  lakes.     Part  of 

area  is  exceptionally  rugged. 
A  region  of  extremely  rugged  mountains,  lakes, 

and  waterfalls.     Wildlife  is  abundant. 
A  mountainous  area  where  wildlife  is  plentiful 

and  fishing  is  the  major  recreational  activity. 
Embraces  parts  of  several  high  mountain  ranges, 

open  park  ranges,  lakes,  and  rushing  streams. 

Part  of  a  game  refuge. 
Includes  five  mountains  and  two  major  peaks  of 

the  Wilson  Range.     Large  and  small  game  are 

found  in  considerable  numbers. 


IDAHO 


Idaho,         Wilderness         Area 
(1,232,744  acres). 


Sawtooth,      Wilderness      Area 
(200,942  acres). 


Selway-Bitterroot  !    Wilderness 
Area  (1,581,210  acres). 


f  Challis  (Challis). 
|  Salmon  (Salmon). 
[Payette  (McCall).. 

Boise  (Boise). 
Challis  (Challis). 
Sawtooth   (Hailey). 

'Clearwater  (Orofino) 
Nezperce  (Grange- 

ville). 
Lolo         ( Missoula, 

Mont.) 

Bitterroot      (Hamil- 
,     ton,  Mont.) 


Rough,  mountainous  country  with  many  large 
open  areas  and  some  small  lakes.  Fishing  in 
some  of  the  lakes  and  in  Salmon  River  and  its 
tributaries  is  excellent. 

Of  abruptly  rising,  broken  topography  with 
camping  places  along  lakes  and  streams.  In- 
teresting fishing  and  much  small  game. 


Mountainous,  wooded  area  lying  mostly  west  of 
the  Bitterroot  Range.  Wildlife  of  great 
variety  and  abundance. 


MINNESOTA 


Caribou,  Roadless  Area  (45,750    Superior  (Duluth) , 

acres). 
Little    Indian    Sioux,    Roadless    Superior  (Duluth), 

Area  (103,018  acres). 
Superior,  Roadless  Area  (889,975    Superior  (Duluth) , 

acres). 

1  Also  located  in  Montana. 


The  first  canoe  country  in  America;  has  hundreds 
of  lakes  ideal  for  canoeing.  Excellent  fishing 
in  more  remote  regions.  Largest  wilderness 
east  of  the  Rockies. 


Wilderness  and  Wild  Areas 


881 


WILDERNESS  AREAS  AND  WILD  AREAS  IN  THE  NATIONAL   FORESTS Continued 


Name 

Anaconda-Pintlar,     Wilderness 
Area  (145,000  acres). 

Beartooth,     Wilderness     Area 
(230,000  acres). 

Bob  Marshall,  Wilderness  Area 
(950,000  acres). 

Selway-Bitterroot,2     Wilderness 

Area  (291,085  acres). 
Absaroka,    Wild    Area    (64,000 

acres). 

Cabinet  Mountains,  Wild  Area 
(90,000  acres). 

Gates  of  the  Mountains,  Wild 

Area  (28,562  acres). 
Mission  Mountains,  Wild  Area 

(75,500  acres). 

Spanish     Peaks,     Wild     Area 
(50,000  acres). 


Black  Range,  Wilderness  Area 

(169,984  acres). 
Gila,  Wilderness  Area  (567,054 

acres). 
Pecos  Division,  Wilderness  Area 

(137,820  acres). 
San    Pedro   Parks,    Wild   Area 

(41,132  acres). 

White    Mountain,    Wild    Area 
(24,000  acres). 


MONTANA 

National  forest  and 

headquarters 
Beaver  head  (Dillon). 
Bitterroot     (Hamil- 
ton). 

Deerlodge  (Butte) . . 
Custer  (Billings) .  .  . 


Special  features 

Rough  mountain  territory  distinguished  by  a 
chain  of  barren,  precipitous  peaks,  from  which 
drop  long  forested  slopes. 


Rugged  high  mountain  area.     Includes  Granite 
Peak,  highest  in  Montana;  Grasshopper  Glacier. 
High  mountainous  area  noted  for  good  hunting 
and     fishing,    remoteness    from     commercial 
activity,  and  historic  and  geologic  interest. 
Mountainous,  wooded  area  lying  mostly  west  of 

the  Bitterroot  Range.      Exclusive  wildlife. 
High   mountain    area,   mainly   wooded,   typical 

peaks.    Good  fishing;   fair  hunting;  moose, 
f  Cabinet  (Thompson  1 
I     Falls). 

Uootenai  (Libby)..  J 
Helena  (Helena).  .  .     Spectacular  limestone  cliffs  and  Indian  writings. 


fFlathead(Kalispell). 
|  Lewis  &  Clark  (Great 
I  Falls). 

Bitterroot  (Hamil- 
ton). 

Gal  latin  (Bozeman) 


lofty,  peak-studded  area  of  scenic  grandeur. 
Bi&  Same  and  wild  flowers  in  abundance. 


Flathead  (Kalispell) .  High  mountainous  area  of  alpine  lakes,  glaciers, 
and  peaks,  and  containing  unique  glacial  evi- 
dence. Grizzly  bear  and  mountain  goats. 

Gallatin  (Bozeman) .  Wild,  but  not  too  rough  topography.  Fishing  is 
outstanding. 

NEW  MEXICO 

Gila  (Silver  City) . .  Rough,  forested  terrain  providing  good  trout 
fishing;  good  deer  and  bear  hunting. 

Gila  (Silver  City). . .  Topography  is  rough  to  precipitous,  with  many 
deep  box  canyons.  Hunting  and  trout  fishing. 

Santa  Fe  (Santa  Fe).  High  back  country  adjoining  an  area  of  high 
recreational  use. 

Santa  Fe  (Santa  Fe).     A  high  plateau  containing  numerous  old  pueblos, 
cliff  dwellings,  and  other  evidence  of  historic 
and  prehistoric  Indian  occupancy. 
A  variety  of  mountain  scenery  and  forest  cover 
types  is  represented.    Elevation  6,000  to  I  i,ooo« 


Eagle    Cap,    Wilderness    Area 
(220,280  acres). 

Three  Sisters,  Wilderness  Area 
(246,728  acres). 

Gearhart  Mountain,  Wild  Area 

(18,709  acres). 
Kalmiopsis,  Wild  Area  (78,850 

acres). 

2  Also  located  in  Idaho. 

802062°— 49 57 


Lincoln          (Alamo- 
gordo). 

OREGON 

fWallowa        (Enter- 
|     prise). 

[Whitman  (Baker).. 
fDeschutes  (Bend).  . 
|  Willamette         (Eu- 
l     gene). 
Fremont  (Lakeview). 

Siskiyou         (Grants 
Pass). 


Embraces  some  of  the  highest  peaks  (to  10,000 
feet)  and  includes  some  of  the  best  fishing 
waters  in  eastern  Oregon. 

Includes  the  Three  Sisters  Mountains  and  numer- 
ous peaks  and  glaciers,  among  them  Collier 
Glacier,  Oregon's  largest. 

300  foot  "Gearhart  Notch"  near  top  of  mountain; 
good  deer  hunting. 

In  the  Port-Orford-cedar  region;  17  species  of 
conifers. 


882  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

WILDERNESS  AREAS  AND  WILD  AREAS  IN  THE   NATIONAL   FORESTS Continued 


OREGON — Continued 


Name 

Mount  Hood,  Wild  Area  (14,160 
acres). 


Mount    Jefferson,    Wild    Area 
(86,700  acres). 

Mountain    Lakes,    Wild    Area 

(23,071  acres). 
Strawberry      Mountain,     Wild 

Area  (34,080  acres). 


High  Uintas,  Wilderness  Area 
(240,717  acres). 


North  Cascade,  Wilderness  Area 
(801,000  acres). 

Goat  Rocks,  Wild  Area  (82,680 
acres). 

Mount     Adams,     Wild     Area 
(42,411  acres). 


Bridger,  Wilderness  Area  (383,- 
ooo  acres). 

Glacier,  Wilderness  Area  (177,- 
OOO  acres). 

North     Absaroka,     Wilderness 

Area  (379,460  acres). 
South  Absaroka,  Wilderness  Area 

(614,216  acres). 
Stratified,      Wilderness      Area 

(147,000  acres). 

Teton,  Wilderness  Area  (565,291 
acres). 

Cloud  Peak,  Wild  Area  (94,000 

acres). 
Popo  Agie,  Wild  Area  (70,000 

acres). 


National  forest  and 

headquarters 
Mount  Hood  (Port- 
land). 

;Deschutes  (Bend) .  \ 
Mount  Hood  (Port- 1 
land). 
Willamette(Eugene)J 
Rogue  River  (Med- 

ford). 
Malheur  (John  Day) . 

UTAH 

Ashley  (Vernal). 
Wasatch  (Salt  Lake ; 
City). 


Special  features 

Occupies  the  high  country  north  and  west  of  the 
summit  of  famous  Mount  Hood,  with  two 
outstanding  examples  of  alpine  meadows. 

Snow-capped  Mount  Jefferson,  with  perpetual 
glaciers  is  main  feature.  Second  highest  peak 
in  Oregon. 

A  rugged  area,  80  percent  of  which  is  between 

6,OOO  and  7,000  feet  elevation. 
Bow-and-arrow  deer   hunting;   good   fishing    in 

alpine  lakes. 


A  wild  picturesque  region  in  the  Uinta  Range, 
the  highest  in  Utah  and  the  only  prominent 
east-west  range  in  the  United  States.  Rich 
in  scenic,  geological,  and  biological  interest. 


WASHINGTON 


Chelan  (Okanogan)  . 
Mount  Baker  (Bel- 

lingham). 
Columbia    (Vancou- 

ver). 
Snoqualmie  (Seattle) 


An  area  to  satisfy  the  most  ardent  wilderness 

traveler;   he  can   travel   for  months  without 

retracing  his  steps. 
Extremely   precipitous   peaks;   glaciers;   several 

large  lakes;  great  profusion  of  mountain  flora. 

Mountain  goats  are  abundant. 


Columbia    (Vancou-    Largely  above  timber  line;  spectacular  "Around 


ver). 


the  Mountain"  trail. 


WYOMING 


Bridger  (Kemmerer)  .  Includes  barren,  grassland,  water,  and  timbered 
areas;  rises  to  13,785  feet  at  the  summit  of 
Gannett  Peak,  the  highest  in  Wyoming. 

Shoshone  (Cody).  .  .  Of  extremely  rugged  topography,  including  Fre- 
mont Peak,  innumerable  alpine  lakes,  and  some 
of  the  largest  living  glaciers  in  the  Nation. 

Shoshone  (Cody)...  Includes  glaciers,  natural  bridge,  standing  petri- 
fied trees.  Excellent  hunting,  fishing,  camping. 

Shoshone  (Cody)  .  .  .  Fishhawk  Glacier;  deep,  straight-walled  canyons; 
back  country  pack  horse  trips. 

Shoshone  (Cody)  ...  A  region  of  narrow  valleys  and  broad  flat-topped 
mountains,  built  up  of  lava  flow.  Rich  in 
petrified  forest  remains  and  abounds  in  game. 

Teton  (Jackson)  ...  Outstanding  in  the  amount  of  big  game.  An 
area  of  high  plateaus,  large  valleys,  and 
mountain  meadows. 

Bighorn  (Sheridan).  Rugged,  precipitous  country  rising  to  13,165 
feet. 

Shoshone  (Cody)  .  .  .  Extremely  rough  topography  along  the  Conti- 
nental Divide.  Contains  75  lakes. 


NATURAL  AREAS 

(Natural  areas  are  areas  representative  of  one  or  more  forest  or  range  types  set  aside  to 
be  permanently  preserved  in  an  unmodified  condition,  so  that  the  characteristic  plant  and 
animal  life  and  soil  conditions  of  each  type  and  the  factors  influencing  its  biological 
make-up  are  available  for  purposes  of  scientific  study,  research,  and  education.) 

ARIZONA 

Name  Administrative  unit  Vegetative  types  preserved  Area 

Acres 
f  Interior  ponderosa  pine 420 

Butterfly  Peak . .  , .   Coronado  National  Forest .  \ Interior  Do»B1w-fr '""       Io° 

I  Pinyon — juniper 80 

\Nonforested:  Brush 400 

1,000 

Chiminea  Canyon Saguaro    National    Monu-     Cactus,  mesquite,  paloverde   (a  desert-        160 

ment  in   Coronado   Na-        shrub  association), 
tional  Forest. 


Oak  Creek  Canyon Coconino  National  Forest . 


I  Interior  ponderosa  pine 900 

[interior  Douglas-fir 40 


940 


Pole  Bridge  Canyon Coronado  National  Forest .     Interior  ponderosa  pine 320 

f  Interior  Douglas-fir 350 

San  Francisco  Peaks..    .   Coconino  National  Forest.  J  Engelmann  spruce 35O 

Aspen 100 

\.Non  fores  ted:  Alpine 80 


880 

4?i  i  ....  y'V-j-W  \ 

f  Interior  ponderosa  pine 3, 160 

Santa  Catalina Coronado  National  Forest. .  <  Interior  Douglas-fir 40 

iNonforested:  Brush 1,264 


4,464 


CALIFORNIA 


Devil's  Garden Modoc  National  Forest.  .  .  Sierra  juniper I,6oo 

f Lodgepole  pine 800 

Harvey  Munroe  Hall ....  Inyo  National  Forest <  Whitebark  pine 475 

[Nonforested:  Rocks  and  glaciers 2>975 

.;-'-x?>>'    jt-*yO    izm'jxsl     ;te -.'.>«/!  ~~~~~ 

4,250 

Indiana  Summit Inyo  National  Forest Jeffrey  pine I,ooo 

San  Joaquin San  Joaquin  Experimental     Digger  pine — oak 5° 

Range. 


Name 


Gothic . 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

COLORADO 

Administrative  unit  Vegetative  types  preserved  Area 

Acres 

Gunnison  National  Forest.  (Engelmann  spruce 509 

(.Nonforested:  Brush,  grass,  barren 395 


Hurricane  Canyon Pike  National  Forest .  .  . 


904 


|  Interior  Douglas-fir 354 

)  Interior  ponderosa  pine 101 

I  Engelmann  spruce 30 

^Nonforested:  Brush  and  barren 35 


520 


Narraguinnep. 


|  Interior  ponderosa  pine 891 

San  Juan  National  Forest .  \  K»yon-Juniper 715 

I  Aspen 114 

^Nonforested:  Brush 1 ,080 


2,800 


FLORIDA 


Osceola Osceola  National  Forest 


'Tupelo  gum 341 

Longleaf  pine — slash  pine 323 

Slash  pine 207 

Southern  cypress 109 

IJPond  pine 18 


998 


IDAHO 


Canyon  Creek , 


Priest  River  Experimental 
Forest  in  Kaniksu  Na- 
tional Forest. 


Engelmann  spruce — alpine  fir 379 

Western  white  pine 313 

Western  hemlock 129 

Whitebark  pine 50 

Lodgepole  pine 47 

Interior  Douglas-fir 

Larch — Douglas-fir 

Western  redcedar 

Non  forested: 

Barren  (rock  slides)      

Grass  and  brush .  . 


Montford  Creek. 


Deception    Creek    Expe 
mental  Forest  in  Coeur 
d'Alene  National  Forest.  1  Larch-Douglas-fir 


Western  white  pine. 
Western  hemlock.  . 


14 

12 

9 

56 
25 


[>°34 


^Lodgepole  pine. 


Teepee  Creek .  . 


Kaniksu  National  Forest. .     Western  white  pine. 


Natural  Areas 

INDIANA 


Name 


Administrative  unit 


Vegetative  types  preserved 


Indiana  Pioneer  Mothers'     Hoosier  Purchase  Unit. . . .  J  Yellow-poplar — White  oak — red  oak. . . 
Memorial.  [  Beech — sugar  maple 


Area 
Acres 
62 
26 


Rock  Creek. 


KENTUCKY 

Cumberland  National  For-  /Hemlock 176 

est.  [Shortleaf  pine 13 


189 


MINNESOTA 


Keeley  Creek 


/'Jack  pine 420 

I  Black  spruce 146 

Superior  National  Forest . .  <  _ 

[Tamarack 2O 

^Nonforested:  Nonproductive  swamp. ...  54 


640 


Lac  La  CroSx Superior  National  Forest . .  ' 


White  pine 232 

Aspen 214 

Norway  pine 208 

Black  spruce 39 

Balsam  fir 36 

Jack  pine 28 

Nonforested: 

Brush 20 

Water 196 


Pine  Point Chippewa  National  Forest, 


973 

Aspen 3io 

Norway  pine 261 

White  pine 42 

Black  spruce 18 


Tamarack 

Oak 

Nonforested: 

Meadow  and  unproductive  swamp. 

Water .  . 


15 
13 

493 

24 


1,176 


MISSISSIPPI 


Delta  Purchase  Unit. . . .     Mississippi  National  Forest  |OvercuP  oak~water  hickory IO° 

[  Redgum 4° 


140 


886  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

MONTANA 

Name  Administrative  unit  Vegetative  types  preserved  Area 

Acres 

/Larch— Douglas-fir 605 

I  Interior  Douglas-fir 175 

Coram Coram    ExPerimentaIFor^  Western  white  pine 21 

est  in  Flathead  National   I ,-.       ,  .  .       _ 

Engelmann  spruce— alpine  fir 

F°reStt  iNonforested:  Marsh..  2 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


Black  Mountain Pisgah  National  Forest. . 


Red  spruce — southern  balsam  fir 54^ 

Chestnut 419 

Chestnut  oak 229 

Sugar  maple — beech — yellow  birch 126 

Pin  cherry 13 

^Nonforested:  Old  fields  and  balds 76 


1 ,405 
NEVADA 


Sweetwater Toiyabe  National  Forest.  .  (^yon-juniper 2,OI2 

[Sagebrush 223 


2,235 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE 


The  Bowl White  Mountain  National  < 

Forest. 


'Red  spruce 220 

Yellow  birch — red  spruce 123 

Sugar  maple — beech — yell«w  birch 92 

Red  spruce — sugar  maple — beech 20 

bNonforested:  Subalpine 55 


5*0 
NEW  MEXICO 

Monument  Canyon . .      ,     Sante  Fe  National  Forest.   {Inter:°r  P°nderosa  Pine 58o 

[Interior  Douglas-fir 60 

640 
OREGON 

Abbot  Creek Rouge  River  National  For-  I  Ponderosa  pine — sugar  pine — fir 2»°55 

est.  [Nonforested:  Brush,  grass,  barren 605 

2,66o 


Coquille  River  Falls ....  Siskiyou  National  Forest .  . .  Port-Orford-cedar— Douglas-fir 5°° 

(Interior  ponderosa  pine 1,081 

Goodlow  Mountain Fremont  National  Forest.  .  \  Sierra  juniper IOO 

[Nonforested:  Sagebrush  and  grass 79 

1,260 


Natural  Areas  887 

OREGON — Continued 

Name  Administrative  unit  Vegetative  types  preserved  Area 

Acres 

Lobster  Creek Siskiyou  National  Forest. .  /Port-Orford-cedar-Douglas-fir 1,205 

[Oak — madrone 135 


Metolius Deschutes  National  Forest,       ^ror  ponerosa  pne 1,315 

I  Grand  fir — larch — Douglas-fir 125 


1,44° 

["Western  hemlock 305 

Neskowin  Crest Siuslaw  National  Forest. . .  \  Sitka  spruce — western  hemlock 260 

I  Sitka  spruce 127 

692 

f  Interior  ponderosa  pine 968 

Ochoco  Divide Ochoco  National  Forest . . .  \  Larch — Douglas-fir 907 

[Nonforested:  Grass 45 

1,920 

Persia  M.  Robinson. . . .     Mount     Hood      National  lponderosa  pine-larch-Douglas-fir. .  640 

Forest.  J 

_       ~  /•    j  ^  j  c-  i  •        XT-       IT-  I  Port-Orford-cedar — Douglas-fir 811 

Port-Orford-Cedar Siskiyou  National  Forest . .  \ 

[Pacific  Douglas-fir 322 


I  Ponderosa  —  lodgepole  pine 
Prmgle  Falls  .........  ,  .     Deschutes  National  Forest.  { 

J  Interior  ponderosa  pine  ................       196 


flLodgepole  pine  .......................  563 

I  Ponderosa  —  lodgepole  pine  ........  TO 

{ 

J  Interior  ponderosa  pine  ................  196 

^Ponderosa  pine  —  sugar  pine  —  fir  ........  48 


1,160 

PENNSYLVANIA 
Tionesta  ..............     Allegheny  National  Forest  .     Hemlock  (—beech)  ....................    2,1  13 

SOUTH  DAKOTA 

Upper  Pine  Creek  ......     Harney  National  Forest.  .  .   /Interior  P°ndero^  pine  ...............      1,070 

iNonforested:  Barren  .................         I2O 


VIRGINIA 

/Chestnut  oak 1,769 

.'.,  \                                                                                             Hemlock 127 

Little  Laurel  Run George  Washington  Nation-  /  pitcn  pine  89 

al  Forest-                               |  Yellow-poplar—hemlock 62 

Vv                                                                                                 VWhite  pine 45 

2,092 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 

VIRGINIA — Continued 


Name 


Ramsey's  Draft. 


Administrative  unit 


George     Washington     Na- 
tional Forest. 


Vegetative  types  preserved  Area 

Acres 

(Chestnut 883 

Chestnut  oak 368 

210 
179 
85 
53 
16 


Pitch  pine 

Hemlock 

White  pine 

Red  oak — basswood — white  ash. . . 
''Bear  oak . . 


1,794 


WASHINGTON 


Cedar  Flats. 


("Pacific  Douglas-fir 400 

Columbia  National  Forest.   \  Western  redcedar 22o 

[Nonforested:  Swamp 60 


Lake  22 . 


Long  Creek. 


Mount      Baker 
Forest. 


National 


Meeks  Table Snoqualmie  National  Forest 


680 


Mount      Baker     National 
Forest . 


"Western  redcedar — western  hemlock.  . . . 

Pacific  silver  fir — hemlock 

Western  redcedar 

Red  alder 

Black  cottonwood — willow .  . 


455 
80 
40 

15 
10 
^•Nonforested :  Barren  and  lake  area 190 


790 


AVestern  redcedar — western  hemlock . 

Western  hemlock 

<  Pacific  silver  fir — hemlock 

I  Douglas-fir — western  hemlock 

VNonforested:  Barren.  . 


240 

200 

120 

40 

40 


640 


/Interior  ponderosa  pine 77 

iNonforested:  Grass.  .  q 


86 


North  Fork  Nooksack. 


Mount      Baker 
Forest. 


National 


/"Pacific  Douglas-fir  ....................  482 

Western  redcedar  —  western  hemlock  .....  437 

<  Douglas-fir  —  western  hemlock  ..........  296 

I  Black  cottonwood  —  willow  .............  4 

\Nonforested:  Burns  and  grass  ..........  133 


Quinault Olympic  National  Forest . 


'Western  hemlock  .....................  495 

Sitka  spruce  ..........................  360 

Sitka  spruce  —  western  hemlock  .........  280 

Western  redcedar  —  western  hemlock  .....  240 

.Pacific  Douglas-fir  ....................  60 


,435 


Areas  Administered  by  the  National  Pur{  Service 

WASHINGTON — Continued 

Name  Administrative  unit  Vegetative  types  preserved  Area 

Acres 

f  Douglas-fir — western  hemlock    695 

Wind  River Columbia  National  Forest . .  \  Pacific  Douglas-fir 365 

[Western  redcedar 40 

I,IOO 

WISCONSIN 

Moquah Chequamegon  National  For-   Nonforested:   Upland   brush   and  grass 

est.  (originally  supported  a  heavy  stand  of 

Norway  pine  with  some  white  pine. 
Set  aside  "to  determine  what  will 
naturally  take  place  on  this  area  if  it  is 

afforded  fire  protection  only") 640 

WYOMING 

Engelmann  spruce 739 


Snowy  Range Medicine     Bow     National 


Nonforrested: 


Brush  and  grass 2O 

Lakes..  12 


Forest. 

Lakes....  T 

771 


AREAS  ADMINISTERED  BY  THE 
NATIONAL  PARK  SERVICE 

A  list  of  the  areas  and  of  officials  to  whom  requests  for  information  should  be  addressed. 

Key  to  abbreviations:  NP — National  Park;  NHP — National  Historical  Park;  NMP — 
National  Military  Park;  NM — National  Monument;  NHS — National  Historic  Site;  NBP — 
National  Battlefield  Park;  NMem— National  Memorial;  NMemP — National  Memorial 
Park;  RDA — Recreation  Demonstration  Area;  RA — Recreational  Area. 

Area  Address 

Abraham  Lincoln  NHP Custodian,  RFD  1,  Hodgenville,  Ky. 

Acadia   NP Superintendent,  Bar  Harbor,  Maine. 

Ackia  Battleground  NM Superintendent,  Natchez  Trace  Parkway,  Tupelo,  Miss. 

Adams  Mansion  NHS Superintendent,  Salem  Maritime  NHS,  Custom  House, 

Derby  Street,  Salem,  Mass. 

Andrew  Johnson  NM Custodian,  Greeneville,  Tenn. 

Antietam   NBS Custodian,  Sharpsburg,  Md. 

Appomattox  Court  House  NM_   Custodian,  Box  28,  Appomattox,  Va. 

Arches  NM Custodian,  Moab,  Utah. 

Atlanta  Campaign  NHS Superintendent,  Chickamauga-Chattanooga  NMP,  Fort 

Oglethorpe,  Ga. 
Aztec  Ruins  NM Custodian,  Aztec,  N.  Mex. 

Badlands  NM Custodian,  Interior,  S.  Dak. 

Bandelier  NM Custodian,  Los  Alamos,  Star  Route,  Santa  Fe,  N.  Mex. 

Big  Bend  NM Superintendent,  Marathon,  Tex. 

Big  Hole  Battlefield  NM Superintendent,  Yellowstone  NP,  Yellowstone  Park,  Wyo. 

Black  Canyon  of  the  Gunnison  Superintendent,  Mesa  Verde  NP,  Colo. 
.    NM. 

Blue  Ridge  Parkway Superintendent,  Box  1710,  Roanoke,  Va. 

Brices  Cross  Roads  NBS Superintendent,  Natchez  Trace  Parkway,  Tupelo,  Miss. 

Bryce  Canyon  NP Superintendent,  Springdale,  Utah. 

Cabrillo  NM Superintendent,  Sequoia  NP,  Three  Rivers,  Calif. 

Canyon  de  Chelly  NM Custodian,  Box  8,  Chinle,  Ariz. 


890  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

Area  Address 

Capitol  Reef  NM Superintendent,  Zion  NP,  Springdale,  Utah. 

Capulin  Mountain  NM Custodian,  Capulin,  N.  Mex. 

Carlsbad  Caverns  NP Superintendent,  Carlsbad,  N.  Mex. 

Casa  Grande  NM Custodian,  Coolidge,  Ariz. 

Castillo  de  San  Marcos  NM Superintendent,  P.  O.  Box  1431,  St.  Augustine,  Fla. 

Castle  Pinckney  NM Superintendent,  Castillo  de  San  Marcos  NM,  Box  1431, 

St.  Augustine,  Fla. 

Catoctin    RDA Custodian,  Thurmont,  Md. 

Cedar  Breaks  NM Superintendent,  Zion  NP,  Springdale,  Utah. 

Chaco  Canyon  NM Custodian,  c/o  Blanco  Trading  Post,  Bloomfield,  N.  Mex. 

Chalmette  NHP Custodian,  Box  125,  Arabi  16,  La. 

Channel  Islands  NM Superintendent,  Sequoia  NP,  Three  Rivers,  Calif. 

Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal Superintendent,  National  Capital  Parks,   1229  Interior 

Building,  Washington  25,  D.  C. 

Chickamauga  and  Chattanooga  Superintendent,  Fort  Oglethorpe,  Ga. 
NMP. 

Chiricahua   NM Custodian,  Dos  Cabezos,  Ariz. 

Colonial  NHP Superintendent,  Yorktown,  Va. 

Colorado  NM Custodian,  Fruita,  Colo. 

Coulee  Dam  RA Superintendent,  Coulee  Dam,  Wash. 

Cowpens  NBS Superintendent,   Kings   Mountain   NMP,  Kings  Creek, 

S.  C. 

Crater  Lake  NP Superintendent,  Crater  Lake,  Oreg. 

Craters  of  the  Moon  NM Custodian,  Arco,  Idaho. 

Custer  Battlefield  NM Superintendent,  Crow  Agency,  Mont. 

Death  Valley  NM Superintendent,  Trona,  Calif. 

Devil  Postpile  NM Superintendent,  Yosemite  National  Park,  Calif. 

Devils  Tower  NM Custodian,  Devils  Tower,  Wyo. 

Dinosaur  NM Superintendent,  Rocky  Mountain  NP,  Estes  Park,  Colo. 

El  Morro  NM Custodian,  Ramah,  N.  Mex. 

Everglades   NP Superintendent,  Box  275,  Homestead,  Fla. 

Father  Millet  Cross  NM Superintendent,  Morristown  NHP,  Morristown,  N.  J. 

Federal  Hall  Memorial  NHS Superintendent,  Morristown  NHP,  Morristown,  N.  J. 

Fort  Donelson  NMP Superintendent,  Dover,  Tenn. 

Fort  Frederica  NM Superintendent,  Castillo  de  San  Marcos  NM,  Box  1431, 

St.  Augustine,  Fla. 

Fort  Jefferson  NM Custodian,  Key  West,  Fla. 

Fort  Laramie  NM Custodian,  Fort  Laramie,  Wyo. 

Fort  Matanzas  NM Custodian,  St.  Augustine,  Fla. 

Fort  McHenry  NM Custodian,  Baltimore  30,  Md. 

Fort  Necessity  NBS Custodian,  Farmington,  Pa. 

Fort  Pulaski  NM Custodian,  Box  204,  Savannah  Beach,  Ga. 

Fort  Raleigh  NHS Custodian,  Mateo,  N.  C. 

Fort  Sumter  NM Superintendent,  Charleston,  S.  C. 

Fossil  Cycad  NM Superintendent,  Wind  Cave  NP,  Hot  Springs,  S.  Dak. 

Fredericksburg  &  Spotsylvania  Superintendent,  Box  679,  Fredericksburg,  Va. 
County    Battlefields    Memo- 
rial NMP. 

George  Washington  Birthplace  Superintendent,  Washington's  Birthplace,  Westmoreland 
NM.  County,  Va. 

Gettysburg  NMP Superintendent,  Gettysburg,  Pa. 

Gila  Cliff  Dwellings  NM Custodian,  Silver  City,  N.  Mex. 

Glacier  Bay  NM Regional  Director,    180  New  Montgomery  Street,  San 

Francisco  5,  Calif. 

Glacier  NP Superintendent,  Belton,  Mont. 

Gran  Quivira  NM Custodian,  Gran  Quivira,  N.  Mex. 

Grand  Canyon  NM Superintendent,  Grand  Canyon  NP,  Grand  Canyon,  Ariz. 

Grand  Canyon  NP Superintendent,  Grand  Canyon,  Ariz. 

Grand  Teton  NP Superintendent,  Moose,  Teton  County,  Wyo. 

Great  Sand  Dunes  NM Custodian,  Mosca,  Colo. 

Great  Smoky  Mountains  NP Superintendent,  Gatlinburg,  Tenn. 

Guilford  Courthouse  NMP Custodian,  RFD  #2,  Greensboro,  N.  C. 


Areas  Administered  by  the  National  Par\  Service  891 

Area  Address 

Hampton  NHS Custodian,  Fort  McHenry  NM,  Baltimore  30,  Md. 

Hawaii   NP Superintendent,  Hawaii  NP,  Hawaii,  Territory  of  Hawaii. 

Holy  Gross  NM Superintendent,  Rocky  Mountain  NP,  Estes  Park,  Colo. 

Home  of  Franklin  D.  Roosevelt  Superintendent,  Vanderbilt  Mansion  NHS.  Hyde  Park, 
NHS.  N.  Y. 

Homestead    NM Custodian,  Beatrice,  Nebr. 

Hopewell  Village  NHS Custodian,  Birdsboro,  Pa. 

Hot  Springs  NP Superintendent,  Hot  Springs  NP,  Ark. 

Hovenweep    NM Superintendent,  Mesa  Verde  NP,  Colo. 

Isle  Royale  NP Superintendent,  via  Duluth,  Minn. 

Jackson  Hole  NM Superintendent,  Grand  Teton  NP,  Moose,  Teton  County, 

Wyo. 

Jefferson    National    Expansion      Superintendent,  Old  Courthouse,  415  Market  Street.  St. 
Memorial  NHS.  Louis  2,  Mo. 

Jewel  Cave  NM Superintendent,  Wind  Cave  NP,  Hot  Springs,  S.  Dak. 

Joshua  Tree  NM Custodian,  Box  289,  Twentynine  Palms,  Calif. 

Katmai   NM Superintendent,  Mount  McKinley  NP,  McKinley  Park, 

Alaska. 

Kennesaw  Mountain  NBP Custodian,  Marietta,  Ga. 

Kill  Devil  Hill  National  Me-     Custodian,  Kill  Devil  Hills,  N.  C. 

morial  NM. 
Kings   Mountain  NMP Custodian,  Kings  Creek,  S.  C. 

Lake  Mead  RA Superintendent,  Box  755,  Boulder  City,  Nev. 

Lake  Texoma  RA Superintendent,  Box  694,  Denison,  Tex. 

Lassen  Volcanic  NP Superintendent,  Mineral,  Calif. 

Lava  Beds  NM Custodian,  Tulelake,  Calif. 

Lee  Mansion  NMem Superintendent,  National  Capital   Parks,   1229  Interior 

Building,  Washington  25,  D.  C. 
Lehman  Caves  NM Superintendent,  Lake  Mead  RA,  Box  755,  Boulder  City, 

Nev. 
Lincoln    Memorial Superintendent,  National  Capital   Parks,   1229   Interior 

Building,  Washington  25,  D.  C. 
Lincoln  Museum  NMem Superintendent,  National  Capital   Parks,   1229   Interior 

Building,  Washington  25,  D.  C. 

Mammoth  Cave  NP Superintendent,  Mammoth  Cave,  Ky. 

Manassas   National   Battlefield  Custodian,  Manassas,  Va. 
Park  NHS. 

Meriwether  Lewis  NM Custodian,  Hohenwald,  Tenn. 

Mesa  Verde  NP Superintendent,  Mesa  Verde  NP,  Colo. 

Millerton  Lake  RA ^  Custodian,  Friant,  Calif. 

Montezuma  Castle  NM Custodian,  Camp  Verde,  Ariz. 

Moores  Creek  NMP Custodian,  Currie,  Pender  County,  N.  C. 

Morristown  NHP Superintendent,  Box  759,  Morristown,  N.  J. 

Mound  City  Group  NM Custodian,  Chillicothe,  Ohio. 

Mount  McKinley  NP Supeintendent,  McKinley  Park,  Alaska. 

Mount  Rainier  NP Superintendent,  McKinley  Park,  Alaska. 

Mount  Rushmore  NMem Superintendent,  Wind  Cave  NP,  Hot  Springs,  S.  Dak. 

Muir  Woods  NM Custodian,  Mill  Valley,  Calif. 

Natchez  Trace  Parkway Superintendent,  Tupelo,  Miss. 

Natural  Bridges  NM Regional  Director,  Region  Three  Office,  Box  1728,  Santa 

Fe,  N.  Mex. 

Navajo  NM Custodian,  Tonalea,  Ariz. 

New  Echota  Marker  NMem Superintendent,  Chickamauga  and  Chattanooga  NMP, 

Fort  Oglethorpe,  Ga. 

Ocmulgee   NM Custodian,  Box  936,  Macon,  Ga. 

Old  Kasaan  NM Regional  Director,    180  New  Montgomery  Street,   San 

Francisco  5,  Calif. 
Old  Philadelphia  Custom  House    Superintendent,  Morristown  NHP,  Morristown,  N.  J. 

NHS. 
Olympic  NP Superintendent,  Port  Angeles,  Wash. 


892  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

Area  Address 

Oregon  Caves  NM Superintendent,  Grater  Lake  NP,  Medford,  Oreg. 

Oregon  Pipe  Cactus  NM Custodian,  Ajo,  Ariz. 

Perry's   Victory    and    Interna-     Custodian,  Put-in-Bay,  Ohio. 

tional  Peace  Memorial  NM. 

Petersburg  NMP Superintendent,  Petersburg,  Va. 

Petrified  Forest  NM Superintendent,  Holbrook,  Ariz. 

Pinnacles  NM Custodian,  Pinnacles,  Calif. 

Pipe  Spring  NM Custodian,  Moccasin,  Ariz. 

Pipestone  NM Custodian,  Box  371,  Pipestone,  Minn. 

Platt   NP Superintendent,  Sulphur,  Okla. 

Prince    William    Forest    Park     Superintendent,  National  Capital   Parks,   1229  Interior 

RDA.  Building,  Washington  25,  D.  C. 

Rainbow  Bridge  NM Regional  Director,  Region  Three  Office,  Box  1728,  Santa 

Fe,  N.  Mex. 

Richmond  NBP Custodian,  RFD  #  14,  Box  140,  Richmond  23,  Va. 

Rocky  Mountain  NP Superintendent,  Estes  Park,  Colo. 

Saguaro  NM Custodian,  Route  2,  Box  544,  Tucson,  Ariz. 

Salem  Maritime  NHS Superintendent,   Custom   House,   Derby   Street,   Salem, 

Mass. 

Saratoga    NHP Custodian,  RFD  #1,  Stillwater,  N.  Y. 

Scotts  Bluff  NM Custodian,  Gering,  Nebr. 

Sequoia-Kings  Canyon  NP Superintendent,  Three  Rivers,  Calif. 

Shenandoah  NP Superintendent,  Luray,  Va. 

Shiloh  NMP Superintendent,  Pittsburg  Landing,  Tenn. 

Shoshone  Cavern  NM Superintendent,  Yellowstone  NP,  Yellowstone  Park,  Wyo. 

Sitka    NM Custodian,  Sitka,  Alaska. 

Statue  of  Liberty  NM Superintendent,  Bedloe's  Island,  New  York  4,  N.  Y. 

Stones  River  NMP Superintendent,  Chickamauga  and  Chattanooga  NMP, 

Fort  Oglethorpe,  Ga. 
Sunset  Crater  NM In  Charge,  Tuba  Star  Route,  Wupatki  NM,  Flagstaff, 

Ariz. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  NMemP Superintendent,  Medora,  N.  Dak. 

Timpanogos  Cave  NM Custodian,  Pleasant  Grove,  Utah. 

Thomas  Jefferson  NMem Superintendent,  National  Capital  Parks,   1229  Interior 

Building,  Washington  25,  D.  C. 

Tonto   NM Custodian,  Roosevelt,  Ariz. 

Tumacacori  NM Custodian,  Tumacacori,  Ariz. 

Tupelo  NBS Superintendent,  Natchez  Trace  Parkway,  Tupelo,  Miss. 

Tuzigoot  NM Custodian,  Box  36,  Clarkdale,  Ariz. 

Vanderbilt  Mansion  NHS Superintendent,  Hyde  Park,  N.  Y. 

Verendrye  NM Custodian,  Sanish,  N.  Dak. 

Vicksburg  NMP Superintendent,  Box  349,  Vicksburg,  Miss. 

Walnut  Canyon  NM Custodian,  Box  400,  RFD  #1,  Flagstaff,  Ariz. 

Washington  Monument Superintendent,  National  Capital  Parks,   1229  Interior 

Building,  Washington  25,  D.  C. 
Wheeler    NM Regional  Director,  Region  Three  Office,  Box  1728,  Santa 

Fe,  N.  Mex. 
White  Plains  NBS Superintendent,  Statue  of  Liberty  NM,  Bedloe's  Island, 

New  York  4,  N.  Y. 

White  Sands  NM Custodian,  Box  231,  Alamogordo,  N.  Mex. 

Whitman    NM Superintendent,  Mt.  Rainier  NP,  Longmire,  Wash. 

Wind  Cave  NP Superintendent,  Hot  Springs,  S.  Dak. 

Wupatki   NM Custodian,  Tuba  Star  Route,  Flagstaff,  Ariz. 

Yellowstone   NP Superintendent,  Yellowstone  Park,  Wyo. 

Yosemite    NP Superintendent,  Yosemite  NP,  Calif. 

Yucca  House  NM Superintendent,  Mesa  Verde  NP,  Colo. 

Zion    NM Superintendent,  Zion  NP,  Springdale,  Utah. 

Zien   NP Superintendent,  Springdale,  Utah. 


PUBLIC  FOREST-TREE  NURSERIES 

FOREST  SERVICE 

Region  1. — Montana,  northeastern  Washington,  northern  Idaho,  northwestern  South 
Dakota. 

Savenac  Nursery,  Saltese,  Mont. 
Region  2. — Colorado,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  South  Dakota,  eastern  Wyoming. 

Monument  Nursery,  Monument,  Colo. 

Bessey  Nursery,  Bessey,  Nebr. 
Region  5. — California. 

Durbin  Nursery,  Susanville,  Calif. 
Region  6. — Washington,  Oregon. 

Bend  Nursery,  Bend,  Oreg. 

Wind  River  Nursery,  Carson,  Wash. 

Region  7. — Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island, 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  Virginia, 
Kentucky. 

Parsons  Nursery,  Parsons,  W.  Va. 

Region  8. — Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  North  Carolina, 
Oklahoma,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Texas. 

R.  Y.  Stuart  Nursery,  Pollock,  La. 

W.  W.  Ashe  Nursery,  Brooklyn,  Miss. 

Region  9. — Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  North  Dakota,  Ohio, 
Wisconsin. 

Vallonia  Nursery,  Vallonia,  Ind. 

Chittenden  Nursery,  Wellston,  Mich. 

J.  W.  Tourney  Nursery,  Watersmeet,  Mich. 

Eveleth  Nursery,  Eveleth,  Minn. 

Hugo  Sauer  Nursery,  Rhinelander,  Wis. 
Tennessee  Valley  Authority. — Norris,  Tenn. 

Clinton  Nursery,  Clinton,  Tenn. 

Muscle  Shoals  Nursery,  Florence,  Ala. 

SOIL  CONSERVATION  SERVICE 

Region  1. — Connecticut,  Delaware,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire, 
New  Jersey,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  Vermont,  West  Virginia. 

Beltsville,  Md. 

Big  Flats,  N.  Y. 

Region  2. — Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia  Kentucky,  Mississippi,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  Virginia,  Puerto  Rico,  Virgin  Islands. 

Thorsby,  Ala. 

Brooksville,  Fla. 

Americus,  Ga. 

Paducah,  Ky. 

Chapel  Hill,  N.  C. 

Rock  Hill,  S.  C. 

Sandy  Level  Nursery,  Gretna,  Va. 
Region  3. — Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Ohio,  Wisconsin. 

Winona,  Minn. 

Elsberry,  Mo. 

Zanesville,  Ohio. 
Region  4. — Arkansas,  Louisiana,  Oklahoma,  Texas. 

Minden,  La. 

San  Antonio,  Tex. 
Region  5. — Kansas,  Montana,  Nebraska,  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Wyoming. 

Manhattan,  Kans. 

Two  Rivers  Nursery,  Waterloo,  Nebr. 

Mandan,  N.  Dak. 
Region  6. — Arizona,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Utah. 

Tucson,  Ariz. 

Albuquerque,  N.  Mex. 
Region  7. — California,  Idaho,  Nevada,  Oregon,  Washington,  Hawaii. 

Little  Rock,  Calif.;  Pleasanton,  Calif.;  San  Fernando,  Calif;  Warrenton,  Oregon.; 

Bellingham,  Wash.;  Pullman,  Wash. 


894 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


STATE  FOREST  NURSERIES  COOPERATING  IN  FEDERAL-STATE  TREE  DISTRIBUTING 

PROGRAM,  1948 


State 


Name  and  location 


Alabama Autaugaville  Nursery,  Autaugaville,  Ala 20,000 

Arkansas Arkansas  State  Nursery,  Bluff  City,  Ark 10,000 

Connecticut Peoples  Forest  Nursery,  Pleasant  Valley,  Conn 400 

Nye-Holman  Nursery,  West  Willington,  Conn 100 

Delaware State   Forest  Tree  Nursery,   c/o  State   Forest   Ranger  Station,  1,000 

Georgetown,  Del. 

Florida Florida  Forest  Service  Nursery,  Olustee,  Fla. . . .  > 10,000 

Munson  Nursery,  Munson,  Fla 25,000 

Georgia Herty  Nursery,  Albany,  Ga 20,000 

Flowery  Branch  Nursery,  Flowery  Branch,  Ga 5,ooo 

Davisboro  Nursery,  Davisboro,  Ga 25,000^ 

Idaho  (N) School  of  Forestry  Nursery,  Moscow,  Idaho 500 

Illinois Mason  Tree  Nursery,  Topeka,  111 3,ooo 

Union  Tree  Nursery,  Jonesboro,  111 5,000 

Indiana Clarke  State  Nursery,  Henryville,  Ind 1,000 

Jackson  State  Nursery,  Vallonia,  Ind 5,000 

Jasper-Pulaski  State  Nursery,  Medaryville,  Ind 2,000 

Iowa Iowa  State  Conservation  Commission,  Des  Moines,  Iowa 500 

Kansas State  Forest  Nursery,  Hays,  Kans 500 

Kentucky Division  of  Forestry  Nursery,  Louisville,  Ky 1,100 

Pennyrile  Nursery,  Dawson  Springs,  Ky 500 

Louisiana Oberlin  State  Nursery,  Oberlin,  La 10,000 

Sibley  State  Nursery,  Sibley,  La 15,000 

Maine University  of  Maine  Forest  Nursery,  Orono,  Maine 125 

Maryland Beltsville  Nursery,  Beltsville,  Md 100 

State  Forest  Nursery,  Berwyn,  Md i»25o 

Massachusetts Amherst  State  Nursery,  Amherst,  Mass 500 

Clinton  State  Nursery,  Clinton,  Mass 1,000 

Bridgewater  State  Nursery,  Bridgewater,  Mass 500 

Erving  Nursery,  Erving,  Mass 100 

Michigan Bogue  Nursery,  East  Lansing,  Mich 5,000 

Dunbar  Nursery,  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Mich 800 

Higgins  Lake  State  Nursery,  Roscommon,  Mich 10,000 

Hardwood  State  Nursery,  Boyne  Falls,  Mich 1,500 

Minnesota Badoura  Nursery,  Akeley,  Minn 750 

Gen.  C.  C.  Andrews  Nursery,  Willow  River,  Minn 2,000 

Mississippi Covington  County  State  Nursery,  Mount  Olive,  Miss 20,000 

Winona  Nursery,  Winona,  Miss 5,000 

Missouri Meramec  Nursery,  Sullivan,  Mo 2,200 

Licking  Nursery,  Licking,  Mo 5,000 

Montana Forest  Nursery,  Montana  State  University,  Missoula,  Mont 1,000 

New  Hampshire ^  .     State  Forest  Nursery,  Gerrish,  N.  H 1,000 

New  Jersey Washington  Crossing  Forest  Nursery,  Washington  Crossing,  N.  J. .  700 

Green  Bank  Forest  Nursery,  Green  Bank,  N.  J 300 

New  York Saratoga  Nursery,  Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y 20,000 

Lowville  Nursery,  Lowville,  N.  Y 1 5,000 

North  Carolina Crab  Creek  Nursery,  Penrose,  N.  C 500 

Clayton  Nursery,  Clayton,  N.  C 10,000 

North  Dakota North  Dakota  School  of  Forestry  Nursery,  Bottineau,  N.  Dak 550 


Public  Forest-Tree  Nurseries  895 

STATE  FOREST  NURSERIES  COOPERATING  IN  FEDERAL-STATE  TREE  DISTRIBUTING 

PROGRAM,   1948 — Continued 

State  Name  and  location  Approximate 

capacity 
In  thousands 

Ohio Marietta  Nursery,  Marietta,  Ohio 4,000 

Green  Springs,  Green  Springs,  Ohio 6,000 

Oklahoma Goldsby  Field  Nursery,  Route  I,  Norman,  Okla 5,000 

Oregon Oregon  Forest  Nursery,  R.  F.  D.  i,  Corvallis,  Oreg i>5oo 

Pennsylvania Clearfield  Nursery,  Clearfield,  Pa i»S5O 

Greenwood  Furnace  Nursery,  Petersburg,  Pa 1,000 

Mont  Alto  Nursery,  Fayetteville,  Pa 2,020 

Penn  Nursery,  Milroy,  Pa 1,000 

South  Carolina Horace  L.  Tilghman  State  Forest  Nursery,  Wedgefield,  S.  C 25,000 

Tennessee Marietta  Nursery,  Pinson,  Tenn 4,000 

Texas Indian  Mound  Nursery,  Alto,  Tex 20,000 

Utah Utah  Clarke-McNary  Nursery,  Logan,  Utah no 

Vermont State  Forestry  Nursery,  Essex  Junction,  Vt 1,000 

Virginia Virginia  State  Forest  Tree  Nursery,  Charlottesville,  Va 2,500 

Peary  Nursery,  York  County,  Va i»25O 

Washington Federal  State  Forest  Tree  Nursery,  Pullman,  Wash 150 

Capitol  State  Forest  Nursery,  Olympia,  Wash 3,200 

West  Virginia West  Virginia  State  Forest  Nursery,  LeSage,  W.  Va 2,000 

Wisconsin Griffith  State  Nursery,  Wisconsin  Rapids,  Wis 20,000 

Gordon  State  Nursery,  Gordon,  Wis 6,000 

Trout  Lake  State  Nursery,  Trout  Lake,  Wis 10,000 

Hayward  Nursery,  Hayward,  Wis 10,000 

Wyoming Torrington  State  Experiment  Farm,  Torrington,  Wyo 2.5 


Total 392,757-5 


Hawaii Haiku  Nursery,  Haiku,  Maui 50 

Hilo  Nursery,  Hilo,  T.  H 60 

Lihue  Nursery,  Lihue,  Kauai 35 

Makiki  Nursery,  Honolulu,  T.  H 90 

Molokau  Nursery,  Kaunakakai,  Molokai 40 

Olinda  Nursery,  Makawao,  Maui IOO 

Puerto  Rico Catalina  Nursery,  Palmer,  P.  R 2,ooo 

Mayaguez  Nursery,  Mayaguez,  P.  R 5°° 

Rio  Piedras  Nursery,  Rio  Piedras,  P.  R I,ooo 

Toa  Nursery,  Toa  Baja,  P.  R 10,000 


Total 13,875 

40  States,  71  nurseries,  total  capacity 39V757-5 

2  Territories,  10  nurseries,  total  capacity 13,875.0 


Grand  total  (81  nurseries) 406,632.5 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

STATE  FORESTRY  AGENCIES 

State  State  administering  agency  Mail  address  of  administrative  official 

Alabama Department  of  Conservation,  Division     State  Forester 

of  Forestry.  5  North  Bainbridge  St. 

Montgomery  4,  Ala. 

Arizona State  Land  Commission State  Land  Commissioner 

Phoenix,  Ariz. 

Arkansas Arkansas  Resources  and  Development     Director,  Division  of  Forestry  and  Parks 

Commission,    Division   of  Forestry     Post  Office  Box  1940 
and  Parks.  Little    Rock,    Ark. 

California Department    of    Natural    Resources,     State  Forester 

Division  of  Forestry.  Sacramento,  Calif. 

Colorado State  Board  of  Forestry State  Forester 

124  Capitol  Bldg. 
Denver  2,  Colo. 

Connecticut State  Park  and  Forest  Commission. . . .   State  Forester 

165  Capitol  Ave. 
Hartford,  Conn. 

Delaware State  Forestry  Department State  Forester 

State  House 
Dover,  Del. 

Florida Florida  Board  of  Forestry  and  Parks,    State  Forester 

Florida  Forest  Service.  Post  Office  Box  I2OO 

Tallahassee,  Fla. 

Georgia Division  of  Conservation,  Department     Director,  Department  of  Forestry 

of  Forestry.  435  State  Capitol 

Atlanta  3,  Ga. 

Hawaii Board  of  Commissioners  of  Agriculture    Territorial  Forester 

and  Forestry.  Post  Office  Box  3319 

Honolulu,  T.  H. 

Idaho State  Board  of  Land  Commissioners. . .   State  Forester 

801  Capitol  Blvd. 
Boise,  Idaho. 

Illinois Department  of  Conservation,  Division     State  Forester 

of  Forestry.  301  %  East  Monroe  St. 

Springfield,  111. 

Indiana Department  of  Conservation,  Division     State  Forester 

of  Forestry.  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Iowa Iowa  Conservation  Commission Forestry  Department 

Iowa  State  College 
Ames,  Iowa. 

Kansas State  Board  of  Administration,  Depart-     Extension  Forester 

ment  of  Forestry  and  Floriculture.         Kansas  State  College 

Manhattan,  Kans. 


Public  Forest-Tree  Nurseries  897 

STATE  FORESTRY  AGENCIES— Continued 

State  State  administering  agency  Mail  address  of  administrative  official 

Kentucky Conservation  Department Director,  Division  of  Forestry 

Frankfort,  Ky. 

Louisiana Louisiana  Forestry  Commission State  Forester 

Post  Office  Box  1269 
Baton  Rouge,  La. 

Maine Maine  Forest  Service Forest  Commissioner 

Augusta,  Maine. 

Maryland Maryland  Department  of  State  Forests    State  Forester 

and  Parks  State  Office  Bldg. 

Annapolis,  Md. 

Massachusetts Department  of  Conservation Commissioner  of  Conservation 

15  Ashburton  PI. 
Boston,  Mass. 

Michigan Department  of  Conservation Director,  Department  of  Conservation 

Lansing,  Mich. 

Minnesota Department  of  Conservation Director,  Division  of  Forestry 

State  Office  Bldg. 
St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Mississippi Mississippi  Forest  and  Park  Service. .     State  Forester 

First  Federal  Savings  and  Loan  Bldg. 
Jackson  105,  Miss. 

Missouri Missouri  Conservation  Commission.  . .     State  Forester 

Jefferson  City,  Mo. 

Montana State  Forest  Department State  Forester 

Missoula,  Mont. 

Nebraska University  of  Nebraska,  College  of  Agri-    Extension  Forester 

culture.  College  of  Agriculture 

Lincoln,  Nebr. 

Nevada State  of  Nevada State  Forester-Fire  Warden 

Carson  City,  Nev. 

New  Hampshire Forestry  and  Recreation  Department.     State  Forester 

Concord,  N.  H. 

New  Jersey Department  of  Conservation,  Division     Director,  Division  of  Forestry,  Geology, 

of   Forestry,    Geology,    Parks,   and        Parks,  and  Historic  Sites 
Historic  Sites.  State  House  Annex 

Trenton,  N.  J. 

New  Mexico State  Land  Commissioner Commissioner  of  Public  Lands 

Santa  Fe,  N.  Mex. 

New  York New  York  Conservation  Department,     Director,  Division  of  Lands  and  Forests 

Division  of  Lands  and  Forests.  Albany,  N.  Y. 

North  Carolina Department  of  Conservation  and  De-  State  Forester 

velopment,  Division  of  Forestry  and  204  State  Education  Bldg. 

Parks.  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

802062° — 49 58 


898  Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 

STATE  FORESTRY  AGENCIES— Continued 

State  State  administering  agency  Mail  address  of  administrative  official 

North  Dakota State  School  of  Forestry State  Forester 

Bottineau,  N.  Dak. 

Ohio Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  De-    State  Forester 

partment  of  Forestry.  Wooster,  Ohio. 

Oklahoma Oklahoma    Planning    and    Resources     Director,  Division  of  Forestry 

Board,  Division  of  Forestry.  53^  State  Capitol 

Oklahoma  City  5,  Okla. 

Oregon State  Board  of  Forestry State  Forester 

Salem,  Oreg. 

Pennsylvania Department  of  Forests  and  Waters.  . .     Chief,  Bureau  of  Forests 

Harrisburg,  Pa. 

Puerto  Rico Department  of  Agriculture  and  Com-     Director,  Forest  Service 

merce,  Forest  Service.  Post  Office  Box  577 

Rio  Piedras,  P.  R. 

Rhode  Island State  Department  of  Agriculture  and    Chief  Forester,  Office  of  Forests  and 

Conservation,  Office  of  Forests  and        Parks 
Parks.  1 8  State  House 

Providence,  R.  I. 

South  Carolina State  Commission  of  Forestry State  Forester 

506  Calhoun  Office  Bldg. 
Columbia  B,  S.  C. 

South  Dakota Department  of  School  and  Public  Lands    State  Forester 

and  Commission  of  Game,  Fish,  and     Pierre,  S.  Dak. 
Parks. 

Tennessee Department  of  Conservation,  Division     State  Forester 

of  Forestry.  309  New  State  Office  Bldg. 

Nashville  3,  Tenn. 

Texas Texas  Forest  Service Texas  Forest  Service 

Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College 
College  Station  5,  Tex. 

Utah Utah  State  Department  of  Agriculture,     Chief  Forester-Fire  Warden 

Board  of  Forestry  and  Fire  Control.     School  of  Forestry 

Logan,  Utah. 

Vermont Vermont  Forest  Service State  Forester 

Montpelier,  Vt. 

Virginia Virginia  Conservation  Commission State  Forester 

University  Station 
Charlottesville,  Va. 

Washington Department  of  Conservation  and  De-    State  Supervisor  of  Forestry 

velopment,  Division  of  Forestry.          Olympia,  Wash. 

West  Virginia Conservation  Commission State  Forester 

Charleston,  W.  Va. 

Wisconsin.  . Wisconsin  Conservation  Department. .      Director  of  Conservation 

Madison,  Wis. 

Wyoming University  of  Wyoming Extension  Forester 

University  of  Wyoming 
Laramie,  Wyo. 


899 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE  FOREST  PRODUCTS 
LABORATORY 


1.  PUBLICATION  LISTS 

(Fields  of  investigation  for  which  lists  of  publications  have  been  prepared  are  printed 
below.  Requests  for  the  lists  should  specify  the  subject  or  subjects  in  which  one  is  interested, 
and  should  be  addressed  to  the  Director,  Forest  Products  Laboratory,  North  Walnut  Street, 
Madison  5,  W 'is.) 


Boxing  and  Crating. — Strength  and  serv- 
iceability of  shipping  containers,  methods 
of  packing. 

Building  Construction  Subjects. — Partial 
list  of  Government  publications  of  interest 
to  architects,  builders,  engineers,  and  retail 
lumbermen. 

Chemistry  of  Wood  and  Derived  Prod- 
ucts.— Chemical  properties  and  uses  of  wood 
and  chemical  wood  products,  such  as  tur- 
pentine, alcohol,  and  acetic  acid. 

Fungus  Defects  in  Forest  Products. — 
Pathology  in  cooperation  with  the  Bureau 
of  Plant  Industry,  Soils,  and  Agricultural 
Engineering — heart  rots  of  trees;  decay, 
molds,  and  stains  in  timber,  in  buildings, 
and  in  wood  products;  antiseptic  properties 
of  wood  preservatives. 

Glue  and  Plywood. — Development  of 
waterproof  glues,  preparation,  and  applica- 
tion of  various  glues,  plywood-manufac- 
turing problems. 

Growth,  Structure,  and  Identification  of 
Wood. — Structure  and  identification  of 
wood;  the  effect  of  cellular  structure  of 
wood  on  its  strength,  shrinkage,  perme- 
ability, and  other  properties;  the  influence 
of  environmental  factors,  such  as  light,  soil, 
moisture,  and  fire,  on  the  quality  of  wood 
produced ;  and  secretions  of  economic  value 
produced  by  trees  and  their  exploitation. 

Logging,  Manufacturing,  and  Utiliza- 
tion of  Timber,  Lumber,  and  Other  Wooden 
Products. — Methods  and  practices  in  the 
lumber-producing  and  wood-consuming  in- 
dustries; standard  lumber  grades,  sizes,  and 
nomenclature;  production  and  use  of  small 
dimension  stock;  specifications  for  small 


wooden  products ;  uses  for  little-used  species 
and  commercial  woods,  and  low-grade  and 
wood-waste  surveys. 

Mechanical  Properties  of  Timber. — 
Strength  of  timber  and  factors  affecting 
strength;  design  of  wooden  articles  or  parts 
where  strength  or  resistance  to  external 
forces  is  of  importance. 

Pulp  and  Paper. — Suitability  of  various 
woods  for  pulp  and  paper;  fundamental 
principles  underlying  the  pulping  and 
bleaching  processes;  methods  of  technical 
control  of  these  processes;  relationship  of 
the  chemical  and  physical  properties  of 
pulps  and  the  relation  of  these  properties 
to  the  paper-making  qualities  of  the  pulps; 
waste  in  the  industry,  for  example,  decay 
in  wood  and  pulp,  utilization  of  bark,  white 
water  losses,  etc. 

Seasoning  of  Wood. — Experimental  and 
applied  kiln  drying,  physical  properties,  air 
drying,  steam  bending. 

Use  of  Wood  in  Aircraft  Construction. — 
Strength,  selection,  and  character  of  air- 
craft wood  and  plywood;  fabrication  and 
assembly  problems;  methods  of  calculating 
the  strength  of  wooden  parts;  structure 
of  wood  in  relation  to  its  properties  and 
identification. 

Wood  Finishing  Subjects. — Effect  of 
coatings  in  preventing  moisture  absorption ; 
painting  characteristics  of  different  woods 
and  weathering  of  wood. 

Wood  Preservation. — Preservative  mate- 
rials and  methods  of  application;  durability 
and  service  records  of  treated  and  untreated 
wood  in  various  forms. 


2.  A  SELECTED  LIST  OF  FOREST  PRODUCTS  LABORATORY  PUBLICATIONS 


No.  Title  No. 

TN  B-10      The  nailing  of  boxes.  R1617 
TN   164         Common  styles  of  boxes. 

TN   134         The  crate  corner.  R1438 

TN  237         Metal  straps  on  boxes.  R1268 
R 1666-9       Wood  flour. 

R13  Seventeen  fallacies  about  wood.  TN  251 

R1432  Microstructure      of      cellulose 

fibers.  R982 

R1189  Exploring     the     labyrinth     of  TN  F-2 

cellulose  and  lignin. 

R1236  Utilization  of  waste  lignin.  TN  F^ 

R1171  Research   on   wood,   cellulose,  TN   131 

and  lignin. 

R91 1  Microstructure  of  a  wood  pulp.  TN   197 


Title 

The  Madison  wood-sugar  proc- 
ess. 

Wood  and  paper-base  plastics. 

Resin-treated,  laminated,  com- 
pressed wood. 

Prevention  and  control  of  de- 
cay in  dwellings. 

Making  log  cabins  endure. 

Strength  of  commercial  liquid 
glues. 

Water-resistant  glues. 

Properties  of  ordinary  wood 
compared  with  plywood. 

Veneered  and  solid  furniture. 


900 

No.  Title 

TN  207         Glues  for  use  with  wood. 

R543  Notes  on  the  manufacture  of 

plywood. 

1336  Synthetic-resin  glues. 

R1624  Fluid  pressure  molding  of  ply- 

wood. 

R1635  Manual  on  the  laminating  of 

timber  products  by  gluing. 

R285  Manufacture  of  veneer. 

TN  189  Differences  between  heartwood 
and  sap  wood. 

TN  209         The  structure  of  a  softwood. 

TN  210         The  structure  of  a  hardwood. 

TN  116  How  to  tell  birch,  beech,  and 
maple  apart. 

TN  214         Southern  yellow  pine. 

TN  215         The  white  pine  group. 

R1585  Guide  to  determining  the  slope 

of  grain  in  lumber  and 
veneer. 

TN  153  "Virgin  growth"  and  "second 
growth." 

TN  171  Red  hickory  as  strong  as  white 
hickory. 

1387  A  rapid  method  of  determin- 

ing the  specific  gravity  of 
veneer. 

R 163  7—1        Equipment  survey  notes. 

R899  and      Small  sawmill  improvement. 

R1666  General  recommendations  re- 

garding methods  for  wood 
waste  utilization. 

R1479  Some  reference  books  on  do- 

mestic and  foreign  woods. 

TN  218  Weights  of  various  woods 
grown  in  the  United  States. 

TN  101  Comparative  value  of  timber 
cut  from  live  and  dead  trees. 

TN  236  Nail-holding  power  of  Ameri- 
can woods. 

TN  B-ll  Method  of  determining  the 
moisture  content  of  wood. 

TN  B-14  Method  of  determining  the 
specific  gravity  of  wood. 

TN  180  Comparative  strength  of  air- 
dried  and  kiln-dried  wood. 

R1687  Tests  of  glued  laminated  wood 

beams  and  columns  and  de- 
velopment of  principles  of 
design. 

TN  242  Pictured  good  and  poor  prac- 
tice in  frame  house  con- 
struction. 

TN  245  Suitability  of  woods  for  use  in 
the  frame  house. 

TN  246  Suitability  of  woods  for  use  in 
barns  and  other  farm  struc- 
tures. 

R896  The  rigidity  and  strength  of 

frame  walls. 

R1421  How  to  minimize  condensa- 

tion in  unheated  rooms. 

R991  Practical  suggestions  on  frame 

house  construction. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


No.  Title 

R1196  Condensation  problems  in 

modern  buildings. 

R1025  Plywood  as  a  structural  cover- 

ing for  frame  walls  and  wall 
units. 

R1026  Stressed  plywood  for  floor 

panels. 

TN   196         Identification  of  pulpwoods. 

TN  229  Comparative  decay  resistance 
of  heartwood  of  different  na- 
tive species. 

R1677  Insulation  board,  wallboard, 

and  hardboard. 

R1461  Pulp-reinforced  plastics. 

1319  Strength  and  related  proper- 

ties of  Forest  Products  Lab- 
oratory laminated  paper 
plastics  (papreg)  at  normal 
temperature. 

TN  235         Chemical  analysis  of  wood. 

TN  204  Commercial  processes  of  pulp- 
ing woods  for  paper. 

TN  212  American  woods  for  paper 
making. 

TN  220  Use  of  fibrous  plants  for  paper 
manufacture. 

TN   179         The  reuse  of  waste  paper. 

TN  241  Shrinkage  table  for  softwood 
lumber. 

R966  Wood  bending. 

R1650  Shrinkage  of  wood. 

TN  180  Comparative  strength  of  air- 
dried  and  kiln-dried  wood. 

TN  181  Coatings  for  minimizing 
changes  in  the  moisture  con- 
tent of  wood. 

R1657  Air  seasoning  of  lumber. 

R1435  Coatings  for  the  prevention  of 

end  checks  in  logs  and 
lumber. 

TN  175  Hardwood  and  softwood  dry- 
ing schedules. 

R1661  Types  of  lumber  dry  kilns. 

R1655  Moisture  content  of  wood  in 

use. 

R962  When  and  how  to  paint  homes 

and  farm  buildings. 

TN  221         Weathering  and  decay. 

R1053  Behavior  of  paints  on  different 

woods. 

R1118  Experiments  in  fireproofing 

wood. 

R1280  Fire-re tardant  coatings. 

R149  Wood  preservatives. 

R761  Preservative  treatment  and 

staining  of  shingles. 

R154  Methods  of  applying  wood 

preservatives. 

R1468  Selecting  a  suitable  method  for 

treating  fence  posts. 

TN  177  Properties  of  a  good  wood 
preservative. 

TN  165  When  preservative  treatment 
of  wood  is  an  economy. 


For  Further  Reference 


A  TREE  IS  A  LIVING  THING 

(Pagel) 

Biisgen,  Moritz,  and  Munch,  E.:  The 
Structure  and  Life  of  Forest  Trees,  trans- 
lated by  Thomas  Thomson,  436  pages, 
John  Wiley  and  Sons,  New  York.  1931. 

Meyer,  Bernard  S.,  and  Anderson,  Donald 
B. :  Plant  Physiology,  696  pages,  D. 
Van  Nostrand  Company,  New  York. 
1939. 

SHADE  TREES  FOR  NORTHEAST 

(Page  48) 

Swingle,  Roger  U. :  Phloem  Necrosis,  a 
Virus  Disease  of  the  American  Elm, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Circular  640,  8  pages.  1942. 

Walter,  J.  M.,  May,  Curtis,  and  Collins, 
C.  W.:  Dutch  Elm  Disease  and  Its 
Control,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Circular  677,  12 
pages.  1943. 

POINTERS  ON  PLANTING 
(Page  85) 

Bailey,  L.  H.,  editor:  The  Standard 
Cyclopedia  of  Horticulture,  volume  3, 
pages  2656-2706,  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, New  York.  1928. 

Levison,  J.  J.:  The  Home  Book  of  Trees 
and  Shrubs,  424  pages,  Simon  and  Schus- 
ter, New  York.  1940. 

Mulford,  F.  L. :  Transplanting  Trees  and 
Shrubs,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bulletin 
1591,  34  pages.  1929. 

Thompson,  A.  Robert:  Transplanting 
Trees  and  Other  Woody  Plants,  U.  S. 
National  Park  Service,  Tree  Preservation 
Bulletin  9,  59  pages.  1940. 

Transplanting  of  Trees  and  Shrubs  in  the 
Northeastern  and  North  Central  United 
States,  Combined  Proceedings  of  the 
Nineteenth  National  Shade  Tree  Confer- 
ence and  the  Tenth  Western  Shade  Tree 
Conference,  pages  70-146.  1943. 

KEEP  SHADE  TREES  HEALTHY 
(Page  91) 

Care  of  Damaged  Shade  Trees,  U.  S.  D.  A. 
Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  1896,  34  pages. 
1942. 

Common  Diseases  of  Important  Shade 
Trees,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bulletin  1987, 
53  pages.  1948. 

Reducing  Damage  to  Trees  from  Con- 
struction Work,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers' 
Bulletin  1967,  26  pages.  1945. 


PROTECTING  SHADE  TREES 

(Page  97) 

Fowler,  M.  E.,  Gravatt,  George  F.,  and 
Thompson,  A.  Robert :  Reducing  Dam- 
age to  Trees  From  Construction  Work, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bulletin  1967,  26 
pages.  1945. 

THE  COMMUNITY  OF  TREES 
(Page  103) 

Baker,  Frederick  S.:  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice of  Silviculture,  502  pages,  McGraw- 
Hill  Book  Company,  Inc.,  New  York. 
1934. 

Platt,  Rutherford  H.:  Our  Flowering 
World,  278  pages,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Com- 
pany, New  York.  1947. 

Zon,  Raphael:  Climate  and  the  Nation's 
Forests,  Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1941 
(Climate  and  Man),  pages  477-^498. 

FOREST  TYPES,  UNITED  STATES 

(Page  109) 

Bates,  Carlos  G.:  Forest  Types  in  the 
Central  Rocky  Mountains  as  Affected  by 
Climate  and  Soil,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Bulletin 
1233,  152  pages.  1924. 

Cajander,  Aimo  K. :  The  Theory  of  For- 
est Types,  108  pages,  Finnish  Literary 
Society,  Helsinki.  1926. 

Carpenter,  J.  Richard:  An  Ecological 
Glossary,  306  pages,  University  of  Okla- 
homa Press,  Norman.  1938. 

Clements,  Frederic  E.:  Plant  Formations 
and  Forest  Types,  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  American  Foresters,  volume  4, 
number  1,  pages  50—63,  Washington, 
D.  C.  1909. 

Cooper,  J.  G. :  On  the  Distribution  of  the 
Forests  and  Trees  of  North  America,  with 
Notes  on  Its  Physical  Geography,  An- 
nual Report  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  the  year 
1858,  pages  246-280.  1859. 

Cotta,  Heinrich  von:  Systematische  An- 
leitung  zur  Taxation  der  Waldungen,  2 
volumes,  Berlin.  1804. 

Dice,  Lee  R. :  The  Biotic  Provinces  of 
North  America,  78  pages,  University  of 
Michigan  Press,  Ann  Arbor.  1943. 

Forest  Cover  Types  of  the  Eastern  United 
States,  39  pages,  Society  of  American 
Foresters,  Washington,  D.  C.  1940. 

Forest  Cover  Types  of  Western  North 
America,  35  pages,  Society  of  American 
Foresters,  Washington,  D.  C.  1945. 

901 


902 


yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


Forestry  Terminology,  84  pages,  Society  of 
American  Foresters,  Washington,  D.  G. 
1944. 

Graves,  Henry  Solon:  Practical  Forestry 
in  the  Adirondack*,  U.  S.  Division  of 
Forestry  Bulletin  26,  85  pages.  1899. 

Harshberger,  John  W.:  Phyto geographic 
Survey  of  North  America,  790  pages, 
G.  E.  Stechert  and  Company,  New  York. 
1911. 

Instructions  for  Making  Timber  Surveys 
in  the  National  Forests,  45  pages,  U.  S. 
Forest  Service.  1925. 

Kruedener,  Arthur  A.  von:  Waldtypen, 
volume  1,  122  pages,  J.  Neumann,  Neu- 
damm,  Germany.  1927. 

Mowry,  Jesse  B. :  The  Nature  and  De- 
velopment of  Forest  Types,  18  pages, 
Gloucester,  R.  I.  1920. 

Pearson,  Gustaf  A.:  Forest  Types  in  the 
Southwest  as  Determined  by  Climate  and 
Soil,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Technical  Bulletin  247, 
144  pages.  1931. 

Sampson,  Arthur  W.:  The  Stability  of 
Aspen  as  a  Type,  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  American  Foresters,  volume 
11,  number  1,  pages  86-87,  Washington, 
D.  G.  1916. 

Shantz,  H.  L.,  and  Zon,  Raphael:  Nat- 
ural Vegetation,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Atlas  of 
American  Agriculture,  29  pages.  1924. 

Schiitze,  W. :  Beziehungen  zwischen  Chem- 
ischer  Zusammensetzung  und  Ertrags- 
fdhigkeit  des  Waldbodens,  Zeitschrift 
fiir  Forst-  und  Jagdwesen,  volume  3, 
pages  367-390,  Berlin.  1871. 

Westveld,  Marinus:  Type  Definitions 
Based  on  Statistics  of  Stand  Composi- 
tion, U.  S.  Forest  Service,  Northeastern 
Forest  Experiment  Station  Technical 
Note  15,  1  page,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1934. 

Zon,  Raphael:  Principles  Involved  in  De- 
termining Forest  Types,  Proceedings  of 
the  Society  of  American  Foresters,  vol- 
ume 1,  number  3,  pages  179-189,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  1906. 

FORESTS  AND  SOILS 

(Page  114) 

Auten,  John  T. :  Forests  for  Old  Fields, 
Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1943-1947 
(Science  in  Farming),  pages  473-480. 
1947. 

Coile,  Theodore  S.:  Relation  of  Soil 
Characteristics  to  Site  Index  of  Loblolly 
and  Shortleaf  Pines  in  the  Lower  Pied- 
mont Region  of  North  Carolina,  Duke 
University  School  of  Forestry  Bulletin  1 3, 
78  pages,  Durham,  N.  C.  1948. 

Dreibelbis,  F.  R.,  and  Post,  F.  A.:  An  In- 
ventory of  Soil  Water  Relationships  on 
Woodland,  Pasture,  and  Cultivated  Soils, 
Proceedings  of  the  Soil  Science  Society 
of  America,  volume  6,  pages  462-473. 
1941. 


Heiberg,  S.  O.,  and  Chandler,  R.  F.,  Jr.: 
A  Revised  Nomenclature  of  Forest 
Humus  Layers  for  the  Northeastern 
United  States,  Soil  Science,  volume  52, 
pages  87-99.  August  1941. 

Hill,  W.  W.,  Arnst,  Albert,  and  Bond, 
R.  M.:  Method  of  Correlating  Soils 
with  Douglas-fir  Site  Quality,  Journal  of 
Forestry,  volume  46,  pages  835-841.  No- 
vember 1948 

Holtby,  B.  E.:  Soil  Texture  as  a  Site  In- 
dicator in  the  Ponderosa  Pine  Stands  of 
Southeastern  Washington,  Journal  of 
Forestry,  volume  45,  pages  824-825. 
November  1947. 

Rommel,  L.  G.,  and  Heiberg,  S.  O.: 
Types  of  Humus  Layer  in  the  Forests  of 
the  Northeastern  United  States,  Ecology, 
volume  12,  pages  567-608.  July  1931. 

FOREST  RENEWAL 

(Page  120) 

Burns,  George  P. :  Studies  in  Tolerance  of 
New  England  Forest  Trees,  Part  4,  Mini- 
mum Light  Requirement  Referred  to  a 
Definite  Standard,  Vermont  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  Bulletin  235,  32 
pages.  1923. 

Haig,  I.  T. :  Factors  Controlling  Initial 
Establishment  of  Western  White  Pine  and 
Associated  Species,  Yale  University, 
School  of  Forestry  Bulletin  41,  149 
pages,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1936. 

Kramer,  Paul  J.,  and  Decker,  John  P.: 
Relation  Between  Light  Intensity  and 
Rate  of  Photosynthesis  of  Loblolly  Pine 
and  Certain  Hardwoods,  Plant  Physiol- 
ogy, volume  19,  pages  350-358.  April 
1944. 

Schwappach,  Adam:  Forestry,  translated 
by  F.  Story  and  E.  A.  Nobbs,  158  pages, 
J.  M.  Dent  &  Company,  London.  1904. 

Shirley,  Hardy  L. :  Reproduction  of  Up- 
land Conifers  in  the  Lake  States  as 
Affected  by  Root  Competition  and  Light, 
American  Midland  Naturalist,  volume 
33,  pages  537-612.  May  1945. 

THE  SEED,  THEN  THE  TREE 

(Page  127) 

Baldwin,  Henry  Ives:  Forest  Tree  Seed 
j)f  the  North  Temperate  Regions  with 
Special  Reference  to  North  America,  240 
pages,  Chronica  Botanica  Company, 
Waltham,  Mass.  1942. 

Engstrom,  H.  E.,  and  Stoeckeler,  J.  H.: 
Nursery  Practices  for  Trees  and  Shrubs, 
Suitable  for  Planting  on  the  Prairie- 
Plains,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Miscellaneous  Pub- 
lication 434,  159  pages.  1941. 

Tourney,  J.  W.,  and  Korstian,  C.  F. : 
Seeding  and  Planting  in  the  Practice  of 
Forestry,  520  pages,  John  Wiley  &  Sons, 
Inc.,  New  York.  1942. 


For  Further  Reference 


903 


DIRECT  SEEDING  OF  TREES 
(Page  136) 

McQuilkin,  W.  E. :  Tests  of  Direct  Seed- 
ing with  Pines  in  the  Piedmont  Region, 
Journal  of  Agricultural  Research,  volume 
73,  pages  113-136.  August  15,  1946. 

Minckler,  Leon  S.,  and  Downs,  Albert  A.: 
Machine  and  Hand  Direct  Seeding  of 
Pine  and  Cedar  in  the  Piedmont,  U.  S. 
Forest  Service,  Southeastern  Forest  Ex- 
periment Station  Technical  Note  67,  10 
pages,  Asheville,  N.  G.  1946. 

Priaulx,  Arthur  W. :  Direct  Seeding  Tool, 
American  Forests,  volume  52,  pages 
472-473.  October  1946. 

Schopmeyer,  G.  S.,  and  Helmers,  Austin 
E. :  Seeding  as  a  Means  of  Reforesta- 
tion in  the  Northern  Rocky  Mountain 
Region,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Circular  722,  31 
pages.  1947. 

Shirley,  Hardy  L. :  Direct  Seeding  in  the 
Lake  States,  Journal  of  Forestry,  volume 
35,  pages  379-387.  April  1937. 

Smith,  C.  F.,  and  Aldous,  S.  E.:  The  In- 
fluence of  Mammals  and  Birds  in  Re- 
tarding Artificial  and  Natural  Reseeding 
of  Coniferous  Forests  in  the  United 
States,  Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  45, 
pages  361-369.  May  1947. 

Stoeckeler,  J.  H.,  and  Sump,  A.  W. :  Suc- 
cessful Direct  Seeding  of  Northern  Coni- 
fers on  Shallow-Water-Table  Areas, 
Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  38,  pages 
572-577.  July  1940. 

PINE  BREEDING,  UNITED  STATES 

(Page  147) 

Richens,  R.  H. :  Forest  Tree  Breeding  and 
Genetics,  Imperial  Agricultural  Bureaux 
Joint  Publication  8,  79  pages,  London. 
1945. 

Riker,  A.  J.,  Kouba,  T.  F.,  Brener,  W.  H., 
and  Byam,  L.  E.:  White  Pine  Selec- 
tions Tested  for  Resistance  to  Blister  Rust, 
Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  41,  pages 
753-760,  October  1943. 

Stockwell,  Palmer,  and  Righter,  F.  I.: 
Hybrid  Forest  Trees,  Yearbook  of  Agri- 
culture 1943-1947  (Science  in  Farming), 
pages  465-472.  1947. 

Syrach-Larsen,  C. :  The  Estimation  of  the 
Genotype  in  Forest  Trees,  Royal  Veteri- 
nary and  Agricultural  College  Yearbook, 
pages  87-128,  Copenhagen,  Denmark. 
1947. 

Tree  Breeding  at  the  Institute  of  Forest 
Genetics,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Miscellaneous  Pub- 
lication 659,  14  pages.  1948. 

POPLARS  CAN  BE  BRED 

(Page  153) 

Schreiner,  E.  J. :  Creative  Forestry,  Paper 
Industry  and  Paper  World,  volume  20, 
pages  302-307.  June  1938. 


Schreiner,  E.  J. :  How  Sod  Affects  Estab- 
lishment of  Hybrid  Poplar  Plantations, 
Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  43,  pages 
412-427.  June  1945. 

Schreiner,  E.  J.:  Improvement  of  Forest 
Trees,  Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1937, 
pages  1242-1279. 

Schreiner,  E.  J. :  Inhibiting  Effect  of  Sod 
on  the  Growth  of  Hybrid  Poplar,  U.  S. 
Forest  Service,  Northeastern  Forest  Ex- 
periment Station  Occasional  Paper  8, 
10  pages,  New  Haven,  Conn.  1940. 

Schreiner,  E.  J.:  Possibilities  of  Improv- 
ing Pulping  Characteristics  of  Pulpwoods 
by  Controlled  Hybridization  of  Forest 
Trees,  Paper  Trade  Journal,  volume  1 00, 
number  8,  pages  105-109.  February  21, 

Schreiner,  E.  J.:  The  Role  of  Disease  in 
the  Growing  of  Poplar,  Journal  of  For- 
estry, volume  29,  pages  79-82.  January 
1931. 

Schreiner,  E.  J.:  Silvicultural  Methods 
for  Reforestation  with  Hybrid  Poplars, 
Paper  Industry  and  Paper  World,  volume 
19,  pages  156-163.  May  1937. 

Schreiner,  E.  J.:  Tree  Breeding  for  De- 
sirable Qualities  and  Disease  Resistance, 
National  Shade  Tree  Conference  Pro- 
ceedings, volume  22,  pages  56-59.  1946. 

Schreiner,  E.  J.:  Two  Species  of  Valsa 
Causing  Disease  in  Populus,  American 
Journal  of  Botany,  volume  18,  pages 
1-29.  January  1931. 

Schreiner,  E.  J.:  Variation  Between  Two 
Hybrid  Poplars  in  Susceptibility  to  the 
Inhibiting  Effect  of  Grass  and  Weeds, 
Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  43,  pages 
669-672.  September  1945. 

Schreiner,  E.  J.,  and  Stout,  A.  B. :  De- 
scriptions of  Ten  New  Hybrid  Poplars, 
Bulletin  61  of  the  Torrey  Botanical 
Club,  pages  449-460.  November  1934. 

Stout,  A.  B.,  McKee,  R.  H.,  and  Schreiner, 
E.  J. :  The  Breeding  of  Forest  Trees  for 
Pulpwood,  Journal  of  the  New  York 
Botanical  Garden,  volume  28,  pages  49— 
63.  March  1927. 

Stout,  A.  B.,  and  Schreiner,  E.  J. :  Hybrids 
Between  the  Necklace  Cottonwood  and 
the  Large-Leaved  Aspen,  Journal  of  the 
New  York  Botanical  Garden,  volume  35, 
pages  140-143.  June  1934. 

Stout,  A.  B.,  and  Schreiner,  E.  J.:  Re- 
sults of  a  Project  in  Hybridizing  Poplars, 
Journal  of  Heredity,  volume  24,  pages 
216-229.  June  1933. 

WINDBREAKS  AND   SHELTERBELTS 

(Page  191) 

Bates,  C.  G.:  The  Windbreak  as  a  Farm 
Asset,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bulletin 
1405,  22  pages.  1944. 

Den  Uyl,  Daniel:  Windbreaks  for  Pro- 
tecting Muck  Soils  and  Crops,  Indiana 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Cir- 
cular 287,  12  pages.  1943. 


9°4 

Furnas,  R.  W. :  Tree  Planting  and  Grow- 
ing on  the  Plains,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Miscel- 
laneous Special  Report  2,  pages  202- 
206.  1883. 

Lillard,  Richard  G.:  The  Great  Forest, 
399  pages,  A.  A.  Knopf,  New  York.  1947. 

Munns,  E.  N.,  and  Stoeckeler,  J.  H. :  How 
are  the  Great  Plains  Shelterbelts?  Jour- 
nal of  Forestry,  volume  44,  pages  237- 
257.  April  1946. 

Stoeckeler,  J.  H.:  Narrow  Shelterbelts 
for  the  Southern  Great  Plains,  Soil  Con- 
servation, volume  11,  pages  16-20.  July 
1945. 

Thompson,  H.  M. :  Plan  of  Forest  Plant- 
ing for  the  Great  Plains  of  North 
America,  American  Journal  of  Forestry, 
volume  1,  Pages  226-232.  February  1883. 

Ware,  E.  R.:  Forests  of  South  Dakota, 
Their  Economic  Importance  and  Pos- 
sibilities, 27  pages,  U.  S.  Forest  Service, 
Lake  States  Forest  Experiment  Station 
and  South  Dakota  State  Planning  Board, 
St.  Paul,  Minn.  1939. 

Ware,  E.  R.,  and  Smith,  L.  F.:  Wood- 
lands of  Kansas,  Kansas  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  Bulletin  285,  42 
pages.  1939. 

GROWING  BETTER  TIMBER 

(Page  200) 

Paul,  Benson  H.:  The  Application  of 
Silviculture  in  Controlling  the  Specific 
Gravity  of  Wood,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Technical 
Bulletin  168,  19  pages.  1930. 

Paul,  Benson  H. :  Knots  in  Second-growth 
Pine  and  the  Desirability  of  Pruning, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Miscellaneous  Publication 
307,  35  pages.  1938. 

Pillow,  M.  Y.,  and  Luxford,  R.  F. :  Struc- 
ture, Occurrence,  and  Properties  of  Com- 
pression Wood,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Technical 
Bulletin  546,  32  pages.  1937. 

CHRISTMAS  TREES 
(Page  251) 

Barraclough,  K.  E. :  Christmas  Trees,  A 
Cash  Crop,  New  Hampshire  Extension 
Circular  278,  15  pages.  1946. 

Cope,  J.  A.:  Christmas-Tree  Farming, 
New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture 
at  Cornell  University,  Extension  Bulletin 
704,  32  pages.  1946. 

Fenton,  Richard  H.,  and  Callward,  Floyd 
M. :  Home-Grown  Christmas  Trees  for 
Connecticut,  Connecticut  University, 
College  of  Agriculture  Extension  Bulle- 
tin 409,  16  pages.  1948. 

Murphey,  F.  T. :  Christmas  Tree  Farming 
in  Pennsylvania,  Pennsylvania  State  Col- 
lege Extension  Circular  284,  24  pages. 
1945. 

MANAGEMENT  ON  CHIPPEWA 

(Page  311) 

Ayres,  H.  B.:  Timber  Conditions  of  the 
Pine  Region  of  Minnesota,  U.  S.  Geologi- 


Yearboo\  of  Agriculture  1949 


cal  Survey,  Twenty-First  Annual  Report, 
1899-1900,  Part  5,  pages  673-689. 

Chapman,  H.  H.:  The  Chippewa  Na- 
tional Forest,  American  Forests,  volume 
35,  pages  561-565.  September  1929. 

Endorsement  of  Minnesota  Forest  Reserve, 
Forestry  and  Irrigation,  pages  73-77. 
February  1906. 

Eyre,  Francis  H.,  and  Zehngraff,  Paul  J.: 
Red  Pine  Management  in  Minnesota, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Circular  778,  70  pages.  1948. 

Forest  Management  in  Minnesota,  Forestry 
and  Irrigation,  volume  10,  pages  580- 
582.  December  1904. 

Kittredge,  Joseph,  Jr.:  Thinning  Red 
Pine,  Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  25, 
pages  555-559.  May  1927. 

Shirley,  Hardy  L. :  Improving  Seedbed 
Conditions  in  a  Norway  Pine  Forest, 
Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  31,  pages 
322-328.  March  1933. 

Woolsey,  T.  S.,  and  Chapman,  H.  H.: 
Norway  Pine  in  the  Lake  States,  U.  S. 
D.  A.  Bulletin  139,  42  pages.  1914. 

Zon,  Raphael:  Results  of  Cutting  on  the 
Minnesota  National  Forest  Under  the 
Morris  Act  of  1902,  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  American  Foresters,  volume  7, 
pages  100-105.  1912. 

TAMING  A  WILD  FOREST 

(Page  326) 

Andrews,  H.  J.,  and  Cowlin,  R.  W.:  For- 
est Resources  of  the  Douglas-Fir  Region, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Miscellaneous  Publication 
389,  169  pages.  1940. 

Kirkland,  Burt  P.:  Forest  Resources  of 
the  Douglas-Fir  Region,  74  pages,  Joint 
Committee  on  Forest  Conservation  of  the 
Pacific  Northwest  Loggers  Association 
and  the  West  Coast  Lumbermen's  As- 
sociation, Portland,  Oreg.  1946. 

Langille,  H.  D.,  Plummer,  F.  G.,  Dodwell, 
A.,  Rixon,  T.  F.,  and  others:  Forest 
Conditions  in  the  Cascade  Range  Forest 
Reserve,  Oregon,  U.  S.  Geological  Sur- 
vey Professional  Paper  9,  298  pages. 
1903. 

Munger,  T.  T.,  and  Matthews,  D.  N.: 
Slash  Disposal  and  Forest  Management 
After  Clear  Cutting  in  the  Douglas-Fir 
Region,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Circular  586,  56 
pages.  1941. 

National  Forest  Areas,  15  pages,  U.  S.  For- 
est Service.  1947. 

Nelson,  Milton  N.,  and  Colver,  Carol:  The 
Economic  Base  for  Power  Markets  in 
Linn  County,  Oregon,  46  pages,  U.  S. 
Department  of  the  Interior,  Bonneville 
Power  Administration.  1946. 

Smith,  Warren  D.,  Ballaine,  Wesley  C.,  and 
Goldhammer,  B.:  The  Economic  Base 
for  Power  Markets  in  Lane  County, 
Oregon,  52  pages,  U.  S.  Department  of 
the  Interior,  Bonneville  Power  Admin- 
istration. 1946. 


For  Further  Reference 


905 


PINYON-JUNIPER  IN  SOUTHWEST 
(Page  342) 

Bolton,  Herbert  Eugene,  editor:  Spanish 
Exploration  in  the  Southwest,  1542- 
1706,  487  pages,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 
New  York.  1916. 

Hough,  Walter:  Antiquities  of  the  Upper 
Gila  and  Salt  River  Valleys  of  Arizona 
and  New  Mexico,  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, Bureau  of  American  Ethnology 
Bulletin  35,  96  pages.  1907. 

Kidder,  Alfred  Vincent,  and  Guernsey, 
Samuel  J.:  Archeological  Explorations 
in  Northeastern  Arizona,  Smithsonian 
Institution,  Bureau  of  American  Eth- 
nology Bulletin  65,  228  pages.  1919. 

Pearson,  G.  A.:  Forest  Types  in  the 
Southwest  as  Determined  by  Climate  and 
Soil,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Technical  Bulletin  247, 
143  pages.  1931. 

Spanish  Explorers  in  the  Southern  United 
States,  1528-1543,  411  pages,  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.  1907. 

BEETLE-KILLED  SPRUCE 

(Page  41 7) 

Hopkins,  A.  D. :  Bark  Beetles  of  the  Genus 
Dendroctonus,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Entomol- 
ogy Bulletin  83,  Part  1,  169  pages.  1909. 

INSECTS  IN  WOOD  PRODUCTS 

(Page  432) 

Decay  and  Termite  Damage  in  Houses, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bulletin  1993,  20 
pages.  1948. 

Powder-Post  Beetles,  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine,  In- 
sects in  Relation  to  National  Defense  Cir- 
cular 6,  16  pages.  1941. 

Preventing  Damage  To  Buildings  by  Sub- 
terranean Termites  and  Their  Control, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bulletin  1911,  37 
pages.  1942. 

Snyder,  T.  E. :  Defects  in  Timber  Caused 
by  Insects,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Department  Bulle- 
tin 1490,  46  pages.  1927. 

Snyder,  T.  E.:  Our  Enemy  the  Termite, 
257  pages,  Comstock  Publishing  Com- 
pany, Ithaca,  N.  Y.  1948. 

Snyder,  T.  E.:  Powder-Post  Beetles  and 
Their  Control,  Pests,  volume  12,  number 
4,  pages  8,  27,  31.  April  1944. 

Snyder,  T.  E.,  and  Zetek,  J.:  Effective- 
ness of  Wood  Preservatives  in  Preventing 
Attack  by  Termites,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Circular 
683,  24  pages.  1943. 

Wilford,  B.  H. :  Chemical  Impregnation 
of  Trees  and  Poles  for  Wood  Preserva- 
tion, U.  S.  D.  A.  Circular  717,  30  pages. 
1944. 

BLISTER  RUST  ON  WHITE  PINE 

(Page  453) 

Buchanan,  T.  S. :  Blister  Rust  Damage  to 
Merchantable  Western  White  Pine,  Jour- 


nal of  Forestry,  volume  36,  pages  321- 
328.  March  1938. 

Clinton,  G.  P.,  and  McCormick,  Florence 
A.:  Infection  Experiments  of  Pinus 
Strobus  with  Cronartium  Ribicola,  Con- 
necticut Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
Bulletin  214,  pages  428-459.  1919. 

Davis,  Kenneth  P.,  and  Moss,  Virgil  D.: 
Blister  Rust  Control  in  the  Management 
of  Western  White  Pine,  U.  S.  Forest 
Service,  Northern  Rocky  Mountain  For- 
est and  Range  Experiment  Station,  Sta- 
tion Paper  3,  34  pages,  Missoula,  Mont. 
1940. 

Filler,  E.  C.:  Blister  Rust  Damage  to 
Northern  White  Pine  at  Waterford,  Vt., 
Journal  of  Agricultural  Research,  volume 
47,  pages  297-313.  September  1,  1933. 

Fulling,  E.  H.:  Plant  Life  and  the  Law 
of  Man,  Part  4,  Barberry,  Currant  and 
Gooseberry,  and  Cedar  Control,  Botani- 
cal Review,  volume  9,  pages  483-592. 
October  1943. 

Hirt,  Ray  R.:  The  Relation  of  Certain 
Meteorological  Factors  to  the  Infection 
of  Eastern  White  Pine  by  the  Blister- 
Rust  Fungus,  New  York  State  College 
of  Forestry  Technical  Publication  59,  65 
pages,  Syracuse.  1942. 

Lachmund,  H.  G.:  Damage  to  Pinus 
Monticola  by  Cronartium  Ribicola  at 
Garibaldi,  British  Columbia,  Journal  of 
Agricultural  Research,  volume  49,  pages 
239-249.  August  1,  1934. 

Martin,  J.  F.:  Eradication  of  the  Cul- 
tivated Black  Currant  in  White  Pine 
Regions,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Leaflet  175,  8  pages. 

Martin,  J.  F.,  and  Gravatt,  G.  F. :  Treat- 
ment of  White  Pines  Infected  with 
Blister  Rust,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bul- 
letin 1885,  28  pages.  1942. 

Mielke,  J.  L. :  White  Pine  Blister  Rust  in 
Western  North  America,  Yale  University, 
School  of  Forestry  Bulletin  52,  155  pages, 
New  Haven,  Conn.  1943. 

Offord,  H.  R.:  The  Chemical  Eradica- 
tion of  Ribes,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Technical 
Bulletin  240,  24  pages.  1931. 

Offord,  H.  R.,  Van  Atta,  G.  R.,  and  Swan- 
son,  H.  E.:  Chemical  and  Mechanical 
Methods  of  Ribes  Eradication  in  the 
White  Pine  Areas  of  the  Western  States, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Technical  Bulletin  692,  49 
pages.  1940. 

Snell,  Walter  H.:  Blister  Rust  in  the 
Adirondacks,  Journal  of  Forestry,  volume 
26,  pages  472-486.  April  1928. 

Snell,  Walter  H. :  Forest  Damage  and  the 
White  Pine  Blister  Rust,  Journal  of  For- 
estry, volume  29,  pages  68-78.  January 
1931. 

Spaulding,  Perley:  The  Blister  Rust  of 
White  Pine,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Plant  In- 
dustry Bulletin  206,  78  pages.  1911. 


906 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


Spaulding,  Perley:  Investigations  of  the 
White-Pine  Blister  Rust,  U.  S.  D.  A. 
Bulletin  957,  100  pages.  1922. 

Spaulding,  Perley:  Longevity  of  the 
Teliospores  and  Accompanying  Ure do- 
spores  of  Cronartium  Ribicola  Fischer 
in  1923,  Journal  of  Agricultural  Re- 
search, volume  31,  pages  901-916.  No- 
vember 15,  1925. 

Spaulding,  Perley:  White  Pine  Blister 
Rust:  A  Comparison  of  European  with 
North  American  Conditions,  U.  S.  D.  A. 
Technical  Bulletin  87,  58  pages.  1929. 

Spaulding,  Perley,  and  Rathbun-Gravatt, 
A.:  The  Influence  of  Physical  Factors 
on  the  Viability  of  Sporidia  of  Cronar- 
tium Ribicola  Fischer,  Journal  of  Agri- 
cultural Research,  volume  33,  pages  397- 
433.  September  1,  1926. 

PROGRESS,  BUT  STILL  A  PROBLEM 

(Page  477) 

Holbrook,  Stewart  Hall:  Burning  an  Em- 
pire, 229  pages,  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, New  York.  1943. 

BAD  BUSINESS;  YOUR  BUSINESS 
(Page  479) 

Chapman,  H.  H.:  Prescribed  Burning 
Versus  Public  Forest  Fire  Services,  Jour- 
nal of  Forestry,  volume  45,  pages  804- 
808.  November  1947. 

Craddock,  George  W.:  Salt  Lake  City 
Flood,  1945,  Proceedings  of  the  Utah 
Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts,  and  Letters, 
volume  23,  pages  51-61.  1945-1946. 

Forest  Fires  and  How  You  Can  Prevent 
Them,  11  pages,  U.  S.  Forest  Service. 
1945. 

Forest  Fire  Statistics,  1936-1945,  U.  S. 
Forest  Service. 

Guthrie,  John  D. :  Great  Forest  Fires  of 
America,  9  pages,  U.  S.  Forest  Service. 
1936. 

Hall,  A.  G. :  Four  Flaming  Days,  Ameri- 
can Forests,  volume  53,  pages  540-542, 
569-570.  December  1947. 

Love,  R.  M.,  and  Jones,  Burle  J.:  7m- 
proving  California  Brush  Ranges,  Cali- 
fornia Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
Circular  371,  31  pages.  1947. 

Talbot,  M.  W.,  and  Kraebel,  C.  J.:  Re- 
lation of  Forest  Lands  to  Agriculture, 
Industry,  and  People  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia, U.  S.  Forest  Service,  California 
Forest  and  Range  Experiment  Station, 
Forest  Research  Note  39,  5  pages.  1944. 

Wartime  Forest  Fire  Prevention  Program, 
10  pages,  U.  S.  Forest  Service.  1945. 

FIRE  AS  TOOL  IN  PINES 

(Page  517) 

Siggers,  Paul  V. :  The  Brown  Spot  Needle 
Blight  of  Pine  Seedlings,  U.  S.  D.  A. 
Technical  Bulletin  870,  36  pages.  1944. 


TRAIL  RIDING  IN  WILDERNESS 

(Page  537) 

Aircraft  Use  in  Wilderness  Areas,  U.  S. 
National  Research  Council,  Division  of 
Biology  and  Agriculture,  Bimonthly  Re- 
port, volume  5,  pages  38-55.  1947. 

Allen,  Shirley  W.:  Wilderness  Trails  by 
Canoe,  American  Forests,  volume  47, 
pages  416-419,  441.  September  1941. 

Kneipp,  L.  F.:  Enriching  and  Stimulat- 
ing Solitude,  Living  Wilderness,  volume 
3,  number  3,  page  4.  December  1937. 

Lord,  Russell,  editor:  Forest  Outings,  311 
pages,  U.  S.  Forest  Service.  1940. 

The  Pioneer  Trail  Riders,  American  Forests, 
volume  39,  pages  401-404,  424.  Septem- 
ber 1933. 

TREASURES  OF  THE  NATION 

(Page  544) 

A  Study  of  the  Park  and  Recreation  Prob- 
lem of  the  United  States,  279  pages, 
U.  S.  National  Park  Service.  1941. 

Butcher,  Devereaux:  Exploring  our  Na- 
tional Parks  and  Monuments,  160  pages, 
Oxford  University  Press,  New  York. 
1947. 

Glimpses  of  Our  National  Parks,  107  pages, 
U.  S.  National  Park  Service.  1941. 

James,  Harlean :  Romance  of  the  National 
Parks,  240  pages,  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, New  York.  1939. 

Merriam,  John  C. :  Parks'  National  and 
State,  Published  Papers  and  Addresses 
of  John  Campbell  Merriam,  volume  4, 
pages  2256-2264,  Carnegie  Institution, 
Washington,  D.  C.  1938. 

Municipal  and  County  Parks  in  the  United 
States,  173  pages,  National  Recreation 
Association,  New  York.  1940. 

Portfolio  on  the  National  Park  and  Monu- 
ment System,  4  volumes,  American 
Planning  and  Civic  Association,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  1938. 

The  National  Parks  Portfolio,  274  pages, 
U.  S.  National  Park  Service.  1931. 

1946  Yearbook,  Park  and  Recreation  Prog- 
ress, 122  pages,  National  Conference  on 
State  Parks,  Washington,  D.  C. 

WILDLIFE  IN  SMALL  WOODLAND 

(Page  561) 

Dambach,  Charles  A.:  A  Ten-Year  Eco- 
logical Study  of  Adjoining  Grazed  and 
Ungrazed  Woodlands  in  Northeastern 
Ohio,  Ecological  Monographs,  volume 
14,  pages  255-270.  July  1944. 

Graham,  Edward  H. :  The  Land  and 
Wildlife,  232  pages,  Oxford  University 
Press,  New  York.  1947. 

Hamilton,  W.  J.,  Jr.,  and  Cook,  David  B.: 
Small  Mammals  and  the  Forest,  Journal 
of  Forestry,  volume  38,  pages  468-473. 
June  1940. 


For  Further  Reference 


907 


Wygant,  N.  D.:  An  Infestation  of  the 
Pandora  Moth,  Coloradia  Pandora 
Blake,  in  Lodgepole  Pine  in  Colorado, 
Journal  of  Economic  Entomology,  vol- 
ume 34,  pages  697-702.  October  1941. 

FORESTS  AS  WILDLIFE  HABITAT 

(Page  564) 

Gabrielson,  Ira  N. :  Wildlife  Conserva- 
tion, 250  pages,  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, New  York.  1941. 

Graham,  Edward  H.:  The  Land  and 
Wildlife,  232  pages,  Oxford  University 
Press,  New  York.  1947. 

Leopold,  Aldo:  Game  Management,  481 
pages,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York. 
1933. 

TREES  AND  FOOD  FROM  ACORNS 

(Page  571) 

Merriam,  C.  Hart:  The  Acorn,  a  Pos- 
sibly Neglected  Source  of  Food,  National 
Geographic  Magazine,  volume  34,  pages 
129-137.  August  1918. 

Morris,  Robert  T.:  Edible  Acorns  as 
Food  for  Man,  Livestock,  and  Fowls, 
Northern  Nut  Growers  Association  Re- 
port, volume  18,  pages  35-43.  1927. 

MANAGING  UTAH'S  BIG  GAME 

(Page  573) 

Alter,  J.  Cecil:  W.  A.  Ferris  in  Utah, 
1830-1835,  Utah  Historical  Quarterly, 
Salt  Lake  City,  volume  9,  pages  81-108. 
1941. 

Auerbach,  Herbert  S.,  editor:  Father 
Escalante's  Journal,  142  pages,  Utah 
Historical  Quarterly,  Salt  Lake  City,  vol- 
ume 11.  1943. 

Biennial  Report,  Utah  State  Fish  and  Game 
Commissioner:  10th,  1913-1914;  12th, 
1917-1918. 

Dale,  Harrison  Clifford:  The  Ashley- 
Smith  Explorations  and  the  Discovery  of 
a  Central  Route  to  the  Pacific,  1822- 
1829,  352  pages,  The  Arthur  H.  Clark 
Company,  Cleveland.  1918. 

Doman,  Everett  R.,  and  Rasmussen,  D.  I. : 
Supplemental  Winter  Feeding  of  Mule 
Deer  in  Northern  Utah,  Journal  of  Wild- 
life Management,  volume  8,  pages  317— 
338.  October  1944. 

Stansbury,  Howard :  Exploration  and  Sur- 
vey of  the  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake 
of  Utah,  487  pages,  Lippincott,  Grambo 
and  Company,  Philadelphia.  1852. 

Wagner,  W.  F.,  editor:  Leonard's  Narra- 
tive; Adventures  of  Zenas  Leonard;  Fur 
Trader  and  Traveler,  1831-1836;  Re- 
printed from  the  rare  original  of  1839, 
317  pages,  The  Burrows  Brothers  Com- 
pany, Cleveland.  1904. 

FORESTS  AND  FISH 

(Page  581) 

Gabrielson,  Ira  N. :  Prescription  for  Wild- 
life, Oregon  State  Game  Commission 


Bulletin,  volume  3,  number  3,  page  3. 
March  1948. 

Hazzard,  A.  S. :  Some  Phases  of  the  Life 
History  of  Eastern  Brook  Trout,  Sal- 
velinus  fontinalis  Mitchell,  Transactions 
of  the  American  Fisheries  Society,  volume 
62,  pages  344-350.  1932. 

Hobbs,  D.  F. :  Natural  Reproduction  of 
Trout  in  New  Zealand  and  Its  Relation  to 
Density  of  Populations,  New  Zealand  Ma- 
rine Department  Fisheries  Bulletin  8,  93 
pages.  1940. 

Needham,  P.  R.,  Moffett,  James  W.,  and 
Slater,  Daniel  W.:  Fluctuations  in 
Wild  Brown  Trout  Populations  in  Con- 
vict Creek,  California,  Journal  of  Wild- 
life Management,  volume  9,  pages  9-25. 
January  1945. 

Watts,  Lyle  F.:  Forests  and  the  Nation's 
Water  Resource,  Report  of  the  Chief  of 
the  Forest  Service,  48  pages.  1947. 

TIMBER  CUTTING  AND  WATER 

(Page  593) 

Bates,  C.  G.,  and  Henry,  A.  J. :  Forest  and 
Streamflow  Experiment  at  Wagon  Wheel 
Gap,  Colorado,  Monthly  Weather  Re- 
view Supplement  30,  79  pages.  1928. 

Chittenden,  H.  M. :  Forests  and  Reser- 
voirs in  Their  Relation  to  Streamflowt 
with  Particular  Reference  to  Navigable 
Rivers,  Transactions  of  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  volume  62, 
pages  245-546.  1909. 

Connaughton,  Charles  A. :  The  Accumu- 
lation and  Rate  of  Melting  of  Snow  as 
Influenced  by  Vegetation,  Journal  of 
Forestry,  volume  33,  pages  564-569. 
June  1935. 

Connaughton,  Charles  A.,  and  Wilm,  H.  G. : 
Post-War  Management  of  Western  For- 
ested Watershed-Lands  for  Water-Yield, 
Transactions  of  the  American  Geophysi- 
cal Union,  Part  1,  pages  36-40.  1944. 

Dunford,  E.  G.,  and  Niederhof,  C.  H.: 
Influence  of  Aspen,  Young  Lodgepole 
Pine,  and  Open  Grassland  Types  Upon 
Factors  Affecting  Water  Yield,  Journal 
of  Forestry,  volume  42,  pages  673—677. 
September  1944. 

Frank,  Bernard,  and  Betts,  Clifford  A.: 
Water  and  Our  Forests,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Mis- 
cellaneous Publication  600,  29  pages. 
1946. 

Hoover,  M.  D.:  Effect  of  Removal  of 
Forest  Vegetation  Upon  Water-Yields, 
Transactions  of  the  American  Geophysi- 
cal Union,  Part  6,  pages  969-977.  1944. 

Hoyt,  W.  G.,  and  Troxell,  H.  C.:  Forests 
and  Streamflow,  Proceedings  of  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers, 
volume  58,  pages  1037-1066.  1932. 

Kittredge,  Joseph,  Jr. :  Forests  and  Water 
Aspects  Which  Have  Received  Little  At- 
tention, Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  34, 
pages  417-419.  April  1936. 


Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1949 


Munns,  E.  N.,  and  others:  Watershed  and 
Other  Related  Influences,  and  a  Water- 
shed Protective  Program,  73d  Congress, 
1st  session,  Senate  Document  12,  Sepa- 
rate 5,  pages  299-461,  1509-1536.  1933. 

Niederhof,  G.  H.,  and  Wilm,  H.  G. :  The 
Effect  of  Cutting  Mature  Lodgepole- 
Pine  Stands  on  Rainfall  Interception, 
Journal  of  Forestry,  volume  41,  pages 
57-61.  January  1943. 

Wilm,  H.  G. :  Mountain  Water  for  Thirsty 
Lands ,  American  Forests,  volume  51, 
pages  536-537.  November  1945. 

Zon,  Raphael:  Forests  and  Water  in  the 
Light  of  Scientific  Investigation,  62d 
Congress,  2d  session,  Senate  Document 
469,  106  pages.  1912. 

PAINTING  FARM  AND  CITY  HOME 

(Page  625) 

Browne,  F.  L.:  Classification  of  House 
and  Barn  Paints,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Technical 
Bulletin  804,  36  pages.  1942. 

Browne,  F.  L. :  Wood  Properties  and 
Paint  Durability,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Miscel- 
laneous Publication  629,  10  pages.  1947. 

FUNGI  AND  WOOD 

(Page  630) 

Cartwright,  K.  St.  G.,  and  Findlay, 
W.  P.  K. :  Decay  of  Timber  and  Its  Pre- 
vention,  294  pages,  His  Majesty's  Station- 
ery Office,  London.  1946. 

Cause  and  Prevention  of  Blue  Stain  in 
Wood,  U.  S.  Forest  Service,  Forest 
Products  Laboratory  Technical  Note 
225,  4  pages.  1941. 

Decay  and  Termite  Damage  in  Houses, 
U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bulletin  1993,  21 
pages.  1948. 

Diller,  Jesse  D. :  Decay  a  Hazard  in  Base- 
mentless  Houses  on  Wet  Sites,  American 
Builder,  volume  68,  number  7,  pages  92, 
122,  124.  July  1946. 

Hartley,  Carl:  Fungi  in  Forest  Products, 
Yearbook  of  Agriculture  1943-1947 
(Science  in  Farming),  pages  883-889. 
1947. 

Hartley,  Carl,  and  May,  Curtis:  Decay  of 
Wood  in  Boats,  Motor  Boat,  volume  23, 
number  12,  pages  34,  36,  38,  40,  42,  44. 
December  1946. 

Hepting,  George  H. :  Preventing  Decay  in 
Wood  Aircraft,  Aero  Digest,  volume  44, 
pages  126,  128,  142,  213.  February  15, 
1944. 

Scheffer,  T.  C.:  Diagnostic  Features  of 
Some  Discolorations  Common  to  Aircraft 
Hardwoods,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Plant  In- 
dustry, Soils,  and  Agricultural  Engineer- 
ing, Forest  Pathology  Special  Release  19, 
5  pages,  Madison,  Wis.  1944. 

Scheffer,  T.  C.:  Progressive  Effects  of 
Polyporus  Versicolor  on  the  Physical  and 
Chemical  Properties  of  Red  Gum  Sap- 


wood,  U.   S.   D.   A.   Technical   Bulletin 
527,  45  pages.  1936. 

PRESCRIPTION,  WOODS  SAFETY 
(Page  676) 

Accident  Facts,  96  pages,  National  Safety 
Council,  Chicago.  1947. 

HISTORY  OF  FORESTRY 

(Page  702) 

A  National  Plan  for  American  Forestry, 
U.  S.  Forest  Service,  73d  Congress,  1st 
session,  Senate  Document  12,  2  volumes. 
1933. 

Fernow,  Bernhard  E.:  A  Brief  History  of 
Forestry,  506  pages,  University  Press, 
Toronto,  and  Forestry  Quarterly,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.  1911. 

Fernow,  Bernhard  E.,  editor:  Forestry 
Bulletin,  numbers  1,  2,  3.  May,  Septem- 
ber 1884;  January  1885. 

Fernow,  Bernhard  E.:  Report  upon  the 
Forestry  Investigations  of  the  U.  S.  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  1877-1898,  55th 
Congress,  3d  session,  House  Document 
181,  401  pages.  1899. 

Lillard,  Richard  G.:  The  Great  Forest, 
399  pages,  Alfred  A.  Knopf,  New  York. 
1947. 

Pinchot,  Gifford:  Breaking  New  Ground, 
522  pages,  Harcourt,  Brace  and  Com- 
pany, New  York.  1947. 

Proceedings  of  the  American  Forestry  Con- 
gress, 1882-1889. 

Proceedings  of  the  American  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation, 1890-1893. 

Report  of  the  Forester,  1910-1934;  Report 
of  the  Chief,  1935-1947,  U.  S.  Forest 
Service.  1910-1947. 

Report  of  the  Secretary,  1892,  1893,  2 
volumes,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture. 1893,  1894. 

Smith,  Herbert  A.:  The  Early  Forestry 
Movement  in  the  United  States,  Agricul- 
tural History,  volume  12,  pages  326-346. 
October  1938. 

FUTURE  TIMBER  REQUIREMENTS 

(Page  731) 

Behre,  C.  Edward,  and  Hutchison,  S.  B.: 
Gaging  the  Timber  Resource  of  the 
United  States,  U.  S.  Forest  Service  Re- 
appraisal Report  1,  62  pages.  1946. 

General  Housing  Act  of  1945,  Senate  Com- 
mittee on  Banking  and  Currency,  79th 
Congress,  1st  session,  Hearings  on  S. 
1592,  Revised,  Part  1,  538  pages.  1946. 

Housing  Study  and  Investigation,  Final 
Majority  Report,  Joint  Committee  on 
Housing,  80th  Congress,  2d  session, 
House  Report  1564,  2  parts.  1948. 

Rettie,  J.  C.,  and  Hallauer,  F.  J.:  Poten- 
tial Requirements  for  Timber  Products 
in  the  United  States,  U.  S.  Forest  Service 
Reappraisal  Report  2,  70  pages.  1946. 


For  Further  Reference 


909 


THE  WORLD  FOREST  SITUATION 

(Page  742) 

Behre,  C.  Edward,  and  Hutchison,  S.  B.: 
Gaging  the  Timber  Resource  of  the 
United  States,  U.  S.  Forest  Service  Re- 
appraisal Report  1,  62  pages.  1946. 

Forest  Resources  of  the  World,  Unasylva, 
volume  2,  pages  161-182.  July- August 
1948. 

Yearbook  of  Forest  Products  Statistics, 
1947,  209  pages,  Food  and  Agriculture 
Organization  of  the  United  Nations, 
Washington,  D.  G.  1948. 

IMPORTANT  FOREST  TREES 

(Page  763) 

Benson,  Lyrnan,  and  Darrow,  Robert  A.: 
A  Manual  of  Southwestern  Desert  Trees 
and  Shrubs,  University  of  Arizona  Biolog- 
ical Science  Bulletin  6,  411  pages,  Tuc- 
son. 1945. 

Blakeslee,  A.  F.,  and  Jarvis,  G.  D. :  Trees 
in  Winter,  292  pages,  The  Macmillan 
Company,  New  York.  1931. 

Britton,  Nathaniel  Lord,  and  Shafer,  John 
Adolph:  North  American  Trees,  894 
pages,  Henry  Holt  and  Company,  New 
York.  1908. 

Brown,  H.  P.:  Trees  of  Northeastern 
United  States,  490  pages,  Christopher 
Publishing  House,  Boston.  1938. 

Goker,  William  Chambers,  and  Totten, 
Henry  Roland:  Trees  of  the  South- 
eastern States,  419  pages,  University  of 
North  Carolina  Press,  Chapel  Hill.  1945. 

Collingwood,  G.  Harris,  and  Brush,  War- 
ren D.:  Knowing  Your  Trees,  312 
pages,  American  Forestry  Association, 
Washington,  D.  G.  1947. 

Curtis,  Carlton  C.,  and  Bausor,  S.  C.: 
The  Complete  Guide  to  North  American 
Trees,  337  pages,  New  Home  Library, 
New  York.  1943. 

Eliot,  Willard  Ayres,  and  McLean,  G.  B.: 
Forest  Trees  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  565 
pages,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York. 
1938. 

Emerson,  Arthur  I.,  and  Weed,  Clarence 
M.:  Our  Trees,  How  to  Know  Them, 
295  pages,  Garden  City  Publishing  Com- 
pany. Garden  City,  N.  Y.  1946. 

Green,  Charlotte  Hilton:  Trees  of  the 
South,  551  pages,  University  of  North 
Carolina  Press,  Chapel  Hill.  1939. 

Harlow,  William  M. :  Trees  of  the  Eastern 
United  States  and  Canada,  Their  Wood- 
craft and  Wildlife  Uses,  288  pages,  Mc- 
Graw-Hill Book  Company,  Inc.,  New 
York.  1942. 

Harlow,  William  M.,  and  Harrar,  Ell  wood 
S. :  Textbook  of  Dendrology,  542  pages, 
McGraw-Hill  Book  Company,  Inc.,  New 
York.  1941. 

Harrar,  Ellwood  S.,  and  Harrar,  J.  George: 
Guide    to    Southern    Trees,    712  pages, 


McGraw-Hill  Book  Company,  Inc.,  New 
York.  1946. 

Hough,  Romeyn  Beck:  Handbook  of  the 
Trees  of  the  Northern  States  and  Canada 
East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  470  pages, 
The  Macmillan  Company,  New  York. 
1947. 

Illick,  Joseph  S.:  Tree  Habits;  How  To 
Know  the  Hardwoods,  337  pages,  Amer- 
ican Nature  Association,  Washington, 
D.  C.  1924. 

Jaques,  H.  E.:  How  To  Know  the  Trees, 
166  pages,  W.  C.  Brown  Company, 
Dubuque,  Iowa.  1946. 

Keeler,  Harriet  L. :  Our  Native  Trees  and 
How  To  Identify  Them,  533  pages, 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.  1929. 

Kirkwood,  J.  E.:  Northern  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Trees  and  Shrubs,  340  pages,  Stan- 
ford University  Press,  Stanford  Univer- 
sity, Calif.  1930. 

Leavitt,  Robert  Greenleaf:  The  Forest 
Trees  of  New  England,  179  pages,  Arn- 
old Arboretum,  Jamaica  Plain,  Mass. 
1933. 

Longyear,  Burton  O.:  Trees  and  Shrubs 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region,  244 
pages,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York. 
1927. 

McMinn,  Howard  E.,  and  Maino,  Evelyn: 
An  Illustrated  Manual  of  Pacific  Coast 
Trees,  409  pages,  University  of  Califor- 
nia Press,  Berkeley.  1946. 

Mathews,  F.  Schuyler:  Field  Book  of 
American  Trees  and  Shrubs,  465  pages, 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York.  1915. 

Native  Trees  of  Canada,  Canada  Forest 
Service  Bulletin  61,  210  pages,  Ottawa. 
1939. 

Preston,  Richard  J.,  Jr. :  Rocky  Mountain 
Trees,  285  pages,  Iowa  State  College 
Press,  Ames.  1947. 

Rehder,  Alfred:  Manual  of  Cultivated 
Trees  and  Shrubs  Hardy  in  North  Amer- 
ica, 996  pages,  The  Macmillian  Com- 
pany, New  York.  1940. 

Rogers,  Julia  Ellen:  The  Tree  Book,  565 
pages,  Doubleday,  Doran  and  Company, 
Garden  City,  N.  Y.  1935. 

Sargent,  Charles  Sprague :  Manual  of  the 
Trees  of  North  America,  910  pages, 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  Boston. 
1933. 

Sudworth,  George  B. :  Forest  Trees  of  the 
Pacific  Slope,  441  pages,  U.  S.  Forest 
Service.  1908. 

Taylor,  Raymond  F.:  Pocket  Guide  to 
Alaska  Trees,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Miscellaneous 
Publication  55,  39  pages.  1929. 

Trelease,  William:  Winter  Botany,  396 
pages,  Urbana,  111.  1925. 

TREES  FROM  FOREIGN  LANDS 
(Page  815) 

Bailey,  L.  H.:  The  Cultivated  Conifers 
in  North  America,  404  pages,  The  Mac- 
millan Company,  New  York.  1933. 


910 


Yearbook,  of  Agriculture  1949 


Bailey,  L.  H.,  editor,  The  Standard  Cy- 
clopedia of  Horticulture,  3  volumes,  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York.  1930. 

Bailey,  L.  H.,  and  Bailey,  Ethel  Zoe,  com- 
pilers: Hortus  Second,  778  pages,  The 
Macmillan  Company,  New  York.  1941, 

Felt,  Ephraim  Porter:  Shelter  Trees  in 
War  and  Peace,  320  pages,  Orange  Judd 
Publishing  Company,  New  York.  1943. 

Friend,  W.  H.:  Plants  of  Ornamental 
Value  for  the  Rio  Grande  Valley  of 
Texas,  Texas  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  Bulletin  609,  156  pages,  College 
Station.  1942. 

Grant,  John  A.,  and  Grant,  Carol  L.: 
Trees  and  Shrubs  for  Pacific  Northwest 
Gardens,  335  pages,  F.  McCaffrey, 
Seattle,  Wash.  1943. 

Hottes,  Alfred  Carl:  The  Book  of  Trees, 
440  pages,  A.  T.  De  La  Mare  Company, 
New  York.  1942. 

Hoyt,  Roland  Stewart:  Check  Lists  for 
the  Ornamental  Plants  of  Subtropical 
Regions,  383  pages,  Livingston  Press, 
Los  Angeles,  Calif.  1938. 


Kumlien,  L.  L.:  The  Friendly  Ever- 
greens, 237  pages,  D.  Hill  Nursery  Com- 
pany, Dundee,  111.  1946. 

McMinn,  Howard  E.,  and  Maino,  Evelyn: 
An  Illustrated  Manual  of  Pacific  Coast 
Trees,  409  pages,  University  of  Cali- 
fornia Press,  Berkeley.  1946. 

Mowry,  Harold:  Ornamental  Trees,  Flor- 
ida Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
Bulletin  261,  134  pages,  Gainesville. 
1933. 

Mulford,  Furman  Lloyd:  Trees  for  Road- 
side Planting,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers'  Bul- 
letin 1482,  50  pages.  1928. 

Mulford,  Furman  Lloyd:  Trees  for  Town 
and  City  Streets,  U.  S.  D.  A.  Farmers' 
Bulletin  1208,  30  pages.  1927. 

Rehder,  Alfred:  Manual  of  Cultivated 
Trees  and  Shrubs  Hardy  in  North  Amer- 
ica, 996  pages,  The  Macmillan  Company, 
New  York.  1940. 

Sturrock,  David,  and  Menninger,  Edwin 
A.:  Shade  and  Ornamental  Trees  for 
South  Florida  and  Cuba,  172  pages, 
Stuart  Daily  News,  Stuart,  Fla.  1946. 

Wilson,  Ernest  H. :  Aristocrats  of  the 
Trees,  279  pages,  Stratford  Company, 
Boston.  1930. 


Some  Words  Woodsmen  Use 


ABSCISSION  The  natural  separation  of 
parts  of  a  plant  (such  as  flowers,  bark, 
fruit,  leaves,  or  branches)  by  the  break- 
down of  the  absciss  layer,  which  is  a  layer 
of  cells  across  the  base  of  a  branch  or 
embedded  in  the  bark  through  which  the 
leaf  or  branch  or  other  part  breaks  off. 

ACCESS  ROAD  A  road  built  into  isolated 
stands  of  commercial  timber  so  they  can  be 
reached  by  loggers,  fire  fighters,  and  others. 

ACID  WOOD  Wood  cut  for  use  in  plants 
that  manufacture  charcoal,  acetic  acid,  and 
methanol  by  destructive  distillation.  It  is 
sometimes  called  distillation  wood  or  chemi- 
cal wood. 

ARBORICULTURE  The  science  and  art  of 
growing  trees,  especially  as  ornamental  or 
shade  trees.  Distinguished  from  silviculture 
or  forestry  (the  science  and  art  of  growing 
trees  as  a  forest  or  for  lumber)  and  from 
tree  horticulture  or  pomology  (growing 
trees  for  fruit,  nuts,  etc.). 

ASSOCIATION  As  used  in  botany:  An 
assemblage  of  plants,  usually  over  a  wide 
area,  that  has  one  or  more  dominant  species 
from  which  it  derives  a  definite  aspect. 

BACKFIRE  A  fire  intentionally  set  along 
the  inner  edge  of  a  control  line  located 
ahead  of  an  advancing  fire,  for  the  purpose 
of  facilitating  control  by  a  widening  of  the 
control  line  and  the  removal  of  intervening 
combustible  materials. 

BALL-HOOTER  A  slang  term  loggers  use 
for  a  man  who  rolls  or  slides  logs  down  a 
hillside. 

BARBER  CHAIR  In  loggers'  slang,  a  stump 
on  which  is  left  standing  a  slab  that  splin- 
tered off  the  tree  as  it  fell.  Generally  it  indi- 
cates careless  felling. 

BLAZE  A  mark  made  on  the  trunk  of  a 
standing  tree  by  painting  or  chipping  off  a 
spot  of  bark  with  an  ax.  It  is  used  to  indi- 
cate a  trail,  boundary,  location  for  a  road, 
trees  to  be  cut,  and  so  on. 


BOLE  The  stem  or  trunk  of  a  tree, 
usually  the  lower,  usable  or  merchantable 
portion  of  the  tree  trunk. 

BOOM  ( 1 )  Logs  or  timbers  fastened  to- 
gether end  to  end  and  used  to  hold  floating 
logs.  The  term  includes  also  the  logs  en- 
closed. There  are  many  varieties  depending 
on  construction  and  use,  such  as  bag,  barge, 
bracket,  catch,  fender,  fin,  glancing,  hold- 
ing, limber,  pocket,  receiving,  round,  rud- 
der, shear,  sorting,  storage.  (2)  Projecting 
arm  of  a  log-loading  machine,  which  sup- 
ports the  log  during  loading.  May  be  either 
of  the  swinging  or  the  rigid  type. 

BROADLEAF  A  tree  with  two  cotyledons, 
or  seed  leaves;  it  usually  is  deciduous — that 
is,  it  sheds  all  its  leaves  annually.  The 
broadleaved  trees,  such  as  maple  and  oak, 
have  relatively  broad,  flat  leaves,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  conifers,  such  as  pine, 
which  have  narrow  leaves,  or  needles. 

BUCK  To  saw  felled  trees  into  logs  or 
bolts;  to  bring  or  carry,  as  to  "buck"  water. 

BURL  A  hard,  woody  growth  on  a  tree 
trunk  or  on  roots,  more  or  less  rounded  in 
form.  It  is  usually  the  result  of  entwined 
growth  of  a  cluster  of  buds.  In  lumber,  a 
burl  produces  a  distorted  and  unusual  (but 
often  attractive)  grain. 

BURNS  Areas  in  which  fires  have  in- 
jured the  forest. 

CAMBIUM  A  soft  layer,  strip,  or  cylin- 
der of  living  cells,  one  row  thick,  between 
the  living  bark  and  living  wood  of  a  tree. 
During  the  growing  season  its  cells  divide 
continuously,  giving  origin  to  the  wood  tis- 
sues and  the  bark  tissues. 

CAMP  INSPECTOR  To  loggers,  a  man 
who  drifts  from  camp  to  camp,  trying  out 
the  food  and  living  accommodations  but 
working  as  little  as  possible. 

CANOPY  In  a  forest,  the  cover  of  green 
leaves  and  branches  formed  by  the  crowns 
of  all  the  individual  trees.  Its  density  is 

911 


9I2 

ordinarily  expressed  as  the  amount  (or 
percentage)  of  the  ground  that  would  be 
completely  shaded  by  the  forest  if  the  sun 
were  straight  overhead. 

CELLULOSE  A  complex,  threadlike  ma- 
terial, the  molecules  of  which  are  made  up 
of  hundreds  or  thousands  of  sugar  residues 
present  in  all  plant  materials.  Wood,  cot- 
ton, flax,  and  hemp  fibers,  and  similar 
fibers,  are  the  main  sources  of  cellulose.  It 
is  the  raw  material  for  making  paper, 
films,  artificial  silk,  cellulose  lacquers. 

CHORE  BOY  To  loggers,  one  who  cleans 
the  sleeping  quarters,  cuts  firewood,  builds 
fires,  and  carries  wood.  Synonyms:  Flunky, 
buck,  bull  cook,  barroom  man. 

CLEAR  CUTTING  A  method  of  cutting 
that  removes  all  merchantable  trees  on  the 
area  in  one  cut. 

CLIMAX  A  plant  community  that  does 
not  change  unless  there  is  a  change  in  the 
climate.  It  is  the  culminating  stage  in 
natural  plant  succession.  The  plants  in  a 
climax  community  are  favored  by  the  en- 
vironment which  they  themselves  create, 
and  so  are  in  balance  with  it. 

CLONE  The  aggregate  of  plants  derived 
from  a  single  seeding  by  means  of  vegeta- 
tive propagation  such  as  the  rooting  of  cut- 
tings or  slips,  budding,  or  grafting.  Every 
member  of  a  clone  has  the  same  heredity, 
so  that  under  uniform  environment  a  group 
of  plants  from  a  single  clone  is  quite  uni- 
form. Well-known  tree  clones  are  the  Lom- 
bardy  poplar,  Roster's  blue  spruce,  the 
Irish  yew,  and  the  named  varieties  of  fruits 
and  nuts. 

CORDUROY  ROAD  A  road  built  of  logs  or 
poles  laid  side  by  side  across  the  roadway, 
usually  in  low  or  swampy  places. 

CROWN  The  upper  part  of  a  tree,  in- 
cluding the  branches  with  their  foliage. 

CRUISE  A  survey  of  forest  lands  to  lo- 
cate and  estimate  volume  and  grades  of 
standing  timber;  also,  the  estimate  ob- 
tained in  such  a  survey.  ("Scaling"  is  the 
measurement  of  the  volumes  of  individual 
logs  after  the  trees  have  been  felled.) 
CULL  ( 1 )  A  tree  or  log  of  merchant- 
able size  that  is  unmerchantable  because 
of  defects.  (2}  The  deduction  from  gross 
volume  made  to  adjust  for  defect.  (3)  To 
cut  a  small  portion  of  a  stand  by  selecting 
one  or  a  few  of  the  best  trees.  (4)  To  reject 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


a  tree,  log,  or  board  in  scaling  or  grading. 

CUT  The  yield,  during  a  specified 
period,  of  products  that  are  cut,  as  of  grain, 
timber,  or,  in  sawmilling,  lumber. 

DEADMAN  ( 1 )  A  timber  to  which  the 
end  of  a  hawser  or  cable  is  secured.  (2) 
A  log  buried  in  the  ground,  by  which  a  guy 
line  is  anchored. 

DEFOLIATE  To  shed  leaves;  to  lose 
leaves;  to  cause  a  tree  to  lose  its  leaves. 

DIAMETER  LIMIT  A  specified  diameter 
at  breast  height  (4/2  feet  above  the 
ground )  above  which  all  trees  are  cut,  under 
a  diameter-limit  cutting  agreement. 

DINGLE  (1)  The  roofed-over  space  or 
"alley")  between  the  kitchen  and  sleeping 
quarters  of  an  old-style  logging  camp,  com- 
monly used  as  a  storeroom.  ( 2 )  The  shed- 
like  structure  for  storing  food  supplies  in 
the  newer  type  camps. 

DINKEY     A    small    logging    locomotive. 

DONKEY  DOCTOR  One  who  maintains 
and  repairs  donkey  engines,  which  are  port- 
able steam  engines  equipped  with  drum 
and  cable,  used  in  cable  logging,  or  gasoline 
or  Diesel  engines  similarly  equipped. 

DRIVE  Logs  or  timbers  that  are  being 
floated  on  a  stream  from  the  forest  to  a  mill 
or  shipping  point.  It  is  also  a  verb. 

DRUPE  A  simple,  fleshy,  or  pulpy  fruit; 
a  stone  fruit,  as  peach,  plum,  and  cherry. 

DRY-KI  Trees  killed  by  flooding.  Often 
found  in  areas  flooded  by  beaver  dams. 

ECOLOGY  The  study  of  the  effect  of  en- 
vironment on  plants  and  animals,  and  of 
their  influence  on  the  environment. 

ENDEMIC  Indigenous  or  native  in  a  re- 
stricted locality;  confined  naturally  to  a 
certain  limited  area  or  region,  in  contrast 
to  epidemic. 

ENVIRONMENT  All  the  external  condi- 
tions that  affect  the  life  and  growth  of  a 
plant  or  animal.  Air,  sunlight,  rain,  wind, 
and  the  resultant  temperature  and  moisture 
are  parts  of  the  environment  of  plants. 

ENZYME  An  organic  catalyst  (or  stimu- 
lator) produced  by  an  animal  or  plant 
organism.  It  accelerates  such  chemical  reac- 
tions as  splitting  starch  into  sugar.  Almost 
all  vital  processes  involve  enzyme  action. 
Animal  and  plant  enzymes  are  much  alike. 
EXOTICS  Nonnative  or  foreign  species, 
introduced  to  a  continent  or  geographic 
region  from  outside  its  natural  range.  Scots 


Some  Words  Woodsmen  Use 


913 


pine,  Norway  spruce,  Siberian  elm,  and 
Russian  mulberry  are  examples  of  exotic 
tree  species. 

FIREBREAK  An  existing  barrier,  or  one 
constructed  before  a  fire  occurs,  from  which 
all  or  most  of  the  inflammable  materials 
have  been  removed;  designed  to  stop  or 
check  creeping  or  running  but  not  spot 
fires,  or  to  serve  as  a  line  from  which  to 
work  and  to  facilitate  the  movement  of 
men  and  equipment  in  fire  suppression. 

FIRE  EDGE  The  line,  usually  irregular, 
to  which  a  fire  has  burned  at  a  given  mo- 
ment; the  boundary  of  a  fire  at  a  given 
moment. 

FUNGUS  (singular] ;  FUNGI  (plural]  A 
low  form  of  plant  life  having  no  chlor- 
ophyll, reproducing  by  spores,  having  a 
mycelium,  and  living  as  a  parasite  or  sap- 
rophyte on  organic  matter.  The  fungi  are 
numerous  on  and  in  soil  where  they  aid  in 
breaking  down  organic  debris  to  humus. 

GENETICS  The  science  that  seeks  to  ex- 
plain resemblances  and  differences  between 
plants  or  animals  related  by  descent. 

GIRDLING  The  act  of  encircling  the 
stem  of  a  living  tree  with  cuts  that  com- 
pletely sever  bark  and  cambium  and  often 
are  carried  well  into  the  outer  sapwood. 

GO-DEVIL  A  small,  short  sled  without 
a  tongue,  used  in  skidding  logs. 

GRAFTING  Act  or  process  of  inserting 
a  cion,  less  strictly  a  bud,  of  a  specified 
variety  into  a  stem,  root,  or  branch  of 
another  plant  so  that  a  permanent  union 
is  effected,  especially  for  purposes  of 
propagation. 

GROUND  WATER  Water  that  stands  or 
flows  beneath  the  ground  surface  in  soil  or 
rock  material  which  is  thoroughly  saturated. 
The  upper  surface  of  this  saturated  zone  is 
called  the  water  table. 

GUM  As  applied  to  naval  stores  prod- 
ucts: The  raw  product  (oleoresin)  which 
exudes  from  the  wood  of  a  living  pine  tree 
when  a  wound  is  made  through  the  bark 
into  the  living  tissues. 

HABITAT  The  kind  of  place  where  a 
plant  or  animal  naturally  grows  or  lives. 

HAYWIRE  OUTFIT  A  logging  operation 
that  has  poor  equipment;  originally,  make- 
shift repairs  in  harness. 

HEAD  (of  a  fire)  The  hottest,  most  ac- 
tive forepart  of  a  blaze. 

802062°— 49 59 


HEARTWOOD  The  central  portion  of  the 
trunks  of  trees,  entirely  dead  and  without 
function;  usually  darker  and  more  durable 
in  service  than  the  outer  portion  or  sap- 
wood. 

HEREDITARY  Transmitted  from  parents 
to  offspring.  Properly,  only  factors  may  be 
so  described,  but  we  commonly  speak  of 
hereditary  size  or  shape.  Used  to  distinguish 
characteristics  of  an  animal  or  plant  derived 
from  its  parents  from  those  predominantly 
controlled  by  the  environment,  although  the 
distinction  cannot  be  pushed  too  far,  be- 
cause all  characteristics  are  the  result  of  in- 
teraction between  heredity  and  environment. 

HOT-LOGGING  A  logging  operation  in 
which  logs  go  from  the  stump  to  the  mill 
without  pause. 

HOVEL     A  stable  for  logging  teams. 

HYBRID  The  offspring  resulting  from 
mating  two  plants  or  animals  that  differ 
in  one  or  more  hereditary  factors.  This  is 
the  narrowest — the  geneticist's — use  of  the 
term.  A  hybrid  is  more  commonly  under- 
stood to  be  the  plant  resulting  from  cross- 
ing two  plants  that  are  so  distantly  related 
as  to  belong  to  different  races,  varieties, 
species,  or  even  genera.  For  precision,  we 
may  speak  of  interracial  or  interspecies  hy- 
brids. 

INITIAL  ATTACK  (1)  The  first  suppres- 
sion effort  at  control  of  a  fire.  (2)  The 
first  attack  by  an  insect. 

INTEGRATED  LOGGING  A  method  of 
logging  designed  to  make  the  best  use  of 
all  timber  products.  It  removes  in  one 
cutting  all  timber  that  should  be  cut,  and 
distributes  the  various  timber  products  to 
the  industries  that  can  use  them  to  best 
advantage. 

JACK  POT  (1)  An  unskillful  piece  of 
logging  work.  (2)  A  bad  slash.  (3)  As  a 
verb,  to  "jack-pot"  is  to  pile  trees  or  logs 
crisscross,  without  regard  for  orderliness. 

LIGNIN  A  complex  substance  that  serves 
as  the  cementing  material  between  fibers 
in  woody  plants.  It  is  the  part  of  wood  that 
is  insoluble  in  strong  mineral  acids.  A 
group  of  organic  substances  that,  with 
cellulose,  form  wood. 

LOBBY  The  place  in  a  logging  camp 
where  the  men  wash  and  wait  before  meal- 
time. 

LUMBERJACK     One  who  works  at  log- 


Yearbook^  of  Agriculture  1949 


ging.  Synonyms:  Timber  beast,  woodhick, 
logger,  shantyman. 

LUNCH  IN  A  noon  meal  served  in  the 
dining  quarters  of  the  logging  camp. 

MAST  The  accumulated  fruits  (nuts) 
found  on  the  forest  floor.  The  major  con- 
tributors are  such  species  of  trees  as  oaks, 
beeches,  chestnuts,  and  some  pines.  Usually 
thought  of  and  used  when  referring  to  its 
property  as  a  food  for  hogs,  deer,  turkeys, 
or  other  wildlife. 

MONOECIOUS  Pertaining  to  a  plant  in 
which  stamens  and  pistils  are  produced  in 
separate  flowers,  both  of  which  are  borne 
on  the  same  plant.  The  word  means  "one 
house."  When  staminate  and  pistillate 
flowers,  respectively,  are  produced  on 
separate  plants  (two  houses),  the  condition 
is  said  to  be  dioecious.  Most  flowers  as  we 
know  them  produce  both  stamens  and 
pistils  (the  plant's  reproductive  organs)  — 
which  condition  is  said  to  be  perfect. 

MUTATION  A  sudden  variation  in  which 
the  offspring  differs  from  its  parents  in 
some  well-marked  character  or  characters 
as  distinguished  from  a  gradual  variation, 
in  which  the  new  characters  become  highly 
developed  only  in  the  course  of  many 
generations. 

NECROSIS  A  localized  or  general  death 
of  plant  tissue  caused  by  low  temperatures, 
fungi,  and  such  (plant  pathology).  A  dis- 
ease quite  often  caused  by  a  virus  which  is 
characterized  by  black  dead  plant  tissue. 

OVULE  A  rudimentary  seed  occurring 
in  the  ovary.  A  young  seed  in  course  of  de- 
velopment. The  cells  that  contain  the 
embryo  sac  which  develops  into  the  seed 
after  it  is  fertilized. 

PEAVY  A  stout  wooden  lever  for  roll- 
ing logs.  A  curvey  metal  hook  is  hinged  to 
the  lower  part  of  the  handle,  and  the  tip 
is  armed  with  a  sharp  steel  spike. 

PEELER  ( 1 )  Usually  one  who  removes 
bark  from  timber  cut  in  the  spring  months 
when  bark  "slips."  (2)  A  log  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  rotary-cut  veneer. 

PERIODICITY  Quality  or  state  of  being 
periodical,  or  regularly  recurrent.  In  plant 
physiology,  the  tendency  of  a  plant  to  ex- 
hibit rhythmical  changes  in  vital  functions. 

PETIOLE  A  leafstalk;  the  slender  stalk 
by  which  the  blade  of  a  leaf  is  attached  to 
the  stem. 


pH  (acidity)  An  index  of  the  acidity  or 
alkalinity  of  a  material  based  on  a  logarith- 
mic scale.  A  pH  of  7.0  represents  neutrality, 
7.0  to  14.0  increasing  alkalinity,  and  7  to  0 
increasing  acidity. 

PHLOEM  A  complex  tissue  in  higher 
plants,  which  consists  typically  of  sieve  tubes 
and  companion  cells  (although  the  com- 
panion cells  are  sometimes  lacking,  as  in 
gymnosperms)  and  usually  in  addition 
various  kinds  of  parenchyma  and  fiber  cells, 
stone  cells,  etc.;  bast  tissue.  In  a  narrow 
sense,  the  term  is  used  as  applying  to  the 
sieve  tissue  only. 

PHOTOPERIOD  Length  of  daylight  hours. 
Photoperiodism  is  a  physiological  response 
of  a  plant  to  a  different  length  of  daylight 
hours.  Discovered  in  1920  by  W.  W.  Garner 
and  H.  A.  Allard,  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

PHOTOSYNTHESIS  A  complicated  phys- 
iological process  of  plant  life  in  which  an 
organic  substance  (sugar)  is  made  from 
the  carbon  dioxide  of  the  air  combined  with 
water.  This  process  utilizes  energy  of  light 
through  the  agency  of  chlorophyll. 

PLYWOOD  An  assembled  product  con- 
structed of  three  or  more  layers  of  veneer 
joined  with  glue  and  usually  laid  with  the 
grain  of  adjoining  plies  at  right  angles. 
Almost  always  an  odd  number  of  plies  are 
used  to  secure  balanced  construction. 

POLLEN  The  fertilizing  dustlike  powder 
produced  by  stamens;  functionally  the  same 
as  the  male  sperm  in  animal  reproduction. 
(Pollinate  and  pollenize  are  verb  forms.) 

POROSITY  The  aggregate  space  between 
soil  particles.  The  degree  to  which  the  soil 
is  permeated  with  pores  or  cavities,  ex- 
pressed in  percent  of  the  volume  of  the  soil 
unoccupied  by  solid  particles. 

PREDATOR  An  animal  or  plant  that  preys 
upon  another;  especially  one  that  obtains 
its  food  by  killing  and  eating  other  animals. 
Also  applies  to  insects.  A  predator  usually 
destroys  several  hosts,  as  distinct  from  a 
parasite,  which  lives  on  one. 

PROGENY  TEST  A  nursery  or  planta- 
tion test  of  the  progeny  or  offspring  of  in- 
dividual tagged  seed  trees  to  determine 
their  inherent  characteristics.  This  term 
may  also  be  applied  to  any  tests  conducted 
on  seedlings. 

PULP     Wood  or  other  vegetable  matter 


Some  Words  Woodsmen  Use 


915 


reduced  to  its  component  fibers.  It  is  used 
to  make  paper  or  synthetic  fabrics.  Pulp 
is  produced  in  various  degrees  of  refine- 
ment. Alpha  pulp  is  almost  pure  alpha  cel- 
lulose. Other  pulps  have  various  percent- 
ages of  hemi  cellulose  and  even  lignin. 

REGENERATION  The  reproduction  or 
regrowth  of  a  part  which  has  been  lost  or 
destroyed ;  reestablishment  on  a  better  basis. 
Renewal  by  self-sown  seeds,  sprouts, 
rhizomes,  and  such. 

RELEASE  CUTTING  A  cutting  of  larger 
individual  trees  that  are  overtopping  young 
trees,  for  the  purpose  of  freeing  the  young 
trees  to  permit  them  to  make  good  growth. 

REPRODUCTION  In  forestry,  the  young 
trees  that  start  from  self-sown  seed  of  the 
older  trees  in  a  stand. 

RESISTANCE  The  ability  of  a  plant  to 
develop  and  function  normally  despite  ad- 
verse environmental  conditions  or  the  at- 
tacks of  disease  or  insects. 

RING  (in  trees)  Annual  growth;  the 
growth  layer  put  on  in  a  single  growth  year. 

ROAD  MONKEY  A  man  who  inspects  and 
repairs  a  logging  road. 

ROSIN  A  hard,  brittle,  natural  resin  ob- 
tained from  the  oleoresin  exudate  of  certain 
resinous  trees.  Rosin  is  a  particular  kind  of 
resin.  Rosin  is  obtained  either  from  gum 
that  exudes  from  the  living  pine  tree  or 
from  wood  by  extraction.  Wood  rosin  and 
gum  rosin  are  kinds  of  resins. 

SAPLING  A  young  tree,  usually  one  that 
is  between  2  and  4  inches  thick. 

SAPWOOD  The  outer  wood  of  trees  in 
which  certain  of  the  cells  are  still  alive 
and  serve  to  conduct  water  from  the  roots 
to  the  leaves. 

SAPROPHYTE  Any  organism  that  lives 
on  dead  or  decaying  organic  matter.  Most 
of  the  higher  fungi  (like  mushrooms  and 
toadstools),  various  orchids,  as  the  coral- 
root,  and  certain  families,  as  the  Monotro- 
paceae,  are  saprophytes. 

SAW  TIMBER  Trees  of  a  size  and  quality 
that  will  make  logs  suitable  for  sawing  into 
lumber;  trees  suitable  for  production  of 
sawlogs.  Timber  that  will  make  lumber. 

SCALPING  The  removal  of  turf  or  other 
vegetation  in  the  small  area  where  a  tree 
is  to  be  planted. 

SECOND-GROWTH  FOREST  Forest  growth 
which  comes  up  after  removal  of  the  old 


stand  by  cutting,  fire,  or  other  cause..  In 
lumberman's  parlance,  the  smaller  trees  left 
after  lumbering  or  the  trees  available  for  a 
second  logging. 

SEEDLING  Generally  speaking,  any  tree 
that  originates  from  a  seed  is  called  a  seed- 
ling, in  contrast  with  those  originating  as  a 
sprout,  a  root  sucker,  or  from  a  cutting.  In 
applied  forestry,  the  term  is  restricted  to 
such  trees  under  6  feet  in  height,  while  in 
forest-nursery  practice,  a  seedling  is  a  tree 
that  is  grown  from  seed  and  that  has  not 
been  transplanted  to  secure  a  better  devel- 
oped root  system. 

SELECTION  Picking  out,  or  culling;  the 
choosing  of  the  best  of  a  group.  Any  proc- 
ess, natural  or  artificial,  which  results  or 
tends  to  result  in  preventing  certain  indi- 
viduals or  groups  of  organisms  from  sur- 
viving and  propagating  and  in  allowing 
others  to  do  so,  with  the  result  that  the 
particular  traits  of  the  latter  are  given 
pronounced  expression. 

SELECTIVE  LOGGING  OR  CUTTING  The 
removal  of  selected  mature,  large,  or  dis- 
eased trees  as  single,  scattered  trees  or  in 
small  groups  of  trees.  Young  trees  start  in 
the  openings  thus  made;  the  result  of  this 
type  of  cutting  is  an  uneven-aged  forest. 

SHAKE  (1)  A  wood  shingle  made  by 
splitting  flat  strips  from  a  bolt.  (2)  A 
crack  or  fissure  in  the  stem  of  a  tree, 
usually  caused  by  frost  or  excessive  bend- 
ing in  a  strong  wind.  Shake  usually  follows 
the  annual  rings,  while  checks  are  radial, 
that  is,  extend  across  the  annual  rings. 

SHELTER  WOOD  A  system  of  cutting  in 
which  the  trees  are  removed  in  two  or  more 
cuts,  the  young  trees  coming  in  under  the 
shelter  of  the  remaining  large  trees. 

SLASH  Branches,  bark,  top,  chunks,  cull 
logs,  uprooted  stumps,  and  broken  or  up- 
rooted trees  left  in  the  ground  after  log- 
ging of  timber  is  completed;  also,  large 
accumulation  of  debris  after  wind  or  fire. 

SNAGS  A  stump  or  base  of  a  branch  that 
has  been  lopped  off;  also,  a  rough  branch 
broken  off.  A  tree  from  which  the  top  has 
been  broken;  a  rampike,  especially  one  tall 
enough  to  be  an  extra  fire  hazard. 

SOILING  (of  crops)  The  action  of  spread- 
ing or  filling  with  soil,  dirt,  or  manure. 

SPECIES  A  group  of  individuals  (plants 
or  animals)  with  so  many  common  charac- 


916 


Yearboo^  of  Agriculture  1949 


teristics  as  to  indicate  a  high  relationship 
as  well  as  common  origin  and  descent.  It 
is  the  unit  of  plant  and  animal  classification. 

STEM  The  main  axis,  trunk,  or  body  of 
a  tree  or  other  plant. 

STOMATA  (plural) ;  STOMA  (singular) 
Minute  openings,  chiefly  on  the  surface  of 
the  leaves  of  plants,  through  which  water 
is  evaporated  and  through  which  gaseous 
exchange  takes  place.  Stomata  are  physiolog- 
ically regulated  by  the  plant. 

STRATIFICATION  The  operation  or  meth- 
od of  burying  seeds  to  keep  them  fresh  and 
to  soften  their  coverings,  or  to  expose  them 
without  injury  to  cold  temperatures  that 
they  may  be  more  readily  germinated,  that 
is,  for  storage  or  to  overcome  dormancy. 

STUM  PAGE  The  value  of  timber  as  it 
stands  uncut  in  the  woods;  in  a  general 
sense,  the  standing  timber  itself. 

SUCCESSION  The  process  of  replace- 
ment of  one  plant  community  by  another 
until  the  climax  is  reached.  Each  com- 
munity in  turn  changes  the  temperature, 
moisture,  and  other  factors  of  the  environ- 
ment; these  new  conditions  hinder  the  com- 
munity that  brought  them  about  and  favor 
a  new  one,  which  becomes  the  next  step  in 
the  succession. 

THINNING  A  cutting  made  in  an  im- 
mature stand  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
the  rate  of  growth  and  improving  the  form 
(or  quality)  of  the  trees  that  remain  and  in- 
creasing the  total  production  of  the  stand. 

TOLERANCE  The  ability  of  a  tree  to  with- 
stand extreme  conditions  of  shade,  disease, 
or  other  hazards. 

TRANSPIRATION  The  process  by  which 
trees  or  other  plants  remove  water  from 
the  soil  and  pass  it  through  their  roots,  up- 
ward through  the  trunks  and  branches,  and 
then  out  through  the  leaves  into  the  air. 
Transpiration  is  a  physiological  process  reg* 
ulated  by  a  living  organism;  evaporation  is 
a  physical  process — such  as  evaporation  of 
water  from  the  surface  of  a  lake. 

UNDERSTORY  That  portion  of  the  trees 
in  a  forest  that  is  below  the  level  of  the 
main  canopy;  also,  the  trees  forming  such 
a  layer. 

VAN  The  small  store  in  a  logging  camp 
in  which  clothing,  tobacco,  and  medicine 
are  kept  to  supply  the  crew.  A  portable  van 
is  also  used,  particularly  on  long  river  drives. 


VASCULAR  Of  or  pertaining  to  a  vessel 
or  vessels  for  the  conveyance  of  a  fluid, 
especially  (in  animals)  a  nutritive  fluid,  as 
blood  or  lymph,  or  (in  plants)  the  sap; 
designating,  or  pertaining  to,  the  entire 
system  of  vessels  having  this  function. 

VEGETATIVE  Applied  to  propagation  of 
plants  by  rooting  cuttings  or  slips,  budding, 
or  grafting.  This  type  of  propagation  leads 
to  the  formation  of  a  clone  if  all  the  cut- 
tings, buds,  or  cions  are  taken  from  the 
same  seedling,  and  is  to  be  distinguished 
from  sexual  or  seed  propagation.  For  this 
reason,  the  term  asexual  propagation  is 
sometimes  used. 

VENEER  A  thin  sheet  of  wood  produced 
by  rotating  a  log  or  bolt  against  a  knife  in 
a  lathe  or  by  sawing  or  slicing. 

VIRGIN  (of  forests)  A  mature  or  over- 
mature forest  growth  essentially  unin- 
fluenced by  human  activity.  Virgin  forests 
are  also  referred  to  as  "old-growth"  forests, 
as  contrasted  to  newer  or  "second-growth" 
forests.  In  Douglas-fir,  trees  more  than  200 
years  old  are  generally  considered  to  be 
"old  growth." 

WATER  TABLE  When  water  occupies  a 
zone  of  saturation  beneath  the  ground,  the 
upper  edge  of  this  zone  is  called  the  water 
table.  If  the  table  is  tilted,  the  water  moves 
toward  the  low  side  in  an  effort  to  make 
the  surface  level.  When  the  water  table 
intersects  the  land  surface,  as  in  a  valley 
bottom,  the  ground  water  is  drained  by 
means  of  surface  stream.  See  GROUND 
WATER. 

WIDOW  MAKER  A  broken  limb  hanging 
loose  in  the  top  of  a  tree,  or  a  chunk  or 
limb  knocked  loose  by  a  falling  tree. 

WINDFALL  A  tree  knocked  down  by  the 
wind.  An  area  of  such  trees.  Synonym: 
Blow-down. 

WOODPECKER  A  poor  chopper.  Syno- 
nym: Beaver. 

WORKING  CIRCLE  A  unit  of  forest  land 
that  is  handled  in  accordance  with  a  spe- 
cific plan  of  management  for  the  timber 
resources  of  that  area. 

WOLF  TREE  A  forest  tree  whose  size  and 
position  cause  it  to  prevent  the  growth  of 
many  small  trees  around  it  by  usurping 
their  space,  light,  and  nourishment. 

WEED  TREE  A  tree  that  has  little  or  no 
commercial  value. 


Index1 


Abney  level,  use,  359 
Acacia — 

Acacia,  130,  132,  133 

greenwattle,     Acacia    decurrens, 

823 
Accidents — 

damage  to  trees,  44 

forest,    causes,   prevention,   676- 
679 

logging,   avoidance,  238 
Acetic  acid,  641,  642 
Acetone,  production ;  uses,  641 
Acid  treatment,  turpentining,  293, 

294 
Acorns,  trees  and  food.     Albert  A. 

Downs,  571-573 
Act  of — 

July  4,  1884,  384 

June  4,  1897,  709 

June  25,  1910,  384 

1934,  sec.  6,  384 

August  28,  1937,  382 
Action  on  Blue  Ridge.     Theodore 
C.     Fearnow,    I.    T.    Quinn, 
586-592 

ADAMS,  JOHN,  work,  703 
Adhesives,  table,  638 
Adirondacks,  recreation,  269 
Africa,  forestry,  743,  748,  751 
Agricultural   Research   Center,    155 
Agriculture,  forests,  726,  727 
Agriculture,    Department  of — 

flood  control,  609,  611 

national     forest     administration, 

710-711 
Ailanthus — 

Ailanthus  altissima,  68,  73,  826 

See  also  Tree-of -Heaven 
Air  drying,  wood,  620-621 
Air  Force — 

bombing   tests,    514-515 

fire  fighting,  509,  511 

reservations,  388 
Aircraft — 

decay  prevention,  633 

timbers,  strength,  649 
Airplane — 

and  fire,  509,  510,  512-515 

and  pests,  449 

and  tussock  moth,  436-442 


Airplane — Continued 

in  forest-pest  control.  J.  S. 
Yuill  and  C.  B.  Eaton,  471- 
476 

photography,  679-682 
seeding.     See  Seeding,   airplane, 
stock,  Sitka  spruce,  366 
surveys — 

early,  471-472 

in  pest  control,  416-417,  431- 

432 
use — 
for  spraying,  426,  440,  473- 

474 

in  insect  control,  413 
Alabama — 

burning,  effect  on  seedbed,  523 
factorage-dealers,   290 
naval  stores  company,  290 
storax  industry,  180 
student  plantings,  684-685 
Alabama  Forestry  Council,  674 
Alaska- 
forests.     B.  Frank  Heintzleman, 

361-372 

fur,  game  animals,  364 
interior,  361-362 
national  forests,  301 
south  coast,  362 

Alaska-cedar,  Chamaecyparis  noot- 
katensis,  366,  369,  807,  836, 
838 

Alaska  Spruce  Log  Program,  366 
Alaskan  Fire  Control  Service,  364- 

365 
ALBERT,    FRANK    A.:    Rebuilding 

Southern  Forest,  339-342 
Albizia,  silktree  (silktree),  Albizia 

julibrissin,  63 

Alcohols,  production,  641,  642 
Alder— 

Alnus,  130,  133 

European,  Alnus  glutinosa,    133 
red,  Alnus  rubra,  383,  811 
ALLARD,  G.,  work,  401 
ALLEN,  EDWARD  T.,  work,  668 
ALLEN,  SHIRLEY  W.:  Trail  Riding, 

537-544 
Aluminum  paint,  627 


Ambrosia  beetles — 
control,  97,  435 
habits,  432-433 

American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science,  memo- 
rial, 704 

American  Breeders  Association, 
work,  154 

American  Federation  of  Labor,  for- 
estry program,  754-755 

American  Forest  Products  Indus- 
tries, 660,  661,  668,  673-675 

American  Forestry  Association — 
organization,  purpose,  705 
trail-rider    trips,    537-539,    553- 

554 
work,  660,  707 

American  Forestry  Congress,  705 

American  Junior  Red  Cross,  660 

American  Paper  and  Pulp  Associa- 
tion, 670-671 

American  Society  for  Testing  Ma- 
terials, 649 

American  Tree  Association,  660 

American  Tree  Farms,  667,  668- 
669,  670 

American  Walnut  Manufacturers 
Association,  670 

Americans,  early,  in  S.W.,  345 

AMIDON,  GEORGE,  report,  262 

Ammate,  use  in  forestry,  220 

Ammonium — 

salts  for  fungi,  631 
sulfamate,  use,  220,  457 

Amorpha — 
Amorpha,  133 

indigobush,    Amorpha  fruticosa, 
131 

Anderson  Tully  Lumber  Company, 
283 

ANDREWS,  H.  J.:  Private  Forestry 
in  West.  With  Chas.  L. 
Tebbe,  275-278 

Antelope,    in   Utah,    575 

Apache-plume,  Fallugia  paradoxa, 
130 

Apalachicola  National  Forest,  213 

Aphids,  control,  100 

Appalachian  Comeback.  M.  A. 
Mattoon,  304-309 


1  In  this  index,  approved  common  names  of  trees  are  printed  in  ordinary  type;  the  scientific  names  and 
certain  names  that  are  in  common,  but  not  approved,  use  are  italicized. 
The  abbreviation  N,  F.  stands  for  national  forest. 

917 


918 


Appalachian    Hardwood    Manufac- 
turers, Inc.,  670 

Appalachian  Mountain  Club,  544 
Appalachian  Mountains — 
forests,  109-110,  718 
southern,  species  to  plant,   224 
Appalachian  Trail,  31,  544 
Appalachians,      Southern,      blister 

rust,  457 
Apple- 
crab,  Malus,  405 
Hupeh    crab,    Malus    hupehensis 

(syn.  M.  theifera),  47 
Malus,   17-18 

Sargent  crab,  Malus  sargenti,  47 
Siberian    crab,     Malus    baccata, 

135 

Apricot,  Prunus  armeniaca,  77,  131 
Aralia,  bristly,  Aralia  hispida,  133 
Arbor  Day,    35,    192,   704 
Arboretum,  National.     B.  Y.  Mor- 
rison, 403-405 

Arboretums,    beauty    and    science. 
W.  H.  Larrimer  and  Ernst  J. 
Schreiner,  398-402 
Arborvitae — 

eastern    (northern    white-cedar), 

Thuja  occidentalis,  64 
Thuja,   87,   130,   131,   132 
Arctic   and   Bering   Sea   coast,   de- 
scription,  361 
Aristotle,  garden,  400 
Arizona — 

forester,  regional,  address,   556 
pinyon-juniper  forest,  342-344 
ponderosa  pine,   347-352 
shelterbelts,  effect,   194 
State  tree,  17 
Arkansas — 

cutting  practices,  282 
fire  fighting,  527 
pines,  151 
wildlife  refuge,  387 
Arkansas      Forestry      Commission, 

282 

Armstrong  Forest  Company,  264 
Army,  forest  fire  control,  497 
Arnold  Arboretum,   150,  401,  470 
Arsenicals — 

airplane  dispersion,   472-473 
in  termite  protection,  435 
Ash— 

American  (white  ash),  Fraxinus 

americana,  46 
Fraxinus,  164,  178,  195 
Berlandier,  Fraxinus  berlandieri- 

ana,  128 

black,  Fraxinus  nigra,   778,   835 
blue,     Fraxinus     quadrangulata, 

66,  777 

European,  Fraxinus  excelsior,  133 
green,     Fraxinus     Pennsylvania 
var.    lanceolata,    57,    66,    73, 
777,  834 

Oregon,  Fraxinus  oregona,   809- 
810,  834 


Index 

Ash — Continued 

pumpkin,     Fraxinus     tomentosa, 

778 

red,   Fraxinus  pennsylvanica,   66 
rust,  damage,  96 
smooth,    Fraxinus    velutina   var. 

glabra,  73 

velvet,  Fraxinus  velutina,  73,  79 
white — 

Fraxinus  americana  (syn.  F. 
biltmoreana) ,  66,  178,  777, 
834 

See  also  Ash,  American. 
Ashely-Smith   Explorations,    574 
Asia,    wood    situation,    742,    748, 

750,  751 
Aspen — 
bigtooth,  Populus  grandidentata, 

790,  836 

Populus,   111,   154,   178,  314 
quaking,     Populus     tremuloides, 

810,  836 
Associations — 
cooperative,  187 

industrial  forestry.     Chapin  Col- 
lins, 666-675 

Atlantic  Coast  Line,  284,  683 
AuSable     Cooperative.      John     E. 

Franson,  309-311 
AUSTIN,    L.,    work,    147 
Australia — 

forests,  value,  743 
hybrid  poplars,  156 
Australian-pine     (horsetail     casua- 
rina) ,   Casuarina  equisetifolia, 
64 

AUTEN,    JOHN    T.:    Forests    and 
Soils.     With     T.     B.     Plair, 
114-119 
Aviation — 

value  in  pest  surveys,  416-417 
See    also    Air    Force ;    Aircraft ; 

Airplane. 

Avocado,  Persea  americana,  77 
AYRES,  H.  B.,  work,  428 

Baccharis,  Bac charts,   130 
Bacteria,  effect  on  wood,  630 
Bagworms,  damage  to  trees,  98 
Bait,  poisoned,  for  rodents,  138 
Baldcypress — 

Taxodium    distichum,    47,    625, 

768,  837 

See  also  Cypress,  southern. 
Balsa,  Ochroma  lagopus,  738,  746 
Balsam  stands,  and  budworm,  426 
Bankhead-Jones  Act,    388,   389 
Banks,  Federal  Reserve,  661 
Barberry — 

Berberis,  130,  132 

Japanese,     Berberis     thunbergii, 

131 

Bark- 
beetles— 

control,  97,  99-100,  409,  410, 
411-412,  413,  417,  430-432, 
473 


Bark — Continued 
beetles — Continued 

damage,   346,    347,   354,   408, 

409,  429 

Dutch  elm  disease,  415 
in  wood  products,  435 
chipping.     See  Chipping, 
structure,  2 
Barns,  painting,  628 
BARRETT,   LEONARD  I.:   Forest  Re- 
newal, 120-126 
BARTON,  LELA  V.,  work,  206 
BARTRAM,  JOHN,  work,  401 
Basket  willow.     See  Willow,  bas- 
ket. 

Basswood — 
American — 

Tilia   americana,    788 
See  also  Linden,  American. 
Tilia,  54,  178,  179,  788,  836 
white,  Tilia  heterophylla,  788 
See  also  Linden. 

Bayberry  (waxmyrtle),  Myrica,  562 
Bear,  black,  number,  28 
Bearberry,    Arctostaphylos   uvaarsi, 

131,  133 

Beaver,  habitat,  565 
BEDWELL,  JESS  L.:  Dwarf  Mistle- 
toes.    With     Lake     S.     Gill, 
458-461 
Beech- 
American,  Fagus  gr and i folia,  62 
European,    Fagus    sy  I  vat  tea,    56, 

62,  828 
Fagus,  154,  179,  449,  564,  568, 

793,  835 

Beefwood,  horsetail  (horsetail  cas- 
uarina ) ,  Casuarina  equiseti- 
folia,  64 

Bees,  and  shelterbelt,  194-195 
Beetle-killed   spruce.     N.   D.   Wy- 
gant,  Arthur  L.  Nelson,  417- 
422 

BEHRE,  C.  EDWARD:  Forest  Land 
and  Timber  Resources,  715- 
721 

BENEDICT,  R.  E.,  work,  290 
Benzene   hexachloride,   for  insects, 

411,  432,  435 
BERGOFFEN,    W.    W.:    Questions, 

19-36 

Bids,  on  timber,  231-232 
BIENVILLE  N.  F.,  339-342 
Bigcone-spruce,     Pseudotsuga     ma- 

crocarpa,  128,  130,  132 
Bigtree    (giant    sequoia),    Sequoia 

gigantea,  20 

Biltmore  Forestry  School,  655 
BINGHAM,  CY,  work,  328 
Birch — 

Alaska     white      (Alaska     paper 
birch),  Be  tula  papyrifera  var. 
neoalaskana,  363 
Betula,   154,  791 
black  (river  birch),  Betula  nigra, 
180 


Birch — Continued 

cutleaf,     Betula     pendula     var. 

gracilis,  76 

cutleaf  weeping  (cutleaf  birch), 
Betula   pendula  var.    gracilis, 
845 
European  white,  Betula  pendula, 

68,  832 

gray,  Betula  populijolia,  792 
ground,  Betula  rotundifolia,  363 
paper,     Betula     papyri  jera,     57, 

792,  836 

red.    See  Birch,  river, 
river — 

Betula  nigra,  791,  836 
See  also  Birch,  black, 
sweet,  Betula  lenta,  791,  836 
white.     See  Birch,  paper, 
yellow.     Betula  lute  a,    68,   791, 

836 

Birds- 
damage  to  seedings,  137 
woodland,  561,  562-564 
Bitterbrush,  antelope,  Purshia  tri- 

dentata,  130,  132 
Bitterroot  N.  F.,  508 
Bittersweet,     American,     Celastrus 

scandens,  133 

Black  Hills,  forestry.     Arthur  F. 
C.     Hoffman     and     Theodore 
Krueger,  319-326 
Black  Hills  beetle- 
control,  430,  431 
damage,  325,  427,  429 
Black  Hills  N.  F.,  319-320 
Blackberry,  Rubus,  132 
Blackgum    (black    tupelo),    Nyssa 

syhatica,  46,  630 
Blister  rust,  white  pine — 
J.  F.  Martin  and  Perley  Spaul- 

ding,  453-458 

control,   392,   444,  455,  458 
damage,  453,  454 
detection,  414 

introduction,  443,  446,  448,  453 
resistance,   150,  151,  445,  467 
Blue  Ridge,  wildlife,  586-592 
Boards — 

drying,  620-623 
surfaces,  weathering,  626 
wood  for,  200 
BOATMAN,    JULIEN    L.:    Teachers 

and  Conservation,  658-661 
Boats — 
decay,  632-633 
timber,  strength,  649 
Bolts — 

specifications,  230 
uses,  requirements,  741 
Borax  in  beetle  control,  435 
Botanical  gardens,  400 
Boxelder — 

Acer  negundo,  68,  73,  776-777 
Arizona  (inland  boxelder),  Acer 
negundo    var.    interius     (syn. 
var.  arizontcum) ,  73 


Index 

Boxes — 

fiberboard,  649 
materials,  738 
timber,  strength,  649 
Boy  Scout  forest,  397 
Boy  Scouts,  in  forest  work,  661 
BRATTON,    ALLEN    W.:    Coopera- 
tives   and    Small    Woodlands, 
183-190 

Brazil,  forests,   742,  744 
Breeders,   tree,   amateur.     Ernst  J. 

Schreiner,   158-159 
Breeding — 

methods,   149-150,   158-159 
pest-resistant   trees.      Russell    B. 
Clapper  and  John  M.  Miller, 
465-471 
pine  in  U.  S.     J.  W.  Duffield, 

Palmer   Stockwell,    147-153 
BRETZ,  T.  W.:  Shade  trees  for  the 
Plains.     With  Ernest  Wright, 
65-72 

BREWER,  E.  G.:  Dutch  Elm  Dis- 
ease.    \7ith    R.    U.    Swingle 
and  R.  R.  Whitten,  451-452 
Broadleaf     shade     trees,      Plains, 

66-70 

Brooklyn  Botanic  Garden,  469 
BROUSB,  DON:  Gluing  of  Wood, 

636-639 
BROWN,  A.  A.:  Progress,  But  Still 

a  Problem,  477-479 
BROWN,  R.  C.:  The  Spruce  Bud- 
worm.     With     H.     J.     Mac- 
Aloney,    and   P.   B.   Dowden, 
423-427 
Brown  spot — 

disease,  damage,  340 
needle  disease — 
and  fire,  518 
and   seedlings,    212 
extent  in  pine  belt,  523-524 
of  planted  trees,  217 
BROWNE,  FREDERICK  L.:  Painting 
Farm  and  City  Home,  625-630 
BRUCKART,     JOHN     R.:     Taming 

Wild  Forest,  326-334 
Brunswick-Peninsula  Corp.,  290 
Brush-box  (Brisbane-box  tristania), 

Tristania  conferta,  434 
BRYAN,  M.  M.:  How  To  Care  For 

Small   Forest,   219-232 
Bucida,  oxhorn,  Bucida  buceras,  64 
Buck  law — 
definition,  27 
use,  567 
Buckeye — 

Aesculus,  178,  778 

California,  Aesculus  californica, 

133 
Ohio,  Aesculus  glabra,  57,  778- 

779,  836 
yellow,  Aesculus  octandra,  778, 

836 
Bucking — 

changes  in,  691-692 
methods,  241,  692,  698 


919 

Buckthorn — 

alder,  Rhamnus  alnifolia,  133 
cascara — 

Rhamnus  purshiana,  811 
See  also  Buckthorn,   western ; 

Sagrada,  cascara 
Dahurian,     Rhamnus     davurica, 

133 
glossy,  Rhamnus  jrangula,   131, 

133 

Rhamnus,  811,  848 
western     (cascara     buckthorn), 

Rhamnus  purshiana,  180 
Buckwheat-tree.     See  Titi. 
BUELL,   JESSE   H.:   Community  of 

Trees,   103-108 
Buffaloberry— 

Shepherdia,    128,   130,  562,   848 
silver,  Shepherdia  argentea,  131, 

132 
Building — 

fire  organization.    Earl  S.  Peirce, 

Carl  A.  Gustafson,  485-493 
materials — 

from  sawmill  refuse,  646 
sales,  723 
termites,  434-435 
Buildings — 
decay,  445,  632 
nursery,  requirements,  162 
BULLARD,     WILLIAM     E.:     Wind 
River     Experimental      Forest. 
With  Leo  A.  Isaac,  169-172 
Bumelia,    gum,      Bumelia   lanugi- 

nosa,   131 

BUNYAN,  PAUL,  legend,  35 
Burma,  forests,  748 
Burning — 

effect  on  forests,  118 
in  South,  517-527 
period,  definition,  26 
prescribed,  296-297,  518-527 
protective,    297,    518,    522-523, 

525-526 

release,  in  pinelands,  524 
to  control  bark  beetles,  431 
Burning-off,  effect  on  range,  28 
Burns,     preparation     for     seeding, 

139-140 
Butternut,    Juglans    cinerea,    779, 

835 

Butyl  alcohol,  642 
Butylene  glycol,  642 
Butyric  acid,  642 

Cable,  skidding,  690,  692,  693 

Cajeput-tree,    Melaleuca    leucaden- 

dron,  65,  822 
California — 

arboretum,  402 

climate  and  pines,  354 

cooperative-management.   337 

cutting,  276 

favored  species,  207 


920 

California — Continued 

fire  record,  484 

floods,  481 

forestry,  early,  706 

hybrid  pines,    151-152 

insect  control,  435 

pine  forests,  B.  O.  Hughes  and 
Duncan  Dunning,  352-358 

pines,    147-148,  402,  468 

revested  lands,   381-383 

shade  trees.    W.  W.  Wagener, 
77-82 

shelterbelts,  193,  194 

trails,  554 

water  supply,  481 
California  Redwood  Assn.,   670 
California-laurel — 

Umbellularia     californica,     179, 
810 

See  also  Oregon-myrtle. 
Cambium,  structure,  2-3 
Campfires,  31,  552 
Camphor-tree,    Clnnamomum   cam- 

phora,  61,  77,  822-823 
Camping — 

in  national   forest,   30,    551-552 

in  wilderness,  540-543,  547 

See   also    Recreation;    Vacation. 
Camps — 

employee,  training,  664-665 

organization,    547,   553,    555 
Canada — 

airplane   seeding   test,    142,    143 

forests,  742-744,  747,  749 

hybrid  poplars,   156 

pest  surveys,  471 

spruce  budworm,  423 
Canker  stain  of  sycamores,  45-46 
Cankers,  on  shade  trees,  93 
Cannibal  Tree,  13 
Canoeing,   537,   554 
Cape-chestnut,     Calodendrum     ca- 

pense,  77 

Capper  Report,  712-713 
Caragana    (pea-shrub),    Caragana, 

193,  197 

Carbohydrates  in  trees,   103 
Carbon  dioxide,  use,  3,  103 
Carob,  Ceratonia  siliqua,  823 
Carolina  Piedmont,  forest,   107 
Cars — 

railroad,  requirements,  736,  737 

woodrack,  683 
Carson  N.  F.,  338,  349-350 
Cascade  N.  F.,  327 
Casein,  in  glues,  637 
Cash    crops    from    small    forests. 

R.  E.   McArdle,   173-176 
Casuarina,  horsetail — 

Casuarina  equisetifolia,   820 

See  also  Beefwood,  horsetail. 
Catalpa— 

Catalpa,  164,  774 

northern,    Catalpa  speciosa,    68, 
73,  774,  834 

sphinx — 

airplane   dusting,   472 


Index 

Catalpa — Continued 
worm,  damage,  98 
Catskills,   recreation,  269 
Cattle- 
effect  of  windbreaks,   191 
feeding,  molasses,  641,  642,  646 
Ceanothus — 
Ceanothus,  130,  132 
feltleaf,  Ceanothus  arboreus,  133 
hairy,  Ceanothus  oliganthus,  133 
Monterey,     Ceanothus     rigidus, 

133 

Cedar- 
Atlas,  Cedrus  atlantka,  84 
Cedrus,  179,  198,  625,  703 
Deodar,     Cedrus     deodar  a,     47, 

81-82,  84,  820 

southern  (Atlantic  white-cedar), 
Chamaecyparis   thyoides,   629 
Cedar-of-Lebanon,     Cedrus    libani, 

84,  820 
Cellulose — 

amount  unused,  644 
conversion  into  sugar,  650 
effect  of  hydrolysis,  639,  643 
structure,  2 
Central  States — 
species  to  plant,  224 
tree  farms,  272 
Central    States    Forest   Experiment 

Station,  119,  141-142 
CHAMPION,    F.   J.:    How   to   Use 
Forest     Products     Laboratory, 
651-653 
Charcoal — 

competitors,  740 
production;    uses,   641 
Charles     Lathrop     Pack     Forestry 

Foundation,  660 
Charter  Oak,   12 
Chaste-tree,     lilac,     Vitex     agnus- 

castus,  130,  131,  132 
Chemicals  from  wood.     Alfred  J. 

Stamm,  639-643 
Chermids,  damage,  98 
Cherry- 
black,  Prunus  serotina,  272,  793, 

835-836 
Japanese        (Oriental       cherry) 

Prunus  serrulata,  13,  47 
Nanking       (Manchu       cherry), 

Prunus  tomentosa,   848 
Oriental.     See  Cherry,  Japanese. 
pin,    Prunus    pensylvanica,    259 
Prunus,  616,  793 
Chestnut — 
American,  Castanea  dentata,  447, 

833 

blight,  443,  446,  447 
Castanea,  6 16,  625,  793-794 
Chinese,     Castanea     mollissima, 

470 

residues,  extraction,  640 
Chestnuts — 

Asiatic,  blight  resistance,  447 
resistance  to  blight,  469 
Chickens,  feeding  molasses,  646 
Chiggers,  550,  558 


CHILDS,  T.  W.:   Shade  Trees  for 

North  Pacific  Area,  82-85 
Chinaberry,   Melia  azedarach,   826 
Chinook  salmon,  583 
Chinquapin,     golden,     Castanopsis 

chrysophylla,   381,  812 
Chippewa  N.  F.  H.  Basil  Wales, 

311-319 
Chipping — 
new  system,  292-294 
process,  288 
CHITTENDEN,  H.  M.,  cited,  594, 

597 
Chlordane,  for  insect  control,  411, 

432 

Chlorinated- 
benzenes  for  termite  protection, 

435 

phenols,   use  in  termite  protec- 
tion, 435 
Chlorophenates,  use  in  prevention 

of  decay,  632,  633 
Chokeberry — 
Aronla,  562 

black,  Aronla  melanocarpa,  131 
red,  Aronla  arbutifolia,  131 
Chokecherry — 

(common   chokecherry),   Prunus 

virginiana,  130,  197 
western,   Prunus   virginiana  var. 

demissa,  848 
Christmas  trees — 

and  farmer.    Arthur  M.  Sowder, 

251-254 

culture,   21-22,  251,  254 
industry.      Arthur    M.    Sowder, 

248-251 

production,  21,  248-250 
sources,  180-181 
tradition.      Arthur   M.   Sowder, 

245-247 

Chromosomes,  150 
Chugach  N.  F.,  367 
City  trees.    Irving  C.  Root,  Charles 

C.  Robinson,  43-48 
Civil  Service,  examinations,  664 
Civilian  Conservation  Corps — 
beetle  control,  430 
fire  fighting,  479,  529 
ribes  removal,  457-458 
value,  713 
work  on — 

Blue  Ridge,  587 
Chippewa,   314-317 
southern  forest,  339 
State  parks,  546 
Willamette,  333 
CLAPP,  EARLE  H.,  work,  712 
CLAPPER,    RUSSELL    B.:    Breeding 
and     Selecting     Pest-Resistant 
Trees.    With  John  M.  Miller, 
465-471 
Clarke-McNary  Law — 

application,  218,  282,  300,  315, 

354 

policy,   667 
provisions,  713 


Clearing,  forest,  and  wildlife,  566 
Clematis,  Clematis,  128 
CLEMENTS,    FREDERIC    E.,    forest 

types,  109 
CLEVELAND,    GROVER,    299,    320, 

326-327,  707 
Cliffrose,     Cowania     stansburiana, 

128 

Climate- 
effect  on — 
forest  type,  117 
soil,  115 

tree  growth,  7,  104-105 
factors  affecting,  29-30 
CLINE— 
A.    C.:     Future    Requirements, 

731-741 

JUSTUS  H.,  cited,  586 
McGARVEY,   work,  288 
Clones,  propagation,  149 
Coastal  Plains — 
forests,  279-280 
light  burning,  517 
COCHRAN,  H.   DEAN:   N.   F.  Per- 
sonnel, 664-665 

Cockchafer,   airplane   dusting,   472 
Coconino  N.  F.,  348 
Coconut,  Cocos  nucijera,  64 
Coe,  Pingree  estate,  257 
Coffeetree — 

Gymnocladus,  164 

Kentucky,     Gymnocladus     dioi- 

cus,  47,  57,  69,  833-834 
Colleges- 
forestry  teaching,  655-658 
land-grant,   instruction,  710 
COLLINGWOOD,   G.  HARRIS:  Trees 

Remembered,  15-18 
COLLINS,  CHAPIN:   Industrial  For- 
estry Associations,  666-675 
Colonial   period,    forestry,   history, 

702 

Colonies,  naval  stores,  286-287 
Colonists — 
logging  methods,  688 
wildlife   relationships,    564,    568 
Color  of  paint,  625,  627-628 
Colorado — 

beetle  outbreak,   419 
early  forestry,   705-706 
pulpwood,  421—422 
State  forests,  392,  394 
watershed  studies,  598,  603 
Columbia  N.  F.,  flown,  679 
Commerce,  Department,   648 
Communities,    forest,    security   for. 
Dahl  J.  Kirkpatrick,  334-339 
Community — 
•forest,  establishment,  21 
forests.    George  A.  Duthie,  394- 

398 
of  trees.    Jesse  H.  Buell,   103- 

108 

Compensation   insurance,   271 
Compost — 

from  woodlands,  181 
use  in  nursery,  163 


Index 

Compreg,  uses,  650 
Cones — 

from  woodlands,  181 

longest,  20 
Congress — 

and  watershed  programs,  612 

early  conservation,  703 
Conifers — 

effect  on  animals,  564 

North  Pacific  area,  84-85 

Northeast,    descriptions,    57-60 

Plains  States,  70-72 

planting,  207 

soil  requirements,  224 

stand   composition,    112 

western,  mistletoe,  458,  460 

CONNAUGHTON,         CHARLES         A., 

work,  598 

Connecticut,   State  tree,    16 
Connwood,   operations,   271-272 
Conservation — 

and  labor,  755-757 

planting,  127 

resolution  of  A.  F.  of  L.,  755 

teaching,  658-661 

See    also     Forest    conservation ; 
Soil     conservation ;     Wildlife 
conservation 
Construction — 

lumber  requirements,  737 

use  of  dry  wood,  23 

wood  used,  amount,  723 
Consulting         foresters.      Norman 
Munster,  Arthur  Spillers,  662- 
663 
Containers — 

investigations,  649 

paperboard,  demand,  738,  739 

wood,  24 

Contour  trenches,  606 
Contracts,  sales,  232 
Controlling     tussock     moth.     Paul 
H.  Roberts,  James  C.  Evenden, 
436-442 
Converted      products,      marketing, 

231 

COOPER,    JAMES   GRAHAM,    forest- 
type  regions,  109-110 
Cooperage — 

from  woodland,   178-179 

industry,  740 
Cooperation  in — 

fire  protection,  667-668 

forest  management,   factors,   337 

railroad  forestry  activkies,  684 

watershed  projects,  611,  613 
Cooperative — 

AuSable,  309-311 

extension  work,  659 

marketing,  271 

research,  653 

stores,  185 
Cooperatives — 

and  small  woodlands.    Allen  W. 
Bratton,  183-190 

types  and  work,   183-187 
Copeland  Report,  666,  675,  713 


92I 

Copper  naphthenate,  435 

Cord,  standard,  229 

Cordwood  needs,  741 

Corktree,      Amur,      Pbellodendron 

amurense,  48,  56-57,  824 
Corn — 

effect  of  shelterbelts,  193 
hybrid,  in  Corn  Belt,  152-153 
Corn  Belt,  windbreaks,  shelterbelts, 

198 
Cornell,    school   of   forestry,   655, 

710 
Cornelian-cherry    (Cornelian-cherry 

dogwood),  Cornus  mas,  47 
COSSITT,  FLOYD  M.:  Production  of 

Planting  Stock,   160-169 
Cotoneaster,  Cotoneaster,  130,  133, 

848 

COTTA,  HEINRICH  VON,  112 
Cottonwood — 

black,  Populus  trichocarpa,  811 
eastern,  Populus  deltoides,  790 
lanceleaf.  See  Poplar,  lanceleaf. 
narrowleaf.  See  Poplar,  narrow- 
leaf. 

plains,  Populus  sargentii,  66,  810 
plains.     See  also  Poplar,  plains. 
Populus,  178,  195,  836 
swamp,     Populus     heterophylla, 

790 

COULTER,  C.  H.,  work,  213,  217 
County  forests,  394-396 
County  parks,  549 
Coweeta  Experimental  Forest,  603 
CRADDOCK,    GEORGE   W.:    Water- 
sheds  and   How  to  Care  for 
Them,  603-609 

CRAFT,    EDWARD    C.:    Forest    Re- 
sources    and     the     Economy, 
721-730 
CRAIGHEAD,  F.  C.:  Insects  in  the 

Forest,  407-413 
Crapemyrtle,   common,   Lagerstroe- 

mia  indica,  62 
Creeper — 

Parthenocissus,  130 

Virginia,     Parthenocissus    quin~ 

quefolia,  131 

Creosote,  preservative,  623,  627 
CROCKER,    CLAYTON   S.:    Fighting 

Fires  from  Air,  508-516 
CROCKETT,  DAVID,  memorial,  12 
Cronartium — 

infection  on  pines,  524 
rust,  damage,  347 
Cross-pollination — 
use  of  clones,  149 
Crossett  Lumber  Company,  282 
Crown  Zellerbach  Corp.,  141 
Cryptomeria,      Cryptomeria     japo- 

ica,  47 
Cucumbertree,     Magnolia     acumi- 

nata,  786,  836 
Cupping,  selective,  296 
Currant — 

Rites,    128,   456-457 
golden,  Ribes  aureum,   131,  848 
Custer  Peak  Experiment  Area,  325 


922 

Cut — 

improvement,  naval  stores  trees, 

295 

regulation,  323,  701 
Cut  Foot  Experimental  Forest,  314 
Cutting — 

age,  factor  of  decay,  463,  4<>5 
clear — 

in  small  forest,  221 

methods,  700 

cycles,  Black  Hills,   322-323 
diameter-limit  method,  221-222, 

295 
effect  on  water  yields,  598-599, 

600-601 

effects  on  stream  flow,  607 
grade  and  sustained  yield,  1945, 

675 

harvest,  definition,   221-223 
improvement — 

instructions,  219 

results,  22,  317 

in  California  pine  forests,  355-6 
liberation — 

definition,  22 

value  and  methods,  220 
methods,   350-351,   568,  700 
partial,  results,   126,  463 
patch,  331-332,  334 
practices — 

laws  governing,  in  West,  276 

private  and  public  forests,   33 
salvage,     value     and     methods, 

220-221 
seed-tree  method  in  small  forest, 

221,  223 
selective  value  and  process,  222, 

282 

studies  at  Wind  River,   171-172 
timber     and     water    yields.     H. 

G.  Wilm,  593-602 
to  control  spruce  budworm,  426 
tools,  688-693,  698-699 
Cypress — 
Arizona — 

Cupressus    arizonica,    72,    75, 
807 

See  also  Cypress,  smooth. 
Cupressus,  807 
Italian,    Cupressus   sempervirens, 

820 
Lawson         (Port-Orford-cedar), 

Cbamaecyparis  lawsoniana,  47, 

81,  84 
Monterey,  Cupressus  macrocarpa, 

77,  198 

smooth  (Arizona  cypress),  Cup- 
ressus     arizonica      (syn.      C, 

glabra),  75 
Southern     (baldcypress),     Taxo- 

dium  distichum,  15 
Cypress-pine,   Callitris,   434 

2,4-D,  for  killing  ribes,  457 
DDT— 

air  application,  473 

cost,  476 

effect  on  fish,  476 


Index 

DDT — Continued 

for  Dutch  elm  disease,  452 
spray  preparation,  473 
use  against — 

forest  insects,   411,  431,   435, 

436-442,  447 

shade  tree  insects,  99,  100 
Damping-off  of  seedlings,  165 
Dams — 

effect  on  fish,  583 
fot  watershed,  606 
DANA,   SAMUEL  T.:   Education   in 

Forestry,  655-658 
Date,  canary,  Phoenix  canariensis, 

63 
DAYTON,     WILLIAM     A.:     Forest 

Types  of  U.  S.,  109-114 
Debris  basins,  606 
Decay — 
losses  from,  623 
of  wood — 

cause,  627,  630-631 
prevention,  619,  627 
Deer — 
age,  27 

and  acorns,  571 
and  livestock,  27 
in  Utah,  573-580 
management,  566,  567 
on  Blue  Ridge,   589 
white-tailed,   566,   591-592 
Defoliators — 

control,  409-411,  473 
damage,  408 
Delaware,  State  tree,  17 
Den  trees,  for  wildlife,  562 
Denmark,  research  in  pine  hybrids, 

150 
Desertwillow,     Chilopsis     linearis, 

70,  848 
Devils-walkingstick,      Aralia     spi- 

nosa,  131,  133 
Dichlorophenoxyacetic      acid.     See 

2,  4-D. 

DIETZ,  MARTHA  A.:  Forest  Re- 
sources and  Nation's  Economy, 
721-730 

Dimension  stock,  definition,  646 
Discoloration — 

avoidance,  631-632 
causes,  630 

Disease,  Dutch  elm,  R.  U.  Swingle, 
R.  R.  Whitten,  E.  G.  Brewer, 
451-452 
Diseases — 

and    forest.     L.     M.    Hutchins, 

443-445 

control,  413-417 
damage  to  pine,  354 
introduced.     G.   F.   Gravatt,  D. 

E.   Parker,  446-451 
nonparasitic,  causes,  443-444 
of  planted  trees,  217 
of  shade  trees,  93 
seedling,  in  South,  212 
Distillation — 

central,  process,   288-289 


Distillation — Continued 
destructive — 
history,  641 
in   chemical  wood  processing, 

639 

process,  289 

products,  demand,  740-741 
steam-solvent  process,  289 
Dogwood — 

Chinese    Kousa,     Cornus    kousa 

var.  chinensis,  46 
Cornelian-cherry.    See  Cornelian- 
cherry. 
Cornus,  176,  564,  568,  74l,  775, 

809 
flowering — 

cornus  florida,  61,  562,  775 
See  also  Dogwood,  white. 
Kousa,  Cornus  kousa,  46 
Pacific,  Comas  nuttalli,  809 
pink     (redflowering    dogwood) , 
Cornus  florida  var.   rubra,   46 
white       (flowering      dogwood) , 

Cornus  florida,  46 
Dormancy,  132-133 
Douglas-fir — 

Pseudotsuga  taxi  folia,  60,  71,  85, 
144,    145,    170-171,    327-334, 
352,  423,  803-804 
region — 
extent,  326 

timber  depletion,  720 
tussock  moth,  436-442,  473 
DOWDEN,  P.  B.:  The  Spruce  Bud- 
worm,  423-427 
DOWNS,    ALBERT    A.:    Trees    and 

Food  from  Acorns,  571-573 
Drain  on  timber,  34 
Drainage  basin,  definition,  29 
Dressing  compounds  for  trees,  90, 

96 

Drying  wood,  processes,  620-623 
Dude  Ranchers'  Association,  554 
DUFFIELD,  J.  W.:  Pine  breeding  in 

U.  S.,  147-153 

Duke  University,  forestry,  121,  656 
DUNNING,  DUNCAN:  Pine  Forests 

of  California,    352-358 
Dusting,  for  insect  control,   472 
Dutch  Elm  Disease — 

R.  U.  Swingle,  R.  R.  Whitten, 

E.  G.  Brewer,  451-452 
air  surveys,  472 
control,  45,  46 
introduction,  443,  446 
relation  to  bark  beetles,  415-416, 

447-448 

resistance,  445,  468-469 
DUTHIE,   GEORGE  A.:   Community 

Forests,  394-398 

Dwarf   mistletoes.     Lake    S.    Gill, 
Jess  L.  Bedwell,  458-461 

East — 

air  surveys  of  insects,  471-472 
direct  seeding,  139 
forests,    present    condition,    717, 
718,  719 


East — Continued 

spruce  budworm,  423 
tree  farms,  272 
East  Indies,  forests,  748 
EATON,    C.   B.:    The   Airplane   in 
Forest-Pest  Control.     With   J. 
S.  Yuill,  471-476 

Ebony,   Diospyros    (Certain   timber 
species   of  Africa   and   Asia). 
(See  also  persimmon),  746 
EDDY,  JAMES  G.,  work,  148-149 
Education — 
adult,  659,  660 
in   forestry.      Samuel   T.    Dana, 

655-658 
public,  674 

EGLESTON,  N.  H.,  work,  705,  708 
Elder,  Sambucus,  128,  130 
ELDREDGE,  I.  F.,  quotation,  298 
Elgin  Botanical  Garden,  401 
Elk- 
history,  565 
in  Utah,  575-577 
Jackson  Hole  herd,  576 
number,  28 
Elm- 
American,  Ulmus  americana,  50, 
63,   67,   73-74,   84,   445,  452, 
788,  834 
bark    beetle,    native,    carrier    of 

Dutch  elm  disease,  451-452 
cedar,     Ulmus    crassijolia,    789, 

834 
Chinese,    Ulmus   parvijolia,    51, 

69,  74,  452,  830 
Christine   Buisman,    Ulmus   car- 

pinijolia  hort.  var.,  452 
English,  Ulmus  procera,   51,  69, 

828,  830 

Japanese,   Ulmus  japonica,  470 
leaf  beetle- 
damage,  98 
resistance  to,  470 
rock,    Ulmus    thomasi,    50,    69, 

788,  834 

Scotch,  Ulmus  glabra,  51,  69 
September,  Ulmus  serotina,  788- 

789 
Siberian,  Ulmus  pumila,  51,  67, 

69,  74,  452,  469,  830 
slippery,   Ulmus  rubra   (syn.    U. 

julva),  69,  788,  834 
Ulmus,  788,  834 

Wilson,   Ulmus  wilsoniana,   470 
winged,    Ulmus   alata,    63,    788, 

834 
Wycb     (Scotch     elm),     Ulmus 

glabra,  51 
Elms- 
disease  resistance,  469,  470 
Dutch   elm   disease.     See  Dutch 

elm  disease. 

of  Northeast,  kinds,  50-51 
Emergency  Relief  Act,  388-389 
Employment — 

forest  industries,  666,  727-728 
forest  service,  664 


Index 

Engelmann  spruce  beetle — 
damage,  417-420 
description,  418 
detection,   415,   419-420 
Engineers,   Chief  of,   flood  control 

work,  611 

Engraver  beetles,   habits,   427,  428 
Entomology  and  Plant  Quarantine, 

Bureau  of — 
blister  rust  control,  456 
Dutch  elm  disease  work,  450 
pest  surveys,  471 
spruce    budworm    control,    423, 

426 

tussock  moth  control,  437-442 
Eriogonum,   flattop,  Erigonum  fas- 

ciculatum,   128 
Erosion — 

construction    improvements,    607 

forest  soils,  118-119 

prevention  by  forests,   593,   594, 

596,  597,  600-601 
Escalante,  Father,  Journal  quoted, 

573-574 

Ethyl  alcohol,  642 
Eucalyptus — 

Eucalyptus,  75,  181,  194,  198 
horncap,    Eucalyptus    umbellata, 

75 
longbeak,    Eucalyptus    camaldu- 

lensis,   822 
red-ironbark — 
Eucalyptus  sideroxylon,  822 
See  also  Ironbark,  red. 
Tasmanian       blue,       Eucalyptus 

globulus,  822 

Euonymus,  Euonymus,   131,   133 
Europe — 

forests,  742,  743,  744,  748,  749, 

750 

hybrid  poplars,   156 
European — 

elm   bark   beetle,    smaller,    447- 

448,  452 

larch  canker,  448 
scale,  damage  to  beech,  449 
Evangeline  Oak,  12 
EVANS,    CHARLES   F.:    Forestry   on 
Large    Ownerships    in    South, 
279-285 
EVENDEN,   JAMES   C.:    Controlling 

Tussock  Moth,  436-442 
Evergreens — 

for  Northeast,  57-60 
for  Rocky  Mountains,   75-76 
from  small  woodlands,    180-181 
in  Northeast,  57-60 
in  Plains  States,  70-72 
Everyone  Is  Welcome.    John  Sicker, 

551-556 
Excelsior    bolts,    from    woodland, 

178 

Explosives,  production,  645 
Export  trade,  wood,   702,  723-724 
Extension  work,  22,    174-175,   659 

Family   ownerships,    northern,    267 


Famous  trees.     Charles  E.  Randall, 

11-13 
Farm — 

construction,      lumber      require- 
ments, 1950-55,   1999,  736 
crops,  effect  of  shelterbelts,  193- 

195,  196 

forester,  aid  to  small  owner,  175 
woodlands,    importance,    727 
Farmer's  Federation,  N.  C,    184- 

185 
Farms,  use  of  timber,  39-42,  726- 

727 
FEARNOW,    THEODORE   C.:    Action 

on  Blue  Ridge,  586-592 
Federal- 
aid    in    woodland    management, 

22 

forests.     F.  W.  Grover,  381-390 
Federal-lease  lands,   391 
Federal-State  aid,  planting,  20 
Federal-State      Tree      Distributing 
Program,     1948,     State    forest 
nurseries      cooperating,      894- 
895 
Federal     Housing    Administration, 

434,  634 

Federal  Plant  Quarantine  Act,  453 
Federal  Retirement  Act,  665 
Feed,  saving  on  farms,  191 
Felling — 

changes  in,  691-692,  698-699 
trees,  instruction,  238,  241 
Fence  posts — 

from  woodland,  178 
numerical  requirements,  24 
preservation,  623 
requirements,  1950-55,  733 
species  used   and   treated,    1947, 

733 
FERNOW,  B.  E.,  work,  655,  704, 

708 
Fertilizers — 

for  nursery  stock,   163 
for  trees,  5-6,  91-92 
Fiber  products  from  sawmill  refuse, 

646 

Fiberboard  deterioration,  633 
Fig — 

Benjamin,       Ficus       benjamina, 

64-65 

India-rubber,  Ficus  elastica,  823 
Fighting  fires  from  air.     Clayton  S. 

Crocker,  508-516 
Filbert— 

American      (American      hazel) , 

Cory  I  us  am  eric  ana,  562 
European       (European      hazel), 

Corylus  avellana,  131 
(hazel),   Corylus,    128,    130 
Finishes,  transparent,  626 
Fir — 

Abies,   23,   181,  773,   804 
alpine,     Abies    lasiocarpa,     423, 

804 

balsam,     Abies    balsamea,     170, 
180,  246-247,  423,  773 


924 

Fir — Continued 
California  red — 

Abies  magnifica,  805,  838 

See  also  Fir,  red. 
concolor.     See  Fir,  white, 
corkbark,    Abies   lasiocarpa   var. 

arizonica,  24 

Fraser,  Abies  fraseri,  773 
grand,    Abies   grand  is,    804-805, 

838 

Nikko,  Abies  homolepis,  59 
noble,  Abies  procera,  805,  838 
Pacific    silver,     Abies    amabilis, 

804 
red    (California   red   fir),   Abies 

magnifica,  250 
silver,  Abies  alba,   327 
white,     Abies    concolor,     58-59, 

71,  121,  352,  423,  804 
Fire — 

acreage  burned  in  South,  517 
burning  period,  26 
control — 

in  north,  268 

on  watersheds,  606-607 

Weather  Bureau,  26 
damage — 

and   control    in   Alaska,    364- 
365 

in  Black  Hills,   325 

shelterbelts,   199 
danger — 

causes  in  South,   527 

measuring  stations,  497 

rating,   494-495,  497-498 
dispatcher,  26 
effects  on — 

growth,  9 

wildlife,  561 
fighters — 

qualifications,  492 

transport,  514 
fighting — 

costs,  530 

from     the     air.     Clayton     S. 
Crocker,  508-516 

machines,  use  in  South.     Ar- 
thur W.  Hartman,   527-532 

problems,  27,  284,   521-522 
hazard    to    southern    plantation, 

216 

lines,  superior  types,   528 
man-caused  vs.  lightning,  26 
on  Cedar  Creek.     Frank  J.  Jef- 
ferson, 498-508 
organization,    building.     Earl   S. 

Peirce,     Carl     A.     Gustafson, 

485-493 
precautions,  26 
protection — 

cooperation,  667-668 

for  flood  control,  612 

in  South,  25,  281-282,  527 

national  forests,  304 

State  forests,   392 

Willamette,   327-328 
reporting,  27 


Index 


Fire  —  Continued 
tool  — 

in  management,  479 
southern     pine.     Arthur     W. 

Hartman,  517-527 
use  — 

by  Indians,  26 

in     control     of     brown     spot 

needle   disease,    523-524 
Fires,    number   by   ownership    and 

causes,   1947,  530 
Fish— 

and  forests.     Paul  R.  Needham 
and   Fred   W.   Johnson,    581- 
585 
benefits     from    stream    improve- 

ment, 569 
effect  of  — 
fire,  28 

forest  change,  566-567 
streamside    cover    and    roads, 

568 
hatcheries  — 

development,  567 
stocking,  582 
in    Virginia    conservation    plan, 

590 

restocking,  567,  570 
Fish    and    Wildlife    Service,    138, 

387,  582 
Fisheries,     salmon,    Alaska,     371- 

372 
Fishing  — 

in  national  forests,  550,  554 
in  national  parks,  545 
value  to  State,  585 
Flambeautree,  Bell,  Spathodea  cam- 

pan  ulata,  65 

Flambuoyant-tree,  Delonix  regia 
(syn.  Poinciana  regia),  64, 
828 

Flat  Tops  Wilderness,  542 
Flood  Control  Act  of   1936,   610- 

611 
Flood  control  — 

George  R.  Phillips,  and  Bernard 

Frank,  609-614 
by  vegetation  or  litter,  607 
improvements    on    private    land, 

611 
Floods,  prevention  by  — 

forests,   117-118,  593,  594,  600, 

601 

watersheds,   593,   594,   600,   601 
Florida  — 

Atlantic     Coast     Line     Railroad 

land,  284 

farmer's  profit  from  woods,   176 
fire-fighting  machines,  527 
naval  stores,  288,   290,   291-292 
pine  plantations,  217-218 
prescribed    burning    experiments, 

522-523 

protective    burning,    518-519 
shade  trees,  64 

spacings   in   plantations,    213 
timber  growing,  298 
turpentining,  296 


Florida  State  Nursery,  216,  217 
Flowering — 
factors,  8 

trees  in  urban  planting,  46-47 
Fluorine  sprays,  472-473 
FONTANNA,     STANLEY    G.:    State 

Forests,  390-394 

Food    and    Agriculture    Organiza- 
tion— 
quoted,  760 
work,  742,  752 
Forage — 

forest  range,  use,  27 
management,  359 
production  by  forests,  725-726 
Foreign  trade  in  timber,  723-724 
Forest — 

areas,  world,  745 

commodities,      production      and 

use,  746 
communities,   security.     Dahl  J. 

Kirkpatrick,    334-339 
conservation — 

early  efforts,  702,  703-709 
relation   to    soil    conservation, 

658-659 
task  ahead,  757 
See  also  Conservation, 
drain — 

balance   with   growth,    world, 

750 

See  also  Timber  balance, 
fire- 
bad  business,  your  business. 
R.  F.  Hammatt,  479-485 
Maine,  1947,  493 
occurrence    maps,     488,    490, 

512,  516 

organization,  plans,  485 
parachute  jumpers,  478 
parts,  25 

Pellegrin,  Calif.,   1947,  480 
Pestigo,  Wis.,  1871,  480 
St.  Maries,  Idaho,  1910,  480 
fires — 

causes,  24-25,  482,  485-486 
control — 

economic  fundamentals,  532 
scientific  approach,   712 
costs,  477,  497 
day  classification,  496 
detection,  485,  487,  491 
incendiary,  482 

interruption  of  military  train- 
ing,   483 
numbers,  daily  variation,  493- 

494 
on    public    and   private    land, 

485 

outstanding,  25,  478 
presuppression  plans,  486 
smokers,  477,  483,  484 
10  a.  m.  "deadline,"  507 
use  of  radio,  478-479 
See  also  Fires;  Wildfires, 
growth,   world,   748-749 
improvement,  factors,  205 


Forest — Continued 

industries  in  South,  280-281 
inventory,  188,  319,  329-330 
land— 

and  timber  resources.     C.  Ed- 
ward Behre,  715-721 

commercial,     condition,     716- 
721 

commercial,     fire     protection, 
1945,  530 

commercial,    holdings,    by   re- 
gion, 1945,  210 

mismanagement,   302 

need  for  fire  protection,  485 

ownership,   33,  716,   718,  719 
management — 

associations,  271-272 

blister  rust  control,  457 

for    insect    control,    409-410, 
412-413 

specialty   of   consultants,   662, 
663 

State,  392 

world  needs,   748 
moisture,    evaporation    and    pas- 
sage, 594-595 
nurseries,  public,  893 
plantations,    establishment,    136, 

137 
products — 

cooperatives,    work   and  prob- 
lems, 183-184 

industries,     specialization     in, 
663 

industry,   integration,  278 

nonmanufactured,    output   and 
value,  1947,  838 

nonmanufactured,      value     by 
regions,  850 

output    and    value,    estimates, 
722 

selling,  230-231 

world  demand,  751-753 
range,  grazing,  27-28 
ranger,  duties,  32 
rangers,  fire  fighting,  531 
recreation,  533-537 
renewal.     Leonard     I.     Barrett, 

120-126 

seed,  sowing  methods,  140 
situation,    world.     Stuart   Bevier 

Show,  742-753 
succession,  105-106,  107 
surveys,  aerial,  471 
trees,  kinds,  19 
types- 
classification,  111,  112,  416 

factors  affecting,   117 

of  U.  S.     William  A.  Dayton, 
109-114 

on  Indian  lands,  384 
vegetation,  and  soil  erosion,  593, 

594,  596,  597,  600-601 
virgin,  acreage,  106 
visitors,    safety   for.      Robert    S. 

Monahan,  556-560 
zones  of  U.  S.,  104-105 
zones  of  world,  104-105 


Index 

Forest-crop  laws,  270 
Forest-exchange  law,  purpose,  303 
Forest-land  policies,  1876-97,  704- 

709 

Forest-pest  control,  airplane  in. 
J.  S.  Yuill,  C.  B.  Eaton,  471- 
477 

Forest  Farmers  Assn.,  661,  663 
Forest  Industries  Council,  672-673 
Forest  Insect  Laboratory,  470 
Forest  of  Fame,  Wis.,  13 
Forest     Pathology,     Division     of, 

work,  468,  470 

Forest  Pest  Control  Act,  410,  450 
Forest  Products  Laboratory — 
George  M.  Hunt,  647-651 
mailing  list,  652 

publications,  651-652,  899-900 
use.  F.  J.  Champion,  651-653 
work,  201,  203,  204,  622,  634, 

637,  639,  646,  710 
Forest  Service — 
blister   rust   control   on   national 

forests,  456 

classification  of  forest  types,  112 
educational  activities,  660 
injuries,  1947,  analysis,  677 
job-load  analysis,  378-379 
national     forest     administration, 

373-380 
personnel,  664 

public   forest-tree   nurseries,    893 
shelterbelt  planting,  193 
spruce    budworm    control,    423, 

426 

tussock  moth  control,  437-442 
Forest  Utilization  Service,  653 
Foresters — 

and  railroads.     Robert  N.  Hos- 

kins,  682-685 
calling,  655-685 
consultants,  259 

consulting.     Norman       Munster 

and   Arthur   Spillers,   662-663 

employment,  277,  664,  666,  683- 

684 

farm,  duties,  22 
regional — 

addresses,  555-556 
duties,  374 

State,  duties,  391-392 
training,  708 
Forestry — 

Associations.     See    Associations, 
definition,   106,  656 
economic,  social  aspects,  657 
education  in.     Samuel  T.  Dana, 

655-658 

establishment,  world,  753 
in    America,    history.     W.    N. 

Sparhawk,  702-714 
industrial  history,  666 
national  program.  Lyle  F. 

Watts,  757-760 

opportunities  in  North,  272-273 
outlook  in  West,  277-278 


925 

Forestry — Continued 
private — 

expansion,  712-714 

in  North,  255-256,  273 

in  South,  284-285 
profession,  history,  655-656 
purpose,  120 
research,  plan  of  Raphael  Zon, 

712 
teaching    in     schools,     655-659, 

672 

world,  destructive  forces,  747 
Forests — 

and  fish.     Paul  R.  Needham  and 

Fred  W.  Johnson,  581-585 
and  small  ranchers.     William  L. 

Robb,  358-359 
and  soils.     John  T.  Auten  and 

T.  B.  Plair,  114-119 
and  water,   593-614 
and  wildlife,  561-592 
climax,   106,  107 
commercial,  ownership,  654 
community — 

George  A.  Duthie,  394-398 

management,  21 
company,  255-298 
diseases.  L.  M.  Hutchins,  443- 

445 

effect  on  soils,  117 
effect  on  streams,  595,  597,  599, 

600 

experimental,  169-172 
farm,  saw  timber,  by  region,  654 
Federal— 

F.   W.   Grover,   381-390 

acreage,  1945,  654 

and  Sustained-Yield  Unit  Act, 

337-339 

floods.     See  Floods, 
function  in  storms,  29 
Indian,  utilization,  385 
industrial,  673 

insects,     survey.     F.    C.    Craig- 
head    and    John    M.     Miller, 

407-413 

multiple-use,  labor's  interest,  756 
naval    stores.     Carl    E.    Ostrom 

and  John  W.  Squires,  291-298 
new,     establishment,     red     and 

white  pine,  312-313 
of  Alaska.     361-372 
original,  15-16 
photography,  aerial,  679-682 
pine,  of  California,  352-358 
pinyon-juniper,    342-347 
private  holdings,  in  North,  255- 

274 

public,  extension  needs,  760 
small — 

care.     M.  M.  Bryan,  219-232 

cash   crops.     R.   E.   McArdle, 
173-176 

harvesting,  237-244 
southwestern,  classes,  342-343 
State- 
Stanley  G.  Fontanna,  390-394 


926 


Forests — Continued 
State — Continued 

county,    and   municipal,    acre- 
age, 1945,  654 
status,  714,  716 
wildlife  habitat,  564-J71 
world — 

distribution,  743 
kinds,  745 
Fort   Valley   Experimental   Forest, 

350 

Fossil  descendants,  20 
4-H  Club- 
profit  from  pine  cones,  181 
work,  659-660,  672 
FOWLER,  JAMES,  213,  218,  290 
France,  botanical  gardens,  400 
FRANK,  BERNARD:  To  Help  Control 

Floods,  609-614 
Franklinia,    Franklinia    alatamaba, 

399 
FRANSON,  JOHN  E.:  The  AuSable 

Cooperative,  309-311 
Fraser  Experimental  Forest,  600 
Freight  chute,  in  fighting  fires,  510 
Fremontia,  Fremontodendron,   128, 

130 
Fringetree,  Chionanthus  virginicus, 

47 
Frost — 

damage,   in  North,  268 
heaving,  prevention,  164 
Fruit — 

crops,  from  woodlands,  182 
trees,  and  shelterbelts,  193,  194- 

195 
Fuel— 

from  forests,  727 

from  sawmill  wastes,  645-646 

oil    solutions    for    bark    beetles, 

430-431 

saving  on  farms,  191 
wood — 
drain,  732 
from  small   woodland,   value, 

179 

requirements,  732 
specifications,  230 
Fuels- 
liquid,  making,  642,  643 
motor,  from  wood,  642 
Fumigation,   experiments,  435-436 
Fun  in  Forests.     533-560 
Fungi — 
benefits,  444 

control  by  eliminating  host,  96 
damage,  444 

decay,  description,  630,  631 
destruction  of  heartwood,  354 
on  shade  trees,  93 
on  surfaces,  control,  626,  627 
rot,  entrance  points  in  trees,  462, 

464 

wood.     Carl    Hartley,    630-633 
Fungicides,  use  on  shade  trees,  93 
Fungus  carriers,  448-449 
Furniture  stock  from  refuse,  646 
Fusiform  rust,  340 


Index 

Future  Farmers  of  America — 
project  in  Georgia,  659 
work,  684 

G-trees,  landmarks,  13 
GADSBY,  J.  H.:  Treasures  of  Na- 
tion, 544-550 
Galax,  value,  181 
Gallberry— 

Ilex  glabra,  524 

See  also  Inkberry. 
Game — 

big- 
management,  567,  570 
of     Utah,     management.     D. 
Irvin  Rasmussen  and  David 
M.  Gaufin,  575-580 

forest,  value,  28 

in  Alaska,  364 

laws,   history,   567-568 

management,  State  forests,   393 

protection  on  Willamette,  333 

restocking,  567,  570 
Gardens,  and  windbreaks,  191 
CARVER,   RAYMOND  D.:    Picturing 

Forests  from  Air,  679-682 
Gases,  effect  on  trees,  43,  44 
GAUFIN,    DAVID    M.:     Managing 
Utah's   Big-Game   Crop,    573- 
580 

General  Land  Office,  709 
Genetics,  diseases  and  insects,  465 
George  Washington   N.   F.,   wild- 
life, 587-592 
Georgia — 

farmer,   direct  seeding,   214 

franklinia  tree,  discovery,  401 

Future  Farmers  project,  659 

naval  stores,  290 

organization  forest,  397 

pine  plantation,  218 

planting  wild  stock,  214 
Gene  mutations,  150 
General  Sherman  Bigtree,  19 
Geneticists,  early  work,  148 
Germany,  botanical  gardens,   400 
Germination — 

effect  of  mulch,  140 

tests,  methods,  134 

with  pretreatment  of  seed,  132- 

133 
GILL,  LAKE  S.— 

Dwarf  Mistletoes,  458-461 

Shade  Trees  for  Rockies,  72-76 
Ginkgo,  Ginkgo  biloba,  20,  48,  53, 

78-79,  823-824 

Ginseng,  Panax  quinquejolium,  111 
Girdling  trees,  283 
Girl  scouts,  forestry,  661 
Glidden  Company,  288 
Glues- 
animal,  637,  638 

casein,  637,  638 

decay  prevention,  633 

mixing,       application,       require- 
ments, 638 

new  development,  637,  649 


Glues — Continued 
value,  636-637 
vegetable,  637 
Gluing    of    wood.     Don    Brouse, 

636-639 

Glycerine  from  cellulose,  643 
Goats,  Rocky  Mountain,  28 
Goldenchain     (goldenchain    labur- 
num), Laburnum  anagyroides, 
47 

Goldenrain-tree,  panicled,  Koelreu- 
teria   paniculata,    57,   63,    80, 
826 
Goodman  Lumber  Company,   259- 

260,  268,  270,  272 
Gooseberry — 

Ribes      (subgenus      Grossulario- 

ides) ,  133 
roundleaf,    Ribes   rotundifolium, 

133 

Grading  logs,  228,  648 
GRAHAM,  EDWARD  H.:  Wildlife  in 

Woodland,  561-564 
Grain,  unusual,  201-202 
GRANGER,  C.  M.:  The  People's 

Property,  299-304 
Grant  Elm,  12 
Grant,    U.    S.,    opening   of   Black 

Hills,  320 
Grape — 

riverbank,  Vitis  riparia,  131,  132 
Vitis,  130 

GRAVATT,   G.  F.:   Introduced  Tree 
Diseases  and  Insects,  446-451 
Grazing — 

capacity  of  range,  28-29 
cattle — 

in  naval   stores  belt,   297-298 
in  South,  520-521 
damage  to  plantation,  212,  216- 

217 
effects— 

on  forest,  28 
on  soils,  118 
on  watersheds,  608 
for  wildlife,  561-562 
on  national  forests,  28,  302 
on  pinyon-juniper  forests,  346 
on  State  forests,  393 
pinelands,  520-521 
Great  Britain — 
forests,  742 
hybrid  poplars,  156 
Great  Elm  of  Concord,   12 
Great  Plains — 

favored  species,  207 
forest  land,  715 
shelterbelts,   192-197,  848-849 
tree  planting,  192 
windbreaks,  197,  848-849 
Great    Smoky    Mountains    N.    P., 

386,  542 

GREEN,    WILLIAM:    The  Real   In- 
terests of  the  People,  754-755 
Greenheart,  Ocotea  rodioei,  434 
Grisdale,  Wash.,  336 
Ground   skidding,    690-691 
Grouse,  diet,  565 


GROVER,    F.    W.:    Other    Federal 

Forests,    381-390 
Growth — 

annual,  factors,  201 
physiology,    7-8 
rate  and  quality,  203-204 
Guayacan,    resistance    to    termites, 

434 

Gulf  States- 
direct  seeding,   139 
favored  species,  207 
Gully  plugs  and  watersheds,   606 
Gum — 

boxing,  288 

extraction  from  larch,  641 

harvesting,    labor    output,    292- 

293 

naval  stores — 
definition,  286 
importance,  281 
tupelo     (water    tupelo),     Nyssa 

aquatica,  630 
GUNNING,   HARRY  A.:   Production 

of  Planting  Stock,  160-169 
GUSTAFSON,  CARL  A.:  Building  a 

Fire  Organization,  485-493 
"Gyppo  loggers,"  698 
Gypsy  moth — 

control,  411,  447,  472,  473 
introduction  and  spread,  446 
trapping,  414-415 

Habitat,    for  wildlife.    Lloyd  W. 

Swift,  564-571 
Hackberry — 
Celtis,  789,  834 
common   (hackberry),  Celtis  oc- 

cidentalis,  56,  67,  74,  82 
netleaf,  Celtis  reticulata,  69 
sugar  (sugarberry),  Celtis  laevi- 

gata,  63,  69 

HALL,    A.    G.:    Roots    and    Stems 
and  Dogwood  Bolts,    176-183 
HALL,  R.  C.,  work,  470 
HAMMATT,   R.   F.,   Bad  Business; 

Your  Business,  479-485 
Hardwood — 
definitions,  19,  616 
waste  products,  646 
Hardwoods — 

chemical     extraction,     products, 

640-641 

cultivation,  166 
eastern,  decay,  462 
for     distillation,      requirements, 

1950-55,  741 
forest    succession    in    Piedmont, 

107 

growth  in  Michigan,   107-108 
identification   of  wood,    833-836 
pruning,  203 
soil  requirements,  224 
thinning,  220 
tropical,  use,  752 
uses,  616,  650 

Harney  N.  F.     See  Black  Hills. 
HARRISON,  BENJAMIN,  299 


Index 

HARTLEY,  CARL:  Fungi  and  Wood, 

630-633 
HARTMAN,  ARTHUR  W.: 

Fire  As  a  Tool  in  Southern  Pine, 

517-527 
Machines,   Fires  in  South,   527- 

532 
Harvard — 

requirements  for  forestry,  656 
school  of  forestry,  710 
Harvesting — 
clear   cutting   and   size   of   area, 

124 

for  sustained  yield,   108 
methods,  123-124 
small   forest.     Arthur  M.   Sow- 

der,  237-244 

Haw   (hawthorn),   Crataegus,    570 
Hawthorn — 

Crataegus,  17,  19,  47 
dotted,    Crataegus  punctata,   47 
downy,  Crataegus  mollis,   133 
See  also  Haw  ;  Thornapple. 
HAYES,  G.  LLOYD:  Forest  Fire  Dan- 
ger, 493-498 
Hazel- 
Co  rylus,  182 
See  also  Filbert. 

Heart    rot.     George    H.    Hepting, 
James  W.  Kimmey,  462-465 
Heartwood,    and   fungi,   631 
Heeling-in  process,  215 
HEINTZLEMAN,  B.  FRANK:  Forests 

of  Alaska,  361-372 
Helicopter — 

in  fire  fighting,  516 
use  in  seeding,  145 
"Heli-fireman,"  516 
Hemlock- 
arboretum,  forms,  399 
Alaska        (western       hemlock), 

Tsuga  heteropbylla,  366 
Canada       (eastern       hemlock), 

Tsuga  canadensis,  57 
Carolina,    Tsuga  caroliniana,    15 
eastern,    Tsuga    canadensis,    57- 

58,  772,  838 

looper,  control,  472,  473 
mountain,     Tsuga     mertensiana, 

802 

Tsuga,  170,  564,  771,  802 
western,      Tsuga      beterophylla, 

170,    366,   369,   802,   838 
HEPTING,  GEORGE  H.:  Heart  Rot. 
With  James  W.  Kimmey,  462- 
465 

Heredity,  and  wood  quality,  204 
Hexaethyl  tetraphosphate,  in  insect 

control,  99 
Hickory — 

bitternut,       Carya      cordijormis, 

780-781 

Carya,    178,   179,  779,  834 
mockernut,  Carya  tomentosa,  781 
nutmeg,    Carya   myristicaejormis, 

780 
pignut, Carya  glabra,   782 


927 

Hickory — Continued 
red,   Carya  ovalis,   782 
shagbark,   Carya  ovata,    781-782 
shellbark,   Carya  laciniosa,   781 
water,  Carya  acquatica,  780,  835 
Highland  Park,  collection,  401 
HINE,  W.  R.— 

Forestry  on  Large  Ownerships  in 

South,  279-285 

Planting  Small  Southern  Wood- 
land,   211-218 
HIRT,  RAY  R.,  work,  467 
History    of    forestry    in    America. 

W.  N.  Sparhawk,  702-714 
HOFFMAN,    ARTHUR   F;    C:    For- 
estry in  Black  Hills,    319-326 
Hogs — 

feed  from  acorns,  571,  572 
feeding  molasses,  646 
Holland,  botanical  gardens,  400 
Holly- 
American,   Ilex   opaca,    62,    787 
English,  Ilex  aquifolium,   822 
Ilex,  182,  405,  787 
Homes — 

and  trees,  37-100 
farm  and  city,  painting.     Fred- 
erick L.   Browne,   625-630 
summer,  in  national  forest,  31 
Homestake   Mining   Co.,    320-321, 

324,  326 

Homestead  Law,   192 
Honeylocust — 

common    (honeylocust),    Gledit- 

sia  triacanthos,  69 
Gleditsia  triacantbos,    164,    782, 

833 
thornless,     Gleditsia    triacantbos 

var.  inermis,  56,  69,  74 
Honeysuckle — 
Lonicera,  128,  198 
Tatarian,   Lonicera  tatarica,   562 
HOOVER,  HERBERT,  713 
Hophornbeam,  eastern,  Ostrya  vir- 

giniana,   130,   131,   133 
HOPKINS,  A.  D.,  work,  410,  411, 

419,  428 
Hoptree,  common,  Ptelea  trijoliata, 

130,  132,  133 
Hornbeam,      American,      Carpinus 

caroliana,  57,  130,  133 
Horsechestnut — 
Aesculus     hippocastanum,     824, 

826 

common  (horsechestnut) ,  Aescu- 
lus hippocastanum,  57 
red,  XAesculus  carnea,  47 
Horses,  for  logging,  689 
HOSKINS,    ROBERT   N.:    Railroads 

and  Foresters,   682-685 
HOUGH,  FRANKLIN  D.,  work,  428, 

704,  705,  708 
Houses — 

prefabricated — 

Ronald  F.  Luxford  and  F.  A. 

Strenge,  633-636 
number  in  U.  S.,  634 


928 


Houses — Continued 
stressed-facing,  634 
wood,  723,  726 
wood,  life  of,  23 
Housing — 

farm,  status,  735,  736 
shortage,  causes,  735 
timbers,  strength,  649 
Huckleberry,     black,      Gaylussacia 

baccata,   130,   131,   132 
HUGHES,   B.   O.:    Pine  Forests  of 

California,  352-358 
Humus,  value,  44 
HUNT,    GEORGE  M.:   Forest  Prod- 
ucts  Laboratory,    647-651 
Hunting — 

by  Colonists,  564,  568 
in   Utah,    573-580 
national  forests,   laws,    554,   555 
Huron  N.  F.,  309 

HURSH,   CHARLES  R.:   Watersheds 
and  How  to  Care  for  Them, 
603-609 
HUTCHINS,    L.    M.:    Diseases    and 

Forest,  443-445 

Hybridization,  pines,   149-150,  153 
Hybrids— 

for  timber  production,  23 
inbreeding,  467 
segregating  generations,  466 
Hydraulic  power,  uses,  692 
Hydrocyanic  acid  gas,  as  fumigant, 

435-436 

Hydro-electric  power,  725 
Hydrogenation,  in  wood  processing, 

639,  642-643 
Hydrolysis,     in    wood    processing, 

639,  642 
Hypsometer,  use,   359 

Idaho- 
experience  with  deer,   580 
Forest      Industries      Information 

Committee,  673 
laws  for  cutting  practices,  276 
State  forests,  392,  394 
tussock  moth  control,  436-442 

Illinois — 

county  forests,  395 
forestry  in  schools,  659 
municipal  forest,  396 

Import  trade,  timber  products,  724 

Imports,  seeds  and  plants,  regula- 
tion, 449-450 

Impreg,   uses,   650 

Impregnation  of  wood,  632 

Inbreeding,  disadvantages,  466-467 

Incense-cedar — 

Libocedrus  decurrens,   806 
California  (incense-cedar),  Libo- 
cedrus decurrens,   81,   84,   352 

Income — 

from  woodlands,   173-176 
national,  and  timber,  728,  730 

India — 

forestry,  748 
termite-resistant  wood,  434 


Index 

Indian —  \,\KJ£$ 

lands,  administration,  384-385 

trail  trees,  12 

Indian  Affairs,  Bureau,  384-385 
Indiana — 

shelterbelts,  193 

State  Department  of  Public  In- 
struction, 658 

State  forest,  390,  394 
Indians — 

in  Southwest,  344 

use  of  acorns,  573 

use  of  fire,  26-27,  480 
Industrial     Forestry     Associations. 

Chapin  Collins,  666-675 
Industrial  forests,  work,  673 
Industries — 

interdependence,  284 

ownership  of  forests,  716 

primary  manufacturing,   722 

secondary     manufacturing,     reli- 
ance on  wood,  722 
Industry — 

construction,  lumber  require- 
ments, 1950-55,  737 

relation   to  utilization  of  wood, 

751 
Inkberry    (gallberry),    Ilex  glabra, 

131 
Insect — 

carriers — 

control  by  DDT,  452 
damage,  448-449 

deadening,  410 

epidemics,  412 

increase,  prevention,  409-410 

protection  on  vacations,  550,  558 

surveys,  410 
Insecticides — 

aerial  applications,  426,  472,  473 

efficacy    in    pine    beetle    control, 

430-431,  432 
Insects — 

bark-boring,  control,  99-100 

bark-infesting  and  wood-boring, 
97 

control,  99,  413-417 

damage  to  trees,  217 

diseases   and   parasites,    407-476 

forest — 

in  North,  273 
natural  control,  408 
populations,  behavior,  407-408 

in  forests:  Survey.  F.  C.  Craig- 
head,  John  M.  Miller,  407- 
413 

in  wood  products.  Thomas  E. 
Snyder,  432-436 

injury  to  seedlings,  137 

introduced.  G.  F.  Gravatt  and 
D.  E.  Parker,  446-451 

losses  from,  623 

shade     trees,     protection     from. 

R.  A.  St.  George,  97-100 
Institute  of  Forest  Genetics — 

establishment,    148 

work,  146,  149,  150,  151,  152, 
468 


Insulation  in  prefabricated  houses, 

635,  636 

Insurance,    compensation,    271 
Interior  Department — 
administration  of — 

Indian  lands,   384-385 
public  domain  in  Alaska,   364 
revested  lands,  381 
jurisdiction  over  fish   and  wild- 
life, 387 

Intermountain  region — 
forest  types,   109-110 
forester,  regional,  address,  556 
International    Poplar    Commission, 

156 

Inventory — 
forest — 

Douglas-fire  region,  329-330 
new  method,  319 
nursery,  166-167 
timber   from   photographs,    681- 

682 

Investments  in  forest  resources,  722 
Ipil,  Intsia,  434 
Ips  spp.,  habits,  427,  428 
Iron  Range  Resources  and  Rehabili- 
tation Commission,  318 
Ironbark,    red    (red-ironbark   euca- 
lyptus),   Eucalyptus    sideroxy- 
lon,  77 
Irrigation — 
nursery,  162 
role  of  forests,  726 
ISAAC,    LEO  A.:   The  Wind  River 
Experimental    Forest,    169-172 
Italy,  botanical  gardens,  400 

JACKSON,  ANDREW,  memorial  trees, 
12 

JACKSON,    SETH:    Prescription    for 
Woods  Safety,  676-679 

Japanese  beetle — 

damage  to  shade  trees,  98 
introduction,  446 
susceptibility   of  poplar  hybrids, 
156 

JEFFERSON,    FRANK    J.:    Fire    on 
Cedar  Creek,  498-508 

JEFFERSON,  THOMAS,  11 

JEFFERSON   N.    F.,   wildlife  plan, 
587-592 

Jeffrey  pine  beetle,  427 

Jetbead,    black,    Rhodotypos    scan- 
dens,  133 

John  Quincy  Adams  Elm,  11 

JOHNSON,    FRED  W.:   Forests  and 
Fish,  581-585 

JOHNSON,  R.  P.  A.:  The  Wood  for 
the  Job,  615-619 

Joint  Committee  on  Housing,  80th 
Cong.,  735 

Joints.     See  under  specific  kinds. 

JONES,  G.  WILLARD:  Job  of  Plant- 
ing Trees,  206-209 

Judas-tree  ( redbud ) ,  Cercis,  46 

Jujube,   common,   Ziziphus  jujuba, 
131 


Juniper — • 

alligator,     Juniperus     deppeana 

(syn.  /.  pachyphloea,  343,  808 
in   Southwest.     Quincy   Randies, 

342-347 

Juniperus,  164,  774,  807 
one-seed,  Juniperus  monosperma, 

343 
Rocky  Mountain — 

Juniperus  scopulorum,  71,  75, 
807-808 

See     also     Redcedar,     Rocky 

Mountain. 
Utah,      Juniperus      osteosperma 

(syn.  /.  utahensis) ,   343,  808 
western,    Juniperus    occidental}*, 


Kaibab,  deer  herd,  579-580 
Kaibab    Plateau,    ponderosa    pine, 

349 

Kaniksu  N.  F.,  fires,  494 
Kansas — 

shelterbelts,  192 
tree-bounty  law,  192 
KEEN,   F.  P.:   Pine  Bark  Beetles, 

427-432 
Keep  Green  project,  661,  667,  673, 

674 
Kentucky — 

farmer's   profit    from    wood    lot, 

173-174 
State  tree,  17 

Ketchikan,  pulp  mill,  proposal,  371 
Kew  Gardens,  400 
Key    for    identification   of   woods. 

Arthur  Koehler,  833-838 
Kiln  drying,  wood,  621-623 
Kilns,  internal-fan,  648 
KIMMEY,   JAMES   W.:    Heart  Rot. 
With  George  H.  Hepting,  462- 
465 
Kincaid    Act,    effect    on    planting, 

192 

KIRKPATRICK,  DAHL  J.:  New  Se- 
curity for  Forest  Communities, 
334-339 
KNEIPP,  L.  F.:  New  Values  in  the 

Minds  of  Men,  533-537 
Knots — 

development,  avoidance,  202-203 
effect  on  lumber,  202 
types  and  effects,  618-619 
Knutson-Vandenberg   Act — 
application,   324,   331,   351,   353 
evaluation,  317 
provisions,  316,  713 
KOEHLER,  ARTHUR: 

Growing  Bettter  Timber,  200-205 
Key  for  Identification  of  Woods, 

833-838 

KRUEGER,   THEODORE:   Forestry  in 
Black  Hills.     With  Arthur  F. 
C.  Hoffman,  319-326 
Labor — 

and  forests,  754 


Index 

Labor — Continued 
in  North,  270-271 
looks  at  trees  and  conservation. 

Philip  Murray,  755-757 
man-days,  timber  to  lumber,   23 
output  in  chipping,  292-293 
requirements  of  nursery,  161 
wages,  quarters,  naval  stores,  290 
Laboratories,    commercial,    testing, 

652 

Laburnum,  goldenchain.     See  Gold- 
enchain. 

Lactic  acid  from  wood,  642 
Lake  States— 

beetle-killed  timber,  use,  421 
broadcast  seeding,  142 
direct  seeding,   145 
favored  species,  207 
forest — 
acreage,  391 
history,  259 

situation,  717,  718,  719 
machine  planting,  208 
mining  companies,  261 
pine — 

crossing,  151 

seeding,  planting,   144-145 
pineries,  311 
pulpwood,  262 
winter  sports,  553 

Lake  States  Forest  Experiment  Sta- 
tion— 

establishment,  313 
windbreaks,  191 
work,  194 
Laminated  wood — 
joints,  outdoor,  649 
use  in  ships,  651 
Land- 
ownership  in — 
Alaska,  362-363 
California,  354 

stocking,  recommendations,  211 
Land-grant  colleges,  719 
Land-use  programs — 
administration,    388-389 
coordination  with  wildlife,  570 
Land  Management,  Bureau  of — 
revested  lands,  381-383 
unreserved  public  domain,   383- 

384 

Lands- 
Indian,    administration,    384-385 
revested.     See  Revested  lands. 
Landscaping  farmstead,   39-42 
Lamer  Oak,  landmark,  12 
Larch- 
alpine,  Larix  lyallii,   128 
black.     See  Tamarack. 
European,    Larix    decidua,    135, 

207 

Japanese,  Larix  leptolepis,  135 
Larix,  641,  769,  799 
Siberian,  Larix  sibirica,   135 
western,  Larix  accident  alts,   121, 
799 


929 

LARRIMER,  W.  H.: 

Arboretums,     Places    of    Beauty 

and  Science,  398-402 
Trees  for  Country  Home,   39-42 
Latin  America,   forestry,   742,   748 
Latin-American  Conference  on  For- 
estry and  Forest  Products,  748 
Lauan,  Shorea,  202 
Laurel,  Laurus,  178 
Laurelcherry,       Carolina,      Prunus 

caroliniana,  63 

LAVALLB,  ALPHONSE,  work,  400 
Lawns,  species  suitable,  85 
Leaf- 
feeders — 
control,  100 

damage  to  shade  trees,  98 
enemies,  415 

products  from  woodlot,   180-181 
structure  and  composition,  3 
Leafhopper,  and  shade  trees,  98 
LeConte  sawfly — 
in  young  pines,  217 
on  seedlings,  212,  217 
LBIF    ERICSON,     days    of,     since. 

Fred  C.  Simmons,  687-694 
"Leonard's     Narrative,"      quoted, 

574 
Lespedeza,    bicolor,    Lespedeza   bi- 

color,  562 
Light- 
factor  in  growth,  121-122 
requirements   of  trees,    3,   4,  6, 

7,  8 
Lightning — 

damage  to  ponderosa  pine,  347- 

348 

fires,  comparisons,  26 
precautions,  558-559 
Lignin — 

hydrogenation,  642,  643 
residue  in  hydrolysis,  642,  643 
uses,  research,  646 
waste,  644 
Lilac,    common,    Syringa   vulgarh, 

130,  131,  133,  848 
Limbing,     tree,     recommendations, 

241 

Lime,  in  nursery,  163 
Lincoln  N.  F.,  beetle  outbreak,  419 
Linden — 

American  (American  basswood), 

Tilia  americana,  54,  74 
European,  XTilia  europaea,   54, 

828 

littleleaf,  Tilia  cordata,  54,  74 
pendent    (silverpendent   linden), 

Tilia  petiolaris,  55 
silver,    Tilia    tomentosa,    54-55, 

828 
silverpendent,     Tilia     petiolaris, 

55 

(basswood),  Tilia,  74 
LINDGREN,  RALPH  M.:  Shade  Trees 

for  Southeast,  60-65 
LINDH,  C.  OTTO:   Ponderosa  Pine 
in  Southwest,  347-352 


802062° 


19 GO 


930 

Linnaean  Botanical  Garden,  401 
Linnaeus,  work,  109 
Linoleum,  production,  645 
Littleleaf,  damage,  212,  443 
Livestock — 
damage  to — 
forest,  28,  285 
seedlings,  212,  216-217 
shelterbelts,  199 
Loaders,  types,  244 
Loading — 

development,  691 
methods,  697-698 
tools,  238,  244 
Locust — 
black,  Robinia  pseudoacacia,  69, 

74,   164,  625,  470,  782 
borer,  470 
Higbee,      Robinia     pseudoacacia 

hort.  var.,  470 

leaf  miner,  on  shade  trees,  98 
Robinia,  782 

thornless  black,  Robinia  pseudo- 
acacia  var.  inermis,  74 
Log,  board-foot  content,  227 
Log-grade  rules,   227-228 
Log-scale  rules,  types  and  use,  227 
loggers,  living  conditions,  694 
Logging- 
costs,  savings,  243-244 
destructive — 

effects,   596,   597,  608 
practices,  698,   700,  717,  718, 

719-720 
early    practices,     329,     536-537, 

688,  695-697 
equipment,    237-240,    688,    689- 

692,  693,  695-698,  700 
ground-lead,  697 
high-lead,  690,  697,  700 
history,  developments,  645,  687- 

694 

integrated — 
definition,  693 
obstacles,  693-694 
value,  693 
operations — 
in  Maine,  688 
on  Chippewa,   313-314 
Pacific  slopes.    Newell  L.  Wright, 

695-701 

power,  development,  689-693 
process,  three  steps,  238 
refuse,  utilization,  645 
selective — 
damage,  463 
Douglas-fir  forests,  331 
small  forest,  237-244 
timing,  importance  of,  356,  358 
Logs — 

assembling  on  Pacific  slope,  697 
butt,  chemical  stimulation,  293 
contents,  Doyle  rule,  853 
hardwood,  grading,  648 
peeling,  242 

protection  from  fungi,  632 
requirements,  1950-55,  1999,  741 
selling,  228,  231 


Index 

Logs — Continued 

splitting,    recommendations,    242 
transportation,     324,    687,     688, 

689-691,  695-697 
uses  and  requirements,  741 
veneer.     See  Veneer  logs. 
Louisiana — 

profit  from  woodlot,   173 
fire  methods,  costs,  529-531 
forestry  in  schools,  659 
LOVERIDGE,  EARL  W.:  Administra- 
tion of  National  Forests,  372- 
380 

Lumber — 
companies — 

forest  ownership,  716 
holdings  in  North,  259-260 
northern,   difficulties,   266-267 
construction,    future,    determina- 
tion, 737 
consumption — 

and  production,  1920-30,  1947- 

48,  734 
fabricated       products,       1912, 

1928,  1940,  738 
new      construction,      1950-55, 

737 

shipping,  738 

damage  by  insects,  432-433 
dimensions,  standardizing,  648 
discoloration,  causes,  630 
drying — 

methods,  620-623 
schedules,  648 
export  trade,  723 
high  quality,  200 
knot-free,  202-203 
low-grade,  321 
requirements — 

construction,   734-736 
housing,  1950-55,  735,  736 
mine  timbers,  1999,  738 
potential,    estimation    method, 

737 
railroad  maintenance,  1950-55, 

737 

railroads,  1999,  736-738 
shipping,  1950-55,  738-739 
structure    maintenance,     1950- 

55,  737-738 
total  estimated,  1950-55,  1999, 

739 
substitutes — 

factor    in    consumption,    737, 

738 

used  in  houses,  735 
trees  for,  200 

use,    major   fields,    rank   in   im- 
portance, 734 
Lumbering — 

early  methods,  695 
in  Southwest,  348 
migration,  688-689 
west  coast,  695 
LUTHER,    MARTIN,    and   Christmas 

tree,  245-246 
Luther  forest,  265,  268,  271 


LUXFORD,  RONALD  F.:  Prefabri- 
cated House,  633-636 

Lyctus  beetle,  412 

Lyctus  powder-post  beetles,  433, 
435 

Lyre  Tree,  landmark,  13 

MACALONEY,   H.   J.:   Spruce  Bud- 
worm,  423-427 
Machines — 

and  Fires  in  South.     Arthur  W. 

Hartman,  527-532 
planting,  208 

See  also  under  specific  names. 
Madison,  Wis.,  site  of  Forest  Prod- 
ucts Laboratory,   647 
Madrone — 

Arbutus,  381,  811 

Pacific,    Arbutus    menziesii,    84, 

811-812 

Magna  Charta  and  game  laws,  567 
Magnolia — 

Chinese,  Magnolia  sinensis,  45 
cucumbertree         (cucumbertree), 

Magnolia  acuminata,  56 
Magnolia,  405,  785 
saucer,  XMagnolia  soulangeana, 

47 
southern,    Magnolia   grandiftora, 

60,  77,  785 

star,  Magnolia  stellata,  47 
sweetbay    (sweetbay),    Magnolia 

virginiana,  56 
Mahogany — 
Swietenia,  782 
West    Indies,     Swietenia    maba- 

gon't,  65,  782 
Mahonia,    red,    Mahonia   haemato- 

carpa,  130 

Maidenhair-tree.     See    Ginkgo. 
Maine — 

airplane  seeding,    142,    143,   145 

commission  on  forest  policy,  704 

Eastern  Pulpwood  Co.,  264 

hybrid  poplars,  156 

private  holdings,  256-257 

logging,  688 

poplar  breeding,  155 

spruce  budworm,  423 

taxes,  269-270 

University    of,    paper    and    pulp 

school,  154 
MAKI,  T.  E.:  Pointers  on  Planting, 

85-90 
Manbarklak,      Eschweilera      corru- 

gata,  434 

Mango,  Mangifera  indica,  65 
Manitoba    Department    of    Public 

Works,  193 
Manzanita,     Arctostaphylos,      130, 

178 
Maple— 

Acer,  154,  178,  179,  775,  809 
Amur,  Acer  ginnala,   133 
bigleaf,   Acer  macrophyllus,    83- 

84,  381,  809,  836 
black,  Acer  nigrum,  70,  775-776, 
836 


Maple — Continued 

hard    (sugar   maple) ,   Acer  sac- 

charum,   16,  617,  738,  741 
Norway,  Acer  plantanoides,  49- 

50,  70,  74,  79,  84,  824 
planetree,    Acer   pseudoplalanus, 

824 
red,   Acer   rubrum,    50,    61,    70, 

180.  776,  836 
Schwedler,  Acer  platanoides  var. 

schwedleri,  50,  74 
silver — 

Acer  saccharinum,   57,  69-70, 

180,  776,  836 
See  also  Maple,  white 
sirup.    See  Sirup,  maple, 
sugar — 

Acer  saccharum   (syn.  A.  sac- 
c harophorum ) ,  49,  70,  121, 
180,  775,  836 
See  also  Maple,  hard. 
Tatarian,  Acer  tataricum,   133 
white   (silver  maple),  Acer  sac- 
charinum, 16 

Maples  of  Northeast,  kinds,  49-50 
Mapping,  aerial,  472 
Maps- 
fire -occurrence,    488,    490,    491, 

512,  516 

fuel-type,  489,  490 
Marine  Corps,  fire  fighting,  497 
Marketing   associations,    185,    271- 

272 

Markets,  problem,   188,  271-272 
Maroon  -  Snowmass      Wilderness, 

Colo.,  542 
MARTIN,    J.    F.:    Blister   Rust   on 

White  Pine,  453^*58 
Maryland — 

forestry  in  schools,  659 
State  tree,  16 
Massachusetts — 

4-H  Club  forestry  work.  660 
hybrid  poplars,  155 
Mast,  nuts  for  wildlife,  564,  565 
MATTOON,    M.    A.:    Appalachian 

Comeback,   304-309 
MAY,  CURTIS:  Keeping  Shade  Trees 

Healthy,  91-96 
McARDLE,  R.  E.:  Cash  Crops  From 

Small  Forests,   173-176 
McQuiLKiN,  W.  E.:  Direct  Seed- 
ing of  Trees,  136-146 
McRae  bill,   706-707 
McSweeney-McNary  Law,  713 
Medicinals,   from  wood,   641 
Melamine-resins  in  glues,  638,  639 
Memorial  forests,  397-398 
MENDEL,  GREGOR,   influence,   148 
Mercury  salts,  632 
Mesquite — 

honey,    Prosopis   glandulosa,    17 
Pros  opts,  133,  715 
Methoxychlor,  in  insect  control,  99 
Methyl- 
alcohol,  production,  641 
bromide,  use,  435-436 


Index 

Mice,  in  seedings,  139 
Michigan — 

AuSable  Cooperative,  309-311 

Christmas  tree  profits,  254 

forest  succession,  107-108 

forest-crop  law,  270 

lumber  companies,  260 

mining  companies,  261 

plantations,  value,  209 

profit  from  wood  lot,  173 

State  forests,  390,  393,  394 

University  of,  710 

Watson  forest,  265-266,  268 
Microfine  sulfur  dips,  435 
Middle  Atlantic  States- 
forest  situation,  718 

State  forest  acreage,  391 
Mildew,  prevention,  626 
Military — 

reservations,  administration,  388 

use  of  wood,  729 
Mill  residues,  640 
MILLER,  JOHN  M. — 

Breeding  and  Selecting  Pest-Re- 
sistant Trees,  465-471 

Insects  in  Forest,  407-413 
Mills.     See  under  specific  kinds. 
Mimosa — 

(silktree),     Albizia     julibrissin, 
63,  470 

wilt  resistance,  445 
Mine  timbers — 

cutting  and  treatment,  734 

requirements,      1950-55,      1999, 
734,  738 

specifications,  230 
Minerals,  as  nutrient,  5-6,  103 
Mining — 

companies,     holdings,     260-261, 
267 

in  Black  Hills,  326 
Mink,  in  woodland,  561 
Minnesota — 

canoe  trips,  554 

Chippewa  N.  F.,  311-319 

forest-crop  law,  269 

Forest      Industries      Information 
Committee,  673 

State  forests,  390,  391,  394 

University  of,  313,  655 

N.  F.,  312 

Miramichi  fire,  1825,  480 
MIROV,  N.  T.:  A  Tree  Is  a  Living 

Thing,  1-9 
Mississippi — 

Bienville  N.  F.,  339-342 

fire  fighting,  529-531 

watershed   deterioration,  605 
Mississippi  Delta,  204,   718 
Mississippi  River,  floods,  609 
Missouri,  farmer's  profits,  173 
Missouri — 

Ozarks,  pine  seeding,  144-145 
Missouri  Botanical  Garden,  401 
Mistletoes — 

damage,  346,  347 


931 

Mistlestoes — Continued 
dwarf.    Lake  S.  Gill  and  Jess  L. 

Bedwell,  458-461 
harvesting,  182 
Mites,  control,  100 
Moisture — 

effect  of  shelterbelt,  196 
for  city  trees,  45 

requirements  of  decay  fungi,  631 
Molasses  from  wood,  36,  641-642, 

646 

Moles,  insect  diet,  563 
MONAHAN,  ROBERT  S.:  Safety  for 
Forest  Visitors,  556-560 

MONCEAU,     DUHAMEL     DU,     WOfk, 

400 

Montana — 
fires,  508-516 
pine  beetle  damage,  428 
smokejumper  base,  511,  515 
State  forests,  392,  394 
Montana    Agricultural    Experiment 

Station,  work,  191 
More  Trees  project,  661,  674-675 
Mormons,  574-575 
Morris    Act    of    1902,    provisions, 

311-312 

MORRISON,   B.   Y.:    National   Ar- 
boretum, 403-405 
MORTON,  J.  STERLING,  work,  192, 

704 
MOSES,  CLAYTON  S.:  Shade  Trees 

for  Northeast,  48-60 
Mosses  from  woodlands,  180 
Mount  Rainier  National  Park,  544 
Mountain  pine  beetle — 
control,  431 
detection,  415 
hosts,  427,  428,  429 
Mountain-ash — 

American,  Sorbus  americana,  56 
European,  Sorbus  attcuparia,  133 
Sorbus,  130 
Mountain-holly,  Nemopanthus  mu- 

cronatus,  133 
Mountain-laurel,  Kalmia  latifolia, 

133 
Mountain-mahogany,    Cercocarpus, 

133 
Mulberry — 

Morus,  164,  783 

red.  Morus  rubra,  74,  783,  834 

Russian,  Morus  alba  var.  tatari- 

ca,  74 

white.  Morus  alba,  80-81,  832 
Mulch,  effect  on  germination,  140 
Municipal — 

forests,  value,  396-397,  398 
parks,  uses,  549 
MUNSTER,     NORMAN:     Consulting 

Foresters,  662-663 
MURRAY,  PHILIP:   Labor  Looks  at 
Trees  and  Conservation,  755- 
757 

Mushrooms   from   woodlands,    182 
Muskeg,  368.  369 


932 

Nails,  use,  618 

Nannyberry,      Vibrunum     lentago, 

135 

National  forest  regions,  374 
National  forests — 
acreage,  299,  654 
administration — 
Earl   W.    Loveridge,    372-380 
progress,  711-712 
Alaska,  extent,  363 
Appalachian,  timber,  306-309 
campfires,  552 
creation,  31,  706 
enlargement,  712-714,  760 
fire  fighting — 
equipment,  529 
from  the  air,  508-516 
fires,  1930-40,  479-480 
grazing.     See  Grazing, 
history,  299-300 
income  from,  300 
logging,  early,  536-537 
management,   300 
people's  property.     C.  M.  Gran- 
ger, 299-304 
permits,  27 
personnel.     H.    Dean    Cochran, 

664-665 
policy,  709-712 
purchase,  303,  305-306 
range  management,  28 
receipts,  31-32 

recreation,  30,  551-556,  855-876 
regional      foresters,      addresses, 

555-556 

safety  for  visitors,  556-560 
Southwest,  350 
supervisor,  duties,  375-376 
timber — 
cutting,  301 
free  use,  23 
sales,  22-23 
use — 

by  organizations,  553,  555 
legal,  28 

vacations,  855-876 
wilderness  areas,   542,  878-889 
National  monuments — 
administration,   385-387 
purpose,  544 
National  parks — 

administration,  385-387 
purpose,  32 

recreation,   537-545,  889-892 
system,  544-550 
National     program     for     forestry. 

Lyle  F.  Watts,  757-760 
National  Academy  of  Sciences,  707 
National  Arboretum,  403-405 
National  Committee  on  Policies  in 

Conservation  Education,  661 
National     Conference    on     Family 

Life,  735 
National     Conservation     Commis- 
sion, 711 

National  Housing  Agency,  735 
National   Industrial   Recovery  Act, 
388-389,  666,  669,  713 


Index 

National     Lumber     Manufacturers 

Assn.,  work,  668,  673 
National  Park  Service — 

administration  of  national  parks, 

386 

areas,  vacation  guide,  889-892 
creation,  544 
fire  fighting,  497 

National   Pest   Control   Assn.,   435 
National  Safety  Council,  676 
National  Ski  Assn.,  553 
National  Ski  Patrol,  553 
Natural — 

areas,  vacation  guide,  883-889 
selection.    See  Selection,  natural. 
Naval- 
reservations,  administration,  388 
stores — 
belt,  291 
exports,  723-724 
extraction  industry,  640-641 
forests.     Carl  E.  Ostrom  and 

John  W.  Squires,  291-298 
gum  industry,  290 
gum  production,  287-288 
importance,   281,   286 
industry.     Jay  Ward,  286-291 
industry,     progress,     283-284, 

286,  287,  291,  293-294 
Nebo  Range,  elk  herd,   577 
Nebraska- 
first  Arbor  Day,  704 
4-H  Club  forestry  projects,   660 
shelterbelts,  193,  196 
tree  planting,  192 
University,  710 

Nebraska  Territory,  shelterbelt,  192 
Nectria  sp.,  damage  to  beech,  449 
NEEDHAM,  PAUL  R.:  Forests  and 

Fish,  581-585 
Nehasane  Park,  257 
Nekoosa-Edwards  Paper  Co.,  263, 

272 

NELSON,  ARTHUR  L.:  Four  Billion 
Feet  of  Beetle-Killed  Spruce, 
417-422 

Nemo  plan,  323 
Netherlands    East    Indies,    forests, 

744 

Nevada,  State  tree,  16 
New  Values  in  the  Minds  of  Men. 

L.  F.  Kneipp,  533-537 
New  England — 

forest  land,  extent,  715 
forests,  718 
gypsy  moth,  411,  446 
hybrid  poplars,  156 
species  to  plant,  224 
spruce  budworm,  409 
tar  burning,  286 
winter  sports,  553 
New  England  Forestry  Foundation, 

187,  272 
New  Hampshire — 

municipal  forest,  396-397 
Phillips  Brook  area,  265 
New  Jersey,  State  tree,  17 


New  Mexico — 

forester,  regional,  556 

forestry  in  schools,  659 

laws,  276 

pinyon-juniper  forest,  342-344 

ponderosa   pine,    347-352 

Vallecitos  Sustained-Yield  Unit, 

338 

New    South    Wales,    termite-resist- 
ant woods,  434 
New  York- 
Christmas  tree  profits,  254 

county  forests,  395-396 

early  forest  management,  706 

first  botanical  garden,  401 

forest-crop  law,  270 

gypsy  moth,  446 

Luther  forest,  265,  268 

municipal  forest,  398 

pulp  plants,  255-256 

spruce  budworm,  423,  424 

State  forests,  390,  393,  394 

State  tree,  16 

workmen's  compensation,  271 
New  York  Botanical  Garden,  work, 

154,  401,  470 
New    York,    Pack    Demonstration 

Forest,  273 

New  York  State  College  of  For- 
estry, 467,  655 

New  Zealand,  forests,  743,  744 
Newsprint,  use  of  pulpwood,  36 
Nightshade,    bitter,    Solatium   dul- 
camara,  135 

Nitrogen,  nutrition,  4-5,  163 
Nodule  bacteria,  functions,  4 
Norris-Doxey  Act,  218,  713-714, 

759 

Norris-Doxey  projects,  22 
Norsemen,  timber  cargoes,  687 
North- 
forest  situation,  720 

private  holdings.    Hardy  L.  Shir- 
ley, 255-274 

winter  sports,  552-553 
North  Carolina — 

Biltmore,  710 

naval  stores,  286,  287 

State  tree,  17 
North  Central  States,  blister  rust, 

457 

North  Dakota,  State  tree,  17 
North  Pacific  area,  shade  trees. 

T.  W.  Childs,  82-86 
Northeast — 

blister  rust,  456,  457 

favored  species,  207 

forest  fires,  496 

hybrid  poplars,  156 

pine  crossing,  150 

shade   trees.     Alma   M.    Watet- 
man,  R.  U.  Swingle  and  Clay- 
ton S.  Moses,  48-60 
spruce  budworm,  423,  424,  426 

trees  for,  845 

windbreaks,  198 


Northeastern      Forest     Experimen 

Station,  141-142,  154 
Northern   Great  Plains   Field   Sta 

tion,  192 

Northern   Rocky   Mountain   Fores 

and  Range  Experiment  Station 

138,  139 

Northwest — 

blister  rust,  457,  467 
windbreaks,  197-198 
Nun  moth,  dusting,  472 
Nurseries — 

acreage  planted,  160 
buildings  required,   162 
inventory,  166-167 
labor,  161 

public  forest-tree,  893 
seeding,  machines,   164 
State,  393,  894-895 
Nursery  site,  selection,  160-161 
Nursery-grown  seedlings — 
transplanting,   214-215 
use  in  plantations,  207 
Nurserymen,  duties,   160 
Nut  seeding,  practices,  14 1 
Nutrition  of  trees,  3-7,  8 
Nuts  from  woodlands,  182 

Oak- 
Appalachian,  204 
black,   Quercus  velutina,   67-68, 

795 
blackjack,    Quercus   marilandica, 

795-796 

blue,  Quercus  douglasii,  814 
bur,     Quercus    macrocarpa,     67, 

74-75,    798 
California — 
black,   Quercus  kelloggii,   813 
live,  Quercus  agrifolia,  77,  813 
white,  Quercus  lobata,  814 
canyon  live,  Quercus  cbrysolepis, 

813-814,  835 

chestnut,   Quercus  montana,  797 
chinquapin,     Quercus     muehlen- 

bergii,  68,  797 
cork,  Quercus  suber,  180 
eastern  red,  Quercus  bare  alls  var. 

maxima,  121 

Emory,   Quercus  emoryi,   813 
English,  Quercus  robur,  832 
forests,  management,  572 
Gambel,  Quercus  gambelii  (syn. 

Q.  utahensis),  814 
laurel,    Quercus    laurifolia,    64, 

796 
live,     Quercus     virginiana,     60, 

703,  796-797 
northern  red — 

Quercus  borealis,   51,  83,   794 
See  also,  Oak,  red 
Nuttall,  Quercus  nuttallii,  795 
Oregon     (Oregon     white    oak), 

Quercus  garryana,  381 
Oregon  white,  Quercus  garryana, 

83,  814 
overcup,  Quercus  lyrata,  798 


Index 

Oak — Continued 

pin,    Quercus   palustris,    51,   64 

67,  80,  83,  795 

post,  Quercus  stellata,  447,  79 
Quercus,  74,  178,  179,  524,  793 

813 
red  (northern  red  oak),  Quercu 

borealis,  46 
scarlet,     Quercus    coccinea,    52 

63-64,  794 
scrub  (bear  oak),  Quercus  ilia 

folia,  519 
Shumard,     Quercus     shumardii 

52,  794 
southern    red,    Quercus    falcata 

80,  795 
southern     water     (water     oak) 

Quercus  nigra,  650 
swamp — 

chestnut,  Quercus  prinus,  797 
red,   Quercus  falcata  var.  pa 

godae folia,  833 
white,    Quercus   bicolor,    797- 

798 

Texas — 
Quercus    shumardii    var.    tex 

ana,  52 

red.     See  Oak,  Texas 
water — 

Quercus  nigra,  62,  796 
See  also  Oak,  southern  water 
white,  Quercus  alba,  52,  63,  739, 

798,  813 
willow,  Quercus  phellos,  52,  61, 

796 

Oaks  of  Northeast,  kinds,  51-53 
Odocoileus  virginianus.    See  Deer, 

white-tailed. 
Office    of    Education,     agriculture 

program,  659 
Office  of  Housing  Expediter,  735 
Ohio- 
Christmas  trees,  253-254 
municipal  forest,  397 
pine  seeding,  costs,  144-145 
Ohio  Valley,  settlement,  305 
Oil- 
solutions,  use  in  beetle  control, 

430-431 

wells,  detriment  to  forests,  261 
Oils,  wood  preservatives,  623,  624 
Oklahoma — 
shelterbelts,  effect,  194 
State  tree,  17 
Oleaster    (Russian-olive) ,    Elaeag- 

nus  angustifolia,   128 
Olympic  N.  F.,  335 
Olympic  National  Park — 
description,  386 
trail  rides,  542 

Opossum  in  woodland,  561,  562 
•rchards,     benefits     from     wind- 
breaks, 191,  193 
)regon — 

airplane  seeding,   141,   142,   145 
Douglas-fir,  326 
favored  species,  207 
laws,  276 


933 

Oregon— Continued 
prepoisoning   and   spot   seeding 

144 

profit  from  wood  lot,  173 
revested  lands,  381-383 
sawmills,  276 
spruce  budworm,  423 
tussock  moth,  438,  441 
Oregon  Board  of  Forestry,  141,  142 
Oregon    Department    of    Forestry, 

140,  144 

Oregon-myrtle    (California-laurel ) , 

Umbellularia   californica,    179 

Osage-orange,    Madura    pomifera, 

70,  164,  192,  625,  783-784 
Osceola  National  Forest— 
burning,  518-519,  522-523 
turpentining,  296 
Osmunda  fern,  177 
OSTROM,   CARL  E.:   Naval  Stores. 

291-298 

Otsego    Forest    Products    Coopera- 
tive Assn.,  186,  271 
Ownership — 
commercial,  33,  654 
divided,  hazards,  258,  259 
trends,  273-274 
types  and  outlook,  265-267 
Oxygen — 

requirement  of  decay  fungi,  631 
use  by  trees,  3,  4 
Ozarks— 

favored  species,  207 
Missouri,  direct  seeding,  145 

Pacific- 
coast — 

blister  rust  control,  457 
forest  types,  565 
slope — 

hybrid  pines,  152 

logging.     Newell  L.  Wright, 

695-701 

acific  Coast  States— 
Federal-grant  lands,  391 
forest  types,  109-110,  847 
State  forest  acreage,  391 
Pacific  Northwest — 
airplane  surveys,  472 
cooperative-management   units, 

337 

favored  species,  207 
hybrid  poplars,  156 
pine  crossing,  151 
productiveness,    716,   717 
saw-timber  depletion,  720 
'acific  Northwest  Forest  and  Range 

Experiment  Station,  329-330 
ack  Demonstration  Forest,  273 
agodatree,       Japanese       (Chinese 
scholartree ) ,     Sophora  japon- 
ic a,  48,  57 
akistan,  forestry,  748 
aint — 

coatings,  626,  627,  628,  629 
color  effects,  625,  627-628 
formulas  for  new  woodwork,  629 


934 

Paint — Continued 

preservative  value,  23 
primers,  627 

retaining  capacity,  629-630,  650 
transparent  finishes,  626 
white,  use,  625-629 
wound  dressing,  90,  96 
Painting      homes.     Frederick      L. 

Browne,  625-630 
Palmetto,  cabbage,  Sabal  palmeto, 

64,  774 

Pandora  moth,  563 
Panels    for    prefabricated    houses, 

634,  635,  636 
Paper — 

companies,  holdings,  262-2^5 
from  wood,  24,  644 
industry — 

accomplishments,     281,     282- 

283 

value,  723 

making  in  Alaska,  370 
production  in  South,  281 
products  trade,  value,  723 
protection  from  decay,  631 
requirements,  1950-55,  740 
Paperboard — 
containers,  738 
requirements,  1950-55,  740 
Papreg,  uses,  650 
Parachutes,  for  fires,  508-516 
Parasites  of  spruce  budworm,  424 
Parasoltree,  Chinese,  Firmiana  pla- 

tanifolia,  832 

Parathion,  in  insect  control,  99 
PARKER,   D.   E.:    Introduced   Tree 

Diseases,  Insects,  446-451 
Parks.    See  County  parks  ;  Munici- 
pal parks;  State  parks. 
Parkways,  description,   545-546 
Patch    cutting,    Douglas-nr,    331- 

332,  334 
Patrol- 
compulsory,  State  laws,  667 
plane,    scouting    for    fires,    512, 

515-516 
Paulownia,    royal,    Paulownia    to- 

mentosa,  824 
Pawpaw   (common  pawpaw),  Asi- 

mina  triloba,   182 
Pea-shrub— 

Caragana.     See  Caragana. 
Siberian,    Caragana    arborescens, 

128,  130 

Pea-tree,     Siberian     (Siberian    pea- 
shrub),    Cargana    arborescens, 
76 
Pear,    common,    Pyrus    communis, 

130 

Peavey,  use,  240,  242,  688 
Pecan,  Carya  illinoensis,  63,  780 
PEIRCE,   EARL  S.:   Building  a  Fire 
Organization.     With   Carl   A. 
Gustafson,  485-493 
PBNN,  WILLIAM,  12,  702 


Index 

Pennsylvania — 

arboretums,  401 

early  forestry,  706 

"five  spotting"  system,  261 

forest  productivity,  259 

gypsy  moth,  446 

laws,  187 

pulp  companies,  264 

State  forests,   390,   392,  394 
Pennsylvania  Railroad — 

forest  holdings,  262 

foresters,  684 

Pennsylvania  State  College,  710 
Pentachlorphenol — 

use  in  protection  of  wood  prod- 
ucts, 435 

work  on,  649-650 
Peppertree — 

California  (peppertreej,  Schinus 
mo  lie,  77 

Schinus  molle,  823 
Permits,   hunting  and  fishing,   27 
Persimmon — 

common,    Diospyros    vtrginiana, 
786 

Diospyros,  564,  568,  741,  786 
Personnel,  national  forest.    H.  Dean 

Cochran,  664-665 
Peshtigo  Fire,  25 
Pests — 

detection,  414-417 

forests — 

control   by    airplane,    471-476 
surveys,  methods,  416 

introductions,  446-451 

resistant  trees,  465-471 

susceptibility  to,  466 
Petersham  Forest  Cooperative,   186 
Phenol-formaldehyde,  in  glues,  639 
Phenol-resin,  in  glues,  638 
Phenolic  resin  and  decay,  631 
Phenolics,  from  lignin,  642-643 
PHILLIPS,    GEORGE    R.:    To    Help 
Control     Floods.     With     Ber- 
nard Frank,  609-614 
Phloem  necrosis — 

damage,  443 

resistance  to,  445,  470 

spread,  444 

Phosphorous,  in  nursery,  163 
Photography,  aerial — 

extent,  679-680 

for  bark  beetle  surveys,  472 

for  making  inventories,  681-682 

for  scouting  fires,  513 

instruments,  681 

problems,  680 

Photoperiod,  and  flowering,  8 
Photosynthesis — 

description,  4 

requirements,  3 

Picturing    forests    from    air.     Ray- 
mond D.  Carver,  679-682 
Piedmont — 

forests,  279 

seeding,  144-145 

southern,  effect  of  mulch,  140 


Pike  Bay  Experimental  Forest,  314, 

317-318 
Pike  N.  F.,  419 
Piling- 
measurements,  733 
species  treated,  1947,  733 
specifications,  229 
use  and  needs,  1950-55,  733 
PINCHOT,  GIFFORD,  247,  257,  373, 

428,   702,  710 
Pine- 
Aleppo,  Pinus  halepensis,  75 
Apache,  152 
Austrian,    Pinus    nigra,    71,    76, 

148,  820,  822 

Balkan,  Pinus  peuce,  150,  151 
bark  beetles — 

F.  P.  Keen,  427-432 

control,  411-412 

See    also    Bark    beetles;    and 

under  specific  name, 
beetles — 

damage,  428 

infestations,  431-432 
bishop,  Pinus  muricata,  129 
bristlecone,  Pinus  aristata,  467 
Canary,  Pinus  canariensis,  76,  81 
Colorado  piny  on  (pinyon),  Pinus 

edulis,  75-76 

Coulter,  Pinus  coulter'},  81,   152 
Digger,  Pinus  sabiniana,  801 
eastern  white — 

Pinus  strobus,   58,    150,   453- 
454,  769 

See  also  Pine,  northern  white ; 

Pine,  white. 
forests     of     California.     B.     O. 

Hughes  and  Duncan  Dunning, 

353-358 
Himalayan — 

Pinus   griffithii,    85,    150,    151 

white        (Himalayan       pine), 

Pinus  griffithii,  150 
hybrids,  resistance,  150-152,  468 
Idaho     white      (western      white 

pine),  Pinus  monticola,  16 
jack,  Pinus  banksiana,  121,  151, 

164,  317-318,  423,  771 
Jeffrey,  Pinus  jeffreyi,  152,  563, 

801 
knobcone,  Pinus  attenuata,   152, 

801 

limber,  Pinus  flexilis,  467,  800 
loblolly,  Pinus  taeda,   107,   121, 

150,   151,  164,  519-522,   524- 

525,  770 
lodgepole,    Pinus    contorta    var. 

latifolia,   151,  423,  431,   563, 

801-802 
longleaf,    Pinus    pal us tr is,     164, 

179,   181,  434,  517-518,   521- 

522,  524,  769 

looper,  airplane  dusting,  472 
Monterey,    Pinus    radiata,    147- 

148,  149,  151-152. 
northern    white    (eastern    white 

pine),  Pinus  strobus,  616 


Pine — Continued 

Pinus,   181,  564,  837 

pitch,  Pinus  rigida,   150,  770 

pond,  Pinus  rigida  var.  serotina, 

122,  129,  837 
ponderosa — 

in  Southwest.  C.  Otto  Lindh, 
347-352 

Pinus  ponderosa,  71,  76,  144, 
147,  171,  319,  357,  423, 
444-445,  563,  616,  800-801 

See  also  Pine,  western  yellow. 
piny  on    (pinyon),    Pinus   edulis, 

250 

red,  Pinus  resinosa,  58,  318,  771 
Rocky       Mountain       ponderosa, 

Pinus  ponderosa  var.  scopulo- 

rum,  152 
Rocky    Mountain    white,    Pinus 

ftexilis,  145,  467 
sand,  Pinus  clausa,  129 
sawflies,  control,  473 
Scotch,  Pinus  sylvestris,  71,  76, 

147,  148,  207,  820 
shore,  Pinus  contorta,  85 
shortleaf— 

Pinus  echinata,  150,  151,  164, 
443,  519-522,  770-771 

See  also  Pine,  southern  yellow, 
slash,  Pinus  caribaea,   151,   164, 

179,  521,  770 
yellow,   a  standard  lumber-trade 

name    for     seven     species    of 

southern  pines,  650 
yellow    (shortleaf    pine),    Pinus 

echinata,  287,  617 
spruce,  Pinus  glabra,   111 
sugar,    Pinus    lambertiana,    352, 

454,  616,  800 

Swiss  stone,   Pinus  cembra,    133 
tip  moth,  damage,  217 
Torrey,  Pinus  torreyana,  20 
Virginia,  Pinus  virginiana,  111 
western  white — 

Pinus  monticola,  144,  170, 
443,  454,  616,  800 

See  also  Pine,  Idaho  white. 
western  yellow  (ponderosa  pine), 

Pinus  ponderosa,   16 
white — 

blister  rust.  See  Blister  rust, 
white  pine. 

(eastern  white  pine),  Pinus 
strobus,  146,  150,  151,  164, 
178,  312-313,  467,  687,  703 

weevil,  damage  to  white  pines, 
98 

weevil,  resistance  to,   150 
whitebark,  Pinus  albicaulis,   448 
Pines — 

breeding,   470 

breeding  in  U.  S.     J.  W.  Duf- 

field    and    Palmer    Stockwell, 

147-153 

extraction  products,  640,  641 
management  in  Minnesota,  311- 

319 


Index 

Pines — Continued 

naval    stores,    high-yielding,    re- 
search, 294 
progeny  testing,  149 
resistant  to — 
blister  rust,  467 
resin  midge,  467-468 
seeding  costs,  144-145 
southern — 

advantages,  211-212 
thinning,  220,  295-296 
vegetative  propagation,  149 
Pinhole  borers,  damage,  409 
Pinyon — 

Mexican,  Pinus  cembroides,  343 
nut,  value,  345 
one-needle    (singleleaf   pinyon), 

Pinus  monophylla,  343 
Pinus  edulis,  343,  802 
seed,  dissemination,  346 
singleleaf — 

Pinus  monophylla,  802 
See   also    Pinyon,    one-needle. 
See  also  Pine,  Colorado  pinyon; 

Pine,  pinyon. 
Pinyon-Juniper        in        Southwest. 

Quincy  Randies,  342-347 
Pistache,  Chinese,  Pistacia  chinen- 

sis,  80 

Pitch  pockets  in  wood,  619 
Pittman -Robertson  program,   589 
Plains — 

shade  trees  for.     Ernest  Wright 

and  T.  W.  Bretz,  65-72 
windbreaks,  191-198 
Plains  States — 
forest  types,  109-110 
trees  for,  recommendations,  845- 

846 
PLAIR,   T.   B.:    Forests   and   Soils, 

114-119 
Planetree — 

American.    See  Sycamore,  Amer- 
ican 
London,    XPinus   aceri folia,    55, 

70,  75,  79,  448,  832 
Oriental,  Pinus  orientalis,  55 
Plant  succession,  105-106 
Plantations — 
care,  21,  90 

establishment,  136,  137 
profits,  209 
Planters,     mechanical,     197,     208, 

215,  216,  226 
Planting — 

by  amateur  tree  breeders,  159 
Christmas     trees,     recommenda- 
tions, 251-253 
costs,  143-144,  215-226 
factors,  85-86 
Federal-State  aid,  20 
fertilizer  needs,  90 
home  grounds,  pointers.     T.  E. 

Maki,  85-90 
pruning  needs,  90 
schedule,  89 
season,  regional,  86 


935 

Planting — Continued 

seedlings,  pointers,  225-226 

seeds,  127-172 

shelterbelts,  21 

site,  87,  223 

space  requirements,  86-87 

stock  selection,  20,  89,  206-207, 
218,  223-225,  466 

tools,  hand,  208,  215 

See  also  Seeding. 
Plants — 

effect  on  soil  and  water,  604-605 

forest,  utilization,   177 
Plastics,  production,  645 
Plow-tractor  for  fire  lines,  528-529 
Plows,  types  for  fire  lines,   528 
Plum — 

American,  Prunus  americana, 
562,  848 

Chickasaw,  Prunus  angustifolia, 
848 

Prunus,  130 
Plywood- 
attachment  method,  635 

outdoor,  635,  649 

panel  covers,  634-635 

requirements,  1950-55,  739 

strength   determination,   649 

susceptibility  to  decay,  631 

use  and  requirements,  739 
Poinciana,      royal      (flambuoyant- 

tree),  Delonix  regia,  64 
Poisoning — 

rodents,  138 

undesirable  growth,  220 
Pole  blight,  damage,  443 
Poles— 

from  farm  woodlands,  178 

preservation,  623 

production,  732-733 

requirements,  1950-55,  732 

specifications,  229 

strength,  649 
Pollen- 
application  to  flowers,  158-159 

collection,  159 

functions,  8,  9 
Pollination — 

controlled,  148,  149 

types,  149 

See  also  Cross-pollination ;  Self- 
pollination. 

Pollution,  stream,  by  lignin,  644 
Pondcypress,   Taxodium  ascendens, 

768 
Poplar — 

balsam,  Populus  tacamahaca,  790 

bolleana,  Populus  alba  var.  bol- 
leana,  57 

Carolina,  XPopulus  eugenei,  66, 
79-80,  830 

lanceleaj  (lanceleaf  cotton- 
wood),  Populus  acuminata,  75 

Lombardy,  Populus  nigra  var. 
italica,  67,  75,  830 

rtarrowleaf  (narrowleaf  cotton- 
wood  ) ,  Populus  angustifolia, 
75 


936 


Pop  1  ar — Continued 
plains  (plains  cottonwood) ,  Pop- 

ulus    sargentii,    75 
Populus,    66-67,    154,    156-157, 

179,  789,  810 
silver,  Populus  aha  var.  nivea, 

198 

white,  Populus  alba,  832 
Poplars — 
breeding — 
project,  470 
to  order.     Ernst  J.  Schreiner, 

153-157 

hybrid,  155-156 
Port-Orford -cedar — 

Cbamaecyparis  lawsoniana,   806- 

807 

See  also  Cedar,  Lawson. 
Posts,  fence.     See  Fence  posts. 
Potash,  need  in  nursery,  163 
Potlatch   Timber   Protective   Assn., 

437 

Powder-post  beetles,  433 
Power — 

atomic,    effect    on    use    of    fuel 

woods,  732 
logging,  689-^93 
mechanical,  uses,  689,  691-693, 

697-698 

water,   and  forest  cover,   725 
Prairie  States — 

forestry  project,  192 
shelterbelts,  success,  21 
Precipitation,      interception,      594- 

595,  604-605 
Prefabricated  houses.     See  Houses, 

prefabricated. 
Prefabrication — 
assembling,  635 
history  in  U.  S.,  634 
plywood  in,  635 
Prescribed  burning — 
definition,  518 

See    also    Burning,     prescribed ; 
Burning,   protective ;   Burning, 
release;  Fire. 
Preservative — 

treatment.     Thomas    R.    Truax, 

623-625 

value  of  paint,  23 
Preservatives,   material   treated   by, 

842-844 
Prickly-ash,  common,  Zanthoxylum 

americanum,  132 
Pricklypear,  Opuntia,  574 
Private — 

forests,  cutting  practices,  33 
forestry     in     West.     Chas.     L. 
Tebbe    and    H.    J.    Andrews, 
275-278 
holdings,    in   North.     Hardy   L. 

Shirley,  255-274 

Privet,    European,    Ligustrum    vul- 
gar e,  130 

Progeny  testing  of  pines,  149 
Projects— 

Norris-Doxey,  definition,  22 
of  many  uses,  381-405 


Index 

Propagation,    vegetative,    of   pines, 

149 
Protective   burning.     See   Burning, 

protective. 
Pruning — 

Christmas     trees,     recommenda- 
tions, 253 

for  control  of  heart  rot,  464 

for  mistletoe  control,  460 

hardwood  trees,  203 

ponderosa     pine,      recommenda- 
tions, 351 

result,  22 

transplanted  stock,  90 

value  and  methods,  221 
Public- 
domain,   unreserved,   administra- 
tion, 383-384 

forest  land,  cutting  practices,  33 

works,       lumber      requirements, 

1950-55,  737 

Puerto  Rico,  national  forest,  301 
Pulp- 
companies — 

forest  ownership,  262-265,  716 
management  status,   1945,  671 

industry — 
accomplishments,     281,     282- 

283,  284 

cooperation,  670-671 
spruce  budworm  threat,  423 

mills — 

forest  ownership,  290 
waste,  643 

production,      comparison      with 
needs,  1950-55,  730 

semichemical,  production,  650 

use  in  rayon,  723 
Pulping  processes,  new,  650 
Pulpwood — 

conservation,  671 

damage,  by  fungi,  631 

for  paper,  154,  156 

from    beetle-killed    spruce,    use, 
421 

imports,  724 

industry,  status,  262,  264-265 

logging,  accidents,  678 

measurement,  229 

pen,  definition,  229 

planting  in  Wisconsin,  660-661, 
672 

production  in  Alaska,  367,  369- 
372 

railroad  transportation,  683 

requirements,  1950-55,  740 

selling  methods,  229 

situation,  255-256 

unit,  definition,  229 

use  for  newsprint,  36 
Purchasing  cooperatives,  184 
Purdue  University,  658 
Putting    unused    wood    to    work. 
C.  V.  Sweet,  643-647 

Quarry  timbers,  requirements,  1999, 
734 


Quinn,  I.  T.:  Action  on  Blue 
Ridge,  586-592 

Raccoon,  561,  590 
Railroad — 

companies,     northern     holdings, 

262 

construction,    maintenance,    736 
ties.     See  Ties. 
Railroads — 

and  foresters.     Robert  N.  Hos- 

kins,  682-685 
forest  work,  661,  689,  696,  698, 

724 

timber  requirements,  736,  738 
use  of  preservatives,  623 
Rain,  forest,  29,  594-595,  604-605 
Ranchers,  small,  and  forests.    Wil- 
liam L.  Robb,  358-359 
RANDALL,  CHARLES  E.:  Some  Trees 

Are  Famous,  11-13 
RANDLES,  QUINCY:  Pinyon- Juniper 

in  Southwest,  342-347 
Range- 
effect  of— 

burn  ing -off,  28 
rain,  28 
forest — 

acreage,  726 
grazing,  28 
management,  national  forest,  28, 

302 
Ranger,  forest — 

duties,  32,  376-377,  664 
requirements,  664 

RASMUSSEN,  D.  IRVIN:  Managing 
Utah's  Big-Game  Crop,  573- 
580 

Rasberry,  Rubus,   130,   182 
Rayon — 

industry,  value,  723 
production,  641 

Reclamation,  Bureau  of,  work,  611 
Recovery  programs  in  Europe,  748 
Recreation — 
Alaska,  372 

equipment  selection,  557 
facilities,  548-549,  551-552,  555, 

892 

forest,  economic  value,   536 
in  Black  Hills,  325-326 
in  North,  269 
national   forests,    30,    551,    855- 

876 

national  parks,  545,  889-892 
safety,  556-560 
State  forests,  393 
State  parks,  547,  548 
wilderness  areas,   537-544,  877- 

882 

Red  Cross,  and  fires,  483 
Red    rot    of   ponderosa    pine,    con- 
trol, 444-445 
Redbud— 

Cercis,   17,  46,  198 

eastern,  Cercis  canadensis,  62,  70 

See  also  Judas-tree. 


Redcedar — 

eastern,  Juniperus  virginiana,  63, 

71,  616,  774,  837 
Rocky  Mountain   (Rocky  Moun- 
tain  juniper),   Juniperus   sco- 
pulorum,  197 
southern,    Juniperous    silicicola, 

774 
western,  Thuja  pi i  cat  a,  144,  170, 

366,  369,  616,  806,  837 
Redgum   (sweetgum),  Liquidambar 

styracijolia,   178,  180 
Redwood — 
coast    (redwood),    Sequoia   sent- 

pervirens,  15 
dawn,  Metasequoia  glyptostroboi- 

des,  20,  405 
Sequoia    sempervirens,    20,    616, 

625,  805 
Redwoods,  preservation,  league  for, 

20 

Reforestation — 
acres  needing,  127 
growth  of  planting  stock,  160 
methods,  136-137,  141,  214 
poplars,  156 

Refuges,  wildlife,  387-388 
Regeneration — 
in  South,  284-285 
naval  stores  forests,  296 
Release  burning.    See  Burning,  re- 
lease. 

Repainting,  626,  627,  628,  629 
Repellents — 

for  rodent  and  bird  control,  139 
use  against  insects,  550,  558 
Reproduction — 

bisexual   and  asexual,   19 
natural,  value,  20 
processes,  8-9 
Research — 

forest  limitations,  707-708 
importance,  304 
in — 

Engelmann  spruce,  422 
feeding  range  cattle,  298 
forest  products,  early,  708,  710 
lignin,  646 

molasses,  36,  641,  642,  646 
naval  stores,  291,  293-294 
pine  hybrids,  150 
I  unsolved    problems,     120-121, 

760 

wood  yeast,  642 
projects,  cooperative,  653 
silviculture,  712 
Reseeding,  small  forest,  223 
Residues,    wood,   occurrence,    643- 

644 

Resin — 

from  woodlands,  177,  180 
midge — 

damage,  468 
resistance  to,  467-468 
Resins,  synthetic,  637     .  ,,r 
Resorcinol,  in  glues,  638,  639 
Restocking  by  planting,  20 


Index 

Revested  lands,  381-383 
Rhododendron,  Rhododendron,  178 
Ribes— 

growth  habits,  454-455 

quarantine,  453 

removal  methods,  453,  455,  456- 

457 
Rietz,   Raymond  C:   Seasoning  of 

Wood,  620-623 
RIGHTER,  F.  I.,  work,  149 
RIKER,  A.  J.,  work,  150,  467,  470 
RINDT,     C.     A.:     Production     of 

Planting  Stock,  160-169 
Road  system,  logging  needs,  699 
Roads — 

forest,    location,    effect    on    fish 

and  wildlife,   569 
need  in  insect-killed  area,  420- 

421 

timber- access,  system,  333 
ROBB,  WILLIAM  L.:  Small  Ranch- 
ers and  Forests,  358-359 
ROBERTS,    PAUL    H.:    Controlling 

Tussock  Moth,  436-442 
ROBINSON,     CHARLES     C.:     City 

Trees,  43-48 

Rocky  Mountain  spotted-fever,  pre- 
cautions, 27 
Rocky  Mountain  Forest  and  Range 

Experiment  Station,  598 
Rocky  Mountains — 

cooperative  -  management  units, 

337 

Engelmann,  spruce  beetle,  417 
Federal-grant  lands,  391 
forest  types,  109-111,  207,  847 
pine  beetle,  430 
seeding,  138-139,  144,  145 
shade  trees  for,   72-76 
spruce  budworm,  423 
watershed  studies,  597,  598-599, 

603 

winter  sports,  553 
Rodents- 
damage  to  seedings,  137,  139 
insect  diet,  563 
ROHWER,  S.  A.:  Key  to  Protection, 

413-417 
ROOSEVELT,   FRANKLIN  D.,  cited, 

714 
ROOSEVELT,  THEODORE,  247,  299, 

710 
ROOT,  IRVING  C.:  City  Trees,  43- 

48 
Roots — 

and   stems   and   dogwood   bolts. 

A.  G.  Hall,  176-183 
care,  21 

function,  3,  177-178 
Rose- 
meadow,  Rosa  blanda,  130 
multiflora,    Rosa   multiflora,    848 
Rosin,  uses,  640 
Rot — 
cause,  23 

fungi,  462,  463,  464 
Roundheaded  beetles,  97 
Royal  Botanical  Gardens,  400 


937 

Royal  College  of  Science,   153-154 
Royalpalm,  Cuban,  Roystonea  regia, 

65 

Rubber,  artificial,  642 
RUDOLF,  PAUL  O.:  First  the  Seed, 

Then  the  Tree,  127-135 
Runoff — 

construction  against,  607 
effect  of  fires,  481 
flood,  610 

surface,  factors,  595-596,  610 
Russia.     See  Union  of  Soviet  Socia- 
list Republics. 
Russian-olive — 

Elaeagnus   angustijolia,    70,    75, 

562,  828 

See  also  Oleoster. 
Rust  fungi,  life  history,  96 

Safety— 

for  forest  visitors,   556-560 

labor's  interest  in,  757 

in  woods,  676-679 
Sagrada,     cascara     (cascara    buck- 
thorn),   Rhamnus    purshiana, 
180 

ST.  GEORGE,  R.  A.:  Protecting 
Shade  Trees  from  Insects,  97- 
100 

Sal    (lumber-trade    name    for    Sal 
shorea),   Shore  a  robust  a,   434 
Sales- 
contracts,  232 

national  forest  timber,  22 

principles,  230-231 
Salmon — 

fisheries,  Alaska,  371-372 

Columbia  river,  583 
Salt,  for  decay  fungi,  631 
Saltbush,  fourwing,  Atriplex  cane- 

scens,  132 

Salvage  logging,  701 
SAMPSON,  ARTHUR  W.,  work,  111 
San  Juan  Wilderness  Area,  542 
Sandwich  materials,  649 
Sanitation     salvage,     against    pine 

beetle,  431 
Santiam  N.  F.,  327 
Sapele     (African    sapele),    Entan- 

dropbragma,  202 
Sapwood,  and  decay,  631 
Saratoga   spittlebug,    473 
Sassafras,   Sassafras  albidum,    177, 

568,  782,  783 
Savenac  Forest  Nursery,  378 
Saw  timber.     See  Timber. 
Sawdust- 
fuel,  645 

processing,  640,  641 

production,  643,  644 

uses,  646 

Sawlog  timber,  growth,  23 
Sawlogs — 

kind  of  trees  for,  200 

importance,  200 
Sawmill — 

holdings,   in   South,   283 

in  1634,  687 


938 


Sawmill — Continued 

installations  in  West,  276 
refuse,  products,  645-646 
residues,  640 
Sawmills — 

changes  for  prevention  of  waste, 

645 

in  West,  276 
northern,  267 
portable,  645 
Saws,  types,  237,  239 
Sawyers,  habits,  433 
Scale  insects,  100 
Scandinavia,  poplars,   156 
Scarification  of  seed,  164 
SCHENCK,  C.  A.,  work,  655,  710 
Scholartree — 
Chinese — 

Sophora  japonica,  47,  826 
See  also  Pagodatree,  Japanese. 
School  forests,  397,  398 
Schools  of  forestry,  655,  658,  672, 

710 
SCHRBINER,  ERNST  J. — 

Amateur  Tree  Breeders,  158-159 
Arboretums,     Places    of    Beauty 

and  Science,  398-402 
Poplars  Bred  To  Order,  153-157 
Scolytus    multistriatus.     See   Euro- 
pean elm  bark  beetle,  smaller. 
Screens,  use  in  protecting  seedlings, 

138,  141 
Sea-buckthorn,     common,     Hoppo- 

phae  rhamnoides,  130,  131 
Seaboard  Air  Line,  683 
Seasoning  wood,  methods,  620-623 
Sedimentation,  damages,  609 
Seed- 
classification,   127-128 
cleaned,  amount  in  proportion  to 

fruit,  131 

cleaning  methods,  130-131 
collection,  128-129,  135,  159 
composition,  1 
extraction,   129-130 
dealers,  requirements,  135 
dispersal  for  forest  renewal,  124 
dormancy,  132-133,  164 
forest-tree,    production,    124-125 
nursery,  cover,  164 
planting,  by  amateurs,  159 
prepoisoning,   138,   142,  144 
pretreatment     for     germination, 

132-133 

quality,  133-135,  140,  163 
scarification,  164 
storage  methods,   131-132 
stratification,  164 
testing  methods,  133-134 
viability,  134 
weights,  20 
Seed-tree  system,  125 
Seeding — 

airplane,  141-143,  145 
broadcast,  value,  142 
by  helicopter,  145 
characteristics,  122 


Index 

Seeding — Continued 
direct — 

W.  E.  McQuilkin,  136-146 
instructions,  224 
Southern  woodland,  214 
ground  preparation,   139 
pine,  in  California,  353-354 
rate  and  season,  163-164 
site  selection,  137-138,  142-143, 

145-146 

spot,  rate  and  method,  140 
tool,  140,  144 
Seedlings — 
development,  2 
diseases   in    southern    woodland, 

212 

plantable,  167-168 
nursery-grown,         transplanting, 

207,  214-215 
ordering,  215 
planting,  pointers,  225 
wild,  transplanting,  214 
Seeds- 
germination  test,   134 
source,  importance,   135 
Selecting  pest-resistant  trees.     Rus- 
sell B.  Clapper  and  John  M. 
Miller,  465-471 
Selection — 

definition,   123,   149 
natural,  148 
system,  126 

Self  pollination,  in  pines,  149 
Selling  logs,  228 
Selway  Wilderness  Area,  508 
Septoria  canker,  470 
Sequoia — 

giant,  Sequoia  gigantea,  20,  805- 

806 

Sequoia,  20 

Sequoia  National  Park,  386,  544 
Serviceberry,      Amelanchier,      128, 

130 

Settlement,  effect  on  wildlife,  564 
Shade  trees- 
care  after  planting,  90 
for  Northeast,  48-57 
for — 

California,  77-82 
North  Pacific  Area,  82-86 
Plains,  65-72 

Rockies,   Lake  S.   Gill,   72-76 
Southeast.  60-65 
healthy,  91-96 
protection    against    insects,    97- 

100 

soil  requirements,  87 
SHANTZ,  HOMER  L.,  work,  112 
Sheep — 

bighorn,  565,  575 
feeding  molasses,  641,  642 
Shelterbelts— 

and  windbreaks.  Joseph  H. 
Stoeckeler,  Ross  A.  Williams, 
191-199 

planting,    trees    for,    recommen- 
dations, 848-849 
success  in  Prairie  States,  21 


Shelterbelts— Continued 

See  also  Windbreaks. 
Shelterwood  system,  123-124,  125, 

126 

Shelton  Cooperative  Unit,  335-339 
Shipbuilding,    improvement   in   use 

of  wood,  24 
Shipping,  lumber — 

consumption,  738 

requirements,    1950-55,    738-739 
Ships- 
laminated  wood  for,  651 

role  in  introducing  pests,  449 
SHIRLEY,  HARDY  L.:  Large  Private 

Holdings  in  North,  255-274 
Shock  absorbers,  692 
SHOW,     STUART    BEVIER:     World 

Forest  Situation,  742-753 
Shrews,  insect  diet,  563 
Shrub,  definition,  19 
Shrubs — 

species  for  wildlife,  562-563 

use  in  windbreaks,  198 
SIEKBR,   JOHN:    Everyone   is   Wel- 
come, 551-556 
Sierra  Club,  544 
SILCOX,  F.  A..  378 
Silk-oak,   Grevillea  robusta,   823 
Silktassel,     Fremont,     Garrya    jre- 

montii,  131 
Silktree— 

Albizia  julibrissin,  826 

See   also   Albizia,    silktree ;    Mi- 
mosa. 
Silverbell— 

Carolina,   Helesia  Carolina,    130, 
133 

Helesia,  47 
Silverberry,   Elaeagnus   commutata, 

130 
Silviculture — 

definition,  22 

needs,  120-121 

problems,  107,  108 

specialty  of  consultants,  662 
SIMMONS,  FRED  C.:  Since  Days  of 

Leif  Ericson,  687-694 
Simpson  Logging  Co.,  335-336 
Sirup,  maple,  180 
Site  preparation,  87 
Skid  trails,  in  small  forest,  226 
Skidding — 

ground,  recommendations,  243 

methods,     689,     690-691,     692, 
693,    698,    700 

tools,  238,  242-243 
Skiers,  safety  advice,  553 
Skiing,  facilities,   549,   552-553 
Skunk,  in  woodland,  561 
Slash- 
burning  techniques,  328 

removal,  in  small  forest,  242 
Slit  planting,  225 
Smoke,  effect  on  trees,  43 
Smoke  j  umpers — 

in  Montana,   508-516 

work,  25-26 


"Smokey  Bear,"  484 

Snakes,  27-28,  558 

Snow — 

melting,  forest  influence  in,  29 
studies  in  pine  forests,    598-599 
traps,  value,  194,  196 

Snowbell      (Japanese      snowbell), 
Styrax  japonica,  47 

Snowberry — 

common,   Symphoricarpos  all/us, 

131 

Symphoricarpos,  130 
western,  Symphoricarpos  occiden- 
talis,  131 

SNYDER,    THOMAS    E.:    Insects   in 
Wood  Products,  432-436 

Soapberry — 
Sap  indus,  164 

western,     Sapindus    drummondi, 
70 

Society  of  American  Foresters,  112- 
114,  655,  662,  710 

Sodium — 

chlorate,  for  western  black  cur- 
rant, 456-457 
cyanide,  production,  641 

Softwood — 

definitions,  19,  6 16 

use,  616 

•waste  products,  646 

Softwoods — 

chemical  extraction,  640-641 
identification,    836-838 
supplies,  prospects,   745,  752 

Soil- 
absorptive  capacity,  604 
blowing,  prevention,  193 
building,  conifers  for,  207 
burning  effect,   118 
composition,  114-115 
conditioner,  642,  645 
conservation,   612,  658-659 
cover,  removal,  596 
effect  on  species,   115-117 
erosion.     See  Erosion, 
moisture,  196,  204 
nutrients,  162-163 
poisons,  use,  435 
preferences  of  trees,  44—45 
preparation  for  planting,  213 
requirements,   87,    161,  212,  224 
types,  regional  classification,  115 

Soil  Conservation  Service — 

administration  of  land  utilization 

projects,  389 

experiments  on  soil-tree  relation- 
ships, 119 

public  forest-tree  nurseries,  893 
shelterbelt  plantings,  193 
teaching  outlines,  658-659 
work  in  watershed  programs,  613 

Soiling  crops,  use  in  nurseries,  163 

Soils  and  Forests.     John  T.  Auten, 
T.  I.  Plair,  114-119 

Soils — 

effect  of  grazing,  118 
shallow,  effects,  126 


Index 

Sonoma  County,  Calif.,  fire  cam- 
paign, 484 

Soo  Line,  foresters,  684 
Soot,  effect  on  trees,  43 
Sour  gum  (black  tupelo),  Nyssa 

sylvatica,  43,  44,  46 
Sourwood,  Oxydendrum  arboreum, 

130 

South- 
direct  seeding,  139 
fire  fighting,  527,  532 
fires,  size  analysis,  531 
forest — 

land,  extent,  715 
productiveness,  716 
range,  acreage,  726 
situation,  717,  718,  719 
forestry,  large  ownerships,  279- 

285 

forests,  ownership,  279 
grazing  of  pinelands,  520 
machines   in   fire   fighting,    527- 

532 

mimosa,  breeding,  470 
pine  crossing,  151 
planting  bar,  use,  208 
planting    small    woodland.    W. 

R.  Hine,  211-218 
saw  timber,  719 
species  to  plant,  224 
State  forest  acreage,  391 
timber  capacity,  520 
wildlife  management,  569 
wooded  acres,  extent,  520 
South  Africa,  hybrid  poplars,  156 
South  America — 
hybrid  poplars,  156 
wood  situation,  742,  750 
South  Carolina- 
bark  beetles,  428 
forestry  in  schools,  659 
profit  from  wood  lot,  174 
South  Dakota- 
Black  Hills,  forestry,  319-326 
insect  deadening,  410 
shelterbelts,  193 

South  Fork  Wilderness  area,  538 
Southeast — 

wildlife  management,  569 
pine  crossing,   151 
shade  trees  for,  60-65 
trees  for,  recommendations,  846- 

847 

windbreaks,  198 
Southeastern      Forest      Experiment 

Station,  293 

Southern  pine  beetle,  217,  427 
Southern    Forest    Experiment    Sta- 
tion, 297,  517,  525 
Southern  Forestry  Conference,   668 
Southern  Pacific  Railway  Co.,  684 
Southern  Pine  Assn.,  668-669 
Southern     Pulpwood     Conservation 

Assn.,  283,  661,  671 
Southern  Railway  System,  foresters, 
684 


939 

Southwest- 
forest    types,     classification    of, 

111,  342-343 
hybrid  pines,   151,  152 
mistletoe  damage,  460 
pinyon-juniper,  342-347 
ponderosa  pine,  347-352 
windbreaks,  198 
SOWDER,  ARTHUR  M.: 

Christmas  Trees,  245-247;  248- 

251;  251-254 

Harvesting  Small  Forest,  237-244 
Sowing.     See  Seeding. 
Soybeans,  for  glue,  637 
Spacing- 
plantation,  principles,  208-209 
shade  trees,  86-87 
southern  woodland,  213 
Spanish,  in  Southwest,  344 
Spanish  Peaks  Wild  Area,  542 
SPARHAWK,    W.    N.:    History    of 
Forestry  in  America,   702-714 
SPAULDING,    PERLEY:    Blister  Rust 

on  White  Pine,  453-458 
Species,  soil  effect,  115-117 
Spicebush,  common,  Lindera  ben- 

zoin,  130 

Spider  mites,  in  shade  trees,  98 
SPILLE-RS,      ARTHUR:      Consulting 

Foresters,  662-663 
Spiral  grain,  in  wood,  201 
Spraying,  aerial — 
apparatus,  474-475 
for  tussock  moth,  436-442 
for  gypsy  moth  control,  447 
for  insect  control,  472—473 
time  of  day,  475-476 
Spruce — 

beetle-killed,    four   billion    feet. 
N.  D.  Wygant  and  Arthur  L. 
Nelson,  417-422 
black,   Picea   mariana,   71,   363, 

772 

Black  Hills   (Black  Hills  white 
spruce),     Picea     glauca     var. 
densata,   198 
Black  Hills  white,  Picea  glauca 

var.  densata,   60 
blue,  Picea  pungens,  423,  803 
budworm — 

R.  C.  Brown,  H.  J.  Mac- 
Aloney,  P.  B.  Dowden,  423- 
427 

airplane  surveys,  471 
control,  411,  425,  472 
damage  in  New  England,  409 
Colorado    (blue    spruce),    Picea 

pungens,   76 
Colorado     blue     (blue    spruce), 

Picea  pungens,  59,  71,  76 
eastern,     trade     name     for    red, 

white,  and  black  spruce,  616 
Engelmann,     Picea    engelmanni, 

76,  144,  423,  616,  802-803 
Norway,  Picea  abies,   148,  822 
Oriental,  Picea  orientalis,  59 


940 

Spruce — Continued 
Picea,   71,    164,    179,    181,    564, 

802,  837 

red,  Picea  rubens,   772,  837 
Sitka,  Picea  sitchensis,  366,  369, 

616,  803 
western  white,  Picea  glauca  var. 

albertina,  71 
white,  Picea  glauca,  59-60,  121, 

363,  772,  837 
Squires,   John   W.:    Naval   Stores: 

The  Forests,  291-298 
Squirrels  and  ponderosa  pine,   348 
Stains,  shingle,  626 
STAMM,     ALFRED     J.:     Chemicals 

from  Wood,  639-643 
STANSBURV,  HOWARD,  quoted,  574- 

575 

Starch,  in  glues,  637,  638 
State — 

forest  nurseries,  cooperating  in 
distribution  program,  1948, 
894-895 

forester,  aid  to  owner,  174 
forestry  agencies,  896-898 
forests.     Stanley    G.    Fontanna, 

390-394 
parks,  546-547 
trees,  15-18 

State-Federal   aid,   planting,   20-21 
Staypak,  uses,  650 
Stem- 
borers,    damage   to   shade   trees, 

97-98 
canker,  217 

Stems,  products  from,   178-180 
STBUBEN,  VON,  BARON,  work,  705 
STOCKWBLL,  PALMER:  Pine  Breed- 
ing in  U.  S.,  147-153 
STOBCKELBR,    JOSEPH   H.:    Wind- 
breaks  and  Shelterbelts,   191- 
199 

Stomata  functions,  3,  6-7 
STONB,   J.   HERBERT:    Forestry  on 
Large    Ownerships    in    South, 
279-285 

Storax,  from  woodland,  180 
Storms,  damage  to  jack  pine,  and 

recovery,  315-316 
STOUT,  A.  B.,  work,  148,  154 
Stratification  of  seed,  164 
Streaks,    spraying    with    sulfuric 

acid,  293 
Stream- 
flow— 

control,  606 

effects    of    forests,    595,    597, 

599,    600-601 

reflection  of  watershed,  610 
improvement  for  benefit  of  fish, 

569 
STRBNGE,    F.    A.:    Prefabricated 

House,  633-636 
Structures — 

lumber  uses,  734,  735,  736 


Index 

S  tructu  res — Cont  inued 
maintenance,     lumber     require- 
ments— 

1950-55,  737 
1999,  737-738 

Sugar  formation  in  leaf,  3,  4 
Sugarberry,  Celtis  laevigata,  63,  69, 

789 

Sugar  from  cellulose,  650 
Sugars,  product  of  wood  hydroly- 
sis, 639,  641-642,  643 
Sulfate  wood  turpentine,  recovery, 

289 
Sulfite   pulp   mills,   products,   644, 

646 

Sulfuric  acid,  in  turpentining,  293 
Sumac — 

laurel,  Rhus  laurina,  131 
mahogany,  Rhus  integrifolia,  131 
Rhus,  563 

skunkbush,  Rhus  trilobata,   131 
smooth,  Rhus  glabra,  131 
staghorn,  Rhus  typhina,   131 
sugar,  Rhus  ovata,  131 
Sundry    Civil    Appropriation    Act, 

707 

Sunlight- 
factor  in  growth,  43,  121-122 
needs  of  tree,  3,  4,  6,  7,  8 
Sunscald,  cause,  44 
Superior  N.  F.,  539,  554 
Sustained  yield — 
correlation  with  grade  of  cutting, 

1945,  675 
maintenance,  108 
management,   22,  332-333,  675 
method,  108 
requirements,  275-276 
private  holdings,  268-269 
Sustained-Yield     Unit    Act,     301, 

337,  354 

Suwanee  Forest,  290 
Sweden,  forest  resources,  compari- 
sons, 742 
SWEET,    C.    V.:    Putting    Unused 

Wood  to  Work,  643-647 
Sweetbay — 

Magnolia  virginiana,  785-786 

See  also  Magnolia,  sweetbay. 

Sweetfern,     Comptonia     peregrina, 

131 
Sweetgum — 

Liquidambar  styraciflua,   53,  61, 

79,  82,  180,  784 
See  also  Redgum. 
SWIFT,     LLOYD    W.:     Forests    as 

Wildlife  Habitat,  564-571 
SWINGLE,  R.  U.: 

Dutch  Elm  Disease,  451-452 
Shade  Trees  for  Northeast,  48-60 
Sycamore — 
American,  Platanus  occidentalisf 

55,  63,  70,  784-785 
Platanus,  75,  784,  835 
Sycamores,  canker  stain,  45-46 
Syria,     forest    resources,    compari- 
sons. 742 


Tallowtree,  Sapium  sebiferum,  828 
Tamarack,  Larix  laricina,  769 
Tamarisk — 

athel,  Tamarix  aphylla,  820 
Tamarix,  75,  562 
Tannin,  source,  447 
Tanoak,     Lithocarpus     densiflorus, 

812 
Tar- 
burning,  process,  289 
production,  and  uses,  641 
Tax-reverted     lands,     State     forest 

acreage,  391 

Taxes,  and  private  forestry,  269 
Taylor  Grazing  Act,  383 
Teachers — 

and      conservation.     Julien      L. 

Boatman,  658-661 
forestry,  658-660 
Teak,  Tectona  grandis,  434 
TEBBE,  CHAS.  L.:  Private  Forestry 

in  West,  275-278 
Temperature,    effect    on    seedings, 

137 

Tennessee,  State  tree,  17 
Tennessee    Valley    Authority,    for- 
ested lands,  389-390 
Termites — 

damage,  408-409,  433 
protection  from,  412,  434 
types,  433 

Tetraethyl  pyrophosphate,  99 
Texas — 

fire  fighting,  527 
first  newsprint  mill,  281 
pines,  151 
shelterbelts,  194 
yaupon  thickets,  525 
Thinning — 

methods,  219-220 
naval  stores  forests,  295-296 
ponderosa  pine,  351 
Thornapple     (hawthorn),     Cratae- 

gus,  591 
Ticks- 
danger,  27 
precautions,  558 
Ties- 
bridge  and  switch,  requirements, 

1950-55,  736 
cross — 

Engelmann  spruce,  650 
lumber  requirements,  1950-55, 

736 

numbers  used,  683 
requirements,  736 
use  by  railroads,  24,  724 
railroad — 

consumption     and     treatment, 

1947,  734 
requirements,     1950-55,     734, 

736 

timber  for,  229 

Tiles,  drain  use  in  planting,  93 
Tillage- 
importance,  208 
methods,  207-208 


Tillamook  burn,  478,  480,  482 
Timber — 

Alaska,  365-366 
area-selection  system,  331-332 
balance — 

between    growth     and     drain, 

720,  749 

See  also  forest  drain, 
beetle-killed,  use,  420-421 
better  growing.      Arthur  Koehler, 

200-205 

cash  returns,  173-174 
crop,  annual,  maintenance,  717 
cruise,  use,  229 
cut.     See  Cut. 
logging  methods,  463,  693 
decayed,  removal,  463 
depletion,  708,  720 
domestic,  drain,  34 
engineering,  requirements,  657 
exports,    Colonial,    702 
from  small  woodlands,  179 
future  requirements.    A.  C.  Cline, 

731-741 

high  quality,  characteristics,  200 
inventories,   369,  681-682 
kind  of  trees  for,  200 
locations,  718 
low-grade,  problem,  720 
management,  22,  294,  355,  358, 

462 

measurement,  851-854 
measurement,  importance,  226 
national  forest — 
free  use,  23 
importance,  301 
management,    sale,    and    cut, 

301 

needs,  720 
original,  687 
payments,  308 
pines,  crossing,  151 
production,  23,  382,  750 
products — 
classification    and    importance, 

850 

demand,  358 
requirements,  potential  annual, 

34 

transportation,  tonnage,  724 
requirements — 

cooperage,  1950-55,  1999,  740 
fence  posts,  1950-55,  733 
fuel  wood,  1950-55,  732 
future.     A.  C.  Cline,  731-741 
piling,  1950-55,  733 
paper,   1950-55,  740 
poles,   1950-55,  732 
pulp,   1950-55,  740 
residues,  utilization,  640 
resources — 

and   forest  land.     C.   Edward 

Behre,  715-721 
national    income    from,    1946, 

730 
world  distribution,   723-724 


Index 

Timber — Continued 
sales — 

from  Indian  lands,  384 
from  small  ranches,  358-359 
national  forests,  306,  316,  329, 

341 
saw — 

damage  from  heart  rots,  443 
drain,   components,    1944,   731 
growth,  estimate,  719 
growth,  goal,  720,  741 
ownership,  by  region,  654 
requirements,    1950-55,    1999, 

741 
volume — 

1945,  717,  718 

State  forests,  391 

sawlog,  growth  years,  23 

second-growth,    description,    200 

selling — 

from   revested   lands,   382-383 

principles,  230 

shortage,  276-277,  285,  716-718 

situation,    comparison   of   U.    S. 

with  other  countries,  742,  744, 

747>  749,  750 

southern,  marketable,  211-212 
species  used  in  fabricated  prod- 
ucts, 738 
standing — 
conversion  to  lumber,  days  of 

labor,  23 

estimation,  228-229 
stands,  use  of  fire,  518 
surveys,  323,  711-712 
sustained  yield.  See  Sustained 

yield, 
use,    coordination   with    wildlife 

needs,  569 
utilization,    integrated,   226-227, 

242 
volume — 

estimates,  662 
killed  by  insects,  409 
Timber  Conservation  Board,  work, 

713 

Timber  Culture  Act,  192,  704 
Timbers — 

structural,    strength,    determina- 
tion, 649 

termite  resistance,  434 
Tip  moths,  98,  100 
Titi     (buckwheat-tree),     Clijtonia 

monophylla,  524 
Tomahawk  Kraft  Company,  265 
Tongass  N.  F.,  367-370 
TOOLE,  E.  RICHARD:   Shade  Trees 

for  the  Southeast,  60-65 
Tools.    See  under  specific  kinds. 
Township  forests,  394-396 
Trace  elements,  need  by  tree,  5 
Tractor  logging,  Douglas-fir,  332 
Tractors — 

types  for  fire  lines,  528,  529 
uses   in   logging,    332,   690-691, 

692,  693,  700-701 
Trade,  and  forest  resources,  721 


941 

Trail  riding — 

in    the   wilderness.     Shirley   W. 

Allen,  537-544 
trips,   553-554 
Trails,  national  forests,  554 
Training,  forestry,  655-658,  664 
Transpiration,  forest,  6-7,  595,  599 
Transplant,  beds,   description,    165 
Transplanted  stock,  pruning,  90 
Transplanter,  mechanical,  165 
Transplanting — 

advantages,    disadvantages,    207 
balled  stock,   method,   88-89 
bare-root  stock,  87-88 
depth  to  dig  by  ball  sizes,  88 
nursery  stock,   136,   137,  165 
seasons  by  regions,  86 
space  requirements,  86-87 
Transportation — 

in   forest   fire   suppression,   490- 

491 
logs,    324,    687,    688,    689-691, 

695-697,  699 

Transports  for  fire  lines,  528 
Treasures  of  the  Nation.     Conrad 
L.  Wirth  and  J.   H.   Gadsby, 
544-550 
Tree-oj-Heaven  (ailanthus) ,  Ailan- 

thus  altissima,  68,  73 
Tree-farm    movement,     272,     661, 

674 

Tree  Fruit  Branch  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, 195 
Trees — 

and  homes,  37-100 
and  men,  1-36 
basic  requirements,  121 
fossil  ancestors,  20 
for— 

America  program,  674-675 
special  purposes,  845-850 
tomorrow,  work,  660,  672 
urban  uses,  selection,  45,  46- 

48 
various  regions,  48,  60,  65,  72, 

82 

remembered     and     remembering. 
G.  Harris  Collingwood,  15-18 
Tristania,  Brisbane-box.    See  Brush- 
box. 
Tropics- 
forests,  growth,  current,  749 
hardwoods,  use,  752 
Trout — 

foods,  581-582 
stocking  in  Virginia,  590 
TRUAX,    THOMAS   R.:    Preservative 
Treatment  of  Wood,  623-625 
Trucks,  use  in  logging,  698,  699, 

700,  724 
TRUE,    R.    P.:    Shade    Trees    for 

Southeast,  60-65 
Trumpetcreeper,  common,  Campsis 

rod  leans,  133 
Tulip-poplar   (yellow-poplar),  Lir- 
iodendron  tulipijera,  129 


942 

Tuliptree — 

African      (Bell      flambeautree) , 

Spathodea   campanulata,   65 
(yellow-poplar),       Uriodendron 

tulipifera,  53,  63,  83,  630 
Tupelo- 
black— 

Nyssa  sylvatica,  56,  787,  8}6 

See  also  Blackgum;   Sourgum 
Nyssa,  786 

Ogeechee,  Nyssa  ogeche,  787 
water — 
Nyssa  aquatica,  786,  836 

See  also  Gum,  tupelo. 
Turkeys — 

restocking,  567 

wild,  restocking  on  Blue  Ridge, 

590 

Turpentine — 
beetles — 

control,  100 

damage,  427-428 
extraction,  640 
from  small  woodland,  179 
Turpentining — 

equipment,  research,  294 
history,  286-287 
methods,  288,  293-294 
Tussock  moth — 

controlling.      Paul    H.    Roberts 

and  James  C.  Evenden,  436- 

442 

detection  by  airplane,  416 
Twig- 
borers — 

control  on  shade  trees,  100 

damage  to  shade  trees,  98 
girdlers — 

control,  100 

damage  to  shade  trees,  98 

Umbrella -pine,     Sciadopitys     verti- 

cillata,  47 

Union   of   Soviet   Socialist   Repub- 
lics- 
hybrid  poplars,  156 
wood   situation,   742,   743.   750, 

751 
Unloading,    tools    and    equipment, 

244 

Urea-formaldehyde,  639 
Urea-resin,  in  glues,  638 
Uruguay,  forests,  742 
Utah— 

Engelmann  spruce  beetles,  419 
Fish  and  Game  Department,  579 
national  forest  purchases,  303 
snow  fences,  studies,  607 
watershed  studies,   603 
Utah  Horticultural  Society,  194 
Utah  Territory,  575 
Utilities,      private,       construction 
lumber  requirements,  1950-55 
737 

Vacation —  •**-  *' 

dangers  and  precautions,  557 


Index 

Vacation — Continued 
guide,  by  type  of  area  and  States, 

855-892 
equipment    selection,    557,    559, 

560 
in  national  or  State  parks,  537- 

560,  855-900 

in  national  forests,  general  infor- 
mation, 30 
Vallecitos  Unit,  338 
VAN  HAGAN,  CHARLES  E.:  Wood 

for  the  Job,  615-619 
Veneer — 

from  logging  refuse,  645 
from  woodland,  178 
logs — 

importance,  200 
specifications,  229-230 
production,  waste,  644 
requirements,    1950-55,   739 
Vermont,  State  tree,  16 
Vermont    Agricultural    Experiment 

Station,  121 
Viburnum,  Viburnum,   130 
Vilmorin,  Pierre  Philippe  Andrede, 

work,  400 
Virginia — 

forest  fire  record,  484 
plan  for  cooperation,  586 
wildlife  program,   569-570 
Virginia  Polytechnic  Institute,   589 
Virginia  State  Board  of  Education, 

forestry  program,  659 
Viscose,  production,  641 

WAGENBR,    W.   W.:    Shade  Trees 

for  California,  77-82 
Wages— 

and  hours,  increases,  728 
in  naval  stores  industry,  290 
Wagon     Wheel     Gap,     watershed 

studies,  597-599,  600,  603 
WAKELEY,     PHILIP     C.:     Job    of 

Planting  Trees,  206-209 
WALES,    H.    BASIL:    Evolution    of 
Management     on     Chippewa, 
311-319 
Walnut- 
black— 
Juglans   nigra,    24,    182,    779, 

835 

See  also  Walnut,  eastern  black. 
California  black  (California  wal- 
nut ) ,  Juglans  californica,  80 
eastern    black     (black    walnut), 

Juglans  nigra,  57,  70 
Juglans,     174,     178,     616,    670, 

779 
little,    Juglans   microcarpa    (syn. 

/.  rupestris),  131 
Persian,  Juglans  regia,  826 
Texas    (little    walnut),    Juglans 
microcarpa  (syn.  /.  rttpestris) . 
849 
Ward,  Jay:  Naval  Stores:  The  In 

dustry,  286-291 
Warping,  cause,  6 16 


WASHINGTON,  GEORGE,  and  trees, 

11 

Washington — 
Douglas-fir  region,  326 
forest  fire  record,  484 
Granite  Falls  School,  658 
laws  on  cutting,  276 
spruce  bud  worm,  423 
State  forests,  392,  394 
tussock  moth,  438 
windbreaks,  195 

Washington  Friendship  Tree,  11 
Wastes,  wood — 

chemical  utilization,  732 
cooperative   for   conversion,    647 
economic  aspects,  643 
Water- 
absorption,  604 
and  forests,  593-614 
conservation    practices    for   flood 

control,  612 

evaporation  from  crowns,   594 
forest,   available,   increases,   597, 

599 

function  in  tree  growth,  103-104 
need  for,  in  West,  593,  594 
nursery  requirements,   162 
problems  due  to  watershed  mis- 
handling, 603 
supplies,  function  of  forests,  595, 

597,    599,   600-601,    725 
supply,  West,  source,  301-302 
transportation,   690,    724-725 
use  by  tree,  6-7 
yields— 
and    timber    cutting.     H.    G. 

Wilm,  593-602 
increase  by  conversion  of  for- 
est type,  607 
WATERMAN,     ALMA,     M.:     Shade 

Trees  for  Northeast,  48-60 
Watersheds — 

care.     George      W.      Craddock, 
and   Charles   R.    Hursh,    603- 
609 
condition,  examination,  29,  605- 

606,  608 

definitions,  29,  603 
destructive  logging,  608 
deterioration,  recognition,  605 
grazing,  607 

improvement  programs,   610-613 
management — 
for  fish,  583,  584,  585,  590 
plan,  requirements,  605 
principles,  600-601 
municipal  forests,   396 
pinyon-juniper,  346 
problems,  607 
programs,  611,  613 
retention  storage,  604 
State  forests,   protection,   393 
survey  600,  611,  613 
values,  603 

WATTS,    LYLE    F.:    National    Pro- 
gram for  Forestry,  757-760 


Waxmyrtle,  southern,  Myrica  ceri- 
fera,  131 

Weather- 
conditions,  forest  fires,  489 
effect  on  surfaces  of  boards,  626 

Weather  Bureau — 
fire  control,  26,  497 
tussock  moth  control,  438-439 

Weathering,   prevention,   626,   627 

Wedges,  metal,  in  logging,  239 

Weeks   Law,   282,    300,    303,   587, 
711,  712,  713 

Weevil,  resistance  in  pine  hybrid, 
468 

WEIDMAN,  R.  H.,  work,  147 


air  surveys  of  insects,  471 
bark  beetles,  409 
big-game  management,  567,  570 
.   forest- 
land,  extent,  715 
range,  acreage,  726 
situation,  717 
types,  564-565,   715-716 
forestry,  private.     Chas  L.  Tebbe 
and  H.   J.   Andrews,   275-278 
semiarid,  hybrid  pines,  152 
small  ranches,   358-359 
spruce  budworm  damage,  423 
thinning  rule,  220 
timber     management,     problems, 

462 

water  supply,  source,  301-302 
West    Coast    Lumbermen's    Assn., 

669 
West  Virginia — 

insect  deadening,  410 

mining      company,      operations, 

260-261 

wildlife  program,   569 
West  Virginia  Forest  Products  As- 
sociation, 185-186 
Western  pine  beetle — 
control,  411-412,  431 
damage,  427,  428,  429 
detection,  415 

Western  red  rot  in  ponderosa,  347 
Western  Forestry  and  Conservation 

Assn.,  667 

Western  Pine  Assn.,  669 
WEYMOUTH,  JOHN,  work,  687 
White  pine — 

blister     rust.     See     Blister     rust, 

white  pine. 

weevil.     See  Pine,  white,  weevil. 
White  River  National  Forest,  En- 
gelmann    spruce    beetles    out- 
breaks, 419 
White     River     National     Wildlife 

Refuge,  387 
White-cedar— 
Atlantic — 

Chamaecyparis    thyoides,    616, 

774,  837 

See  also  Cedar,  southern. 
Chamaecyparis,  773,  806 


Index 

White-cedar— Continued 

eastern    (northern    white-cedar), 

Thuja  occidentalis,  181 
Northern — 

Thuja  occidental}!,  6l6,  773 
See   also   Arborvitae,    eastern ; 

white-cedar,   eastern. 
Port-Orjord.     See      Port-Orford- 

cedar. 

southern  (Atlantic  white-cedar) , 
Chamaecyparis   thyoides,    839 
Whitney  Preserve,  257-258 
WRITTEN,  R.  R.:  Dutch  Elm  Dis- 
ease, 451-452 
Whittier's  Pine  Tree,  12 
Wild- 
areas — 

facilities    and    use,     553-554, 

877-882 

number  and  size,  542 
forest,  taming.     John  R.  Bruck- 

art,  326-334 
Wilderness- 
areas — 

definition,  30 

facilities  and  use,  30,  553-554, 

877-882 

importance,  303,  542 
trail  riding.     Shirley  W.  Allen, 

537-544 

Wilderness  Society,  544 
Wildfires- 
extent  and  damage,  479-480 
Florida,  523 

observations  of  farmers,  480 
risk  evaluation,  519 
See  also  Fires;  Forest  fires 
Wildlife- 
Alaska,  364 
and  forests,  561-592 
conservation,  333,  387-388,  561- 

580,  586-592 

desirable  environment,  27 
distribution,  565 
effect  of— 
DDT,  476 

fire,  28,  480-481,  519 
forest  habitat.     Lloyd  W.  Swift, 

564-571 
in  small  woodland.     Edward  H. 

Graham,   561-564 
national  forest,  302-303 
resources,  726 

WILLIAMS,   Ross   A.:   Windbreaks 
and    Shelterbelts.     Joseph    H. 
Stoeckeler,  191-199 
Willow— 

American  green   (Missouri  River 
willow),  Salix  rigida  (syn.  S. 
miss  our  ten  sis ) ,  179 
basket,    from   small    woodlands, 

179 

black,  Salix  nigra,   70,  792,  835 
crack     (brittle     willow),     Salix 

jragilis,  849 

diamond  (Missouri  River  wil- 
low), Salix  rigida  (syn.  S. 
missouriensis) ,  848 


943 

Willow — Continued 
European    white.    See    Willow, 

white. 
golden — 

(yellowstem     white     willow), 

Salix  alba  var.,   197,   198 
weeping     (weeping     willow), 

Salix  babylonica,  57 
green,  Salix  rubens  var.   viridis, 

198 
Missouri     River.     See     Willow, 

American  green, 
peachleaf,     Salix    amygdaloides, 

792-793 
Salix,  792 
weeping,  Salix  babylonica,  64, 

70,  830 

white,  Salix  alba,   197,  830,  835 
yellowstem  white.     See  Willow, 

golden. 
WILM,  H.  G.:  Timber  Cutting  and 

Water  Yields,   593-602 
Wind  River  Arboretum,  151 
Wind    River    Experimental    Forest. 
Leo  A.  Isaac  and  William  E. 
Bullard,  169-172 
Wind     River     Wilderness     Area, 

Wyo.,  542 
Windbreaks— 

and      shelterbelts.     Joseph      H. 
Stoeckeler   and   Ross   A.   Wil- 
liams, 191-199 
planting,  85,  848-849 
See  also  Shelterbelts. 
Winter-sports   areas,    national   for- 
ests, 552-553 
Winterberry,    common,    Ilex   verti- 

cillata,   131 
Winterfat,     common,    Eurotia    la- 

nata,  130 
Wintergreen — 
checkerberry,      Gaultheria     pro- 

cumbens,  133 
Gaultheria,   181 
WIRTH,  CONRAD  L.:  Treasures  of 

the  Nation,  544-550 
Wisconsin — 

cooperation  with   Trees  for  To- 
morrow, 660-661 
county  forests,  395 
first   report   on   forest    situation, 

704 

forest-crop  law,  259,  270,  395 
Forest      Industries      Information 

Committee,  673 
paper  companies,  263 
pulpwood    industry,    421,    660- 

661,  672 

red  pine  plantation,  value,  209 
school  forest,  398 
tree  farms,  272 
University  of,  work,  150,  467 
Wisconsin   State  Conservation   De- 
partment, shelterbelt  planting, 
193 

Witch-hazel,     Hamamelis     virgini- 
ana,  130 


944 

Wood- 
air  drying,  620-621 
blemishes,  201-202,  630-633 
borers,  damage,  408-409 
characteristics  and  uses,  840 
chemicals       from.      Alfred      J. 

Stamm,  639-643 
composition,  3 
compression,  cause,  7 
deterioration,  96,  619,  623,  627 
durability,  625 
for  special  purposes,  738 
for  the  Job.     R.  P.  A.  Johnson, 

Charles  E.  Van  Hagan,  615 
fuel.     See  Fuel  wood, 
fungi.     Carl  Hartley,  630-633 
gluing.     Don   Brouse,    636-639 
green,  insect  infestation,  control, 

433-434 
hardest,  24 

house   construction,   23-24 
identification — 

key.     Arthur     Koehler,     833- 
838 

service,  653 

in  Asia,  742,  748,  750,  751 
in  Europe,   742,  743,   744,   748, 

749,  750 

in  chemical  products,  24 
in  use,  6l5-<554 
kiln  drying,  621-623 
lot,  farm,  145-146,  173-174,  727 
moisture  changes,  effect,  616,  618 
nails,  screws,  bolts  in  use,  618 
paintability,   23,   626-627,  629- 

630,  650 

preparation  for  treatment,  624 
preservative  treatment.     Thomas 

R.  Truax,  623-625 
preservatives,        standardization, 

649 

products- 
decay  prevention,  445 


Index 

Wood— Continued 
products — continued 
fabricated — 

lumber    consumption,    1912, 

1928,  1940,  738 
species  used,  738 
value,  723 
importation,  751 
insect  damage,  412,  432 
list,  281,  721 

quality,   effects  of  heredity,   204 
residues — 

chemical  processing,  640 
unused,  problems,  646 
seasoning.     Raymond    C.    Rietz, 

620-623 

shrinkage,  201,  203,  616 
specifications.  Federal,  649 
strength,  617-618,  649 
structure,  2-3 
substitutes,  use,  752 
surface  characteristics,  618 
technology,  656-657 
temperature  effect,  616 
uses,  23,  36,   156-157,  615-616, 

650-651,  750-751 
warping,  6l6 
Wood-chemical     companies,     261- 

262,  267 
Wood -using    industries,    need    for 

change,  699 
Woodlands- 
farm,  mismanagement,  716 
management,    advice,    22,    174- 

176 
small — 

and    cooperatives.     Allen    W. 

Bratton,  183-190 
and  small  forests,  173-244 
cash  crops,    173-176 
products,   176-183 
southern,     planting.    W.     R. 

Hine,  211-218 
Woods- 
burning,  296-297 
safety,  prescription  for  Seth  Jack- 
son. 676-679 
workers,  skilled,  lack,  270-271 


Works  Progress  Administration, 
339 

World  forest  situation.  Stuart 
Bevier  Show,  742-753 

Worm-hole  borers,  damage,  409 

Wounds,  treatment,  90,  93,  96 

WRIGHT,  ERNEST:  Shade  Trees  for 
Plains,  65-72 

WRIGHT,  NEWELL  L.:  Logging  Pa- 
cific Slopes,  695-701 

Wye  Oak,  largest,  16 

WYGANT,  N.  D.:  Four  Billion 
Feet  of  Beetle-Killed  Spruce, 
417-422 

Wyoming — 

Black  Hills,  forestry,  319-326 
State  tree,  16 

Yale  School  of  Forestry,  655,  656 
Yarding,  description  and  methods, 

242-243 

Yaupon,  Ilex  vomitoria,  525 
Yeast,  wood,  tests,  642 
Yellow-cedar,    Alaska.     See    Alas- 
ka-cedar. 
Yellow-poplar — 

Liriodendron  tulipifera,    53,   63, 
83,   178,  616,  630,  785 

See  also  Tulip-poplar ;  Tuliptree. 
Yellowstone  Park — 

elk  herd,  577 

Engelmann  spruce  beetle,  419 

establishment,  544 
Yellowwood — 

American    (yellowwood).    Clad- 
rastis  la  tea,  48,  55-56,  82-83 

Cladrastis  lutea,  13 
Yew- 
Pacific,  Taxus  brevifola,  170,  802 

Taxus,  802 

Yosemite  Park,  386,  544 
YUILL,  J.  S.:  Airplane  in  Forest- 
Pest  Control,  471-476 

ZON,  RAPHAEL,  work,  111,  112, 
313,  712 


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